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$: A Nation is Born - PC\|MACimages.pcmac.org/.../PioneerValleyHigh/Uploads/Presentations/Chap… · Content Vocabulary civilization, joint-stock company, Pilgrim, subsistence farming,$
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Beginnings–1900

A Nation is Born

The history of the United States of Americabegins with the decision of the thirteen English

colonies to rebel against Britain. After emergingvictorious from the Revolutionary War, the

United States created a new form of govern-ment. The new republic struggled to balance

federal versus states’ rights as the nation grewin size and the North and South divided over

the issue of slavery. Unable to reconcile these differences, the country fought the Civil War.

After a difficult period of reunification, theUnited States expanded across the continent

and developed its industrial economy. As thetwentieth century approached, a modern

United States prepared to face a new century.The following resources offer more information

about this period in American history.

Primary Sources LibrarySee pages 974–975 for primary source readings

to accompany Unit 1.

Use the American History PrimarySource Document Library CD-ROM to find

additional primary sources about events inearly America.

Why It Matters

Washington’s Inauguration at Independence Hall

by Jean Leon Gérôme Ferris, 1793

Declaration of Independence

“The country shall be independent, and we will be

satisfied with nothing short of it.”

—Samuel Adams, 1774

Lora Robins Collection of Virginia Art, Virginia Historical Society

94 CHAPTER 12 Becoming a World Power94

Creatinga Nation

Beginnings to 1789

c. 28,000–13,000 B.C.• First humans migrate to

North America from Asia

1492• Christopher

Columbus landsin America

1600• Tokugawa period of

feudal rule begins in Japan

1642• English Civil

War begins

1660• Charles II becomes

king of England1689• English Bill of

Rights issued

1607• Jamestown

Colony isfounded

. The Big Ideas ,SECTION 1: Converging Cultures

Societies change over time. European settlers established colonies in lands inhabited by NativeAmericans and developed new forms of government.

SECTION 2: Dissent and IndependenceThe quest for equality is eternal. American colonists developed an independent spirit, began to

resent Britain’s mercantilist policies and tightening control, and fought a war for independence.

SECTION 3: The ConstitutionA written contract between the people and their government can preserve natural rights andallow for change over time. When the Articles of Confederation proved to be too weak, Americans

crafted a new constitution based on compromise and flexibility.

The American Vision: Modern Times Video The Chapter 1 video, “ThePower of the Constitution,” discusses one of the nation’s most important documents.

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28,000 BC 1500 1600

1619• Virginia House

of Burgessesmeets for first time

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1630• Massachusetts Bay

Colony is established

1639• Fundamental

Orders ofConnecticutadopted

1517• Protestant

Reformationbegins

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Pilgrim SocietyJ. D. Bangs/Leiden American Pilgrim Museum

95

1748• Montesquieu’s Spirit

of the Laws published

1751• Chinese invade

Tibet and controlsuccession to the throne

1776• Adam Smith’s

treatise TheWealth of Nationspublished

This painting by Dutch artist Adam Willaerts is believed to depict the Plymouth Colony.

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1787• Constitutional

Conventionbegins in Philadelphia

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1700 1800

1765• Parliament passes the

Stamp Act, triggeringprotests throughout the colonies

1776• Declaration of

Independencesigned

1781• Cornwallis surrenders

at Yorktown

• Articles ofConfederation ratified Washington

1789–1797

1775• The first shots of the

Revolutionary Warfired at Lexingtonand Concord inMassachusetts

1787• Freed Africans

found colonyin Sierra Leone

1789• French

Revolutionbegins

HISTORY

Chapter OverviewVisit the American Vision:Modern Times Web site at

andclick on Chapter Overviews—Chapter 1 to preview chapterinformation.

tav.mt.glencoe.com

http://tav.mt.glencoe.com

Good readers make predictions before they read and while they read.Predictions are educated guesses, based on what you already know or

what the author has already told you. Even though your prediction maynot always be correct, predicting is a valuable tool because it gives you achance to think about what you already know about the topic. In addition,reviewing your predictions will help you remember the information andimprove your ability to predict.

One way to make predictions is to read the headings and subheadings in a section or chapter before reading the entire selection. As you read eachheading, think about the story you believe the chapter will tell you aboutthis time in history. What do you already know about this time? What doyou expect to find out?

Read these headings from Section 1 and the predictions about them.

The Earliest Americans (I think this heading will tell me about the firstinhabitants of the Americas. They came here thousands of years ago.)

European Explorations (I expect that I will learn about the first Spanish explorers in the Americas.)

Early French and English Settlement (I wonderif I will learn about Jamestown and the PlymouthColony?)

The Thirteen Colonies (What do I know aboutthe original colonies? I know that they laterformed the United States of America.)

A Diverse Society (Will I learn about enslavedAfricans? What else is unique to colonial society?)

Before you read each section in this chapter,look at the headings and subheadings. Writedown your predictions for each. You can thinkabout information you already have on thetopic from previous classes or from othersources. Based on the heading or subheading,you can also make a connection to a currentevent. After you have finished reading, reviewyour predictions and note any differencesbetween your predictions and the text.

96

Predicting

PREDICTINGUse headings and subheadingslike signposts to guide yourreading. They let you knowwhere you’re going!

Chronological and Spatial Thinking As you study the history of the United States in thetwentieth century, you will analyze how change happens at different rates at different times;understand that some aspects can change while others remain the same; and understand thatchange is complicated and affects not only technology and politics, but also values and beliefs.

Understanding Change

Do you recall a time when a major event changed your community forever? Itmay have been a national tragedy, like the terrorist attacks of September 11,

2001. It might have been a positive event, like the opening of a major business inyour town that provided new employment opportunities for the many people. Ineither case, some changes seemed to occur overnight, while other changes evolvedmore slowly. Historians understand that change is complex and that changeoccurs at different rates.

When historians study events, they consider the time frame in which theseevents occur. Sometimes events occur quickly, in a matter of hours, days or weeks.Other times, events can occur over much longer periods, such as years or evendecades. Historians also analyze how the events lead to changes, and whatchanges occur as a result of events. These changes can happen in the environmentor in the societies in which the events take place. Some changes are barely notice-able, while others can have a profound effect.

A major event occurred centuries ago when European explorers first landed onthe American continent. The impact on Native Americans was immediate, espe-cially the effects of war and disease on their populations. Other changes occurredmore slowly as European settlers arrived to colonize the land. In some cases,Native Americans and Europeans engaged in violent conflict.

As you read this chapter, consider howchange occurred in the societies that devel-oped in America. What changes happenedto Native American societies? What newsocieties grew out of the arrival of Europeansettlers, and how did their lives differ fromor remain the same as that in Europe? Howdid life change for Africans who wereenslaved and forcibly brought to theAmerican colonies?

Analysis Skill Standard CS2

97

Guide to Reading

ConnectionIn this section, you will discover howsocieties in North and Middle Americachanged over time and how Europeancolonies developed.

• Native Americans adapted to their environments and developed diversecultures. (p. 99)

• European countries began to explorethe world and established colonies inthe Americas. (p. 101)

• The French and English settled in NorthAmerica, and English colonists begantheir own local governments. (p. 102)

• As English settlements grew, colonistsdeveloped different forms of govern-ment to regulate life in their communi-ties. (p. 103)

• The different colonies created new socialstructures that were more open thanthose of aristocratic Europe. (p. 107)

Content Vocabularycivilization, joint-stock company, Pilgrim,subsistence farming, proprietary colony,indentured servant, triangular trade,slave code

Academic Vocabularyculture, immigrate, hierarchy

People and Terms to IdentifyChristopher Columbus, William Penn

Places to LocateJamestown

Reading Objectives• Explain how the Americas were

populated and became home to diverse cultures.

• Identify the main areas of Spanish,French, and English settlement and thereasons for English colonization.

Reading StrategyTaking Notes As you read about theearly settlements of America, use the section headings to create an outlinesimilar to the one below.

Preview of Events

Converging Cultures

c. 28000 B.C.–13000 B.C.First humans migrate toNorth America

1492Columbus claimsAmerican landsfor Spain

1607English foundJamestown

✦30,000 ✦1500 ✦1675 ✦1750

1639Fundamental Orders ofConnecticut adopted

Discovery and SettlementI. The Earliest Americans

A. Early Civilizations in AmericaB.C.

II. European ExplorationA.B.C.

III.IV.V.

98 CHAPTER 1 Creating a Nation

. The Big Idea ,Societies change over time. A shift to agriculture in Middle and North Americaled to the development of civilizations and Native American cultures. At the sametime these cultures were flourishing in the Americas, Europeans began looking fortrade routes to Asia to obtain desired goods. Their search brought Europeans intocontact with the Americas. Contact between Native Americans and Europeansbrought the exchange of foods and ideas but also introduced new diseases. ManyNative Americans died, and cultures were destroyed from disease and warbetween the groups. France and England focused on settling eastern NorthAmerica, straining relationships with Native Americans. As the colonies continuedto develop and expand, so did different forms of government and the dependencyon slave labor. Trade, the growth of cities, and the increase in African Americansand immigrants led to additional changes in colonial society.

The following are the mainHistory–Social Science Standardscovered in this section.

11.1 Students analyze the significantevents surrounding the founding ofthe nation and its attempts to realizethe philosophy of governmentdescribed in the Declaration ofIndependence.

11.3 Students analyze the role religionplayed in the founding of America, itslasting moral, social and political impacts,and issues regarding religious liberty.

11.3.1 Describe the contributions of vari-ous religious groups to American civic prin-ciples and social reform movements (e.g.,civil and human rights, individual responsibil-ity and the work ethic, antimonarchy and self-rule, worker protection, family-centeredcommunities).

The Earliest Americans

Native Americans adapted to their environ-ments and developed diverse cultures.

Reading Connection Do you remember when youstarted at a new school and had to get used to new ways ofdoing things? Read on to learn how the first American settlersadapted to their new environments.

No one knows exactly when the first peoplearrived in America. Scientists have pieced togethermany clues by studying the earth’s geology and theitems left by early humans.

In 1925 an African American cowboy named GeorgeMcJunkin was riding along a gully near the town ofFolsom, New Mexico, when he noticed somethinggleaming in the dirt. He began digging and found a bone and a flint arrowhead. J.D. Figgins of theColorado Museum of Natural History knew the bonebelonged to a type of bison that had been extinct for10,000 years. The arrowhead’s proximity to the bonesimplied that human beings had been in America at least 10,000 years, which no one had believed at that time.

The following year, Figgins found another arrow-head embedded in similar bones. In 1927 he led agroup of scientists to the find. Anthropologist FrankH.H. Roberts, Jr., wrote, “There was no question butthat here was the evidence. . . . The point was stillembedded . . . between two of the ribs of the animalskeleton.” Further digs turned up more arrowheads,now called Folsom points. Roberts later noted: “TheFolsom find was accepted as a reliable indication thatman was present in the Southwest at an earlier periodthan was previously supposed.”

—adapted from The First American: A Story of North American Archaeology

The Folsom discoveries proved that people werehere at least 10,000 years ago. More recent research,however, suggests that our ancestors may have arrivedmuch earlier—between 15,000 and 30,000 years ago.

These newcomers to America were probablynomads, people who continually move from place toplace. As time passed, Native Americans learned

how to plant and raise crops. The shift to agricultureled to the first permanent villages and to new build-ing methods. As early village societies became morecomplex, civilizations emerged. A civilization is ahighly organized society marked by advancedknowledge of trade, government, the arts, science,and, often, written language.

Early Civilizations in America Anthropologiststhink the earliest civilization in the Americas arosebetween 1500 B.C. and 1200 B.C. among the Olmecpeople in southern Mexico. The Maya and the Azteclater developed their own civilizations in CentralAmerica, building impressive temples and pyramidsand establishing trade networks. Many anthropolo-gists believe that the agricultural technology ofMesoamerica eventually spread north into theAmerican Southwest and beyond. Around A.D. 300,the Hohokam began farming in what is todayArizona. They and another nearby people, theAnasazi, were able to grow crops in the drySouthwest by building elaborate irrigation systems.

About the time that the Olmec civilization began inMesoamerica, the people in North America’s easternwoodlands were developing their own cultures. TheHopewell built huge geometric earthworks that servedas ceremonial centers, observatories, and burial places.Between A.D. 700 and 900, the Mississippian people inthe Mississippi River valley created Cahokia, one ofthe largest cities early Americans ever built.

Native American Cultural Diversity In theEastern Woodlands, most Native Americans com-bined hunting and fishing with farming. Many different groups lived in the Eastern Woodlands, butmost spoke either Algonquian or Iroquoian languages.

In the Southeast, the Cherokee were the larg-est group. They, along with the Creek, Choctaw,Natchez, and others, generally built wooden stock-ades around their vil-lages for protection.Women did most of the farming, while menhunted deer, bear, andalligator.

This Folsom point, lying ➤between animal bones, was one of a number ofarrowheads found near thetown of Folsom, New Mexico.

CHAPTER 1 Creating a Nation 99

In the Southwest, the Hohokam and the Anasazieventually disappeared, but their descendants,including the Zuni and the Hopi, continued to farmcorn, beans, and cotton. Around the 1500s, two othergroups—the Apache and the Navajo—came to theSouthwest. The Navajo settled in farming villages,but many of the Apache remained nomadic hunters.

Hunting also sustained the Sioux and other peo-ples who lived on the western Great Plains. They fol-lowed buffalo herds and camped in tepees that theycould easily set up, dismantle, and carry.

