Early America US HIST

1st Amendment

Freedom of Press, Religion, Speech, Petition, and Assembly

2nd Amendment

Right to Bear Arms (weapons)
for self-defense and to protect (like against a tyrannical gov’t)

3rd Amendment

No Quartering of Soldiers (no soldiers living in your home)

4th Amendment

No Unreasonable Search of Seizure (must have a warrant to search or take your property, even your car and body)

5th Amendment

Right to not self-incriminate (remain silent), eminent domain (if gov’t takes your property they must repay you for market value of your land), no double jeopardy (cannot be convicted of same crime twice)

6th Amendment

rights of criminal defendants such as the right to a fair and speedy public trial, confront your witnesses, have an attorney, know the charges against you, know the evidence against you

Due process

7th Amendment

the right to a trial by jury in civil cases over $20

8th Amendment

no cruel or unusual punishment and no excessive fines or bail

9th Amendment

rights reserved by the people

Just because the US Constiution does not openly express these rights, ppl are still granted them (like the right to privacy)

10th Amendment

rights reserved by the states

Just because US Const. does not openly express these rights to the states, the states still have them

Limits the power of the federal government

13th Amendment

abolished slavery and made it illegal to be an indentured servant in the US

14th Amendment

guarantees that all people born in the U.S. are citizens and have equal protection under the law

15th Amendment

guaranteed citizens the right to vote regardless of their race, color, or previous servitude

directed toward African American MEN

did not address right of women to vote

Alexis de Tocqueville

a Frenchmen who traveled to America in the 1830s. He wrote a book about why he thought the U.S. He said that it was due to egalitarianism, populism, liberty, individualism, and laissez-faire.

ex: he said people had choice in their lives by choosing the products they buy

Amendment

changes or additions to the U.S. Constitution

American Revolution

American Colonists fought for their independence from Great Britain in the late-1700s. They won and established the United States of America.

NA b4 revolution

• colonized by 3 superpowers (Britain, France, and Spain) and they all fought over NA

• FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR - France and Great Britain form Native American alliances → Britain wins but is left with a LARGE amount of debt → tax American colonists to pay off debt → colonists demand no taxation without representation

Bill of Rights

-first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution, protects personal liberties

Checks and Balances

the three separate branches that were created to keep each other in check and balance the power, Executive, Legislative, and Judicial Branches

Civil War

a war fought between the North and South in the United States during the 1860s over states rights, in particular the issue of slavery

Declaration of Independence

the American Colonists declared their independence from Great Britain after their demands were not made for taxation with representation and other intolerable acts

written by Thomas Jefferson (HEAVILY inspired by John Locke)

John Hancock signature was very large

SIgned on July 4, 1776

Unalienable rights (born with and cannot be taken away) = life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness (changed the last one from property (John Locke’s version) → pursuit of happiness

List of grievances (reasons for independence/break up)

Helped other countries to challenge the authority of their governments

Other nations were able to formally recognize the US once it was created

EXCERPT

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

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 powers 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, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.

MEANING:

Original opening:
Sometimes in history, a group of people needs to break away from the government that's been ruling them and become their own independent nation, equal to every other nation in the world. When that happens, basic respect for other people's opinions means they owe the world an explanation — a clear statement of why they're doing it.

Original second paragraph:
We believe these things are obviously true: all people are created equal, and they're born with certain rights that can't be taken away — including the right to live, to be free, and to pursue happiness.

Original third paragraph:
Governments exist to protect those rights, and they only have authority because the people agree to be governed by them. So if a government ever starts working against those rights instead of protecting them, the people have the right to change it or get rid of it entirely — and to set up a new government built on whatever principles and structure seem most likely to keep them safe and happy.

Double Jeopardy

being convicted of the same crime twice

E Pluribus Unum

-"Out of many comes one", our nation's motto, found on the Presidential seal

Egalitarianism

everyone is equal, part of Alexis de Tocqueville's reasons for the success of democracy in America

THERE ARE NO NOBLE CLASSES (king, nobles, knights, peasants)

Egalitarianism, simply: The belief that all people are fundamentally equal and deserve equal rights, treatment, and opportunities — no one is inherently superior because of birth, class, wealth, or status.

Tocqueville's take on it: In Democracy in America, Tocqueville used "equality of conditions" to describe something specific — not that everyone has equal wealth or ability, but that American society had no fixed aristocracy or rigid class system. Anyone could rise or fall based on their own efforts, and people generally treated each other as social equals rather than as lords and subjects. He saw this as the defining feature that made American democracy different from aristocratic Europe.

Quick example: In aristocratic Europe, a farmer's son was expected to stay a farmer, and a nobleman's son inherited both land and social superiority — status was fixed at birth. In Tocqueville's America, a farmer's son could become a lawyer, a merchant, or even president, and people would tip their hats to him the same as anyone else along the way. That mobility and social leveling is what Tocqueville meant by equality of conditions.

Eminent Domain

the government can take your property for public use but you must be compensated

Executive Branch

the President, enforces laws, can veto laws from congress (veto can be overridden by a 2/3 vote by Congress), can issue executive orders

Executive Orders

an order issued by the President and is considered law

• goes to Supreme Court to decide if constitutional

French and Indian War

a war fought between Great Britain and France in the mid-1700s for dominance in North America. Great Britain was victorious but was left with huge debts. → taxes American colonists

Individualism

the ability to choose who you surround yourself with, part of Alexis de Tocqueville's reasons for the success of democracy in America

Individualism, simply: The belief that each person's own goals, freedom, and judgment matter more than the demands of the group — the individual, not the collective, is the basic unit of society.

