...father is an understatement. John Adams is usually only known for helping with the declaration of independence but he did so much more than just writing the declaration of independence. He was a very prominent lawyer for his time. He was born in Braintree, Massachusetts on October 30, 1735 oldest to john and Susanna Boylston. His father was a farmer and shoemaker who served as a Congregationalist deacon and an official in local government. John was a teacher for several years until he decided to further his education at Harvard law in 1758 then decided to practice law under James Putnam. In 1764 he married Abigail smith a minister’s daughter. They had 6 children together. In the mist of all that was going on in the colonies Adams began challenging Great Britain’s authority. “He came to view the British imposition of high taxes and tariffs as a tool of oppression, and he no longer believed that the government in England had the colonists’ best interests in mind” (network, 2014) Adams was one of few that spoke out against the stamp act and Townshend acts. He didn’t believe that the British were not thinking about the people he was just caring about the profit. Both of these acts against the colonies taxed all legal documents, newspapers and playing cards, glass and tea. All these were imported to America, these acts angered the colonists. Even though he was a prominent leader in revolutionary time he still believed that everyone deserved a fair and equal trial. This was the...
Words: 1019 - Pages: 5
...resources. However, in this essay, I will briefly look over the major events and milestones that led to the formation of the United States, as a nation, while at the same time focusing on the history, the role, and the transformation of the United States congress. In 1770, what has begun as a simple...
Words: 861 - Pages: 4
...science, as a method and as a practice. This culminated in explosive events toward the end of the 18th century. The French Revolution ‘was a phenomenon as awful and irreversible as the first nuclear explosion, and all history has been permanently changed by it.’ The French Revolution is largely regarded as an important event in modern international history because of the way it has had international impact and continued to have international repercussions and influences on society and thought today. This essay will look at different aspects of the French Revolution and discuss how the different components of the revolution have affected the world and the impact of these at the time of the event. For the purposes of this essay the French Revolution will be defined as the insurrection in France that began in 1789 and ended in 1815 with the defeat of Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo. The actual dates of the revolution are widely contested but for the purposes of this essay, these dates will be used as a framework. Modern international will be assumed to mean the period of history from the Napoleonic Wars. No single cause can be singled out for the French Revolution; although historians agree that it was a culmination of international and domestic events that sparked the revolution. The following reasons are commonly adduced; France had the largest population in Europe and could not feed it adequately, the rich and expanding bourgeoisie was excluded...
Words: 1808 - Pages: 8
...The Declaration of Independence and the Constitution came to be regarded as sacred, infused with revolutionary ideas. Some of these principles are natural rights, liberty, descriptive governments, and equality, among others. The Enlightenment assisted the absences in the standing of thought, the colonial situations and the absent classes respectively. Sadly, even though these principles were progressive, such ideals also had parochial aspects that caused them to be out of reach for most groups of people, namely, the enslaved people, Native Americans, and women. In that sense, this essay illustrates the ways in which these factors contributed to shaping and sometimes contradicting the core American values and some of the more radical aspirations that remained elusive in practice. The intellectual landscape of America’s founding ideals was significantly influenced by Enlightenment philosophy, emphasizing reason, individualism, and skepticism of traditional authority. John Locke's ideas about natural...
Words: 841 - Pages: 4
...American Revolutionary War Helen Dunlap COM/150 29 January 2012 Lisa Pope The American Revolutionary War was an event that lasted from 1775 to 1783. This war has begun as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and the former 13 United British colonies, but ended in a global war between several European palatable powers. For about a decade, tension had been mounting between Great Britain and the American Colonies. The British government had passed a series of laws in an attempt to take control over the colonies. Americans had become so used to having control over their own local government so they objected to the new laws and protested against being tax without their consent. This was the sudden and unfair taxation of the colonists that led to the Revolutionary War. The American Revolution was the result of a series of social, political, and intellectual transformations in early American society and government, collectively referred to as the American Enlightenment. Americans rejected the oligarchies common in aristocratic Europe at the time, championing instead the development of republicanism based on the Enlightenment understanding of liberalism. Among the significant results of the revolution was the creation of a democratic elected representative government responsible to the will have of the people. However, sharp political debates erupted over the appropriate level of democracy desirable in the new government, with a number of Founders. Seventeen sixty-three...
Words: 1790 - Pages: 8
...live in is unlike any other because of “liberty, equality, individual rights, self-government, and lawful powers” that are afforded to its people through the United States Constitution (Patterson, 2011, p28). Since we began our journey away from parliamentary government, the colonists who created this nation worked hard to create a nation that would be fair to all who lived here. Americans enjoy the pursuit of happiness, freedom of living and equality because of our Constitution. The foundation for our constitution can be traced back as far as medieval times and the Magna Carta. Even then people were fighting for the rights of the people. Through the signing of this document the King could not infringe upon the rights of the people in any unfair or unjust way. The colonist used many ideas from this document to help create our first constitution it helped to create the due process of law. “This concept, embraced by the leaders of the American Revolution, is embedded in the supremacy clause of the United States Constitution and enforced by the Supreme Court”( Edsitement, 2012, parg 1). As time passed many who lived in England began to feel conflict with in the country they lived in and set sail for a new land called the America’s. Upon arrival they began to build colonies. During this time the Mayflower Compact was created to provide a type of Government to be established for the colonists. “On May 21, 1620, the Mayflower Compact was signed by 41 adult males in Provincetown...
