HIST 207A - Midterm 2
Massachusetts Circular
a letter penned by Son of Liberty Samuel Adams that laid out the unconstitutionality of taxation without representation and encouraged the other colonies to boycott British goods
CHAPTER 6: America's War for Independence, 1775-1783. Describe the ideology of republicanism. In what ways does the United States Constitution manifest the principles of a republican form of government?
a political philosophy that holds that states should be governed by representatives, not a monarch; as a social philosophy, republicanism required civic virtue of its citizens Many of the delegates to the Constitutional Convention had serious reservations about democracy, which they believed promoted anarchy. To allay these fears, the Constitution blunted democratic tendencies that appeared to undermine the republic. Thus, to avoid giving the people too much direct power, the delegates made certain that senators were chosen by the state legislatures, not elected directly by the people (direct elections of senators came with the Seventeenth Amendment to the Constitution, ratified in 1913). As an additional safeguard, the delegates created the Electoral College, the mechanism for choosing the president. Under this plan, each state has a certain number of electors, which is its number of senators (two) plus its number of representatives in the House of Representatives. Critics, then as now, argue that this process prevents the direct election of the president.
Melancton Smith
anti federalist who felt constitution created domination of "common people" by the "well born"; "this will be a govt of oppression
THE CAUSES OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. Both the British government and American colonies were devoted to the principle of "no taxation without representation." This being true, how did taxation and representation become major sources of controversy between the colonists and Parliament? Why was the American argument that taxation without consent tyrannical absurd to most British officials? Be sure to analyze the important distinctions between virtual representation and direct representation.
c. most Americans accepted the principle of virtual representation as a compromise to the volatile taxation question
machine tools
machines that made parts for other machines
CHAPTER 7: Creating Republican Governments, 1776-1790. Describe popular attitudes toward African Americans, women, and Native Americans in the wake of the Revolution. In what ways did the established social and political order depend upon keeping members of these groups in their circumscribed roles? If those roles were to change, how would American society and politics have had to adjust?
they had more of a role in society. due to the fact that during the american revolution women were left to tend for their husbands businesses and African Americans were eventually allowed to fight in the war. the revolution had little to no impact on native Americans
Workingmen's party
was the first Marxist-influenced political party in the United States.was formed in 1876, when a congress of socialists from around the United States met in Philadelphia in an attempt to unify their political power. Seven societies sent representatives. Represented socialistic ideas.
CHAPTER 7: Creating Republican Governments, 1776-1790. In this chapter's discussion of New York's ratifying convention, Alexander Hamilton takes issue with Anti-Federalist delegate Melancton Smith's assertion that (as Hamilton says) "a pure democracy, if it were practicable, would be the most perfect government." What did Smith—and Hamilton—mean by "a pure democracy"? How does this compare to the type of democracy that represents the modern United States?
A "Pure Democracy" is a form of government that runs by rule by majority of every individual. ... Contrary to the arguments of Anti-federalists, Madison argued that multiplying the diversity of interests in a large republic is the key to breaking these dangerous majority factions. America is currently a republic, not a pure democracy, hence Madison's point.
Electoral College
A group of people named by each state legislature to select the president and vice president
Republicanism
A philosophy of limited government with elected representatives serving at the will of the people. The government is based on consent of the governed.
Sons of Liberty
A radical political organization for colonial independence which formed in 1765 after the passage of the Stamp Act. They incited riots and burned the customs houses where the stamped British paper was kept. After the repeal of the Stamp Act, many of the local chapters formed the Committees of Correspondence which continued to promote opposition to British policies towards the colonies. The Sons leaders included Samuel Adams and Paul Revere.
checks and balances
A system that allows each branch of government to limit the powers of the other branches in order to prevent abuse of power
Federalists
A term used to describe supporters of the Constitution during ratification debates in state legislatures.
THE WAR OF 1812. What were the causes of the War of 1812?
Across the Atlantic Ocean,the U.S. Congress, unaware of the British concession,declared war on England on June 18, 1812.President Madison's war message to Congress listed four major grounds for war against England—impressment of American seamen; violation of U.S. neutral rights and territorial waters; blockade of U.S. ports; and refusal to revoke the Orders-in-Council.
CHAPTER 9: Industrial Transformation in the North, 1800-1850. What might have been the advantages and disadvantages of railroads for the people who lived along the routes or near the stations?
Advantages: transportation to long distances Disadvantages: cutting through land, loud
CHAPTER 8: Growing Pains: The New Republic, 1790-1820. Describe Alexander Hamilton's plans to address the nation's financial woes. Which aspects proved most controversial, and why? What elements of the foundation Hamilton laid can still be found in the system today?
Alexander Hamilton wanted to "assume state debt and establish a national bank". However, his plan would have the government assume state's debt which would benefit where Hamilton sat politically, which was obviously quite controversial. As well as this it was really long, so most people didn't understand it. Hamilton also argued that centralized debt would ease the flow of capital through the new nation.
EMPIRE OF LIBERTY. Why were Americans apprehensive about the reacquisition of the Louisiana territory and Mississippi River by France in 1800?
