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The American Revolution
The American Revolution• 1215 - The Magna Carta
document is adopted in England. Limited the power of the King.
• 1492 - Christopher Columbus makes the first voyage to the New World
• 1607 - Jamestown is founded in Virginia; first permanent English settlment.
• 1620 - Mayflower Compact is the first form of self-government established.
The American Revolution
Underlying Causes
• Spread of Enlightenment Ideas
• the Great Awakening
What is the Enlightenment
• Write a short paragraph about the Enlightenment—– what was the Enlightenment?– When did it occur?– Why was it a radical idea?
The Nicene Creed• We believe in one God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all
things visible and invisible. • And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father
before all worlds, God of God, Light of Light, Very God of Very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father by whom all things were made; who for us men, and for our salvation, came down from heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the Virgin Mary, and was made man, and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate. He suffered and was buried, and the third day he rose again according to the Scriptures, and ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of the Father. And he shall come again with glory to judge both the quick and the dead, whose kingdom shall have no end.
• And we believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and Giver of Life, who proceedeth from the Father and the Son, who with the Father and the Son together is worshipped and glorified, who spoke by the prophets. And we believe one holy catholic and apostolic Church. We acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins. And we look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.
The Enlightenment
• The Enlightenment was an 18th-century philosophical movement of intellectuals who were strongly influenced by the Scientific Revolution.
• Reason: a key term of the Enlightenment that meant the application of the scientific method to understanding life and the universe.
• Reason, natural law, hope, and progress were the most common words of the Enlightenment
Key Enlightenment Ideas
1. All humans possess and are capable of “reason,” i.e. “the ability to think.”– “Razón”– “Gente de razón”
2. The universe consists and is shaped by “natural laws.”Example: “universal law of gravitation”
3. Human beings can use their “reason” to understand (or harness) these natural laws.
4. Belief in human “progress.” – Human beings can use their understanding of the
universe and natural laws to gradually improve the world around them.
Enlightenment Thinkers
• Two 17th century Englishmen were the most important figures of the Enlightenment:
• Isaac Newton– Born 1642– Mathematical Principles of
Natural Philosophy• Identified three laws of motion• Universal law of gravitation:
every object in the universe is attracted to every other object in the universe
Enlightenment Thinkers
• John Locke (1632-1704)• Locke believed that if
Newton could discover natural laws of the universe, intellectuals could learn the natural laws that govern human society.
• Locke believed that people are molded or shaped by their environment.
John Locke (1632-1704)• He wrote: Two Treatises of Government,
1690.
• Before the creation of society, humans lived in a state of equality.
• Humans were born with natural rights—life, liberty and property (pursuit of happiness).
• Government was a “social contract” between people and rulers; it was formed to ensure people’s natural rights.
• If the government did not protect people’s natural rights, they had the right to form a new government.
• Argued against absolute rule of one person.
• Locke’s ideas were later used to support the constitutional governments formed after the American and French Revolution.
John Locke (assignment notes)
• John Locke was born into a Puritan family in Bristol, England in 1602.
• Studied at Oxford University• Influenced by John Owen,
who introduced him to the idea of religious freedom and the idea that people should not be punished for having different views on religion (religious tolerance).
• Also influenced by Rene Descartes, a French philosopher and mathematician.
• Descartes believed all men had the ability to “reason.”
• People can use reason to find a “middle ground” and settle their differences by compromising.
John Locke (assignment notes)• John Locke fled to Holland in 1682
because his ideas were regarded as a challenge to the authority of the king.
• In 1689, the “Glorious Revolution” in England placed a limit on the king’s power and forced the king to accept a Bill of Rights.”
• Locke defended these events stating that people have the natural ability to govern themselves and to look after the well-being of society.
• Locke did not believe that God had chosen a group or family of people to rule countries.
• A limited monarchy should rule only with the consent or approval of the people.
• Governments exists to protect the right to life, the right to freedom and the rights to property (pursuit of happiness).
• These rights are absolute (inalienable).
• If any government abuses the rights of the people instead of protecting them, the people have to right to rebel and form a new government.
• These ideas inspired the founders of new democracies such as the writers of the US Constitution.
Other Major Philosophes
• Montesquieu-promoted the idea of separating governmental powers among branches
• Voltaire-penned Treatise on Toleration, reminded governments that “all men are brothers under God;” championed deism.
• Diderot-edited a 28-volume collection of knowledge: the Encyclopedia; attacked religious superstition and supported religious toleration.
