THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES SEMINAR 3 From colony to revolution
REVIEW QUESTIONS Describe the conditions of the settlement of the Jamestown colony What was the role of John Smith? Why was 1619 a turning point in the history of the colony? What is the covenant? What was the role of William Bradford?
COMPARE AND CONTRAST JOHN SMITH WILLIAM BRADFORD Personal background, previous history Role as historian Legacy in American history Role of religion in their lives View of America
DATE AND CONCEPT RECOGNITION Civil body politick Covenant and combine Mixed multitude
SALUTARY NEGLECT Political developments: self-governing colony Powers of the executive: governor, control over militia, courts, suspends assembly Assembly: power of the purse
SALUTARY NEGLECT Ideological developments: From Mayflower Compact to Leviathan (state of nature) To John Locke (natural, inalienable rights) Political contract: governing is seen as a contract between governed and leader
SALUTARY NEGLECT Economic developments Colonies, especially New England region develop their own trade routes (Triangular Trade) Navigation Acts Lords of Trade
FROM COLONY TO REPUBLIC Change of British colonial policy following French and Indian War Stamp Act (1765) Boston Massacre (1770) Boston Tea Party (1773) Early battles, Lexington, Concord (1775)
THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE Preamble: cosmopolitan, addressing the whole world ”When in the course of human events”, laws of nature, nature’s God Declaration of rights: influence of Locke and Hobbes, the expression of the American Ideal
THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE In CONGRESS, July 4, 1776, The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united STATES of AMERICA, When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation. We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.
THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE List of grievances:The king: Frustrated the work of colonial legislatures Ignored colonial laws Deprived colonists of the rights of Englishmen Dissolved lawmaking bodies Obstructed colonial administration of justice Taxation without consent
THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE Main features: reflects the achievements of the Enlightenment Covenant, consensual government Political contract Conativity: willing a world into being Action pattern: breakaway, self-doubt, reaffirmation
THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE INFLUENCE: Seneca Falls Convention (1848) Gettysburg Address (1863) Martin Luther King: I have a dream speech (1963)
THE EXPRESSION OF THE AMERICAN IDEAL Individualism: pursuit of happiness Democracy: consent of the governed Liberty: natural rights Equality: all men are created equal