Review of Early American History

The Seven Years’ War (1754–1763)

• Also called the French and Indian War, one of several “wars for empire” between the British and the French.
• Resulted from colonial expansion as English settlers moved into the Ohio Valley, opposed by French fortified outposts.
• George Washington led a colonial contingent, attacked a French outpost, and surrendered but was welcomed as a hero in Virginia.
• Most Native Americans allied with the French, who had better relations with them.
• England gained the upper hand after years, becoming the undisputed colonial power.
• The treaty gave England control of Canada and almost everything east of the Mississippi Valley.
• The French retained only a few small islands, highlighting mercantilism by prioritizing profitable islands over Canada.

Consequences of the Seven Years' War

• William Pitt, the English Prime Minister, supported colonists and encouraged war participation.
• Change in British leadership post-war led to colonial resentment.
• Native Americans could no longer exploit French and English disputes to their advantage.
• English expansionism was more disruptive to Native American life.
• The English raised prices of goods sold to Native Americans and stopped paying rent on western forts.
• Ottawa war chief Pontiac led a rebellion, attacking colonial outposts in the Ohio Valley.
• The Paxton Boys, Scots-Irish frontiersmen in Pennsylvania, murdered members of the Susquehannock tribe in response to Pontiac's Rebellion.

Albany Plan of Union

• Developed by Benjamin Franklin in 1754.
• Proposed an intercolonial government and tax collection system for defense.
• Representatives from seven colonies met in Albany, New York, to consider the plan.
• Franklin also negotiated with the Iroquois.
• The plan was rejected by the colonies, who didn't want to relinquish control over taxation or unite under a single colonial legislature.
• Franklin's frustration was shown in a political cartoon of a snake broken into pieces with the words "Join or Die."

Taxation without Representation

British Laws and Policies: The Sugar Act, the Currency Act, and the Stamp Act

• Financing the war created a huge debt for the British government.
• King George III and Prime Minister George Grenville thought colonists should help pay the debt.
• Colonists believed they had already fulfilled their obligation by providing soldiers.

New Regulations and Taxes

• Parliament imposed new regulations and taxes on colonists.
• The Sugar Act of 1764 established new duties and provisions aimed at deterring molasses smugglers.
• There was little colonial resistance to trade and manufacturing regulations before the decade leading up to the Revolutionary War.
• The Sugar Act actually lowered the duty on molasses from the West Indies.

Colonial Response

• Colonists were angry about stricter enforcement and duty collection.
• It was difficult for colonial shippers to avoid minor violations of the Sugar Act.
• Violators were arrested and tried in vice-admiralty courts without jury deliberation.
• Some colonists felt Parliament was overstepping its authority and violating their rights as Englishmen.

Colonial Discontent

• The Sugar Act, Currency Act, and Proclamation of 1763 caused discontent in the colonies.
• Colonists bristled at British attempts to exert greater control.
• This marked the end of Britain's policy of salutary neglect.
• Economic depression exacerbated the situation.
• Colonial protest was uncoordinated and ineffective.

The Stamp Act

• Passed in 1765 by Parliament to raise revenue.
• Awakened the colonists to the likelihood of more taxes to follow.
• Demonstrated that colonies' tradition of self-taxation was being unjustly taken by Parliament.
• It was a broad-based tax, covering all legal documents and licenses.
• Affected almost everyone, particularly lawyers.
• Tax on goods produced within the colonies.

Reaction to the Stamp Act

• Built on previous grievances and more forceful than any prior protest.
• James Otis's pamphlet, The Rights of the British Colonies Asserted and Proved, laid out the colonists’ argument against the taxes.
• Otis argued for "No taxation without representation."
• He suggested either representation in Parliament or greater self-government for the colonies.
• British scoffed at the notion, arguing for virtual representation.
• Colonists knew that their representation would be too small to protect their interests and wanted to determine their own taxes.

Opposition to the Stamp Act

• Opponents united in various colonies.
• Patrick Henry drafted the Virginia Stamp Act Resolves, asserting colonists’ right to self-government.
• In Boston, mobs burned customs officers in effigy and tore down a customs house, nearly destroying the governor’s mansion.
• Protest groups formed, calling themselves Sons of Liberty.
• Opposition was so effective that no duty collectors were willing to perform their job.

