US History October Notes

Read pages 91 to 96

Question 1) What important decisions were made by the colonists in 1776?

Answer 1) In 1776, there was a book titled Common Sense, which spoke of independence from the king and aristocrats of Britain. This book introduced the Americans to the concept of freeing themselves from England and its class structure, to be able to provide everybody with opportunities. This caused congress to declare American independence. On July 4th, the Declaration of Independence was passed, confirming that America was now an independent nation. 

Read pages 97 to 105 

Question 2) What role did Benjamin Franklin play during the Revolutionary War, and how was it important? 

Answer 2) In February of 1778, Benjamin Franklin led the negotiation of the American and French diplomatic alliance. He did this by presenting himself as somebody who loves the French. This forced the French to attack the British, leading to a fair war. 

Question 5) What effect did the Revolutionary War have on slavery in the United States? 

Answer 5) The Revolutionary War’s main objective was to obtain American freedom. This caused slaves to also question their situations and also began demanding freedom. A small number of African Americans joined the Americans to fight for freedom with their individual freedom promised. Ten times of this number of African Americans joined the British because they had a common enemy, which was the Americans. The North released their slaves since it was not critical to their economy. However, the South did not agree to the emancipation since their economy relied heavily upon slave labor.

Read pages 110 to 116

Question 2) What economic situation led to Shays’ Rebellion and how did these economic problems demonstrate the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation?

Answer 2) The Shays’ Rebellion was caused by the economical situation where there was a slowdown in goods being traded, With less items being traded, unemployment increased and the prices of produce were reduced. Americans were not able to pay for their imported manufactured goods. This caused extreme debt to the British. This demonstrates the weakness of the Articles of Confederation caused many other states to avoid rebellions by satisfying debtors. This threw off the entire American economy.

Question 3) What was the purpose of the Northwest Ordinance of 1787?

Answer 3) The Northwest Ordinance of 1787 allowed for a government to be established within the western territory. It also banned slavery, forcing all of the five new states would able to join the Union as free states. 

Question sequence of event) How much time passed between the time when the last state ratified the Articles of Confederation and the decision to hold a convention to revise it?

Answer sequence of event) 5 years and 11 months have passed between March 1781 and February 1787. 

Read page 117-122. Page 122 # 1,2,3 and 4

• Q1) Compare and Contrast Compare how the views of Alexander Hamilton and James Madison regarding government were similar and different.

  • Alexander Hamilton

    • Didn’t like the democracy

    • Liked the British constitution

    • Wanted a government that had aristocracy, monarchy, and republicanism

  • James Madison

    • Liked republicanism

    • Didn’t like the British constitution

    • Wanted a government that had a strong republican government

• Q2) How did the Constitutional Convention address the concerns of southern delegates that northern states might try to end the slave system?

• A2) The Constitution forbade Congress from blocking the importation of slaves for twenty years. The three-Fifths Compromise stated that a slave accounted as 3/5 of a person. The constitution also committed all states to return fugitive slaves to their owners. The Northerners were required to help enforce the slave system as the price of union.

• Q3) What was the Connecticut Compromise, also known as the Great Compromise, and what issues was it meant to address?

• A3) In order to prevent the convention from ending in a stalemate, a compromise between the Virginia and the New Jersey plans, known as the Connecticut Compromise, or the Great Compromise was passed. This compromise made a concession that the Senate would equally represent every state, regardless of size, by allowing two senators per state.

• Q4) What were the main flaws in the Articles of Confederation? How did the new Constitution address these issues?

• A4) The main issue was that the congress was too weak. The new Constitution addressed these issues by giving Congress the power to regulate interstate and international commerce, and granting Congress the power to tax the people. 

Read page 123-129. Page 129 1,2,3,4 and 5

• Q1) Why did the Federalists generally have more support for their ideas than the Antifederalists during the Constitutional Convention?

• A1) The Federalists were more organized, had more experience and even had better connections including Washington & Franklin.

• Q2) Is the United States system of government a direct democracy? Why or why not?

• A2) A direct democracy is a form of government in which citizens vote on every matter, but in an indirect democracy, voters elect representatives to be their voice in government. The United States uses indirect democracy as the system of government, since every citizen voting on every matter is simply unreasonable.

• Q3) Explain how the checks and balances system works and why it is such an important principle of the United States government.

• A3) The system of checks and balances state that a branch of government has the power to limit the actions of the other two branches. It is important to prevent misuse of power by any of the three branches. The Constitution assigns certain specific powers to each of the three branches of the federal government. The legislative branch, or Congress, enacts laws. The executive branch, headed by the President, carries out the laws, negotiates treaties, and commands the armed forces. The judicial branch interprets the Constitution and applies the law. 

• Q4) How does a document written over two hundred years ago remain relevant and responsive to current social, economic, and political events? Explain how the founders worded parts of the Constitution to permit flexibility.

• A4) This document remains relevant because it is working today and the government continues to follow the laws written there. The words in the Constitution work for any condition of the laws, so they are extremely flexible and may apply to various situations. 

• Q5) What is the principle of federalism and how is it reflected in the relationship between federal and state government?

• A5) The principle of federalism defines the relationship between the central government at the national level and its constituent units at the regional, state, or local levels.