Chap. 7 Blog Questions

1) What are the three branches of government and what are the powers of each?
The Legislative Branch makes the law. 
The Executive branch makes sure that these laws and policies are carried out.
The Judicial Branch is the court system that settles disputes between the states. 


2) How can these branches check and balance each other?
Both the house and the senate must pass a bill for it to become a law. The president can check Congress by vetoing the bill. However, Congress can then check the president by overriding the veto, To override a veto, two-thirds of the members of both houses of Congress must vote for the bill.  

3) What were the compromises to the constitution?
~A two house legislature: the House of Representatives and the Senate. The number of Representatives was to be determined by the population of the state and each state had to people representing them in the Senate.
~Counting each enslaved person as three-fifths of a free person for both taxation and representation. (They couldn't actually vote though, even after they were considered free.)  
~Can't use the word slavery 
~Election of the president


4) Who wrote the Federalist papers?
John Jay
James Madison
Alexander Hamilton. 

5) What was the Bill of Rights? Why did some states demand its inclusion before they ratified the constitution? 
The Bill of Rights made sure the government didn't abuse their power. Some states demanded a Bill of Rights because they didn't want the central government to become so powerful that it was like having another king, which was the whole reason for fighting in the Revolutionary War.


6) What were the anti-federalists main fears about the constitution?
The main argument was that the new constitution would take away the American people's liberties and that the central government would become so powerful that they would forget about the states, forget about the people's voices, and favor the rich over the common folk. Basically, the anti-federalists thought that the new constitution would give the central government to much power. 


What were the Federalists about?
A strong central government. 

14) "America was already developing the notion that all were entitled to the best if they worked hard enough, that aiming high was not only morally acceptable but admirable." Discuss the importance of this statement. 
If you worked hard enough, you could do anything you set your mind too. The American dream has always been to go for your dreams. In America you could changes social classes. If you work hard enough, you could go from lower class to middle class, whereas in Britain, doing so was unheard of and frowned upon. 


14a) Who were two people in Rev War period that fit the idea of the American dream?
Alexander Hamilton & Ben Franklin


15) Who were the two most important people involved with the push towards a new constitution? 
Alexander Hamilton & James Madison
Hamilton big reason was that the country was in debt. To get the states out of debt, you need a strong central government. Madison & Hamilton both wanted a strong central government. 
Constitution didn't happen over night. It was long debated. When they met to fix the Constitution the basically through out the Articles of Confederation.
Patrick Henry ("Give me liberty, or give me death")


16) Give examples of how the Articles of Confederation failed.
It could raise an army, but couldn't collect taxes. The power was really in the state's governments. 
There was chaos, they central government was nonexistent. 
The power was all in the states.


17) In your option why would some people prefer State rights over a strong Central government. What are the arguments for both sides?
States Rights
All the states are different. Especially back then, they all had their own culture. 
When you have a strong central government, there is a chance that the government becoming too controlling. Strong central government could go back to the idea of a king. =( 


Strong Central Government
Keeps everyone on the same page.




18) What is a nomiocracy? How do you feel about this term connected with the U.S. government?
It's basically a government ruled by lawyers. 
It's an accurate statement. 


19) What were the three compromises on the Constitution? Which one of these seems the strangest to you?
Compromise 1
Gave the House of Representatives the control of money Bills. The Representatives were directly elected by  number of persons in states.
Senate, two people from each state, were chosen to deal with foreign policy and such matters.


Compromise 2
It stated that nothing negative would be written about slavery in the Constitution. Every slave counted as 3/5 of a freeman, which gave the states the right to count them as voters, though they couldn't actually vote.  And finally, the words 'slave' & 'slavery' would purposely be avoided being written in the text. 


Compromise 3
Dealt with the election of the president
Madison & Hamilton wanted a Presidency for a strong central government. 


20) What is the irony about the President vs. a King as example by Johnson?

He didn't want power in the hands of stupid people because they would do stupid things. 
The president was almost a dictator. He had more power than most kings of the time. Though, unlike the king, the president was the only official elected by the entire nation. Kings are born into power.

