The First Continental Congress

The First Continental CongressExtralegal committees of correspondence from every colony except Georgia sent delegatesThe bigwigs were there: Samuel and John Adams, John Jay, Patrick Henry, Richard Henry Lee, George Washington56 delegates in allThey endorsed a set of statements known as the Suffolk ResolvesSuffolk ResolvesColonies owed no obedience to any of the Coercive ActsA provisional government should collect all taxes until the former Massachusetts chars is restoredDefensive measures should be taken in the event of an attack by royal troops

The Cont. Congress also voted to boycott all British goodsCease exporting all goods to Britain and its West Indian possessions

The middle-colony contingent fears a head-on confrontation with BritainThey support Galloways Grand Council which proposed an American Legislature that would share the authority to tax and govern the colonies with ParliamentThe Continental Congress finally sent a petition to the KingIt reaffirmed Parliaments power to regulate imperial commerce, BUT it argued that all previous parliamentary efforts to impose taxes, enforce laws through admiralty courts, suspend assemblies, and revoke charters was unconstitutionalFrom Resistance to RebellionResistance leaders began acting outcoercing loyalists (Tories)Compelling merchants to burn their imports and make apologiesBrowbeat clergymenPressured Americans to alter dietsBegan organizing volunteer military companies and extralegal legislatures

Colonists were beginning to collect armsApril, 1775, Mass. Gov. Gage was ordered to quell the rude rabbleGage sends 700 British soldiers to seize military supplies at ConcordRevere and DawesAt Lexington about 70 minutemen confront the British8 minutemen dieBy the days end the redcoats suffered 273 casualties compared to only 92 for the colonistsBy April 20, 20,000 New Englanders were besieging the British garrison in BostonSecond Continental Congress meets and agrees to send a loyal message to King George, The Olive Branch Petition1. cease fire2. repeal the Coercive Acts3 negotiations to establish guarantees of American rights

However, while doing this the colonies also established a Continental Army headed by George WashingtonIn June, the Battle of Breeds and Bunker Hill: British lose 1,154 and the colonists lose 311By December, King George and Parliament had declared the colonies to be in a state of rebellionCommon SenseMany elites like Adams were concerned about the movement being taken over by the common peopleWhat is they are armed?Any sentimental attachment to the crown ended with Thomas Paines Common SenseMonarchy is rooted in superstitionConspiracy against American liberty rooted in the institutions of monarchy and empirePaine claimed that AmericaEconomically did not need BritainShould break due to the preceding six months eventsHad an awakening nationalism with a sense of religious missionContained republican principles and was unburdened by the oppressive beliefs and corrupt institutions of the European pastDeclaring IndependenceMiddle colonies were still concerned because of Philly and New YorkRichard Henry Lee proposes independenceBy July 2 the resolution is adopted and then signed on July 4The Declaration of IndependenceDeclaration o f IndependencePursuit of Happiness replaces propertyLeft out blaming George III for the slave tradeFollowed the English Bill of RightsFocused on the King, not ParliamentListed 27 injuries and usurpations, but discussed issues in a universal dimensionRight of revolutionNatural entitlementLeft unanswered equalityThe struggle for national independence had hastened, and become intertwined with a quest for equality and personal independence that, for many Americans, transcended boundaries of class, race, or gender.The Revolution gave white northerners and southerners their first real chance to learn what they had in commonOut of this war comes the Articles of ConfederationDespite cooperation, many in America were divided over basic political questions relating to the distribution of powerLoyalists and Other British SympathizersAbout 20% of all whites either refused the Confederation or opposed rebellionHowever, this did not mean that they did oppose British policiesThey just viewed separation as an illegal act certain to ignite a unnecessary warNew York and New Jersey had the highest numberThese two colonies furnished of the 21,000 who fought for the BritishMany loyalists were recent immigrants, or soldiers that stayed on in the colonies after the Seven Years WarLoyalist numbers were also high in Georgia and the backcountry of N. and S. CarolinaCanadians supported the crown due to the Quebec ActMany recent settlers in the Ohio Valley felt an independent America might trample their rightsMany slaves had taken refuge on British shipsThey considered their own liberation more important than AmericasNative Americans feared expansion by an new AmericaThe Opposing SidesBritish Advantages11 million to 2.5 million (1/3 of whom were slave or loyalist)Largest navy and one of the best professional armiesAbility to hire 30,000 Hessians21,000 loyalists

American sideDid mobilize 220,000 troopsMilitary contributions of the French and SpanishBritish decline in sea power due to budget cutsSupply line problems for the BritsTough maintaining British peoples support through higher taxes