Economics
Adam Smith (1776)• wrote The Wealth of
Nations: laissez-faire meaning “to let do” (“hands-off”)
• Attacked mercantilism• “To prohibit a great people,
however, from making all that they can of every part of their own produce, or from employing their stock and industry in the way that they judge most advantageous to themselves, is a manifest violation of the most sacred rights of mankind.”
The Later Enlightenment
• Jean-Jacques Rosseau• A social contract exists
between the government and the people.
• Through a social contract, an entire society agrees to be governed by its general will.
Causes of the American RevolutionThe French and Indian War (or 7
Years War)• The French and Indian War raged
from 1756-1763• Ended with the Treaty of Paris.
– The French and English had been fighting for control of Europe since the late 1600s;
– three major wars were fought between 1689 and 1748
– When these countries went to war, the colonies went to war as well.
• In North America, the two countries fought for control over the Ohio River valley
The French and Indian War
• Under the treaty, France lost all claims to mainland North American.
French and Indian War
• After the French and Indian War, England acquired all French territory east of the Mississippi River, except New Orleans.
• The Spanish give up east and west Florida to the English in return for Cuba.
Rise of Colonial Discontent
• Impact of the 7 Years War (French and Indian War):– French debt and the French
Revolution (1789)
• Great Britain’s victory in 1763 left the country with a large financial debt.
• England’s George Grenville (Prime Minister) adopted new policies to solve its financial problems that angered the colonists:
Rise of Colonial Discontent
• Proclamation Act of 1763– drew a line from
north to south and declared that colonists could not settle any land west of the line without the British government’s permission
Rise of Colonial Discontent
• Sugar Act of 1764:– increased the tax rates
on imports of raw sugar and molasses; also taxed silk, wine, coffee and indigo as well.
Rise of Colonial Discontent
• Currency Act of 1764– banned use of paper
money in the colonies because it lost
Rise of Colonial Discontent
• Stamp Act (1765)– required stamps to be
bought and placed on most printed materials, including newspapers, pamphlets, posters, wills, etc.
• Quartering Act (1765): – “the colonists must pay”
for their own defense– Required certain colonies
to provide food and housing for British soldiers.
Rise of Colonial Discontent
• Colonial responses to the Stamp Act: – Sons of Liberty:
formation of groups that met and protested the Stamp Act by beating and intimidating stamp act distributors
Rise of Colonial Discontent
– Stamp Act Congress: • Representatives from 9
colonies met and issued the Declaration of Rights and Grievances – Stated that only the
colonists’ representatives , not the British Parliament, had the right to tax the colonists (no taxation w/o representation)
Rise of Colonial Discontent
• Non-importation agreement• When the Stamp Act took
effect, the colonists began to boycott all goods made in Britain.
• 200 merchants from New York signed a non-importation agreement, pledging not to buy and British goods until Parliament repealed the Stamp Act
• Britain repealed the Stamp Act in 1766
Rise of Colonial Discontent
• Declaratory Act (1766):– Stated that the colonies
were subordinate to the British Parliament who had the power to tax them
• Townshend Acts:– Revenue Act of 1767:
customs duties on glass, lead, paper, paint, and tea
– Legalized writs of assistance (general search warrants w/o cause)
Rise of Colonial Discontent
• Tea Act of 1773– East India Company
given monopoly for colonial tea business with small tax
– Made tea cheaper, but imposed a small tax on the tea
– Buying tea meant the colonists accepted a British tax
Rise of Colonial Discontent
• Colonists Response
– Boston Tea Party: (December, 1773): 150 men boarded ships carrying tea and dumped 342 chests of tea overboard
– Destroyed 10,000 sterling worth of tea
The Colonists Must Pay!!• Coercive Acts (1774): Called the
“Intolerable Acts” by the colonists
– Boston Port Act: closed Boston’s harbor until tea was re-payed.
