United States History

1. United States History Chapter 4: Independence! Chapter 5: From Confederation to Federal Union Chapter 6: A Strong Start for the Nation

2. Aftermath: French and Indian War • England gained huge tracts of land after the war with France • Native Americans were especially angry at losing their French allies • Called upon a boycott of British goods • Pontiac’s Rebellion: failed rebellion, led by Ottawa Chief Pontiac, that killed thousands of settlers, but failed to take Forts Detroit and Pitt • To protect settlers, Britain passed the Proclamation of 1763 • Prevented people from settling west of the Appalachian Mountains • Very difficult to enforce and caused great resentment

3. Original 13 Colonies, 1763

4. NO TAXATION WITHOUT REPRESENTATION! • To pay back war debts and finance military campaigns in North America, the British passed a series of taxes on the American colonists • Sugar Act of 1764: taxed foreign sugar, molasses and other items • Stamp Act of 1765: taxed numerous forms of paper items • The colonists were outraged at the taxes • Boycotted purchase and use of British goods • Formed groups like the Sons of Liberty and the Stamp Act Congressto protest • Stamp Act repealed in 1765, but Declaratory Act quickly passed to grant power of Parliament to tax colonists

5. More Laws, More Anger • Townshend Acts: taxed common goods like tea, lead, glass, etc • Enforced using writs of assistance, or general search warrants • Quartering Act: required colonists to house British troops • Boston Massacre: violence between British troops and colonists on March 5, 1770 • Crowds were protesting British taxes • 5 colonists were killed • Sons of Liberty blew it out of proportion, hoping for sympathy to their cause (it worked) • In 1770, the Quartering Act and most of the Townshend Acts were allowed to expire • Kept the tax on tea • Committees of Correspondence were formed to keep people through the colonies informed of British injustices

6. Even More Laws and Anger • Tea Act of 1773: enforced taxes on tea that colonists refused to pay • Brought about more boycotts and the Boston Tea Party • December 16, 1773 • Sons of Liberty dressed as Indians, boarded the tea ships in Boston Harbor and dumped 342 chests of tea into the water • The Coercive, or Intolerable, Acts were passed in response • Closed port until tea was paid for • Forbade town meetings without governor’s approval • Allowed royal officials to be tried outside of the colonies • Installed a new quartering act • Also passed the Quebec Act, extending Quebec’s border to the Ohio River, negating any colonial claims on land

7. This Means War! • All colonies except Georgia met in the fall of 1774 at the First Continental Congress • Expressed loyalty to England • Listed grievances to King George III • Called for boycott of all British goods • King George called for “the rebellion to be put down” • Came to a head at Lexington and Concord, MA on April 18-19, 1775 • Colonists had been storing arms, preparing for battle • Paul Revere, William Dawes and Samuel Prescott warned the Patriots ahead of time • Minutemen and Redcoats fought a quick skirmish, with the Redcoats retreating back to Boston • The Second Continental Congress met on May 10, 1775, now organizing the fight against the British • Battle of Bunker Hill: June 17, 1775 • Hundreds of casualties thrust upon the British • Patriots lost the battle when they ran out of ammunition • The Continental Congress sent the King the Olive Branch Petition to pledge loyalty and call for peace, but to no avail; war was on

8. Independence! • Many colonists wished to break from England • Violations of colonial rights • Blood of those that died defending their rights • Common Sense by Thomas Paine outlined reasons why • The Continental Congress, in June 1776, decided to draft a Declaration of Independence • Thomas Jefferson was placed in charge of writing it • Presented on July 2, approved on July 4 • Did not grant America independence, only declared it; the Revolution had to be fought to win independence • Not all supported the Declaration • Those that remained loyal to England were called Loyalists or Tories

9. Fighting the War • The Continental Army, led by George Washington, faced many struggles • Bitter cold (Valley Forge, PA 1777-78) • Illness (poor hygiene, sanitation) • Lack of supplies, food from a weak government • Shortage of troops • The British were well trained, well supplied, and adhered to strict discipline • African Americans, Native Americans and women served important roles in the war

