...Commander in chief of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, George Washington was the first president of the United States (1789-1797). In the battlefield, Washington managed to provide motivation and guidance for the troops which led to a signed peace treaty between Great Britain and the U.S. After this, despite the fact that he intended to go back to his life as a family man, he was asked to attend the Constitutional Convention held in Philadelphia and head the committee that was in charge of drafting the new constitution. His leadership skills were tested in both, the battlefield and the convention, where he was able to prove his qualifications and, therefore, become the nation’s first president. He was born in February 1732 and died 67 years later in 1799. Despite the fact that he didn't belong to any party, he did not lacked popularity and his term lasted for 8 years. Back then, the United States was made up of 11 states and over four million people...
Words: 1262 - Pages: 6
...Understand the tone, audience and meaning of the paper is to a specific group of people who are tired of the past 20 years of dialogue by bureaucrats to fix broken government, broken promises, and refusal to follow rules of governing. The paper is support by the ideals as set by our founding fathers the Declaration of Independence and the US Constitution. It provides an list of well thought out Grievances, Enemies, Terms of Agreement, Officers and Ranks, Rules of Conduct and Engagement, Treaties and Policies, Resolve and initiates with for peaceful actions. The paper explains and supports all claims made and then asks the reader to decide what type of country they wish to live in by answering for selves three questions, demands an answer and explains the resolve of the people. 1. Do you wish to live in a country where there are established rules of governing and laws for all the people or no rules of governing and only laws for the chosen people? 2. Do you wish to live in a country where there is freedom, choice, and free speech or as slaves to a government and tax payers for world affairs and quiet comical remarks of support for our constitution and bill of rights? 3. Are “We the People” of the “United States of America” a “Constitutional Republic” as stated by the US Constitution, the rules of governing or are we a represented democracy of which we the people have no say after we elect our officials with no right to challenge their authority, no right to impeach or correct their...
Words: 687 - Pages: 3
...Abigail Adams once said, “Well, knowledge is a fine thing, and mother Eve thought so; but she smarted so severely for hers, that most of her daughters have been afraid of it since” (Adams, Abigail. Letter to Elizabeth Shaw). In every American elementary school classroom, children are being told the story of the country, how George Washington crossed the Delaware River, how Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence, and how America, a colony still in infancy, managed to gain independence from powerful Britain. The Founding Fathers are essential historical personages that every American child is well schooled in, but the women who helped shape the country are rarely discussed. Abigail Adams is mostly known as the wife of the second president John Adams, but she was much more than that, and left an indelible imprint on the political landscape of the time. She is a Founding Mother- full of spark, depth, and intelligence. SUMMARY Abigail Adams was an intelligent woman from the day she was born until the day she died. She was raised to have a strong sense of morals and beliefs, as well as a love for education. Her...
Words: 1574 - Pages: 7
...Classical Liberalism VS Classical Conservatism Are you Republican or Democrat? Maybe you are Conservative or Liberal? What do these terms mean and how did they begin? Classical Conservatism is defined as “a political philosophy emphasizing the need for the principles of natural law and transcendent moral order.”(Frohnen, Beer, and Nelson, 2006) Classical Liberalism is described as “a philosophy committed to the ideal of limited government and liberty of individuals including freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly, and free markets.” (Hudelson, 1999) These two ideas have shaped our philosophies and parties for centuries to come. These philosophies were made possible by many bright men of the time like Edmund Burke, John Adams, John Locke and Adam Smith. Classical conservatism or traditional conservatism, Burkean conservatism, and Toryism, is a party that has re-expressed their convections to fit the time. (Frohnen, Beer, and Nelson, 2006) In classical conservatism, many parties have adapted their view points. One of the first parties in American that adapted the philosophies of conservatism was the Whigs. The Whigs opposed monarchial power, advocated internal reform of administration, and freedom under the law. They believed in balancing orders in the common wealth and religious toleration. (Kirk, 1953) One person highly recognized for his work in the public sector for conservatism was Edmund Burke. Edmund Burke was born January 12, 1729 in Dublin, Ireland, and...