Americans had two fears. Because the United States had no agreement with France concerning navigation on the Mississippi, the deal between Spain and France threatened to scuttle American commerce on the river. Also, Americans feared that Napoleon was determined to reconstructa powerful French empire in the New World.
proportional representation
An election system in which each party running receives the proportion of legislative seats corresponding to its proportion of the vote.
DIVISIONS AT HOME AND ABROAD. U.S.-British tensions following American Revolution
And so, when the British pulled out in city after city in the United States, up to tens of thousands of loyalists sometimes went with the retreating army to Britain and other parts of the British Empire. ... About half of the loyalists who left the United States ended up going north to Canada, settling in the province It's a part of the war that we tend to not think too much about or learn about in school. But there was a lot of bloodshed, and particularly in the South. And gangs of revolutionaries, gangs of loyalists, would attack each other, go to each other's plantations. In fact, some of the big battles in the South happened after the surrender at Yorktown. So, what all of this means is that there was a climate of violence and a climate of fear for many loyalists. And it meant that when the peace negotiations were going on, they were really concerned about what kinds of protections they might have in the new United States. And during this period, many of them felt that the protections that the U.S. was offering were not promises that they could really get behind.
Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton's financial program
As Treasury Secretary, Hamilton designed a financial system that made the United States the best credit risk in the western world. The paramount problem facing Hamilton was a huge national debt. He proposed that the government assume the entire debt of the federal government and the states.
FOREIGN POLICY IN THE EARLY AMERICAN REPUBLIC. What were the tough terms demanded on American trade by the British? Why were American leaders outraged by these conditions?
British laws, known as Orders in Council, declaring blockades against American ships bound for European ports. Attacks by "savages" (e.g., Indigenous peoples) on "one of our extensive frontiers" (the border with Canada) believed to be instigated by British troops in Canada.
Lord Dunmore's Proclamation
By November 14, 1775, when John Murray, Earl of Dunmore and royal governor of Virginia, issued his proclamation, his plan to offer freedom to slaves who would leave their patriot masters and join the royal forces was already well underway.
CHAPTER 5: Imperial Reforms and Colonial Protests, 1763-1774. What were the Committees of Correspondence? What role did the committees have in the independence movement?
Committees of Correspondence helped to coordinate resistance in all of the colonial port cities, so up and down the East Coast, British tea-carrying ships were unable to come to shore and unload their wares. In Charlestown, Boston, Philadelphia, and New York, the equivalent of millions of dollars' worth of tea was held hostage, either locked in storage warehouses or rotting in the holds of ships as they were forced to sail back to Great Britain. Committees of Correspondence and the Sons of Liberty went straight to work, spreading warnings about how the acts would affect the liberty of all colonists, not just urban merchants and laborers. The Massachusetts Government Act had shut down the colonial government there, but resistance-minded colonists began meeting in extralegal assemblies. One of these assemblies, the Massachusetts Provincial Congress, passed the Suffolk Resolves in September 1774, which laid out a plan of resistance to the Intolerable Acts. Meanwhile, the First Continental Congress was convening to discuss how to respond to the acts themselves.
Committees of Correspondence
Committees of Correspondence, organized by patriot leader Samuel Adams, was a system of communication between patriot leaders in New England and throughout the colonies. They provided the organization necessary to unite the colonies in opposition to Parliament. The committees sent delegates to the First Continental Congress.
XYZ AFFAIR. What did the Sedition Act of 1798 stipulate?
Congress also passed the Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798. The Alien Act extended the term ofresidence for aliens to be naturalized American citizens from five to fourteen years. (Hamiltonwanted foreigners to sit on ice for twenty-five years; other Federalists demanded that the term ofresidency be raised to thirty-five years.) Federalists wanted to keep immigrants from voting becausemany naturalized immigrants were voting for the rival Anti-Federalist party.The Alien Act also controlled the movements of non-naturalized foreigners; they had to registerwith the government if they planned to move from one location to another. Also, aliens could bedeported for speaking out against the American government or its officers. These provisions werenot unconstitutional, since foreigners are not protected by the Constitution. But although the letterof the Constitution was not violated, certainly the spirit was. These laws recalled the oppressive bentof Parliamentary laws passed during the late colonial era.The Sedition Act provided that newspapers would be shut down and newspapermen arrested forwritings which the government deemed were false and malicious.
DIVISIONS AT HOME AND ABROAD. How did James Madison want the United States to respond to British violations of American sovereignty? Why did Alexander Hamilton oppose Madison's position?
Congressman Madison urged the United Statesto threaten commercial retaliation against the British unless they were fair in their trading practices.Madison wanted to attain reciprocity by discrimination.This would entail favoring American ships in American portsand imposing import taxes on British good sentering the United States.But Madison was not satisfied; he wanted more.Madison wanted to favor French trade since the French bought more from the Americans than they sold to the Americans.Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson supported Congressman Madison's pro-French policy.But Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton vociferously opposed it.To Hamilton's mind, the only sensible foreign policy was friendship and close commercial tiesto Great Britain.Ultimately, Hamilton wanted an independent, powerful American economic empire that would dominate the Western hemisphere.But he realized that that dream would take time to be realized.Hamilton believed it was naïve of Madison and Jefferson to advocate economic discrimination against Britain, which was powerful on the political world stage—the Royal Navy was preeminent;the British Empire was an economic leviathan.
