Mercantilism
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An economic theory intended to allow the accumulation of national wealth by developing
industry in order to create a positive trade balance, in which more goods are exported than
imported.
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The British sought to use the North American colonies as a mercantilist venture, serving
primarily to increase the wealth of England by producing more goods for trade.
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The British Parliament therefore exercised strict economic controls when it came to trade,
enacting different policies to enforce import/export rules, along with taxes to provide for the
financial burden of administering the colonies.
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These policies, less strict in the early years of the colonies, became a source of conflict as
they became more strongly enforced, as the colonists felt as if their rights were being
infringed upon, specifically their right to “no taxation without representation.”
Stamp Act Congress
• In a response to the acts passed by the British Parliament, specifically the Stamp Act of 1765,
colonists organized a meeting of representatives from nine out of the thirteen colonies in
New York City in 1765.
• Colonists felt that the Stamp Act, which required all paper items bought and sold in the
colonies carry a stamp signifying the British crown, allowed for the British Parliament to raise
their revenues without colonial governments’ approval, thus engaging in “taxation without
representation.”
• Representatives drafted a document to be sent to the king, listing the violations of their
rights and discussing what the relationship between colonial governments and the British
Parliament should consist of.
• This had very little impact on the British Parliaments’ treatment of the colonies, but it did
serve as the first time the colonies began to work as a unified nation.
Committees of
Correspondence
● First formed in 1764 in Boston
● Used to relay information regarding the British
throughout the colonies
● Primarily used to notify resistance forces of British
actions
● In 1773, the House of Burgesses asked for all colonies
to have a standing committee of correspondence
○ Within a year nearly all had joined the network
● Also existed within towns
○ Built a sense of community and loyalty throughout the colonies
First Continental
Congress
● After the Boston Tea Party, Parliament passed the
Coercive acts, also known as the Intolerable Acts
○ These acts closed Boston Harbor, established military rule in
Massachusetts, made British officials immune to punishment in
America, and force private citizens to house British troops
● In response, the First Continental Congress met on
September 5, 1774
○ Comprised of 56 delegates, they wrote a formal petition of rights the
colonists had and grievances against the king
○ One idea put forth was the Union Plan, which would establish a
Parliamentary form of government in the colonies with a President
General speaking and voting for the king of England.
○ This was discarded after more British soldiers poured into Boston
○ They voted to meet again in two years if the grievances were not
Second Continental Congress
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First met on May 10, 1775 in Philadelphia.
On July 5, 1775 Congress attempted a last effort to avoid conflict with the Olive Branch
Petition.
○ Asked King George to end hostilities towards the colonies.
○ King George responded with another 20,000 troops.
Congress appointed George Washington as commander and chief of the newly created
Continental Army.
○ Washington was appointed because he was from the Virginia a southern state.
○ Oppression by King George was mainly in the northeast.
On June 7, 1776 a resolution calling for independence from Great Britain was presented
by Richard Henry Lee of Virginia.
○ called for independence
○ creation of foreign alliances
○ preparations for a plan of confederacy
Six out of the thirteen states instructed their delegates to vote for independence before
congress was suspended so that the members could consult their local legislature.
Declaration of Independence
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A committee of six were designated with the task drafting the Declaration of
Independence; Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, Robert Livingston, Roger Sherman, and
after protest by John Adams for a southern delegate Thomas Jefferson.
○ Most of the declaration was penned by Thomas Jefferson.
Independance was voted for by twelve of the thirteen colonies on July 2, 1776.
July 4, 1776 two days after the states passed it the Declaration of Independence was
adopted by the Second Continental Congress.
○ Laid out the grievances of King George.
○ July 9, 1776 the Declaration was read in Philadelphia
○ written in simple language
○ The basic ideas of the Declaration of Independence came from John Locke and
social contract theory.
