history unit 3

french and indian war, 7 years war, revolutionary war, decleration of independance, american exceptionalism/idealism, battles, id's, articles of confederation, the constitution + articles 1-7, maps, slavery, louisiana purchase

french and indian war

(1754-1763)

began bc of territorial conflict between Br. and FR over control of the Ohio River Valley—a vital area for fur trade and westward expansion.

the war itself was fought between France and Britain (and their NA allies) over control of North American land and its recourses.

• The Br. AM colonists had more reason to fight for their land, as North AM was their home, FR troops were unmotivated

• Br. AM troops utilize NA tactics of guerrilla warfare/ambush attacks

ultimately, Br. wins, and the “Treaty of Paris” granted Br. territorial gain of AM, and forced FR troops east of the Mi. River.

“join or die“

A political cartoon/phrase made by Benjamin Franklin: urged American colonies to rally to fight together, lest they wanted to lose to FR, thereby losing their homes.

“we are strong when united”

Proclamation of 1763

Br. decree that stated AM colonies could not settle west of the Appalachia mntns, which would act as an NA reserve.

• push back by wealthy landowners

• fueled by Pontiac’s rebellion: separate already angry colonists and NA’s from allying against Br.

Boston tea party

a political protest where () AM colonists dressed as NA’s, boarded Br. ships and dumped over 300 chests of tea into the sea.

• protesting the “taxation without representation” of Br. upon them

coercive (intolerance) acts

series of punishing acts by Br. on to colonies (particularly Mass. for the Boston Tea Party)

• closed Boston’s harbor until Tea was payed for: crippled Boston’s economy

• restricted governance: revoked elected colonial officials and replaced them with Br. ones

• required Bostonians to “quarter” Br. officials

as a consequence: the other 12 colonies felt outraged for Mass., colonies began Boycotting Br. goods, and held the first Continental Congress to mobilize and coordinate against Br.

George Washington

ambitious Virginian statesmen who

“Who is the American, this new man?”

British: live under a strict system where a monarch holds supreme power (with little limits to his/her authority) aside from an already wealthy parliament.

• did not face taxation w/o representation

Colonists: locally elected officials and larger governments, so each colony had more representation.

• taxed heavily, despite having no parliamentary rep.

**stems into the idea of American Exceptionalism: that Americans are status quo defying agents for liberty.

Timeline of pre-revolution conflict

"The distinctions between Virginians, and New Englanders are no more. I am not a Virginian, but an American."

Patrick Henry, 1774.

Key revolutionary moments

benjamin lay

quaker reformist who became an abolitionist.

lord Dunmore’s Proclamation

offered freedom to enslaved people who would abandon their masters and join Br.’s fight against the rebelling colonies.

• did not guarantee freedom after the revolution however, so many slaves died or were returned to their master after

“The volley fired by a young Virginian in the backwoods of America set the world on fire”

references how GW’s scuffle with French troops in the Ohio Valley region launched the French and Indian war.

Lexington and Concord

the first military battle of the AM revolution between the Br. & AM.: spurred by Br. troops marching to Concord to apprehend colonial troops. they were apprehended in Lexington by a colonial civilian militia. marked the first major victory by colonies and kicked off revolution.

• “the shot heard around the world”

Second Continental Congress

governing body of the colonies during the revolutionary war. each colony got 3 reps, and these individuals were in charge of war effort.

• established Continental Army with GW as its first general

• declared Independence in 1776, and then drafted the articles of Confederation

The Declaration of Independence

justified the colonies' separation from Britain and established the basis for American democracy.

• Natural Rights & Equality:

  All individuals are inherently equal and possess unalienable rights, given by their Creator, including the rights to Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.

• Consent of the Governed:

  Governments derive their just powers from the consent of the people they govern, establishing popular sovereignty.

• Purpose of Government:

  The main role of government is to secure these natural rights; it's instituted to protect the people's safety and happiness.

• Right to Revolution:

  If a government becomes destructive of these ends (life, liberty, happiness), the people have the right to alter or abolish it and create a new one that better serves them. 

