APUSH MASTER
Problems with electoral college
-Loser of the popular vote can win election -Extra weight on swing states, so really the rest of the states have no significant power
Reason for Electoral College
-Must balance democracy, a representative, with too much democracy (mobocracy/anarchy) who lacked virtue of citizens and would tear down government. -Want voting to be for the elite & educated -Don't let mob be swayed by elite president so make a safeguard. (ie Senate appointed by wealthy & powerful)
Bill of Rights Historical Background
-The Federalist Papers- 85 essays written by Hamilton, Madison, & Jay to ratify Constitution -Federalists argued for separation of powers & benefits of large republic, controlling groups -Anti-Federalists (Samuel Adams, Patrick Henry) opposed ratification of Constitution. -Argued that republic had to be small & warned that the Constitution would lead to oppression -Anti wanted a Bill of Rights so Madison promised Bill after Constitution was ratified to gain their support
Bill of Rights; amendments
1 Amendment: freedoms of speech, press, assembly, religion, and petition (ask gov for something). 2 Amendment: right to bear arms 3 Amendment: restricts quartering of soldiers in private homes 4 Amendment: no unreasonable searches or seizures of private property 5, 6, 7, 8: right to a trial by jury; protection against self-incrimination and double jeopardy, being tried 2x for same offense; the right to due process; prohibition of cruel & unusual punishment; and the right to face one's accuser, obtain legal counsel, and be informed of all criminal charges. 9 Amendment: acknowledges that the other eight amendments are not an exhaustive list of all of the rights and protections 10 Amendment: any powers not explicitly for the federal government in the Constitution are to be left to the states.
Due Process
14th amendment: State can't deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.
The Georgia Experiment
1733- Created by philanthropists and James Oglethorpe as haven for the wealthy poor. Buffer colony to protect South Carolina against the Spanish in Florida. Originally, slavery and liquor were banned in the settlement & adopted SC's plantation model. Crown soon took over & repealed the ban on liquor and slavery.
Seven Years War
1749- Virginia gave land to Ohio Company who sought land recognition from France & ignited 7 Year's War. 1754- British tried to dislodge French from west PA with help from George Washington. Initially French & Natives successful, later the British won in 1757 when William Pitt became British PM & removed French from North America and gained land in the Caribbean.
Tenant Uprising
1750s- NY Sons of Liberty- stopped paying rent & seized land but suppressed by original Sons.
Albany Plan of Union
1754- plan proposed by Benjamin Franklin to unite the 13 colonies for trade, military, and other purposes to "Join or Die"; turned down by the colonies and the Crown
Peace of Paris
1763- Ended the Seven Years War/French and Indian war between Britain and France. French were removed from NA & lost Canada, Spain lost Florida, and massive debt for both Britain (led to Stamp Act taxes) & France (led to French Revolution).
Proclamation Line
1763- Protect Indian tribes & avoid endless border conflicts by setting a boundary at the peaks of the Appalachian Mountains beyond which no western white settlement was to take place. Colonists were furious as they had just fought a war to gain that land.
New Acts (regulation of economy)
1763- passed to regulate trade after salutary neglect ended. British heavily taxed so colonists also must pay taxes for protection by British.
Paxton Boys
1764- Group of Scots-Irish men living in the Appalachian hills that wanted protection from Indian attacks. Made an armed march on Philadelphia & protested the lenient way that the Quakers treated the Indians.
Stamp Act Congress
1765- Organization of colonies that protested taxes & endorsed Virginia's House of Burgesses. Patrick Henry- Colonists enjoyed same freedom as Britain and right to consent to taxation should be freedom. No taxation wto representation.
Stamp Act
1765- law that taxed 50 common printed goods, including playing cards, documents, newspapers, etc. Affected every colonist & opposition was first major split btw colonists and Britain
Repealed the Stamp Act
1766- but issues the Declaratory Act so British Parliament tax authority was same in America as Great Britain. Debt-ridden British gov continued to need money from colonies.
Writs of Assistance
1767- open ended search warrants to allow British to look for smuggled goods
Oration on the Beauties of Liberty
1772- Sermon delivered in Boston by Joseph Allen
A Summary View of the Rights of British America
1774- By Thomas Jefferson about free people claiming their natural rights; empire seen as equal parts held together by loyalty to monarch not absolute monarchy
Continental Association
1774- Called for almost complete halt to trade with Britain & West Indies. Committees of Safety established to enforce boycotts. Enlarged political nation & power to local organizations
Continental Congress
1774- Formed in response to Intolerable Acts in Philly. All colonies except Georgia, included Adams & Washington, Patrick Henry's "give me liberty or give me death"
Independence?