DIVISIONS AT HOME AND ABROAD. Why did Congressman James Madison want to threaten commercial retaliation against Britain? What was Madison's proposal of "reciprocity by discrimination"?
Congressman Madison, flushed with anger, arose in the House of Representatives,slammed his fist on his desk,and bitterly denounced these British acts of provocation.Madison declared:"The British sell to us twice as much as they buy from us. The French buy seven times more than they sell us."Madison insisted that it was time to cut British commerce until Britain traded fairly with the United States and respected American independence. However, President Washington rejected Madison's counsel.Instead, Washington sent Chief Justice John Jay to negotiate a treaty with England.The diplomatic mission was Hamilton's idea.
XYZ AFFAIR. What foreign policy crisis did President John Adams face shortly after entering the presidency?
Cries for war with Britain were widespread by 1794. Believing that war would be disastrous, President Washington sent John Jay to London to seek a diplomatic solution. The result was Jay's Treaty, signed in 1794. The treaty improved U.S.-British relations. France, interpreting the treaty as a newly formed alliance between the United States and an old enemy, retaliated by ordering the seizure of American ships carrying British goods. This plunged Adams into a foreign crisis that lasted for the duration of his administration. At first, Adams tried diplomacy by sending three commissioners to Paris to negotiate a settlement. However, Prime Minister Charles Maurice de Talleyrand of France insulted the American diplomats by first refusing to officially receive them. He then demanded a $250,000 personal bribe and a $10 million loan for his financially strapped country before he would begin peace negotiations. This episode, known as the XYZ affair, sparked a white-hot reaction within the United States.
FOREIGN POLICY IN THE EARLY AMERICAN REPUBLIC. During the 1780s, how did Americans nearly lose the independence that they had won in 1783?
During the 1780s, America fought against Great Britain, won the war, and created a government system. This 10 year period consisted of victory, conflict, economic and political distress, and progress. The American Revolutionary War ended 1783, and America's first president, George Washington, was elected in 1789. British and American negotiators in Paris signed preliminary peace terms in Paris late that November, and on September 3, 1783, Great Britain formally recognized the independence of the United States in the Treaty of Paris.
Marbury v. Madison (1803)
Established judicial review; "midnight judges;" John Marshall; power of the Supreme Court.
DIVISIONS AT HOME AND ABROAD. How were the Americans doubly blessed at the time of their independence?
First, Americans had avast, fertile, and untapped territory of tall trees and rich soil that spread out before them—straining even the pioneers' wild imaginations.In the 1780s, American essayist and poet Philip Freneau proclaimed the Mississippi River was the "prince of riversin comparison of whom the Nile is but a small rivulet,and the Danube a ditch."Second, the generation of Founding Fathers was the only generation which combined the nation's political leaders with its intellectual vanguardin the same people.The theoretical and the practical met in the same figures.This has not happened since.
DIVISIONS AT HOME AND ABROAD. Orders-in-Council
Formally, an "Order in Council" is an order by the King or Queen at a meeting of the Privy Council, roughly equivalent to an Executive Order in the United States, by which the British government decrees policies. The Orders are important for the role they played in shaping the British war effort against France, but they are also significant for the strained relations—and sometimes military conflict—they caused between Great Britain and neutral countries, whose trade was affected by them.
THE TREATY OF ALLIANCE. How did France assist the American revolutionary movement?
French playwright, financier, watchmaker, inventor, politician, and arms dealer Pierre Beaumarchais (BO-MAR-CHE),an admirer of the Americans, established a phony "trading company" called Roderique Hortalez and Company, to help the Americans in a clandestine way—funneling money and supplies to the American rebels.The trading company sent fourteen ships loaded with war materielto America. Covert French aid was substantial. The French supplied most of the gunpowder used by the American army during the first year of the war. Vergennes also convinced Spain to provide some secretaid.
THE CAUSES OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. Why was British Prime Minister George Grenville ambivalent concerning the Stamp Act crisis?
Grenville was ambivalent because he didn't want trouble from the American colonies, but he wasn't prepared to surrender to American commands. The British just defeated the French and established their worldwide empire, so they needed to stand firm so others wouldn't take advantage.
THE TREATY OF ALLIANCE. What was ironic about French assistance in the establishment of American independence?
Here is a central, inescapable irony—the United States could not have won independence from Britain without the assistance of France. Why is this ironic? For two reasons.First,Americans had long distrusted the French presence in North America, especially French occupation of Ohio and Mississippi. Second,a major motive of independence was the desire of the American colonists to isolate themselves from Europe.
DIVISIONS AT HOME AND ABROAD. What did President George Washington urge in his Farewell Address?