Tocqueville's take on it: Tocqueville actually coined the term "individualism" (in English translation) and meant something more specific and slightly negative — a "calm and considered feeling" that leads each citizen to withdraw into the small circle of family and friends, and to willingly leave the larger society to fend for itself. He worried this was a side effect of equality: once there's no aristocracy binding people together in webs of obligation, people quietly retreat from public life into private concerns.

Quick example: In an aristocratic society, a nobleman was tied by tradition to his tenants, his ancestors, and his descendants — he couldn't just ignore them. In Tocqueville's America, a self-made merchant owed nothing to anyone by birth, so he was free to focus purely on his own household and business, quietly disengaging from broader civic life — not out of selfishness exactly, but because equality untied those old obligatory bonds.

John Locke

Philosopher who inspired Thomas Jefferson while writing the Declaration of Independence. He believed in the unalienable rights of life, liberty, and property.

Judicial Branch

The Supreme Court, interprets the Constitution

9 Supreme Court Justices today (serve lifetime or to retirement)

• Supreme Court nominees chosen by President (Executive Branch) and have to be approved by Senate (part of Congress/Legislative Branch)

Interprets the US Constitution and determines if something is constitutional

Laissez-Faire

the government is hands off of the economy and does not intervene in private business, part of Alexis de Tocqueville's reasons for the success of democracy in America

Laissez-faire, simply: The idea that government should stay out of the economy and let businesses and individuals operate freely, with minimal regulation, taxation, or interference. The term is French for "let it be" or "let it happen."

Where it comes from (not really Tocqueville): Laissez-faire isn't really a Tocqueville concept — it originated with 18th-century French economists (the Physiocrats) and was later developed by economists like Adam Smith, who argued that markets regulate themselves best through supply, demand, and competition, without government meddling. Tocqueville touched on related ideas about limited government, but laissez-faire itself belongs more to economic theory than to his writing on democracy.

Quick example: A laissez-faire approach would mean no minimum wage laws, no government price controls, and minimal business regulation — letting a bakery charge whatever price the market will bear, and letting a competitor open across the street to charge less if they choose, without the government stepping in either way.

Legislative Branche (Congress)

Congress (House of Representatives and Senate), makes the laws and delcares war

• House of Rep = based on states pop.

• Senate = 2 per state

can override presidential veto by 2/3 vote of Congress

Lobbyists often hired to advocate for representations to pass legislation for a specific cause

• “lobbying” and try to get a law the want to be made

Liberty

people have the freedom to choose their own actions, part of Alexis de Tocqueville's reasons for the success of democracy in America

Liberty, simply: The state of being free from oppressive control or restriction — the ability to act, think, and live according to your own choices, as long as you're not harming others.

Tocqueville's take on it: Tocqueville distinguished liberty from equality and worried about the tension between them. For him, liberty meant genuine self-government — citizens actively participating in public life (town meetings, juries, local associations) and resisting centralized power, not just being left alone privately. He feared that people, in their love of equality, might trade away real political liberty for comfortable security under a strong, paternalistic government — a soft, well-meaning despotism that manages people's lives so completely that they forget how to govern themselves.

Quick example: Tocqueville pointed to New England town meetings, where ordinary citizens gathered to argue over local roads, schools, and taxes themselves rather than leaving it to a distant official. That hands-on, participatory self-rule was liberty in action for him — the opposite of a government that simply takes care of everything for you while you disengage from public life.

Populism

everyone participates in government, part of Alexis de Tocqueville's reasons for the success of democracy in America

easiest way to participate = voting

Populism, simply: A political approach that claims to represent "the ordinary people" against a corrupt or self-serving elite — framing politics as a struggle between the common folk and out-of-touch insiders (politicians, bankers, media, academics, etc.).

Where it comes from (not really Tocqueville): Like laissez-faire, populism isn't a Tocqueville term — it emerged later, most notably with the U.S. People's Party (the "Populists") in the 1890s, who championed farmers and laborers against banks and railroads. That said, Tocqueville anticipated some of its underlying dynamics: he worried that democratic equality could produce a "tyranny of the majority," where popular passions override minority rights and institutional checks, and where a charismatic leader could claim to speak for "the people" as a whole.

Quick example: A populist politician might campaign by saying "the political establishment and big corporations have rigged the system against hardworking Americans, and I alone will fight for you" — positioning themselves as the voice of the common person against a distant, self-interested elite, regardless of the specific policies involved.

Thomas Jefferson

Founding Father, Author of the Declaration of Independence (HEAVILY inspired by John Locke), Signer of the Declaration of Independence, 3rd President of the U.S.

US Constitution

replaced the Articles of Confederation and is our current form of government & law of the land, it established the framework for how the U.S. government is organized with three separate branches (separation of powers and checks and balances)

established a court system

established a process on how it can be changed over time with amendments

establishes the concept of the power of the gov’t is derived from the consent of the governed

PREAMBLE:

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

MEANING:

We, the people of the United States, are creating this Constitution in order to: build a better and more unified country, ensure fair treatment under the law, keep peace and order at home, protect the nation from outside threats, support the wellbeing of everyone in society, and guarantee freedom for ourselves and for future generations. With these goals in mind, we establish this Constitution as the law of the United States of America.

Articles of Confederation

First form of US government

created a very weak federal gov’t that favored state gov’ts

• colonists afraid of another tyrannical gov’t → make the states have more power than the federal gov’t

later replaced by the US Constitution

Under God We Trust

unofficial national motto, found on money

Veto Power

a law can be approved by Congress, but rejected by the President (veto can be overridden by 2/3 majority vote by Congress)