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Grade 8 In Grade 8, students study the history of the United States from the early colonial period through Reconstruction. The knowledge and skills in subsection (b) of this section comprise the first part of a two-year study of U.S. history. The second part, comprising U.S. history since Reconstruction to the present, is provided in §113.32 of this title (relating to United States History Studies Since Reconstruction [One Credit]). The content builds upon that from Grade 5 but provides more depth and breadth. Historical content focuses on the political, economic, and social events and issues related to the colonial and revolutionary eras, the creation and ratification of the U.S. Constitution, challenges of the early Republic, westward expansion, sectionalism, Civil War, and Reconstruction. Students describe the physical characteristics of the United States and their impact on population distribution and settlement patterns in the past and present. Students analyze the various economic factors that influenced the development of colonial America and the early years of the Republic and identify the origins of the free enterprise system. Students examine the American beliefs and principles, including limited government, checks and balances, federalism, separation of powers, and individual rights reflected in the U.S. Constitution and other historical documents. Students evaluate the impact of Supreme Court cases and major reform movements of the 19th century and examine the rights and responsibilities of citizens of the United States as well as the importance of effective leadership in a democratic society. Students evaluate the impact of scientific discoveries and technological innovations on the development of the United States. Students use critical-thinking skills, including identifying bias in written, oral, and visual material. To support the teaching of the essential knowledge and skills, the use of a variety of rich primary and secondary source material such as the complete text of the U.S. Constitution and the Declaration of Independence; landmark cases of the U.S. Supreme Court; biographies and autobiographies; novels; speeches, letters, and diaries; and poetry, songs, and artworks is encouraged. Selections may include excerpts from the letters of John and Abigail Adams, an excerpt from the Seneca Falls Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions, and poems of the Civil War era. Motivating resources are also available from museums, historical sites, presidential libraries, and local and state preservation societies. 13th Amendment The 13th Amendment, one of three passed during the era of Reconstruction, freed all slaves without compensation to the slaveowners. President Abraham Lincoln first proposed compensated emancipation as an amendment in December 1862. His Emancipation Proclamation declared slaves free in the Confederate states in rebellion, but it did not extend to border states. After Lincoln’s assassination, President Andrew Johnson declared his own plan for Reconstruction which included the need for Confederate states to approve the 13th Amendment. The amendment, adopted in 1865, eight months after the war ended, legally forbade slavery in the United States. 40 14th Amendment The 14th Amendment is one of three additions to the U.S. Constitution passed during the era of Reconstruction to protect the rights and involvement of citizens in government. It declared that all persons born or naturalized in the United States (except Indians) were citizens, that all citizens were entitled to equal rights regardless of their race, and that their rights were protected at both the state and national levels by due process of the law. Political pressure ensured ratification. In 1866, Congress passed the Civil Rights Bill which extended citizenship to blacks. President Andrew Johnson opposed and vetoed the legislation but Congress overruled Grade 8 his veto and then proposed the 14th Amendment. In 1866, ten of the eleven Confederate states refused to ratify, but the Military Reconstruction Act, passed by Congress on March 2, 1867, required all seceded states to ratify the amendment as a condition of their re-admission into the union. In 1868, the required number of states ratified the 14th Amendment . The amendment did not extend the right to vote to black men, but it encouraged states to allow them to vote by limiting the Congressional representation of any state that did not extend the right. The amendment disappointed women’s rights activists because it equated the right to vote as a male right. Most significantly, the amendment incorporated the “due process clause” as outlined in the 5th Amendment and ensured the protection of citizen’s rights, previously only guaranteed at the national level, at the state level. 15th Amendment The 15th Amendment, one of three amendments to the U.S. Constitution passed during the era of Reconstruction, granted black men the right to vote. The amendment derived from a requirement in the Military Reconstruction Act, passed by Congress on March 2, 1867, that Confederate states, as a condition for readmission into the Union, extend the right to vote to former adult male slaves. Congress eventually sought more stringent means to safeguard the vote for black men by proposing a constitutional amendment in 1869. It was ratified in 1870. Women’s rights activists opposed the amendment because it defined the right to vote as a male right. Thus, gender remained a determining factor in denying women the right to vote in national and state elections until 1920 when the 19th Amendment was ratified. Between 1870 and 1920, a few states including Wyoming did extend the right to vote to women but women could not vote in national elections until after passage of the 19th Amendment. 1607 Representatives of the Virginia Company of London established the first permanent English settlement in North America in 1607. The Virginia Company, a joint-stock company founded by investors in England, called it Jamestown in honor of King James I of England. Several factors encouraged settlement including peace with Spain; willing settlers lured by adventure, markets and the prospect of religious freedom; financial support provided by the Virginia Company; and the company’s assurance that colonists could remain subjects of England. 1776 On June 7, 1776, Richard Henry Lee, the Virginia representative to the Second Continental Congress, moved that “These United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent states. . .” In the hopes of gaining broad colonial and international support, Congress appointed a committee to draft an inspirational document to explain to the world the reasons the colonies were asserting their independence. The committee included Thomas Jefferson who was charged with drafting the document. In it he asked for pro- tection of the “unalienable rights” of humankind in addition to British rights, and listed British actions which prompted the quest for independence. Congress adopted Lee’s motion on July 2, and on July 4, fifty-six representatives from the thirteen original colonies unanimously approved the Declaration of Independence. Six months prior to the official declaration, Thomas Paine published his influential political pamphlet Common Sense. It presented a clear and persuasive argument for independence, and convinced many undecided colonists to support the movement for independence. 1787 Between May 25 and September 17, 1787, delegates gathered in Philadelphia to revise the Articles of Confederation. Instead they drafted, debated, compromised, and finally approved for ratification the Constitution of the United States. It was then sent to the states to adopt or reject based on the votes of delegates to ratification conventions. The debate over ratification continued into 1788 as Federalists and AntiFederalists faced off over issues of states’ rights, human liberties, and governmental authority. Ratification of the new constitution required acceptance by nine of the thirteen states. Delaware was the first state to ratify the Constitution and it was followed by Pennsylvania and New Jersey in 1787. Georgia, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maryland, South Carolina, and New Hampshire ratified it in 1788. The ninth state (New Hampshire) guaranteed that the new United States had a government. Virginia and New York approved the document later in 1788, and North Carolina and Rhode Island adopted it last, in 1789 and 1790, respectively. 1803 The United States, under the leadership of President Thomas Jefferson, acquired the Louisiana Territory in 1803 from Napoleon Bonaparte, ruler of France, for $15 million dollars. The purchase more than doubled the area of the United States. It gave the new nation access to 828,000 square miles of fertile territory and navigable waterways between the Mississippi River and the Rocky Mountains at a cost of approximately three cents per acre. All or parts of 13 states were carved out of the Louisiana Purchase (in order of admission): Louisiana, Missouri, Arkansas, Iowa, Minnesota, Kansas, Nebraska, Colorado, North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, Wyoming, and Oklahoma. 