In 1796, in his Farewell Address, President Washington established the tradition of isolationism in US foreign policy. Washington cautioned Americans against tying their for tunesto foreign powers—warning Americans against "entangling alliances."Washington wrote: "The nation which indulges toward another nation an habitual hatredor an habitual fondnessis in some degrees a slave."President Washington asserted that if Americans were restrained in the 1790s,they would find few restraints in the future.
THE TREATY OF ALLIANCE. What was the Treaty of Alliance?
In February 1778, after lengthy negotiations, the Treaty of Alliance was signed, in which France officially recognized the independence of the United States, offered trade concessions, and privileges to U.S. shipping. The Treaty of Alliance gave Americans virtually everything they wanted and required virtually nothing in return.
FOREIGN POLICY IN THE EARLY AMERICAN REPUBLIC. How did U.S. commercial woes lead to the establishment of a stronger American government?
In general, it was the grim economic situations and political crises in the 1780s that compelled the American people to make a right choice to set up a stronger central government. Although the United States won a great victory in the Revolution, its debts could not be paid, economy could not develop, the people's living standard could not be improved, and the country could not be defended. The chaotic domestic situation and foreign threats impelled this newborn country to take measures. "Wise measures" as Washington suggested included reform in: government structure, allocation of powers and rights, legal system, etc.. These measures later saved the new regime.
CHAPTER 9: Industrial Transformation in the North, 1800-1850. Industrialization in the Northeast produced great benefits and also major problems. What were they? Who benefited and who suffered? Did the benefits outweigh the problems, or vice versa?
In the Northeast, industrialization was huge tot he economy of the northeast. The short growing season meant that the people needed some way to make money during the colder months. Manufacturing was a perfect fit. It would bring about greater specialization and allow for more goods to be created faster and at a cheaper price by fewer people. This meant the common laborer with no real set of skills could gain employment running a machine or performing one certain task everyday for their entire shift. The business owners also benefited. They could employ workers at a very cheap price. They would also employ women and children at an even cheaper price. This push for work led many people to leave farms and go to the cities where the factories were. This migration led to many cities to be overwhelmed and overpopulated. This led to diseases and sickness to be easily spread. Housing was hard to find and resulted in the creation of tenement housing. The common laborers while benefiting from steady work also suffered from terrible work conditions. Many of them doing the same monotonous work often led to terrible accidents. Some workers would lose fingers, arms, or legs. Those even more unfortunate would lose their lives. The laborers also had to work long shifts, usually a minimum of 12 hours. Hygiene in the factories, especially meat factories was anything but sanitary and acceptable (See Upton Sinclair's The Jungle). Industrialization and the benefits or problems really depends upon which side you were on. Consumers and business owners saw the benefits outweighing the problems. Cheaper prices and goods that more easily attainable allowed them to over look some of the "problems." Laborers however may have viewed it initially as a good thing until the realization that they could be forever damaged or dead. However, often by that point, they were in despite need of a job to care for their families that they had to take the job despite the dangers. The South saw little need to industrialize. Some manufacturing was set up, but it was small scale. The money was in the farming of cash crops like tobacco or cotton.
CHAPTER 5: Imperial Reforms and Colonial Protests, 1763-1774. What evidence indicates that colonists continued to think of themselves as British subjects throughout this era? What evidence suggests that colonists were beginning to forge a separate, collective "American" identity? How would you explain this shift?
In the end, Paul Revere rode from Massachusetts to Philadelphia with the Suffolk Resolves, which became the basis of the Declaration and Resolves of the First Continental Congress. In the Declaration and Resolves, adopted on October 14, the colonists demanded the repeal of all repressive acts passed since 1773 and agreed to a non-importation, non-exportation, and non-consumption pact against all British goods until the acts were repealed. In the "Petition of Congress to the King" on October 24, the delegates adopted a further recommendation of the Suffolk Resolves and proposed that the colonies raise and regulate their own militias. The representatives at the First Continental Congress created a Continental Association to ensure that the full boycott was enforced across all the colonies. The Continental Association served as an umbrella group for colonial and local committees of observation and inspection. By taking these steps, the First Continental Congress established a governing network in opposition to royal authority
Early industrialization in the Northeast
Industrialized manufacturing began in New England, where wealthy merchants built water-powered textile mills (and mill towns to support them) along the rivers of the Northeast. These mills introduced new modes of production centralized within the confines of the mill itself.
THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. How crucial were Thomas Paine's attacks on British King George III and the British monarchy in his pamphlet Common Sense?
It was titled Common Sense, and it urged Americans to separate themselves from Britain and to stand forth as champions of liberty--as defenders of the rights of mankind. in Common Sense,Paine attacked hereditary monarchy in principle, the English kings in general, and King George III in particular. In fact, Paine savaged King George III. This was important because many Americans struggled with the idea of independence because of their loyalty to the king.Before publication of Common Sense,few Americans openly supported independence from England. After its massive circulation, many colonists demanded independence.
XYZ AFFAIR. How did Thomas Jefferson and James Madison retaliate against the Alien and Sedition Acts? How did their actions, though unwitting, plant the seeds for the Civil War?