1775- most Americans didn't want independence but wanted salutary neglect.
House of Representatives Term of Office
2 year term
Senate terms of office
6 year term
Colonial political culture
9 colonial governors appointed by the crown as proprietors. SC & NE- wealthy
Presidio
A Spanish military outpost
Task System
A system of slave labor under which a slave had to complete a specific assignment each day. After they finished, their time was their own. Used primarily on rice plantations.
African Americans culture
Africans came from all over with different languages and religions but categorized & bonded into black & slave. New music, art, literature that combined Euro, African, & American cultures. Chesapeake slaves reproduced quicker. More contact with whites = learned English. SC & Georgia slaves worked on rice plantations. Less contact with whites but some urban servants had combo culture. Northern slaves had more mobility. More distinctive A-A culture with more access to mainstream life.
Olaudah Equiano
An antislavery activist who wrote a famous account of his enslavement in 1789
African Religion in Colonial America
Animism & some transitioned to Christianity
Filibuster
Any attempt to block or delay Senate action on a bill or other matter by debating it at length, by offering numerous procedural motions, or by any other delaying or obstructive actions.
Lexington and Concord
April 1775- The British attacked Americans looking to seize colonial weapons. "Shot heard round the world"
Senate requirements
At least 30 years of age, U.S. citizenship for at least 9 years, & residency in the state a senator represents at time of election.
British Patriotism
Believed they were most advanced & free: shared common law, language, Protestantism, & enemy of France. Commerce was good. Conflicts with France led to high taxes & military establishments to pay debt off from 7 Years War.
British advantages during Revolution
Better trained army with more men, Hessian soldiers (Germans), elite navy. Alienated Americans, while citizen-soldiers displayed great valor
Colonial Press
Book stores, circulating libraries, weekly newspapers spread info. (75% males literate, 33% women + Ben Franklin's Autobiography) Prior to 1695- printed matieral needed a gov license but after gov couldn't censor material.
March 5, 1770
Boston Massacre where British soldiers fired on colonial crowd snowball throwers killing 5 including Crispus Attucks. Paul Revere made inaccurate print of Massacre firing on unarmed crowd. Ended after Townshend repealed, troops left Boston, but kept tax on tea
Virtual Representation
British governmental theory that Parliament spoke for all British subjects, including colonists, even if colonists did not vote for its members
bill of attainder
Can't declare a group of people guilty of a crime, and punishing them for it, without a trial
Procedure for electing a president
Citizens vote in each state. Each state has electors (number of senate & reps), and those electors would cast votes for the president.
Intolerable Acts
Coercive acts as London's response to BTP. Closed port of Boston, new quartering act, revoked MA's charter.
Financial powers of Congress (1.8)
Collect taxes, pay debts, borrow money on US credit, regulate commerce with foreign nations, naturalization of immigrants to ensure bankruptcy laws, produce coins, print bills, control money supply, set weights & measures, punishments for counterfeiters,
Vermont
Conflicts btw NY landlords & small farmers of NE over land in Vermont. (land part of NY but 1750s governor of NH issued land grants to NE families for profit) Ethan Allen- land belonged to who worked the land so Allen & Green Mountain Boys took it for themselves.
Checks and Balances
Congress vs President: Congress makes law (president can veto); House can impeach president & Senate remove pres or override veto with a ⅔ majority to pass Judicial vs President: Declares laws unconstitutional; president can appoint judges Judicial vs Congress: Declares laws unconstitutional; Congress can impeach justices or change jurisdiction (Two- thirds majority is required to pass legislation over the president's objection)
Legislative Branch
Congress-- House of Representatives (based on pop) & Senate (2 per state) is most powerful: make law, tax, army, coin, declare war, & draft laws wt purpose of exercising these powers.
Commercial powers of Congress (1.8)
Create post offices, post roads, give copyrights & patents,
Indian Slavery in Early Carolina
Creek Indians in SC & GA captured & sold slaves to West Indies.
