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Class Date: September 25th
Location: Your couch! See your weekly e-mail for Zoom link!
A New Government
A New Government
We discussed the Revolution and Washington’s ring of spies that helped him win the war for independence. After the colonists won their independence from Great Britain, they were now faced with the task of forming a new government. Though colonial governments had been operating locally for decades, new challenges presented themselves without unified leadership. We’ll review the underpinnings of the American form of government here and review them further during class! He is a brief overview of the events of the time:
1744 - Treaty of Lancaster
Onondaga hoyaneh (chief, or Tadadaho) Canasatego addresses English colonists at the signing of the Treaty of Lancaster between the Haudensaunee and colonists. He reminds them that “whatever befalls you, never fall out with another.”
1751 - Slavery is legalized in Georgia
Georgia, the last of the 13 colonies, had banned slavery in 1735, by decree of James Oglethorpe. No one was opposed to slavery on principle, but rather didn’t see it working with their economic institutions. The nearby Spanish settlements in Florida routinely offered assistance to slaves willing to revolt or escape from the English. Bowing to increasing pressure from residents, the Georgia government passed legislation permitting slavery. The capture and importation of enslaved peoples grew quickly, as planters sought to force people to work their rice plantations.
1754 - The Albany Congress meets
Representatives from 7 colonies and 150 Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) chiefs to discuss support from the Haudenosaunee in fighting the French and establishing a colonial alliance. Though the leaders embraced the idea of a common militia and coordinated taxation to pay for it, the colonial legislatures all rejected the plan.
1765 - Coverture traditions are encouraged
Sir William Blackstone published Commentaries on the Laws of England that encouraged colonials to follow the tradition of “coverture” - the idea that once married, a woman’s property belongs to her husband and she ceases to have any legal rights. Coverture was brought over by British colonists, who practiced English Common Law, which also removed the legal rights of married women.
1775 - Second Continental convenes
Shots fired at Lexington and Concord changed the tenor of colonial meetings. Whereas there was general political unrest before, now there was war. The Congress agreed to the creation of a Continental Army under the supreme command of George Washington of Virginia. To pay soldiers, the Congress authorized the printing of money, and they appointed a standing committee to conduct foreign relations, should they need to ask for foreign help.
At this point, though governing, they were still not seeking independence from Britain. In July, they approved the Olive Branch Petition to appeal to King George III and seek a peaceful resolution. The King rejected this petition, declared them to be in a state of rebellion, and ordered Hessian mercenaries to bring the colonists in line.
1776 (January) - Common Sense is published
At the end of 1775, even with the introduction of the Hessian mercenaries, not everyone was clamoring to separate from the Crown. Then Thomas Paine published his pamphlet, arguing in clear, moral and political terms, that independence should be the goal. ‘Common Sense’ is widely considered to be one of the most influential publications in American history and certainly a major factor in the writing of the Declaration of Independence.
March 1776 - Abigail Adams pens her husband
Abigail Adams writes her husband, John Adams, urging him to ‘remember the ladies’ as he crafted laws for a new nation. She wrote:
“...in the New Code of Laws which is I suppose it will be necessary for you to make I desire that you would Remember the Ladies and be more generous and favourable to them than your ancestors.”
July 4th, 1776 - The Declaration of Independence is adopted
56 men affixed their signatures to the Declaration of Independence, moving towards a new nation. (They officially signed the version on parchment on August 2nd, but they officially adopted the document on July 4th).
1777 - The Articles of Confederation
Stemming from wartime urgency and a strong fear of a central authority, the Articles were written to provide a loose government structure for a fledgling nation. They were not ratified until 1781. Under the articles, the states remained sovereign, with a Congress serving as the last resort on appeal of disputes. Congress was able to make treaties and alliances, maintain armed forces, and coin money on behalf of the “United States of America”. However, the Congress could not impose taxes or regulate commerce. Those issues would lead to the Constitutional Convention in 1787.