1861-1865 The American Civil War began on April 12, 1861, with the firing on Fort Sumter and ended with the Confederate surrender at Appomattox Court House in early April, 1865. South Carolina, the first state to leave the Union, seceded in 1860, prompted by the election of the Republican presidential candidate Abraham Lincoln. Six more followed in early 1861 (Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana and Texas). They formed the Confederate States of America. 1861: President Lincoln took the oath of office on March 4, 1861 and sought to maintain ties with eight border 41 Grade 8 states which remained with the Union. The Civil War began on April 12 with the firing on Fort Sumter by Confederate troops off the coast of Charleston, South Carolina. Four more states seceded after war was declared: Virginia, Arkansas, North Carolina, and Tennessee. The first battle of the war at Bull Run, near Manassas Junction, Virginia, ended in a Confederate victory due to poor Union generalship. 1862: The Confederacy started to draft soldiers to meet the demand for troops, and the Union followed suit in 1863. The Battle of Antietam, the bloodiest single-day battle of the war, occurred in Maryland on September 17, 1862. Lincoln issued his Emancipation Proclamation on September 23, following the Union victory at Antietam. 1863: From July 1 to 3, 1863, 92,000 Union troops fought 76,000 Confederates at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The fate of the Confederacy was sealed on July 4 with the Union victory at Gettysburg which prevented a Confederate invasion of the North, and a second Union victory at Vicksburg, which ceded control of the Mississippi River to the Union. The war continued for two more years as the South sought independence and Lincoln demanded union. 1864: Ulysses S. Grant, appointed commander of the Union army following Vicksburg, crafted a more aggressive military offensive than previous generals. It included a march of destruction into the heart of the South by General William Tecumseh Sherman and Grant’s own assault on Lee in Virginia. Sherman’s men captured and burned Atlanta in September 1864. Grant’s engagements with Lee involved destructive battles including the Wilderness Campaign and the assault on Cold Harbor. 1865: Union troops captured Richmond and surrounded Lee in April. On Palm Sunday, April 9, 1865, General Robert E. Lee surrendered to General Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House in Virginia. On April 15, 1865, President Lincoln died from an assassin’s bullet and VicePresident Andrew Johnson assumed office. Abolitionist Movement The abolitionist movement began in the Revolutionary era, partially in response to the inhumane treatment of slaves and partially in an effort to remove blacks from white society. The movement in the late 1700s concentrated on freeing the slaves as a humane act. Quakers in Pennsylvania established the first anti-slavery society in the world in 1775. Interest in returning slaves to Africa resulted in the formation of the American Colonization Society in 1817. The Republic of Liberia, established in 1822 on the west coast of Africa, served as a destination for approximately 15,000 slaves freed and returned. However, most slaves considered Africa a foreign culture and sought freedom and a home in America. In the 1830s American abolitionists sought to follow the example set in the West Indies by the British who freed the slaves in 1833. The religious revivals of the Second Great Awakening also inspired abolitionists to speak out against the sin of slavery. Abolitionists published anti-slavery publications including pamphlets and newspapers. Supporters of William Lloyd Garrison, a vocal 42 abolitionist and publisher of the newspaper The Liberator, formed the American Anti-Slavery Society in 1833. African Americans played a key role in the abolitionist movement, most notably Frederick Douglass and Sojourner Truth. Realizing they needed a political voice, abolitionists supported the Liberty Party in 1840, the Free Soil Party in 1848, and the Republican Party in the 1850s. Abolitionists realized their goal with the passage of the 13th Amendment. Absolute and Relative Chronology Absolute chronology depends on knowing the precise date including the day, month and/or year of an event. To sequence events in absolute chronology means to organize them in an order— that is, from oldest to most recent. Relative chronology depends less on specific dates and more on relationships of events. To sequence events, individuals, and time periods, students must understand past, present, and future time. Students must also be able to identify the beginning, middle, and end of an event or story. Students are expected to structure a story, creating their own sequence by developing a topic from its beginning to its conclusion. Students are expected to create and interpret timelines, identify intervals of time, and order events in the sequence of occurrence and in relation to other events. Articles of Confederation The Articles of Confederation, the nation’s first constitution, was adopted by the Second Continental Congress in 1781 during the Revolution. It provided guidance to government for seven years and gave Congress limited authority to make laws and to draw up treaties with other nations. The Articles were limited in providing solutions to many challenges facing the new Republic because the states held most of the power, and Congress lacked the power to tax, regulate trade, or control coinage. In 1787 the Constitutional Convention met in Philadelphia to revise the Articles, but instead the delegates constructed a new constitution. Bessemer Steel Process The Bessemer steel process is the process of removing impurities from iron to make steel. Steel is less brittle and stronger than iron. Industry needed steel but was limited by the small quantity that could be manufactured using traditional methods to remove impurities. In the 1850s, British inventor Henry Bessemer discovered that a blast of hot air directly on melted iron reduced the impurities. As a result, steel manufacturing increased nearly 20 fold during the era of the Industrial Revolution in America. Steel bridges, steel rails for railroads, and the production of automobiles were major technological achievements. Steel reinforcements in skyscrapers aided urbanization, and increased production of household appliances brought steel into the home. Bill of Rights The Bill of Rights is the first ten amendments to the Constitution ratified in 1791. The 1st Amend- Grade 8 ment protects several fundamental rights of U.S. citizens: freedom of religion, of speech, of the press, and the rights to assemble and to petition. The next seven amendments guarantee other freedoms including the right to a fair trial and the right to bear arms. Homes are protected from search without just cause, citizens are protected from the imposition of housing troops during peacetime, and those accused of crimes are entitled to fair treatment before the law. The 9th Amendment guarantees that people retain rights not enumerated in the Constitution and the 10th amendment limits federal power by granting to the states all powers not specifically assigned by the Constitution to the national government. Checks and Balances The U.S. Constitution authorizes each branch of government to share its powers with the other branches and thereby check their activities and power. The President can veto legislation passed by Congress, but Congress can override the veto. The Senate confirms major appointments made by the President, and the courts may declare acts passed by Congress as unconstitutional. Civic Virtue The term “civic” relates to involvement in a community. Citizens of a neighborhood, town, state, or nation have an obligation to be active, peaceful, loyal, and supportive members of that community. Those with civic virtue go a step beyond their obligations by taking an active role in improving the community and the experiences of other members of the community. Civil Disobedience Civil disobedience is the process of defying codes of conduct within a community or ignoring the policies and government of a state or nation when the civil laws are considered unjust. Henry David Thoreau included the essay “Civil Disobedience” in Walden, a collection of his writings. He did not want people to break the law indiscriminately, but he urged people to challenge laws they considered unjust by refusing to obey them. This is called passive resistance. World leaders such as Martin Luther King, Jr. and Mohandas K. Gandhi followed Thoreau’s advice. Blacks boycotted buses in Montgomery, Alabama, in 1956 until the Supreme Court ruled that segregation on buses was illegal. Non-violent protest led to the signing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 which banned discrimination. Declaration