Unit One: Colonization to
Reconstruction
Columbus’ Journeys
“The Columbian Exchange”

Squash

Avocado

Peppers

Sweet Potatoes

Turkey

Pumpkin

TOBACCO

Quinine

Cocoa

Pineapple

Cassava

POTATO

Peanut

TOMATO

Vanilla

MAIZE

Syphilis

Trinkets

Liquor

GUNS

SLAVES

COFFEE BEAN

Banana

Rice

Onion

Turnip

Honeybee

Barley

Grape

Peach

SUGAR CANE

Oats

Citrus Fruits

Pear

Wheat

HORSE

Cattle

Sheep

Pigs

Smallpox

Flu

Typhus

Measles

Malaria

Diptheria

Whooping Cough
Colonization to Constitution
• Essential Questions:
– What is the difference in motivations to settle
between Jamestown and Plymouth?
– Why did the United States of America win
independence?
– What were the weaknesses of the Articles of
Confederation?
– Describe the structure of the US Constitution
Jamestown, VA
Early Settlements
• Jamestown Settlement- 1606
– Joint-Stock Company
– 500 arrive; within a year, only 60 are left
– Reason?
• President John Smith- 1608
– Studies natives
– 1609 forces colonists into countryside to farm crops
– Forms the foundation of plantations along James River
Tobacco
• John Rolfe -1610
– North America’s first
tobacco crop
– Nets $ 1 million in
today’s revenue
• By 1624, Virginia is the
world’s largest producer
of Tobacco
• Nathaniel Bacon
– First push west into
Indian territory
– Bacon’s Rebellion
• Fought against Indian’s
and government
corruption
• Burnt Jamestown to the
ground in 1676
• Declaration of the People
of Virginia (1676)
Plymouth, MA
Plymouth, MA
• Plymouth Settlement- 1620
– Called pilgrims; 19 families
– Religious sect from England
– Today, 10% of all Americans can trace their
ancestry to the Plymouth settlement
• Establishes Native American treaties
• Forms foundation of Puritan society.
Mayflower Compact-1620
• The first written document in North America
– Democratic, giving equal rights to all men
– Freedom and liberty, as long as you were puritan
• Social Contract for the “new world”
– Later inspires the Constitution
Mayflower Compact
Puritan Society
• Protestant sect with 4 main convictions:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Personal Salvation comes entirely from God
Bible is the sole guide to life
Church should express the teachings of the Bible
Society is one unified whole
• In the new world, they constructed Plymouth
and then New England in this way
Mid-Atlantic
• More diversity, focus on trading
• Pennsylvania
– Land grant to William Penn
– William Penn wanted it as a colony for religious
freedom
• Philadelphia--- city of Brotherly Love
• Religious groups flock to PA
• Becomes wealthiest colony
Triangular Trade
Enlightenment
• 17th and 18th century interest in the origins
and roles of society and gov’t
John Locke
• Two Treatises of Government
– People are naturally good
– Law of Nature- there are certain rights that every
person is entitled to.
• (Life, Liberty, Property)
• Property is a mix of labor and natural materials
• People form government to protect their rights.
– But, government should be limited as much as
possible.
– If a government fails, it is the right for people to rebel
against that government.
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
• “Man was born free, and he is everywhere in
chains”
• Like Locke, people started in a state of nature
– (perfect and innocent)
• As population grew, people formed villages and
worked together
– (frees people to divide labor)
• Invention of Private Property was the root of evil
– (with property comes greed and selfishness)
Rousseau
• Therefore, government
was created by contract
to protect all people,
while still helping the
richest and most
powerful to stay in
power!
Rousseau
• “The Social Contract”
– Felt society placed too many limitations on human
behavior.
– Government should control the people as little as
possible.
• Put his faith in the best conscious of the
people… or the “General will”
– Democratic nature
Adam Smith
• Wrote Wealth of Nations
• Invisible hand (Butcher, Baker, and the Brewer)
• Most important thinker on Capitalism (our economy
stems from his thoughts)
Main pts of Capitalism
1. Goods and services are produced for profitable
exchange.
2. Human labor power is a commodity for
sale  LABOR IS THE SOURCE OF VALUE.
3. Individuals want success and are driven by self-interest
4. Law of Supply and Demand
5. Law of Competition
6. Government should interfere minimally with the free
and efficient workings of the market
– Laissez faire [“Leave things alone.”]
Great Awakening
• Religious revival in New England
Jonathan Edward’s Sinners in the
hands of an angry God
• Brimstone and Fire– Influential style of sermons which focuses on hell
and eternal damnation
• Protestant work ethic– Puritans work hard to escape damnation and help
the community
http://www.cs.indiana.edu/~port/teach/relg/sinner