Study Questions

1. What was the 1st constitution? What powers did it give the government?
1. Articles of Confederation
2. It created a central government with no power.
1. They made the laws but the states could break them because Congress didn't have the power to punish them
3. It gave Congress the power to control the war & foreign policy 
1. Everything else would be controlled by each individual state 
4. It gave the government the power to raise an army
1. But NOT collect taxes
2. What was the paradox of the war (at least from Britain's point of view?)
1. They are fighting a losing battle, even if they win
2. If they win, they would inherit a stubborn colony that wouldn't listen
3. If they lose, they only hurt their pride
3. What was Washington's main strength as as a commander? Why did he win the war?
1. He was a strategist
2. He realized that his major task was to train an army, keep it alive and in the field, supply it and pay it
1. By doing this, he enabled all thirteen state governments, plus the Congress, to remain functioning
3. He did nothing mean, cruel or vengeful
4. He was a gentleman
4. What were the four points of the Peace of Paris - as laid out by John Adams?
1. Outright independence of the United States, & with drawl of the British forces
2. Canada to remain British & a definitive boundary to be drawn
3. Agreement on the boundaries of all thirteen states
4. Freedom for fishing off Newfoundland
1. The first international fisheries agreement
5. Why did slavery increase during the revolution?
1. There was no mention of freedom made in the Declaration
6. Who were the big loser of the war (name three)? List what they lost and explain why they are the biggest losers?
1. French
1. War cost a billion livres and ruined it's credit with the bankers of Europe
2. It did irretrievable damage to France's public finances and compelled the bankrupt monarchy to hit the road
1. Lead to the recalling of the Estates General, the Fall of the Bastille, the Terror, the Republic, military dictatorship
3. The overall American victory, coupled with the fantastic ideas of independence, inspired the French Revolution
4. Wealthy aristocrats merchants who helped pay for the war out of their own pockets laos last money
2. Native Americans
1. Sir William Johnson, greatest of British's Indian agents, died is 1774, which basically destroyed to Indian alliance with Britain
2. Britain abandoned them
3. Americans thought to treaty gave them the right of conquest
3. Loyalists
1. Lacked leaders
2. They lost jobs, estates, houses, saving, and quite often their lives.
1. Some family bonds were terminated 
1. Like Ben Franklin's
3. Had no alternative and were essentially forced to remain in America 
4. Spain
1. It's crown was weaker and poorer
2. it's viceroyalties in Central & South American were starting to look towards the North for example and inspiration
7. What happened to the Loyalists in America after the war?
1. Some went to Britain 
2. Most had no alternative but to stay in America and keep their political opinions quiet. 
1. A large percentage went to Canada
3. Some wen to the create colonies in the West Indies
4. They felt the British had betrayed them but settling for a treaty
8. What were the most important battles of the war? Why do you think they are the most important? (Note battles is plural).
1. Yorktown
2. Quebec
3. Lexington & Concord
4. Bunker Hill
5. Fort Ticonderoga
6. Saratoga
9. List at least five reasons why the Americans won?
1. They fought on their own territory, while the British had to send troops and supplied thousands of miles over seas
2. General Washington was their leader
3. They fought with a great determination to reach their goal of independence
10. Why did the British strategy for the war makes little sense?
1. Washington was fighting a war of endurance
2. Lord George Germaine, who had no military gifts, was put in charge of the war by North
1. He had never set foot in America
3. 
   
11. How did the British fail to win the war in 1776? Who was the General in charge?
1. General Howe 
2. The plan was to take New York, cutting off New England form the South, which would destroy the heart of the rebellion: Massachusetts. 
3. What actually happened was Washington took his army from Manhattan to Brooklyn and settled into the Heights. Howe had a lot more men than Washington, but George and 9,000 men were able to escape to back to Manhattan and then on to New Jersey via the Delaware
4. Howe had failed to surround and destroy Washington's army. He let him escape too, because he didn't make a large effort to follow him.

