Explain the importance of so called "checks & balances", formulated in the American Constitution.
“Checks and balances” system
- in other words: separation of powers, trias politica principle
- set up by the U.S. Constitution,
- first developing in ancient Greece and Rome; Aristotle first mentioned the idea of a "mixed government"; The term tripartite system is ascribed to French Enlightenment political philosopher Baron de Montesquieu
- the national government is divided into: legislative, executive, and judicial
- these three branches are not independent of one another; no one branch becomes too powerful; introduced to prevent one branch from becoming supreme
- impeachment- if one branch of the government becomes irresponsible, the other two branches have the ability to remove members of the first from office
ODPOWIEDŹ
Essentially, it is an attempt to keep the power of the government evenly divided into many hands, to prevent one group from becoming dominant. Since all three branches have checks on each other, the checks are used as a way of balancing the power. The branch that is grabbing too much power is limited via the actions of the others.
Checks and Balances are created to limit the power of the government. It achieves it by splitting the government into competing groups that can actively limit the power of the others. This is more likely to be done when a group is trying to use its power illegitimately.
Depending on how they are enacted, though, the Checks and Balances scheme can conflict with a Separation of Powers system. By allowing the other branches to have undue influence on the actions of the first group, they will expand their own power. Also, when a sharing of responsibilities occurs, the groups have incentives to work with each other to gain power, instead of against each other to limit power. The Presidential veto in the US is an example. The President has such significant power over the Legislature that he is able to demand certain provisions in the bills they pass or he will veto. The result is that the President works closely with the Legislative to increase Federal Power, and the alleged "check" on the Legislature did nothing to prevent an increase of power.
2. Why were the Articles of Confederation ineffective?
the Articles of Confederation
- the agreement served as its first constitution among the 13 founding states, replaced the British system, US as a confederation of sovereign states; treaty left the US independent and at peace
- completed in 1781
- provided domestic and international legitimacy for the Continental Congress to direct the American Revolutionary War, conduct diplomacy with Europe and deal with territorial issues and Native American relations
- On March 4, 1789, general government under the Articles was replaced with the federal government under the U.S. Constitution
- no president and no national court; a lack of a strong, central government, led to:
1. Economic disorganization (Congress could not regulate trade, No uniform system of currency, No power of taxation)
2. Lack of central leadership (No independent judiciary, No foreign affairs head, Inability to deal with internal and external threats)
3.Legislative inefficiencies (Each state had one vote, Difficulty passing laws, Impractical amendment process)
ODPOWIEDŹ
The Articles of Confederation was ineffective in many ways. It was a very decentralized form of government giving the power to the individual states rather than to a centralized government. For example, The Congress of the Confederation did not have the ability to tax, if they needed money, they had to request it from the individual states. Under the Articles, each state maintained their sovereignty, independence and freedom. It was a very loose constitution meant to curtail a strong central government because of the fear that a strong central government would eventually become oppressive as Britain had. The Congress of the Confederation had no real power when it came to dealings with the states. They were meant to serve as the united representatives to foreign nations, but within our borders, the states held the real power. Also, it was a unicameral entity with no separation of power or checks and balances. Any changes to the Articles could only be made with unanimous support from the 13 states and new laws required 9 of the 13 in order to be ratified. There is a lot of research on this topic online, just google weaknesses of The Articles of Confederation.
5. What were the causes of the War of Independence? The American Revolution began in 1775 as open conflict between the united thirteen colonies and Great Britain. By the Treaty of Paris that ended the war in 1783, the colonies had won their independence. While no one event can be pointed to as the actual cause of the revolution, the war began as a disagreement over the way in which Great Britain treated the colonies versus the way the colonies felt they should be treated. Americans felt they deserved all the rights of Englishmen. The British, on the other hand, felt that the colonies were created to be used in the way that best suited the crown and parliament. This conflict is embodied in one of the rallying cries of the American Revolution: No Taxation Without Representation.
- the American people were strongly independent. They wanted to do things for themselves. Great Britain was a long way away. The American people didn't want people an ocean away telling them how to live their lives.
- the resistance of many Americans to taxes imposed by the British parliament which they held to be unlawful, ---- the main underlying cause was Britain's attempt to tighten imperial control in the economic field by regulating American commerce and industry to suit British interests (by policy of Mercantilism), --English Navigation or Trade Acts required goods to be shipped to and from America, only in English ships, -many goods like tobacco, cotton, sugar could be sold only in England, where they were taxed, -European goods sold to America had to be landed first in England, taxed and then transported in English ships, -Americans were discouraged from manufacturing iron and textiles, which were supplied from England, -Proclamation of 1763
This prohibited settlement beyond the Appalachian Mountains. While Britain did not intend to harm the colonists, many colonists took offense at this order. -The 1765 Stamp Act increased the tension, as colonists to pay a tax (in the form of a stamp) on printed documents, various licenses, and other goods. Colonists rebelled and terrorized British tax collectors. This led to the demand 'No taxation without representation', -Boston Tea Party Angry Bostonians known as the Sons of Liberty boarded a British tea vessel dressed as Indians and dumped all of its tea into Boston Harbor in protest of the Tea tax. This event resulted in the Intolerable Acts. - Intolerable Acts
These were passed in response to the Boston Tea Party and placed restrictions on the colonists including outlawing town meetings and the closing of Boston Harbor. - French and Indian War (1754-1763) Also known as the Seven Years War, this war was fought over conflicting territorial claims between the French and British in the Ohio River Valley. The British victory resulted in virtual expulsion of the French in North America, and ended with the victorious British deeply in debt and demanding more revenue from the colonies. With the defeat of the French, the colonies became less dependent on Britain for protection, - Townshend Acts
These taxes were imposed to help make the colonial officials independent of the colonists and included duties on glass, paper, and tea. Smugglers increased their activities to avoid the tax leading to more troops in Boston.
