Download U.S. History Glossary

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Historical content focuses on the political, economic, and social events and issues related to the colonial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Constitution and other historical documents.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 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.
14th Amendment The 14th Amendment is one of
three 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.
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In 1866, Congress passed the Civil Rights Bill which
extended citizenship to blacks. President Andrew
Johnson opposed and vetoed the legislation but Congress
overruled 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 Amend ment, 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... " Congress appointed a
committee to draft an inspirational document to explain to
the world the reasons the colonies were asserting their
independence in the hopes of gaining broad colonial and
international support. The committee included Thomas
Jefferson who was charged with drafting the document. In
it he asked for protection of the "unalienable rights" of
humankind, in addition to British rights, and listed other
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 Anti-Federalists 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
from Napoleon Bonaparte, ruler of France, for $15 million
dollars in 1803. 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
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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 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 Union
victories at Gettysburg, turning a Confederate invasion of
the North, and Vicksburg, ceding 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
move ment 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 abolitionist and publisher of the
newspaper The Liberator, formed the American AntiSlavery 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 realize 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.
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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 in iron. 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
Amendment protects several fundamental rights of U.S.
citizens: freedom of religion, of speech, and 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 government. 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 protection from Union
forces. The proclamation did not apply to slaves living in
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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.
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 of 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. AntiFederalists 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
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.
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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.
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, in writing.
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.
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.
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 at Fort Necessity in July
1754, 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, prepared as the covenant for the
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. That helps us to understand the forces that
affect 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 During the Civil War, on
November 19, 1863, 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
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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 connect 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, 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 m 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."
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
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
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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.
oceanic trade. The East India Company was founded in
1600 by the English government and merchants intent on
trading with the East.
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.
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.
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.
Mc Culloch v. Ma ryla nd I n 18 19, Chief J ustice
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.
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.
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.
Naturalized Citizen A naturalized citizen is a person
of foreign birth who is granted full citizenship.
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 ing to succeed, especially in the
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
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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 secret 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.
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. Politically active people with competing
interests, opinions, and attitudes united under party names
to argue their causes. In the 1830s published party
platforms 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
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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 twoparty 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
merchant 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 exConfederates 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
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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) I n the po st -Civil
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.
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.
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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. Regardless 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 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
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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:
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.
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
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 AntiFederalists who felt the original document did not extend
adequate protection. The power of judicial review, first
assumed by the U.S. Supreme Court mMarbury 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
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Americans.
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.
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 Non-Intercourse 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 included: 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 and force the nation to recognize the United States
and abide by its foreign policies.
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.
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."
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