Global Declarations of Independence
Declaration inspired people around the world. Flanders (Belgium) sought independence & 20 other declarations in Europe and Latin America
Military powers of Congress (1.8)
Declare war, raise, regulate, & pay for armies & navy, call out the militia (National Guard) to fight enemies, can arm, train, regulate & discipline the militia. (States allowed to appoint and train militia)
Gerrymandering
Drawing boundaries of electoral districts in a way that gives 1 political party an unfair advantage over its rivals or that dilutes the voting power of members of ethnic or linguistic minority groups.
Article 1, section 8, clause 18
Elastic Clause Congress has right to make laws needed to carry out the requirements of the Constitution
War in the South
Focus of the war shifted to the South in 1778 as British were unable to consolidate their hold on South 1780- Congress was bankrupt. Benedict Arnold abandoned US to the British American colonists engaged in guerilla warfare.
Freedom & Rights in Chesapeake
Free = white. Free blacks couldn't bear arms or vote.
British right to vote
Had to have property to vote or hold office. More colonists (men & Protestants) could vote than British.
American advantages during Revolution
Home field advantage, stronger will passion for freedom, leadership (Washington)
Lose interpretation
Implied powers to make deal. Hamilton (Federalist) said the "necessary and proper" clause allowed Congress to create BUS since it was necessary to carry out its enumerated power
Liberalism
Individuals, rights, and private life. Locke- government should protect natural rights, individual rights, rebellion against oppression, property of slaves
House of Representatives Special Powers
Initiate revenue bills, impeach federal officials, and elect the President in the case of an electoral college tie.
indigo
Introduced in 1740s- A plant used to make valuable blue dye.
Common Sense by Thomas Paine
January 1776- "Common Sense" for America to break away. Called for a democratic system based on frequent elections and a written constitution. Economic hopes of nation to commercial freedom
Independence Day
July 4, 1776
Bunker/Breed's Hill
June 1775- Colonists threatened British army in Boston. British victory cuz colonists had little supplies but colonists forced General Howe from Boston by March 1776. Pushed Americans towards a final decision for war.
rice plantations
Large in South Carolina with all work done by slaves- most had immunity to malaria to work. Large plantations required money to drain swamps & set up plantations. Task systems.
Strict Interpretation
Literal meaning of Constitution. Jefferson (Jeffersonian Republicans) said Constitution didn't give Congress authority to create a bank
House of Representatives Requirements
Must be at least 25 years old, a US citizen for at least 7 years and an inhabitant of the state they represent.
Natives middle ground
Natives pushed into middle ground between European empires & sovereignty in Ohio Valley. Iroquois would favor an empire then switch.
ex post facto
No law shall make something illegal after it has been done.
Americas Victory in American Revolution
October, 1781- US & French surrounded General Cornwallis at Yorktown, where he surrendered. September 1783- Treaty of Paris signed. American delegation of John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, and John Jay. US gained independence, control to Mississippi River, took rights off of Canada
Olive Branch Petition
On July 8, 1775, the colonies made a final offer of peace to Britain, agreeing to be loyal to the British government if it addressed their grievances (repealed the Coercive Acts, ended the taxation without representation policies). Rejected by Parliament, which in December 1775 passed the American Prohibitory Act forbidding all further trade with the colonies. Written to appeal to common people; avoided complex language & expanded public poltical discussion. led to 2nd Continental Congress to server colonial ties wt British
Political debates in public
Politics discussed in city taverns & clubs. Popular in Boston, NY, & Philly. (Junto club for mutual improvement founded by Ben Franklin in 1727)
Spain in North America
Population remained low. Controlled Mexico, SW, Great Plains, LA Purchase after 1763; few small & isolated urban clusters. Colonized TX beginning early 1700s.
10th Amendment
Powers Reserved to the States Federal Government only has those powers delegated in the Constitution. If it isn't listed, it belongs to the states or people.
article 1, section 9
Powers denied to Congress 1: Congress can't interfere with early laws relating to slavery (Slave Trade Compromise) 2: People can't be kept in jail without a hearing, unless safety of the public is at risk. (Writ of Habeas Corpus- right requiring a prisoner to be brought to court to determine whether to continue detaining them.) 3: Person can't be found guilty of a crime wto a trial & no law can make something illegal after crime has been done 4: Taxes in proportion to numbers of people in a state (Changed by 16th amendment→ taxes based on income) 5: No tax on items imported from any state 6: All state ports treated equally to regulations & taxes. No taxes for ships going into the port of another state 7: $ in Treasury can't used unless Congress passes a law. Congress will publish a statement & account of income & expenses. 8: No titles such as king, prince, earl, baron, duke, etc. No official shall accept gifts, pay, job, title from any foreign country.