of Independence The Declaration of Independence is a document adopted by the Second Continental Congress on July 4, 1776. It established the 13 colonies as independent states, free from rule by Great Britain. The committee appointed to write the Declaration of Independence included Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, Roger Sherman, Robert Livingston, and Thomas Jefferson. Thomas Jefferson wrote the majority of the declaration. In the Preamble, Jefferson explained that it was necessary to list the reasons why the colonies sought their own govern- ment. In three sections, Jefferson outlined the reasons: people have the right to control their own government; the British government and King used their power unjustly to control the colonies; and the colonies had tried to avoid separating from Britain, but Britain refused to cooperate. The most famous passage concerns the right to govern: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among men, deriving their just power from the consent of the governed. That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government. . . “ Dred Scott v. Sandford Dred Scott v. Sandford was a landmark Supreme Court case in 1857 which confirmed the status of slaves as property rather than citizens. Chief Justice Roger Taney wrote that a slave could not be heard in federal courts because he was not a citizen and had no protection under the Constitution. Also, Congress had no authority over slavery in the territories, and upon statehood, each territory would determine whether it would be a slave state or a free state. Emancipation Proclamation Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on September 22, 1862, to go into effect on January 1, 1863. It declared that all slaves in the rebellious Confederate states would be free. These included slaves in Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas. Following the proclamation, many slaves in these states walked away from plantations and sought the protection of Union forces. The proclamation did not apply to slaves living in border states or to areas in the South occupied by federal troops. As Union troops moved into new areas of the Confederacy, slaves in those areas would be freed. All slaves were not freed until the ratification of the 13th Amendment in 1865. English Bill of Rights In 1689, King William and Queen Mary accepted the English Bill of Rights which guaranteed certain rights to English citizens and declared that elections for Parliament would happen frequently. The document followed the Glorious Revolution in which the English people forced absolute monarch James II to leave the country. William and Mary then assumed rule. By agreeing to the English Bill of Rights, they supported a limited monarchy, a system in which they shared their power with Parliament and the people, and did not have absolute power as James II had sought. The influence of the English Bill of Rights can be seen in the Bill of Rights to the U.S. Constitution. 43 Grade 8 Federalism Federalism is the distribution of power between a federal government and the states within a union. Federalist Papers After the delegates to the Philadelphia Convention finished writing the U.S. Constitution, each state elected delegates to a ratification convention. Ratification was required by nine of the 13 states in order for the constitution to take effect. People were divided over issues regarding the extent of power of the Constitution, the degree to which the rights of states were protected, and the degree to which the rights of citizens were protected. Those favoring the new form of government, which divided power between a strong central government and the states, were called Federalists. Those seeking greater power for states were called Anti-Federalists. In an effort to sway opinion and get the Constitution approved, three leading Federalists wrote a series of 85 essays which explained the new government and the division of power. Published as The Federalist, the series was written by James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay. For instance, The Federalist, No. 10 (1787) defines the republican form of government which Federalists envisioned and the process of electing representatives to Congress. Federalists and Anti-Federalists The adoption of the U.S. Constitution was not an easy process. Citizens disagreed over the way the document divided power between the states and the national government, the degree to which the rights of states were protected, and the degree to which the rights of citizens were protected. Those favoring ratification of the Constitution and adoption of the federalist form of government were called Federalists. Those opposed to the Constitution because they feared the power of the national government in the new federal system were called Anti-Federalists. Anti-Federalists were also concerned that if the national government could overrule state decisions, the protection of the liberty of individuals would be at risk. Patrick Henry and George Mason were leading Anti-Federalists. Henry was so opposed to the process that he did not even attend the convention which drafted the Constitution. Thomas Jefferson favored some aspects of the Constitution but was concerned about the lack of protection for the rights of states and the absence of support for individual rights. He supported the inclusion of a Bill of Rights. In an effort to sway opinion and get the Constitution ratified, three leading Federalists — James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay — published their views in The Federalist , a series of 85 newspaper essays which have become a classic of American political thought. First and Second Great Awakenings The Great Awakening occurred in the 1730s and 1740s in response to inflexible Puritan doctrine. A lay ministry developed which preached personal salvation by good works in contrast to 44 predestination as preached by Puritans. Others, led by Jonathan Edwards, urged believers to develop a personal relationship with God to gain their personal salvation. Ministers spread the word through revival meetings. Hundreds were “saved” and declared their trust in God without needing the clergy to channel their prayers. The Great Awakening revitalized American religion by adding emotion. Missionary work developed in an effort to spread salvation to Indians and slaves. In the early 1800s, the second Great Awakening erupted as those favoring the personal and emotional approach associated with evangelical faiths conflicted with those seeking more rational beliefs. The second Great Awakening reinvigorated church membership and furthered humanitarian efforts including abolitionism, prison reform, the temperance movement, and women’s suffrage. More people participated in it than in the first Great Awakening, meeting outdoors under open tents to hear emotional preachers who “rode the circuit” promoting personal conversion. These camp meetings contributed to numerous conversions and vows to change wayward behavior. Membership in Baptist and Methodist churches increased most significantly. Founding Fathers The term founding fathers applies to those individuals who played a major role in declaring U.S. independence, fighting the Revolutionary War, or writing and adopting the U.S. Constitution. Founding fathers include Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, and James Madison. Free Blacks Although they were free, African Americans in the North were victims of discrimination. They were denied the right to vote, to serve on juries, to be educated, to worship freely, and to have access to public lands. In the South, most free African Americans were descendants of slaves freed during and after the American Revolution. Others purchased their freedom, but all were denied basic rights. Despite discrimination in both the North and the South, many free blacks distinguished themselves in various areas of endeavor. Many of those who gained success risked their lives and income to combat slavery. Free Enterprise System A free enterprise system is an economic system in which individuals depend on supply and demand and the profit margin to determine the answers to the four basic economic questions of “what to produce,” “how to produce,” “how many to produce,” and “for whom to produce.” Profit is an improved situation, usually measured in dollars. The quest for improvement financially and materially motivates producers and consumers in the free enterprise system. Government regulation is kept to a minimum. Competition between companies makes it more difficult to answer the questions of what and how much to produce and for whom, but it does make it harder for one company to monopolize the market. Grade 8 French and Indian War The French and Indian War was a struggle between the British and the French in the colonies of North America. It was part of a worldwide war known as the Seven Years’ War (1756-1763). In the colonies, the British sought control of territory to the west of the established colonies, particularly