Words: 949 - Pages: 4
...Benjamin Franklin was born in Boston on January 17, 1706 as the tenth of his father’s seventeen children. His father, Josiah Franklin, made candles and soaps for a living, and had his own shop. Benjamin had to leave school at the age of ten to begin working there, but continued to study independently afterwards. When he was twelve, he became his older brother, James’ apprentice. James Franklin worked as a printer for a newspaper, and soon enough, Benjamin Franklin started submitting his own writing to be published in the paper. However, he did so with the pen name Silence Dogood, because he knew his brother would never allow him to submit his work. After writing over a dozen essays, Ben Franklin confessed to his older brother that he was Silence Dogood, and James Franklin was furious. Later, James Franklin was imprisoned for the opinions featured in his newspaper, and Benjamin had to maintain the shop in his absence. When James was released, he treated his younger brother with the same hostility as before James’ arrest. Due to his brother’s mistreatment of him, Benjamin Franklin went to live in Philadelphia....
Words: 523 - Pages: 3
...U.S. History and Constitution HIS120 Student Learning Outcomes (SLO) At the end of the course, students will be able to: SLO1. Describe the cultural, geographic and climatic influences on Native American societies. SLO2. Compare and contrast religious, social and cultural differences among the major European settlers. SLO3. Describe the events that helped create American nationalism and lead to the American Revolution. SLO4. Explain the Constitutional Convention, the Articles of Confederation, and the emergence of a democratic nation. SLO5. Explain the U.S. Constitution as it related to the separation of powers, checks and balances, the Bill of Rights, and the major principles of democracy. SLO6. Evaluate the Jeffersonian dream of expansion and its effect on Native Americans SLO7. Describe Jacksonian democracy and the creation of a two party system SLO8. Explain slavery and associated issues that led to the Civil War and its aftermath. Module Titles Module 1—Early American exploration and colonization (SLO1) Module 2—British colonies (SLO2) Module 3—Road to the Revolution and the American Revolution (SLO3) Module 4—Early Republic (SLO4 and SLO5) Module 5—Jacksonian America (SLO 6 and SLO7) Module 6—Road to the Civil War (SLO8) Module 7—Civil War (SLO8) Module 8—Shaping American history: Signature Assignment (all SLOs) Module 1 Early Exploration and Contact with Native Americans Welcome to HIS 120: U.S....
Words: 6289 - Pages: 26
...The concept of rights, what a right is, and what a right entails, evolved significantly over time from the Glorious Revolution of 1687-1688, to the American Revolution of 1773-1781, and eventually to the era of abolition and Frederick Douglass in the nineteenth century. The Glorious Revolution in Britain consisted of British Nobles and Parliament publishing the Declaration of Rights seeking greater autonomy and freedom from the lofty weight and absolutism of the seemingly arbitrary decisions of the king. The American Revolution led to a significant debate over rights, whether to create a Bill of Rights or not, and to whom rights apply and in what ways. Finally, with Frederick Douglass’ nineteenth century abolitionist narrative, his discussion of natural rights and the implicit or mandated laws and privileges of humanity and Christianity. The act of writing and recording rights ultimately facilitated great gains for the cause of human liberty and personal autonomy, the first assertion of one’s own autonomy with the Nobles of the Glorious Revolution,...
Words: 1690 - Pages: 7
...Joey Abualrob American Revolution Persuasive Essay The American Revolutionary War forever changed the idea of a government “of the people, by the people, and for the people” and took the first steps in bringing an end to the world’s last great true empire. The reasons the Americans decided to break free from Great Britain are numerous, but the British Empire’s sense of superiority was the most important reason. Also important was the failure of the British Parliament to address the needs and growing discontent of Americans weary of “taxation without representation.” Colonists also began to oppose rule from Britain because of ideas developing in new intellectual schools of thought like the Enlightenment. King George III’s arrogance was well founded in the 1760s, but it led to poor decision making. Early in his reign, the British had resoundingly defeated France in the Seven Years’ War to become the dominant power both in North America and on the Asian subcontinent. This dominance clearly created a false sense of security and as the British Empire continued to grow, its central authority, or ability to control its ever-expanding colonies, weakened significantly. Great Britain’s failure to recognize its weaknesses and its foolish decision to respond to every colonial expression of discontent with a tightening of the noose effectively sealed it into an everescalatingspiral of conflict. The conflict could have been avoided and King George III could have...