10. Important Battles • Battle of Trenton (1776) • Surprise attack on British and Hessian troops on Christmas 1776 • Washington crossed Delaware River to kill hundreds and hundreds more taken prisoner • Quickly attacked again at Princeton, ending British hope of a quick war • Battle of Saratoga (1777) • Patriots slowed British in upstate NY • Turned tide of war, French formally recognized the United States and declared war on Britain • Sent supplies and troops to help train Patriot army • Marquis de Lafayette most prominent • Vincennes (1779) • Fighting on the western frontier, led by George Rogers Clark • Made the British focus on the southern colonies • Slowed the British enough to make British leader Lord Charles Cornwallis wait for supplies and reinforcements

11. Washington Crossing the Delaware

12. Yorktown and the Treaty of Paris • Cornwallis worked his way to a small peninsula on the Virginia coast near Yorktown • American forces from the South met with Washington’s forces from the North to trap the British by land • The French Navy trapped any escape and resupply routes by sea • October 19, 1781: Cornwallis surrenders, ending fighting of the War for Independence • Treaty of Paris, 1783 • Granted American independence, everything east of the MS River • Spain gained Florida back from Britain • Britain would withdraw all troops from American territory (to which they did not, causing another war later)

13. Articles of Confederation • First government of the United States, approved in 1781 • Many problems with the Articles • No power to tax • No control over commerce • ¾ approval for laws, unanimous for amendments • Only one vote per state, regardless of size • No true executive or judicial, legislature only • Land division was also an issue after the war • Land Ordinance of 1785: divided land into townships, 6 miles by 6 miles and required each to have a school • Land Ordinance of 1787 (Northwest Ordinance): system of governing the land, banned slavery, and set up a system of statehood for 3-5 states • Shays’ Rebellion proved the weakness of the government in 1786 • Rebellion led by Daniel Shays in response to heavy state taxes and foreclosures on farms • Proved national government could not control people • Inspired states to meet to “fix” the Articles in 1787

14. Northwest Territory, 1787

15. Constitutional Convention • All states except Rhode Island met in Philadelphia, starting May 14, 1787 to address issues of the Articles • Quickly decided a new government was needed • George Washington elected president of the convention • James Madison (“father of Constitution”), Ben Franklin, John Adams, Alexander Hamilton amongst prominent • Issues over state vs. federal power • Virginia Plan: proposed representation based on population, a strong federal government, power to tax, and a bicameral legislature • New Jersey Plan: unicameral legislature based on equal representation, power to tax and regulate commerce • Connecticut Compromise: creation of a bicameral legislature with a House of Representatives (population) and a Senate (equal)

16. Constitutional Convention • Other issues were at stake in reshaping the American government • Three-fifths Compromise: addressed slaves as 3/5 of a person when counting population • Tariffs would be imposed on imports, but not on exports • The slave trade would be outlawed after 1808, but a domestic trade could continue • After months of work, the Constitution was approve on Sept. 17, 1787 • Sent to the states for ratification, of which 9 needed to approve for it to take effect • Two factions, the Federalists and Anti-Federalists, formed in support and opposition to the document • Federalists: supported, drafted The Federalist Papers in support • Anti-Federalists: opposed, mostly because of a lack of a Bill of Rights • Federalists promised to add a Bill of Rights if it was ratified, to which they did in 1791

17. The Constitution • Created a document based on many principles • Federalism: division between national, state and local governments, some powers exclusive, others shared; declared national gov’t supreme • Separation of powers: three branches of gov’t (legislative, executive, judicial), with checks and balances on powers • Allowed for Constitution to be changed through the amendment process and “elastic clause” • Amended 27 times • Allows for laws “necessary and proper” to carry out other laws to be added, even if Constitution doesn’t specifically state the power