James Madison authored the Virginia Resolution in collaboration with Thomas Jefferson, who also authored the Kentucky Resolution. Both argued that the federal government did not have the authority to enact laws not specified in the constitution. Jefferson wrote: "[T]he several states who formed that instrument [the Constitution], being sovereign and independent, have the unquestionable right to judge of its infraction; and that a nullification, by those [states], of all unauthorized acts....is the rightful remedy."
Democratic-Republicans
Led by Thomas Jefferson, believed people should have political power, favored strong STATE governments, emphasized agriculture, strict interpretation of the Constitution, pro-French, opposed National Bank
FOREIGN POLICY IN THE EARLY AMERICAN REPUBLIC. Why did British Prime Minister Lord Shelburne claim that American independence would not end American economic dependence on Britain?
Lord Shelburne reversed Lord North's position of not negotiating on U.S. independence. Shelburne realized that American independence did not necessarily mean American dependence on France. Shelburne insisted that the British must make peace with the Americans and resume trade with them. Thus, the British would ensure at least American economic dependence on England.Lord Shelburne was right.Commercial, cultural, historical, and linguistic influences of the British were so pervasive in the United States that Americans remained tied to Britain, not France.
THE TREATY OF ALLIANCE. What did British Prime Minister Lord Shelburne argue concerning American economic dependence on British trade?
Lord Shelburne reversed Lord North's position of not negotiating on U.S. independence. Shelburne realized that American independence did not necessarily mean American dependence on France. Shelburne insisted that the British must make peace with the Americans and resume trade with them. Thus, the British would ensure at least American economic dependence on England.Lord Shelburne was right.Commercial, cultural, historical, and linguistic influences of the British were so pervasive in the United States that Americans remained tied to Britain, not France.
THE CAUSES OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. What was the Boston "massacre"?
On March 5, 1770—the day that Lord North repealed the Townshend duties expect the tax on tea—an angry Boston crowd began throwing snowballs and ice balls—some laced with rock sand nails—at British redcoats guarding the custom house on King Street, where the meager tea tax revenues were being safeguarded.The Bostonians then began to hit the redcoats with clubs, and taunted them: "Come on you rascals, you bloody backs,you lobster scoundrels! Fire and be damned! We know you dare not!" British soldiers opened fire into the crowd. Five Americans were killed and eight others wounded. The American eyewitnesses called the incident a "massacre of innocents," a "slaughter of lambs." Soon accounts of the "Boston massacre" appeared in newspapers throughout the colonies—including a wildly inaccurate illustration of the supposed "massacre" by Bostonian silversmith and patriot Paul Revere.
DIVISIONS AT HOME AND ABROAD. Jay's Treaty
On November 19, 1794 representatives of the United States and Great Britain signed Jay's Treaty, which sought to settle outstanding issues between the two countries that had been left unresolved since American independence. ... The French Revolution led to war between Britain and France in 1793.
Anti-Federalists
Opponents of the American Constitution at the time when the states were contemplating its adoption.
THE CAUSES OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. Why was the Stamp Act repealed?
Parliament repealed the Stamp Act in February 1766.But, on the same day that the stamp tax was revoked, Parliament enacted the Declaratory Act—which reasserted Parliament's inherent, fundamental, and absolute right to pass legislation for the American colonies, and to raise taxes and extract revenue from the American colonists. The Declaratory Act of 1766 explicitly stated that the American colonies "have been, are, and of right ought to be, subordinate unto, and dependent upon the imperial Crown and Parliament of Great Britain" and that Parliament "had, hath, and of right ought to have, full power and authority to make laws. . . [to govern and tax] the [American]colonies...in all cases whatsoever."
THE WAR OF 1812. What is the significance of President Thomas Jefferson's embargo?
President Jefferson retaliated against British and French maritime assaults on American shipping with the Embargo Act of 1807, which prohibited American merchants from trading with any nation.Jefferson believed that other European nations needed American cotton and tobacco and would pressure England and France to end their violations of American shipping.However,there was a glut of cotton and tobacco on the European markets at that time.Soon,U.S. cotton and tobacco rotted on American wharves and piers, and American dockworkers were thrown out of work.The American economy deteriorated rapidly.With public displeasure with him mounting, Jefferson decided to retire to Monticello after his second term expired in 1809.Jefferson left office believing that his presidential career was a failure.
EMPIRE OF LIBERTY. What factors explain Napoleon's decision to sell the entire Louisiana territory?
Reason # 1. The heart of the new French empire in North America was to be the island of Hispaniola, rich with sugar and vitally strategic in the Caribbean Sea. However, a violent rebellion erupted on Hispaniola in 1802.François Dominique Toussaint L'Ouverture,an ex-slave and military strategist, commanded Haitian blacks in a guerrilla war against French plantation owners and French troops.Although the French army eventually won, victory was not easily attained; it came only after an enormous cost—the French lost between 30,000 and 50,000 troops killed either in fighting the Haitian rebels or dying from yellow fever, malaria, and other tropical diseases. Napoleon realized that defending the entire Louisiana territory would be an extremely expensive and arduous endeavor.Reason # 2. Napoleon envisioned expanding his empire in Europe, which he could only accomplish by military force, and which would require vast amounts of capital.Reason # 3. Napoleon did not want to see a British-American alliance formed.