Along the Pacific Coast, the Northwest was hometo fishing peoples like the Kwakiutls and theChinook. They caught the plentiful salmon, built

1,000 kilometers0Lambert Azimuthal Equal-Area projection

1,000 miles0

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Gulf of Mexico

Gulf of Alaska

AtlanticOcean

ArcticOcean

PacificOcean

HudsonBay

80°W100°W120°W140°W150°W160°W170°W

50°N

40°N

30°N

20°N

INUIT

INUITDENE

DOGRIB

TLINGIT

HAIDA TSIMSHIAN

SALISH

NOOTKAKOOTENAI

NEZPERCE

PAIUTE

SHOSHONE

POMO

YOKUT

PAPAGO

COCHIMI PIMA

ZACATEC

TOLTEC

NAHUATL(AZTEC) MAYA

COAHUILTEC

APACHE

HOPI

NAVAJO

UTE

COMANCHE

KIOWA

ARAPAHO

IOWA

PAWNEE

CHEYENNEDAKOTA(SIOUX)

OJIBWA(CHIPPEWA)

CROW

ASSINIBOINE

BLACKFOOT

CREE

CHIPWYANINUIT

NASKAPI

MONTAGNAISBEOTHUK

MICMACALGONQUIAN

CREE

ABENAKI

SAUK

ILLINOIS

POTAWATOMI

SHAWNEE

CHEROKEECHICKASAW

CREEKCHOCTAW

CALUSA LUCAYO

CIBONEY SUB TAINOTAINO

TUSCARORA

DELAWARE

PEQUOTSUSQUEHANNOCK

NARRAGANSETIROQUOIS

MOHAWKONONDAGA

CAYUGASENECA

ONEIDA

CHINOOK

ZUNI

MIAMI

Agriculture

Fishing

Hunting

Hunting-Gathering

Uninhabited

Native American Cultures, Including Mesoamerica,500 B.C.–A.D. 1500

Northeasternlonghouse

Southwest pueblo

1. Interpreting Maps What was the mainfood source for the Northwest?

2. Applying Geography Skills Why wereGreat Plains peoples nomadic?

wooden houses and canoes, and crafted ceremonialtotem poles from the trunks of redwood and cedartrees. To the south, in what is today centralCalifornia, groups such as the Pomo trapped smallgame and gathered acorns. Farther inland lived otherhunter-gatherer groups like the Nez Perce, theYakima, the Ute, and the Shoshone.

Meanwhile, in the Far North region from Alaska toGreenland, the Inuit and the Aleut hunted seals, wal-ruses, whales, polar bears, and caribou. They adaptedto their harsh environment by inventing tools such asthe harpoon, kayak, dogsled, and oil lamp.

By the 1500s, Native Americans had established awide array of cultures and languages. They had alsodeveloped economies and lifestyles suited to theirparticular environments.

Explaining How did climate andfood sources help shape Native American lifestyles?

European Explorations

European countries began to explore theworld and established colonies in the Americas.

Reading Connection Have you tried new foods fromother parts of the country or the world? Read on to learn aboutthe exchange of foods after European explorers came to America.

As the people of Europe emerged from the MiddleAges, they became interested in Asia, the source ofspices, perfumes, fine silks, and jewels. The hope tofind a sailing route to Asia that would bypass mer-chants and traders from Italy and the Middle Eastmotivated the rulers of Portugal, Spain, France, andEngland. Equipped with new navigational tools andnewly designed ships, the Portuguese took the leadin exploration in the late 1400s.

Columbus’s Voyages The Spanish monarchs,meanwhile, had agreed to fund an expedition byChristopher Columbus, an Italian sea captain.Columbus was convinced that he could reach Asiaby sailing west across the Atlantic Ocean. In August1492, Columbus and his crew set off in three ships—the Niña, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria. After a har-rowing voyage, they probably landed on present-daySan Salvador Island.

Christopher Columbus was not the first Europeanto set foot in the Americas. A group of Vikings fromScandinavia, led by Leif Ericsson, had visited north-eastern Canada around A.D. 1000. It was Columbus,

Reading Check

however, who launched a wave of European explo-ration and settlement. Columbus made three morevoyages, sailing to the Caribbean and along theCentral and South American coasts. He claimed thenew lands for Spain, believing all the time that he wasin Asia.

Continuing Expeditions Europeans soon realizedthat Columbus had not reached Asia but a part of theglobe unknown to Europeans. They named the newcontinent America in honor of Amerigo Vespucci, whoexplored the South American coastline for Portugal.

The 1494 Treaty of Tordesillas had confirmedSpain’s right to most of the newly discovered landsof America, and now explorers paved the way for theSpanish Empire in the Americas. With their superiorweapons, the Spanish began to conquer the local peo-ples and build settlements. Hernán Cortés defeatedthe Aztec in Mexico in 1521. Francisco Pizarro con-quered the Inca in Peru eleven years later. OtherSpaniards led forces into what is now the UnitedStates. Juan Ponce de Leon, for example, claimedFlorida, and Francisco Vásquez de Coronadoexplored the Southwest, while Hernando de Sototraveled through the Southeast and became the firstEuropean to see the Mississippi River.

The Spanish soon controlled an immense territorythat stretched from the Florida peninsula toCalifornia and down into South America. Settlersfarmed the land, established mines and cattleranches, and tried to spread the Catholic faith. Adobemissions, where priests lived alongside NativeAmerican converts in the 1600s and 1700s, still standin the American Southwest today.

Spanish armorand helmet


Cultural Changes The arrival of Europeans in theAmericas altered life for everyone. Native Americansintroduced the Europeans to new farming methodsand foods like corn, potatoes, squash, pumpkins,beans, and chocolate, as well as tobacco and chewinggum. Europeans also adopted many NativeAmerican inventions, including canoes, snowshoes,and ponchos.

Meanwhile, the Europeans introduced NativeAmericans to wheat, rice, coffee, bananas, citrusfruits, and domestic livestock such as chickens, cattle,pigs, sheep, and horses. In addition, NativeAmericans acquired new technologies, includingfirearms and better metalworking and shipbuildingmethods. Along with these beneficial imports, how-ever, came invisible and deadly ones—germs thatcause diseases. Native Americans had never beforebeen exposed to influenza, measles, chicken pox,mumps, typhus, or smallpox. With no immunity, mil-lions of Native Americans died in widespread epi-demics. Military conquests also devastated NativeAmericans, costing them their lands and their tradi-tional ways of life.

Identifying Why did millions ofNative Americans die as a result of contact with Europeans?

Reading Check

Early French and English Settlement

The French and English settled in NorthAmerica, and English colonists began their own localgovernments.

Reading Connection Some people today dream aboutsettling new frontiers such as oceans or other planets. Read onto learn what brought the first French and English settlers toNorth America.

Soon after Columbus made his historic voyage,France and England began exploring the new lands.These countries directed their efforts to the easternpart of North America. England sent John Cabot onexpeditions in 1497 and 1498. France funded trips byGiovanni da Verrazano and Jacques Cartier in the early1500s. Yet it was not until the 1600s that the French andthe English succeeded in establishing colonies.

New France In 1608 French geographer Samuel deChamplain founded the outpost of Quebec. Insteadof having settlers clear land and build farms, thebackers of New France sought profits from fur.Frenchmen began a brisk trade with NativeAmericans. Quebec eventually became the capital ofNew France, a sparsely settled colony of fur tradersand Jesuit missionaries.

In the late 1600s, France focused on increasing thepopulation and size of the colony. Explorers LouisJoliet and Jacques Marquette found the MississippiRiver, and René-Robert Cavalier de La Salle followedthe Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico. The Frenchclaimed the region and named it Louisiana. Settlersfounded the towns of New Orleans, Biloxi, andMobile, and they began growing sugar, rice, andtobacco. The French also began importing enslavedAfricans to do the hard field work that these labor-intensive crops required.

Jamestown A year before the French foundedQuebec, the English established their first lastingsettlement in Virginia. The colony, Jamestown,was funded by a joint-stock company, a group ofprivate investors who pooled their money tosupport big projects. These investors, along withmany others in business and government, sawcolonies as vital sources of raw materials and as

markets for English goods.Despite early troubles, the settlers persevered

with the help of the Powhatan Confederacy, a groupof local Native Americans. Within a few years, theybegan to prosper by growing tobacco. Newcomers


Critical Leadership Captain JohnSmith helped save early Jamestown bytrading with local Native Americans. SidneyKing painted its fort as it might haveappeared around 1607. Why do you thinkthe fort was set up with only three sides?

History

arrived, attracted by the promise of land ownership.In 1619 colonists formed an assembly, the House orBurgesses, to make their own laws.

With encouragement of the Virginia Company, by1622 more than 4,500 settlers immigrated to Virginia.This expansion alarmed Native Americans, whoattacked Jamestown in 1622. An English courtblamed the Company’s policies for the high deathrate and revoked its charter. Virginia became a royalcolony run by a governor appointed by the king.

The Pilgrims in Plymouth Colony Not all set-tlers came for economic gain. King James was perse-cuting a group of Puritans who were calledSeparatists because they wanted to form their owncongregations separate from the Anglican Church,the official church of England. These Separatistshoped to be able to worship freely in America.

In 1620 a small band of Separatists, who came tobe known as Pilgrims, headed for Virginia on theMayflower. During the voyage, a storm blew the shipoff its course. The Pilgrims finally dropped anchor offthe coast of Cape Cod. Since they would be landingin territory without an English government, theydrew up a plan for self-government called theMayflower Compact. ; (See page 985 for an excerpt fromthe Mayflower Compact.)

The settlers quickly built homes and befriendedthe local Wampanoag people. The following autumn,the Pilgrims joined with the Wampanoag in a harvestcelebration—the first Thanksgiving.

Ten years later, as the persecution of Puritansincreased, another group of Puritans arrived inMassachusetts Bay with a charter for a new colony. Theyfounded several towns, including Boston. A depres-sion of England’s wool industry encouraged more people to leave, and Massachusetts expanded rapidly.

The people of Massachusetts set up a representa-tive government, with an elected assembly to makelaws. Government and religion were closely inter-twined. The government collected taxes to supportthe church, and the Puritan leaders of the colony setstrict rules for behavior.

Explaining Why did Englishcolonists come to America?

Reading Check

The Thirteen Colonies

As English settlements grew, colonists devel-oped different forms of government to regulate life intheir communities.

Reading Connection Have you ever been a part of a newgroup or organization? What rules did you draw up? Read on tolearn about new colonies and their new kinds of government.

The Jamestown, Plymouth, and Massachusetts Baycolonies were only the beginning of English settle-ments in the Americas. Although slow at first, over thenext century the English began establishing coloniesall along the eastern shore of the Atlantic Ocean.

New England Puritan efforts in the MassachusettsBay Colony to suppress other religious beliefs led tothe growth of other New England colonies. Oneearly dissenter was a young minister named RogerWilliams. He challenged many Puritan beliefs aswell as the authority of the king to claim NativeAmerican lands. In 1636, after being banned fromMassachusetts, Williams headed south, purchasedland from the Narragansett people, and founded thetown of Providence. There the government had noauthority in religious matters, and different beliefswere tolerated rather than suppressed.

Like Roger Williams, Anne Hutchinson was alsoexiled from Massachusetts because of her religiousviews. Hutchinson and a few followers ended up set-tling near Providence, as did other free-thinkingPuritans over the following years. In 1644 Providencejoined with neighboring towns to become the colonyof Rhode Island and Providence Plantation. Religiousfreedom, with a total separation of church and state,was a key feature of the new colony.


Solemn Signing Tompkins Matteson painted his vision of the MayflowerCompact signing. By signing this document, the Pilgrims wanted to set up alegal basis for their colony. How did the artist try to suggest the serious-ness of the occasion? ; (See page 985 for an excerpt from theMayflower Compact.)

History Through Art

Religion also played a part in the founding ofConnecticut. In 1636 the Reverend Thomas Hookermoved his entire congregation from Massachusetts tothe Connecticut River valley. The group needed moreland to raise cattle, and Hooker disagreed with thepolitical system that allowed only church membersto vote. The new colony came to be calledConnecticut. Three years later, the people adoptedAmerica’s first written constitution, the FundamentalOrders of Connecticut. It allowed all adult men tovote and hold office. ; (See page 986 for more on theFundamental Orders of Connecticut.)

Not everyone who left Massachusetts headed forRhode Island or Connecticut. Some religious dis-senters, along with fishers and fur traders, wentnorth instead. In 1679 a large area north ofMassachusetts became the royal colony of NewHampshire.

New England Puritans valued religious devotion,hard work, and obedience to strict rules regulatingdaily life. Puritan society revolved around town life.Towns included a meetinghouse (church), a school,and a marketplace around an open public area calledthe town common. At town meetings, NewEnglanders would gather to discuss local problemsand issues. These meetings evolved into the localgovernment, with landowners voting on laws andelecting officials to oversee town matters. Yet evenresidents without property could attend a town

meeting and express an opinion. For a peasant backin England, this would have been unthinkable. Thecolonists in New England—and indeed throughoutAmerica—grew used to managing their own affairs,and they came to believe strongly in their right toself-government.

New England’s thin and rocky soil was ill suited forcash crops. Instead, on small farms from Connecticutto Maine, colonists practiced subsistence farming,raising only enough food to feed their families. Themain crop was corn, but farmers also grew othergrains, vegetables, apples, and berries, and they raiseddairy cattle, sheep, and pigs.

It was maritime activity, however, that broughtprosperity to New England. Fishers sold their catchof cod, mackerel, halibut, and herring to othercolonists, Southern Europeans, and people in theCaribbean. Whaling also played a major role in NewEngland’s economy, providing blubber for makingcandles and lamp oil.

A thriving lumber industry developed too. Timberwas plentiful, and lumber was in high demand forfurniture, building materials, and the barrels thatwere used to store and ship almost everything in thecolonial era. Lumbering led to another successfulindustry: shipbuilding. With forests and sawmillsclose to the coast, ships could be built quickly andcheaply. By the 1770s, one out of every three Britishships had been built in America.

i n H i s t o r y

Anne Bradstreet c. 1612–1672

Anne Dudley was born about 1612 in Northampton, England.At the age of 16 she married Simon Bradstreet, and two years latershe accompanied her husband to America. The Bradstreets, travel-ing with John Winthrop’s party, were among the first settlers of theMassachusetts Bay Colony.

In America Anne Bradstreet faced the difficult task of buildinga home in the wilderness. Despite the hard work of raising eightchildren, she found time to write poetry. In 1650 the first editionof her poetry was published in England as The Tenth MuseLately Sprung Up in America. Bradstreet had not anticipated thisrecognition. Her brother-in-law had secretly taken a copy of hermanuscript to a London publisher.

Anne Bradstreet was a devoted supporter of her husband, whobecame a leading political figure in Massachusetts, serving two

terms as governor. During theperiod of the Dominion of NewEngland, he spoke out against theharsh rule of Edmund Andros. In a poem, To My Dear LovingHusband, published after her death, Anne described their relationship:

If ever two were one, thensurely we.