18. The First Government • George Washington was elected the first president, taking office in New York City on April 30, 1789 • Congress had many issues to address in the first session • Bill of Rights: approved in 1789, ratified by states in 1791 • Judiciary Act of 1789: created federal court system • Cabinet: departments to assist and advise the president (State, Treasury, War) and an attorney general to advise on legal matters • National credit: Alexander Hamilton devised a plan to fix financial problems • System of taxes to pay down all debts, including the state, left from the war • Debts would be paid gradually, to ensure support from foreign nations • To gain southern support, the capital of Washington DC would be built in the south • Bank of the United States was created to handle finances • Many problem rose in the early days • Taxes on whiskey caused people to rebel against the taxes (Whiskey Rebellion, 1794); put down by Washington and the army • Native American conflicts: defeated Indians at Battle of Fallen Timbers

19. George Washington 1789-1797

20. Foreign Affairs • The French Revolution and a British/French war caused many issues • Impressment of American sailors • Citizen Genet: illegal tried to recruit Americans to fight for the French after declaration of neutrality • Jay’s Treaty: treaty to expel British from forts in the NW Territory and pay debts to Britain • Pinckney’s Treaty: established southern border with Florida • Washington stepped down after 2 terms in 1796, opening election to others • First election involving parties (Federalists and Democratic-Republicans) • John Adams elected president, Thomas Jefferson elected VP • Caused many problems during term because of conflicting party views between Adams and Jefferson • XYZ Affair: conflict between US and France in 1797 when France tried to bribe US diplomats with three agents (X, Y, and Z), demanding loans and a bribe to see French ministers • Alien and Sedition Acts: passed in 1798 to quiet opposition to Adams and deport all “unwanted” immigrants • Declared unconstitutional by Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions, but were in place until they expired in 1801

21. John Adams 1797-1801

22. The Transition of Power • Election of 1800 • Resulted in a tie vote between Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr, eliminating John Adams after one term • Took 35 votes to choose Jefferson as president • Resulted in 12th Amendment in 1804 to clear up presidential voting procedures • Adams did not go out quietly, however • Appointed several “midnight judges” to undermine Jefferson • Jefferson refused to honor the appointments • One appointment sued the government, resulting in Marbury v. Madison • Did not grant the appointment • Established the concept of judicial review, ability of the court to declare laws unconstitutional • Jefferson very influential in forming modern US • Louisiana Purchase: bought from France for $15 million in 1803 • Sent Meriwether Lewis and William Clark on expedition in 1804-06 to explore the purchase • Very popular until passage of Embargo Act of 1807 • Response to British blockade of trade with France • Prevented American trade with all foreign nations, severely hurting trade

23. Thomas Jefferson 1801-1809

24. War of 1812 • Conflicts between settlers and Native Americans intensified in the early 1800s • Tecumseh aligned tribes to resist settlement • William Henry Harrison was sent, in 1811, to fight the tribes, resulting in the Battle of Tippecanoe, shattering the Native alliances • Americans blamed the British for the Indian uprisings, with President James Madison calling for war • War was declared in 1812, resulting in the War of 1812 • The United States was not prepared for war, but focused heavily on the conquest of Canada

25. James Madison 1809-1817

26. War of 1812 • Land battles were disastrous for the Americans • However, battles on the Great Lakes were a success, enabling momentum • After defeating the British navy on Lake Erie, the army invaded southern Ontario • Battle of the Thames: Harrison defeats British and Indians, breaking British hold on NW Territory • The British were able to go on the offensive in America, burning Washington DC in the process • Dolley Madison saved many art pieces from the White House before it burned • Francis Scott Key penned the Star Spangled Banner while watching the siege on Fort McHenry (Baltimore) • Biggest victory for the Americans came after the war at New Orleans • Andrew Jackson soundly defeated British in January 1815 before news of wars end reached the city • Treaty of Ghent ended the war in Dec. 1814 • Nothing gained by either side, but strengthened US control over NW Territory • Some states called for secession at the Hartford Convention in anger to the war, but the call failed and destroyed the Federalist Party