THE CAUSES OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. How did Prime Minister Lord Rockingham respond to the Stamp Act crisis?
Rockingham opposed the Stamp Act from the beginning because very little revenue would be collected from it. He believed the tax would cause trouble in America and it wouldn't be worth it. He also said the British made their money from trade, not from taxes. Rockingham wanted to practice salutary neglect to combat the issue of embarrassing themselves for repealing the Stamp Act.
XYZ AFFAIR. How did anti-French war hysteria spread across the nation in light of the XYZ Affair?
Soon after, word came that Pinckney had been rejected by the French government. He left France, afraid that he would be arrested, and went to the Netherlands. There he waited for instructions from the new President. Eventually, John Marshall was chosen in place of Madison to join Gerry and Pinckney. At the end of 1797, Adams addressed Congress, and made it clear that there was a need "to place our country in a suitable posture of defense." Then in the Spring of 1798, he told Congress of the XYZ Affair. This involved the French Foreign Minister, Charles Maurice de Talleyrand, sending agents to meet with Pinckney, Gerry, and Marshall. The agents made demands and set conditions for negotiation, which Pinckney flatly denied, saying "No, no, not a sixpence." Marshall and Pinckney returned home, and the announcement of the Affair unleashed a wave of anti-French sentiment. This led to the passage of the Alien and Sedition Acts, a controversial set of four bills that were intended to keep foreigners living in the United States from having an influence on American opinions.
XYZ AFFAIR. What was the Alien Act of 1798? Although the act did not violate the letter of the Constitution, how did it violate the spirit of the Constitution?
The Alien and Sedition Acts were a series of four laws passed by the U.S. Congress in 1798 amid widespread fear that war with France was imminent. The four laws-which remain controversial to this day-restricted the activities of foreign residents in the country and limited freedom of speech and of the press.
EMPIRE OF LIBERTY. How did Jefferson threaten France if it did not agree to the terms offered by the Livingston-Monroe delegation?
The American diplomats were further instructed that should Napoleon refuse,Franco-American relations would be severed, and a military pact with Britain would be signed. This is incredible when one considers Jefferson's pre-presidential ardent French sympathies and antipathy toward Britain.
CHAPTER 5: Imperial Reforms and Colonial Protests, 1763-1774. Look again at the painting that opened this chapter: The Bostonians Paying the Excise-man, or Tarring and Feathering (Figure 5.1). How does this painting represent the relationship between Great Britain and the American colonies in the years from 1763 to 1774?
The Bostonians Paying the Excise-man, or Tarring and Feathering (Figure 5.1), shows five Patriots tarring and feathering the Commissioner of Customs, John Malcolm, a sea captain, army officer, and staunch Loyalist. The print shows the Boston Tea Party, a protest against the Tea Act of 1773, and the Liberty Tree, an elm tree near Boston Common that became a rallying point against the Stamp Act of 1765. When the crowd threatened to hang Malcolm if he did not renounce his position as a royal customs officer, he reluctantly agreed and the protestors allowed him to go home. The scene represents the animosity toward those who supported royal authority and illustrates the high tide of unrest in the colonies after the British government imposed a series of imperial reform measures during the years 1763-1774. The government's formerly lax oversight of the colonies ended as the architects of the British Empire put these new reforms in place. The British hoped to gain greater control over colonial trade and frontier settlement as well as to reduce the administrative cost of the colonies and the enormous debt left by the French and Indian War. Each step the British took, however, generated a backlash. Over time, imperial reforms pushed many colonists toward separation from the British Empire.
THE TREATY OF ALLIANCE. What did the Earl of Carlisle's peace commission offer the American revolutionaries? Why did American leaders reject the peace offering?
The British government sent a peace commission under the Earl of Carlisle to Philadelphia. The commissioners were directed to offer the Americans everything they wanted short of independence.The British commission proposed three concessions:repeal the Tea and Intolerable Acts; impose no new taxes on the colonies; and negotiate with the American Congress to suspend all acts passed since 1763.The terms of the Carlisle peace commission would have been satisfactory before the Revolutionary War began. But now the Americans were emboldened by their military triumph at Saratoga—and they were anticipating substantial aid from France.The French were deeply concerned about the Carlisle peace initiative.The last thing the French wanted was to see Britain retain control of the American colonies. And Franklin understood and exploited this.
THE CAUSES OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. What was the British policy of salutary neglect? Why was the policy implemented and what factors explain its abrupt termination in 1763?
The British policy of salutary neglect or Laissez-Faire was British Prime Minister Sir Robert Walpole's idea to leave America alone to allow them to run their own country. Walpole believed this policy would increase wealth in trade between England and America and reduce the risk of rebellion by the Americans. The policy was rejected by the British because they were constantly in foreign wars and were obsessed with political and religious domestic affairs. The French and Indian War was the final end to salutary neglect.
THE CAUSES OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. Why were Americans angered over the Declaratory Act of 1766 and Townshend duties of 1767?