the Ohio River Valley. The first battle was fought in July 1754 at Fort Necessity, a stockade constructed by George Washington and his troops near the headwaters of the Ohio River near present day Pittsburgh. The French held several advantages including control of more western territory, a single colonial government, a professional army well provisioned in place in their territory, and an alliance with the Huron and Algonquin Indians. The British also had several advantages. More British lived in the colonies, the British territory had a better strategic position and was easier to defend, and most of the colonists were willing to fight to preserve their independence from France. The British pushed France into Canada and defeated them at Quebec and Montreal. The Seven Years’ War officially ended with the Treaty of Paris which gave the British all lands east of the Mississippi River except New Orleans, including the St. Lawrence Valley, the Great Lakes, and the Ohio River Valley. Thus the British secured the major water routes into the interior North American continent. Fundamental Orders of Connecticut The Fundamental Orders of Connecticut was the first written constitution in the American colonies, and was prepared as the covenant for the new Puritan community in Connecticut established in the 1630s. It established a precedent for written constitutions in the colonies. To the Puritans, a covenant was an agreement with God to build a holy society. Those who moved to Connecticut from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts carried with them the tradition of the commonwealth, a community of people who worked together for the good of the whole. The Fundamental Orders described a system of government for the new community. Generalizations Generalizations are statements about relationships between and among concepts. They organize and summarize information obtained from the analysis of facts. A generalization is usually a broad assertion that something is always true. A fact, on the other hand, is a truth only about a particular incident or case. Here is a generalization: The nature of democracy in the United States continually evolves as society grows and changes. Here is a fact which supports it: Women received the right to vote in 1924. Geographic Distributions and Patterns Geographers are interested in the location of things on Earth, that is, where things are located, how they are distributed, and what relationships exist between things separated by distance. Sometimes things are distributed randomly across the surface of Earth. Other times a pattern is apparent in the distribution which helps us to understand the forces that af- fect distribution. Consider the location of key industries, cities, types of agriculture—all of these things are distributed (located) somewhere and show a pattern. Industries are located near resources or near markets. Cities are often located at vital transportation crossroads. The types of crops grown depend upon physical conditions as well as access to markets and transportation. Noting distribution and pattern helps us to understand why things are where they are. Gettysburg Address On November 19, 1863, during the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln traveled to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, to dedicate a national cemetery at the site of the Battle of Gettysburg. Three sentences excerpted from his short speech capture the spirit of liberty and morality ideally held by citizens of a democracy. That ideal was threatened by the Civil War. Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. . . . . . . It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us—that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion—that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain—that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth. Gibbons v. Ogden In Gibbons v. Ogden (1824), Chief Justice John Marshall of the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Constitution gave control of interstate commerce to the U.S. Congress, not the individual states through which a route passed. The ruling responded to an effort by the state of New York to accept a monopoly to operate steam boat traffic between New York and New Jersey. Individual Rights Many opposed the Constitution in 1787 because they believed it did not offer adequate protection of individual rights. The Bill of Rights, ratified in 1791, were created to correct this. The individual rights protected in the Bill of Rights include economic rights related to property, political rights related to freedom of speech and press, and personal rights related to bearing arms and maintaining private residences. The structure of the U.S. Constitution allows for adaptation based on changing public opinion and the need to protect individual rights. For instance, debates over the institution of slavery raised concerns about property and property protection afforded by the U.S. Constitution. In the decision Dred Scott v. Sandford, the Supreme Court ruled that slaves were property and that the Missouri Compromise, 45 Grade 8 which prohibited slavery in certain parts of the United States, was unconstitutional in that it deprived people of property, their slaves. As public opinion changed, voters amended the Constitution to free slaves, to protect their rights, and to extend their right to vote. Industrial Revolution New sources of power including the steam engine freed manufacturers to experiment with new ways to make products. Steam power was more reliable than water power and allowed expansion of machine production. A period of rapid industrial growth resulted, starting in Britain in the 1700s and then spreading around the world as more countries adopted mass production. Handmade goods were quickly replaced by less expensive machine-made goods. The production of cloth by machines revolutionized the textile industry. It also changed the nature of supply because more goods were produced faster and cheaper, the nature of demand because the product was more affordable, and the nature of work. Factory laborers replaced craftsmen and home production. The expansion of mechanized production in the United States began after the Civil War and peaked in the 1920s just before the Great Depression. This is considered a second Industrial Revolution. The demand for raw materials and labor to maintain production led to exploitation of the natural environment and of workers. Judicial Review The three branches of government — legislative, executive and judicial —were established to balance power, but the U.S. Constitution is the supreme law. The judicial branch is responsible for interpreting and applying laws and ensuring that they are constitutional. In the early 1800s the Supreme Court established the principle of judicial review. Acting within the powers of Article III, the judicial branch strengthened federal authority over state and private authority when the issue threatened rights established in the Constitution. Chief Justice John Marshall ruled in Marbury v. Madison (1803) that a law passed by Congress in 1789 was unconstitutional. Marshall stressed that “the Constitution is superior to any ordinary act of legislature. . . and must govern.” heavy taxation to pay a large national debt. Members of the nobility, the archbishop of Canterbury, and the Earl of Pembroke forced King John to sign the Magna Carta in 1215. It declared that the king and government were bound by the same law as other citizens of England. It contained the antecedents of the ideas of due process of law and the right to a fair and speedy trial that are included in the protection offered by the U.S. Bill of Rights. The English viewed it as a guarantee of law and justice. Manifest Destiny Manifest destiny was a popular expression in the 1840s. Many believed that the United States was destined to secure territory from “sea to sea,” from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean. This rationale drove the acquisition of territory in the 1840s as President James K. Polk attempted to declare the parallel of 54°40' as the northern boundary of the United States. Britain initially refused, but the nations compromised in 1846 and the United States acquired the Oregon territory. The United States also secured a vast territory in the southwest following the Mexican War in 1848. Mexico ceded all claims north of the Rio Grande which included present-day states of California, Nevada, Utah, and parts of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Wyoming. Marbury v. Madison Marbury v. Madison was the first judgment by the Supreme Court which supported the federal system of government. In 1803, Chief Justice John Marshall, a Federalist, upheld and strengthened the authority of the federal judiciary. He established the principle of judicial review, the power of the judiciary to determine that a law can be declared unconstitutional. Mayflower Compact The Mayflower Compact was drafted in 1620 prior to settlement by the Pilgrims at Plymouth Bay in