s.short.htm
Model of Christian Charity
• Jonathan Winthrop
– “City upon a hill”
– There will always be rich and poor; rich need to take
care of poor through charity
– Role of gov’t is to ensure fair practices in business.
• Ex. Can’t take advantage in time of need… price setting
• John Cotton (and John Locke)
– All men are equal; first universal male suffrage
– It takes a village to raise a child; tight-knit community
Wars
• British dominance in the world asserted
– King William’s War
– Queen Anne’s War
– King George’s War
• 7 Year’s War (French and Indian War) 1754-1763
– Spills over to Europe due to border disputes
– British/colonists vs. French, Indians on both sides
– Proclamation of 1763
What caused the Revolutionary War?
• Economics- taxes (Tea, Sugar, Stamps)
– Britain operating under mercantilism, while not letting
American colonists retain money for themselves
• Political and Social differences
– British monarchy gave no representation
(“no taxation without representation”)
--Freedoms (religious and political)
• Boston Massacre
• Continental Congress
• Signing of Declaration of Independence
– (July 4th, 1776)
Taxes
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Sugar Act
Stamp Act
Navigation Act
Wool Act
Hat Act
Molasses Act
Iron Act
Proclamation of 1763
Quartering Act
Townsend Act
Tea Act
Currency Act
Intolerable Acts
Start of War
• British objectives--- put down insurrection
quickly while avoiding larger scale war with
France or Spain
• American objective--- create an army, system
of finance, government to include all colonies,
outlast the British
Washington’s Headaches
•
Only 1/3 of the colonists were in favor of
a war for independence [the other third
were Loyalists, and the final third were
neutral].
•
State/colony loyalties.
•
Congress couldn’t tax to raise money for
the Continental
Army.
•
Poor training [until
the arrival of
Baron von Steuben.]
Loyalist
Strongholds
Exports & Imports: 1768-1783
Military Strategies
The Americans
1.
Attrition [the
Brits had a long
supply line].
2.
Guerilla tactics
[fight an
insurgent war 
you don’t have
to win a battle,
just wear the
British down]
3.
Make an
alliance with
one of Britain’s
enemies.
The British
1.
Break the
colonies in half
by getting
between the
No. & the So.
2.
Blockade the
ports to prevent
the flow of
goods and
supplies from an
ally.
3.
“Divide and
Conquer”  use
the Loyalists.
Phase I: The Northern Campaign
[1775-1776]
Bunker Hill (June, 1775)
“Don’t Fire
until you see
the white’s of
their eyes.”
-William Prescott
The British suffered over 40% casualties.
Phase II:
NY & PA
[1777-1778]
New York City in Flames
(1776)
Washington Crossing the Delaware
Painted by Emanuel Leutze, 1851
Saratoga:
“Turning Point”
of the War?
Phase III: The Southern
Strategy [1780-1781]
Britain’s “Southern Strategy”
•
Britain thought that there were more Loyalists
in the South.
•
Southern resources were more valuable/worth
preserving.
•
The British win a number of small victories, but
cannot pacify the countryside
•
Good US General:
Nathanial Greene
•
Understood logistics and British
needs to win
The Battle of Yorktown (1781)
Count de
Rochambeau
Admiral
De Grasse
Cornwallis’ Surrender at Yorktown:
Painted by John Trumbull, 1797
• Did the US win or did the British lose?
North America After the
Treaty of Paris, 1783
Federalist vs. Anti-Federalist
Strongholds at the End of the War
• Federalists favor a
strong federal gov’t
• Antifederalists favor
strong state gov’ts
Weaknesses of the
Articles of Confederation
•
A unicameral Congress
[9 of 13 votes to pass a law].
•
13 out of 13 to amend.
•
Representatives were
frequently absent.
•
Could not tax or raise armies.
•
No executive or judicial
branches.
State Constitutions
•
Republicanism.
•
Most had strong governors with veto
power.
•
Most had bicameral legislatures.
•
Property required for voting.
•
Some had universal white male suffrage.
(PA)
•
Most had bills of rights.
•
Many had a continuation of stateestablished religions while others
disestablished religion.
Occupational Composition of
Several State Assemblies
in the 1780s
Indian Land Cessions:
1768-1799
Disputed Territorial Claims
Between Spain & the U. S.:
1783-1796
State Claims to Western Lands
Land Ordinance of 1785
Northwest Ordinance of 1787
•
One of the major accomplishments of the
Confederation Congress!
•
Statehood achieved in three stages:
1. Congress appointed 3 judges & a governor to
govern the territory.
2. When population reached 5,000 adult male
landowners  elect territorial legislature.
3. When population reached 60,000  elect
delegates to a state constitutional convention.
The United States in 1787
American Exports, To & From
Britain: 1783-1789
Wholesale
Price
Index:
1770-1789
Shays’ Rebellion: 1786-1787
•
Daniel Shays
•
Western MA
•
1,200 small farmers angered by