1777 - Vermont Constitution written
Vermont becomes the first to provide for universal male suffrage (for white men), and outlaws slavery
1783 - John Adams leads the delegation in France to sign the treaty officially ending the war between the United States and Great Britain
Massachusetts Supreme Court also outlaws slavery this year, citing the state Bill of Rights “all men are born free and equal”.
1787 - Shay’s Rebellion
Daniel Shay leads 600 debt-ridden farmers to revolt against the creditors and high Massachusetts state taxes. The rebellion to avoid imprisonment and loss of their farms for not paying their debts is ultimately put down by the state militia, but it highlights the weakness of the federal government under the Articles of Confederation.
To read more about the rebellion, click here: https://www.mountvernon.org/library/digitalhistory/digital-encyclopedia/article/shays-rebellion/
That is where our timeline leaves us for this week! Check below for additional reading resources and tune in this week to learn about the Electoral College!
Recommended Reading
Recommended Reading
To read more about this topic, here are some great books to get you started:
For kids:
The Electoral College: A Kid’s Guide (Kid’s Guide to Elections) by Carl Meister
What does a college have to do with presidential elections? If it's the electoral college, a lot! Readers learn all about the electoral college and how it plays a part in our elections.
A Kids Book About Voting by Next Up
This book explains what voting is, how it works, and examines its influence through the lens of American history. It also challenges kids to wonder: why is it important? And who do you think should be able to vote?
Next Up is a nonprofit organization in Oregon. It’s the next generation doing democracy right—mobilizing and uplifting young voters and their voices to envision resilient and joyful communities by building an inclusive democracy of collaboration, innovation, justice, and authenticity.
Contributions to this book made by:
Amanda Squiemphen-Yazzie, Devin Ruiz, Amira Tripp Folsom, Izzy Dacones-Rowland, Isabela Villarreal, and Samantha Gladu.
For adults:
Fraud of the Century by Roy Morris, Jr.
n this major work of popular history and scholarship, acclaimed historian and biographer Roy Morris, Jr, tells the extraordinary story of how, in America’s centennial year, the presidency was stolen, the Civil War was almost reignited, and Black Americans were consigned to nearly ninety years of legalized segregation in the South.
The bitter 1876 contest between Ohio Republican governor Rutherford B. Hayes and New York Democratic governor Samuel J. Tilden is the most sensational, ethically sordid, and legally questionable presidential election in American history. The first since Lincoln’s in 1860 in which the Democrats had a real chance of recapturing the White House, the election was in some ways the last battle of the Civil War, as the two parties fought to preserve or overturn what had been decided by armies just eleven years earlier.
Morris dramatically recreates the suspenseful events of election night, when both candidates went to bed believing Tilden had won, and a one-legged former Union army general, “Devil Dan” Sickles, stumped into Republican headquarters and hastily improvised a devious plan to subvert the election in the three disputed southern states. We watch Hayes outmaneuver the curiously passive Tilden and his supporters in the days following the election, and witness the late-night backroom maneuvering of party leaders in the nation's capital, where democracy itself was ultimately subverted and the will of the people thwarted.
Fraud of the Century presents compelling evidence that fraud by Republican vote-counters in the three southern states, and especially in Louisiana, robbed Tilden of the presidency. It is at once a masterful example of political reporting and an absorbing read.
Graduating From the Electoral College by Dr. Tomas J. McIntee
“McIntee gives a comprehensive critique of the Electoral College that includes a consideration of its mathematical failings … An analytically incisive account of the Electoral College’s foibles.”
- Kirkus Reviews
“In addition to taking readers on a journey of the Electoral College's role in every election through 2020, McIntee's classification of pivotal, critical, and crucial states will be quite useful to scholars, pundits, and even casual observers of the Electoral College. This is an accessible book that will be especially attractive to critics of the Electoral College.”
- Robert Alexander
Author of Representation and the Electoral College
Works Cited
Works Cited
https://www.ushistory.org/declaration/revwartimeline.html
https://www.ushistory.org/us/9f.asp
https://www.constitutionfacts.com/us-declaration-of-independence/the-five-riders/
https://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/history-archaeology/slavery-colonial-georgia
https://www.nps.gov/inde/learn/historyculture/stories-libertybell.htm
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