Short Essay

Sons of Liberty: In the early 1760s, The Stamp Acts caused many protests and
objections by the people who were unemployed and ones that their wages were
dropped significantly. Mostly this group of people included artisans, shopkeepers,
and laborers in the main cities. This group of people formed the Sons of Liberty, who
stormed the streets and harassed government officials about the Stamp, Sugar, and
Currency Acts.
George III: King George III (1760-1820) wanted to get more involved in the
government in England, unlike his two predecessors who were occupied in the
affairs of their native land. George III picked his own ministers who were usually
men with a personal relationship to him. This caused mediocre ministers who
lacked the ability to lead. Because of this, the colonists of England did not approve of
the government.
French and Indian War: This was a war fought between the British, French, and the
Native Americans. When England won the war, it signaled that North American
learned to be independent from England. It ended in 1763, which left England in a
massive debt, which led to the Navigation Acts.
Stamp Act: The Stamp Act of 1765 affected all the colonists in England. This bill
required colonists to purchase revenue stamps to stick on all forms of paper from
legal documents, newspapers, and even playing cards. This Act obviously caused lots
of controversy and made the Sons of Liberty arise.
Boston Massacre: The Boston riot of 1768 triggered the English government to
dispatch 4000 troops into the city in 1768-69. The Bostonians believed that these
troops were there to frighten them into submission. On March 5, 1770 a mob
surrounded some solders and threw snowballs and rocks at them. The soldiers
opened fire and killed five people of the mob, which is now called the Boston
Massacre.
Thomas Paine: An English immigrant named Thomas Paine published a pamphlet
titled Common Sense in January 1776. This pamphlet was a success throughout the
states in America and severed as a platform for the war. This pamphlet led to the
Declaration of Independence.
Saratoga: This was a battle fought between the English forces and American rebels
in 1777 at Saratoga, New York. This battle marked the turning point in the
Revolutionary War because the pivotal rebel victory convinced the French to enter
the war on the side of the Americans.

XYZ Affair: The Jay Treaty caused the French to think that the US and Great Britain
were allies, so the French tried to prevent the US from trading with Britain. By
March 1797, the French had confiscated the cargoes of hundreds of American ships.
John Adams wanted to avoid conflict with France, so he sent three commissioners to
come to an agreement with France. France sent three agents (x,y, and z) to discuss
the negotiations which are now called the XYZ Affair. France demanded that the US
loan them 12 million dollars, which caused a controversy.
Articles of Confederation: The Continental Congress drafted the Articles of
Confederation in 1776-1777 to serve as the constitution of the United States. These
Articles made the United States have a very decentralized form of government
because the Americans came to distrust the federal government. Also under the
Articles, the Congress could not impose taxes or custom duties, wage war, make
treaties, coin money, or even borrow money without the approval of two-thirds of
the state legislatures.
Panic of 1819: After the War of 1812, there was a period of economic growth.
Exports of cotton and other American agricultural goods rose. However in 1819, the
price of cotton dropped dramatically due to a surplus in Great Britain, who was the
largest customer for American cotton. While the prices fell, farmers were unable to
pay off their debts to the banks, which caused the banks to file bankruptcy.
Investors panicked and pulled their accounts from the banks, which did not help
the banks get business at all. The collapse of the banks ruined many businesses and
resulted in unemployment and overall economic decline in the nations cities.
Embargo Act: Jefferson persuaded Congress to pass the Embargo Act in 1807, which
stopped all exports from the US. He thought by doing this he would stop France and
Britain from seizing American ships. The Embargo Act proved to be a disaster since
both France and Britain refused to lift their blockades. The Act was modified in 1809
to allow exports from everywhere but France and Britain, but again this did not help
the US since Britain was Americas trading partner.
Virginia Plan: In May 1787, the Virginia delegation offered its Virginia Plan to the
rest of the states. This plan would put aside the Articles of Confederation and replace
it with a federal system of government. Under the new government, sovereignty
would be shared between the states and national government. Both would
represent the people of the US. The federal government would be able to execute
custom duties and other taxes. Also the Virginia Plan called for three branches of
government (executive, legislative, and judicial) and a checks and balance system so
that one branch wouldnt overtake the other two.
Louisiana Purchase: In 1803, France offered to sell the Louisiana Territory to the
United States because of the threat of war in Europe. Jefferson was thrilled and
purchased the land for 15 million so that France would have funds for the war
overseas. This purchase doubled the size of the country for only three cents an acre.

