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POWER POINT ACCOMPANIMENT FORCAROLINA K-12’S LESSON:
EMERGENCE OF ANAMERICAN IDENTITY
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WARM-UP
¢Completethefollowingin5ormoresentencesofdescription:
AnAmericanis…
FROM ENGLISH COLONIST TO “AMERICAN”¢ ThecolonistswhocametoliveinwhatwastobecometheUnitedStatesofAmericadidnot,untilaroundthe1770s,thinkofthemselvesas"Americans."
¢ MostcolonistsintheNewWorldidentifiedthemselvesasEnglishcitizens.TheymayhavecometoliveinaplacefarawayfromEngland,buttheystillidentifiedwiththatnation.
¢ ColonistsbegantodevelopagreaternationalidentityasvariouseventsledthemtogrowfrustratedwithEngland’spolicies,declareindependence,rebelagainstEnglishrule,andfinallyformtheirowngovernment.
THE FRENCH & INDIAN WAR - 1763¢ TheemergenceofanAmericanidentitybeganwiththeendoftheFrenchandIndianWarin1763.� ThewarleftEnglandincontrolofvirtuallyallthelandeastofthe
MississippiRiver.� Eventhoughvictorious,thewardoubledthenationaldebtof
EnglandandquadrupledtheprospectivecostofadministeringthegreatlyenlargedempireinAmerica.
� TheBritishexpectedthecoloniestohelppaythecostsofthewaraswellastheincreasingexpensesofrunningthecolonies.
� Todothis,theBritishgovernmentbeganimposingvarioustaxesandlawsonthecolonies,whichcolonistsfeltviolatedtherightsfromtheirEnglishheritage.
� AscolonistsgrewmoreangrywiththeEnglishgovernment,theynaturallystoppedidentifyingthemselveswiththeenemycountry.
ENGLAND FURTHER ANGERS COLONISTS¢ TheStampActwasparticularlyangeringtocolonists.
� firstdirecttaxeverlaidonthecoloniesbyParliament� feltthisviolatedtheirrights;“taxationwithoutrepresentation”� StampActwasrepealedin1766whenitbecameclearthatitcouldnotbe
enforcedeffectivelyduetohostileresistancefromthecoloniesbutwasfollowedbyotherlawsfromParliamentthatsimilarlyangeredcolonists
¢ Relationsworsenedin1773withtheBostonTeaParty.� Englandstruckbackwithanumberoflaws- theIntolerableActs� ActsincludedclosingtheBostonportuntilthecostofthelostteawas
repaid,revisingthecharterthatsetuptheMassachusettscolonytogiveEnglandmorecontrol,andtransferringtoEnglandthetrialsofroyalofficerschargedwithmurder.
� AnotherlawgavetheFrench-Canadian—andCatholic—royalprovinceofQuebecallofthelandwestoftheAppalachianslyingnorthoftheOhioRiverandeastoftheMississippi.ThisactalienatedmuchofProtestantAmerica.
� TheQuebecActof1774wasseenasanotherpunitivemeasurebymostcolonistsandhelpedmusterbroadsupportfora"generalcongressofallthecolonies"proposedbytheVirginiaandMassachusettsassemblies.
THE FIRST CONTINENTAL CONGRESS
¢ Thecallfora"generalcongress"waswellreceived(onlyGeorgiadidnotsenddelegates)
¢ MetinPhiladelphiaonSeptember5,1774.
¢ AdoptedaDeclarationofRights&GrievancesagainstallBritishactstowhich"Americans cannotsubmit"andapprovedcommercialboycottsofmanygoodstradedwithEngland.
¢ ThedelegatesadjournedinlateOctober,agreeingtomeetthefollowingMayifnecessary.
INDEPENDENCE FROM ENGLAND, IDENTITY AS AMERICANS
¢ InEnglandKingGeorgeIIIdeclaredthecolonieswere"nowinastateofrebellion.“
¢ Eventsescalatedthefollowingspringtowarddeclaringindependence,whichledtowar.
¢ ColonistsconvenedtheSecondContinentalCongressinPhiladelphiaonMay10,1775.� MostdelegatesstillhopedtoavoidwarwithEngland.� However,duetotheoutbreakofviolenceatLexingtonandConcord,
delegatesagreedtoraiseanarmyandaskthecoloniesforfundstopayforit.
� GeorgeWashington,adelegatefromVirginia,wasmadetheContinentalArmy'scommanderinchief.
� Thedelegatesapprovedapetitiontothekingaskingfora"happyandpermanentreconciliation"betweenthecoloniesandEngland.
� Anotherdeclarationdisavowedanydesireforindependencebutresolved"todiefreemenratherthanliveslaves."
� ThekingwasnotpleasedandinAugustheproclaimedastateofrebellioninthecolonies.
DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE¢ Bythefollowingsummer,theContinentalCongresswasunderincreasingpressurefromthemostvocalradicalsinthecoloniestomovetoindependence.
¢ InJune1776agroupofdelegateswasnamedtodraftadeclaration,buttheactualwritingfelllargelytoThomasJefferson.
¢ TheDeclarationofIndependence,celebratedbyAmericanseveryyearonJuly4,wasinlargepartarecitationofeverygrievanceagainstEnglishcolonialpolicythathademergedsince1763.
¢ TheDeclarationofIndependencecommittedthecoloniestowageawarthatwasalreadyunderway.
¢ ThewarwoulddragonformorethanfiveyearsbeforeEnglandgaveupthestruggle.