Massachusetts. It declared that the 41 males who signed it agreed to accept majority rule and participate in a government in the best interest of all members of the colony. While not a constitution, the agreement set the precedent for later documents outlining commonwealth rule. Settlers quickly established town meetings as a forum to develop their own laws, a positive step toward self-rule. Limited Government In a limited government everyone, including all authority figures, must obey the laws. Constitutions, statements of rights, or other laws define the limits of those in power so they cannot take advantage of their elected, appointed, or inherited positions. In an unlimited government, control is placed solely with the ruler and his/her appointees, and there are no limits imposed on his/ her authority. Magna Carta The Magna Carta is the cornerstone of English justice and law. King John, who ruled between 1199 and 1216 AD, angered the English nobility and commoners alike by his lack of military prowess and his 46 McCulloch v. Maryland In 1819, Chief Justice John Marshall continued to define the limits of the U. S. Constitution and of the authority of the federal and state governments. Maryland was opposed to the establishment of a national bank and challenged the authority of the federal government to establish one. The Supreme Court ruled that the power of the federal government was supreme over that of the states and that the states could not interfere. This decision supported the concept that the Constitution was the supreme law of the land. Grade 8 Mercantilism Mercantilism is an economic theory which states that a nation’s wealth is based on the amount of gold and silver bullion in its treasury. The theory drove economic exchange throughout Europe between the 16th and 18th centuries. Nations accumulated wealth in several ways. Explorers sought gold and silver deposits which they could mine. Trade offered another method to accumulate the bullion (gold or silver formed into bars, ingots, or plates). Generating revenue through trade depended on maintaining a favorable balance, that is, exporting more than a nation imported. In a mercantilist system, government played a central role in regulating trade by imposing restrictions on trade. As the production of goods for exchange increased, governments took a more active role in industrial development. New crafts and trades provided work for the idle and lined the pockets of mercantilists who made money by importing raw products and exporting finished goods at significantly higher costs. Those who sought to participate in trade and industry needed government backing to succeed, especially in the oceanic trade. The East India Company was founded in 1600 by the English government and merchants intent on trading with the East. The American colonies contributed to the English, French, and Spanish mercantilist systems by providing raw products and markets for manufactured goods. The Spanish sought to control the gold and silver supplies held by Native American civilizations in Mexico and Peru; the fur trade in North America resulted in significant revenue for French mercantilists; and settlement benefited English manufacturers who sold finished products to colonists. Buying from a colony enabled the mother country to keep bullion within the empire. Mercantilism was attacked by Adam Smith and others who supported laissez faire (“let them do as they see fit”) exchange. This new economic theory opposed regulation by the “visible hand” of government and instead viewed commerce as driven by the invisible hand of personal initiative. Monroe Doctrine The Monroe Doctrine was a statement of foreign policy which proclaimed that Europe should not interfere in affairs within the United States or in the development of other countries in the Western Hemisphere, and that the United States would not interfere in European affairs. These ideas, formulated by Secretary of State John Quincy Adams and President James Monroe, were presented in 1823 in response to problems facing the nation: Russian claims to the northwest coast and threats to the independence of Spanish-American republics in Latin America. The doctrine reflected growing American nationalism and increased emphasis on internal improvements which reduced the interest in participating in international affairs. President James K. Polk revived the doctrine in 1845, and it continued as an important part of national ideology into the 20th century. Naturalized Citizen A naturalized citizen is a person of foreign birth who is granted full citizenship. Northwest Ordinance Enacted in 1787, the Northwest Ordinance is considered one of the most significant achievements of the Articles of Confederation. It established a system for setting up governments in the western territories so they could eventually join the Union on an equal footing with the original 13 states. This ordinance referred to the Northwest Territory, an area bounded by the Ohio River, the Mississippi River, and the Great Lakes and included present-day Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, and parts of Minnesota. When the territory opened, a governor and three judges were appointed by Congress. After 5,000 adult males moved to the area, they could elect an assembly and send a nonvoting delegate to Congress although the governor retained veto power over the assembly. When 60,000 persons moved into one of the political subdivisions, that area could draft a constitution, submit it to Congress for approval, and become a state. Its constitution had to provide for a representative government, and it had to prohibit slavery. Nullification Crisis In 1828, Congress approved a high tariff to protect U.S. interests from competition from foreign trade. This angered Southerners who dealt directly with merchants in Britain. The planters favored freedom of trade and believed in the authority of their states over the federal government. In 1832 Congress passed a lower but still protective tariff. Angered South Carolinians, led by Senator John C. Calhoun, declared the federal tariff null and void within its borders. Delegates to a special convention urged the state legislature to take military action and to secede from the union if the federal government demanded the customs duties. To prevent a civil war, Henry Clay, senator from Kentucky, proposed the compromise Tariff of 1833 which gradually reduced the protective tariff over ten years. Southerners accepted the measure but Northerners countered with the Force Bill which authorized the president to use the army and navy to collect the duties. The nullifiers repealed the ordinance of nullification but accomplished their goal of reducing the tariff. Philadelphia Convention of 1787 The Philadelphia Convention of 1787 met “for the sole and express purpose of revising the Articles of Confederation.” Fifty-five delegates representing all states except Rhode Island worked to reorganize the government in the new republic. The Convention met in closed session in the Pennsylvania State House, now Independence Hall, from May 25 through September 17. One of their first decisions was to scrap the Articles of Confederation and create a new plan of government. Of the 55 delegates, 39 signed the document they created, the U.S. Constitution. 47 Grade 8 Physical and Human Characteristics Physical characteristics of places include landforms and soils, bodies and sources of water, vegetation, climate and weather patterns, and animal life. Human characteristics of places include the language, religion, political systems, economic systems, population distribution, ethnicity, age, and standards of living. Physical and Human Characteristics of Places Physical characteristics of places describe natural phenomena such as climate, soil, plants, animals, and topography (landforms). Human characteristics of places include items such as language, religion, ethnicity, architecture, forms of recreation, daily schedule, food, how people earn a living, how they govern themselves, family structure, and standard of living. Physical and Human Factors Several factors may influence ongoing development and events in history. Physical factors relate to the physical characteristics of a place such as climate, weather, and landforms. These lead to events, such as tornadoes, hurricanes, or droughts, which influence the chain of events constituting Texas history. Physical factors also influence development. Most early settlement in Texas concentrated in the eastern portion of the state because the soils, climate, and vegetation compared favorably to other parts of the South from which most settlers migrated. Transportation routes developed to link settlements which evolved into cities. Human factors relate to the human characteristics of a place. These also play a role in Texas history. As population pressures in the eastern portion of the state increased, settlement moved west. As technology improved, settlers in the western plains began to irrigate their crop land and the area’s economy developed around cotton-based agriculture. This is one way human factors influence development by modifying the environment. Plantation System The plantation system is a system of agricultural production based on large-scale land ownership and the exploitation of labor and the environment. Production is usually concentrated on a cash crop which is sought by a national or international market. For instance, the plantation system of agriculture developed in the southern United States as landowners concentrated their capital in slaves and produced tobacco, rice, sugar and cotton for the world market. Plantation agriculture continues today in tropical areas around the world with the following cash crops: tea, rubber, coffee, sugar cane, and cocoa. Points of View of Political Parties Several factors contributed to the division of political activity in the United States into a party system. Parties reflect different points of view regarding structures of governance, economics and national finance, political representation, and rights and responsibilities of individuals, states, and the nation. 