AP US History Unit 3 Notes

Unit 3 Overview: From Colonies to Independent Nation (1754-1800)

  • The unit explores the transformation of British colonies into an independent nation with a distinct national identity.
  • Time period covered: 1754 to 1800.

The French and Indian War (1754-1763)

  • Context: Part of the larger Seven Years' War.
  • Causes:
    • British colonists concerned about French encroachment in the Ohio River Valley.
    • French concerned about British encroachment on their territory.
  • Albany Plan of Union (Benjamin Franklin):
    • Proposed a more centralized government for the colonies for better defense coordination.
    • Rejected because colonies didn't want to be taxed to support it.
    • Significance: Precedent for future revolutionary congresses.
  • Outcome: British victory, formalized by the Peace of Paris (1763).
  • Treaty of Paris (1763) Results:
    • French almost entirely removed from North America, Louisiana Territory ceded to Spain.
    • British doubled land holdings, gaining land east of the Mississippi River.

Consequences of the French and Indian War

  • Westward Expansion and Indian Conflict:
    • Colonists moved into the Ohio River Valley, leading to conflicts with American Indians.
    • Pontiac's Rebellion: Ottawa leader Pontiac led raids against encroaching colonists.
  • Royal Proclamation of 1763:
    • Forbade colonists from settling west of the Appalachian Mountains to reduce tensions with Indians.
    • Frustrated colonists who felt entitled to the land after fighting in the war.
  • British Debt and Taxation:
    • British debt doubled during the war and the cost of running the colonies increased fivefold.

Taxation Without Representation

  • End of Salutary Neglect:
    • Britain ended its policy of salutary neglect (relaxed enforcement of laws), which had allowed colonists to manage their own affairs.
  • New Laws and Taxes:
    • Stricter enforcement of Navigation Acts (regulating colonial trade).
    • Quartering Act of 1765: Required colonists to house and feed British soldiers.
    • Sugar Act: Taxes on coffee, wine, and other luxury items; stricter enforcement of molasses tax.
    • Stamp Act of 1765: Tax on all paper items (newspapers, playing cards, contracts).
  • Virtual Representation:
    • British Argument: Colonists were represented in Parliament through virtual representation (members of Parliament represented all British citizens).
    • Colonial Rejection: Colonists wanted localized representation.
  • Colonial Resistance:
    • Sons of Liberty and Daughters of Liberty: Groups dedicated to the repeal of the Stamp Act.
    • Stamp Act Congress: Delegates from nine colonies petitioned Parliament to repeal the Stamp Act, arguing that taxation without representation was tyranny.
  • Repeal and Declaratory Act:
    • Parliament repealed the Stamp Act and the Sugar Act.
    • Declaratory Act: Parliament declared it had the right to pass any law it wished regarding the colonies.

Escalating Tensions

  • Townshend Acts (1767):
    • New taxes on imported items like paper, glass, and tea.
    • Colonial Response: Organized boycotts of British goods, especially led by women who spun cloth and brewed herbal tea.
  • Boston Massacre (1770):
    • British troops stationed in the colonies harassed by colonists.
    • Shooting resulted in 11 colonists wounded and four dead.
    • Colonial View: Seen as a sign of increasing British tyranny.
  • Boston Tea Party (1773):
    • Response to the Tea Act, which gave the British East India Company exclusive rights to sell tea in the colonies.
    • Colonists disguised as Indians dumped tea into Boston Harbor.
    • Parliament's Retaliation: Coercive Acts (Intolerable Acts) closed Boston Harbor and implemented a stricter Quartering Act.

Road to Revolution

  • Continental Congress (1774):
    • Colonial leaders met to resist further violations of their liberties by Parliament.
    • Still desired to remain British subjects.
  • Enlightenment Thought:
    • Influence on Colonial Leaders:
      • Natural Rights: Rights that all human beings are endowed with by God, not government.
      • Social Contract: Government derives power from the consent of the governed; citizens can overthrow a government that tramples their rights.
      • Republicanism: Preference for a republic with separation of powers to check and balance government.
  • Common Sense (Thomas Paine):
    • Pamphlet arguing for independence from Britain in early 1776.
    • Convinced the majority of colonists that independence was the only option.
  • Declaration of Independence:
    • Written by Thomas Jefferson and adopted by the Continental Congress.
    • Based on Enlightenment principles:
      • "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." --> Natural Rights.
      • "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…" --> Social Contract.