article 1, section 10
Powers denied to states 1: Individual states can't make treaties with other countries, confer title, give presents, coin or print money, convict people without a trial, make laws & convict after the event or make laws that reduce the obligations in a contract. 2: States may not collect taxes on imports or exports. 3: States can't tax ships, keep soldiers or warships in peace, go to war, make agreements with other countries, unless agreed by Congress.
concurrent powers
Powers held jointly by the national and state governments: maintain law & order, levy taxes, borrow money, take land for public use, provide for public welfare
Article 1, section 8
Powers of Congress
Executive Branch
President to Enforce & carry out laws made by Congress: declare war, negotiate treaties, appoint officials
Cloture
Procedure Senate uses to break a filibuster. A filibuster is an attempt to block or delay Senate action on a bill or other matter. Under cloture, the Senate may limit consideration of a pending matter to 30 additional hours of debate.
Republicanism
Promoted public life participation by being economically independent. Property owners only ones with virtue & critical of British corruption. Cato's Letters
Resistance to Slavery
Ran away (to Florida or cities + newspaper ads) creating Maroon communities of runaway slaves. 1712- NYC Slave Rebellion. Slaves set fires to houses killing 9 whites. Only led to stricter laws & slaves executed
Senate Special Powers
Ratifies treaties by a ⅔ majority vote, confirms the appointments of the President by a majority vote, confirmation of the Vice President, and overall conduct impeachment trials.
Misc powers of Congress (1.8)
Set up courts lower than the Supreme Court, laws against piracy & breaking International Law, governs the District of Columbia, makes the laws needed to carry out the requirements of the Constitution
French North America
Smaller population than British (65,000) in Canada & Mississippi River Valley. Viewed NA as place of cruel exile for criminals & outcasts. Active trade with natives.
Slavery in the north
Smaller scale slavery because more on small farms but large portion of urban laborers. Recognized slave marriages & they could sue/testify in court. More wage labor; managers could fire people so wage labor was less capital investment than slavery.
British Constitution
Some limited government: House of Commons, Lords, & King. No man, not even the king, was above the law. British liberty- collection of specific rights, national characteristic, & state of mind
Spanish in California
Spain ordered colonization of CA after perceived Russian Threat with many presidios. 1769- Junipero Serra founded San Diego. Assimilate natives into their society.
Judicial Branch
Supreme Court-- wt state & district level courts underneath & serve for life. It's the weakest: Interpret the law & if it fell within bounds of Constitution
Asiento System
System that took slaves to the New World to work for the Spanish. Required that a tax be paid to the Spanish ruler for each slave brought over.
Sugar Act of 1764
The first act that Parliament passed that raised taxes on the colonies. Indirect tax on imported foods from the West Indies.
American Exceptionalism
The idea that the American experience was different or unique from others, and served as symbol of freedom for the rest of the world.
First Years of the War
The war went badly for Washington; many of his troops went home. He managed a surprise attack on Trenton and Princeton on Hessians which increased morale.
John Locke
Theory of natural rights prior to government was justification for colonial resistance.
Impeachment
To charge someone with a crime or misdemeanor. In a political context, the word indicates the legislative body, Congress, leveling charges against a governmental official.
Chesapeake Slavery
Tobacco-based slavery & more slaves as indentured servants decreased. Smaller plantations & more interactions btw masters & slaves.
The Regulators 1760s
Upset about underrepresentation for western settlements in SC assembly & no local gov. No land titles or suppression of outlaws so law and order broke down. Suppressed by militia in 1771.
PA Indians
War increased hostility of west PA toward Indians. Paxton Boys, group of Scots-Irish killed Natives & demanded they be removed from PA.
Blacks in the Revolution
Washington accepted black recruits after Lord Dunmore's 1775 proclamation which offered freedom to slaves who joined the British cause. 5,000 blacks enlisted. Some slaves gained freedom (some VA) by serving in place of an owner. Fought in integrated units.
Preamble to the Constitution
We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.
Hierarchy of Freedom
large planters, Yeomen farmers, indentured servants, tenant farmers, then slaves
Slave plantation consumer goods
sugar, rice, coffee, tobacco (more goods & land = demand for more slaves)