Page 188 ~ Questions 4-17

·         Why did the British think their military forces were superior to those of the Americans?

o   They had the strongest navy in the world

§  An experienced, well-trained army

o   They also has the wealth of a worldwide empire

o   They had a much larger population

§  Over 8 million in Britain

§  Only 2.5 million in the United States

·         Why did the loyalists support the British?

o   They opposed the war

o   Some people changed sides during the war depending on which army was closer

o   Members of the Anglican Church

o   Depended on the British for their jobs

o   Feared the disorder that would come from challenging the established government

o   Didn’t understand what all the commotion was about

·         How did Thomas Paine help the Patriots during the Revolutionary War?

o   He created the pamphlet Common Sense which moved many colonists toward independence

o   Published another pamphlet to boost American spirits

·         What European nations fought with the Americans against the British?

o   French

§  February 1778

o   Spanish

§  1779

·         What were some of the problems that troops faced during the winter at Valley Forge?

o   They lacked decent food, clothing and shelter

o   Most lacked blankets, shoes and shirts

·         What ideas did Judith Sargeant Murray promote about education?

o   She thought women’s minds were as good as men’s; therefore, girls should get as good an education as boys.

·         Why did many Natives give their support to the British?

o   The British posed less of a threat

·         What fighting method did the Americans use to keep the British from taking the Southern Colonies?

o   Guerrilla Warfare

·         Which battle convinced the British that fighting the Americans was too costly?

o   The Patriot victory at Yorktown

·         Why was fighting on their own land an advantage to the Patriots?

o   Because they knew the layout of the land

o   The British had to ship troops and supplies over the Atlantic Ocean, whereas the American supplies only had to travel between cities

·         Compare and Contrast: What advantages did the Patriots have over the British mercenaries?

o   The fought on their own territory

o   They fought with great determination

o   Their leader was General Washington

o   The Patriots had much more at stake than the Hessians did

§  Their freedom

·         Analyzing Information: How did women help in the war effort?

o   Margaret Corbin took the place of her husband in the battle after he died

o   Mary Ludwig Hays McCauley (Molly Pitcher) brought soldiers pitchers of water

o   Deborah Sampson disguised herself as a man and enlisted in the war

·         Drawing Conclusions: Why do you think the British found it easier to capture American cities than to take over the American countryside?

o   The British received less help then they had initially planned. They had hoped to use British sea power and the support of the Loyalists to win battles in the South. When they moved through the countryside, they were attacked by small forces of Patriots. The Americans had adapted the hit-and-run technique of guerrilla warfare.

·         Determining Cause and Effect: Describe two ways that the American’s fight for independence influenced other countries.

o   Their ideas about freedom and their rights influenced the French Revolution in 1789. The French Rebels fought for “Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity.”

o   In 1791, the ideals of both the French and American Revolutions traveled across the Caribbean and the Atlantic to the island of Saint Domingue, which was ruled by the French. Led by Toussaint-Louverture, they were able to eliminate French rule and in 1804 Saint Domingue became the second nation in the Americas to achieve independence from colonial rule. 

Quebec

• Washington send Col. Arnold and 1100 troops through the unmapped wilderness in Maine
• Rifleman - Daniel Morgan
• Gen. Montgomery takes 1200 men up Lake Champlain and onto the St. Lawrence River
• They get bogged down outside of Montreal 
• Date of Battle ~ 12-31-75
• Reasons
• Create a 14th colony
• Eliminate the threat of an evasion from the North
• Eliminate a British base in North America
• Create an aggressive statement to the king and show him the costs of war
• Bring the Canadians on the American side 

Board Notes - November 8th

Need to Know!!!

• 1776
• Building a Navy
• October 11
• British Victory
• March 
• Washington is outside of Boston
• Dorchester Heights
• British leave Boston
• Washington puts cannons at Dorchester Heights
• General Howe awakes so see said cannons and leaves Boston
• August 
• New York/Long Island/Manhattan
• British has largest army that they will ever have
• Admiral Howe
• 32,000 troops
• General Howe
• 40,000 troops
• They quickly take Long Island
• Washington has a series of defeats in 1775-776
• December 25
• Trenton
• January 1, 1777
• Princeton
• Brandywine
• One of Washington's next battles after Princeton
• British Victory
• Germantown
• One of Washington's next battles after Princeton
• British victory
• General Howe decided to leave Johnny Burgoyne alone and go capture Philadelphia
• Symbolic victory, but really did nothing
• Washington figures out that as long as he keeps his army alive, it doesn't matter if he won or lost certain battles
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