Articles of Confederation
• Written in 1777 to unify the states in a war effort
• Documents linking the thirteen colonies together
• Created a government that gains power from the states unlike Great Britain
• Created a “league of friendship” between the states
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Confederation
• A form of government that gets its power from the states it governs
• Has less power then the states combined
• The states consider themselves independent
• Only linked for limited purposes
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Shays' Rebellion
•A rebellion in 1786.
•This was pushed over the edge when Mass. enacted a new law requiring the
payment of all debts in cash.
•Led by Daniel Shay, a farmer who fought against the Massachusetts’
government to stop foreclosing mortgages on his farm.
•He and 1500 other farmers marched into Springfield, Mass. and forcibly
restrained the state court from, once again, foreclosing mortgages on their
farms.
• This was a problem to colonies government because they did not have
funds to stop the rebellion.
•Massachusetts paid for a private militia after not being able to raise a state
militia, eventually stopping the rebellion on Feb. 4, 1787.
•This showed how many economic problems the colonists would need to
overcome to be a successful colony.
constitution
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A document establishing the structure, functions, and limitations of a government.
Used by the colonists as a take off point for the new country.
To form a stable document meant to structure a country’s government requires men who had a vast amount of
political, educational, legal, and business experience.
Our Framers, including George Washington, Ben Franklin, John Rutledge, and George Mason, were all well
qualified to write such an important document.
This was the basis of all government, and depending on the quality led to a country’s rise or fall.
● When the Constitutional Convention
met in May of 1787, the delegates
decided to scrap the Articles of
Confederation.
● They came prepared with two plans
the Virginia Plan and the New Jersey
Plan.
● Virginia being the biggest state was in
favor of big states and legislature by
population, New Jersey was in favor
of the one vote one state idea.
Virginia Plan
● Proposed by James Madison and Edmund
Randolph in favor of big states.
● Major Points:
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Central Government has three branches judicial,
legislative, and executive.
Two house legislative- One that is chosen by state
legislative and one that is elected by the people.
Lastly a legislative with the power to select the
judiciary and executive.
New Jersey Plan
● Proposed by William Paterson in favor of
the small states.
● Major points:
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Strengthen Articles instead of replacing them.
One house legislature with one vote per state and
members chosen by the state legislative.
Congress has the power to raise money from duties
on imports and from postal service fees.
Creating a Supreme court with members appointed
for life by the executive officers.
Great Compromise
Moira MacLean
Great Compromise
The issue of state representation in Congress caused the most disagreement
between the Virginia and New Jersey plans. (See Virginia and new Jersey
Plans)
Connecticut's purposed compromise that the House of Representatives would
be determined by population and each state then would have an equal vote in
the Senate was not welcomed by the assembly.
A large committee was then drafted to create the Great Compromise and
took ideas from both the Virginia and New Jersey plans.
Great Compromise
It stated:
A two-house, or bicameral, legislature
In one house of the legislature (House of Representatives), there would be fifty-six
representatives— one representative for every 30,000 inhabitants. They would be
elected directly by the people.
That house should have the power to originate all bills for raising and spending
money.
In the second house of legislature (Senate), each state should have equal vote and the
representative would be selected by the state legislatures.
By dividing the power between the state and national governments, national power
would be supreme.
Great Compromise
Met the approval of all the states in attendance.
Smaller states got equal representation in the Senate
Larger states got proportional representation in the House of Representatives
However, no group could ultimately dominate because both houses are
needed to pass legislation.
Three-Fifths Compromise
Moira MacLean
Three-Fifths Compromise
The Great Compromise stated that the representation of the House of
Representatives would be determined by the population of the state.
Even though slaves were unable to vote, the southern stated wanted them to count
towards their population size.
After much consideration, it was decided that population, in regards to
representation and direct taxation, that “All other persons” (Slaves) would be
counted as three-fifths of a free person.
This promised that the South would hold 47% of the House. This allowed Slavery
to continue in the south, but not allow it to spread northward.