Words: 737 - Pages: 3
...Humanities Final Presentation essay– Final draft. While creating the Declaration of Independence, the founding fathers arduously worked to create a document that could grow and progress as times changed in the United States. When it was first written, the statement that “all men are created equal” was certainly not in accordance with reality. However, over time, there have been significant and ongoing efforts towards creating equality for all people. Although many argue that the United States of America has made little progress in fulfilling the promises of its Declaration of Independence because of ongoing issues with racial, gender-based, and religious discrimination, they fail to consider that the U.S. has consistently been one of the most...
Words: 1650 - Pages: 7
...Timeline 1 1) Describe three different American Indian cultures prior to colonization. Pre-history to 1600s The Hopewell tribe was mound builders that were located in the Midwest and even today their mounds can be seen in the states where they resided, such as Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Wisconsin and more. They could be considered some of the first traders in the region as they had a very large trade route, with materials coming from across other portions of the United States and Canada. The climate was the reason for this tribe’s decline rather than the colonists that arrived to the New World. The Iroquois were located in what is now the state of New York. This was actually a group of tribes that were united under a league that had been established by a political alliance after tribal warring. Their system of government with chosen leaders called sachems is considered the model for which the American government is currently built upon. The Haidas was a tribe that was located in the Northwest Pacific Coast across the country far from where the colonists first landed. This tribe being so close to the ocean, centered more of tribal life around the waters. They were fishermen and artists. This is one of the tribes that created totem poles that many individuals associate with Native American culture today. 2) The effects of British colonization on the Native Americans. 1600’s The British colonization on the Native Americans had a...
Words: 2703 - Pages: 11
...Most Americans nowadays like to think that they have the American Revolution pretty well figured out. Conventional wisdom starts the saga in 1763 when Britain, saddled with debt at the close of the Seven Years' War, levied new taxes that prompted her American colonists to resist, and then to reject, imperial rule. Having declared independence and defeated the British, American patriots then drafted the constitution that remains the law of the land to this day. With George Washington's inauguration as president in 1789, the story has a happy ending and the curtain comes down. This time-honored script renders the road from colonies to nation clear, smooth, and straight, with familiar landmarks along the way, from Boston's Massacre and Tea Party through Lexington and Concord, then on to Bunker Hill and Yorktown before reaching its destination: Philadelphia in 1787, where the Founders invented a government worthy of America's greatness. Those Founders are equally familiar. Washington and Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin and James Madison, Sam and John Adams, Patrick Henry and Alexander Hamilton: in the popular mind this band of worthies, more marble monuments than mere mortals, guides America towards its grand destiny with a sure and steady hand. "[F]or the vast majority of contemporary Americans," writes historian Joseph Ellis, the birth of this nation is shrouded by "a golden haze or halo."(1) So easy, so tame, so much "a land of foregone conclusions" does America's Revolution...
Words: 6252 - Pages: 26
...This essay is going to compare and contrast both Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton, They both had some major differences, but other things they had the same thought process. Many things were different about their beliefs with the role and nature of the newly created United States government. Hamilton mainly like the more power of the government the better it is for society. Jefferson wanted more of a smaller government and having people with individual rights. Hamilton and Jefferson were two ways different thinkers in what they want for society and believe in. Hamilton was in favor of a strong central government and a national constitution. He wasn't really a strong supporter of democracy or even the Bill of Rights. Favored implied powers, a loose construction of the constitution. He was one of many writers of the Federalists papers. Also favored the wealthy, urban commercial interests of the nation. Hamilton created national debt and actually paid for it all through a brilliant plan of taxing whiskey. He was an official member of the Federalist party and the first secretary of treasury. He was unfortunately killed in a duel vise president Aaron Burr. He was one who was fond of and greatly admired England or Britain, which is known as...
Words: 608 - Pages: 3
...Fourth of July The Declaration of Independence We celebrate American Independence Day on the Fourth of July every year. We think of July 4, 1776, as a day that represents the Declaration of Independence and the birth of the United States of America as an independent nation. But July 4, 1776 wasn't the day that the Continental Congress decided to declare independence (they did that on July 2, 1776). It wasn’t the day we started the American Revolution either (that had happened back in April 1775). And it wasn't the day Thomas Jefferson wrote the first draft of the Declaration of Independence (that was in June 1776). Or the date on which the Declaration was delivered to Great Britain (that didn't happen until November 1776). Or the date it was signed (that was August 2, 1776). So what did happen on July 4, 1776? The Continental Congress approved the final wording of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. They'd been working on it for a couple of days after the draft was submitted on July 2nd and finally agreed on all of the edits and changes. July 4, 1776, became the date that was included on the Declaration of Independence, and the fancy handwritten copy that was signed in August (the copy now displayed at the National Archives in Washington, D.C.) It’s also the date that was printed on the Dunlap Broadsides, the original printed copies of the Declaration that were circulated throughout the new nation. So when people thought of the Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776...
Words: 16917 - Pages: 68