– Massachusettes Government Act: banned town meetings in MA; all council members, sheriffs, judges appointed by colony’s governor (not elected)
– Administration of Justice Act: trials of British officials and soldiers in England
– Quartering Act: amended to allowed soldiers in private homes
– Quebec Act: no elected assembly in Quebec territory
The Revolution Begins• First Continental Congress (meets
in Sept. 1774): all colonies send representatives to decide how to respond to the Coercive Acts– Passes the Suffolk Resolves: urged
colonists not to obey the Coercive Acts
• Minutemen organized: a special unit of the militia trained to fight at a moment’s notice
• First shots at Lexington and Concord (April, 1775)– 73 British soldiers killed, 174
wounded– 49 colonists killed, 46 wounded
The Second Continental Congress
• The 2nd Continental Congress met in Philadelphia in May, 1775 (three weeks after the first shots at Lexington and Concord)
• The 2nd Continental Congress: – created the Continental Army
(1775)– Selected George Washington
as General and Commander and Chief of the new army
The Colonies Declare Independence
• In January, 1776, after months of turmoil and indecision, Thomas Paine published a radical, persuasive pamphlet called Common Sense.– Blamed the monarchy for the
colonists’ troubles.– Declared that the time had
come for independence
• Sold 150,000 copies• Convinced colonists to
declare independence.
The Declaration of Independence
• In July 1776, Thomas Jefferson submitted a landmark document he had drafted in which the colonists declared themselves independent.
• On July 4th, 1776, the Continental Congress issued the Declaration of Independence.
• The colonies now became the United States of America.
Articles of Confederation• In November, 1777, the
Continental Congress adopted the Articles of Confederation.– This was the 1st Constitution of
the U.S.A.
• Established a weak central government. Why?– Each state sent one delegate to
the Confederation Congress.– Had right to declare war and
raise armies– Able to negotiate and sign
treaties– Could not raise taxes or regulate
trade
Key Battles of the American Revolution
• Lexington and Concord– April, 1775; “first shots”– 73 British soldiers killed; 174
British soldiers wounded
• Battle of Saratoga (October, 1777)– “turning point”; 5,000 British
troops captured– Convinces the French to join
the war against England
• Yorktown (May, 1781)– British General Cornwallis
surrenders.
Treaty of Paris (1783)• The British Parliament voted
to end the war following the British defeat at Yorktown.
• Signed on September 3, 1783• Recognized the United States
of America as a new nation.• Established the Mississippi
River as the western border of the USA.
• US acquired Florida
The New Nation
• When Americans declared their independence and founded the USA, they sought to create an entirely new system of government: – rejected monarchy
• Sought to create a republic: a form of government where power resides with a body of citizens entitled to vote.
• “Self-government”• “Rule of law”• Popular sovereignty or
“Sovereignty of the people”
• Public good (subordination of self-interest)
• Thomas Paine defined a republic as “the public good or the good of the whole”
• Independence and virtue
State Constitutions• In 1776, the Continental
Congress called on states to overthrow their royal governments and create new republican governments.
• The former colonies organized state constitutional conventions and drew up new state constitutions
• The state constitutions they created show us how colonists struggled to define the meaning of American revolution and independence
State Constitutions
• When writing these new state constitutions, problems emerged over a number of issues: – limits of popular
sovereignty and the extent of democracy each state would allow.
– the division of power
State Constitutions
• The American Revolution politicized the masses—– mobs, committees
State Constitutions
• State constitutions range from state to state
• Some are radical• Some are moderate • Some are conservative
Pennsylvania’s State Constitution• The most radical and fullest expression of
democratic-republicanism• moderates routed during war and radicals
took charge in the state• no balance of power between
elite and people• no limits on popular
participation– based on direct will of people– based on “common good “
• thus no soc div. not transplanted to political division
Pennsylvania’s State Constitution• No upper house• No Governor• One Assembly (unicameral)
– elected Annually
– no property-owning qualifications to vote or serve
– rotation of office only in 4/7 years• bill of rights
• freedom of speech, religion, trial by jury
• no debtors prison• extensive educ. system
Massachusetts and New York’s State Constitution
• This radical constitution concerned and frightened many American leaders
• J. Adams sent copies of Thoughts on Government to other states– bicameral legislature with upper for
natural aristocracy ($, talent, sense)– appointed judiciary– governor with veto power– divided power by function rather than
social lines (English)– Judicial, administrative and lawmaking
bodies
• less democratic, but more familiar to people
• Mass basically this set up as well as NY
• John Adams remarked that the Pennsylvania constitution of 1776 was "so democratic that it must produce confusion and every evil work." He would be elected to the Presidency in 1796.
South Carolina’s State Constitution
• flagrant property qualification: white men had to possess a significant amount of property to vote, and they had to own even more property to be allowed to run for political office.– candidates for governor required to have
debt-free estate worth 10k pounds• 2k for senate, 1k for assembly• ruled out 90% of white adult pop.
• These property requirements were so high that 90 percent of all white adults were prevented from running for political office!