- Boston Massacre Tension over the presence of British troops in Boston led to the Boston Massacre, the first episode which resulted in the loss of life. Four Bostonians were killed when Redcoats fired into an angry mob, - First Continental Congress | Second Continental Congress With war looming, the Continental Congress was formed for the purposes of drawing consensus within the colonies for action against the growing threat of British occupation. - Currency Act
Parliament argued that colonial currency had caused a devaluation harmful to British trade. They banned American assemblies from issuing paper bills or bills of credit. - Quartering Act (1765)
Britain ordered that colonists were to house and feed British soldiers if necessary.
6. Why was it possible for the United States to prevail in the War of Independence?
American advantages during Revolutionary War:
- strong leaders to get them through the war (George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson)
- Americans had a grand cause: fighting for their rights, their independence and their liberty. This cause is much more just than waging a war to deny independence. American military and political leaders were inexperienced, but proved surprisingly competent.
- Americans knew the land, where to escape or attack and didn’t have to travel back and forth for the supplies that they needed. The British fought a war far from home. Military orders, troops, and supplies sometimes took months to reach their destinations. The geographic vastness of the colonies proved a hindrance to the British effort. Despite occupying every major city, the British remained as at a disadvantage,
- the difference in the fighting strategies. England was still stuck in the old tradition of large armies moving in straight lines forward towards the enemy, which in Europe was usually another large army in straight lines, but in America was a small mobile army hiding behind stone walls and in gullies firing into England’s straight lines. American troops would hit and run, ambush and retreat, and generally wreak havoc on a large slow moving British Army,
- while the British used the Brown Bess musket, the Americans had adopted the rifle, enabling them to shoot farther and with more accuracy,
- They had experience from the French and Indian War which helped to know what they were coming into and what mistakes they made last time,
- They had a widespread acquaintance with firearms,
7. "Saratoga was the turning point of the War of Independence" - evaluate the claim.
The Battle of Saratoga, comprising two significant battles during September and October of 1777, was a crucial victory for the Patriots during the American Revolution and is considered the turning point of the Revolutionary War. The Battle was the impetus for France to enter the war against Britain, re-invigorating Washington’s Continental Army and providing much needed supplies and support.
The Battle of Saratoga was a key turning point during the Revolutionary War because the American victory encouraged the French to become their allies. Not only was having more military help, the French also was able to help monetarily. The French alliance also helped with the final victory, the surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown, Virginia in 1781.The turning point in the Revolutionary War began as a plan by the British to strategically control Upstate New York and isolate New England from the Southern colonies in an effort to decisively put an end to the Revolution. It ended as an opportunity the Patriots were waiting for. British troops led by General John Burgoyne, planned to drive south from Montreal to Albany, NY along the historic water route of Lake Champlain, Lake George and the Hudson River. Once in Albany, they would join forces with two other British commands, one coming north from New York City and the other coming east along the Mohawk River valley.
Moving South Burgoyne’s advance south faltered in the forests near the Lake George area. Colonist troops were felling trees and blocking Burgoyne’s path, slowing the British considerably. By the time Burgoyne reached Fort Edward, they were running low on supplies. A detachment was sent to procure cattle and supplies from nearby Vermont, and were subsequently were over run by Colonist forces, further dwindling Burgoyne’s numbers. Separately, the British that were traveling North from New York City under the command of General Howe, decided to veer from the plan and ‘take’ Philadelphia, which they did, however, Washington’s Continental Army retreated to York and prevented Howe from leaving and joining forces with Burgoyne. In addition, Washington realized that a major battle was shaping up, and sent troops north. He also put the word out that any Militia that could join the troops should. The end result was a large contingent of regular troops and militia gathered in the Saratoga area.
Burgoyne again began his advance south, but was stopped about below Saratoga. The first battle of Saratoga, the Battle of Freeman's Farm, took place on September 19, militia of sharpshooters from Virginia harassed the British, while other colonist forces aggressively charged into battle with them. Burgoyne lost two men for every one on the American side.
The second battle, the Battle of Bemis Heights, occurred on October 7th, when Burgoyne determined to break free from the encircling colonial forces and drive them from the field. The British troops and their German allies were devastated, and nearly lost their entrenched positions. Fighting on horseback, Benedict Arnold, received a wound in his leg during this battle; his contribution to the battle is commemorated by a statue of his boot, with no other reference to the hero turned traitor. This defeat at Bemis Heights forced Burgoyne to withdraw north to camps in and around the present Village of Schuylerville. Burgoyne surrendered on October 17, what would later be named Victory NY, where the Saratoga Monument memorializes that important day. Disgraced, Burgoyne returned to England, and was never given another command. These crucial colonist victories at the Battle of Saratoga persuaded the French to support the Americans with military aid, and is considered the major turning point in the American Revolution.
