Period 2 Notes
Causes of the Revolution
Caused by both sides
American Actions
Sons of liberty
Committees of Correspondence
British Actions
Townsend Revenue Act
Tea Tax
Manner in which the revolution took place
Took place in stages
Social and economic, then political and militarily
Technically was a civil war because it was British between British
Values and Objectives of the cololonies
Wanted to distance colonies from the British
Wanted political independence
Did not want to free commoner from administration control
They did not want total separation, they just wanted more control over themselves
Build up to the Revolution(1750-1775)
Navigation acts
1656-60
Restricted colonial trade
King George’s War
1740-48
Tension, they needed soldiers, additional taxes
Between the British, French, and Spanish over who would be dominant in North America
Was light fighting, not all out war
Most of the main fighting was up in Canada where the French had power
7 Year’s War(French and Indian War)
1756-63
Friction between American and English.
Was a war between the French and the British
The British and Colonists vs the French and the Indians
New York/Canada region was where most of the fighting happened
British and colonists won the war, ended with the Treaty of Paris in 1763
The British gained from Georgia to the Mississippi up into Canada
The British were in a lot of debt so started taxing us more
Writ of Assistance(1760)
Give British people the authority to search peoples property who they think are smuggling something or going around the navigation acts
Proclamation of 1763
Done right after the British won the French Indian war and won a ton of land
The British disallowed us from going farther west
Sugar tax
Soon after, added taxes on some people
Stamp Act
1765
The stamp act does not tax stamps
First tax that everybody has to pay
Not crazy high, but it is a very annoying tax
People started to protest
Quartering Act
Allowed soldiers to stay in colonists houses
Boston Massacre
1770
Physical conflict, they killed a couple people
Committee of Correspondence
1772
Beginning of independence
Soldiers who killed people did go to trial
They will correspond with each other; they write letters to each other
Gaspee Incident
1772
The sons of liberty set a ship on fire
Tea Act
1773
Taxed tea probably
Boston Tea Party
1773
Violent conflict
They destroyed a lot of tea, 10’s of millions of dollars of today’s money
Intolerable Acts(Coercive Acts)
1774
The British trying to hunt the people who were wronging them
More Hasher taxes
Shuts down the Boston Harbor
Martial Law
Reactions to the Intolerable Acts
1st Continental Congress
1774
Tension
Suffolk Resolves
Puts some states basically at rebellion with each other
Georgia didn’t show up
They didn’t want to make the British mad, they were the newest successful colony
Lexington and Concord
There are shots fired and physical fights at Lexington between us and the British
At concord there are more Americans than British and the British retreat
John Locke
Enlightenment philosopher
Changed relationship between monarch and people
Believed people have rights, “Life, liberty, and property” that no government can take away
Power resides in people
People agree to a “social contract” with the government
Thomas Paine
Applied Locke’s ideas to the events of the revolution
Published a pamphlet called “Common Sense”
Argued that colonies were being abused by Britain and would be fine on their own
It was written in clear forceful language so the common man can understand it
Described to the American commoner how the British were violating the “social contract”
Groups for the war
Patriots
Pro War, wanted to break away from England
Largest support is from New England and Virginia
Many were volunteers that would fight in local militias then return home.
Washington offered to free the slaves if they fought for the Americas.
33%-40% were in this group
About 210,000 fought for this group
Loyalist(Tories)
Maintained allegiance to England
25%-35% was in this group
About 60,000 fought for the crown
Had large numbers in New York, Georgia, and New Hampshire
More disconnected areas had loyalty to the British
A lot of people were loyal to the British because of fear
Native Americans eventually supported the British
Neutral
The rest of the people were neutral
Mostly interior farmers who didn’t really care either way
American Strengths
Fought on Home turf
Able to mobilize forces quickly
Only had to prolong the war to consider it a win
Effective leadership
Better morale
Allies
British Strengths
Generally well trained and well supplied
Large population
Large Navy
Had the support of the tories(some locals)
Brought in British mercenaries
These people had a motivation to stay alive and was just there for money though
British Weaknesses
Had to transport troops very far to fight
Half of the royal navy was in dry dock
Lack of public support
Tactics of the war
Accuracy of the guns sucked
100 yard distances for the battlefield
Movement was key
Americans started using guerrilla warfare
Lexington and Concord
April 1775
“The short heard around the world
Prompted the second continental congress to get together
Bunker hill was in June 1775 so closer after
Happen in Boston
The British won because the Americans ran out of materials, about 1000 Brits died though
This all prompted the first continental army
Battle of Trenton
Washington gives us a very iconic image of the war, Washington crossing the Delaware river
Was not a realistic image, they were trying to sneak across the image
Happens on December 26th
This means that people were “celebrating”
They were hungover
They were too celebrated
Battle of Saratoga
Very very important Battle
They gave some people hunting rifles which were accurate from much farther
They would start shooting before most people were starting
Ben Franklin
Has been in France and trying to convince them to fight with the Americans
They finally agree after this battle
Negotations
1781 treaties start to be negotiated
In Paris
Why we won
Allies
Guerilla Tactics
Home field advantage
Leaders
Treaty of Paris 1783
Us pulled out of alliance with Spain and France, negotiates secretly with England
Independence was recognized
Land was given to America
Prisoners returned
British agree
People still had to pay debts owed to England
Recommendations
Articles of Confederation
State governments
Generally had similar themes and concepts behind them
They all wanted separation of branches, judicial, legislative, executive.