crushing debts and taxes.
•
Attack Springfield Armory with
plans of leading a rebellion
Shays’ Rebellion: 1786-7
Shays’ Rebellion: 1786-7
There could be no
stronger evidence of
the want of energy in
our governments than
these disorders.
-- George Washington
Annapolis Convention (1786)
•
12 representatives from 5 states
[NY, NJ, PA, DE, VA]
•
GOAL  address barriers that limited
trade and commerce between the
states.
•
Not enough states were represented to
make any real progress.
•
Sent a report to the Congress to call a
meeting of all the states to meet in
Philadelphia to examine areas broader
than just trade and commerce.
Constitutional Convention
• May 25-September 17,
1787 in Philadelphia
• Goal: Address or change
the weaknesses with
the Articles of
Confederation
Virginia Plan
• Led by James Madison to create a new gov’t.
• Called for a…
1. bicameral legislature elected proportionally by
state population
2. Executive branch elected by the legislature
3. Judicial branch with veto power
New Jersey Plan (small state plan)
• A revision of the Articles of Confederation
• Called for a…
1. Unicameral legislature with one vote per state
2. Executive branch that is elected for one year
Great Compromise
• Aka the Connecticut Compromise
• Took ideas from both the Virginia Plan and the
New Jersey plan
• Created a new gov’t under the Constitution
– Bicameral legislature
• Senate– 2 elected per state
• House of Representatives– elected proportionally
– Executive Branch (President elected popularly)
– Judicial Branch– creates the Supreme Court
Ratification
• Required 9 states to support the Constitution
• Supporters called themselves Federalists
– “It is a matter both of wonder and regret, that
those who raise so many objections against the
new Constitution should never call to mind the
defects of that which is to be exchanged for it. It
is not necessary that the former should be
perfect; it is sufficient that the latter is more
imperfect.” -The Federalist, No. 38, 1788
Ratification
• Opponents became
Antifederalists
– Argued that the
Constitution did not
guarantee protection of
the rights of states or
the people
– Requested a Bill of
Rights to assure
protection
Bill of Rights
• First ten Amendments of the US Constitution
– 1st through 8th Amendments detail personal
liberties
– 9th and 10th impose limits on the powers of the
Federal government
• Adopted by 1791
Early USA: 1800-1864
• Points to contemplate:
1. The World’s first modern democracy will be
challenged constantly for clout and limitations
2. Economic differences will divide the USA
between the North and South
National Bank debate
• Alexander Hamilton, as secretary of the
Treasury, job was to start American capitalism
• Called for a National Bank with a unified
currency
• Loose interpreters vs. strict constructionist
PBS source: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/hamilton/sfeature/scenes_02_qt_hi.html
Or try : http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/hamilton/sfeature/scenes.html#bank
XYZ Affair of 1798
• Led to a Quasi-War with France
– Alien and Seditions Acts by Federalists
• Republicans say it aimed to penalize those expressing
“false, scandalous, and malicious statements” against
the government.
• (repealed in 1802 by Naturalization Act)
Election of 1800 and uniqueness
• Thomas Jefferson versus John Adams
– Jefferson and vice pres. Candidate Aaron Burr tie
– Who becomes president?
– Congress passes the 12th Amendment
• Jeffersonian Republicanism
– Have gov’t provide basic support for the needs of
the people (Q: what are some basic needs)
– Favored Decentralized federal gov’t and low taxes
Marbury vs. Madison
• Story of Marbury vs. Madison
• Important outcome: Judicial review– The Supreme court has the ability to declare a law
unconstitutional
Louisiana Purchase & Lewis and Clark
• Pres. Jefferson made $15 million purchase
from the French (Napoleon) in 1803
• Doubled the size of the USA at $.03 per acre
• Ordered the exploration of Merriwether Lewis
and William Clark
– Lasted for 2 years; blazed paths to the west
“O Grab Me”
• Jeffersonian embargo against the British,
– Idea is that it would punish the British, ends up
hurting US more
– 70,000 merchants unemployed, farmers can’t sell
excess crops, leads to stagnation
• Positive:
– Sparks Industrial Revolution in the North
War Hawks
• Wanted war with Britain… why?
– Britain was arming Native Americans to fight
against settlers moving west
– Impressment of Americans in British navy
– British Ships in US waters
– Many Americans want Canada as part of US
War of 1812
• Mid-June 1812 President Madison and
Congress declare War
• August 1814- British burn D.C.
• January 8, 1815, Battle of New Orleans
– Andrew Jackson becomes the hero
• Treaty of Ghent– signed December 24, 1814