Guerrilla warfare would be tough to secure loansNo trained officers or disciplined soldiersThe Revolution and Social ChangeSocial tensions were magnified and complicated after the war by two factorsPrinciples of the Declaration of IndependenceDislocations caused by the war itself

What would be the relationship between political elites and the commoner?How would the young nation deal with slavery?What about Native Americans?Egalitarianism Among White MalesBy the 1760s elites began looking like commoners for the rebellion effortThe Declaration speaks of equalityThe War democratizes Americans political assumptionsHowever, the natural aristocracy rises out of a reciprocal understandingNew emphasis on equality obviously did not include propertyless males, women, or nonwhitesOverall distribution of wealth in America went unchanged

A Revolution for Black AmericansAbout 20% (500,00,) black persons in the colonies in 1776All but 25,000 were slavesFree blacks, however, were almost always subject to curfews, etc.About 25,000 blacks join the British ranks; 5,000 serve the coloniesThis grew out of the armys need, not equal justiceMany states between 1777-84 began phasing out slaveryVermont, Penn., Mass., RI, Conn.

Northern states began repealing or ignoring curfews and granted blacks equal treatment in court hearingsAll states except SC and GA ended slave importsThe Revolutionary generation did take some steps to weaken slavery (state laws creating gradual emancipation children born of a slave women after a certain date [July 4])But there was general fear of Southern secession or national bankruptcySlavery was a necessary evilNative Americans and the RevolutionRevolutionary ideology made no provision for Indian nationsThe revolutionary spirit actually sought to expand westwardNative Americans were vulnerablePopulation east of the Miss. River had been depleted by from 1754-1783Many sought to incorporate the most useful aspects of European cultureForging New GovernmentsElites welcomed hierarchical ruleWorking and the poor welcomed worried that the wealthy would profit at their expenseRural colonists emphasized decentralized power and authorityFrom Colonies to StatesNew state constitutions retained the precedents of favoring the wealthiest elites11 of the 13 maintained bicameral legislatures (Georgia and Penn. Unicameral)Few questioned property requirements for voters or elected officials (it had to do with the potential for the poor in selling their votes)Most elected officials were expected to lead the people, not necessarily carry out popular willThey were elected for personal qualities and fitness for officeOnly Pennsylvania ensured that election districts were equal in population (others had equal representation no matter the size)State constitutions did require popular ratification and could only change if voters chose to amend themRevolutionary constitutions spelled out citizens fundamental rightsBy 1784 all included explicit bills of rightsRevolutionary statesmen proclaimed the need to strengthen legislatures at the expense of governorsStates scheduled annual electionsTransferred the power of appointment to the legislaturesDenied them the power to veto lawsSubjected them to impeachmentNowhere could the governor appoint the upper houseGovernors became figureheadsRevolutionary leaders were republicans, not democratsDemocracy would have concentrated power in the hands of the uneducated multitudeGradually, the wealthier desired a more centralized authorityThe end of state-established churchesThe end of entails and primogenitorEntails legal constraints on divided propertyPrimogenitor transferring of property to the oldest son in the absence of a willFormalizing a ConfederacyEach state was reserved its sovereignty, freedom and independenceAmericans were citizens of their state first, the nation secondThe national government had a single chamber, elected by the state legislature and each state had one voteCongress could request funds, but states did not have to provide itCongress could not regulate interstate commerce or overseas tradeNo executive or judicial systemFinance, Trade, and the Economy, 1781-1786The new nation was on shaking economic ground$160 million price tag for the warThe government had borrowed money and printed ContinentalsInflation hit hard after the warRequest of a 5% import due that failed to passNewburgh ConspiracyStates would not provide funds to the GovernmentDecline in trade severely hurt the new nationIt hit New England the most; chronic overpopulation did not helpConfederation and the West, 1785-1787One of the main challenges to the new government was postwar settlement and the administration of western landsOrdinance of 1785Townships of six square miles; subdivided into 36 sections of 640 acres each; one a source of income for schoolsOrdinance of 1787Defined the steps for new statesCongress would appoint the governor and judgesWhen 5,000 adult males arrived voters could approve a temporary constitutionWhen the population reached 60,000 voters could ratify a state constitutionForbade slavery

Served as a model for further expansion westWas an opportunity for people to earn landEased the fear of a mass of poor laborers and the unpropertied