8. First English settlements in North America - Roanoke, Jamestown, and Plymouth.
Lost Colony, early English settlement on Roanoke Island (now in North Carolina, U.S.), that mysteriously disappeared between the time of its founding (1587) and the return of the expedition’s leader (1590). In hopes of securing permanent trading posts for England, Sir Walter Raleigh had initiated explorations of the islands off present-day North Carolina as early as 1584. Because of tensions with local Native Americans, the first Raleigh-sponsored settlement on Roanoke Islandlasted only a short period (1585–86). The next year approximately 100 settlers under Gov. John Whiteattempted to colonize the same site. White went back to England to get supplies but was delayed by the Spanish Armada. By the time he returned to the island in August 1590, everyone had vanished. The only trace of the “Lost Colony” was the word CROATOAN carved on one tree and the letters CRO on another. The group may have been annihilated by hostile Indians, but there is just as valid speculation that it may have moved among a friendly tribe. In any event, the mystery of the Lost Colony has never been solved.
Jamestown Colony, first permanent English settlement in North America, located near present-day Williamsburg,Virginia. Established on May 14, 1607, the colony gave England its first foothold in the European competition for the New World, which had been dominated by the Spanish since the voyages of Christopher Columbus in the late 15th century. The colony was a private venture, financed and organized by the Virginia Company of London. KingJames I granted a charter to a group of investors for the establishment of the company on April 10, 1606. During this era, “Virginia” was the English name for the entire East Coast of North America north of Florida. The charter gave the company the right to settle anywhere from roughly present-day North Carolina to New York state. The company’s plan was to reward investors by locating gold and silver deposits and by finding a river route to the Pacific Ocean for trade with the Orient.
A contingent of approximately 105 colonists departed England in late December 1606 in three ships—the Susan Constant, the Godspeed, and the Discovery—under the command of Christopher Newport. They reached Chesapeake Bay on April 26, 1607.
After a period of searching for a settlement site, the colonists moored the ships off a peninsula (now an island) in the James River on the night of May 13 and began to unload them on May 14. The settlement, named for James I, was known variously during its existence as James Forte, James Towne, and James Cittie.
The settlement was located within the country of Tsenacommacah, which was administered by the Powhatan Confederacy, and specifically in that of the Paspahegh tribe. The natives initially welcomed and provided crucial provisions and support for the colonists, who were not agriculturally inclined. Relations with the newcomers soured fairly early on, leading to the total annihilation of the Paspahegh in warfare within 3 years. Mortality at Jamestown itself was very high due to disease and starvation, with over 80% of the colonists perishing in 1609-1610 in what became known as the "Starving Time". In 1608, the Virginia Company brought Polish and German colonists to help improve the settlement, as well as the first women. In 1619, the first documented Africans were brought to Jamestown, though the modern conception of slavery in the future United States did not begin in Virginia until 1660. In 1676, the town was deliberately burned during Bacon's Rebellion, though it was quickly rebuilt.
Plymouth, town (township), Plymouth county, southeastern Massachusetts, U.S. It lies on Plymouth Bay, 37 miles (60 km) southeast of Boston. It was the site of the first permanent settlement by Europeans in New England, Plymouth colony, known formally as the colony of New Plymouth. The town was founded by Pilgrims (separatists from the Church of England) who, in their search for religious toleration, had immigrated first to the Netherlands and then to North America. Sailing in the Mayflower from Plymouth, England, the settlers reached the shores of Cape Cod in November 1620, and an exploring party arrived in the Plymouth area on December 21 (now celebrated as Forefathers’ Day). According to tradition, the Pilgrims landed on Plymouth Rock on December 26 and built their first fort and watchtower on Burial Hill (so called because it contains the graves of Governor William Bradford and others of the original group). Half their number died that first winter and were buried on Cole’s Hill, which was later leveled and planted in grain so that the Native Americans could not judge the extent of the colony’s depletion. Although never officially incorporated, the town was recognized in 1633 as the seat of Plymouth colony, which was absorbed into Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1691.
9. Analyze the main stages of the US territorial expansion in the first part of the nineteenth century. (1783-1853)
1. US borders in 1783-NORTH -> St Lawrence River up to the Lake of Woods- SOUTH ->31⁰- WEST -> the Mississippi River
2. Before 1801, 3 states were created:- VERMONT- KENTUCKY- TENNESSEE
3. Land Ordinance of 1785- The Ordinance of 1784 was a resolution written by Thomas Jefferson (delegate from Virginia) calling for Congress to take action. Congress did not have the power to raise revenue by direct taxation of the inhabitants of the United States. Therefore, the immediate goal of the ordinance was to raise money through the sale of land in the largely unmapped territory west of the original states acquired after the end of the Revolutionary War in the 1783 Treaty of Paris.- Over three-fourths of the area of the continental United States ultimately came under the rectangular survey.