Important outcomes from War of 1812
1. Led to the end of the Federalist Party, which
had opposed the war.
2. Encouraged the expansion of US industry to
support the war.
3. Affirmed the US as a free and independent
nation
4. Canada stays a part of Britain 
Monroe Doctrine
“Our policy in regard to Europe… is not to interfere
in the internal concerns of any of its powers… But
in regard to those continents (of the Western
Hemisphere), circumstances are imminently and
conspicuously different. It is impossible that the
allied (European) powers should extend their
political system to any portion of either continent
without endangering our peace and happiness.”
--Annual message to Congress Dec. 2, 1823
Manifest Destiny
• Idea that the US should
stretch from “Sea to
Shining Sea.”
• Used “divine
inspiration” as a
justification for
expansion and
conquest
Supreme Court Cases
• McCullough vs.
Maryland 1818
– Ruling: Fed gov can tax
and regulate state banks,
not the opposite.
• Gibbons vs. Ogden 1824
– Ruling: Interstate
commerce should be
regulated by Congress,
not states
Missouri Compromise
• Maine and Missouri both had met the
requirements to become states.
• Outcomes:
– Maine becomes free state
– Missouri becomes slave state
– Dividing line at 36*30’
Andrew Jackson
• Jacksonian Democracy
– Expanded the US
– Indian Removal Act of
1830 and Trail of Tears
• Elected into office in
1828.
• First Democrat party
president
Spoils System
• Elected his own friends and supporters into
office.
– Brought popular support from the common man;
their first time in office positions
– Leads to increasing corruption
– Pork Barrel politics
Nullification
• John C. Calhoun
– Jackson’s V.P. from South Carolina
– Outraged over Tariff of 1816, and increasing tariff
in 1824 and 1828.
– Called for Southern states to nullify the tariff,
threaten secession
Indian Removal Act of 1830
• Roots in Locke
– From “of Property”
• Cannot own/maintain land if not using it
• Indians were more hunter/gatherers, not farmers
• Americans want to move west
• Trail of Tears
Market Economy
• By the 1830’s, industry was growing.
– Erie Canal, Cotton Gin, Telegraph, Steam Engine,
railroad lines all facilitated non-agricultural
growth.
– Most industrial growth took place in the North,
from New York City and Philly to Chicago
– New markets emerge, start of consumerism
– Development of free enterprise
– Commonwealth v. Hunt
• Right to strike for worker rights
Cotton Mills 1828
• Manufacturing goods in World by %
Texas Independence
• Americans move into the Texas territory of
Mexico--- more Americans than Mexicans by
1830
• Push for independence rises from cultural
differences with Mexico, especially taxes,
language and slavery
• Battle of the Alamo 1836
• Treaty of Velasco
Mexican-American War
• Texas seeked annexation by USA
• President Polk urged war with Mexico, allowing
the annexation of several other territories,
including California
• 1845-1848
• Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
– $15 million for CA, AZ, NM, UT, NV and CO, WY
– Set boundary at Rio Grande
• Gasden Purchase
– 1853 US buys southern AZ , CA and NM for $10 Mil
– Allows RR lines to connect US South with Cali
Abolition movement
• William Lloyd Garrison– The Liberator
– White Abolitionist
• Frederick Douglass– The North Star
– Freed slave
– Becomes the central abolitionist writer from the
North
• Nat Turner’s Rebellion
– Virginia slave leads 50 slaves, kill 68 slave owners
Political laws regarding slavery
• Compromise of 1850
– CA enters as free state
– Increase in Fugitive slave laws
– Popular sovereignty for NM and Utah
• Kansas-Nebraska Act
– Repealed Missouri Compromise
– “Bleeding Kansas”
Compromise of 1850
Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854
Dred Scott Decision
• Dred Scott was a slave from Missouri, but
lived in IL, WS and MN
• Supreme court ruled on March 6, 1857 that
Scott was not free, because as property, the
slave owner could take him anywhere,
including free states and territories.
Lincoln elected president
• Lincoln, a Republican, was elected in the 1860
election
– Competed against Stephen Douglas (D) Jonathan
Breckenridge (D) and John Bell (Constitutional
Union Party)
– Received less than a majority of the popular vote
and didn’t win any Southern states
– South fears Lincoln will get rid of slavery, decide to
secede
• South Carolina is first in December 20, 1860
Election of 1860
Civil War
• Discussion: what was the main issue between
the North and South?
Battles
•
•
•
•
•
•
Bull Run July 1st 1861
Confederate Victory
Antietam Sept. 18th 1862
Draw
Gettysburg July 1st-3rd, 1863 Union Victory
Vicksburg ends July 4th, 1863 Union Victory
Atlanta April-July 1864
Union Victory
Appomattox Courthouse
– April 9th, 1865
1861-62
1863
1863
1864-65
Election of 1864