“How few of the human race have ever enjoyed an opportunity of making an election of government, more than of air, soil, or climate, for themselves or their children! When, before the present epoch, had 3,000,000 people full power and a fair opportunity to form and establish the wisest and happiest government that human wisdom can contrive?”

John Adams (1776). this speech expresses the promise (for colonials) to able to start fresh, and build a better more fair government body.

“To declare independence now would be to brave the storm in a skiff made of paper”

argued by john dickinson about declaring independence “too soon” (1776). he believed the colonies should wait to finish the articles of confederation and a foreign ally.

“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”

**

3/5ths compromise

—declaration of independence (1776).

3/5ths Compromise which counted three-fifths of a state’s slave population for representation. This gave southern states with large slave populations an advantage with more representatives and more electoral votes. however, the 3/5 number did not come from a belief that enslaved people were part human; rather, an approximation of wealth that an enslaved person contributed to that state’s economy.

The frustration over imbalances of regional political power led to future compromises like The Missouri Compromise (1820)

Articles of Confederation

the first constitution of the United States, establishing a weak central government to preserve the sovereignty of the states during war time: aimed to build a "league of friendship.” its inability to tax states consistently, along with a lack of executive or judicial branches (checks and balances and ability distribution), led to significant weaknesses that ultimately prompted the Constitutional Convention and replacement by the U.S. Constitution.

constitutional principles: checks and balances

created a separation of US powers (Exec., Jud., Leg.) where each branch is able to ‘check’ another’s power to prevent government corruption.

constitutional principles: limited government

government power is restricted by law to protect individuals rights by defining granted powers, and using tools like separation of powers, check and balances, the Bill or RIghts, federalism, to prevent the Federal Govt. from overreaching its authority.

constitutional principles: separation of power

divided governmental power between executive, legislative, judicial branches of government, as well as on a state level to grant more representation to commoners.

constitutional principles: federalism

a system of government that power is shared by on a national level, and on a state level. this creates multiple levels of government which is kept in the written constitution.

constitutional principles: slavery

mentioned 3 times:

• 3/5ths clause: prevented Congress from banning the international slave trade until 1808.

• importation clause: prevented Congress from banning the international slave trade until 1808.

• fugitive slave clause: mandated that escaped enslaved people be returned to their owners.

the Constitution: elections and impeachment and veto

elections: 2/3rds of senate, 2/3rds of house of rep., 3/4ths of states must agree to elect an individual who is a citizen at least 35 years old

veto: the power by the executive branch to unilaterally reject a proposed law by legislature

impeachment: the process of bringing charges against a government official for wrongdoing.

the Constitution: elastic clause and amending

elastic clause: granted Congress the power to make all laws "necessary and proper"

amending: a formal change made to the constitution to correct or improve the text without outright replacing it.

the compromise of 1790

an agreement made between Hamilton, TJ, James Madison, where the fed. government was allowed to take on states’ revolutionary war debts (Ham) in exchange for relocating the State capital to Washington DC (closer to Virginia for TJ and JM)

Sally Hemmings and Jefferson family

Sally Hemmings was the biracial slave of TJ: she was 30yrs younger.

The whole family tells a story of power imbalances (racial, age, gender) where white men are given infinite power to abuse the women in their lives.

the Louisiana purchase

Napoleon was forced to sell the Louisiana region to AM to cover the cost of his war debts from the Haititian revolution, and since BR occupied space right above it in Canada (and they were burgeoning on war already) the land was a liability.

• was a massive expansion of US territory

Empire of liberty

phrase coined by TJ: describes how he sees so much promise for AM as a fair (unlike oppressive Eur. regimes) nation as it expands outward. where states are governed by their choses officials/systems.

however, this whole idea is challenged by the continued practice slavery, and blatant displacement of NA’s.

American Exceptionalism

the idea that America/Americans are unique to the rest of the world on basis of founding principles of liberty and democracy. whole concept implies that America plays a dynamic role in world affairs and that it is different—even superior to other less “civilized” or “forward thinking” nations.

rooted in the nation's founding on republican principles, proponents see the U.S. as a "city upon a hill.”

critically: the notion is contradictions like slavery and corruption challenge its perceived superiority in modern times.