Transcript THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 1492-1865

THE HISTORY OF THE
UNITED STATES 14921865
SEMINAR 4
EARLY YEARS OF THE REPUBLIC
What was the guiding principle of the
relations betwen Britain and the colonies?
 What were the milestones on the road to
the American Revolution?
 What is the significance of the Declaration
of Independence?
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REVIEW QUESTIONS
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Four basic questions for historians:
What were the conditions?
What happened?
Why did the event happen?
Who was right?
FOUR BASIC QUESTIONS FOR
HISTORIANS
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On the morning of April 19, 1775, about six-do
zen Massachusetts farmers stood on the Lexington
town green. They had been warned by Paul Revere that a
far larger number of British soldiers were
marching to Lexington and Concord to capture Sam Adams
and John Hancock and to destroy military
supplies. When the British army arrived in Lexington,
the two forces stood for several minutes in tense
confrontation. Suddenly, a shot rang out from an unknown
source, and instantly, the British opened fire.
Retreating in hasty confusion, the
colonists left behind eight men, dead or dying, on the
village green.
Thus, with this incident, which neither side expected or
willed, the American Revolution began
BATTLE OF LEXINGTON
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Historians views on the Causes
TEXTS OF THE REVOLUTION
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The American Crisis
Fallacy: error in reasoning
Appeal to emotions
Slippery slope
Non sequitur: the conclusion does not
follow
Argumentum ad hominem
Propaganda elements
TEXTS OF THE REVOLUTION
Article 1st:
His Brittanic Majesty acknowledges the said United States,
viz., New Hampshire, Massachusetts Bay, Rhode Island
and Providence Plantations, Connecticut, New York, New
Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North
Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia, to be free sovereign
and Independent States;
 It is agreed that Congress shall earnestly recommend it to
the Legislatures of the respective States to provide for the
Restitution of all Estates, Rights, and Properties, which
have been confiscated belonging to real British Subjects;
and also of the Estates, Rights, and Properties of Persons
resident in Districts in the Possession on his Majesty's
Arms and who have not borne Arms against the said
United States
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THE TREATY OF PARIS
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Articles of Confederation 1781
Achievements of the Confederation:
Area of foreign policy: Treaty of Paris
Northwest Ordinance of 1787
Establishment of public schools, guidelines
for statehood, elimination of slavery
THE FIRST GOVERNMENT
Weak central government
 Hard to change the Articles of
Confederation
 Fear of anarchy
 Shays’ Rebellion: dissatisfied veterans of
the War of Independence revolt against
tax-policies, economic uncertainty
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Problems of the Confederation
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Each state retains its sovereignty,
freedom, and independence, and every
power, jurisdiction, and right, which is not
by this Confederation expressly delegated to
the United States, in Congress assembled.
The Committee of the States, or any nine
of them, shall be authorized to execute,
in the recess of Congress, such of the
powers of Congress as the United States
in Congress assembled, by the consent
of the nine States
THE ARTICLES OF
CONFEDERATION
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Summer of 1787
Establishing a working government
Original aim: to revise the Articles of
Confederation
Following the Convention: ratification
debate
Constitution goes into effect in June 1788
CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION
Digital worksheet
 Hero school: Clinton Rossiter, The Grand
Convention
 Charles Beard: An Economic
Interpretation of the Constitution
 Framers, Founding Fathers
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THE FOUNDING FATHERS’
MOTIVES
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Article I: What are the requirements for
being
a member of the House of Representatives
a Senator
Which branch can establish courts?
Where do revenue bills originate from?
Article II: What are the requirements for
being a President?
What does the term advice and consent
mean?
Who gives the State of the Union address?
WORK WITH THE CONSTITUTION
Article III:What are the requirements for
establishing the charge of treason?
 How can you prove treason?
 Article IV: Full Faith and Credit clausewhat does it mean?
 What happens to a person committing a
crime in one state, then fleeing into
another state?
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WORK WITH THE CONSTITUTION
Federalist Papers (essays written in
support of the Constitution (James
Madison, Alexander Hamilton)
 Who were the Federalists: supporters of
the Constitution, promoters of a strong
government
 Antifederalists: believed in a less strong
government, protection of civil liberties
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THE RATIFICATION DEBATE AND
ITS POLITICAL CONSEQUENCES
Federalists and Jeffersonians
 Digital worksheet
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1788-1800
Achievements: two party system,
settlement of diplomatic issues, territorial
claims with Spain
Establishment of the political and financial
authority of the government
Washington puts down Whiskey Rebellion
Hamilton’s economic plan
FEDERALIST ERA
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1800-1815
Thomas Jefferson’s Presidency
Domestic policy: limiting the size of
government
Foreign policy: Louisiana Purchase,
doubling the size of the country
Lewis and Clark:exploring the Missouri
River
REPUBLICAN PERIOD
Tensions with Britain increase over
continued harrassment of American ships
(freedom of the seas)
 Second war of independence-political
independence
 Contributes to a rising spirit of
nationalism
 Nationalist economic, foreign policies
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WAR OF 1812
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O! say can you see by the dawn's early light
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last
gleaming.
Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the
perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly
streaming.
And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still
there.
O! say does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-MKbvmZejCA
Jimi
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