US Political
Freedoms Prior
to 1820
The Bill of Rights (1791)

A series of
Amendments to
the Constitution
designed to protect
people and the
states from the
abuses of
government
Amendment I
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Freedom of
Religion
Freedom of
Assembly
Freedom of
Petition
Freedom of Press
Freedom of Speech
Remember RAPPS?
Amendment II

A well regulated
Militia, being
necessary to the
security of a free
State, the right of the
people to keep and
bear Arms, shall not
be infringed.
Amendment III

No Soldier shall, in
time of peace be
quartered in any
house, without the
consent of the Owner,
nor in time of war,
but in a manner to be
prescribed by law.
Amendment IV
No illegal search and
seizures
 Searches may only
take place under a
warrant OR with
reasonable suspicion

Amendment V
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Indictment by a Grand
Jury
No Double Jeopardy
No self-incrimination
No person shall be
deprived of life, liberty,
or property, without
due process of law
Government may not
take private property
without fair
compensation (eminent
domain)
Amendment VI
Right to a speedy and
public trial
 Right to trial by an
impartial jury
 Right to be
confronted with the
witnesses against him
 Right to an attorney

Amendment VII
Provides
for
trial by jury in
civil cases
(lawsuits)
Amendment VIII
 No
excessive
bail
 No excessive
fines
 No cruel and
unusual
punishments
Amendment IX

The enumeration in
the Constitution, of
certain rights, shall
not be construed to
deny or disparage
others retained by the
people.
Amendment X

The powers not
delegated to the
United States by the
Constitution, nor
prohibited by it to the
States, are reserved
to the States
respectively, or to the
people
Amendment XI (1795)

Establishes “sovereign
immunity” – citizens
cannot sue a state in
federal court for
monetary damages,
but may sue a state if
the state is in
violation of federal
law
Amendment XII (1804)
Changes the rules for
electing the president
and vice-president
 Old rules – whoever
got the most votes for
president won,
whoever got the
second most votes
became vicepresident!

All men created equal?
 Originally,
only
WHITE,
PROPERTY
OWNING
MEN were
allowed to vote
in the US!
Role of Women
Primary role was as
wives, mothers, and
homemakers
 Poor, single women
might work outside
the home as servants
 Had few property
rights, could not vote

Abigail Adams
Wife of John Adams
 Pushed for women’s rights to
education, own property,
and have a voice in politicsvoting(suffrage)
 "...remember the ladies …
Do not put such unlimited
power into the hands of
the Husbands … all Men
would be tyrants if they
could … [we] will not hold
ourselves bound by any
Laws in which we have no
voice, or Representation.”
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Native American Relations
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As more white settlers
pushed west, they
came into increasing
conflict with Native
Americans
Natives were NOT
considered US citizens,
and so had few rights
US law protected
settlers over native
interests
Tennessee & Kentucky become
states
First settled by whites
in the 1750s and
1760s
 Led to conflicts with
native groups
 Kentucky became the
15th state in 1792
 Tennessee became
the 16th state in 1796

Western Indian Confederacy
Many Great Lakes
area tribes worked
together to present a
united front against
US expansion
 Badly defeated US
troops in battles in
1790 and 1791

Battle of Fallen Timbers
August 20, 1794, near
Toledo, Ohio
 US troops under
“Mad” Anthony
Wayne defeated
Indian Confederation
under Blue Jacket
 Ended the Northwest
Indian War
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Tecumseh
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Shawnee tribal leader
Attempted to unite all
Natives against US
Opposed treaties with
US government
Allied himself with the
British during the War
of 1812
Killed during the war
Treaty of Greenville
August 2, 1795
 Natives agreed to
surrender most of Ohio
and areas that are today
Detroit and Chicago for
$20,000 in goods and the
creation of a permanent
boundary between US
and Indian territory
 Future settlers ignored
the negotiated boundary

Battle of Tippecanoe
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Nov. 7, 1811
US forces under Harrison
attacked Tecumseh’s
Indian alliance’s HQ in
Indiana, shattering the
new Indian confederacy
Tecumseh fled to Canada
and joined with the
British
British support of the
Indians would be a
contributing factor to the
start of the War of 1812
William Henry Harrison
Governor of the
Indiana Territory
 Became a national
hero due to his
victories in both
Tecumseh’s War and
the War of 1812
 Known as “Old
Tippecanoe”
 Later elected President
of the US
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Slavery: a “necessary evil”
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3/5ths Compromise in
Constitution only counted
slaves as 3/5 of a person
Slaves were NOT citizens
and had no legal rights
Some free blacks in the
North did enjoy
citizenship
By 1800, close to 1
million slaves in US, or
about 1/6 of the
population
Eli Whitney’s Cotton Gin
Machine that separated
usable cotton from its
seeds
 Made cotton farming
more profitable and led to
the rise of “King
Cotton”, the South’s
dependency on the
cotton trade
 Growth in the cotton
trade led to further
growth in slavery

Beginnings of the Abolitionist
movement
Many people opposed
slavery
 Most northern states
passed laws ending
slavery there
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Even though many
Southerners questioned the
morality of slavery, they
considered it a “necessary
evil” from which they could
not escape.