48 Politically active people with competing interests, opinions, and attitudes united under party names to argue their causes. In the 1830s party platforms were published and public debates developed to inform voters of the goals and objectives proposed by each party. The Anti-Masonic party held the first national convention in 1831. Republicanism and constitutional democracy require representation of different points of view and involvement of different interest groups. The Constitution resulted from rigorous debate between those favoring a strong central government and those favoring a union of sovereign states. Those favoring a centralized government also believed in classical republicanism, with power vested in representatives who were fit to lead due to their wealth and education. This contrasted to opinions held by states’ rights advocates who believed in popular or mass participation in government. Tension continued between these factions and resulted in threats to nullify national laws or to secede from the union. The authority of the federal government was re-enforced during the Civil War when President Abraham Lincoln, a Republican, accepted nothing less than full compliance with national causes on the part of the largely Democratic south. Special interest groups often function within the two-party system. This increased during the Progressive Movement on the local and state levels in the 1890s to 1900s, and on the national and international levels in the 1910s and 1920s. Differing points of view also result in the formation of third-parties, the Anti-Masons, the Populists, the Socialists, and the Liberal Party to name a few. Points of View, Frames of Reference, and Historical Context Historians and social scientists strive to understand what happened in the past but are often limited by incomplete evidence. To analyze available sources they identify the different interests, opinions, and attitudes reflected in the evidence (points of view) and understand the vantage point of those who created the evidence (frames of reference). Then they place the people and events in historical context, relating them to other events and ideas which occurred at the same time. By doing so, students gain a greater understanding of what happened and how it relates to current events. For instance, the Constitution reflects conflicting agendas of special interest groups. Described by many as a document which furthered democracy, others argued that it hindered it. The first ten amendments, the Bill of Rights, were added later to satisfy those interested in protecting the people from the powers of a strong central government. The Federalist and Anti-Federalist debates at ratification provide further evidence of conflicting points of view which contributed to the U.S. Constitution as it exists today. Any explanation of the significance of the Constitution and its heritage remains incomplete if the points of view which cause differences of opinion are not understood and acknowledged. The farmer in Massachusetts had an opinion about the Constitution as did the planter of Virginia and the mer- Grade 8 chant in Charleston, South Carolina. The information each acquired differed based on their participation in the drafting and ratification of the Constitution. Just as the perception of a football player on the line of scrimmage differs from that of the referee and of the fan sitting in the bleachers, the frame of reference of James Madison and other pro-Constitution delegates differed from those of the Anti-Federalists who fought it. Historians and other social scientists also have a frame of reference, one based in the present, and informed by new approaches and methods. They analyze the available evidence by sorting through it, prioritizing it, distinguishing important information from the less important, and interpreting it. Thus, interpretations of one event change over time, partially due to new ways to look at old sources. New sources also contribute to new understandings. Popular Sovereignty Popular sovereignty is the concept that political power rests with the people who can create, alter, and abolish government. People express themselves through voting and free participation in government. Popular sovereignty is an important characteristic of democratic government. Primary Sources Primary sources are evidence produced by someone who participated in an event or lived during the time being studied. Letters written to a friend or maps to a friend’s house are both primary sources. Researchers collect primary sources through conducting surveys, field work, personal interviews, and research in archives. Protective Tariff A protective tariff is a tax on an imported product instituted to protect local industries. The tax increases the price of the import which makes it less appealing to consumers. Tariffs ultimately protect domestic products from competition from other countries. Radical Reconstruction Congress After the Civil War, Radical Republicans favored harsh treatment of the South and quick incorporation of the freemen into citizenship with full privileges including voting rights for all African Americans, government seizure of land from planters for redistribution to freedmen, and funding of schools for African Americans. They also agreed that ex-Confederates were traitors and should not be readily accepted into the union. Even though Radical Republicans were a minority in the Congress, their arguments gained a following. They questioned why the Civil War had been fought if the South was going to be allowed to return to its antebellum ways. In 1866 and 1867 the radical approach to Reconstruction gained support and Congress was able to pass the Reconstruction Act of 1867. This marked the beginning of Reconstruction. If southern states hoped to rejoin the Union they had to accept the 14th Amendment (the Civil Rights Act of 1866) and they had to rewrite their constitutions so all adult men were able to vote. Beginning in 1867 the Freedmen’s Bureau worked to register African-American voters and start schools for African-American children. The southerners were not united in their opposition to Radical Republican rule. Because poorer white farmers were eager to gain some power traditionally held by the planters, they accepted some of the Reconstruction measures. Planters were opposed to most Radical measures because it limited their ability to control society as they had done for generations. The poorer whites and planters were united, however, in their opposition to social equality and that was a major threat the Radical Reconstruction posed. The Ku Klux Klan gained support in 1868 from planters and ex-Confederates. The KKK initially sought to destroy the Republican party in the South. Since the recently franchised African Americans voted Republican, KKK efforts were directed at them. Regardless, throughout the ten years of Radical Reconstruction, African-American legislatures were elected to Congress and sought southern economic and political reform. The Compromise of 1877 ended Reconstruction. Once federal troops were removed, the enforcement mechanism was gone and southern Democrats returned to governmental control, displacing the Radical Republicans. Reconstruction (1867-1877) In the postCivil War period, from 1865 to 1877, the United States confronted the problems of re-admitting the Southern states to the Union and integrating the freed slaves into society. At the end of the Civil War northern business was prospering due to the increased production required for the war effort and the fact that few battles were fought in that area. In contrast the south was in ruins. To rebuild national strength, the federal government supported the reformation of governments in the former Confederate states which supported the Union. Some congressmen believed the South should be further punished for seceding and that Reconstruction should require the following: voting rights for all African