Repeal of the Stamp Act

• In 1766, Parliament repealed the Stamp Act.
• George III replaced Prime Minister Grenville with Lord Rockingham, who had opposed the Stamp Act.
• Rockingham oversaw the repeal but also linked it to the passage of the Declaratory Act, which asserted the British government's right to tax and legislate in all cases anywhere in the colonies.
• Although the colonists had won the battle over the stamp tax, they had not yet gained any ground in the war of principles over Parliament's powers in the colonies.

The Townshend Acts

• Drafted by Charles Townshend, minister of the exchequer.
• Taxed goods imported directly from Britain, the first such tax in the colonies.
• Some tax collected paid tax collectors, preventing colonial assemblies from withholding wages to get their way.
• Created more vice-admiralty courts and new government offices to enforce the Crown’s will in the colonies.
• Suspended the New York legislature for not complying with a law requiring colonists to supply British troops.
• Instituted writs of assistance, licenses allowing the British to search any place suspected of hiding smuggled goods.

Colonial Response to the Townshend Acts

• Stronger than previous protests.
• The Massachusetts Assembly sent the Massachusetts Circular Letter to other assemblies, asking them to protest in unison.
• British fanned the flames of protest by ordering the assemblies not to discuss the Massachusetts letter.
• Governors dissolved legislatures that discussed the letter, further infuriating colonists.
• Colonists held numerous rallies and organized boycotts.
• Sought support of “commoners” for the first time.
• Boycotts were most successful because they affected British merchants, who then joined the protest.
• Colonial women were essential in the effort to replace British imports with “American” (New England) products.
• After two years, Parliament repealed the Townshend Acts.

The Quartering Act of 1765

• Stationed large numbers of troops in America.
• Made the colonists responsible for the cost of feeding and housing them.
• Even after the Townshend duties were repealed, the soldiers remained, particularly in Boston.
• Officially sent to keep the peace but heightened tensions.
• Detachment was huge - 4,000 men in a city of only 16,000.
• Soldiers sought off-hour employment and competed with colonists for jobs.

The Boston Massacre

• On March 5, 1770, a mob pelted a group of soldiers with rock-filled snowballs.
• Soldiers fired on the crowd, killing five.
• The propaganda campaign that followed suggested that the soldiers had shot into a crowd of innocent bystanders.
• John Adams defended the soldiers in court, helping to establish a tradition of giving a fair trial to all who are accused.

The Calm, and Then the Storm

• The Boston Massacre shocks both sides into de-escalating rhetoric.
• An uneasy status quo falls into place for the next two years.
• Colonial newspapers discuss ways to alter the relationship between the mother country and the colonies.
• Very few radicals suggest independence.
• Things pick up in 1772 when British implement Townshend Acts (colonial administrators paid from customs revenues).
• Colonists respond cautiously, setting up Committees of Correspondence to trade ideas and inform one another of the political mood.
• Mercy Otis Warren and other writers call for revolution.
• John Dickinson's "Letters From a Farmer in Pennsylvania" unites colonists against Townshend Acts.
• British grant East India Tea Company a monopoly on tea trade in colonies, causing colonists to see new taxes imposed.
• The Boston Tea Party results in British response with Coercive/Intolerable Acts (closes Boston Harbor, tightens control over Massachusetts government, Quartering Act).
• The Quebec Act (grants greater liberties to Catholics, extends boundaries of Quebec Territory) further impedes westward expansion, causing further dissatisfaction among colonists.

Congress

The First Continental Congress

• Convened in late 1774.
• All colonies except Georgia sent delegates.
• Represented diverse perspectives.
• Goal: enumerate American grievances, develop strategy for addressing grievances, formulate colonial position on relationship between royal government and colonial governments.
• Came up with list of laws colonists wanted repealed.
• Agreed to impose a boycott on British goods until grievances were redressed.
• Formed Continental Association with towns setting up committees of observation to enforce the boycott.
• These committees became de facto governments.
• Formulated limited set of parameters for acceptable Parliamentary interference in colonial affairs.

