American Revolution & Constitution Key Points from Videos

American Revolution & ConstitutionKey Points from Videos

Video #1Tea, Taxes, and the American Revolution

Started with the end of the 7 years or French & Indian War

1763 = Victory for Great Britain

More land acquired and more $$$

Great Britain in debt as a result of the 7 yrs War

Needed $$$ to pay off --- colonists told the crown that was their problem

G.B. enacted the Stamp Act

G.B. kept a military presence in colonies to enforce policy

Colonists were unhappy with both ---- cried TYRANNY! & considered this TAXATION WITHOUT REPRESENTATION!

Stamp Act repealed ----- but more were passed

1770 = Boston Massacre (only 5 died – what a massacre)

1773 = Boston Tea Party ($1 mill worth of tea in the Boston Harbor)


Protests + Taxation w/out Rep. led to Committees of Correspondence

Regulated and enforced policy (They were governing!)

Led to the 1st Continental Congress & Declaration of Independence

By the 1st shot, most colonies were already self-governing

Men that wrote the D. of I. were primarily concerned about property rights because they owned the property and wanted to protect it! (Slaves were also property – 30% of the population were slaves)

20% of the colonists remained loyal (Loyalists)

Slaves supported Great Britain

Promised freedom

Outlawed slavery long before America


Post American Revolution Ideals

Equality

Life

Liberty

Protection of Property

What made the American Revolution revolutionary?

First to establish a government that wasn’t monarchial in nature (King & Queen)

Video #2Who won the American Revolution

British Tactics

Capture cities (i.e. Boston, New York, Charleston

Force colonists to surrender

Colonists held onto the countryside/used guerilla warfare

Two important battles

Battle of Trenton

Battle of Saratoga

1781 – Battle of Yorktown – turning point - Colonists won the war

Not everyone supported the war and slaves saw it as an opportunity

Quakers were Pacifists (took their land because of it)

100,000 slaves fled to Great Britain


Native Americans fought for both sides

Still got the short end of the stick – ended up with nothing

White women also fought… and what did the get?

Nothing!!!!

American Revolution

Didn’t end slavery

Women’s roles didn’t change

Rich white men remained in power

What did the American Revolution do?

Established ideals that started and continues to start movements.

The ideas of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness


Established states

Led to individual state constitutions

Led to more people voting

Established true religious freedom

Thomas Jefferson separated church and state

Changed the economy

Individual liberties led to a decrease in apprenticeships/indentured servitude

Separated the North and South

North relied on paid labor

South relied on slavery

Video #3The Constitution

1788 – 1st Presidential Election

Did not have an original form of government

1st was the Articles of Confederation

Lasted 10 years

1 house body of delegates

Each state had one vote

9/13 states (2/3) needed to pass policy

Declare War

Conduct foreign affairs

Make treaties

Coin money

Could not collect taxes (Created Chaos!!!!)


Because A. of C. allowed treaty making --- led to

New Ordinance of 1787

Established 5 New States (couldn’t own slaves)

Fallout from not collecting Taxes!

Put the states in a mound of debt

Shay’s Rebellion

Farmers that rose up to stop the courts from foreclosing on their farms due to debt

Allowed too much democratic liberty for the lower classes which threatened private property

All this led to the 1786 meeting in Annapolis, MD to revise the A. of C.


Only 6 delegates showed – agreed to meet again the fowling year

1787 – The Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia

55 men; rich; >50% college educated; 40% veterans (The Elite of the Elite!)

Agreed to a Republican form of govt. w/ 3 branches

Legislative – Congress – House of Representatives & Senate

Executive - President

Judiciary – Supreme Court

Idea was too protect from tyranny by the govt. or the people

Great Compromise led to the 2 House Agreement


Congress

House of Representatives (Today = 435 seats)

For the people

Serve for 2 years

# each state is allocated depends on population of the state

Senate

Who knows who they are for???

Serve for 6 years w/ a 1/3 up for election every 2 years

Created a Separation of Powers

Checks & Balances

Legislative Branch (Congress) passes laws

President can veto

Judicial Branch can void any law (mind you this is not in the Constitution – they made it up!)


The idea of the Constitution

Create a national & state government

Electoral College to avoid too much democracy

Took 9/13 states to ratify (or approve)

The wealthy rich wrote the Federalist Papers to convince states to vote for

The commoners wrote the Anti-Federalist Papers to convince states to vote against

The rich won… The poor lost (sound familiar)

Documents

American Revolution & Constitution Key Points from Videos