The Declaratory Act declared that the Americans were subordinate to the British government—that the British government ruled over its subjects. To the Americans,this was a parent-child arrangement; and worse, it smacked of a master-slave relationship—that Americans owed their obedience to Britain, and that Parliament had the absolute right togovern and tax the Americans "in all cases whatsoever."The Parliament left the Americans with little latitude, and abridged political freedom. This was an ominous statement, and a harbinger of more restrictive measures to follow.In 1767, Townshend indefinitely suspended the New York colonial assembly, which had been a hotbed of criticism against the British government. Townshend hoped to stamp out political dissent in the colony of NewYork. Townshend realized that the government was still heavily in debt from the costs of the French and Indian War and Pontiac's War. Townshend decided to put teeth into the Declaratory Act by assembling a new package of duties (or, taxes on imported goods) entering the American colonies.The Townshend duties of 1767 set taxes on a six imported items shipped to the American colonies: paper, glass, china (porcelain), lead, paint, and tea. These new taxes—the Townshend duties—produced renewed outcries in America. Economic boycotts against English goods were immediately resumed.
FOREIGN POLICY IN THE EARLY AMERICAN REPUBLIC. Why were some Kentuckians threatening secession in 1784 and 1785?
The Federalists, who had opposed the war to the point of trading with the enemy and threatening secession, were devastated by the triumphant ending of the war. The remaining Indians east of the Mississippi were kept on reservations or moved via the Trail of Tears to reservations in what later became Oklahoma.
Suffolk Resolves
The First Continental Congress endorsed Massachusetts's Suffolk Resolves, which declared that the colonies need not obey the 1773 Coercive Acts, since they infringed upon basic liberties.
XYZ AFFAIR. Before the path to negotiations was to be opened, American diplomats C.C. Pinckney, John Marshall, and Elbridge Gerry were required to meet three demands. What were they? How did the American envoys respond?
The French demanded that the United States provide France with a low-interest loan, assume and pay American merchant claims against the French, and lastly pay a substantial bribe to Talleyrand. The U.S. envoys were shocked, and also skeptical that any concessions would bring about substantial changes in French policy.
FOREIGN POLICY IN THE EARLY AMERICAN REPUBLIC. What was the Jay-Gardoqui Agreement of 1785? What was the American reaction to it?
The Jay-Gardoqui Treaty (also known as the Liberty Treaty with Spain) of 1786 between the United States and Spain was not ratified. It would have guaranteed Spanish exclusive right to navigate the Mississippi River for 25 years. It also opened Spain's European and West Indian ports to American shipping. However, the Treaty was opposed by Virginia leaders James Madison and James Monroe who secured its rejection by the Continental Congress.
THE CAUSES OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. How were the Proclamation Act of 1763, Sugar Act of 1764, and writs of assistance the first provocative actions by the British government against the freedoms of the American colonists?
The Proclamation Act of 1763, Sugar Act of 1764, and writs of assistance were the first provocative actions by the British government against the freedoms of the American colonists because the British believed they were superior to the Americans and controlled them by putting enormous taxes on traded goods. They did this to raise money for England, since they were in so much debt from all the wars they participated in, especially the most recent French and Indian War.
THE CAUSES OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. What was the Stamp Act and why did it provoke widespread anger in the American colonies?
The Stamp Act of 1765 required that every American piece of paper, whether it be court papers to marriage licenses to playing cards, be stamped by a British government official for a fee. The Americans hated the Stamp Act because they had no voice in the government that was taking their money. They believed Parliament did not have the right to tax Americans because there was not one American in Parliament.
THE CAUSES OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. The Tea Act of 1773 was not a tax on tea—it lowered the cost of tea in the American colonies. Why, then, did the Tea Act anger the American patriots? What was the Boston tea party? How did the British government respond to it as a revolutionary act? Why was the Prohibitory Act the proverbial last straw for the American patriots? How was the act tantamount to a British declaration of war against American trade?
The Tea Act became a lightning rod for American anger. The Tea Act did not make the Americans obedient, tax-paying subjects of the Crown, but defiant rebels against Parliament. Americans read the Tea Act asabrazen insult, a challenge to which they had to respond, and yet another disturbing sign of a British conspiracy against American welfare, liberty, and prosperity.On the night of December 16, 1773, perhaps as many as sixty Bostonians, organized by Samuel Adams and the Sons of Liberty,and a number of Boston tea smugglers, thinly disguised themselves as Mohawk natives, and boarded British East India Company ships docked in Boston Harbor.Working quietly, without a fuss,and methodically, under cover of night, the Americans dumped 342 chests of tea—forty-five tons of English tea—into the murky waters of Boston Harbor. The tea that was destroyed was worth almost £10,000(or nearly $700,000 in today's U.S. dollars).Prime Minister Lord North and Parliament responded with the Coercive Acts of 1774—known in America as the Intolerable Acts.For the Americans, the proverbial last straw was the Prohibitory Act, enacted by Parliament in December 1775, which placed a total British naval embargo against all imports entering the American colonies and a complete blockade on all exports leaving the colonies.Americans could not trade with the rest of the world—all communication, contact, and commerce with the outside world would be severed until all thirteen American colonies agreed to two conditions: the colonists had to beg for a pardon for their transgressions and lawlessness, and publicly submit to Parliament's fundamental right to govern and tax the American colonies in all cases whatsoever.Most Americans were not willing to agree to these disagreeable terms.