If ever man were loved bywife, then thee;

If ever wife was happy in a man,

Compare with me ye women if you can.

104 CHAPTER 1 Creating a NationCourtesy of The Massachusetts Historical Society

In the early and mid-1700s, the demand for wheatsoared, thanks to a population explosion in Europe.Between 1720 and 1770, wheat prices more than dou-bled in the Middle Colonies, bringing a surge of pros-perity. Europe’s population growth also brought anew wave of immigrants to America, particularly tothe Middle Colonies where land was still available.

Some people who grew wealthy from the wheatboom invested in new businesses. They establishedglass and pottery works and built large gristmillsthat produced vast quantities of flour for export.

The Southern Colonies Farther south, tobaccohelped Virginia to thrive. The colony had been joinedby Maryland, a proprietary colony which began inthe 1630s. A proprietary colony was one owned by anindividual who could govern it any way he wanted,appointing government officials, coining money,imposing taxes, and even raising an army. The ownerof the colony was George Calvert, also known asLord Baltimore. He hoped to make the colony arefuge for Catholics, because they, like the Puritans,were persecuted in England. Most settlers, however,were Protestants. Maryland passed the Toleration Actin 1649, granting religious toleration to all Christiansin the colony.

In the meantime, Virginia continued to thrive.After the end of the English Civil War, though, newcolonies sprang up south of Virginia. In 1663 KingCharles II gave eight friends and political allies a vasttract of land that had been named Carolina. From thestart, Carolina developed as two separate regions.North Carolina was home to a small and scatteredpopulation of farmers who grew tobacco. BecauseNorth Carolina’s coastline made the colony hard toreach, many more settlers came to South Carolina.


Bethlehem, Pennsylvania Laid out along a river with farmsteads on the village outskirts, this town is typical of many in the Middle Colonies. What wasthe region’s main cash crop?

History

Relations of the English settlers with their NativeAmerican neighbors were peaceful most of the time.In 1636 war broke out with the Pequot over thekilling of two Massachusetts traders. For almost thenext 40 years, good relations continued. By the1670s, however, new conflict arose when colonialgovernments demanded that Native Americans fol-low English laws and customs. Tensions touchedoff what came to be called King Philip’s War. Afterthe colonists won the war in 1678, very few NativeAmericans were left in New England.

The Middle Colonies While the English focusedtheir early settlements on Virginia and New England,the Dutch had claimed much of the land south ofConnecticut. In 1609 Henry Hudson, a navigatorhired by Dutch merchants, had discovered what isnow the Hudson River valley in New York. TheDutch called the region New Netherland and estab-lished their main settlement of New Amsterdam onManhattan Island. Dutch policies encouraged immi-gration, and by 1664 New Netherland had becomeEngland’s main rival in North America.

Charles II, who had become king of England in1660 after the English Civil War, decided to act. Heseized New Netherland from the Dutch and grantedthe land to his brother, James, the Duke of York.James held onto the largest portion of the land, whichhe renamed New York. The rest of the land becameNew Jersey, a colony which offered generous landgrants, religious freedom, and the right to have a leg-islative assembly.

In 1681 King Charles agreed to let William Penncreate a new colony south of New York. Pennregarded Pennsylvania as a “holy experiment” wheresettlers would have religious freedom and a voice ingovernment. He particularly wanted to help his fel-low Quakers escape persecution in England. Quakersobjected to all political and religious authority,including obligatory taxes and military service. Theyalso opposed war or violence as a means to settle dis-putes. In Pennsylvania, people of all faiths found asafe haven. A treaty Penn signed in 1682 assuredpeace with a local group of Native Americans. Togive his colony access to the Atlantic Ocean, Pennsoon acquired a strip of coastal land to the southeast.This land later became a colony in its own right—Delaware.

The Middle Colonies were blessed with fertileland and a long growing season. Farmers producedbumper crops of rye, oats, barley, and potatoes. Mostimportant, however, was wheat, which rapidlybecame the region’s main cash crop.

Miriam & Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs, The New York Public Library, Astor Lenox and Tilden Foundation

There they established the community of CharlesTown (Charleston), exported deerskins, and grewrice in the tidal swamps.

The last Southern colony, Georgia, arose south ofthe Carolinas in 1733, based on an idea of JamesOglethorpe, a wealthy member of Parliament.Oglethorpe had been horrified to learn that manypeople in English prisons were jailed simply becausethey could not pay their debts. Oglethorpe askedKing George II for a colony where the poor couldstart over. The king agreed, realizing that in additionto helping those in need, a new Southern colonywould keep Spain from expanding north of Florida.Georgia soon attracted settlers from all over Europe.

As in Jamestown, agriculture was the focus of theSouthern economy. In early colonial days, there wasplenty of land for farmers, but not enough labor towork it. England had the opposite problem—notenough land and high unemployment. The situationled many poor English people to come to America asindentured servants. They signed contracts withAmerican colonists, agreeing to work for four ormore years in return for paid passage to America andfree food, clothing, and shelter. Southern farmers alsorelied on the labor of enslaved Africans, a practicethat grew dramatically as time passed.

The hard lives of enslaved workers and inden-tured servants contrasted sharply with the privilegedlives of the elite. A small number of wealthy colonists

bought most of the land along the rivers and estab-lished large plantations. These large landholders hadenormous economic and political influence. Theyserved in the governing councils and assemblies,commanded the local militias (citizen armies), andbecame county judges. With few towns or roads inthe region, their plantations functioned as self-contained communities.

Although they dominated Southern society, largelandowners were few in number. Most Southernerswere small farmers living inland in the backcountry.They owned modest plots devoted mostly to subsis-tence farming. Another group of colonists were ten-ant farmers—landless settlers who worked fieldsthat they rented from the well-to-do.

By the 1660s, Virginia’s government was domi-nated by wealthy planters led by the governor, SirWilliam Berkeley. Berkeley arranged to restrict vot-ing to property owners, cutting the number of votersin half. Berkeley also exempted himself and his coun-cilors from taxation. These actions angered the back-country farmers and tenant farmers. Yet it was thegovernor’s policies toward Native American landsthat led to a rebellion.

Crisis Over Land Over time, the most importantissue for most colonists was acquiring land. Manyindentured servants and tenant farmers wanted toown farms eventually. Backcountry farmers wantedto expand their holdings. By the 1670s, most land leftwas in areas claimed by Native Americans in thePiedmont, the region of rolling hills between thecoastal plains and the Appalachians. Most wealthyplanters, who lived near the coast, opposed expand-ing Virginia’s territory because they did not want toendanger their plantations by risking war with theNative Americans.

In 1675 war broke out between settlers and aSusquehannock group, but Governor Berkeleyrefused to support further military action. NathanielBacon, a well-to-do but sympathetic planter, took upthe cause of outraged backcountry farmers. Afterorganizing a militia to attack the Native Americans,he ran for office and won a seat in the House ofBurgesses. The assembly immediately authorizedanother attack. It also restored the right to vote to allfree men and took away tax exemptions Berkeley hadgranted to his supporters. Not satisfied with thesereforms, Bacon challenged Berkeley, and a civil warerupted. Bacon’s Rebellion ended suddenly the nextmonth, when Bacon, hiding in a swamp, became sickand died. Without his leadership, his army rapidlydisintegrated, and Berkeley returned to power.

106 CHAPTER 1 Creating a NationPicture Research Consultants

The Ideal Plantation This painting depicts the well-structured plantation as a world unto itself. Centered around the family home, the plantation’s fields,support houses, and merchant ships unite to serve the needs of the plantation.What influence did large landholders have on life in the South?

History Through Art

Bacon’s Rebellion convinced many wealthyplanters that land should be made available to back-country farmers. From the 1680s onward, Virginia’sgovernment generally supported expanding thecolony westward, regardless of the impact onNative Americans.

Bacon’s Rebellion also helped increase Virginia’sreliance on enslaved Africans rather than indenturedservants to work their plantations. Enslaved workersdid not have to be freed and, therefore, would neverneed their own land. In addition, in 1672 King CharlesII granted a charter to the Royal African Company toengage in the slave trade. Planters now found it easierto acquire enslaved people because they no longerhad to go through the Dutch or the Portuguese.Earlier purchases had been difficult because Englishlaws limited trade between the English colonies andother countries. Planters also discovered another eco-nomic advantage to slavery. Because enslavedAfricans, unlike indentured servants, were consid-ered property, planters could use them as collateral toborrow money and expand their plantations.

Analyzing How did the types ofsettlements influence the way each was governed?

A Diverse Society

The different colonies created new socialstructures that were more open than those of aristo-cratic Europe.

Reading Connection Think about the social structure inyour school, from the principal down to you, the student. Readon to learn about the social structure that developed in thegrowing English settlements.

The increasing population of enslaved Africans,along with a rise in trade, changed colonial society.This brought with it a growth of cities, increased immi-gration, and changes in status for women and Africans.

Trade and the Rise of Cities In the early colonialperiod, settlers produced few goods that Englandwanted in exchange for the goods they purchased.Instead, colonial merchants developed systems oftriangular trade involving exchanges of goodsamong the colonies, England, Caribbean sugarplanters, and Africa.

This trade brought great wealth for merchants, whobegan to build factories. It also fostered the growth ofcities in the North. By 1760 the Middle Colonies

Reading Check

boasted the two largest cities in America: Philadelphia,with 30,000 people, and New York with 25,000.

In these cities, a new society with distinct socialclasses developed. At the top of the hierarchy were asmall number of wealthy merchants who controlledtrade. Below them, artisans, or skilled workers, madeup nearly half of the urban population in colonialtimes. Innkeepers and retailers with their own busi-nesses held a similar status. The lower class consistedof people without skills or property. Below them instatus were indentured servants and enslavedAfricans. Although relatively few enslaved peoplelived in the North, many dwelled in the cities there,making up 10 to 20 percent of the urban population.

Enslaved Africans No group in the Americancolonies endured lower status or more hardshipthan enslaved Africans. Africans had arrived inVirginia as early as 1619, when they were regardedas “Christian servants.” By about 1775, these unwill-ing immigrants and their descendants numberedabout 540,000 in all colonies, roughly 20 percent ofthe colonial population. Throughout the colonies,laws called slave codes kept African captives fromowning property, receiving an education, movingabout freely, or meeting in large groups.

Most enslaved Africans lived on Southern planta-tions, where they worked long days and were sub-jected to beatings and brandings by planters. Plantersalso controlled enslaved Africans by threatening to sellthem away from their families. Family and religion


Port of Boston As one of the main cities in the colonies, Boston was a center of activity in colonial America. It was a central point for the anger overthe creation of the Dominion of New England.

helped enslaved Africans maintain their dignity. Someresisted by escaping to the North, where slavery wasnot as widespread as in the South; others refused towork hard or lost their tools.

Immigrants While enslaved Africans were broughtto America against their will, Europeans cameeagerly. Between 1700 and 1775, hundreds of thou-sands of free white immigrants streamed in. Mostsettled in the Middle Colonies, especiallyPennsylvania. Among them were Germans fleeingreligious wars back home and Scotch-Irish escapinghigh taxes, poor harvests, and religious discrimina-tion in Ireland. Jews migrated to America for reli-gious reasons too. By 1776 approximately 1,500 Jewslived in the colonies, mainly in the cities of NewYork, Philadelphia, Charleston, Savannah, andNewport. They were allowed to worship freely, butthey could not vote or hold public office.

Women Like Jews, women did not receive equalrights in colonial America. At first, married womencould not legally own property or make contracts orwills. Husbands were the sole guardians of the chil-dren and were allowed to physically discipline boththeir children and their wives. Single women andwidows had more rights. They could own and man-age property, file lawsuits, and run businesses. In the1700s, the status of married women improved.Despite legal limitations, many women worked out-side their homes.

Identifying What groups faced dis-crimination in colonial times?

Reading Check


Checking for Understanding1. Vocabulary Define: civilization, culture,

joint-stock company, immigrate,Pilgrim, proprietary colony, indenturedservant, subsistence farming, triangulartrade, hierarchy, slave code.

2. People and Terms Identify:Christopher Columbus, William Penn.

3. Places Locate: Jamestown.4. Summarize why settlers came to

Jamestown and Plymouth colony.

Reviewing Big Ideas5. Describing What are the different

ways in which early settlers in theEnglish colonies developed new and unique forms of government?

Critical Thinking6. Analyzing What role did religion play

in the founding of English colonies?7. Evaluating How

did geography influence the way theEnglish colonies developed?

8. Organizing Use a graphic organizersimilar to the one below to brieflyexplain how the English colonies cameinto being.

Analyzing Visuals9. Examining Art Study the painting of

the signing of the Mayflower Compacton page 103. Do you think the artist’sdepiction of the people and the ship isaccurate, considering that they havejust completed a long journey? Why orwhy not?

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1. Interpreting Maps How many colonieswere in New England in 1750?

2. Applying Geography Skills Which town orcity is located the farthest west? Which townor city is located the farthest east?

Colony Description of Founding

Writing About History10. Descriptive Writing Take on the role

of a settler in Jamestown. Write a letterto someone back in England describingthe hardships you faced after arrivingat the colony.

CA 11WS1.1; 11WA2.1; 11WA2.4

For help with the concepts in this section of AmericanVision: Modern Times go to andclick on Study Central.

tav.mt.glencoe.com

Study CentralHISTORY


Guide to Reading

ConnectionIn the previous section, you learnedabout the colonial development of NorthAmerica. In this section, you will discoverwhy American colonists became dissatis-fied with Britain’s rule and fought to gainindependence.

• The colonists learned about the ideas ofnatural rights and justified revolutions,while British mercantilist policies lim-ited their freedom. (p. 110)

• The ideas of the Enlightenment and theGreat Awakening made the colonistsquestion their role as subjects of theEnglish monarch. (p. 111)

• Unpopular British laws and taxes led tocolonial protests and violence. (p. 113)

• When Britain introduced new laws toassert its authority, the colonists decidedto declare their independence. (p. 114)

• With the help of their allies, theAmericans defeated the British in theRevolutionary War. (p. 117)

Content Vocabularymercantilism, Enlightenment, GreatAwakening, customs duty, committee ofcorrespondence, minuteman

Academic Vocabularylogic, exports, communicate

People and Terms to IdentifyJohn Locke, Stamp Act, Townshend Acts,Intolerable Acts, George Washington,Declaration of Independence

Places to LocateLexington, Concord, Yorktown

Reading Objectives• Explain how the Enlightenment and

the Great Awakening influencedAmerican thinking.

