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Summer School History

Brooks Academy of Science and Engineering -- 2012

Unit 1: Colonial America

American Indians before 1492

• Arrived via a land bridge across the Bering Strait (between Siberia and Alaska) sometime between 30,000 and 10,000 years ago

• Filtered down throughout the continent over the centuries

• created hundreds of separate tribes and societies

• Adapted to the environment wherever they went.

European Colonial Holdings in North America before 1763

European Colonization – SpainSpain – 1492

◦ Columbus ◦ Conquistadors ◦ Three Gs: God, Gold and Glory ◦ Nueva Espana – “New Spain” – huge

super colony created to exploit the Indians

◦ Spanish missions set up in the American Southwest and along the California coast – idea was to convert the Indians to Christianity – led to a system of loosely held territories

◦ Colombian Exchange – movement of goods, food, disease, culture and people between the Old World and New World (be prepared to give examples)

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New Spain

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Columbian Exchange

European Colonization – France France – Canada and Louisiana

◦ Quebec -- French speaking even today◦ Louisiana -- Strong French influence,

combined with Creole from the islands◦ Big reason for colonization -- MONEY FROM

FUR TRADERS◦ Small settlements in Canada -- Montreal

and Quebec City centered on trade with the Indians

◦ Big missionary effort -- French will use the Indians as allies against the English -- this effort will be largely unsuccessful, but the French will try

◦ French trappers will eventually make it to the Great Lakes area and down the Mississippi

◦ Important to remember -- French colonies founded over money and TRADE. THEY'RE REALLY THE ONLY EUROPEAN POWER THAT TREATS THE INDIANS AS ALLIES

European Colonization – English Virginia (Southern Colonies)

◦ 1607 – Jamestown settled◦ Important aspect of southern colonies -- started

for Money. They quickly turn to crops and Mercantilism (tobacco, Rice, indigo)

◦ DEFINE MERCANTILISM AND TRIANGLE TRADE ON THE BOARD (Sugar -- Rum -- Slaves)

◦ 1619 -- Dutch ship blown off course by a storm lands in Jamestown. They trade Black Africans for supplies. The Africans are not slaves, but rather indentured servants -- slavery will not come to Virginia in full force until the 1640s.

Massachusetts (New England)◦ Religious descent -- Puritans unhappy with the

Church of England -- it's too Catholic◦ 1620 -- Pilgrims (separatists) settle Plymouth

after crossing on the Mayflower

◦ Will bring the idea of the people ruling themselves – Mayflower Compact

◦ Thriving trade system takes hold -- only substance agriculture, but fishing and shipping create wealth

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Mayflower Compact• First time the colonists

(Americans) came together to form their own government

• Gives us the idea of government being by the people and for the people

• Signed by all free men on board the Mayflower. Each man given equal weight to vote, regardless of class or social status.

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Mayflower Compact

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Slavery in Virginia 1619• Dutch ship is blown off course coming

from the Caribbean – lands in Jamestown• Traded black slaves for supplies to make

it home• Slaves – just another commodity to trade• By 1640 – slavery in Virginia was based

on race (slaves were then born into slavery)

• Slavery becomes a major part of the economy of the South

• From an economic standpoint – slavery worked. Remember, there were no machines to work plantations / farms like we have today

• Slavery was cheaper in the long run, but more expensive in the short term

• Slavery quickly spread to other colonies (even northern ones), but was critical to the success of the agricultural colonies of the South

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More Original 13 Colonies• New York – Originally

settled by the Dutch• Pennsylvania – Settled by

the Quakers • Maryland – Settled by Lord

Baltimore for Catholics• Georgia – originally a

colony for prisoners (to relieve overcrowding in English prisons)

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Unit 2The American Revolution

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Conflict between British and French

• French and Indian War (1754-63)• French armed their Indian allies

against the British colonists trying to move into the backcountry lands

• Starts as a North American war, but eventually spreads to other British and French colonies around the globe, such as India and Egypt

• Peace of Paris (1763) – France lost all of its North American possessions – British get Canada and everything east of the Mississippi River

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Proclamation Line of 1763• British Crown said that lands

west of the crest of the Appellations Mountains were closed to English settlement

• Problem – Ohio River Valley was great for farming and furs

• Colonists from the East Coast wanted to move into better lands

• King George’s decision to close those lands angered many colonists

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Revenue Acts• Series of Acts passed by

Parliament in England to tax the colonists

• Designed to help pay for the costs of running the empire

• Stamp Act (1765) – most famous – tax on printed materials

• Stamp Act led to protests across the colonies

• Colonists cried out• “No Taxation Without

Representation” – since the colonies had no representatives in Parliament, they believed that no taxes should be passed without their consent

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Boston Tea Party

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Boston Tea Party• Sons of Liberty – mostly young

unemployed young men• Led by Sam Adams – Brewer,

Patriot and Tavern Owner• Angered over the Tea Act – a

tax on tea – very important to the people of Boston

• After a night of heavy drinking – Sons of Liberty stormed onto a ship loaded with tea in Boston Harbor and dumped thousands of pounds of tea into the Harbor

• Problem – the tea was private property. It did not belong to the British government.