Americans, no voting rights for ex-Confederates, government seizure of land from planters for redistribution to freedmen, and funding of schools for African Americans. Others, including President Abraham Lincoln, believed in a quick healing. When Lincoln was assassinated in 1865, President Andrew Johnson tried to implement similar Reconstruction policies. Yet, many sought the more radical approach. When Congress passed a Civil Rights Act in 1866 which advocated the radical approach, Johnson vetoed it but Congress overrode. Radical Reconstruction gained support and Congress was able to pass the Reconstruction Act of 1867. This marked the beginning of Reconstruction. If southern states hoped to rejoin the federal government they had to accept the 14th Amendment (the Civil Rights Act of 1866) and they had to rewrite their constitutions so all adult men were able to vote. 49 Grade 8 The emancipation of the slaves left thousands of people without work or income. One of the biggest challenges was creating a system to give land to freedmen so they could farm and make a living. This system was never developed. Instead, due to disagreements among Northern politicians and a lack of interest on the part of Southerners, a solution was never found. Reconstruction ended when President Rutherford B. Hayes passed the Compromise of 1877 which removed the last of the federal troops from the South. When they left, the Reconstruction governments stopped and southerners regained political control. These southerners were known as Redeemers. They favored a return to the ways of the antebellum South including a society based on the superiority of white people. Challenges to the unequal treatment of blacks and women became more united during the Civil Rights movements and peaked when the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was passed. Reform Movements The second Great Awakening was a revival of religious faith. As a result, Baptists, Methodists, and Presbyterians realized an increased sense of confidence in themselves and in the United States. By the 1830s and 1840s women were taking a more active role in churches and missionary societies in an attempt to share their good fortune.This work to reform society, or change it for the better, expanded beyond sharing religion and education with the less fortunate. Reformers sought to change unfair labor practices, increase nutrition, and improve conditions for the poor, the enslaved, the imprisoned, women, alcoholics, and the disabled. The efforts were often led by upper class men and women from the Northeast. Often unable to effect change, reformers sought refuge in their own utopian societies, ideal communities where they could live by their own standards of conduct. The most powerful reform movements were led by abolitionists and by suffragists. Abolitionists in the United States sought freedom for African-American slaves while suffragists sought equal rights for women, particularly the right to vote. These efforts to attain civil rights culminated in the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Removal and Settlement of Native Americans Land was a valuable commodity in the early 1800s when cotton planters and farmers sought to extend their settlements west and south. The Cherokee, Creek, Seminole, Chickasaw, and Choctaw of the south, and the Sauk and Fox, Chippewas, Ottawa, Potawatomi, Wyandot, Shawnee, and Miami of the north were all removed from their native lands and sent to Indian Territory, much of which is in present-day Oklahoma. The removal was not peaceful. The Indians, particularly the Cherokee, attempted to adopt aspects of U.S. society and government. Sequoya, a Cherokee, developed an alphabet. The tribe wrote a constitution, had newspapers and even the Bible in Cherokee. Re50 gardless of the attempts of Indians to assimilate, President Andrew Jackson insisted on the removal of the Indians from the southwest. In 1830 Congress passed the Indian Removal Act which designated public lands in the west for Indian resettlement. In 1832, in response to an appeal by the Cherokee, Chief Justice John Marshall of the Supreme Court declared that it was unconstitutional for the state of Georgia to remove the tribe from their land. The ruling was ignored. Many Indians did not leave peacefully nor was the going easy once they were removed. The Cherokee endured the Trail of Tears, traveling during a harsh winter as refugees. Representative Government In a representative government, power is held by the people and exercised through the efforts of representatives elected by those people. Republicanism Republicanism is a philosophy of limited government with elected representatives serving at the will of the people. Republicanism says that the only legitimate government is one based on the consent of the governed. Secondary Sources Secondary sources are descriptions or interpretations prepared by people who were not involved in the events described. Researchers often use primary sources to understand past events but they produce secondary sources. Secondary sources provide useful ground material and context for information gained from primary sources. Separation of Powers Baron de Montesquieu first outlined the concept of separating the powers of government between the executive, legislative, and judicial branches in The Spirit of the Laws (1748). His ideas influenced those who proposed the Virginia Plan in the opening discussion of the Philadelphia Convention held in 1787 to revise the Articles of Confederation. Delegates to the convention modified the Virginia Plan, merged it with the New Jersey Plan proposed later, defined the three branches, and outlined their responsibilities and limitations of power in the U.S. Constitution. The branches included the legislative branch know as “Congress” made up of a “House of Representatives” and a “Senate,” the executive branch known as the “President,” and the judicial branch known as the “Supreme Court.” The convention agreed that Congress, which made laws, would consist of an equal number of senators from each state and a variable number of representatives from each state based on population. The powers of the legislative branch are outlined in Article I of the U.S. Constitution. The President would lead the executive branch, which carried out the laws and ensured their just application. These powers are outlined in Article II of the U.S. Constitution. The judicial branch, consisting of all courts of the United States Grade 8 including the highest court, the Supreme Court, would interpret and apply the laws, ensuring that they are just. Its powers are outlined in Article III. The delegates to the Philadelphia Convention felt this afforded protection to U.S. citizens. In addition, this new form of government distributed the power between a central government and the states. The system was called federalism. Slave Trade Millions of Africans came to America on slave ships from the 1490s to the 1790s. Of these, about 400,000 were sold into slavery in North America, most arriving in the 1760s. The Revolutionary War and the subsequent interest in natural rights decreased support for the trade. Most slaves brought into North America came from the west coast of Africa, between Senegal in the north and Angola in the south. Most were captured by other Africans and sold to dealers on the coast. Slave markets in Charleston, South Carolina, and Newport, Rhode Island, and other port cities prospered during the 1700s. In 1774 the Continental Congress urged states to abolish the slave trade and most supported the request. Several northern states either abolished slavery completely or emancipated slaves over a period of time. Some planters in the south even freed slaves. By 1790 all states except South Carolina and Georgia outlawed the trade. In 1787 during the Constitutional Convention, delegates agreed that the slave trade would not end for 20 more years. On January 1, 1808, Congress officially ended the international slave trade. Internal trade continued and increased from 1830 to 1860 as slaves from upper southern states were sold south and west to satisfy the need of planters moving west. Efforts to stop the trade within the south arose from a fear of slave insurrection and less from humanitarian purposes. Tariff Policies Governments raise operating funds by levying tariffs or taxes on imported goods. Tariffs place foreign merchants at a disadvantage, making their goods more expensive than domestic (American-made) products. Generally, northern businessmen favored tariffs because the taxes offered some protection from foreign competition. Southern agriculturists opposed tariffs because they were more dependent on foreign goods. Because they sold most of their cotton to foreign merchants, Southern cotton growers had foreign credit which they had to use to purchase higher priced foreign goods. Tariffs imposed on certain domestic goods also caused unrest. In 1794 Alexander Hamilton favored taxing whiskey to generate needed revenue. Farmers in western Pennsylvania who distilled