• Discuss how the growing tensionsbetween England and the colonies ledto a revolution and independence.

Reading StrategyOrganizing Complete a graphic organ-izer similar to the one below to describethe causes that led the colonies todeclare their independence.

Preview of Events

Dissent andIndependence

1690 Two Treatises ofGovernment published

c. 1740 Great Awakeningpeaks

1765 Stamp Act passed

✦1690 ✦1720 ✦1750 ✦1780

1776 Declaration of Independencedrafted and signed


Causes

Declarationof Independence

of the Second Vatican Council, and the rise of Christianfundamentalism in current times.

. The Big Idea ,The quest for equality is eternal. Frustrated by British policies and limitedrights, American colonists began demanding greater freedom. Fueled by theEnlightenment and the Great Awakening, many colonists protested the Englishmonarch’s policies. Angered by the protests, Britain increased its control over thecolonies. Many colonists responded by declaring independence, while othersremained loyal to Britain. The Americans won the Revolutionary War, and Britainrecognized the United States of America as an independent nation.


11.1.1 Describe the Enlightenmentand the rise of democratic ideas as

the context in which the nation wasfounded.

11.1.2 Analyze the ideological origins ofthe American Revolution, the Founding

Fathers’ philosophy of divinely bestowedunalienable natural rights, the debates

on the drafting and ratification of theConstitution, and the addition of the Bill

of Rights.

11.3.2 Analyze the great religious revivalsand the leaders involved in them, including

the First Great Awakening, the Second GreatAwakening, the Civil War revivals, the Social

Gospel Movement, the rise of Christian liberaltheology in the nineteenth century, the impact

Mercantilism and the Glorious Revolution

The colonists learned about the ideas of nat-ural rights and justified revolutions, while British mer-cantilist policies limited their freedom.

Reading Connection What rights do you have under theBill of Rights? Read on to learn about the English Bill of Rights.

The triangular trade had allowed colonists toexpand their trade and their colonies. Soon, however,the English Parliament enacted laws that limited thecolonies while furthering England’s economicinterests.

In the second half of the 1600s and the early 1700s,the British Parliament passed a series of laws thatrestricted and controlled colonial manufacturing. Oneof these laws affected the hat industry and anotheraffected the iron industry. These laws annoyed manycolonists, including Benjamin Franklin, who argued:

“The hatters of England have prevailed to obtain anact in their own favor restraining that manufacture inAmerica. . . . In the same manner have a few nail mak-ers and a still smaller body of steelmakers (perhapsthere are not half a dozen of these in England) pre-vailed totally to forbid by an act of Parliament theerecting of slitting mills or steel furnaces in America;that Americans may be obliged to take all their nailsfor their buildings and steel for their tools from theseartificers [craft workers].”

—quoted in The Rise of American Civilization

England’s policies were based on the idea that thepurpose of colonies was to help the country increase itswealth. The colonists soon grew frustrated with suchlimits, but at the same time were encouraged by eventsin England that granted the colonies more freedoms.

Mercantilism Mercantilism is a set of ideas aboutthe world economy, which were popular in the 1600sand 1700s. Mercantilists believed that to becomewealthy and powerful, a country had to accumulategold and silver by selling more goods to other coun-tries than it bought from them. Mercantilists alsoargued that a country should be self-sufficient in rawmaterials. It would buy raw materials from itscolonies and sell them manufactured goods in return.

Mercantilism gave colonies a reliable market forsome of their raw materials and was an eager supplierof manufactured goods. At the same time, it pre-vented colonies from selling goods to other nations,even if they could get a better price. Furthermore, if a colony produced nothing the home countryneeded, it could not acquire gold or silver to buymanufactured goods.

When Charles II assumed the throne in 1660, heand his advisers were determined to use the coloniesto generate wealth for England. Charles askedParliament to pass the Navigation Acts of 1660,requiring that all goods shipped to and from thecolonies be carried on English ships. Specific prod-ucts, including the major products that earned moneyfor the colonies, could be sold only to England orother English colonies. Three years later, in 1663,Parliament passed another navigation act, the StapleAct. It required all colonial imports to come throughEngland. Merchants bringing foreign goods to thecolonies had to stop in England, pay taxes, and thenship the goods out again on English ships. Thisincreased the price of the goods in the colonies.

Frustration with the Navigation Acts encouragedcolonial merchants to break the laws. New Englandmerchants routinely smuggled goods to Europe, theCaribbean, and Africa. To control the colonies, in1684 Charles II deprived Massachusetts of its charterand declared it a royal colony. James II, who suc-ceeded his brother Charles on the English throne in1685, went even further by creating a new royalprovince called the Dominion of New England. Atfirst it included Massachusetts, Plymouth, andRhode Island, but later Connecticut, New Jersey, andNew York were added. Sir Edmund Andros, theDominion’s first governor-general, quickly madehimself unpopular by levying new taxes, rigorouslyenforcing the Navigation Acts, and attempting toundermine the authority of the Puritan Church.

BenjaminFranklin

➤

The Glorious Revolution of 1688 While Androswas angering New England colonists, King James IIwas offending many in England by disregardingParliament, revoking the charters of many Englishtowns, and converting to Catholicism. The birth ofJames’s son in 1688 triggered protests against aCatholic heir. To prevent a Catholic dynasty,Parliament invited James’s Protestant daughter Maryand her Dutch husband, William of Orange, to claimthe throne. James fled, and William and Marybecame the new rulers. This bloodless change ofpower is known as the Glorious Revolution.

Before assuming the throne, William and Maryhad to swear their acceptance of the English Bill ofRights. This document, written in 1689, said mon-archs could not suspend Parliament’s laws or createtheir own courts, nor could they impose taxes orraise an army without Parliament’s consent. The Billof Rights also guaranteed freedom of speech withinParliament, banned excessive bail and cruel andunusual punishments, and guaranteed every Englishsubject the right to an impartial jury in legal cases.; (See page 987 for an excerpt from the English Bill of Rights.)

The English Bill of Rights later influencedAmerican government. Almost immediately Bostoncolonists ousted Governor-General Andros. Williamand Mary then permitted Rhode Island andConnecticut to resume their previous forms of govern-ment, and they issued a new charter for Massachusettsin 1691. The new charter combined MassachusettsBay Colony, Plymouth Colony, and Maine into theroyal colony of Massachusetts. The king retained thepower to appoint a governor, but he restored thecolonists’ right to elect an assembly. Voters no longerhad to belong to a Puritan congregation, andAnglicans there were granted freedom of worship.

John Locke’s Political Theories The GloriousRevolution had another important legacy. It sug-gested there were times when revolution was justi-fied. In 1690 John Locke’s Two Treatises of Governmentwas published on this subject. ; (See page 988 for anexcerpt from the Two Treatises.) Locke argued that amonarch’s right to rule came from the people. Allpeople, he said, were born with certain natural rights,including the right to life, liberty, and property.Because their rights were not safe in the state ofnature in which people originally lived, people hadcome together to create a government. In effect, theyhad made a contract—they agreed to obey the gov-ernment’s laws, and the government agreed touphold their rights. If a ruler violated those rights, thepeople were justified in rebelling. Locke’s ideas struck

a chord with American colonists. When ThomasJefferson drafted the Declaration of Independence in1776, he relied upon the words and ideas of JohnLocke. The colonists understood Locke’s “naturalrights” to be the specific rights English people haddeveloped over the centuries and that were referredto in documents such as the Magna Carta and theEnglish Bill of Rights. ; (See page 984 for an excerpt fromthe Magna Carta.)

Examining In what ways did theNavigation Acts affect trade in the colonies?

The Enlightenment and the Great Awakening

The ideas of the Enlightenment and theGreat Awakening made the colonists question their roleas subjects of the English monarch.

Reading Connection Have you ever read a book thatchanged the way you think about a subject? Read on to learnhow two cultural movements influenced the colonists.

The English Bill of Rights was not the only set ofideas that influenced the colonists. During the 1700s,America saw the emergence of two great culturalmovements. One championed human reason and sci-ence as a means of learning truth, while the otherstressed an intense, personal relationship with God.Both challenged traditional authorities.

Reading Check


John Locke

➤

The Enlightenment During the late 1600s and1700s in Europe, a period known as the age ofEnlightenment, philosophers put forth the theorythat both the physical world and human nature oper-ated in an orderly way according to natural laws.Furthermore, they believed anyone could figure outthese laws by using reason and logic.

One of the leading Enlightenment writers wasJohn Locke. His contract theory of government is anexample of Enlightenment thinking. Locke’s views ofhuman nature also appealed to many Americans. Inhis Essay on Human Understanding, Locke argued thatcontrary to what the Church taught, people were notborn sinful. Instead their minds were blank slatesthat society and education could shape for the better.These ideas that all people have rights and that soci-ety can be improved became core beliefs in Americansociety.

French thinker Jean Jacques Rousseau carriedthese ideas further. In The Social Contract, he arguedthat a government should be formed by the consentof the people, who would then make their own laws.Another influential Enlightenment writer was BaronMontesquieu. In his work Spirit of the Laws, pub-lished in 1748, Montesquieu suggested that therewere three types of political power—executive, leg-islative, and judicial. These powers should be sepa-rated into different branches of the government toprotect the liberty of the people. The different

branches would provide checks and balancesagainst each other and would prevent the government from abusing its authority.Montesquieu’s ideas influenced many of theleaders who wrote the American Constitution.

The Great Awakening While some Ameri-cans turned away from a religious worldviewin the 1700s, others renewed their Christianfaith. Throughout the colonies, ministers heldrevivals—large public meetings for preachingand prayer—where they stressed piety andbeing “born again,” or emotionally uniting withGod. This widespread resurgence of religiousfervor is known as the Great Awakening.

The Great Awakening reached its heightaround 1740 with the fiery preaching of Jonathan

Edwards and George Whitefield. Churches soon split into factions over a movement called pietism,which stressed an individual’s devoutness. Those who embraced the new ideas—including Baptists,Presbyterians, and Methodists—won many converts,while older, more traditional churches lost members.

In the South, the Baptists gained a strong follow-ing among poor farmers. Baptists also welcomedenslaved Africans at their revivals and condemnedthe brutality of slavery. Hundreds of Africans joinedBaptist congregations and listened to sermons thattaught that all people were equal before God. Despiteviolent attempts by planters to break up Baptistmeetings, about 20 percent of Virginia’s whites andthousands of enslaved Africans had become Baptistsby 1775.

A Powerful Legacy The Enlightenment and theGreat Awakening had different origins and direc-tions. Both movements, though, emphasized an indi-vidualism that inclined American colonists towardpolitical independence. The Enlightenment providedthe supporting arguments against British rule. TheGreat Awakening undermined allegiance to tradi-tional authority.

Determining Cause and EffectHow did the Enlightenment and the Great Awakening affect theestablished order?

Reading Check


The Great Awakening George Whitefield, pictured here stand-ing, was one of the most famous ministers of the colonial religiousrevival. What effect did the Great Awakening have onAmericans?

History Through Art

Growing Rebelliousness

Unpopular British laws and taxes led to colo-nial protests and violence.

Reading Connection Have you ever read letters to theeditor of your local newspaper protesting some local policies?Read on to learn how the colonists began to protest againstunpopular taxes.

Britain and France struggled for dominance on theNorth American continent. Whenever the two coun-tries were at war, their colonies went to war as well.In 1754 such a conflict began in America.

The French and Indian War In the 1740s, GreatBritain became interested in the Ohio River valley. Sodid their long-standing rivals, the French. Beforelong, fighting broke out, and the French, with helpfrom their Native American allies, took temporarycontrol of the region.

From 1754 to 1759, the so-called French and IndianWar raged along the North American frontier. Thefighting between Great Britain and France also spreadto Europe, where it was known as the Seven Years’War. In the end, the British triumphed. The Treaty ofParis of 1763 made Great Britain the dominant powerin North America. Its empire now included NewFrance and all of Louisiana east of the Mississippi,except New Orleans. Britain also gained Florida fromSpain, which had allied itself with France. However,to make up for Spain’s loss, France gave the Spanishwestern Louisiana and New Orleans.

Unpopular Regulations Great Britain’s victoryleft it with steep debts to repay and new territories togovern and defend. Many British leaders thoughtthat the colonies should share in these costs. TheAmerican colonists did not like the policies Britainadopted to solve its financial problems.

The first troubles came with passage of theProclamation Act of 1763. This act tried to halt colo-nial expansion into Native American lands west ofthe Appalachian Mountains. King George III wantedto avoid another costly war with the NativeAmericans, but the colonists who had fought theFrench and Indian War to secure access to the OhioRiver valley were enraged.

While western farmers denounced the Procla-mation Act, eastern merchants objected to new taxpolicies. The British government had discovered that

the colonists were smuggling goods without payingcustoms duties—taxes on imports and exports.Britain tightened customs control and began intro-ducing other unpopular measures. To bring in newrevenue, the Sugar Act of 1764 raised taxes onimports of raw sugar and molasses. It also placednew taxes on silk, wine, coffee, and indigo. To makethe colonists contribute to their own defense, theQuartering Act of 1765 obligated them to provideshelter for British troops.

Nothing, however, outraged the colonists more thanthe Stamp Act of 1765. The act required stamps to bebought and placed on most printed materials, fromnewspapers and legal documents to diplomas andplaying cards. Unlike taxes on trade, this was a directtax—the first Britain had ever placed on the colonists.Opposition was swift. Editorials, pamphlets, andspeeches poured out against the tax. Groups calling


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The Proclamation of 1763

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1. Interpreting Maps What physical barrier follows theapproximate boundary set by the Proclamation of 1763?