4. Northwest Ordinance of 1787- The primary effect of the ordinance was the creation of the Northwest Territory, the first organized territory of the US, from lands south of the Great Lakes, north and west of the Ohio River, and east of the Mississippi River.- Planned 3-5 new states in the northwest and uniform procedures for their creation and admission:- territory had a governor and 3 judges- as soon as 5.000 adult men lived in the territory, voters could approve a temporary constitution and bicameral legislative- when total population reached 60.000, voters could ratify a state constitution, which Congress would have to approve before granting statehood- Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin
5. Spanish Cession of 1800 (San Ildefonso Treaty)- Spain ceded to France all the territories in the West between the Mississippi River and Rocky Mountains- Spain, being under the pressure of Napoleon returned the colonial territory of Louisiana to France
6. Napoleon’s colonial plans- 1803 Louisiana Purchase,- the purchase of the territory of Louisiana took place during the presidency of Thomas Jefferson. At the time, the purchase faced domestic opposition because it was thought to be unconstitutional. Although he agreed that the U.S. Constitution did not contain provisions for acquiring territory, Jefferson decided to go ahead with the purchase anyway in order to remove France's presence in the region and to protect both U.S. trade access to the port of New Orleans and free passage on the Mississippi River; it doubled the US territory; $15 mln
7. Lewis & Clark Expedition 1804-06- Also known as the Corps of Discovery Expedition, was the first American expedition to cross what is now the western portion of the United States, departing in May, 1804 from St. Louis on the Mississippi River, making their way westward through the continental divide to the Pacific coast.- The expedition was commissioned by President Thomas Jefferson shortly after the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, consisting of a select group of U.S. Army volunteers.- The primary objective was to explore and map the newly acquired territory, find a practical route across the Western half of the continent, and establish an American presence in this territory before Britain and other European powers tried to claim it.- The campaign's secondary objectives were scientific and economic: to study the area's plants, animal life, and geography, and establish trade with local Indian tribes. With maps, sketches and journals in hand, the expedition returned to St. Louis to report their findings to Jefferson.
8. East & West Florida 1810-19-
Between 1810-18 the US slowly had gained control over West Florida- 1819 the Adams-Onis Treaty (Transcontinental Treaty) :- An agreement between the United States and Spain in 1819 that gave Florida to the U.S. and set out a boundary between the U.S. and New Spain (now Mexico). It settled a standing border dispute between the two countries and was considered a triumph of American diplomacy. It came in the midst of increasing tensions related to Spain's territorial boundaries in North America vs. the United States and United Kingdom in the aftermath of the American Revolution; and also, during the Latin American Wars of Independence.- In addition to ceding Florida to the United States, the treaty settled (as between Spain and the national Government of the US) a boundary dispute along the Sabine River in Texas; it firmly established the boundary of U.S. territory and claims through the Rocky Mountains and west to the Pacific Ocean, in exchange for the U.S.
9. Russian treaties pretreating Alaska 1824-25
10. Fifty Four Forty or Fight!-
A dispute over ‘Country of Oregon’ (the entire area west of Rockies) between the US and GB
The treaty of 1846 provided for a decision of division of Oregon at the 49 parallel, extending the border line of 1818 of the Pacific- Britain retained all of Vancouver Island and navigation rights of the Columbia River
11. Texas- 1821, Moses Austin is granted the right to settle 200 families in Texas, Spain colony- 1822, first American settlement of Stephen F. Austin in ‘Coahuila Texas’- 1835, 20.000 Americans vs 5.000 Mexicans- 1836, Texas declared independence, responding to a new restricting policy instituted by Mexican president A. Lopez de Santa Anna
Texan fight for independence: Mexican army (under Lopez) invades Texas in 1835à 1836 massacres of Alamo and Goliadà September 1836, the Battle of San Jacinto, Texans victorious à until 1845 Texas is an independent state à 1845, Texas admitted to the Union (1 mln sq km)Sam Huston- president of the Texas Republic
12. Manifest Destiny- an ideology that Americans have special mission to civilize western territory; Joh-n O’Sulivan 1846
13. The Mexican-American War 1846-48- Mexican cession, Treaty of Guadeloupe Hildago 2Feb1848- Mexico ‘sold’ 55% of its territory
14. The California Gold Rush 1848-55- Sacramento Valley- 1850, California joins the Union
15. Gadsen (US ambassador to Mexico) Purchase 1853- 77.000 sq km for $10mln- Plan to construct a section of transcontinental railroad through the Mesilla Valley (1881)
10. Analyze the role of the Manifest destiny in "non-colonial, nonetheless imperial policy of the United States"
-“Manifest Destiny” became first and foremost a call and justification for an American form of imperialism, and neatly summarized the goals of the Mexican War. It claimed that America had a destiny, manifest, i.e., self-evident, from God to occupy the North American continent south of Canada (it also claimed the right to the Oregon territory including the Canadian portion). “Manifest Destiny” was also clearly a racial doctrine of white supremacy that granted no native American or nonwhite claims to any permanent possession of the lands on the North American continent and justified white American expropriation of Indian lands. (“Manifest Destiny” was also a key slogan deployed in the United States’ imperial ventures in the 1890s and early years of the twentieth century that led to U.S. possession or control of Hawaii and the Philippine Islands.)
- But Manifest Destiny was not simply a cloak for American imperialism and a justification for America’s territorial ambitions. It also was firmly anchored in a long standing and deep sense of a special and unique American Destiny, the belief that America is a nation called to a special destiny by God.