Winter of 1774 and Spring of 1775

• Committees of observation expanded powers.
• Replaced British-sanctioned assemblies in many colonies.
• These committees led acts of insubordination (collecting taxes, disrupting court sessions, organizing militias and stockpiling weapons).
• John Adams later commented: "The Revolution was effected before the war commenced. The Revolution was in the minds and hearts of the people."

The Shot Heard ‘Round the World

• The British Underestimated the Pro-Revolutionary Movement.
• Government officials believed if they arrested ringleaders and confiscated weapons, violence could be averted.
• Dispatched troops to confiscate weapons in Concord, Massachusetts in April 1775.
• Troops had to pass through Lexington, where they confronted a small colonial militia (minutemen).
• Someone fired a shot, which drew British return fire.
• Minutemen suffered 18 casualties (8 dead).
• British proceeded to Concord where they faced a larger militia.
• Militia inflicted numerous casualties and forced British to retreat.
• The Battle of Concord referred to as "the shot heard 'round the world."

The Pre-Revolutionary War Era

• Colonists used the time to rally citizens to the cause of independence.
• Not all were convinced; Loyalists included government officials, devout Anglicans, merchants dependent on trade with England, religious and ethnic minorities who feared persecution by the rebels.
• Many enslaved people believed their chances for liberty were better with the British than with the colonists.
• An increase in slave insurrections dampened some Southerners' enthusiasm for revolution.
• Patriots were mostly white Protestant property holders and gentry, as well as urban artisans, especially in New England.
• Much of the rest of the population hoped the whole thing would blow over.
• Quakers of Pennsylvania were pacifists and wanted to avoid war.

The Second Continental Congress

• Prepared for war by establishing a Continental Army, printing money, and creating government offices to supervise policy.
• Chose George Washington to lead the army because he was well-liked and a Southerner.
• John Dickinson and the Olive Branch Petition
• Many delegates followed John Dickinson, who was pushing for reconciliation with Britain using the Olive Branch Petition.
• Adopted by the Continental Congress on July 5, 1775.
• Last-ditch attempt to avoid armed conflict.
• King George III was not interested since he considered the colonists to be in open rebellion.
• One year before the adoption of the Declaration of Independence, the colonial leaders were trying to reconcile with the mother country.

The Declaration of Independence

• Published in January 1776 by Thomas Paine, an English printer.
• Advocated for colonial independence and republicanism over monarchy.
• Sold more than 100,000 copies in its first three months.
• Accessible to colonists who couldn't always understand the Enlightenment-speak of the Founding Fathers.
• Helped swing support to the patriot cause among people who were unsure about attacking the mother country.

Success of Common Sense

• Bigger success than James Otis's The Rights of the British Colonies Asserted and Proved.
• Literacy rates in New England were higher due to the Puritan legacy of teaching children to read the Bible.
• Nevertheless, Paine's pamphlet reached a wider audience, including those who couldn't read.
• Proportional equivalent of selling 13 million downloads today.

Role of Propaganda

• Rebels were looking for a masterpiece of propaganda to rally colonists to their cause.
• Common Sense served as this masterpiece and helped swing support to the patriot cause.

Declaration of Independence

• Commissioned by the Congress in June 1776.
• Written by Thomas Jefferson.
• Enumerated the colonies' grievances against the Crown.
• Articulated the principle of individual liberty and government's responsibility to serve the people.
• Despite its flaws, it remains a powerful document.
• Signed on July 4, 1776.

The Significance of Declaration of Independence

• The Revolutionary War became a war for independence with the signing of the Declaration.
• The Declaration not only set out the colonies' complaints against the British government but also laid out the philosophical underpinnings of the revolution, most notably the assertion that all men are created equal and have certain inalienable rights.
• The Declaration has been considered as a seminal document in American history and has been a source of inspiration for movements for civil rights and freedom across the world.