2. Applying Geography Skills Why do you think colonistswanted to settle west of the boundary line?

themselves the Sons of Liberty organized outdoormeetings and protests and tried to intimidate stampdistributors. In October 1765, representatives from ninecolonies met for what became known as the Stamp ActCongress. Together, they issued the Declaration ofRights and Grievances, arguing that only the colonists’political representatives, and not Parliament, had theright to tax them. “No taxation without representation”became a popular catch-phrase.

On November 1, when the Stamp Act took effect,the colonists ignored it. They began to boycott allgoods made in Britain, refusing to drink British tea orbuy British cloth. Their strategy paid off. Merchantsin England saw sales plunge, and thousands of work-ers lost their jobs. Under pressure, British lawmakersrepealed the Stamp Act in 1766.

The Townshend Acts During the Stamp Act crisis,Britain’s financial problems worsened. To raise moremoney from the colonies, Parliament passed newmeasures in 1767. These came to be called theTownshend Acts, after Charles Townshend, the head

of Britain’s treasury. The Townshend Acts put newcustoms duties on glass, lead, paper, paint, and teaimported into the colonies. They also gave customsofficers new powers to help them arrest smugglers.

The Townshend Acts stirred a heated outcry. InMassachusetts, Sam Adams and James Otis led theresistance; in Virginia, the leading protestorsincluded George Washington, Patrick Henry, andThomas Jefferson. When the assemblies of bothcolonies passed statements challenging Britain’sright to tax them, Parliament dissolved their assem-blies. The colonists remained undeterred. Merchantsin Boston, New York, and Philadelphia united in aboycott against British goods. In 1769 colonialimports from Britain declined sharply from whatthey had been in 1768.

On March 5, 1770, anger turned to violence inBoston. A crowd of colonists began taunting andthrowing snowballs at a British soldier guarding acustoms house. He called for help, and as jostlingand shoving ensued, the British fired shots and fivecolonists lay dead. The Boston Massacre, as the inci-dent became known, might well have initiated moreviolence. Within weeks, though, tensions werecalmed by news that the British had repealed almostall of the Townshend Acts. Parliament kept one tax—on tea—to uphold its right to tax the colonies. At thesame time, it allowed the colonial assemblies toresume meeting. Peace and stability returned to thecolonies, at least temporarily.

Summarizing What disagree-ments arose between Britain and the colonies in the 1700s?

The Road to War

When Britain introduced new laws to assertits authority, the colonists decided to declare their inde-pendence.

Reading Connection Have you ever wondered how thecolonists must have felt as they decided to defy Parliament?Read on to learn about the growing discontent of the colonists.

The repeal of the Townshend Acts in 1770 broughtcalm to the colonies for a time. Soon, however, newBritish policies again enraged American colonistsand led them to declare their independence.

The Colonists Defy Britain After trade withEngland had resumed, so had smuggling. Whensome 150 colonists seized and burned the stranded

Reading Check


Causes and Effects of Tensions With Britain

Causes

Effects

• 1764, Sugar Act• 1765, Stamp Act • 1767, Townshend Acts• 1773, Tea Act• 1774, Coercive Acts

• Colonists protest that their rights havebeen violated.

• Nine colonies hold Stamp Act Congress.

• Colonists boycott British goods.• Sons and Daughters of Liberty

formed.• Tea dumped into Boston Harbor

during the “Boston Tea Party.”• Twelve colonies attend the

Continental Congress.

Parliament’s efforts to tax the colonists led to growingprotests in the colonies.

Analyzing Information If you had been a colonist, howwould you have reacted to these taxes? Why?

customs ship Gaspee, the British gave investigatorsthe authority to bring suspects back to England fortrial. Colonists thought this denied them the right to a trial by a jury of their peers. Following a sugges-tion by Thomas Jefferson, they created committees ofcorrespondence to communicate with the othercolonies about British activities. The committees ofcorrespondence helped unify the colonies and shapepublic opinion. They also helped colonial leaderscoordinate strategies for resisting the British.

In May 1773, Parliament passed the Tea Act, furtherigniting the flames of rebellion. The Tea Act createdfavorable business terms for the struggling British EastIndia Company. American merchants, who feared theywould be squeezed out of business, were outraged.That fall, when new shipments of British tea arrived inAmerican harbors, colonists in New York, Philadel-phia, and Charleston blocked its delivery. Bostonianswent one step further. On the night before the tea wasto be unloaded, approximately 150 men boarded theships. They dumped 342 chests of tea overboard as sev-eral thousand people on shore cheered. The raid cameto be called the Boston Tea Party.

The Boston Tea Party outraged the British. In thespring of 1774, Parliament passed new laws that cameto be known as the Coercive Acts to punishMassachusetts and dissuade other colonies from chal-lenging British authority. One law shut down Boston’sport until the city paid for the destroyed tea. Otherlaws banned most town meetings and expanded thepowers of the royally appointed governor, GeneralThomas Gage. To enforce the acts, the king stationed2,000 troops in New England.

A few months later the British introduced theQuebec Act, which extended Quebec’s boundaries toinclude much of what is today Ohio, Illinois,Michigan, Indiana, and Wisconsin. If colonistsmoved west into that territory, they would have noelected assembly. The Quebec Act, coming so soonafter the Coercive Acts, seemed to signal Britain’sdesire to seize control of colonial governments.

Colonists wasted no time in protesting theIntolerable Acts, as they came to be known. In June1774, after the Virginia governor had suspended theHouse of Burgesses, the Massachusetts assembly sug-gested that representatives from all the colonies gatherto discuss how to proceed. The First ContinentalCongress met in Philadelphia on September 5. The 55delegates, who came from each of the 12 coloniesexcept Georgia, debated a variety of ideas. Finally theyapproved a plan to boycott British goods. They alsoagreed to hold a second Continental Congress in May1775 if the crisis remained unresolved.


Tea Tantrum In December 1773, colonists in Boston took matters into theirown hands and dumped hated British tea into Boston Harbor. Why did Bostontea merchants object so strongly to the Tea Act?

History

The Revolution Begins Meanwhile, Great Britainhad suspended the Massachusetts assembly.Massachusetts lawmakers responded by regroupingand naming John Hancock as their leader. He became,in effect, a rival governor to General Gage. A full-scalerebellion was now under way. The Massachusettsmilitia began to drill and practice shooting. The townof Concord created a special unit of minutemen whowere trained and ready to “stand at a minute’s warn-ing in case of alarm.” Through the summer and fall of1774, colonists prepared for a fight.

Not everyone favored resistance. Although manycolonists disagreed with Parliament’s policies, theystill felt a strong sense of loyalty to the king andbelieved British law should be upheld. Americanswho backed Britain came to be known as Loyalists,or Tories. On the other side were the Patriots, orWhigs, who believed the British had become tyrants.The Patriots dominated in New England andVirginia, while the Loyalists had a strong followingin Georgia, the Carolinas, and New York.

In April 1775, General Gage decided to seizePatriot arms and ammunition being stored in

Concord. On the night of April 18, about 700 Britishtroops secretly set out from nearby Boston. Patriotleaders heard about the plan and sent messengers,including Paul Revere, to spread the alarm. When theBritish reached Lexington, a town on the way toConcord, they found 70 minutemen lined up waitingfor them. No one knows who fired the first shot, butwhen the smoke cleared, 8 minutemen lay dead and10 more were wounded.

The British then headed to Concord, only to findmost of the military supplies already removed. Whenthey were forced to retreat by 400 colonial militia-men, militia members and farmers in the area fired atthem from behind trees, stone walls, barns, andhouses on their way back to Boston. As news spreadof the fighting at Lexington and Concord, militiaraced from all over New England to help. By May1775, militia troops had surrounded Boston, trappingthe British inside.

Three weeks after the battles, the Second Conti-nental Congress met again and voted to “adopt” themilitia surrounding Boston. George Washingtonbecame general and commander in chief of this

Continental Army. Before Washington could reachhis troops, though, the militia was tested again. In theBattle of Bunker Hill it turned back two Britishadvances before running out of ammunition. The sit-uation returned to a stalemate, with Boston stillunder siege. Yet the battle helped to build Americanconfidence. It showed that the largely untrained colo-nial militia could stand up to one of the world’s mostfeared armies.

The Decision for Independence Despite theonset of fighting, many colonists were still not pre-pared to break away from Great Britain. In July 1775,the Continental Congress sent King George III a docu-ment known as the Olive Branch Petition. The peti-tion asserted the colonists’ loyalty to the king andurged him to resolve their grievances peacefully. KingGeorge not only rejected the petition, but he declaredthe colonies to be “open and avowed enemies.”

With no compromise likely, the fighting spread.The Continental Congress established a navy andbegan seizing British merchant ships. Patriotsinvaded Canada and faced off against British and


The Declaration of IndependenceHad Condemned Slavery?

In 1776 the Continental Congress chose a com-mittee to draft the Declaration of Independence.The committee included Thomas Jefferson, JohnAdams, Roger Sherman, Benjamin Franklin, andRobert Livingston. Jefferson later recalled the fol-lowing in his memoirs: “[The committee members]unanimously pressed on myself alone to under-take the draught. I consented; I drew it; but beforeI reported it to the committee I communicated itseparately to Dr. Franklin and Mr. Adams request-ing their corrections. . . .”

Franklin and Adams urged Jefferson to deletehis condemnation of King George’s support ofslavery. The two realized that the revolutionneeded support from all the colonies to succeed,and condemning slavery would alienate pro-slav-ery colonists and force them to support the king.Jefferson modified the draft accordingly. If theDeclaration of Independence had included

Jefferson’s condemnation of slavery,which is excerpted below, the historyof the United States might have beenvery different.

“He [King George] has wagedcruel war against human natureitself, violating its most sacredrights of life and liberty in thepersons of a distant peoplewho never offended him, cap-tivating and carrying theminto slavery in another hemi-sphere, or to incur miserabledeath in their transportation thither. . . . Hehas [stopped] every legislative attempt to pro-hibit or to restrain this execrable commercedetermining to keep open a market where[people] should be bought and sold. . . .”

Loyalist troops in Virginia and the Carolinas. As theconflict dragged on, more and more colonists beganto favor a break with Britain.

Thomas Paine helped sway public opinion withhis pamphlet called Common Sense, published inJanuary 1776. Paine persuasively argued that KingGeorge III, and not Parliament, was responsible forBritish actions against the colonies. In his view,monarchies had been established by seizing powerfrom the people. George III was a tyrant, he pro-claimed, and it was time to declare independence:

“Everything that is right or reasonable pleads forseparation. The blood of the slain, the weeping voiceof nature cries, ‘Tis Time To Part. . . . Every spot of theold world is overrun with oppression. Freedom hathbeen hunted round the globe . . . [and] England hathgiven her warning to depart.”

—from Common Sense

In early July, a committee of the ContinentalCongress approved a document that Thomas Jefferson

had drafted in which the colonies dissolved ties withBritain. On July 4, 1776, the full Congress issued thisDeclaration of Independence. The colonies now pro-claimed themselves the United States of America,and the American Revolution formally began.

Explaining Why did the coloniesdeclare their independence?

Fighting for Independence

With the help of their allies, the Americansdefeated the British in the Revolutionary War.

Reading Connection Do you remember trying some-thing new without having time for practice? Read on to learnhow the Americans fought a war without proper training orequipment.

The Continental Army could not match the BritishArmy in size, funding, discipline, or experience.American soldiers often were poorly equipped and went without food, pay, or adequate clothing.The Americans did have several advantages. TheContinental Army was fighting on home ground. Inevery state it also had help from local militias thatused unconventional tactics. Moreover, British sup-port for the war was only half-hearted. Britainalready faced threats to other parts of its empire fromthe French, Spanish, and Dutch, and it could notafford a long and costly struggle in America.

The Northern Campaign The British under thecommand of General William Howe were quicklyable to seize New York City. Then, in October, Howeled his troops south toward Philadelphia, where the Continental Congress was meeting. GeorgeWashington raced to meet him, but both armies weresurprised by the early onset of winter weather andset up camp. Nevertheless, Washington decided totry a surprise attack. On the night of December 25,1776, he led some 2,400 men across the icy DelawareRiver from Pennsylvania to New Jersey. There theyachieved two small victories before they camped forthe winter.

By the spring of 1777, both sides were on the moveagain. General Howe revived his plan to capturePhiladelphia and the Continental Congress. OnSeptember 11, 1777, he defeated Washington at theBattle of Brandywine Creek. Howe capturedPhiladelphia but the Continental Congress escapedbefore the city fell.

Reading Check


1. Why do you think Thomas Jefferson, who was a slave-holder, wanted to include this paragraph?

2. Would the course of Americanhistory have changed significantly if the Declaration ofIndependence had included Jefferson’s statement? If so,how? If not, why not? CA HI2, HI3, HI4

While General Howe remained in Philadelphia,another British force, led by General John Burgoyne,was marching south from Quebec. Burgoyneexpected to link up with Howe in New York butfailed to coordinate with him. When he and his 5,000men reached Saratoga in upstate New York, theywere surrounded by a far bigger American army. OnOctober 17, 1777, they surrendered—a stunning vic-tory for the Americans. Not only did it improvemorale dramatically, but it also convinced the Frenchto commit troops to the American cause.

While both Spain and France had been secretlyaiding the Americans, the French now agreed to fightopenly. On February 6, 1778, France signed an

alliance, becoming the first country to recognize theUnited States as an independent nation. In1779 Spain entered the war as an ally of France.

Fighting on Other Fronts After losing the Battleof Saratoga, the British changed their strategy.Instead of campaigning in the North, they decided toattack in the South, where they expected to find moreLoyalist support. They certainly weren’t doing wellon the western frontier. In 1779 George Rogers Clarksecured American control of the Ohio River valley.


5 British captureSavannah, 1778

6 British capture Charles Townand win the battle of Camden,but are defeated at Kings Mountain in 1780 and at Cowpens in 1781

9 Cornwallis is trapped;the British surrender atYorktown, 1781

7 Washington andRochambeau rushtoward Virginia,August, 1781

1 British captureNew York City, 1776

3 Burgoyne surrendersat Saratoga, 1777

2 Americans attack British atTrenton and Princeton, 1776

4 Howe capturesPhiladelphia, 1777

8 French Admiral De Grassekeeps British ships away

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The Revolutionary War, 1776–1781

British forcesAmerican and allied forces

British victory

American victory

Indecisive battle

1. Interpreting Maps Name two sites of colonial victoriesin New Jersey.

2. Applying Geography Skills Approximately how farapart were the northernmost and southernmost battlesshown on the map?

American troops also took control of westernPennsylvania, western New York, and Cherokeelands in western Virginia and North Carolina.