their corn into whiskey were angered by the tax because they considered it unfair. They refused to pay the tax. In a show of force, federal troops marched to western Pennsylvania to overthrow the Whiskey Rebellion. By the time they arrived, the angry farmers had disbanded, but the incident proved that the government would enforce laws. Thematic Maps A thematic map is a map which demonstrates a particular feature or a single item of interest. For instance, thematic maps can show spatial distributions of population, religion, or cattle production. Four types of thematic maps are: Dot maps Choropleth maps Proportional symbol maps Isoline maps U.S. Constitution A constitution is a document that outlines the powers of government. One of the foundations of the American system of government is the use of a written constitution defining the values and principles of government and establishing the limits of power. The U.S. Constitution evolved from the Articles of Confederation adopted in 1781. The Articles established a national congress with a limited number of powers including the authority to make laws and enter into treaties with other nations. By 1787 a new system was needed as states were acting independently, and Congress lacked the power to tax, regulate trade, or control coinage, issues critical for the survival of a new nation of united states. Congress announced a call for delegates to a convention “for the sole and express purpose of revising” the Articles of Confederation. The Philadelphia Convention began in the Pennsylvania State House, now called Independence Hall, on May 25, 1787. Fifty-five delegates from 12 of the 13 states participated. The more daring quickly overstepped the intended goal of the convention by proposing plans to replace the old Articles. James Madison formulated many of the ideas included in the Constitution and is known as the “Father of the Constitution.” He proposed that the U.S. government be organized in three branches: a legislative branch (Congress), an executive branch (the President) and a judicial branch (Supreme Court). The “Great Compromise” related to representation of states in the federal government. Delegates engaged in heated debate but finally agreed that legislative power should rest in a two-house Congress, the House of Representatives including delegates from each state based on population, and the Senate including an equal number of elected delegates from each state. Article II outlined the executive department and the powers of the President within that branch. This new form of government distributed the power between a central government and the states, a system called federalism. Other compromises made during the drafting process included the establishment of an Electoral College to elect the president indirectly instead of by direct election, and the “three-fifths compromise” which counted slaves as three-fifths of a person when apportioning direct taxes or counting representation in the House of Representatives. Another compromise related to the slave trade, which the convention agreed to end in 1807. 51 Grade 8 Article VII, Ratification of the Constitution, outlined the process which required nine states to approve the U.S. Constitution. The process fostered one of the great debates of American history. The Federalists, who favored a strong central government, supported the Constitution while the Anti-Federalists favored states’ rights and the protection of individual rights through a Bill of Rights. They opposed ratification. Madison worked with Alexander Hamilton and John Jay to write The Federalist calling for ratification. Delegates elected to state conventions determined the outcome. The first nine states approved the constitution between December 1787 and June 1788. The last four states ratified out of fear of exclusion, believing they could not exist separate from the union. Rhode Island was the last to ratify in May 1790. The Framers of the Constitution understood that society would change over time, and made provisions for amendments to be formally proposed and ratified by both the state and federal governments. In the last 200 years, there have been 27 amendments to the Constitution, including the Bill of Rights. Informal amendments to the Constitution keep the government up-to-date without formal modifications to the document, such as Court decisions (Roe v. Wade), legislation (commerce laws), executive actions (the President’s cabinet), and customs (Democrat/Republican parties). Article V, The Process of Amendment, outlines the ways to keep the Constitution current. The first Congress proposed the Bill of Rights, the first ten amendments, which protected basic human rights and freedoms. This pleased Anti-Federalists who felt the original document did not extend adequate protection. The power of judicial review, first assumed by the U.S. Supreme Court in Marbury v. Madison, allows the federal judicial branch to rule on issues of constitutional law including civil liberties, suspect’s rights, equality, women’s rights, minority rights, foreign policy, and constitutional change. Through the process of amendment and judicial review, the Constitution is adapted to the needs of each generation of Americans. War of 1812 Often described as the Second War for Independence, the War of 1812 resulted from the need to protect and further the republican experiment in the United States through an effort to make European powers respect U.S. policies. The United States was drawn into the War of 1812 because of economic ties to the warring nations of Great Britain and France. These two nations paid little attention to the rights of the United States to trade and the rights of its citizens to remain neutral in the war. As the British fought the French in the Napoleonic Wars, both committed maritime offenses against the U.S., slowing trade, indiscriminately seizing U.S. ships, and impressing Americans to serve in their forces. The economy of the United States suffered due to self-imposed restrictions on trade with Great Britain and France, enacted by President Thomas Jefferson in the Embargo of 1807 and by President James Madison in the NonIntercourse Act of 1809. In the western territories, settlers blamed the British for the problems with the Native Americans. President James Madison asked the U.S. Congress to declare war on Great Britain and it did so on June 18, 1812. The three main reasons for war were the impressment of U.S. sailors, violations of U.S. rights at sea, and British support of Native American opposition to colonial settlement. In 1812 and 1813, the United States attempted to seize Canada as part of the strategy to reduce the dominance of Great Britain. After the defeat of Napoleon in mid-1814, the British became more aggressive toward the United States. The British invaded several ports and set fire to government buildings, including the White House in Washington, D.C., in reprisal for the raids in Canada. The Treaty of Ghent, signed in late December 1814, ended the war. The famous Battle of New Orleans occurred two weeks later on January 8, 1815. Andrew Jackson won public recognition for defending the city from the superior forces of the British. He was elected and served two terms as President of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Unalienable (Inalienable) Rights Unalienable rights are fundamental rights or natural rights guaranteed to people naturally instead of by the law. The Declaration of Independence equated natural rights with several truths, “that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” The phrase “unalienable rights” was also used in the Virginia Declaration of Rights. Other rights are guaranteed in the Bill of Rights, the first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution. Virginia House of Burgesses Created in 1619, the House of Burgesses was an assembly of elected representatives from the Virginia colony. It was the first representative assembly in the colonies, and it was used as a model by other colonies. The House of Burgesses met in Williamsburg, Virginia, throughout the colonial period. 52 Washington’s Farewell Address In 1796 George Washington decided not to pursue a third term as President of the United States thereby allowing the election of a successor. His farewell address to his cabinet, delivered on September 17, was published in a Philadelphia newspaper on September 19. In it, he stressed three dangers facing the nation. The first related to the rise of political parties which he believed could divide Americans and destroy the cooperation needed in government. The second was sectionalism, or political divisions based on geographic loyalties. The third was the involvement in European rivalries that repeatedly drove those nations to war. The last served as a cornerstone of American foreign policy until this country’s involvement in World War I. He also supported the preservation of religion and morality as “the great pillars of human happiness” and educational institutions for the “general diffusion of knowledge.”