The Battle of Yorktown

• Occurred on October 17, 1781.
• Symbolic end to the American Revolution.
• Major British general, Cornwallis, was surrounded by the French navy and George Washington’s troops and surrendered.
• Began a long period of negotiations between the American colonies and Great Britain, which would finally end the war in October of 1783.

Other Facts about the War

• The Continental Army had trouble recruiting good soldiers.
• Congress eventually recruited Black people, and up to 5,000 fought on the side of the rebels.
• The Franco-American Alliance, negotiated by Ben Franklin in 1778, brought the French into the war on the side of the colonists.
• The Treaty of Paris, signed at the end of 1783, granted the United States independence and generous territorial rights.

The Articles of Confederation

Articles of Confederation

• Sent to the colonies for ratification in 1777 by the Continental Congress.
• The first national constitution of the United States.
• Intentionally created little to no central government due to fear of creating a tyrannical government.

Limitations of the Articles of Confederation

• Gave the federal government no power to raise an army.
• Could not enforce state or individual taxation or a military draft.
• Could not regulate trade among the states or international trade.
• Had no executive or judicial branch.
• The legislative branch gave each state one vote, regardless of the state's population.
• In order to pass a law, 9 of the 13 of the states had to agree.
• In order to amend or change the Articles, unanimous approval was needed.

Impact of the Limitations

• These limitations hurt the colonies during Shays's Rebellion.
• Eventually, the limitations of the Articles of Confederation led to the drafting of the Constitution of the United States.

A New Constitution

By 1787,

• The federal government lacked sufficient authority under the Articles of Confederation.
• Alexander Hamilton was concerned about no uniform commercial policy and fear for the survival of the new republic.

Annapolis Convention

• Hamilton convened the meeting.
• Only five delegates showed up.

Constitutional Convention

• Congress consented to a "meeting in Philadelphia" for the sole purpose of revising the Articles of Confederation.
• Delegates from all states except Rhode Island attended the meeting.
• The meeting took place during the long, hot summer of 1787.

Delegates

• 55 delegates.
• All men.
• All white.
• Many wealthy lawyers or landowners.
• Many owned enslaved people.
• Came from different ideological backgrounds.

New Jersey Plan

• Called for modifications to Articles of Confederation.
• Called for equal representation from each state.

Virginia Plan

• Proposed by James Madison.
• Called for a new government based on the principle of checks and balances.
• The number of representatives for each state was based on population.

Three-tiered federal government

• Executive branch led by president.
• Legislative branch composed of bicameral Congress.
• Judicial branch composed of Supreme Court.

Legislative Branch: Expanded powers:

• Enforce federal taxation.
• Regulate trade between states.
• Regulate international trade.
• Coin and borrow money.
• Create postal service.
• Authorize military draft.
• Declare war.

Presidential Election

• Indirectly chosen by Electoral College.
• College composed of political leaders representing popular vote of each state.
• To win a state's electoral votes, a candidate must win a majority of the popular vote in that state.
• A state's electoral count is the sum of senators and representatives (determined by population).
• Gives states with larger populations more power in presidential elections.

Convention

• Lasted 4 months.
• Delegates hammered out compromises.
• The Great Compromise (Connecticut Compromise) blended NJ and VA plans for a bicameral legislature.

Constitution established

• House of Representatives elected by the people.
• Senate elected by state legislatures.
• President and VP elected by Electoral College.
• Three branches of government: executive, legislative, judicial.
• Power of checks and balances.

Three-Fifths Compromise

• A method for counting enslaved people in southern states for "proportional" representation in Congress.
• Enslaved people counted as 3/5 of a person.

Signing of the Constitution

• Only three of 42 remaining delegates refused to sign.
• Two refused because it did not include a bill of rights.

Ratification of Constitution

• Not guaranteed.
• Opponents (Anti-Federalists) portrayed federal government as all-powerful beast.
• Anti-Federalists came from the backcountry and were particularly appalled by the absence of a bill of rights.
• The position resonated in state legislatures where the fate of the Constitution lay.
• Some held out for the promise of immediate addition of Bill of Rights upon ratification.