In the South, though, the British at first held theupper hand. In December 1778, they capturedSavannah, Georgia, and seized control of Georgia’sbackcountry. Then a massive British force led byGeneral Charles Cornwallis moved on to CharlesTown, South Carolina. On May 8, 1780, they forcedthe surrender of nearly 5,500 American troops, thegreatest American defeat in the war. The tide finallyturned on October 7, 1780, at the Battle of KingsMountain. Patriot forces crushed Loyalists there andthen drove the British out of most of the South.

The Americans also fought the British at sea. Sincethey did not have the resources to assemble a largenavy, Congress issued letters of marque, or licenses,to about 2,000 privately owned ships. In addition towinning some naval battles, the Americans wereable to seriously harm British trade by attackingmerchant ships.

The American Victory The last major battle of theRevolutionary War was fought in Yorktown, Virginia,in the fall of 1781. General Cornwallis became

trapped there, with George Washington closing in onland and the French navy blocking the possibility forescape by sea. On October 19, 1781, Cornwallis andapproximately 8,000 British troops surrendered.

After learning of the American victory atYorktown, Parliament voted to end the war. Peacetalks began in early April 1782, and the final settle-ment, the Treaty of Paris, was signed on September 3,1783. In this treaty, Britain recognized the UnitedStates of America as an independent nation with theMississippi River as its western border. The Britishkept Canada, but they gave Florida back to Spain andmade other concessions to France. On November 24,1783, the last British troops left New York City. TheRevolutionary War was over, and a new nation beganto take shape.

Analyzing Which major battle dur-ing the war was a turning point for the Americans?

Reading Check


Checking for Understanding1. Vocabulary Define: mercantilism,

Enlightenment, logic, Great Awakening,customs duty, exports, committee ofcorrespondence, communicate,minuteman.

2. People and Terms Identify: JohnLocke, Stamp Act, Townshend Acts,Intolerable Acts, George Washington,Declaration of Independence.

3. Places Locate: Lexington, Concord,Yorktown.

Reviewing Big Ideas4. Analyzing Which ways did the Great

Awakening contribute to the independ-ent spirit of American colonists?

Critical Thinking5. Evaluating What effect did the

Glorious Revolution have on theAmerican colonies?

6. Organizing Use a graphic organizersimilar to the one below to indicateways in which colonists defied Britain’sattempts at regulation and taxation.

Analyzing Visuals7. Analyzing Charts Study the chart on

page 114 of causes and effects oftensions with Britain. Then make yourown similar chart.

Writing About History8. Persuasive Writing Imagine you are a

colonist in 1767, unhappy aboutBritain’s policies toward the colonies.Write a pamphlet explaining your posi-tion and urging other colonists to sup-port resistance efforts.

CA 11WS1.1; 11WA2.1; 11WA2.4

Colonists’ Acts of Defiance

A Savage Winter William B.T. Trego’spainting, The March to Valley Forge, depictsthe difficult conditions that led to almost2,500 deaths during the winter encamp-ment of 1777 to 1778. Where did theAmericans and the British fight the lastbattle of the war?

History Through Art


tav.mt.glencoe.com


The Valley Forge Historical Society


120 CHAPTER 3 The American Revolution120

In Congress, July 4, 1776. The unanimous Declarationof the thirteen united States of America,

[Preamble]When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one

people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them withanother, and to assume among the Powers of the earth, the separate andequal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitlethem, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they shoulddeclare the causes which impel them to the separation.

[Declaration of Natural Rights]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,

That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of theseends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institutenew Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizingits powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect theirSafety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governmentslong established should not be changed for light and transient causes; andaccordingly all experience hath shown, that mankind are more disposed tosuffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing theforms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses andusurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design toreduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, tothrow off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their futuresecurity.

[List of Grievances]Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now

the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems ofGovernment. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history ofrepeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establish-ment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts besubmitted to a candid world.

He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessaryfor the public good.

impel force

usurpations unjust uses of power

What It MeansThe Preamble The Declarationof Independence has four parts.The Preamble explains why theContinental Congress drew upthe Declaration.

What It MeansList of Grievances The thirdpart of the Declaration lists thecolonists’ complaints against theBritish government. Notice thatKing George III is singled out forblame.

120 The Declaration of Independence

What It MeansNatural Rights The second part,the Declaration of Natural Rights,states that people have certainbasic rights and that governmentshould protect those rights. JohnLocke’s ideas strongly influencedthis part. In 1690 Locke wrotethat government was based onthe consent of the people andthat people had the right to rebelif the government did not upholdtheir right to life, liberty, andproperty. The Declaration callsthese rights unalienable rights.Unalienable means nontransfer-able. An unalienable right cannotbe surrendered.

despotism unlimited powerendowed provided

CHAPTER 3 The American Revolution 121121

He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressingimportance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should beobtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.

He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large dis-tricts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right ofRepresentation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formida-ble to tyrants only.

He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfort-able, and distant from the depository of their Public Records, for the solepurpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.

He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing withmanly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.

He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others tobe elected; whereby the Legislative Powers, incapable of Annihilation,have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remainingin the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, andconvulsions within.

He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for thatpurpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing topass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditionsof new Appropriations of Lands.

He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assentto Laws for establishing Judiciary Powers.

He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of theiroffices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.

He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms ofOfficers to harass our people, and eat out their substance.

relinquish give upinestimable priceless

annihilation destruction

convulsions violent disturbances

Naturalization of Foreigners processby which foreign-born personsbecome citizens

tenure term

The Declaration of Independence 121

122 CHAPTER 3 The American Revolution

He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without theConsent of our legislature.

He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior tothe Civil Power.

He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to ourconstitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to theiracts of pretended legislation:

For quartering large bodies of troops among us:For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from Punishment for any Murders

which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:For imposing taxes on us without our Consent:For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury:For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences:For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring

Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging itsBoundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument forintroducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies:

For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, andaltering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:

For suspending our own Legislature, and declaring themselves investedwith Power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.

He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of hisProtection and waging War against us.

He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, anddestroyed the lives of our people.

He is at this time transporting large armies of foreign mercenaries tocompleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun withcircumstances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most bar-barous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.

He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas tobear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of theirfriends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.

He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeav-oured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless IndianSavages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destructionof all ages, sexes and conditions.

In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress inthe most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered onlyby repeated injury. A Prince, whose character is thus marked by every actwhich may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free People.

Nor have We been wanting in attention to our British brethren. We havewarned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend anunwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circum-stances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to theirnative justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties ofour common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, wouldinevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too havebeen deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore,acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them,as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.

quartering lodging

render make

abdicated given up

perfidy violation of trust

insurrections rebellions

petitioned for redress askedformally for a correction of

wrongs

unwarrantable jurisdictionunjustified authority

consanguinity originating fromthe same ancestor

122 The Declaration of Independence

CHAPTER 3 The American Revolution 123

[Resolution of Independence by the United States]

We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, inGeneral Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of theworld for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and byAuthority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish anddeclare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free andIndependent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to theBritish Crown, and that all political connection between them and the Stateof Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free andIndependent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Thingswhich Independent States may of right do.

And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on theProtection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other ourLives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.

John HancockPresident from Massachusetts

GeorgiaButton GwinnettLyman HallGeorge Walton

North CarolinaWilliam HooperJoseph Hewes John Penn

South CarolinaEdward RutledgeThomas Heyward, Jr.Thomas Lynch, Jr.Arthur Middleton

MarylandSamuel ChaseWilliam PacaThomas StoneCharles Carroll

of Carrollton

VirginiaGeorge WytheRichard Henry LeeThomas JeffersonBenjamin HarrisonThomas Nelson, Jr.Francis Lightfoot LeeCarter Braxton

PennsylvaniaRobert MorrisBenjamin RushBenjamin FranklinJohn MortonGeorge ClymerJames SmithGeorge TaylorJames WilsonGeorge Ross

DelawareCaesar RodneyGeorge ReadThomas McKean

New YorkWilliam FloydPhilip LivingstonFrancis LewisLewis Morris

New JerseyRichard StocktonJohn WitherspoonFrancis HopkinsonJohn HartAbraham Clark

New HampshireJosiah BartlettWilliam WhippleMatthew Thornton

MassachusettsSamuel AdamsJohn AdamsRobert Treat PaineElbridge Gerry

Rhode IslandStephen HopkinsWilliam Ellery

ConnecticutSamuel HuntingtonWilliam WilliamsOliver WolcottRoger Sherman

rectitude rightness

What It MeansResolution of IndependenceThe Final section declares thatthe colonies are “Free andIndependent States” with thefull power to make war, to formalliances, and to trade withother countries.

What It MeansSigners of the Declaration Thesigners, as representatives of theAmerican people, declared thecolonies independent from GreatBritain. Most members signedthe document on August 2, 1776.

The Declaration of Independence 123


Guide to Reading

ConnectionIn the previous section, you learned howthe American colonists defeated theBritish in the Revolutionary War. In thissection, you will discover how America’sfounders authored the United StatesConstitution.

• The states created constitutions thatgave people more rights, but thenational framework could not addressall the problems of the new nation. (p. 125)

• American leaders created a new consti-tution based on compromise. (p. 126)

• The promise of a Bill of Rights guaran-teed the ratification of the Constitution.(p. 129)

Content Vocabularyrepublic, recession, popular sovereignty,federalism, separation of powers, checksand balances, veto, amendment,ratification

Academic Vocabularyframework, interpret, revise

People and Terms to IdentifyArticles of Confederation, NorthwestOrdinance, Shays’s Rebellion,Constitutional Convention, GreatCompromise, Three-Fifths Compromise,Federalists, Antifederalists

Reading Objectives• Describe features of the governments

set up under the Articles ofConfederation and the Constitution.

• Identify key steps and events leadingup to ratification of the Constitution.

Reading StrategyCategorizing As you read about theefforts to ratify the Constitution, com-plete a graphic organizer similar to theone below by listing the supporters and goals of the Federalists andAntifederalists.

Preview of Events

The Constitution

November 1777Articles of Confederationadopted

May 1787Constitutional Conventionopens in Philadelphia

September 1787Final draft ofConstitution signed

✦1777 ✦1782 ✦1787 ✦1792May 1790Constitution ratifiedby all thirteen states

Federalists Antifederalists

Source of Support

Goals

. The Big Idea ,A written contract between the people and their government can pre-serve natural rights and allow for change over time. States adopted indi-vidual constitutions that called for a government with powers divided amongthree different branches. Lawmakers stressed individual liberty and separation ofchurch and state, but women and African Americans continued to be deniedpolitical rights. The states finally ratified the national Constitution after manycompromises and the proposal of a Bill of Rights.


11.1 Students analyze the significantevents surrounding the founding of

the nation and its attempts to realizethe philosophy of government

described in the Declaration ofIndependence.

11.1.1 Describe the Enlightenment andthe rise of democratic ideas as the context

in which the nation was founded.

11.1.2 Analyze the ideological origins ofthe American Revolution, the Founding

Fathers’ philosophy of divinely bestowedunalienable natural rights, the debates on the

drafting and ratification of the Constitution,and the addition of the Bill of Rights.

The Young Nation

The states created constitutions that gavepeople more rights, but the national framework couldnot address all the problems of the new nation.

Reading Connection If you had lived in the coloniesunder British rule, what kind of government would you havecreated? Read on to learn how the American leaders at first created a weak central government.

The democratic spirit burned stronger than everafter the Revolution. Notions of equality and free-dom, which had inspired the fight for independence,now took firmer root.

In 1781 an enslaved Massachusettsman named Quock Walker took anextraordinary step: He took legalaction against his slaveholder who hadassaulted him. Given the times, thiswas a bold step, but Walker believedhe had the law on his side.Massachusetts’s new constitutionreferred to the “inherent liberty” of all men. The judge, William Cushing,agreed:

“Our Constitution [of Massachusetts]sets out with declaring that all men areborn free and equal—and that everysubject is entitled to liberty, and to haveguarded by the laws, as well as life andproperty—and in short is totally repug-nant to the idea of being born slaves.This being the case, I think the idea ofslavery is inconsistent with our ownconduct and Constitution.”

While the Quock Walker case didnot abolish slavery, it demonstratedthat the Massachusetts courts wouldnot support the institution. As a resultof this ruling and various antislaveryefforts, slavery ceased to exist inMassachusetts.

—adapted from Founding the Republic

The Walker case showed that republican ideasbegan to change American society.

New State Constitutions When American lead-ers created the United States of America, they made adeliberate choice to replace royal rule with a republic.In a republic, power resides with citizens who areentitled to vote, and elected leaders must governaccording to laws or a constitution.

Before the war ended, each state had drawn up itsown written constitution. Virginia’s, written in 1776,and Massachusetts’s, drafted in 1780, became modelsfor other states to follow. Their constitutions calledfor a government with a separation of powers amongthe executive, legislative, and judicial branches. Theyset up bicameral, or two-house, legislatures, with asenate to represent people of property and an assem-bly to protect the rights of the common people. Theyalso included a list of rights guaranteeing essential

freedoms.Other states varied in their constitu-

tions. Perhaps most democratic was thatof Pennsylvania. Rather than simply lim-iting the power of the governor, thePennsylvania constitution eliminated theposition entirely, along with the upperhouse. Instead, the state would begoverned by a one-house legislature inwhich representatives would be electedannually.

The Revolution Changes SocietyThe concern for individual liberty led,among other things, to greater separationof church and state. For example, theVirginia Statute of Religious Freedom,passed in 1786, declared that Virginia nolonger had an official church and that thestate could not collect taxes to supportchurches.

Voting rights also expanded in thepost-war years. Many states allowed any white male taxpayer to vote, whetheror not he owned property. Propertyrestrictions on running for office werealso relaxed, and more people of modestmeans became eligible to serve ingovernment.