THE WAR OF 1812. Who were the War Hawks?
The War Hawks, led by Kentucky's Henry Clay,South Carolina's John C. Calhoun,and Tennessee's Andrew Jackson,were disgusted with the non-belligerent measures taken by Presidents Jefferson and Madison. They were more nationalistic than the Federalists,even in the Hamiltonian era. The War Hawks were hungry for geographic expansion, and they believed war was the only recourse to redress impressment,violations of America's neutral rights,and flagrant disrespect of U.S. sovereignty.powerful southern and western congressmen(called War Hawks) were eager for war with Britain—so that the United States might acquire British Canada.
XYZ AFFAIR. How did legal safeguards fail to protect Americans from unjust (and unconstitutional) prosecutions under the Sedition Act?
The controversies surrounding them, however, provided for some of the first testings of the limits on freedom of speech and press.
CHAPTER 9: Industrial Transformation in the North, 1800-1850. What were the values of the mid-nineteenth century American middle class? How did they differ from the values of those above and below them on the socioeconomic ladder? In what ways are these values similar to or different from those held by the middle class in the United States today?
The creation of distinctive classes in the North drove striking new cultural developments. Even among the wealthy elites, northern business families, who had mainly inherited their money, distanced themselves from the newly wealthy manufacturing leaders. Regardless of how they had earned their money, however, the elite lived and socialized apart from members of the growing middle class. The middle class valued work, consumption, and education and dedicated their energies to maintaining or advancing their social status. Wage workers formed their own society in industrial cities and mill villages, though lack of money and long working hours effectively prevented the working class from consuming the fruits of their labor, educating their children, or advancing up the economic ladder.
deskilling
The elimination of skilled labor under a new system of mechanized manufacturing, in which workers completed discrete, small-scale tasks rather than crafting an entire product. With deskilling, employers found they could pay workers less and replace them more easily.
Early-nineteenth century transportation revolution
The expansion of internal American trade greatly increased with the adoption of canals, steamboats, and railroads. These collective advances in technology became known as the Transportation Revolution.
Bill of Rights
The first ten amendments to the Constitution
THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. What was the primary purpose of the Declaration of Independence?
The primary purpose of the Declaration of Independence was to proclaim to the world the reasons for Americans pursuing independence. The document concludes with the solemn and ominous words: "We pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our Sacred Honor."
THE TREATY OF ALLIANCE. Why was the American military victory at Saratoga crucial?
The stunning news that Britain had surrendered an entire army at Saratoga convinced French Foreign Minister Vergennes that the Americans could actually win. Even the English reached this conclusion.
CHAPTER 8: Growing Pains: The New Republic, 1790-1820. Describe the growth of the first party system in the United States. How did these parties come to develop? How did they define themselves, both independently and in opposition to one another? Where did they find themselves in agreement?
The two parties from the First Party System in the United States emerged from the support of two different groups of people with different interests. They chose their names based on their values, being The Federalists strong defenders of the Constitution, order, and the federal administration, and the Democratic-Republicans a group which was completely decided to bring the Revolution to common people. The Federalists were mainly supported by leaders of the mercantile economy such as traders, artisans and creditors (they were wealthier), and the Democratic-Republicans found their support in diverse sections of American society, such as popular farmers of the German, Scotish and Irish groups. Finally, they found themselves in agreement regarding slavery, since even though they had different points of view, neither of them fully supported it.
CHAPTER 6: America's War for Independence, 1775-1783. How did the Revolutionary War provide both new opportunities and new challenges for slaves and free blacks in America?
The war offered many slaves the opportunity to escape bondage by joining the British cause (between ten and twenty thousand slaves gained freedom because of the Revolution). The conflict itself offered an ideal platform for slave revolts to emerge as willing resistors were welcome allies. Following the war, many African Loyalists moved to Sierra Leone, Canada or England to escape the challenges posed by a heavily racialized American colonial society where whiteness became equated with freedom and power. For Native people, the war also offered a strategic framework from which to ally with the side that most favorably served their interests. Relationships were often thinly held together through trade and promises and were challenged following the war when the Treaty of Paris, for example, readily ceded Native lands to the United States without consideration of the Indigenous people it impacted (even in spite of their critical alliances during the war).
Daughters of Liberty
This organization supported the boycott of British goods. They urged Americans to wear homemade fabrics and produce other goods that were previously available only from Britain. They believed that way, the American colonies would become economically independent.
FOREIGN POLICY IN THE EARLY AMERICAN REPUBLIC. Why did Americans open trade with Prussia, Russia, Morocco, and China?
What was the Open Door policy? The Open Door policy was a statement of principles initiated by the United States in 1899 and 1900. It called for protection of equal privileges for all countries trading with China and for the support of Chinese territorial and administrative integrity.