Words: 2096 - Pages: 9
...natural that America verge away from British rule. They all figured that it would be a gradual change; not a full blown revolution. Throughout the chapter, Ellis puts great emphasis on the many things that could have gone wrong during the revolution. He points all these negative events and set backs that he felt could easily have brought the developing America down to show just how great of an accomplishment the revolution was. The Founding Fathers were not completely oblivious to the severity of breaking away from Great Britain. Tom Pain states that, “it is only common sense that an island can not rule a continent (pg.3).” Many assumed that it was only natural that the thirteen colonies govern themselves. They figured that it would be a peaceful break such as the gaining of independence for Ghana or Canada. It was not until later on that the colonies realized that Britain would not easily hand over the land. What I find interesting is that only the Founding Fathers seemed to realize the great events taking place during their time. John Adams even instructed his wife to file and keep all of his records. It is as if he knew that hundreds of years from then, we the future Americans would look back at his notes and recognize his greatness. This makes me wonder why they were so sure of themselves. The Americans were at a disadvantage during the beginning of the war. How was it that they seem so certain that the war would end up in their favor? Ellis backs up my point by stating...
Words: 4380 - Pages: 18
...On October 30, 1735, in Braintree, now is called Quincy, Massachusetts, John Adams was born into a comfortable and not wealthy family. He had a formal education in a school followed by a Latin school. He went to Harvard College when he was 15 years of age. He graduated college in the year of 1755. Then he studied law with a famous local lawyer in Worcester. He opened his own office in 1755, but in the first year, the business was really bad. He only had one case and he didn’t win that case. But it will be different in the next few years. When it got better, he began to court Abigail Smith. She is the daughter of a Congregational minister. They got along very well so they got married in the year 1764 and in the next 8 years, they had five children...
Words: 359 - Pages: 2
...APUSH August 19 2014 Founding Brothers "Founding Brothers" by Joseph Ellis is a non-fiction book that analyzes several important events in America among the nation's founding fathers, that take place after the Revolutionary War. The author goes into detail chronologically describing how these events shaped the history of the United States. Joseph Ellis is an American historian and professor. He specializes in American history, and more specifically the founding fathers of America. Ellis has an M.A. and a Ph.D. from Yale University. He has written several biographies about the founders of America, including Adams, Jefferson and Washington. His book about Jefferson titled, "American Sphinx: The...
Words: 1076 - Pages: 5
...Book Report: A life of Abigail Adams: Dearest Friend Abigail Adams was married to John Adams who was the 2nd president of the United States and was the mother of John Quincy Adams who became the 10th president seven years after her death. She was the daughter of a minister and his wife born November 11, 1744. As a young child, she knew only that she loved to read; as she got older, she became determined to educate herself, despite prevailing views about women’s intellectual capacities, and tried to read more systematically. She met John Adams when she was 15. However he was smitten with her cousin at their first meeting. Three years later at age 18 her cousin had married and Abigail and John began courting. They were married October 25, 1964. John and Abigail were the parents of four children that became adults. They had a daughter that tragically died before she was two years old. Abigail also gave birth to a still born child. She mentioned in one of the letters that she feared the child would be still born, which turned out to be true. The couple is historically know for exchanging letters because unlike most families of the era they spent a lot of time apart. The title of the book gets its name by the salutation in the letters they exchanged, dear friend. The first letters began during their courtship when John Adams was in Boston being inoculated against smallpox. Of all of the letters John and Abigail exchanged one can see that she was not...
Words: 721 - Pages: 3
...Pocahontas John Gadsby Chapman Artist I believe the artist portrayed reverence and family connection in this painting. He shows a convergence of Christianity and the uncivilized Indians. It shows that different tribes or civilizations can love each other even though their belief systems can remain somewhat different. This painting was commissioned in1836 and was placed in the Rotunda of the Capitol Building in 1840. William Henry was elected as President in 1840. During the time this painting was commissioned, the fight against slavery actually began and cotton prices went up. Women also became antislavery abolitionist, which help link the two fights together. A state education board was also started in Massachusetts. Declaration of Independence John Trumbull Artist This painting shows a group of individuals working for a better United States. The painting does not show the actual signing of the Declaration. It does show a united front with strength and authority around the desk being well balanced, which was a show of republicanism. I feel Trumbull portrayed this well with great detail of strength and authority in the face and stance of each individual. Trumbull was commissioned to do four paintings with this being the first completed and the first to be hung in the Capitol in 1819 and later was moved to the Rotunda in 1826. The painting was also one of four to be done in the Revolution-era. During this time period the founding fathers were trying to...