The American Revolution

  • Loyalists:
    • Sizable opposition to independence; colonists who wished to remain loyal to Britain.
  • Continental Army:
    • Approved by the Continental Congress, led by George Washington.
    • Initially ill-equipped, ill-trained, and suffered defeats.
  • Alliance with France:
    • Turning Point: American victory at Saratoga (1777) convinced the French to ally with the Americans.
    • French aid included guns, ships, and military support (Marquis de Lafayette).
  • British Defeat:
    • British surrendered after the Battle of Yorktown in 1781.
    • America gained independence.
  • Inspiration:
    • The American Revolution inspired similar revolutions in France and Haiti.

Articles of Confederation

  • State Constitutions:
    • States had their own constitutions that placed power in the legislative body.
  • Structure of the Articles:
    • All power in the federal government was placed in the legislative body (no executive or judicial branch).
    • No national military force.
    • Limited power to tax (federal government had to request revenue from states).
  • Northwest Ordinance of 1787:
    • Regulated westward migration and the formation of new states.
    • Abolished slavery in the Northwest Territory.
  • Weaknesses of the Articles:
    • Shays' Rebellion: Farmers in debt rebelled in Massachusetts.
      • Showed the weakness of the Articles of Confederation because there was no president to call and there was no national army to help.

Constitutional Convention (1787)

  • Purpose:
    • Initially to revise the Articles of Confederation, but instead created a new Constitution.
  • Factions:
    • Federalists: Wanted a stronger central government.
    • Anti-Federalists: Favored states' rights and opposed increasing federal power.
  • Representation Debate:
    • Virginia Plan: Representation based on population (favored larger states).
    • New Jersey Plan: Equal representation for all states (favored smaller states).
    • Great Compromise: Bicameral Congress with:
      • House of Representatives: Based on population.
      • Senate: Equal representation (two senators per state).
  • Three-Fifths Compromise:
    • Compromise on how to count enslaved people for representation.
    • Three-fifths of the enslaved population would be counted for representation.
  • New Constitution:
    • Provided for a stronger central government with three branches: legislative, executive, and judicial.
  • Ratification:
    • Federalist Papers: Essays written by Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison to persuade the public to support the Constitution.
    • Bill of Rights: Added to protect individual liberties and address Anti-Federalist concerns.
    • Constitution went into effect in March 1789.

Development of American Culture

  • Distinct American Culture:
    • Desire to define a distinct American culture after the Revolution.
    • Plans for public education.
    • Artwork depicting American themes (Charles Wilson Peel, Samuel Jennings).
  • Republican Motherhood:
    • Women could influence politics by raising virtuous, liberty-minded sons.

Early Government Under the Constitution

  • Washington's Presidency:
    • George Washington elected President, John Adams Vice President.
    • Established departments of Treasury, State, War, and Justice.
    • Alexander Hamilton as Secretary of the Treasury.
  • Hamilton's Policies:
    • Federal assumption of state debts.
    • Creation of a national bank (Bank of the United States).
    • Arguments for the bank and the debt plan invoked the elastic clause of the constitution which says that congress has the right to make any law that is necessary and proper in order to carry out its other responsibilities.
  • Opposition to Federalists:
    • Democratic-Republicans (Jefferson, Madison) opposed Federalist policies, viewing them as federal overreach.
    • Neutrality during the French Revolution. They feared dissent both at home and abroad and so the federalist dominated congress passed Sedition Acts.
  • Whiskey Rebellion (1794):
    • Farmers rebelled against a tax on whiskey.
    • Washington federalized state militias to put down the rebellion.
  • Washington's Farewell Address:
    • Cautioned against political parties and foreign alliances.
  • Adam's Presidency:
    • John Adams elected as the second president.
  • XYZ Affair:
    • French diplomats demanded a bribe from American delegation.
    • Led to outrage in the US.
  • Alien and Sedition Acts:
    • Alien Acts: Allowed the deportation of non-citizens.
    • Sedition Acts: Made it illegal to criticize the government.
  • Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions:
    • Argued that states could nullify unconstitutional federal laws.

Relations with Britain, Spain, and American Indians

  • Threats to US Sovereignty:
    • Tensions with Britain, Spain, and conflicts with American Indians.
  • Indian Trade and Intercourse Act:
    • Regulated relations between settlers and Indians.
  • Pinckney Treaty:
    • Established the border between the US and Spain at the 31st parallel.

The Legacy of Slavery

  • Regional Attitudes:
    • North: Growth of free black population; some voting rights for black property owners; African Methodist Episcopal Church.
    • South: Growing enslaved population; stricter laws against freeing slaves; expansion of slavery into western territories.