From Colonies to Countries Mr. Hernandez Multi-Level ESL

Reason Countries came to America Colonial America 1492-1763 Reason Countries came to America Power * European nations came to the Americas for money, power, and religious freedom. *By 1650, England had a huge influence on the Atlantic Coast -1607 First Colony was Jamestown, Virginia - 1620 Plymouth, Massachusetts founded by pilgrims who were looking for religious freedom *These early colonies were able to survive due to help from Native Americans and the crops that were grown. *By 1770 more than 2 million people lived in England’s 13 colonies. High percentage of the population were African slaves Religious Freedom Wealth/Money

Important Document to Remember Ideas Spark of a New Government As the Pilgrims sailed to the “New World” and before landing on what became known as Plymouth Colony, they formed their own government under the “Mayflower Compact.” Significance This was a social contract made by the people on the Mayflower Ship. They signed and swore to abide by this new government. Mayflower Compact sparked colonists the first Ideas of being able to create and live by a separate government than England.

The Thirteen Colonies Northern Colonies Middle Colonies New Hampshire Massachusetts Rhode Island Connecticut Middle Colonies New York New Jersey Pennsylvania Delaware Maryland Southern Colonies Virginia North Carolina South Carolina Georgia

I can’t take this anymore! Road to Revolution 1764-1789 *As colonies grew, England spent a lot of money defending the 13 colonies from the French and their Indian allies. This was know as the French & Indian War. *This cost England a lot of money, which resulted in England to raise taxes. The English government began to raise taxes and the 13 colonies took most of the financial burden. The following is a list of taxes that England imposed: -1765 Stamp Act-This taxed all legal documents and newspapers. Colonists were angered and in 1766 the tax was canceled. This was the beginning of problems. -1773 Boston Tea party- In an act to revolt against taxes on tea imposed by England, colonist dressed up a Indians and dumped England tea into the Boston Harbor. Enough is Enough! 1776 Declaration of Independence-Disagreements like these led the colonists to write the Declaration of Independence. A year earlier the American Revolution had began because colonists were tired of England putting taxes on colonists without their approval. The American Revolution lasted 5 years. On October 19, 1781 England surrendered and Americans were officially independent. Now, Colonists had to come up with their own Government to run their country TAXES, TAXES, TAXES! Stamp Act I can’t take this anymore!

Answer: Power, Wealth, Religion Fast Track! Now, put what you have learned to the test. Within your group you will have a writer and a speaker. The writer will need to answer the question and the other group members will need to pass the answer sheet to the speaker. The first group to get the correct answer to their speaker will get the winning point. Questions will be based on previous lessons. 1. Name the Middle colonies. Answer: New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, & Maryland 2. What Document can be looked at as giving colonists ideas to form their own government when they first arrived to America to start a colony? Answer: Mayflower Compact 3. What was the first colony founded in Virginia? Answer: Jamestown 4. What were the three reasons why Europe began to come to America? Answer: Power, Wealth, Religion 5. Why did England begin to tax colonists? Answer: To recover debt from French & Indian War 6. What taxes did England put on the colonists that angered them? Answer: Stamp & Tea Tax (Boston Tea Party) 7. What was the colonists final reaction to England’s Taxes? Answers: American Revolution in 1775 & Declaration of Independence in 1776)

Fast Track! Answer: Plymouth Colony Answer: Religious freedom 8. What colony was formed by the pilgrims who came on the Mayflower? Answer: Plymouth Colony 9. Give the reason why the pilgrims left England and came to America. Answer: Religious freedom 10. After becoming their own country in 1781, what was the next task that colonists had to do? Answer: Form their Own Government 11. In what geographic location would the colony of Georgia be classified as? Answer: Southern Colony Answer: Help they got from Indians and the crops they grew 12. Why were early colonies like Plymouth and Jamestown able to survive?

*Americans began to establish their government after they got their Independence in 1781. Each colony became a state. *The states established a government under the Articles of Confederation, but the Article of Confederation created a weak national government. The states had no intention of giving up power to the federal government because they felt the federal government would take advantage of them like England did in the past. Articles were weak in the following areas: Congress could not levy or collect taxes Congress could not regulate trade Congress could not force anyone to obey the laws it passed. Laws had to be approved by 9 of the 13 states. This was hard when not all states attended congress. Each state had only one vote Amendments to the Articles of Confederation needed the consent of all states to agree on. There was no executive branch. No president to unite business and business. There were no court system. Each state had to settle their own disputes. *Problems grew among states, so representatives from each state came together and formed a constitutional convention. Here they worked together to establish a Constitution for all states. Forming a Government

Weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation Law and order issues: Central Government lacked power to Enforce Laws Resolve disputes between states Maintain Order II. Commerce and Monetary issues: Central government could not Negotiate Trade Treaties Levy Taxes Pay Debts III. Structural weakness of Articles Lack of a President or Executive Cabinet Amendments or changes to Articles needed a unanimous vote from all states: made government inflexible

Put it to the Test! You have learned that the Articles of Confederation (1777-1788) caused for a weak central government. This led to representatives from each state to meet at the Constitutional Conventions to revise or create a new document that would work. Americans feared that if they gave the government too much power it would take advantage of them, but realized without a strong central government, states could not coexist as a country. Using the information you have learned, Imagine that the constitution was not made and the Articles of Confederation were revised. Make collage that answers the following questions: 1. What would America’s government be like? 2. What might happen to people’s rights 3. What would be the way states conducted their affairs? 4. How would laws be made? Have your collage answer these questions by using pictures and designs to help answer these questions.

Where do we go from here?