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Intolerable Acts

• King George III was furious over the Boston Tea Party

• Parliament passed 3 acts in response– Closed port of Boston– Suspended Massachusetts

legislature– Quartering act: troops

could be housed in private homes

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First Continental Congress• Meeting of colonial

representatives (12 colonies attended) in Philadelphia

• In response to the Intolerable Acts

• Called for funding a continental army for defense

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First Continental Congress

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Declaration of Independence04 Jul 1776

Declaration of Independence

• July 4, 1776 – Declaration of Independence signed – Written by Thomas Jefferson

of Virginia• Men form governments• Governments must be

responsive to men• If a government is not

responsive to men, then men have the right to change the government

– List of Grievances – what the king did to break the contract between the colonists and his government

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Revolution in the Northern Colonies• Lexington and Concord – first

shots of the war – Outside Boston in 1775

• Bunker Hill – battle that drives the British Army out of Boston (they went to Nova Scotia)

• Saratoga (1777) – American victory that brings the French into the war on the American side

• Continental Army appointed George Washington of VA as the Army’s overall commander

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Revolution in the Southern Colonies

• Mostly back-county fighting• American colonists held a

huge advantage – they knew the terrain and refused to fight “like gentlemen”

• Colonists harassed the British army like gnats

• Very frustrating for the British commanders, who captured Charleston and Savannah easily, but couldn’t fight against the back-country militias

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Yorktown (1781)• British General

Cornwallis was trapped on the Yorktown Peninsula in Virginia

• Washington had him from the land

• French Navy had him from the sea – prevented his escape

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Peace of Paris (1783)• Took 2 years to finally

sign a peace treaty• Treaty of Paris (1783)– independence to the

United States– US given all land east of

the Mississippi river – south of Canada and north of Florida

– US granted fishing rights off Newfoundland in Canada (important fishing grounds for commercial fishermen)

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Unit 3

The Constitutionand the Federal Government

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Articles of Confederation• 1st constitution of the

United States• Drafted by the

Continental Congress• Very limited in power

to the national government

• Only one branch of government – Congress

• Most power left to the states

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National Achievements under the Articles of Confederation

• Running the Continental Army and government (with a lot of problems)

• Treaty with France in 1778 – French Alliance is critical to our success in the Revolution

• Signed peace treaty with Great Britain (1783)• Northwest Ordinances (1785 and 1787) – set the

pattern for statehood

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Problems with the Articles

• No real authority over the states• No ability to tax – could only ask states for money

• Congress could not regulate trade• Any changes to the articles had to be by unanimous

consent of all the states• Supposed to protect the individual states• States saw themselves as independent of each

other• “These United States” not “The United States”

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Northwest Ordinances of 1787• Greatest achievement of the

national government under the Articles of Confederation

• Allowed for Settlement in the Ohio River Valley

• Even set down laws for government and settlement patterns

• Sold land in 160 acre lots – small enough for a family to purchase

• Set a procedure for new states to join the union

• No colonies – all new areas would become states

• When 60,000 people settled an area, it could apply to Congress for statehood

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Constitutional Convention of 1787• Eventually many

people realized the Articles needed to be changed

• 55 delegates from 12 states (not Rhode Island) met in Philadelphia and drew up a new constitution

• That Constitution is the one we live under today (with 27 amendments)

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Two Different Plans for the Union were Presented at the Constitutional Convention

Virginia Plan• Favored large states• Number of representatives in

Congress determined by population

• Strong national government• Bi-cameral (2 house) Congress • Strong Executive (almost a king)• Strong Judicial (Courts)

New Jersey Plan

• Designed to protect small states• Really a revised version of the

Articles of Confederation• Unicameral (1 house) Congress

with each state getting the same number of votes

• Weak Executive -- appointed by Congress

• Weak Judicial – appointed by the Executive and approved by Congress

• Did give Congress power to tax and control states

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Great Compromise written by James Madison of VA

• Legislature (Congress)– Bicameral (2 houses)

• House of Reps – by population• Senate – each state has 2

– Makes Laws– Power to tax and control money– Declare war

• Executive (the President)– Strong executive – Supposed to enforce the Laws

Congress makes

• Judicial (Federal Courts)– Interprets / judges laws– Determines whether or not a law

violates the Constitution and its Amendments

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3/5 -- A Compromise on Slavery• Southern Position: slaves are

people and should be counted for representation, but are also property and thus should not be counted for taxation

• Northern states (most had outlawed slavery by 1787) – wanted slaves counted as property for taxation

• Eventually a compromise was reached where 3/5 of the slaves would be counted for both taxation and representation

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Bill of Rights (1791)

• First 10 Amendments• Mostly about personal

freedoms

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Bill of Rights (1791)1. Freedom of Speech, Press, Religion, Assembly and petition2. Right to bear arms3. No quartering of soldiers4. No unreasonable search and seizure (warrants)5. Rights of people accused of a crime6. Right to a speedy jury trial in criminal cases7. Right to a jury trial in civil cases over $208. No cruel and unusual punishment9. Rights not taken away by the Constitution are reserved to

the people10.Powers not taken away by the Constitution are reserved to

the states

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Other important Amendments• 13th – Abolished slavery• 14th – gave citizenship to ex-slaves and also

established that every citizen is entitled to due process under the law

• 15th – Black men are given the right to vote• 19th – gave Women the right to vote• 22nd – limits president to 2 terms• 24th – eliminated poll taxes• 26th – gave 18 year olds the right to vote