Women and African Americans, how-ever, continued to be denied politicalrights. At the same time, they made someadvances. Women gained greater accessto education and could more easily obtain


Wooden statue of an AfricanAmerican breaking his chain

divorces. African Americans still faced discrimina-tion, but opposition to slavery began to mount.Thousands of enslaved Africans achieved freedomduring the Revolution in return for their mili-tary service. Several Northern states, such asMassachusetts, even took steps to end slaveryentirely, albeit gradually. In the South enslaved laborremained the backbone of the economy, and littlechanged for African Americans.

A Weak National Government While the stateswrote their individual constitutions, American lead-ers worked to plan a central government that couldhold the new nation together. On March 2, 1781, theframework they created took effect. The Articles ofConfederation loosely unified the states under a sin-gle governing body, the Confederation Congress.There were no separate branches of government, andCongress had only limited powers. After fighting tofree themselves from Britain’s domineering rule, thestates did not want to create a new government thatmight become tyrannical.

Under the Articles, each state had one vote inCongress. Congress could act only in certain arenas,however. It could negotiate with other nations, raisearmies, and declare war, but it had no authority toregulate trade or impose taxes.

One of Congress’s achievements was theNorthwest Ordinance of 1787, a plan for selling andthen governing the new lands west of theAppalachian Mountains and north of the Ohio River.The ordinance spelled out how states would be cre-ated from the Northwest Territory. It also guaranteedresidents certain rights, including freedom of religionand freedom from slavery.

Congress lacked the power to effectively handleother challenges. Trade problems arose becausestates did not have uniform trade policies andCongress had no authority to intervene. Foreign rela-tions suffered because Congress could not compelthe states to honor its agreements with other coun-tries. The country sank into a severe recession, oreconomic slowdown, because without the power totax, Congress could not raise enough money to payits war debts or its expenses. It could not even stopthe states from issuing their own currency, whichsent the economy spinning further out of control.

Among those hardest hit by the recession werepoor farmers. Their discontent turned violent inJanuary 1787, when a bankrupt Massachusettsfarmer named Daniel Shays led some 1,200 followersin a protest of new taxes. Shays’s Rebellion was putdown by the state militia, but the incident raisedfears about the direction in which the country washeading. As the weaknesses of the ConfederationCongress became clear, people began to call for astronger central government.

Explaining In what ways was theConfederation Congress ineffective?

A New Constitution

American leaders created a new constitutionbased on compromise.

Reading Connection Have you ever come up with new rules to a game because the old ones did not work? Read on to learn how the Constitution replaced the Articles of Confederation.

In May 1787, every state except Rhode Island sentdelegates to Philadelphia “for the sole purpose ofrevising the Articles of Confederation.” Instead of

Reading Check


Provision

Congress has no power to tax

Congress has no power to enforce treaties

Every state, despite size, has one vote

Congress has no power to regulate commerce

Amendment requires unanimous vote of states

Problem Created

Weak currency and growing debt

Inability to pay army leads to threats of mutiny

Foreign countries angry when treaties are not honored; for example, Britain keeps troops on American soil

Populous states not equally represented

Trade hindered by states imposing high tariffs on each other

Difficult to adapt articles to changing needs

Some Weaknesses of theArticles of Confederation

1. Interpreting Charts What was the problem withrequiring a unanimous vote of the states to createchanges in the Articles of Confederation?

2. Analyzing Why did the states approve a govern-ment with so many weaknesses?

changing the Articles, though, the delegates quicklydecided to abandon the Articles and write a brand-new framework of government. The meeting,attended by 55 of America’s most distinguishedleaders, is therefore known as the ConstitutionalConvention. The delegates chose George Washingtonas their presiding officer. Other notable delegatesincluded Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton,and James Madison.

Debate and Compromise All the delegates sup-ported a stronger national government with thepower to levy taxes and make laws that would bebinding upon the states. The delegates also acceptedthe idea of dividing the government into executive,legislative, and judicial branches.

On other points, the delegates found themselvessplit. One contentious question was whether eachstate should have an equal vote in Congress. Smallstates favored such a plan, but the larger statesinsisted that representation in Congress should bebased on population. The convention appointed aspecial committee to find a compromise. BenFranklin, one of the committee members, warned thedelegates what would happen if they failed to agree:

“[You will] become a reproach and by-word downto future ages. And what is worse, mankind mayhereafter, from this unfortunate instance, despair ofestablishing governments by human wisdom, andleave it to chance, war, and conquest.”

—quoted in American History

The committee’s solution was based on a sugges-tion by Roger Sherman from Connecticut. Congresswould be divided into two houses. In one, the Houseof Representatives, the number of a state’s represen-tatives would depend on its population. In the otherhouse, the Senate, each state would have equal repre-sentation. The eligible voters in each state wouldelect members to the House of Representatives, but the state legislatures would choose senators. This proposal came to be known as the GreatCompromise or the Connecticut Compromise.

The Connecticut Compromise sparked a fresh con-troversy: whether to count enslaved people whendetermining how many representatives a state couldelect to the House. The matter was settled by theThree-Fifths Compromise. Every five enslaved peo-ple in a state would count as three free persons fordetermining both representation and taxation.


“. . . to form a moreperfect union . . .”

—Preamble to the Constitution

We the People The delegates at Philadelphia devised a newgovernment that tried to balance national and state power. Whatcompromises were necessary to complete the Constitution?

History Through Art

Historic Landmark The Philadelphia Statehouse, thesite of the Constitutional Convention, was later renamedIndependence Hall. How did the Framers preserve therights of the states?

History

In another compromise, the delegates dealt withthe power of Congress to regulate trade. Delegatesagreed that the new Congress could not tax exports.They also agreed that it could not ban the slave tradeuntil 1808 or impose high taxes on the import ofenslaved persons.

A Framework for Limited Government Withthe major disputes behind them, the delegates nowfocused on the details of how the new governmentwould operate. The new Constitution they craftedwas based on the principle of popular sovereignty(SAH·vuhrn·tee), or rule by the people. Rather than adirect democracy, it created a representative systemof government in which elected officials speak for the people.

To strengthen the central government but still pre-serve the rights of the states, the Constitution createda system known as federalism. Under federalism,power is divided between the federal, or national,government and the state governments.

The Constitution also provided for a separation ofpowers among the three branches of the federal gov-ernment. The two houses of Congress made up the

legislative branch of the gov-ernment. They would makethe laws. The executivebranch, headed by a presi-dent, would implement andenforce the laws Congresspassed. The president wouldperform other duties as well,such as serving as com-mander in chief of the armedforces. The judicial branch—a system of federal courts—would interpret federal lawsand render judgment in cases

involving those laws. To keep the branches separate,no one serving in one branch could serve in either ofthe other branches at the same time.

Checks and Balances In addition to giving eachof the three branches of government separate pow-ers, the framers of the Constitution created a systemof checks and balances—a means for each branch tomonitor and limit the power of the other two.

For example, the president could check Congressby deciding to veto, or reject, a proposed law. Thelegislature would need a two-thirds vote in bothhouses to override a veto. The Senate also had thepower to approve or reject presidential appointees tothe executive branch and treaties the president nego-tiated. Congress also could impeach the presidentand other high-ranking officials in the executive orjudicial branch; that is, the House could formallyaccuse such officials of misconduct. If the officialswere convicted during trial in the Senate, they wouldbe removed from office.

Members of the judicial branch of governmentcould hear all cases arising under federal laws andthe Constitution. The powers of the judiciary werecounterbalanced by the other two branches. Thepresident would nominate judges, including a chiefjustice of the Supreme Court, but the Senate had toconfirm or reject such nominations. Once appointed,federal judges, including the chief justice, wouldserve for life to ensure their independence from boththe executive and the legislative branches.

Amending the Constitution The delegates inPhiladelphia recognized that the Constitution theywrote in the summer of 1787 might need to berevised over time. To allow this to happen, they cre-ated a clear system for making amendments, or


Student WebActivity Visit theAmerican Vision:Modern Times Web siteatand click on StudentWeb Activities—Chapter 1 for an activ-ity on the Constitution.

HISTORY

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changes, to the Constitution. To prevent frivolouschanges, however, they made the process difficult.

Amending the Constitution would require twosteps: proposal and ratification. An amendmentcould be proposed by a vote of two-thirds of themembers of both houses of Congress. Alternatively,two-thirds of the states could call a constitutionalconvention to propose new amendments. To becomeeffective, the proposed amendment would then haveto be ratified by three-fourths of the state legislaturesor by conventions in three-fourths of the states.

Summarizing What compromisesdid the delegates agree on during the convention?

The Fight for Ratification

The promise of a Bill of Rights guaranteedthe ratification of the Constitution.

Reading Connection Have you ever had to convince afriend to agree to something? Read on to learn how the statesagreed to ratify the Constitution.

On September 28, the Confederation Congressvoted to submit the Constitution to the states. Eachstate would hold a convention to vote on it. To gointo effect, the Constitution required the ratification,or approval, of 9 of the 13 states.

Reading Check

Delaware became the first state to ratify theConstitution, on December 7, 1787. Pennsylvania,New Jersey, Georgia, and Connecticut quickly fol-lowed suit. The most important battles still layahead. Arguments broke out among Americansdebating whether the Constitution should be ratified.

Debating the Constitution In fact, debate overratification began at once—in state legislatures, massmeetings, newspapers, and everyday conversations.Supporters of the Constitution called themselvesFederalists. They chose the name to emphasize thatthe Constitution would create a federal system—onewith power divided between a central governmentand state governments.

Many Federalists were large landowners whowanted the property protection that a strong centralgovernment could provide. Supporters also includedmerchants and artisans in large coastal cities andfarmers who depended on trade. They all believedthat an effective federal government that couldimpose taxes on foreign goods or regulate interstatetrade consistently would help their businesses.

Opponents of the Constitution were calledAntifederalists, although they were not truly againstfederalism. They accepted the need for a nationalgovernment, but they were concerned about whetherthe federal or state governments would be supreme.Some Antifederalists also believed that the newConstitution needed a bill of rights.


i n H i s t o r y

James Madison1751–1836

Although many individuals contributed to the framing of the United States Constitution, the master builder was JamesMadison. An avid reader, the 36-year-old Virginia planter spent the better part of the year preceding the PhiladelphiaConvention with his nose in books. Madison read volume aftervolume on governments throughout history. He scoured therecords of ancient Greece and Rome and delved into the admin-istrations of Italian city-states such as Florence and Venice. Heeven looked at the systems used by federal alliances likeSwitzerland and the Netherlands. “From a spirit of industry and application,” said one colleague, Madison was “the best-informed man on any point in debate.”

Bringing together his research and his experience in helpingto draft Virginia’s constitution, Madison created the VirginiaPlan. His proposal strongly influenced the final document.

Perhaps Madison’s greatest achievement was in defining the truesource of political power. He argued that allpower, at all levels of government,flowed ultimately from the people.

At the ConstitutionalConvention, Madison served hisnation well. The ordeal, he latersaid, “almost killed” him. Asone of the authors of theFederalist, he helped get theConstitution ratified. In theyears to come, the nationwould call on him again. In1801 he became PresidentThomas Jefferson’s secretary ofstate. In 1808 he was elected thefourth president of the United States.

As the states prepared to vote on ratification, bothsides knew the decision could go either way. Those infavor of the Constitution summarized their argu-ments in The Federalist—a collection of 85 essayswritten by James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, andJohn Jay. The essays were extremely influential. Eventoday, judges, lawyers, legislators, and historians relyupon The Federalist papers to help interpret the inten-tion of the framers of the Constitution. ; (See page990 for an excerpt from Federalist Paper No. 10.)

Ratification in Massachusetts In Massachusettsopponents of the proposed Constitution held a clearmajority. They included Samuel Adams, who had

signed the Declaration of Independence but nowstrongly believed the Constitution endangered theindependence of the states and failed to safeguardAmericans’ rights.

Federalists quickly promised to attach a bill ofrights to the Constitution once it was ratified. Theyalso agreed to support an amendment that wouldreserve for the states or the people all powers notspecifically granted to the federal government. TheseFederalist promises and the support of artisans guar-anteed Massachusetts’s approval. In 1791 the prom-ises led to the adoption of the first ten amendmentsto the Constitution, which came to be known as the Bill of Rights. The amendments guaranteed the

Thomas Jefferson defends majority rule:

“I own I am not a friend to a very ener-getic government. It is always oppressive.The late rebellion in Massachusetts hasgiven more alarm than I think it should havedone. Calculate that one rebellion in 13 states inthe course of 11 years, is but one for each state in acentury & a half. No country should be long without one.

. . . After all, it is my principle that the will of the Majorityshould always prevail. If they approve the proposed[Constitution] in all its parts, I shall concur in it chearfully, inhopes that they will amend it whenever they shall find itworks wrong. . . . Above all things I hope the education ofthe common people will be attended to; convinced that ontheir good sense we may rely with the most security for thepreservation of a due degree of liberty.”

Learning From History1. What were the “mischiefs” that

Madison believed republican gov-ernment could prevent?

2. Was Jeffersoncorrect in believing the voice of thecommon people would preserve lib-erty? Explain. CA HR1

Should the Majority Rule?James Madison argued persuasively for the Constitution’s

ratification. In The Federalist #10, Madison explained thatthe Constitution would prevent the effects of faction—theself-seeking party spirit of a democracy. In contrast, ThomasJefferson argued that the will of the majority would thwartthe tyranny of oppressive government.

James Madison opposes majority rule:

“When a majority is included in a faction, the form of popular government . . . enables it to sacrifice to itsruling passion or interest both the public good and therights of other citizens.

. . . [A] pure democracy . . . canadmit of no cure for the mischiefs offaction [and has always] been foundincompatible with personal security orthe rights of property. . . .

A republic, by which I mean a gov-ernment in which the scheme of repre-sentation takes place . . . promises thecure for which we are seeking. . . .

The effect of [a republic] is, on the one hand, to refineand enlarge the public views, by passing them throughthe medium of a chosen body of citizens, whose wisdommay best discern the true interest of their country, andwhose patriotism and love of justice will be least likely tosacrifice it to temporary or partial considerations.”