Shayss Rebellion, 1786-87"Rebellion against a king may be pardoned, or lightly punished, but the man who dares to rebel against the laws of a republic ought to suffer death. Samuel Adams"A little rebellion now and then is a good thing. It is a medicine necessary for the sound health of government. God forbid that we should ever be twenty years without such a rebellion. - TJPhiladelphia Convention, 178755 delegates; most wealthy and in their thirties; 39 had sat in Congress; 19 slave ownersNo official journal keptSecrecy to ensure open debate without fear of criticismTwo basic issuesWhether or not to tinker with the Articles of Confederation or replace itConflicting interests of the small and large statesVirginia Plan (James Madison)Strong central governmentCongress gets unrestricted rights to tax and legislate, the power to veto state law and use military force against the estatesBicameral legislature with fixed representation based on the states populationVoters elect the lower house; lower house chooses the upper house from nominations submitted by the state legislaturesNew Jersey Plan (William Patterson)Recommended a single chamber congress with each state having equal vote Congressional laws the supreme law of the landCourts could force reluctant states to accept these measures

Connecticut CompromiseEqual vote for each state in the upperProportional voting for the lowerThe new document accomplished the following:Reconciled conflicting interests between the large and small statesThe Senate and HouseEstablished national authorityLay and collect taxesRegulate interstate commerceConduct diplomacyState officials must swear an oath to uphold the ConstitutionUse of military force against any stateThis is an abandonment of the Articles of Confederation

But there was restraint (or at least their should be if Americans understand this document and dont allow any or all branches to get too powerful)Three distinct branchesChecks and balancesFederalism

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2nd period groupsBentley-ColegroveConn-DanckertDehart-GreenHolbrook-JonesKissick-LewisMcKenzie-NewtonPerry-PhillipsRichardson-RomeroSchack-ThatcherThaxton-Williams4th period groupsAshley-BakerBowman-CaskeyCyca-DavisEwers-FraleyGriggs-JohnsonKeller-McClainMekelberg-Spencer

U.S. HistoryGet a Green U.S. History BookTake out a half sheet of paper and answer the following questions.How many different men have been President of the United States?Who was the best President? Why?Who was the worst President? Why?Worsthttp://www.usnews.com/listings/worst-presidents/zachary-taylor

Besthttp://www.gallup.com/poll/146183/americans-say-reagan-greatest-president.aspx

Sexiest (?)http://www.nerve.com/content/the-top-43-sexiest-us-presidentsLegislative: HouseRequirements for officeApportionment of the seatshttp://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/special/politics/2010-race-maps/house/GerrymanderingTerm of OfficePresiding officerPowersImpeachment$

Speaker of the House

John BoehnerFrom OhioBeen in Congress since 1990RepublicanMajority LeaderEric CantorFrom VirginiaBeen in office since 1991Republican

Minority LeaderNancy PelosiFrom CaliforniaBeen in office since 1985Democratic

Legislative: SenateRequirement for OfficeMembershipTerm of OfficePresiding OfficerPowers 2/3 consentJury roleForeign AffairsFilibusterCloture (2/3 present)

Vice PresidentJoe BidenFrom DelawareBeen in office since 1972 (Senator for 36 years prior to VP)Democrat

President Pro-TemporeDaniel InouyeFrom HawaiiBeen in office since 1962 (but for territorial Hawaii since 1954)Democrat

Senate Minority LeaderMitch McConnellFrom KentuckyBeen in office since 1984Republican

Senate Majority LeaderHarry ReidFrom NevadaBeen in office since 1986Democrat

Congressional PowersArticle I, Section 8

Executivehttp://www.gallup.com/poll/28693/which-characteristics-most-desirable-next-president.aspx

ExecutiveRequirements for officeConstitutional vs. societalTerm (22nd Amendment)Electoral CollegeHow is it calculated?What if no majority?Who has power in this system?

ExecutivePowers of the PresidentCommander in ChiefHead of CabinetGrant pardonsNegotiate TreatiesNominate Supreme Court JusticesFill vacancies during Senate recessesThe Cabinet includes the Vice President and the heads of 15 executive departmentsState (1789)TreasuryDefenseJusticeInterior (1849)Agriculture (1862)Commerce (1913)Labor (1913)Health and Human Service (1953)Housing and Urban Development (1965)Transportation (1966)Energy (1977)Education (1979)Veterans Affairs (1988)Homeland Security (2002)Judicial

Chief Justice John Roberts (56); 6 yearsAntonin Scalia (75); 25Anthony Kennedy (75); 23Clarence Thomas (63); 20Ruth Bader Ginsburg (78); 18Stephen Breyer (73); 17Sam Alito (61); 5Sonia Sotomayor (57); 2Elena Kagen (51); 1

Article IV Relations among the statesArticle V Amending processArticle VI Supremacy ClauseArticle VII - Ratification