He then convinced Congress to take on the states' debts, which would create confidence in the government by the states. States with large debts, like Massachusetts, were delighted with Hamilton's proposal, but states with small debts, like Virginia, did not want the government to assume state debts. Virginia did, however, want the forthcoming federal district, the District of Columbia, which would bring commerce and prestige. So Virginia made a deal with the government: the government would assume state debts if the District of Columbia was placed…
The first successful British colony in North America, Jamestown was created in 1607. Though at first the American colonists were heavily dependent on Britain for their financial and governmental needs, they soon developed their own cultural and societal ideals. These ideals were not deterred until after the French and Indian War, when the English recognized the need for more royal authority in the colonies. The gradual weakening of British control over the colonies until this point allowed Americans to acquire relative control of their political and economic institutions throughout the years 1607 and 1763.…
Compromise * Missouri Compromise (1820) -It didn’t allow slavery in the Louisiana Territory north of the parallel 36°30′ north except Missouri. Allowed Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state. * Compromise of 1850 ( 1850) - Admit California as a free state; uphold popular sovereignty in New Mexico and Utah; Includes Fugitive Slave Act; Settles Texas/New Mexico border disputes; Ban slave trade in Washington D.C * Kansas Nebraska Act (1854) - Divide the Kansas territory into Kansas and Nebraska. Have popular sovereignty decide whether they are slave states or free states * Indian Removal Acts (1830) - forced many Native Americans to move west of the Mississippi. 1838 Us army moves 15 thousand Native Americans (Cherokees). *…
The government’s inability to tax and raise an army, as well as their lack of central power, led to what became known as the Constitutional Convention in 1787. The Founding Fathers met to fix the problems with the Articles, but ended up drafting the Constitution instead. During the convention, several different plans were discussed. The first was the Virginia Plan, written by James Madison, which suggested the existence of both an executive and legislative branch. The legislative branch was to have two houses of Congress, each with representation based on population. In contrast, the New Jersey Plan was to have a unicameral legislative branch with equal representation for each state. With the help of Benjamin Franklin, the Great Compromise was created, which combined the two plans. It called for three branches; including a legislative branch comprised of two houses. The Senate was to have equal representation from each state, while the…
The need for compromise was long awaited and the desperation for a document of higher potency was craved by the people of the US many years before the Constitution was even written. This desperation can be detected quite effortlessly by a letter from George Washington to James Madison in November of 1786 (Document 1). In the letter Washington expresses his apprehension regarding the current path of the country when he says, "We are fast verging to anarchy and confusion! How melancholy is the reflection, that in so short a space, we should have made such large strides towards fulfilling the prediction of our transatlantic foe!" This expression of uneasiness adequately expresses many of the feelings of the people of the US during this time and therefore it can be understood why some…
Ellis uses six significant events in the early years of the republic that involve eight important figures to support his thesis. First, he describes the Hamilton and Burr duel and the history behind it. The story of the duel was a way for Ellis to discuss the importance of character and honor to the founding generation. The next piece of evidence Ellis used was the secret dinner held by Thomas Jefferson in order for James Madison and Alexander Hamilton to reach a compromise. Hamilton wanted support for his Assumption Bill and Madison wanted the national capitol to be closer to the south. Ellis suggests that Jefferson attempted to overemphasize his importance through his account. Ellis also indicates an expanding divide within the country and the need for a wise mediator in order to reach a compromise. Jefferson’s account recognizes the fear in all three of them. This…
The compromise of most importance was named the "Great Compromise." Delegates were quite interested in how their state will be represented in this recently independent country. Edmund Randolph, speaking for the state of Virginia, proposed the "large-state plan." This plan anticipated that representation for each state should be based on population. William Paterson, of New Jersey, disagreed with Randolph 's plan, fearing that the stronger states would band together and ignore the smaller, less-populous states. Therefore, the "small-state plan" was proposed, emphasizing equal representation from all states. After much argument, the Constitutional Confederation decided that the Congress would have two houses: the House of Representatives (where the number of representatives was based on the state 's population), and the Senate (where each state would have two representatives). Virginia finally agreed with this negotiation when the Confederation promised that all tax bills and revenue measurements would start in the House of Representatives, where population counted more heavily. The second compromise was a strong, independent executive branch, with a president who would be military commander-in-chief and could veto the legislation. This president would be elected through the Electoral College, rather than by the people directly. Anti-federalists believed that the executive branch did not…
During the Revolutionary- Federalist Era, politics, parties, programs, policies, and people made an enormous difference in how the new nation should be structured and run. During this era, two men in particular championed politics and their respective parties. These two men were Alexander Hamilton, a Federalist, and Thomas Jefferson, a Democratic-Republican. Both Hamilton and Jefferson were successful college educated intellectuals and politicians who made significant contributions to the development of the United States policies and programs. However Hamilton, despite never being elected President, had more influence over the development of the United States’ policies and programs during the Revolutionary-Federalist Era. Historically Hamilton and Jefferson are known for agreeing to disagree over just about every policy being discussed during the establishment of government structure, and decorum. And it is Hamilton’s policies on economics, government structure, and constitution interpretation, which took precedent over Jefferson’s.…
American political culture in the 1700s was mostly about the colonist fighting and taking back their freedom and rights from the British.…
As the Gilded age began, a period spanning approximately of the 1870s to the turn of the twentieth century, (a name given by Mark Twain, meaning wealth and "layer of gold"), big businesses started to grow and had affects on America. Big businesses had a huge impact on the economy, politics, and on Americans.…
In this book, Watson discusses how gender, race and imperialism have affected cannibalism, specifically when European colonizers came to the Americas. With the use of primary documents, such as letters, art, and travel accounts, the image of the cannibal in the 16th and 17th century is constructed. She argues that the European colonizers created a hierarchy with the native people, viewing natives as inferior and savage. Along with this, the gender binary system, with males being portrayed as dominant, portrays the colonization of the Americas as the masculine colonizers defeating the feminine, savage, and cannibalistic natives. Watson’s analysis demonstrates that the stereotypes of cannibalism were fabricated by Western societies. Due to this…
At the Annapolis Convention, where people met to discuss matters not covered by the Articles of…
Brown, Sanborn. Wines& Beers of Old New England A How-To-Do-It History . Hanover, NH: The UP of England, 1978. Print.…
The Great Compromise was the solution to struggle of representation in the Legislative Branch during the U.S Constitutional Convention in 1787. The states with bigger populations like Virginia favored the Virginia Plan. The Virginia Plan called for representation based on the amount of people living in each state. Larger states favored this plan because they would have more power in making laws. On the other hand, smaller states like Delaware favored the New Jersey Plan, under which each state would send the same amount of representatives to Congress. Smaller states favored this because it meant equal power for everyone. This problem was solved by Roger Sherman. He proposed a bicameral legislature. Each state, as suggested by Sherman, would send an equal amount of Representatives to the House of Senate, and one representative for every 30,000 citizens to the House of Representatives. Today, the variable number of members of the House of Representatives is based on the State’s population as reported in the most recent decennial census. The process of determining the number of members of the House from each state is known as apportionment. Apportionment is the process of allocating the 435 House seats among the states according to each state’s population.…
Alexander Hamilton- saved convention in Maryland from failure by engineering the adoption of his report; called upon congress to summon a convention in Philadelphia next year not to deal with commerce; His speech on his plan= 1 delegate convinced; Joined John Jay & Madison in writing The Federalist…