...amount of contributors. The authors of the Declaration of Independence include five main Revolutionary leaders. The main leader who originally drafted the Declaration was Thomas Jefferson, and the four other main authors include John Adams, Robert R. Livingston, Roger Sherman and Benjamin Franklin. Jefferson was one of the original Founding Fathers of the U.S. as well as the third U.S. President. He was a proponent of the Continental Congress under the state of Virginia as well as the first U.S. Secretary of State. Adams, the second President of the U.S., was an influential public leader in Boston, Massachusetts as well as the Continental Congress. He played a major part in pushing independence for the colonies. Livingston was a Chancellor, which is the highest judicial officer in the state, as well as a Recorder from New York. Several years after the Declaration was written, he took office as the U.S. Secretary of Foreign Affairs. Sherman was the first mayor of New Haven, a town in Connecticut. Once the Declaration was written, he became a representative and senator in the new republic. Franklin was one of the original authors who wore the most hats. Besides for his inclusion in the Declaration, he was best known as being an inventor. Some of his political positions included “First American”, the first U.S. Ambassador to France and governor of Pennsylvania at one point. All of these men led influential lives, and therefore were very well suited to be the Declaration...
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...Events That Led To Independence 04 July 1776 is the day American Colonist signed declaring their independence from Great Britain. They were letting the world know that American Colonies were done being abused by an oppressive and tyrannical government. The British Crown took this as an act of treason and would hang the British Crown before acting on these measures. The American people thought that they should be able to send their own people to Britain's Parliament or at least vote for Britain's lawmakers. They were denied this right and the American people became strongly independent and wanted to do things for themselves. American people didn't want people an ocean away telling them how to live their lives. Let’s get down to what the British Crown was enforcing on the America’s in no real order. The French and Indian war ended with a large debt. From the British point of view, it was only right to have the American colonist pay a large sum of the debt for their defense. The combination of the harsh taxes and the lack of an American voice in Parliament gave rise to the famous phrase "taxation without representation." In 1764 the Sugar Act was enacted to raise revenue through a tax on sugar and molasses. This tax has been on the books since the 1730’s but smuggling and the lacking in enforcement did not bother them. The Sugar Act reduced the rate of tax on molasses from six pence to three pence per gallon, while Grenville took measures that the duty be strictly enforced...
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...responsibilities hold when speaking of the constitution and how the constitution framework surrounding these two topics has evolved since the Revolution. “As dysfunctional as people of most political persuasions believe our government is, they are just convinced that the constitution still works. But does it?”(Phillips, pg. 3) .Thomas Jefferson believed that every generation of Americans should rewrite the constitution from scratch. The main reason to have the constitution was to have rights, freedom, and responsibility people wanted. Since the time of the founding fathers till now, it seems like people are trying to take that away. “Even with all our country’s defects, we already have the best democracy,” says Stuart , who proposed the question after reading, and taking umbrage with, a passage in The Audacity of Hope in which Barack Obama makes the jarring confession that it's “hard to shake the feeling these days that our democracy has gone seriously awry,” its best days behind us.” (Phillips, pg.4) We're bringing what we fought for and in “The Constitution Cafe” we were fighting for rights...
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...lost his bid for re-election to Thomas Jefferson in 1800, the Federalist Congress increased the number of circuit courts. Adams placed Federalist judges in these new positions. One of the justices of the peace, William Marbury, filed a writ of mandamus demanding Secretary of State James Madison deliver the appointments. The Supreme Court led by John Marshall denied the request citing part of the Judiciary Act of 1789 as unconstitutional. This historic court case established the concept of Judicial Review or the ability of the Judiciary Branch to declare a law unconstitutional. This case brought the Judicial Branch of the government on a more even power basis with the Legislative and Executive Branches. The historic court case Marbury versus Madison accomplished this end thereby setting the precedent for numerous historic decisions in the future (Marbury verses Madison, 1803). On his last day in office, President John Adams named forty-two justices of the peace and sixteen new circuit court justices for the District of Columbia under the Organic Act. The Organic Act was an attempt by the Federalists to take control of the federal judiciary before Thomas Jefferson took office. The commissions were signed by President Adams and sealed by acting Secretary of State John Marshall (who later became Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and author of this opinion), but they were not delivered before the expiration of Adams’s term as president. Thomas Jefferson refused to honor the commissions...
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...The Article of Confederation was an attempt towards creating a national government that upholds the value of the revolution. But it was not a long term solution. The Confederation created a very weak central government that gives too much power to the states. This was a result of peoples fear in a strong central government. However, having a weak government led to many issues. A major issue that the central government faced was not having the ability to tax. Economic issues did not allow the government to have a strong or large army to protect the nation from threats. As a result the delegates from the states came up with the idea for a new government. A new and stronger central government. Under the constitution, the government would have the power to tax, veto state laws, and other jobs. While states can make local laws that affect the individual state and was required to follow the federal...