Federalist Position

• Forcefully and persuasively argued in Federalist Papers.
• Papers anonymously authored by James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay.
• Published in New York newspapers and later widely circulated.
• Critical in swaying opinion in New York, a large and important state.
• Other important states of the era: Virginia, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts.

Constitution

• Went into effect in 1789.
• Bill of Rights added in 1791.

The Washington Presidency

George Washington as First President

• Unanimously chosen by Electoral College.
• Did not seek presidency but was the most popular figure in the colonies.
• Accepted the role out of a sense of obligation.

Washington's Presidency

• Exercised authority with care and restraint.
• Used veto only if convinced a bill was unconstitutional.
• Comfortable delegating responsibility, created a government of the best minds of his time.
• Created a cabinet (not specifically granted in Constitution but every president since has had one).
• The cabinet is made up of heads of executive departments, functions as the president's chief group of advisors.

Cabinet Selections

• Thomas Jefferson as secretary of state.
• Alexander Hamilton as secretary of the treasury.
• Disagreed on the proper relationship between the federal and state government.
• Hamilton favored a strong central government and weaker state governments.
• Jefferson feared monarchy/tyranny, favored a weaker federal government with main powers of defense and international commerce.

National Bank Debate

• Hamilton proposed a National Bank to help regulate and strengthen the economy.
• Both houses of Congress approved, but Washington was uncertain of constitutionality.
• The debate established two main schools of thought on constitutional law.
  • Strict constructionists (led by Jefferson and Madison) argued the bank was not necessary and thus beyond national government's powers.
  • Hamilton (broad constructionist) argued the bank implied power of government and was not explicitly forbidden by the Constitution.
• Washington agreed with Hamilton and signed the bill.

Hamilton's Treasury

• Busy and successful tenure.
• Handled the national debt accrued during the war.
• A financial plan called for the federal government to assume states' debts, repaying debt holders by giving them land on the western frontier.
• The plan favored northern banks and drew accusations of helping the monied elite at the expense of the working classes.
• Struck a political deal to get most of the plan implemented; the concession was a southern location for the nation's capital.
• The capital moved to Washington D.C. in 1800.

French Revolution and Washington Administration

• Took place during Washington's presidency.
• Caused considerable debate between Jefferson and Hamilton.
• Jefferson supported revolution and republican ideals.
• Hamilton had aristocratic leanings and disliked revolutionaries.
• The issue came to the forefront when France and England resumed hostilities.

U.S. Neutrality

• The British were the primary trading partner after the war, nudged the U.S. toward neutrality in the French-English conflict.
• Jefferson agreed on neutrality as the correct course to follow.
• Washington declared U.S. intention to remain "friendly and impartial" (Neutrality Proclamation).
• Genêt's visit sparked rallies by American supporters of the revolution.

Origins of Two-Party System: Differences between Hamilton and Jefferson

• Federalists (favoring strong federal government).
• Republicans/Democratic-Republicans (followers of Jefferson).
• The development of political parties troubled the framers of the Constitution, seen as factions dangerous to the survival of the Republic.
• Note:
  • Federalists who supported ratification of the Constitution are often the same people as Federalists who favored a strong federal government.
  • The Republican party created in the 1850s is a very different group that still survives today.

Hamilton's Financial Program and Whiskey Rebellion

• Implemented an excise tax on whiskey to raise revenue.
• Farmers in western Pennsylvania resisted, instigating the Whiskey Rebellion.
• Washington dispatched the militia to disperse rebels, demonstrating the new government's power to respond.
• The rebellion highlighted class tensions between inland farmers and coastal elites.

Jay's Treaty

• Negotiated by John Jay to address British evacuation of the NW and free trade violations.
• Prevented war with Great Britain but was considered too many concessions towards the British.
• Congress attempted to withhold funding to enforce the treaty.
• Washington refused to submit documents, establishing a precedent of executive privilege.
• Considered a low point of Washington's administration.

Pinckney's Treaty

• Negotiated by Thomas Pinckney with Spain, addressing use of the Mississippi River, duty-free access to markets, and removal of Spanish forts on American soil.
• Spain promised to try to prevent Native American attacks on Western settlers.
• Ratified by the U.S. Senate in 1796, considered a high point of Washington's administration.