11. Slave resistance in the Antebellum South
a) Slaves resisted their treatment in innumerable ways:
- slowed down their work pace
- disabled machinery
- faked sickness
- destroyed crops
- argued and fought with their masters and overseers
- stole livestock, other food, or valuables
- learned to read and write, a practice forbidden by law
- burned forests and buildings
- killed their masters outright -- some by using weapons, others by putting poison in their food
- slaves committed suicide or mutilated themselves to ruin their property value - thousands of slaves ran away
- others formed maroon communities in mountains, forests or swamps
- many escaped to the North
- by fooling the master or overseer with their behavior, they resisted additional ill treatment
Rebellions
Stono Rebellion (1739)
-Largest slave revolt in the 13 colonies
-Began Sunday, Sept. 9, 1739
-Slaves raided Hutchenson's warehouse
-Marched toward St. Agustine (Florida)
-About 100 slaves involved
-Rallied and killed within a week
-At least 50 additional rebel slaves executed in South Carolina
The New York City Conspiracy (1741)
-1,700 blacks living in a city of 7000 people
-Fires erupted in NYC, New Jersey and on Long Island; Fort George burned to the ground
-Slaves accused (with Catholics)
-After the investigation 30 blacks and 4 whites executed
-70 blacks exiled to Newfoundland, Madeira, Saint-Domingue (Haiti)
Gabriel's Conspiracy (1800)
a) Gabriel – born on the Prosser plantation in 1776
-A skilled, literate blacksmith
-Inspired by French revolution
-Conspiracy spread from Prosser to Richmond and other towns
b)- Conspirators planned to take governor James Monroe hostage
-Rising planned for August 30
-Thunderstorms stopped the plan
-Gabriel betrayed
-25 blacks executed; Gabriel hanged alone
German Coast Uprising (1811)
-Began January 8 near New Orleans
-Led by Charles Deslondes, a mulatto slave
-About 25 slaves attacked Andry plantation's owner and his family
-Owner's son was killed but the master escaped
-Slaves stole weapons and uniforms from the local militia warehouse
-Rebels marched on New Orleans
-Slave army consisted of c.125 soldiers
-Wade Hampton with 30 US Army soldiers and militia suppressed the rising
-Battle fought 20 miles from New Orleans
-Slaves ran out of ammunition
-20 slaves killed, 50 taken prisoners, the rest fled
-100 survivors executed
Nat Turner's Rebellion (1831)
-Broke out on August 22, 1831 in Southampton County, Virginia
-Led by Nat Turner, who planned it and purchased firearms
-More than 70 slaves took part
-Rebels started to kill slave owners and their families
-About 60 white men, women and children were killed
-White militia and artillery attacked the rebels
-Most were killed but Turner fled
-Captured on Sunday, October 30
-Sentenced to death and executed in November
-His body was defiled
-21 more were hanged; 16 sold away
12. An account of the government of the British colonies in North America in the eighteenth century.
US Government:
Bill of Rights 1791 Philadelphia Convention
Articles of Confederation US Constitution 1787
Articles of Confederation
a) Troubles of the young republic
è Border dispute with Spain over Florida and New Orleans
è Permanent conflict with Great Britain (the border, forts, debts, Crown and Tory (loyalists) property)
è Rebelling Indians
è Weakness of the federal government
è Broad power of state legislatures
è Acute economic crisis (currency problems, high taxes, riots, esp. in New England)
b) Shays’s Rebellion (1786-87) – Daniel Shays – a patriot, former militia captain in the Revolution; the rebellion – a final proof that a stable, strong federal government is needed
U.S. Constitution
a) James Madison – considered the main author of the document
Main principles: - to enable the government to control the governed
- To oblige the government to control itself (different branches control one another)
b) Significance of the Constitution
è The oldest written constitution on the world (17th Sept. 1787)
è Republican, but at the same time conservative
è Efficient (over 200 years)
c) Fear of:
-democracy – mob rule the ideal government was to
-tyranny find balance
The Philadelphia Convention (1787)
a) By 1786, Americans recognized that the Articles of Confederation had to be modified. The Articles gave Congress virtually no power to regulate domestic affairs (no power to tax, no power to regulate commerce)
b) The main business of the Convention: presenting and defending a plan for new structure of government (called ‘the Virginia Plan)
c) Participants of the Convention:
-55 delegates from 12 states of the Union, among them Washington, Hamilton, Franklin and Madison
-Well-to-do gentlemen
-30-50 years of age
-34 lawyers or judges
-7 state governors
-19 slave owners
The Virginia Plan (James Madison)
a) Establishment of a strong central government rather than a federation of states
b) Bicameral legislature and fixed representation in both houses of Congress, proportionally to each state’s population
c) Congress to have virtually unrestricted rights of legislation and taxation; the power to veto any state law, and authority to use military force against the states
d) The voters would elect the lower house, which would then choose delegates to the upper chamber from nominations submitted by the legislatures. Both houses would jointly name the country’s president and judges
The New Jersey Plan (William Paterson)
a) Confederation and the states’ sovereignty
b) Equal representation/vote/political power of each state in a single-chamber congress
c) Just modification of the Articles of Confederation to empower Congress to raise taxes, regulate interstate commerce, and use military force against the states
The Connecticut Compromise (July 17, 1787)
a) Bicameral Congress
b) Voting in the lower house proportional to each state’s population
c) An equal vote for each state in the upper house
The Philadelphia Convention, The Virginia Plan, the New Jersey Plan and the Connecticut Compromise are the background for the Bill of Rights of 1791
The Bill of Rights
a) the collective name for the first ten amendments to the United States Constitution.
b) Author: James Madison; introduced to the 1st U.S. Congress as a series of legislative articles
c) Proposed to assuage the fears of Anti-Federalists who had opposed Constitutional ratification, these amendments guarantee a number of personal freedoms, limit the government's power in judicial and other proceedings, and reserve some powers to the states and the public.
d) The Amendments:
1.no official religion in the U.S.