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...Andrew Jackson’s effect in the American politics Andrew Jackson, the seventh president, is one of the most important and significant presidents in the history of the United States. As a vice-president and president (1824 to 1832) he reshaped and redirected the course of American expansion and democracy. Jackson believed the president is the direct representative of the people. He was the man of action and shrewd politician. He knew how to manipulate men and could be affable or abusive or abusive as the occasion demanded.(nation of nations, 2005 ) Andrew Jackson came to personify the new democratic culture. Through his forceful leadership he significantly expanded the powers of the presidency. Jackson threatened to use force against South Carolina when it tried to nullify the federal tariff using john c. Calhoun’s theory of nullification that is that a state convention could nullify a federal law. He vetoed a bill to recharter the second bank of the United States and destroyed the bank by removing its federal deposits. He called for legislation to remove native peoples west to of the Mississippi voiding treaties found legitimate by the Supreme Court during the winter months of 1835-36 to ensure the greatest suffering to these peoples. One quarter of the tribal people died in transit to Oklahoma during this move. Jacksonian era went through the deep and rapid changes. The revolution in markets brought both economic expansion and periodic depressions as its citizens competed...
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...The United States of America is a great and powerful nation. It is made up of a country of fifty states covering a large continent. The United State Armed Forces is the most powerful military force in the world, with 1,369,532 active servicemen, the largest navy including, its twelve aircraft carriers and the second largest stockpile of nuclear warheads. Its economy produces almost a quarter of the world's wealth. Citizens of the United States are among the most hard-working, affluent, and generous in the world. There is no debating the significance the United States has played on the global stage and as an international superpower. Almost every single American citizen believes that the United States is an exceptional power. The truth is, it...
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...Introduction 1 The Baptist Origin 2 The separatists/puritans 2-3 The First Baptists Believers 4-5 The American Baptist Contribution to “religious liberty ideal”...............................................6 Rhode Island, Plymouth, and Pennsylvania Colonies......................................................7-8 The South Colonies and Their Struggle for “Religious Liberty” 9-11 Conclusion 12 Bibliography.............................................................................................................................13-15 Introduction “Religious Liberty” is a good and perfect gift from above. Contrary to populace belief “the separation of church and state,” did not originate with the ACLU but for the most part, it originated with the first British Baptists that arrived in Colonial America they were defenders of true “religious liberty.” Moreover, the distinction between religious liberty and tolerance of religion is significant. “Religious liberty” is a right of every men, however, tolerance is a concession coupled with an understand that “that the state still controls religion.” This paper will examine the contribution of British Baptists in their pursuit for religious liberty. It will first give a brief view of the origin and history of the American Baptists followed by their endurance in the struggle for the settlement of “religious liberty.” It will present...
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...7 CONCLUSION 11 WORKING BIBLIOGRAPHY 14 INTRODUCTION In this nation, and in much of the Western world, the right of each individual to worship as his or her own conscience dictates, or not to worship at all, is one that is all too often taken for granted. Few consider the tremendous lengths gone to and the enormous price paid by so many to obtain and preserve this right. In the United States when one does reflect on this matter his or her thoughts rightfully focus on the many men and women of the armed forces who fought to gain and keep the freedoms the citizens of this nation enjoy. What is often overlooked is the contributions of Baptists in the centuries long struggle to obtain religious freedom. Their struggle began not in the American colonies but rather in England a century earlier. “The freedom of religious belief and behavior which modern Baptists and others take for granted was forged in the crucible of persecution in seventeenth-century England” McBeth adds that, “No group can claim more credit for the Act of Toleration, passed by Parliament in 1689.” The struggle that began in England would later be waged again in America. Few people today realize that it is largely through the efforts of Baptists that religious freedom was granted in the Bill of Rights. The simple fact is that the religious freedom enjoyed by much of the world today could not have been achieved without the contributions of courageous Baptist leaders such...
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...Sean Bouchard Eng101 TITLE IN THE WORKS Who have we become as a nation? What happened to the real and true American spirit? The spirit of individuality, freedom, and happiness? For too long I have seen this nation become sheep, become beggars, and whiners, always looking for a free handout and when they don’t get it, they whine and blame others, or the elites, for not giving them what they think they are owed. It’s as if America has become a nanny state. It’s because of this that I recently started looking into another way of thought, one that I feel is not just American, but truly human. I’m not gonna go on some rant on how things should have been but on how we can still make them. I want to make you wonder about another field of thought, of another way to guide your life and it may even improve it. It’s the thought of true Independence and Freedom. Most of all, I want you to start thinking. For quite a few years now I have been reading the works of Lysander Spooner, Murray Rothbard, Benjamin Tucker, and Henry Thoreau, Ralph Waldo Emerson and the lesser known William Buppert. All of these men have helped to shape my thinking and shape my beliefs (might be a bad thing, but I’m liking the freedom it’s given my mind). It’s given me a power I never truly felt before, the power to live a free life and the power to question. I always felt I lived a rather free life, I mean, we live in a free country right? Freedom to speak, to write, to get a job, to fail? I even felt...