They all wanted voting
They all wanted political branches
They mostly allowed most white men to vote, although all had voting requirements mostly based on how much land you owned(aristocracy)
Most States had their own bill of rights
Virginia bill of rights
Written by George Mason
Our federal bill of rights was based off of the Virginia Bill of rights partially
National Level
Continental Congress eventually passed the articles of confederation
Articles of Confederation Specifically
Made a very decentralized government
Central government only had one branch; Congress(Known as unicameral)
Each state was given one vote and 9 out of 13 votes were required to pass laws
To amend laws required unanimous vote
For minimal laws, a committee of states could vote
Won us the war
Land ordinance of 1785
Northwest ordinance of 1787
Congress has the power to
Declare war
Send diplomats
Congress did not have the power to
Have a ruler
Have executive agencies
Federal taxes
Army funding
Navy funding
Failures
Economic Failures
War debts unpaid
Congress issued worthless paper money, they called it continentals
No power to tax so they requested donations from the states
Could not regulate local or international commerce
Diplomatic Issues
Britain failed to evacuate forts
Britain did not send anybody until 1791
Spain closed Mississippi
Shay’s Rebellion
1786-1787
Was 5+ years after the war
The people fought for freedom from their taxes just 5-10 years ago
Their new government then started to tax them more
Other changes to America
Titles
Church And State
Women
Slavery
Bill of rights
Also heavily influenced by the Virginia Statute of religious freedom
The Convention
George Washington called for all of the states to meet in Annapolis Maryland in the summer of 1786.
Only 5 States showed up so they called for one in Philadelphia the next year
Shay’s rebellion made it so that all the states decided to show up to the meeting in Philadelphia.
There were 55 delegates
Decided not to communicate with the public until they were done
We call them old men but they were all like 40 something years old(mostly), some of them were about 81 though
Important people there
George Washington
Ben Franklin
Alexander Hamilton
James Madison
Important people who WERE NOT THERE
John Jay
Thomas Jefferson
John Adams
Thomas Paine
Sam Adams
Patrick Henry
Issues at the Convention
Representation-Large vs small states
Trade; how much power the states/federal government will have
Election of President
Key Compromise
Virginia Plan
Argued that representation should be based off population
Smaller states argued everyone should be equal
Led to the great compromise
Made a two house legislator, House of Representatives and Senate
Each state has equal representation in the Senate
In Congress, each state has votes based on their population
3/5 Compromise
Slaves count at 3/5 of a person in terms of votes in the House of Representatives
Commerce can now be controlled at the national level by congress
Slavery
They wanted to postpone decision on slavery until 20 years later, at the start of the 19th century
Slavery is less prominent
Constitution
Strength of the national government
Represents the interests of all people
Best protects the nation
Pay debts and insures a stable currency
Sets national standards for people’s rights
Weaknesses of the national government
You removed from some people to understand their needs
Can be abusive
Might make states irrelevant
Operating Principles
Supreme law of the land is article 6
Sets up the supremacy clause
Nothing can overrule this
National Judiciary is article 3
Executive branch is article 2
Elastic Clause is article 1 sec 8 clause 18
Aka implied powers
Says the government can create anything it deems necessary
Elements of Freedom
Bill of right
Federalist Papers
A collection of 85 essays that argued the positions of the federalist
Believed that multiple factions balanced each others powers
Hamilton, James Maddison, Georgie Washington, and Ben Franklin were the leaders
Believed buttons rights were implied; no need for a bill of rights
Anti-Federalist
Believed that this one central government wouldn’t be able to be good for everybody
Was very concerned with making sure that everyone’s rights were protected
Ratification
Bill of rights becomes official in 1791
This struggle over ratification led to the first political parties in the United States, as Federalists supported a stronger central government, while Anti-Federalists demanded safeguards for individual liberties.
Supremecy Clause
Made it so that nothing can overrule the consitution, besides amendments.
This foundational principle ensured that federal laws take precedence over state laws, reinforcing the authority of the national government.
Elastic Clause
Set up in article one
Gives the authority to the government to make things as they see fit.
First used when the government used it to make a national bank
Aritcles of the Constitution
Article one
Established the US Congress with two parties
Basic operations of both houses and the powers delegated to th house
Outlines how a bill become a law
Gives the power to declare war
Explanation of the powers granted to Congress, including taxation and regulation of commerce.
You could be 25 when you get elected into the house of representitives, must be a US citizen
Senators need to be naturalized, 30 years old, and term is 6 years.
Article Two
Sets up the election
Amendments
electoral college
census
Roles and Powers
Chief Executive
Chief Diplomat
Commander in Chief
Chief Legistlators
Chief of State
Judicial Powers
Head of Party
Multiple amendments have changed article two
Article Three
Just says that they will have a Judiciary system, doesnt really actually create it
Allows courts to interpret the laws
Article Four
Shows powers between the states and federal government
Article Five
is about amendments, outlines four proccesses
All involve the national government
to propose amendments, which can be initiated either by a two-thirds majority in both houses of Congress or by a national convention called by two-thirds of state legislatures.