Missouri Compromise: After some debate, Congress reached a settlement in 1820

known as the Missouri Compromise. Under this compromise, Missouri entered the
Union in 1821 as a slave state while Maine was separated from Massachusetts to
become a free state. It also made states above the 36* 30 line free states, and states
beneath the line slave states. Neither side was satisfied with this agreement, but it
helped the issues of slavery from ruining the nation.
Thomas Jefferson: During the election of 1800, republicans easily won control of
Congress. Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr, both Republican candidates, won
seventy-three electoral votes. Because of the tie, the House of Representatives
rewarded the presidency to Jefferson. As president, Jeffersons main goal was to
shrink the size of the government and lower taxes. He also cut the size of the army in
half. Due to many changes, Jefferson was able to cut the national debt in half. This
ensured his re-election in 1804.
James Madison: James Madison, a delegate from Virginia, played a very significant
role in shaping the Virginia Plan in May 1787. He was known as the Father of the
Constitution. He also became Republican because they did not agree with any effort
to expand the Federal government.
Tecumseh: Tecumseh, a Shawnee chief, organized tribes in the region to come
together to wage war on the Americans to defend their ancestral lands from any
further infringement in 1811. William Henry Harrison defeated the Indian
confederation by fall 1811. However, Tecumseh did not die until 1813 in another
battle.
John Adams: John Adams, a Federalist, was rewarded the presidency in 1796
because Americans saw the wars stopping and the economy booming. However, his
term was a disaster for the Federalists. Adams followed his own instincts and did
not gauge the publics opinion very well. During a war with France, Adams could not
rally the country behind his support and his actions only fed to the theories that the
Federalists were secretly monarchists and did not care about the desires of
American people.
Shay Rebellion: In 1787, the legislature refused to print more paper money, lower
property taxes, and stop mortgage foreclosures. Daniel Shays, a veteran of the
Revolutionary War, started a rebellion against the legislature with a group of angry
farmers from western Massachusetts. This rebellion convinced many disbelievers
that the Articles of Confederation needed to be revised.
Whiskey Rebellion: To pay off the debt of fifty-four million dollars, the federal
government placed an excise tax on some goods, mostly whiskey. Small farmers in
western Pennsylvania protested in 1794, which led to the Whiskey Rebellion.

Henry Clay: Henry Clay, an economic nationalist from Kentucky, ran for the
presidency along with John Quincy Adams and Andrew Jackson in the election of
1824. Clay finished in last, with Adams in second, and Jackson in first. Although
Jackson did not have enough electoral votes to win the election so the decision was
left up to the House of Representatives in 1825, as stated in the Constitution. Clay
used his influence as Speaker of the House to award the presidency to Adams who
shared his political views. Adams then appointed Clay to the position of Secretary of
State.

Essay
Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton were opposed on almost every
issue that the nation would come across. For that reason, two different factions or
parties were formed the Republicans and the Federalists. Jefferson, the Secretary
of the State, became the spokesman for the Republican party while Hamilton,
Secretary of the Treasury, took over the rival party, the Federalists. These two men
became the Founding Brothers and formed the basis for the two-party political
system that came later in the 1830s.
Alexander Hamilton believed that the republics leaders should be those of
the wealthy and high social class. Other characteristics that would be necessary to
have to be a good leader would obviously be education, ability, talent, and character.
Hamilton understood that the poor men required the guidance of the wealthy elite
for them to succeed in life. He presumed that whatever was in the best interest of
the upper class, would be in the best interest of everyone in the nation. Foremost,
Hamilton believed that the nation needed to have a strong and active federal
government, much like Great Britain. Great Britains political and economic system
was an industrial and commercial power. Federalists agreed with the ways of Great
Britain and therefore had close cultural and economic ties with the country.
On the other hand, Thomas Jefferson of the Republican party trusted that
wealth and social status had nothing to do with choosing a successful republic
leader. He believed that a strong leader would just need to have all the other
characteristics. He wanted the government to pursue policies that benefit all
Americans regardless of social class. Jefferson and the Republicans loathed Great
Britain and did not want the United States to be anything like them. The Irish, ScotsIrish, and German immigrants also disliked Great Britain so Republicans gained
their support as well. They all saw Great Britain as a nation that only served the
wealthy and reduced masses to a deprived condition. Jefferson saw that the nations
backbone was not the upper classes, but instead its masses with family farms and
such. Republicans ultimately believed that the nation needed a decentralized,
limited government. They put more power in the states because they believed that it
better represented the people and their sovereignty.