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...Constitution From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia For other uses, see Constitution (disambiguation). A constitution is a set of fundamental principles or established precedents according to which a state or other organization is governed.[1] These rules together make up, i.e.constitute, what the entity is. When these principles are written down into a single document or set of legal documents, those documents may be said to embody a writtenconstitution; if they are written down in a single comprehensive document, it is said to embody a codified constitution. Constitutions concern different levels of organizations, from sovereign states to companies and unincorporated associations. A treaty which establishes an international organization is also its constitution, in that it would define how that organization is constituted. Within states, a constitution defines the principles upon which the state is based, the procedure in which laws are made and by whom. Some constitutions, especially codified constitutions, also act as limiters of state power, by establishing lines which a state's rulers cannot cross, such as fundamental rights. An example is the constitution of the United States of America. George Washington at Constitutional Conventionof 1787 signing of the U.S. Constitution. The Constitution of India is the longest written constitution of any sovereign country in the world,[2] containing 444 articles in 22 parts,[3][4] 12 schedules and 118 amendments, with 117...
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...Together as One Often described as a “melting pot”, the United States of America has a rich history of welcoming immigrants, with their many traditions and customs, with open arms. Before the founding fathers signed their declaration, the “New World” of America was already viewed as a safe haven and land of freedom for those escaping religious and social persecution. As our nation developed, the stream of immigrants increased, fueling industrialization through the mid to late 1800s. On the heels of the Industrial Revolution, immigration numbers spiked, leading to Emergency Quota Acts in the 1920s. Such restrictions continued through the rest of the century, changing the ethnic makeup of the United States. In recent years, heated discussions concerning immigration have emerged on the national political platform. As the nation’s leaders reevaluate the role of immigrants in the United States, from a legal perspective it is important to remember the influence such people have had on the nation’s social, cultural, and economical history. Since the founding of the United States, numerous legislative acts that have been passed by the government, in order to regulate the immigrants entering to America. In 1798, four such laws were passed by the United States Congress. Referred to as the Alien and Sedition Acts, these laws were created due to the fear of war with France, and they were intended to strengthen the Federal Government. Sponsored by the Federalist Party, the Acts...
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...OUTLINE OF U.S. HISTORY OUTLINE OF OUTLINE OF U.S. HISTORY C O N T E N T S CHAPTER 1 Early America . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 CHAPTER 2 The Colonial Period . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 CHAPTER 3 The Road to Independence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 CHAPTER 4 The Formation of a National Government . . . . . . . . . . . . 66 CHAPTER 5 Westward Expansion and Regional Differences . . . . . . . 110 CHAPTER 6 Sectional Conflict . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128 CHAPTER 7 The Civil War and Reconstruction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140 CHAPTER 8 Growth and Transformation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154 CHAPTER 9 Discontent and Reform . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188 CHAPTER 10 War, Prosperity, and Depression . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202 CHAPTER 11 The New Deal and World War I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212 CHAPTER 12 Postwar America . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 256 CHAPTER 13 Decades of Change: 1960-1980 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 274 CHAPTER 14 The New Conservatism and a New World Order . . . . . . 304 CHAPTER 15 Bridge to the 21st Century . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 320 PICTURE PROFILES Becoming a Nation . . . . . . . . . . . . . ....
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...UNIT 1 Answer Key CHAPTER 1 CHAPTER 1 Section 1 Prereading and Vocabulary 2 Reading Comprehension 3 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. oligarchy citizen democracy constitution state two basic levels; certain decisions; only the federal government; each of the states Federalism is a system of government in which power is divided between a central government and several regional, or state, governments. 1. Population; the people who live within the boundaries of the state 2. Territory; land with known and recognized boundaries 3. Sovereignty; the supreme and absolute power within a state’s territory to decide its own foreign and domestic policies 4. Government; the institution through which society makes and enforces public policies 5. Force theory; the state was born of force, when one person or a small group gained control over people in an area and forced them to submit to that person’s or group’s rule. 6. Evolutionary theory; the state evolved from early families that united to form clans. Later, clans united to form tribes. As tribes settled into agricultural groups over time, they formed states. 7. Divine right theory; God created the state and gave a chosen few the right to rule. 8. Social contract theory; people voluntarily agreed to create a state and give to the government just enough power to promote the safety and well-being of all. Government exists to serve the will of the people, and the people are the sole source of political...
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...community by spreading a shared sense of justice. 29 Sometimes it is only the unjustified response to civil disobedience that has harmful consequence. 29 Civil disobedience is traditionally non-violent. 29 Civil disobedience is a form of exercising free speech- which is essential in a democracy. 30 Civil disobedience has been used to fight slave laws 30 Civil disobedience played a role in ending the Vietnam war. 30 Civil disobedience shouldn’t be punished- but recognized as enhancing democracy. 31 Even if laws are created by democratic means- civil disobedience can still be justified. 31 Civil disobedience is justified because it promotes equal marriage laws. 31 Civil disobedience is a integral part of American history. 32 Civil disobedience has certain criteria. It must be illegal, nonviolent, and the...
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