• Poor white men, all women, children, and African Americans (whether free or slave) were considered too dependent on others to exercise reliable political judgment.
• John Rutledge served as both South Carolina's president and governor. The state's original constitution, drafted in 1776, called for the election of a state president. But changes made to the document in 1778 saw the state's chief executive become known as "governor."
A New Constitution• For many years, the
weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation worried some Americans.
• Some felt that the US would not survive without a stronger national government.
• People who wanted to strengthen the national government came to be known as “nationalists.” They included: – James Madison– Alexander Hamilton– John Jay
A New Constitution: Why• Trade Problems
– Congress could not control commerce and the states refused to adopt a uniform tariff policy
• Specter of Anarchy– Boundary and trade disputes
between the states– Shay’s Rebellion
• Rebellion led by revolutionary war captain Daniel Shays in Western Massachusetts 1786
• Revolutionary war veterans were losing their farms due to mortgage foreclosures and tax deliquentcies.
• Demanded cheap “paper” money, lighter taxes, and a suspension of property takeovers
The Constitutional Convention• In May, 1787, 55 men gather in
Philadelphia to “revise” the Articles of Confederation.
• Two plans were forwarded to the convention.
• The Virginia plan: – A new central government with
power divided between three branches of government: executive, legislative and judicial.
– A bi-cameral legislature– Representatives apportioned
according to a state’s population– Favored large states: NY, Virginia,
and Massachusetts
The Constitutional Convention
• A counter-proposal was offered known as the New Jersey Plan.– Proposed a single house
in which each state was equally represented
– Gave the Congress the right to tax and regulate trade
The “Great Compromise”• The delegates agreed to adopt a
new constitution based on the Virginia Plan.
• They struck a “Great Compromise” based on a suggestion by Roger Sherman of Connecticut.
• It established a bi-cameral legislature including:
• A House of Representatives based on the size of the state’s population.
• A Senate, where each state would have equal representation.
Other Compromises
• The Three-Fifths Compromise: every five enslaved people in a state would count as three free persons for determining representation and taxes.
• The new Congress could not ban the slave trade until 1808
Debating the Constitution• The Confederation Congress
sent the new constitution to the states for ratification
• Nine of the thirteen states had to ratify the new Constitution for it to take effect.
• Supporters of the Constitution called themselves Federalists.– They included: large
landowners, merchants and farmers near the coasts and rivers.
– James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay
Debating the Constitution• Opponents of the Constitution
were called Antifederalists.• They believe that state
governments should remain supreme.
• Major anti-federalists leaders included: John Hancock, Patrick Henry, and Sam Adams
• They were supported by western farmers who were self-sufficient and who distrusted and feared the wealthy, powerful elite.
The Bill of Rights• To overcome objections to the new
Constitution, Federalists promised to attach a bill of rights to the Constitution once it was ratified.
• They also agreed to support an amendment that would reserve for the states all powers not granted to the federal government.
• These promises eventually led to the first ten amendments to the Constitution, which came to be known as the Bill of Rights.
• These ten amendments limit the powers of the federal government.
• They also protect the civil liberties of individuals in the United States.
Amendment I
• no establishment of religion,
• freedom of speech, or of the press;
• right of the people peaceably to assemble,
Amendment II
• A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.
Amendment III
• No Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the Owner
Amendment IV
• No unreasonable searches and seizures
Amendment V
• You shall not be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law
Amendment VI
• the right to a speedy and public trial
• The right to face your accusers
Amendment VII
• the right to a trial by jury
Amendment VIII
• no cruel and unusual punishments
Amendment IX
• All other rights not listed are retained by the people.
Amendment X
• Powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.
• “Will the Justices defer to the 10th Amendment and the States thereby in essence decentralizing and fragmenting the legislative authority for immigration law?”
SEVEN BASIC PRINCIPLES OF THE CONSTITUTION· Popular Sovereignty- the governments right to rule comes from the people· Limited Government- the government has only the powers that the Constitution gives to it· Separation of Power-the Constitution divides the government into three branches: Congress-legislative branch makes laws President-executive branch carries out the laws Courts-judicial branch explains and interprets the laws· Checks and Balances- each branch of government has the power to check or limit the actions of the other two· Federalism-division of power between the federal government and the states.· Republicanism- citizens elect representatives to carry out their will· Individual rights-The Constitution protects individual rights such as freedom of speech, freedom religion etc
• What event is this political cartoon about?