2.the right to keep and bear arms
3.restricts the quartering of soldiers in private homes
4.warrants are necessary to search smn or seize their property
5.protects against double-jeopardy and self-incrimination + the right to due process
6. speedy and public trials for the accused & the 6th Am. establishes a number of rights of the defendant in a criminal trial
7. jury trials in federal civil cases that deal with claims of more than twenty dollars, though is not applied to the states
8. forbids the imposition of excessive bails or fines
9. protects rights not specifically enumerated by the Constitution
10. provides no new powers or rights to the states, but rather preserves their authority in all matters not specifically granted to the federal government
13. Westward expansion and the issue of slavery
a) In 1803, President Thomas Jefferson purchased the territory of Louisiana from the French government for $15 million, which doubled the U.S. territory. To Jefferson, westward expansion was the key to the nation’s health: He believed that a republic depended on an independent, virtuous citizenry for its survival, and that independence and virtue went hand in hand with land ownership, especially the ownership of small farms.
b) Westward expansion and slavery
Meanwhile, the question of whether or not slavery would be allowed in the new western states shadowed every conversation about the frontier. In 1820, the Missouri Compromise had attempted to resolve this question: It had admitted Missouri to the union as a slave state and Maine as a free state, preserving the fragile balance in Congress. More important, it had stipulated that in the future, slavery would be prohibited north of the southern boundary of Missouri (the 36º30’ parallel) in the rest of the Louisiana Purchase.
However, the Missouri Compromise did not apply to new territories that were not part of the Louisiana Purchase, and so the issue of slavery continued to fester as the nation expanded. The Southern economy grew increasingly dependent on “King Cotton” and the system of forced labor that sustained it. Meanwhile, more and more Northerners came to believed that the expansion of slavery impinged upon their own liberty, both as citizens–the pro-slavery majority in Congress did not seem to represent their interests. They did not necessarily object to slavery itself, but they resented the way its expansion seemed to interfere with their own economic opportunity.
14. Second Middle Passage
-took place between 1810-1860 as a result of two new industry booms: cotton and sugar in newly created states such as: Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas and Texas
-slaves were forced to march westwards to work on new plantations this was called the Second Middle Passage (Or domestic/internal)
-a term coined by Ira Berlin, The Middle Passage was the stage of the triangular trade in which millions of people from Africa were shipped to the New World as part of the Atlantic slave trade. Second due to the length of this new slave journey, and because so many died on the way, people started to refer to it as the second "middle passage"
15. Compare and contrast colonial slave codes and black codes of the Reconstruction Era.
The main difference is the timing of these codes: slave codes (different states that permitted slavery established their own SLAVE CODES as early as 1712 in South Carolina-1860’s), BLACK CODES: passed after the Civil war by the ex-Confederate states, 1865–66, to deal with the status of the newly freed slaves. Under Black Codes they were also granted basic civil rights: the right to marry, to own personal property, and to sue in court,which was denied under slave codes
Slave code
In U.S. history, law governing the status of slaves, enacted by those colonies or states that permitted slavery. Slaves were considered property rather than persons. They had few legal rights: in court, their testimony was inadmissible in cases involving whites; they could make no contract nor own any property; they could not strike a white person, even if attacked by one; they could not be away from their owner's premises without permission; they could not assemble unless a white person was present; they could not be taught to read or write; and they were not permitted to marry. Offenders were subject to severe punishment, including whipping, branding, imprisonment, and death.
Black codes
In U.S. history, series of statutes passed by the ex-Confederate states, 1865–66, dealing with the status of the newly freed slaves. They varied greatly from state to state as to their harshness and restrictiveness. Although the codes granted certain basic civil rights to blacks (the right to marry, to own personal property, and to sue in court), they also provided for the segregation of public facilities and placed severe restrictions on the freedman's status as a free laborer, his right to own real estate, and his right to testify in court. Although some Northern states had black codes before the Civil War, this did not prevent many northerners from interpreting the codes as an attempt by the South to reenslave blacks.
16. Abolitionism and Underground railroad
Underground Railroad:
-a secret and shifting network of hiding places and routes in the 19th century to help fugitive slaves escape to the North or Canada
-500-1000 slaves yearly, it is estimated that 50,000 slaves escaped to freedom via the underground railroad from 1830-1860, they were aided by abolitionists and allies both black and white
Harriet Tubman-important figure called by some historians the conductor of the underground railroad or Moses(as she led her people out of slavery) was a former escaped slave herself, who risked her life to help around 300 people to freedom as she said about herself: "On my Underground Railroad I [never] run my train off [the] track [and] I never [lost] a passenger."
Abolitionism:
- the first anti-slavery society was organized by the Quakers in 1775, but their fight goes back to the 17th century
-18th century abolitionist propaganda rested primarily on the premise of religion and philanthropy
-leaders of the Quaker Society of Friends, including John Woolman and Anthony Benezet, like the French and British philosophers of the Enlightenment Era, with their views and action significantly contributed to the revival of the debate over the institution of slavery and slave trade
- the first attempts to end slavery in the British/American colonies came from Thomas Jefferson and some of his contemporaries. Despite the fact that Jefferson was a lifelong slaveholder, he included strong anti-slavery language in the original draft of theDeclaration of Independence(1776), but other delegates took it out.
-Benjamin Franklin, also a slaveholder for most of his life, was a leading member of the Pennsylvania Society for the Abolition of Slavery, the first recognized organization for abolitionists in the United States.
-Following the Revolutionary War, Northern states abolished slavery, beginning with the 1777 constitution of Vermont, followed by Pennsylvania's gradual emancipation act in 1780. Other states with more of an economic interest in slaves, such as New York and New Jersey, also passed gradual emancipation laws, but by 1804, all the northern states had abolished it. Some slaves continued in servitude for two more decades but most were freed.