Checking for Understanding1. Vocabulary Define: republic, frame-

work, recession, popular sovereignty,federalism, separation of powers, inter-pret, checks and balances, veto, revise,amendment, ratification

2. People and Terms Identify: Articles ofConfederation, Northwest Ordinance,Shays’s Rebellion, ConstitutionalConvention, Great Compromise, Three-Fifths Compromise, Federalists,Antifederalists.

3. Explain why the Antifederalistsopposed the Constitution.

Reviewing Big Ideas4. Describing How was the Constitution

written as a flexible framework ofgovernment?

Critical Thinking5. Evaluating Did the Articles of Confed-

eration or the Constitution provide abetter way to solve the problems facingthe nation? Explain.

6. Categorizing Use a graphic organizersimilar to the one below to list the com-promises the Founders reached at theConstitutional Convention.

Analyzing Visuals7. Analyzing Paintings Examine the

painting of the Constitutional Conven-tion on page 127. How does the tone of the painting compare with the text’sdescription of differences and difficul-ties at the convention? What purposedo you think the artist had that mightaccount for any difference?

freedoms of speech, press, and religion; protectionfrom unreasonable searches and seizures; and theright to a trial by jury.

Maryland easily ratified the Constitution in April1788, followed by South Carolina in May. On June 21,New Hampshire became the ninth state to ratify theConstitution. The Federalists had now reached theminimum number of states required to put the new Constitution into effect. Virginia and New York,however, still had not ratified. Together, Virginia andNew York represented almost 30 percent of thenation’s population. Without the support of thesestates, many feared the new government would notsucceed.

Virginia and New York At the Virginia conven-tion in June, George Washington and James Madisonpresented strong arguments for ratification. PatrickHenry, Richard Henry Lee, and other Antifederalistsargued against it. Madison’s promise to add a bill ofrights won the day for the Federalists—but barely.The Virginia convention voted 89 in favor of theConstitution and 79 against.

In New York, two-thirds of the members elected tothe state convention were Antifederalists. TheFederalists, led by Alexander Hamilton and John Jay,managed to delay the final vote until news arrivedthat New Hampshire and Virginia had both voted to ratify the Constitution and that the new federalgovernment was now in effect. If New York refusedto ratify, it would have to operate independently of all of the surrounding states that had accepted

the Constitution. This argument convinced enoughAntifederalists to change sides. The vote was veryclose, 30 to 27, but the Federalists won.

By July 1788, all the states except Rhode Islandand North Carolina had ratified the Constitution.Because ratification by nine states was all that theConstitution required, the members of the Confed-eration Congress prepared to proceed without them.In mid-September 1788, they established a timetablefor electing the new government. The new Congresswould hold its first meeting on March 4, 1789.

The two states that had held out finally ratified theConstitution after the new government was in place.North Carolina waited until November 1789 after abill of rights had actually been proposed. RhodeIsland, still nervous about losing its independence,did not ratify the Constitution until May 1790.

The United States now had a new government, butno one knew if the Constitution would work anybetter than the Articles of Confederation. Manyexpressed great confidence, however, becauseGeorge Washington had been chosen as the first pres-ident under the new Constitution.

Examining Why was it importantfor Virginia and New York to ratify the Constitution, even afterthe required nine states had done so?

Reading Check


Writing About History8. Persuasive Writing Take on the role of

a Federalist or an Antifederalist at astate ratifying convention. Write aspeech in which you try to convinceyour audience to either accept or rejectthe new Constitution. CA 11WS1.3

CompromisesReached


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SOURCE 1:Benjamin Franklin was the oldest delegateat the Constitutional Convention. Heproved one of the most influential dele-gates because of his ability to end argu-ments and encourage compromise. In aspeech on the last day of the convention,Franklin urged his colleagues to unani-mously support the new plan.

Mr. President, I confess that there areseveral parts of this constitution which Ido not at present approve, but I am notsure I shall never approve them. Forhaving lived long, I have experiencedmany instances of being obliged1 bybetter information, or fuller consideration, to changeopinions even on important subjects, which I oncethought right, but found to be otherwise. . . .

. . . I doubt . . . whether any other Convention wecan obtain, may be able to make a better Constitution.For when you assemble a number of men to have theadvantage of their joint wisdom, you inevitably assem-ble with those men, all their prejudices, their passions,their errors of opinion, their local interests, and theirselfish views. From such an assembly can a perfectproduction be expected? It therefore astonishes me,Sir, to find this system approaching so near to perfec-tion as it does; and I think it will astonish our enemies,who are waiting with confidence to hear that ourcouncils are confounded like those of the Builders ofBabel; and that our States are on the point of separa-tion, only to meet hereafter for the purpose of cuttingone another's throats. Thus I consent, Sir, to this

Constitution because I expect no bet-ter, and because I am not sure, that itis not the best. The opinions I havehad of its errors, I sacrifice to the public good. . . . If every one of us inreturning to our Constituents were toreport the objections he has had to it,and endeavor to gain partizans in sup-port of them, we might prevent itsbeing generally received, and therebylose all the salutary2 effects and greatadvantages resulting naturally in ourfavor among foreign Nations as wellas among ourselves, from our real or apparent unanimity. Much of the strength and efficiency of anyGovernment in procuring and secur-

ing happiness to the people, depends, on opinion, on the general opinion of the goodness of theGovernment, as well as well as of the wisdom andintegrity of its Governors. I hope therefore that for ourown sakes as a part of the people, and for the sake ofposterity, we shall act heartily and unanimously in rec-ommending this constitution (if approved by Congressand confirmed by the Conventions) wherever our influ-ence may extend, and turn our future thoughts andendeavors to the means of having it well administred.

SOURCE 2:George Mason, a planter and a delegate from Virginia,opposed the Constitution. While he supported a strongernational government, he wanted the states to be more pow-erful than the national government. Mason’s speech to theconvention summarized the arguments of many opponents.

The leaders of the new United States wanted to limit the power of the federal government. Their plan for government, the Articles of Confederation, had many weaknesses, and the needfor a strong central government soon became evident. In May 1787, a small group of men metin Philadelphia to write the Constitution. The adoption of the Constitution became a topic ofheated debate.


➤1oblige: commit

➤2salutary: producing a beneficial effect

George Mason➤

The Judiciary of the United States is so constructedand extended, as to absorb and destroy the judiciariesof the several States; . . .

The President of the United States has noConstitutional Council, a thing unknown in any safeand regular government. He will therefore be unsup-ported by proper information and advice; and will gen-erally be directed by minions3 and favorites; or he willbecome a tool to the Senate. . . . From this fatal defecthas arisen the improper power of the Senate in theappointment of public officers, and the alarmingdependence and connection between that branch of the legislature and the supreme Executive. . . .

By declaring all treaties supreme laws of the land,the Executive and the Senate have in many cases, anexclusive power of legislation; . . .

By requiring only a majority to make all commercialand navigation laws, the five Southern States, whoseproduce and circumstances are totally different fromthat of the eight Northern and eastern states, may beruined; . . . Whereas requiring two-thirds of the mem-bers present in both Houses would have producedmutual moderation, promoted the general interest,and removed an insuperable4 objection to the adop-tion of this Government.

There is no declaration of any kind, for preservingthe liberty of the press, or the trial by jury in civilcauses; nor against the danger of standing armies intime of peace.


➤3minion: subordinate4insuperable: incapable of being overcome

➤5prevail: persist

This government will set out a moderate aristoc-racy; it is at present impossible to forese whether itwill, in its operation, produce a monarychy, or a cor-rupt, tyrannical aristocracy. . . .

SOURCE 3:James Wilson, a lawyer and Pennsylvania delegate, is best known for the legal advice he gave to theConstitutional Convention. When Pennsylvania began todebate the Constitution, Wilson replied to critics.

After all, my fellow-citizens, it is neither extraordinaryor unexpected that the constitution offered to your con-sideration should meet with opposition. It is the natureof man to pursue his own interest in preference to thepublic good . . . I will confess, indeed, that I am not ablind admirer of this plan of government, and that thereare some parts of it which, if my wish had prevailed,5

would certainly have been altered. But when I reflecthow widely men differ in their opinions, and that everyman (and the observation applies likewise to everyState) has an equal pretension to assert his own, I amsatisfied that anything nearer to perfection could nothave been accomplished. If there are errors, it should beremembered that the seeds of reformation are sown inthe work itself, and the concurrence of two-thirds ofCongress may at any time introduce alterations andamendments. Regarding it, then, in every point of view,with a candid and disinterested mind, I am bold toassert that it is the best form of government which hasever been offered to the world.

James Wilson➤

Source 1: Why does Franklin believe that the dele-gates should approve the Constitution?

Source 2: What are Mason’s main concerns aboutthe Constitution?

Source 3: Why does Wilson think that theConstitution will work?

Comparing and Contrasting Sources How do Franklin, Mason, and Wilson differ in theirviews about concerns over apparent shortfalls ofthe Constitution?

Smithsonian American Museum, Washington DC/Art Resource, NY

CA HR4; HI2; HI3

Reviewing the Main IdeasSection 133. Why did the Pilgrims leave England?

34. Why did William Penn regard his colony as a “holyexperiment”?

Section 235. How did the Great Awakening influence the American

colonies?

36. What made the Stamp Act different from other legislationthat Parliament enacted?

Section 337. How did the Founders provide for a separation of powers in

the federal government?

38. What convinced Massachusetts to ratify the Constitution?

Critical Thinking39. Predicting Select one of the sections

in this chapter and rewrite the headings. How could youphrase the headings so other students could make betterpredictions?

40. Civics What rights did the colonists want from Britain?

41. Evaluating What do you think would have happened if NewYork and Virginia had not ratified the Constitution?

42. Categorizing Use a graphic organizer similar to the onebelow to list the events that led to the American Revolution.

1. civilization2. joint-stock company3. Puritan4. proprietary colony5. indentured servant6. subsistence farming7. triangular trade8. slave code

9. mercantilism10. Enlightenment11. Great Awakening12. customs duty13. committee of

correspondence14. minuteman15. republic

16. recession17. popular sovereignty18. federalism19. separation of powers

20. checks and balances21. veto22. amendment23. ratify

Reviewing Content VocabularyOn a sheet of paper, use each of these terms in a sentence.

Events that led to the American Revolution

Reviewing Academic VocabularyOn a sheet of paper, use each of these terms in a sentence thatreflects the term’s meaning in the chapter.

24. culture25. immigrate26. hierarchy

27. logic28. export29. communicate

30. framework31. interpret32. revise

Discovery and Early Settlements

The Road to Independence

The Constitution

• Spain, France, and England settled a new continentinhabited by many different peoples

• English colonies arose in three distinct areas ofNorth America, with the beginnings of self governmentin each

• Diverse societies developed within the thirteen colonies

• Enlightenment ideas and the Great Awakening stirredcolonists’ first thoughts of dissent to British rule

• Unpopular laws by Parliament after the French andIndian War led to protests by colonists; colonistsbegan to organize

• Colonists declared their independence • In the Treaty of Paris, the defeated British recognize

the United States of America

• States drafted individual written constitutions and setup a weak national government governed by theArticles of Confederation

• Leaders of the Constitutional Convention drafted anew constitution based on flexibility and compromise,which strengthened the central government

• States ratified the Constitution after promises of a billof rights and shared power between the federalgovernment and the states


Standards 11.1, 11.1.1, 11.1.2, 11.3, 11.3.1, 11.3.2


Standard 11.1.2 Analyze the ideological origins of theAmerican Revolution, the Founding Fathers’ philosophy ofdivinely bestowed unalienable natural rights, the debates onthe drafting and ratification of the Constitution, and theaddition of the Bill of Rights.

Standards Practice

Writing About History43. Understanding Change Select

one aspect of the changes brought by European colonizationand describe the change in a paragraph. Make sure youinclude a topic sentence and three or four descriptive sentences.

44. Write an editorial for a local newspaper dis-cussing the laws the British Parliament enacted after theFrench and Indian War. Express your opinion about the laws and the colonists’ reactions. In your editorial, includeinformation you have gathered while studying this chapter.

45. Descriptive Writing Take on the role of an American at thetime the Constitution was ratified. Write a letter to a friend inBritain describing the kind of government provided for bythe Constitution. In your letter, explain why you support oroppose ratification and what you think life will be like underthe new government.

46. Interpreting Primary Sources In his 1789 textbookAmerican Geography, Reverend Jedidiah Morse discussesthe defects of the Articles of Confederation. Read the excerptand answer the questions that follow.

“[The Articles of Confederation] were framed duringthe rage of war, when a principle of common safetysupplied the place of a coercive power ingovernment. . . .

When resolutions were passed in Congress, there wasno power to compel obedience. . . . Had one state beeninvaded by its neighbor, the union was not constitution-ally bound to assist in repelling the invasion. . . .”

—quoted in Readings in American History

a. What defects in the Articles of Confederation does Morse see?

b. Why does Morse think the Articles were effective duringthe American Revolution but not afterward?

CA 11WS1.1, 11WA2.4

CA 11WS1.1

CA CS2

Geography and History47. The map above shows the land claims in North America as a

result of the 1783 Treaty of Paris. Study the map and answerthe questions below.a. Interpreting Maps What were the borders for the United

States after the war for independence?

b. Applying Geography Skills Which countries shared aborder with the United States?

1,000 kilometers0Azimuthal Equal-Area projection

1,000 miles0

N

SE

W

20°N

40°N

60°N

ATLaNTICOCEaN

PaCIFICOCEaN

Gulf ofMexico

HudsonBay

BRITISHNORTH AMERICA

UNITEDSTATES

SPANISHLOUISIANA

NEWSPAIN

Land Claims in NorthAmerica, 1783

Spanish

United States

British

Russian

French

Disputed

Self-Check QuizVisit the American Vision: Modern Times Web site at

and click on Self-Check Quizzes—Chapter 1 to assess your knowledge of chapter content.

HISTORY

tav.mt.glencoe.com

Directions: Choose the best answer to thefollowing question.

Which of the following quotations best expresses thecomplaint of colonists who had to pay British taxes butcould not vote for members of the British Parliament?

A “Give me liberty or give me death.”

B “Taxation without representation is tyranny.”

C “These are the times that try men’s souls.”

D “Don’t fire until you see the whites of their eyes.”

48.


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