Washington's Farewell Address

• Declined to run for a third term, setting a final precedent.
• Composed in part by Alexander Hamilton.
• Warned future presidents against "permanent alliances with any portion of the foreign world."
• Promoted the notion of friendly relationships with all nations but avoiding permanent alliances.
• The warning remained a prominent part of American foreign policy through the mid-20th century.

Republican Motherhood

General

• During the 1790s, women’s roles in courtship, marriage, and motherhood were reevaluated in light of the new republic and its ideals.
• Women were largely excluded from political activity but had an important civil role and responsibility.
• Women were to be the teachers and producers of virtuous male citizens.

Private Virtue

• Public virtue had been a strictly masculine quality in the past; private virtue emerged as a very important quality for women.
• Women were given the task of inspiring and teaching men to be good citizens through romance and motherhood.
• Women were to entertain only suitors with good morals, providing more incentive for men to be more ethical.

Motherhood

• Women held a tremendous influence on their sons.
• Advocates for female education spoke out, arguing that educated women would be better mothers, who would produce better citizens.
• Even though the obligations of women had grown to include this new political meaning, traditional gender roles were largely unchanged as the education of women was meant only in service to husbands and family.

Republican Motherhood

• The idea of Republican Motherhood emerged in the early 1800s.
• The role of the mother became more prominent in child-rearing.
• Mothers were now expected to raise educated children who would contribute positively to the United States.

The Adams Presidency

General

• The Electoral College selected John Adams, a Federalist, as Washington’s successor.
• Under the then-current rules, the second-place candidate became vice president, so Adams’s vice president was the Democratic-Republican Thomas Jefferson.

Washington Era

• Following the Washington Era, Adams’s presidency was bound to be an anticlimax.
• Adams, argumentative and elitist, was a difficult man to like.
• He was also a hands-off administrator, often allowing Jefferson’s political rival Alexander Hamilton to take charge.
• The animosity between Jefferson and Hamilton and the growing belligerence between the Federalists and Democratic-Republicans set the ugly, divisive tone for Adams’s term.

France

• Perhaps Adams’s greatest achievement was avoiding all-out war with France.
• After the United States signed the Jay Treaty with Britain, France began seizing American ships on the open seas.
• Adams sent three diplomats to Paris, where French officials demanded a huge bribe before they would allow negotiations even to begin.
• The diplomats returned home, and Adams published their written report in the newspapers.
• Because he deleted the French officials’ names and replaced them with the letters X, Y, and Z, the incident became known as the XYZ Affair.
• As a result, popular sentiment did a complete turnaround; formerly pro-French, the public became vehemently anti-French to the point that a declaration of war seemed possible.
• Aware of how small the American military was, Adams avoided the war (a war Hamilton wanted) and negotiated a settlement with a contrite France, although he was not able to avoid the naval skirmishes called the Quasi-War.

Alien and Sedition Acts

• The low point of Adams’s tenure was the passage and enforcement of the Alien and Sedition Acts.
• The acts allowed the government to forcibly expel foreigners and to jail newspaper editors for “scandalous and malicious writing.”
• The acts were purely political, aimed at destroying new immigrants’—especially French immigrants’—support for the Democratic-Republicans.
• Worst of all, the Sedition Act, which strictly regulated anti-government speech, was a clear violation of the First Amendment.

Opposition to Alien and Sedition Acts

• Vice President Jefferson led the opposition to the Alien and Sedition Acts.
• Together with Madison, he drafted the Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions (which were technically anonymous).
• The resolutions argued that the states had the right to judge the constitutionality of federal laws.
• The resolutions went on to exercise this authority they claimed, later referred to as nullification, by declaring the Alien and Sedition Acts void.
• Virginia and Kentucky, however, never prevented enforcement of the laws.
• Rather, Jefferson used the laws and the resolutions as key issues in his 1800 campaign for the presidency.
• Even today, states often pass resolutions similar to these to express their displeasure with the federal government.