- As President, on March 2, 1807, Jefferson signed the Act Prohibiting Importation of Slaves and it took effect in 1808, which was the earliest allowed under the Constitution. In 1820 he privately supported the Missouri Compromise, believing it would help to end slavery.He left the anti-slavery struggle to younger men after that.
- In the 1850s in the fifteen states constituting the American South, slavery was established legally. While it was fading away in the cities and border states, it remained strong in plantation areas that grew cotton for export, or sugar, tobacco or hemp. By the 1860 United States Census, the slave population in the United States had grown to four million. American abolitionism was based in the North, and white Southerners alleged it fostered slave rebellion.
- The white abolitionist movement in the North was led by social reformers, especially William Lloyd Garrison, founder of the American Anti-Slavery Society; writers such as John Greenleaf Whittier and Harriet Beecher Stowe. Black activists included former slaves such as Frederick Douglass; and free blacks such as the brothers Charles Henry Langston and John Mercer Langston, who helped found the Ohio Anti-Slavery Society. Over 140 Emancipation Societies. Emancipation Papers such as: Freedom’s Journal, Liberator and North Star
- The Republican Party wanted to achieve the gradual extinction of slavery by market forces, for its members believed that free labor was superior to slave labor. Southern leaders said the Republican policy of blocking the expansion of slavery into the West made them second-class citizens, and challenged their autonomy. With the 1860 presidential victory of Abraham Lincoln, seven Deep South states whose economy was based on cotton and slavery decided to secede and form a new nation.
-The American Civil War broke out in April 1861 with the firing on Fort Sumter in South Carolina. When Lincoln called for troops to suppress the rebellion, four more slave states seceded. In 1863, Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, which freed slaves held in the Confederate States; all the border states (except Delaware) began their own emancipation programs. Thousands of slaves escaped to freedom behind Union Army lines, and in 1863 many men started serving as the United States Colored Troops. The 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution took effect in December 1865 and finally ended slavery throughout the United States. It also abolished slavery among the Indian tribes.
17. Causes of the American Civil War
1. Economic and social differences between the North and the South
- 1793 invention of cotton gin leads to the South switching to one crop economy depending heavily on slavery. The North based on industry and city life leading to diversified culture life and openness to other cultures and races. Difference in the social order between the two, with South being backwater and North being more open-minded.
2. States versus federal rights
- states feared federal control and losing their influence. They were for the idea of nullification - the ability of a given state to rule federal laws unconstitutional. When that failed, they moved towards secession
3. Slave versus Non-Slave State supporters
- the problem of whether new states gained from Louisiana Purchase and Mexican-American War should be free or slave states. Missouri Compromise and Compromise of 1850 were able to postpone the war but not prevent it. Bleedng Kansas incident leads up to the Civil War
4. Growth of the Abolition Movement
- North against slavery, outrage concerning the fugitive slave act
5. Election of Abraham Lincoln - before Lincoln took the office, seven states had seceded from the Union
18. The American Civil War on the battlefield, and in diplomacy
North had more resources, better technology and more people. South had better generals. South adopted defensive tactics (their goal was not to conquer North but to defend South against it), North had to defeat the South
Battlefield - two theatres: Eastern and Western Theater of the war
Eastern Theatre:
- outbreak on April 12, 1861. Fort Sumter- Robert E. Lee the commander of Confederate Army in the East.
- Northern generals unable to match his prowess and skill on the battlefield, Lincoln appoints 7, all fail- major battles: Bull Run, Virginia vs Monitor (transition to ironclad ships), Seven Days' Battle, Battle of Antietam Creek (first Union victory in the east), Gettysburg, 1863 (the turning point of the war)
- major events: Emancipation Proclamation, Gettysburg Address
Western Theatre:
- Union focused on control over the Cumberland, Tennessee and Mississippi rivers
- Ulysses S. Grant the commander of Union forces in the West
- Grants initial vitories earn him a promotion to major general
- Battle of Shiloh - one of the bloodiest battles, narrow Union victory
- Fall of New Orleans - control over Mississippi river by Union forces nearly complete, major event of the war
- Siege of Vicksburg, 1863 - success of the Union forces in taking Vicksburg together with Lee's defeat at Gettysburg the turning point of the war
1864 - Grant made Commander of all Union armies
Total war on the South (destroying farms, homes, railroads - utter defeat of the South)
General Sherman of the Union in his "March to the Sea" destroys 20% of the farms in Georgia
Desertion in Confederacy
Decisive victory of the Union in Battle of Five Forks
Confederate capital, Richmond, falls to the black troops of the 25th Corps
Lee surrenders on April 9, 1865. 5 days later, on April 14 Lincoln is shot.
Diplomacy
North tried to prevent the South from getting international support
Northern Blockade
- an attempt by the Union to starve the Confederacy
- successful because of Confederacy's defeats and Union's success in linking the South with slavery- European nations declare neutrality, following Britain's exampleThe Trent Affair
- ship "The Trent" with two Southern diplomats en route to England intercepted by Cpt. Charles Wilkes, U.S. Navy Officer. The officials taken prisoner- strong reaction from Britain. Wilkes' action deemed illegal- to avoid war, the U.S. release prisoners
Cotton diplomacy
- term used to describe the methods used by Confederacy to coerce United Kingdom and France to support the cause by issuing an embargo against Europe which was dependent on the southern cotton for textile manufacturing. The embargo failed and turned into a self-embargo which crippled the South's economy
19. Successes and failures of the Reconstruction Era
Successes:
- reunification of the country
- co-operation in terms of economy between the North and the South (revitalization of the economy)
- emancipation (13th Amendment)
- spread of education in the South
Failures:
- poverty in the South
- growth of Ku Klux Klan
- Jim Crow Laws (segregation)
- sharecropping (blacks still work on lands owned by whites)
20. The US expansionism in the second part of the nineteenth century
Americans used the ideology of Manifest destiny to justify their expansion and spread of their republican and "democratic" (haha) ideas. Also, the Monroe doctrine secured their influence in Western Hemisphere from Europeans.