STATE CONSTITUTIONS¢ AyearafterthesigningoftheDeclarationofIndependence,allbut
threeofthecolonieshadwrittennewconstitutionsandmovedtoestablishnewgovernments.
¢ Althoughtheyvariedindetail,allhadsimilarities.� Allwerewritten—GreatBritainhadnowrittenconstitution.� Allincludedorwereaccompaniedbysomekindof"BillofRights"to
securethoseEnglishlibertiesthatGeorgeIIIhadviolated,suchasfreedomofspeech,press,andpetition,andtherightsofhabeascorpusandtrialbyjury.
� Allpaidtributetotheideaofseparationofpowersbetweenthelegislative,executive,andjudicialbranches,althoughineverystatethelegislatureswerefarstrongerthantheexecutive.Thisreflectedthecolonists'fearofexecutivepowerthatgrewfromtheirconflictswiththeEnglishCrownandtheroyalgovernors.
� Alltheconstitutionsrecognizedthepeopleassovereign,butfewentrustedthemwithmuchpower.Moststatesadheredtopre-Revolutionarylimitsonsuffrage.Ownershipofsomeamountofpropertywasgenerallyrequiredasaqualificationtovote,andmoreusuallywasrequiredtoholdoffice.
¢ ThesestateconstitutionsbecameforerunnersofthenationalConstitutionthatwastobecreatedyearslater.
ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION &THE US CONSTITUTION
¢ ThepeacetreatywassignedonSeptember3,1783.
¢ FreeofEngland,thecoloniesneededaplanofconfederationtojointhem.
¢ OnNovember15,1777theContinentalCongressadoptedtheArticlesofConfederation&PerpetualUnion.
¢ TheArticlesreflectedthedominantmotiveofAmericanswhowererebellingagainstBritishrule:topreservetheirfreedomsfromtheencroachmentsofcentralizedpower.
¢ TheArticleswerereplacedbytheUSConstitutiononJune21,1788.
EMERGENCE OFAMERICAN IDENTITY
¢ Formanycolonists,theprocessofAmericanidentificationtookplacenaturallythroughoutthelate1700sasideasaboutself-governmentgrewintoreality.
¢ Asangerwiththe“MotherCountry”grew,warerupted,independencewaswonfromEngland,andtheunitedcoloniesformedtheirowngovernment.Thus,identificationwithBritainnaturallylessened.
¢ Beyondgovernmentandwar,everydaylifeintheAmericancolonieswasoccurring(peoplewerebuildinghomes,working,formingcommunities…)andthustheemergenceofanAmericansocietywastakingplace.
J. HECTOR ST. JOHN DE CRÈVECOEUR –WHAT IS AN AMERICAN?¢ In1782,J.HectorSt.JohndeCrèvecoeur publishedavolumeofnarrativeessays- LettersfromanAmericanFarmer.
¢ HewasthefirstwritertodescribethelifeontheAmericanfrontiertoEuropeansacrossthesea.
¢ Heexploredtheconceptofthe“AmericanDream”,portrayingAmericansocietyascharacterizedbytheprinciplesofequalopportunityandself-determination.
¢ ThewritingcelebratedAmericaningenuityanditsuncomplicatedlifestyle.
¢ ItalsodescribedthereligiousdiversityinAmericaasameltingpotbeingcreatedfromavarietyofethnicandculturalbackgrounds.
¢ Hisworkprovidedusefulinformationandunderstandingofthe"NewWorld“,helpingcreateanAmericanidentityinthemindsofEuropeanswithhisdescriptionsofthenewcountryofAmerica
THE AMERICAN DREAM¢ WhatistheAmericanDream?Whatcomestomindwhenyouhearthisphrase?
"Give me your tired, your poor,Your huddled masses yearning
to breathe free,The wretched refuse of your
teeming shore.Send these, the homeless,
tempest-tost to me,I lift my lamp beside the
golden door!"
THE AMERICAN DREAM¢ TheAmericanDreamintheUnitedStatesreferstothe
democraticidealsandapromiseofprosperitythecountryisknownfor.
¢ ThephrasebecamepopularafterJamesTruslow Adamswroteabout“TheAmericanDream”inhis1931book.
¢ HedescribedtheAmericanDreambeingmetwhencitizensofeveryrankfeelthattheycanachievea"better,richer,andhappierlife."
¢ TheideaoftheAmericanDreamisrootedinthesecondsentenceoftheDeclarationofIndependencewhichstatesthat"allmenarecreatedequal“ andthattheyhave"certaininalienableRights“ including"Life,LibertyandthepursuitofHappiness."
¢ TheAmericanDreamhasbeencreditedwithhelpingtobuildacohesiveAmericanexperiencebuthasalsobeenblamedforoverinflatedexpectations.
¢ ThepresenceoftheAmericanDreamhasnothistoricallyhelpedthemajorityofminorityraceandlowerclassAmericancitizenstogainagreaterdegreeofsocialequalityandinfluence. Instead,theAmericanwealthstructurehasoftenbeenobservedtosustainclassdifferencesinwhichwell-positionedgroupscontinuetobeadvantaged.
¢ ThetermAmericanDream isoftenusedasasynonymforhomeownership,sincehomeshavehistoricallybeenseenasstatussymbolsseparatingthemiddleclassesandthepoor.
SOURCES
¢ http://cqpress.com/incontext/constitution/docs/evolving_constitution.html
¢ http://en.wikipedia.org/¢ www.encarta.com¢ M.G.J.deCrèvecouer,LettersfromanAmericanFarmer(Philadelphia:MatthewCarey,1793),46-47.
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