Words: 812 - Pages: 4
...Joseph J. Ellis, the author of the historical novel “Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation”, is an American historian, novelist, and professor at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. Ellis was born on July 18, 1943 in Washington, D.C. and is still alive today, living with his wife in Amherst, Massachusetts and is the father of three adult sons. As for his career, he has had some impressive accomplishments in his lifetime and some not so pleasant scandals. Ellis earned his Bachelor’s degree from the College of William and Mary in 1965. He went on to receive many higher educational degrees from the prestigious Yale University such as the following: a Master of Arts, a Master of Philosophy,...
Words: 807 - Pages: 4
... I do not want to leave,” cried John Hancock. “You must. It is the only way you will be able to become something in Boston or anywhere else,” his mother said sadly. As he sat in the back of the small carriage looking back he tried not to cry as he remembered what had happened in the last couple of sad days. John, only seven at the time, was so sad when his father died. He was sent to live with his wealthy uncle. He was a merchant that supplied people in many of the colonies as well as some in England. As he got older Christian values were strongly taught in addition to his study at the Boston Latin School. After finishing at Harvard in 1754 he continued to help his uncle and took over his company upon his death. Being one of...
Words: 2410 - Pages: 10
...POLITICS MUST DEFEAT POLITICS Byung Gyu Lim History 117A-06 Professor Prater April 21, 2014 John Adams was born in 1735 at Braintree, Massachusetts; he was the eldest of four brothers. He graduated from Harvard College (University) in 1755. Sometimes, John Adams was contradictory and outspoken, but he was a gentle husband to Abigail Adams. His wife was extremely intelligent and an advisor to her husband’s political career. One reason John Adams felt quite fortunate for his wife was because she was good on a federalist point of view and greatly influential in her husband’s political career because he lacked charisma and political charm. John Adams had a good political career before becoming president of the United States. Adams was well-educated and had diplomatic experience in France and Great Britain. John’s message in the following quotation: “On November 1, 1800, just before the election, Adams arrived in the new Capital City to take up his residence in the White House. On his second evening in its damp, unfinished rooms, he wrote his wife “Before I end my letter, I pray Heaven to bestow the best blessings on this house and all that shall hereafter inhabit. May none but honest and wise Men ever rule under this roof.” Before becoming president, John Adams was a lawyer and his service fee was low, but he was proud that his political argument was published in several newspapers. Let me give some brief background on President Washington’s cabinet; he appointed...
Words: 1368 - Pages: 6
...get impeached for their actions. A prime example is John Adams, whom served as the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801. Former President John Adams was born in Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1735, he became a very educated lawyer...
Words: 1029 - Pages: 5
...his mother, was a member of the Randolph clan. Peter Jefferson his father was a very skilled farmer and cartographer who created the first accurate map of the Province of Virginia. Thomas Jefferson was the 3rd born out of ten siblings. When Thomas Jefferson was a young boy his favorite activities were playing in the woods, practicing the violin and reading. At the age of nine his formal education started by studying Latin and Greek at a local private school run by William Douglas. At the age of 14, in 1757, he took up more study of the classical languages and literature and mathematics by James Maury. In 1760 Jefferson left home to attend the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg. Three years at William and...
Words: 656 - Pages: 3
...University of Phoenix Material Influences on the Constitution Table Complete each section below. Include citations for your sources. |Documents |Summary |What was its influence on the Constitution? | |Magna Carta |Written in 1215, the document was a series of written promises |The magna carta served as the first piece of legislature attempting to keep the | | |that the King would rule England and deal with the people |rights for the people fair. The Americans saw it and read about it and decided it | | |fairly according to feudal law. It was an attempt by the barons|was time America had “higher law” ideas and design a document to give the people | | |to stop the king from becoming an oppressor more than a ruler. |rights and to protect them from oppression, such as the people during the time of | | | |the magna carta were suffering. | |Mayflower Compact |The mayflower compact served as the document needed to keep the|Much like the magna carta, the mayflower compact was put into...
Words: 1671 - Pages: 7