In the second half of the 19th century the American Frontier spread westward and new Territories were established. The Natives were suppressed, pushed westwards or assimilated in the name of development and spread of civilisation.
Territorial gains:
-in 1845 Republic of Texas was acquired
-in 1846-1848 Mexican-American war led to incorporating New Mexico and California to the USA
-in 1846 the Oregon Treaty was signed between the USA and the UK setting the border at the 49th parallel with the exception of Vancouver Island, which was retained in its entirety by the British.The U.S. portion of the region was organized as Oregon Territory on August 14, 1848, with Washington Territorybeing formed from it in 1853
-in 1867 Alaska was bought from Russians for 7mln dollars in gold (last American purchase on the continent)
The United States emerged as a world economic and military power after 1890. The main episode was the Spanish-American War, which began when Spain refused American demands to reform its oppressive policies in Cuba. The war involved a series of quick American victories on land and at sea. At the Treaty of Paris peace conference the United States acquired the Philippines, Puerto Rico and Guam
Cuba became an independent country, under close American tutelage. Although the war itself was widely popular, the peace terms proved controversial. William Jennings Bryan led his Democratic Party in opposition to control of the Philippines, which he denounced as imperialism unbecoming to American democracy. President William McKinley defended the acquisition and was riding high as the nation had returned to prosperity and felt triumphant in the war.
After defeating an insurrection by nationalists in Philippines, the United States engaged in a large-scale program to modernize the economy of the Philippines and dramatically upgrade the public health facilities. By 1908, however, Americans lost interest in an empire and turned their international attention to the Caribbean, especially the building of the Panama Canal. In 1912 when Arizona became the final mainland state and the American Frontier came to an end. The canal opened in 1914 and increased trade with Japan and the rest of the Far East.
21. The Monroe doctrine. Roosevelt corollary, Lodge corollary.
Monroe Doctrine, (December 2, 1823), cornerstone of U.S. Foreign policy enunciated by President James Monroe in his annual message to Congress. Declaring that the Old World and New World had different systems and must remain distinct spheres, Monroe made four basic points: (1) The United States would not interfere in the internal affairs of or the wars between European powers; (2) the United States recognized and would not interfere with existing colonies and dependencies in the Western Hemisphere; (3) the Western Hemisphere was closed to future colonization; and (4) any attempt by a European power to oppress or control any nation in the Western Hemisphere would be viewed as a hostile act against the United States.
The doctrine was an outgrowth of concern in both England and the United States that the continental powers would attempt to restore Spain’s former colonies, in Latin America, many of which had become newly independent nations. The United States was also concerned about Russia’s territorial ambitions in the northwest coast of North America.
Because the United States was not a major power at the time and because the continental powers apparently had no serious intentions of recolonizing Latin America, Monroe’s policy statement (it was not known as the “Monroe Doctrine” for nearly 30 years) was largely ignored outside the United States.
The United States did not invoke it nor oppose British occupation of the Falkland Islands in 1833 or subsequent British encroachments in Latin America. However, in 1845 and again in 1848, Britain and Spain were warned not to establish footholds in Oregon, California, or Mexico’s Yucatan peninsula. At the conclusion of the Civil War, the United States massed troops on the Rio Grande in support of a demand that France withdraw its puppet kingdom from Mexico.
After 1870 interpretation of the Monroe Doctrine became increasingly broad. As the United States emerged as a world power, the Monroe Doctrine came to define a recognized sphere of influence.
President Theodore Roosevelt added the Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine in 1904; it stated that, in cases of flagrant and chronic wrongdoing by a Latin American nation, the United States could intervene in the internal affairs of that nation. Roosevelt’s assertion of hemispheric police power was designed to preclude violation of the Monroe Doctrine by European countries seeking redress of grievances against unruly or mismanaged Latin American states. It is also called the Big Stick policy.
The Lodge Corollary was a corollary to the Monroe Doctrine proposed by Henry Cabot Lodge and ratified by the Senate in 1912 forbidding any foreign power or foreign interest of any kind from acquiring sufficient territory in the Western Hemisphere so as to put that government in "practical power of control". As Lodge argued, the corollary reaffirmed the basic right of nations to provide for their safety, extending the principles behind the Monroe Doctrine beyond colonialism to include corporate territorial acquisitions as well.
The proposal was a reaction to negotiations between a Japanese syndicate and Mexico for the purchase of a considerable portion of Baja California including a harbor considered to be of strategic value, Magdalena Bay. After the ratification of the Lodge Corollary, Japan disavowed any connection to the syndicate and the deal was never completed.
From the presidency of Theodore Roosevelt to that of Franklin Roosevelt, the United States frequently intervened in Latin America, especially in the Caribbean. Since the 1930s, the United States has attempted to formulate its Latin American foreign policy in consultation with the individual nations of the hemisphere and with the Organization of American States. Yet the United States continues to exercise a proprietary role at times of apparent threat to its national security, and the Western Hemisphere remains a predominantly U.S. Sphere of influence.