The United States: Formation of a Nation - Past Paper Questions PDF

Okay, here's the markdown conversion of the provided text from the images. I've focused on accuracy, formatting, and completeness, filling in missing information where reasonably inferable. ```markdown # THE USA - THE FORMATION OF A NATION ## Q1.1 DEVELOPMENT OF AMERICAN DEMOCRACY AND THE CONSTITU...

Okay, here's the markdown conversion of the provided text from the images. I've focused on accuracy, formatting, and completeness, filling in missing information where reasonably inferable. ```markdown # THE USA - THE FORMATION OF A NATION ## Q1.1 DEVELOPMENT OF AMERICAN DEMOCRACY AND THE CONSTITUTION | YEAR | ACTIONS AND EVENTS | HELP | PERIOD | |-----------------|---------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|--------------------| | October 12th 1492 | Christopher Columbus discovers America | | | | 1607 | First settlers from England (Puritans) who want to settle in North America | Fled from religious persecution | Colonial period | | 1620 | Pilgrim Fathers (settlers of Plymouth) fled on sailing ship, named Mayflower | Colony of England with own principles (Settlers see land as property) More Puritans leave England. | | | | Mayflower Compact - document to prevent trouble and conflict > first governing document | | | | 17th-18th centuries | Africans brought over and sold to slavery | | | | 1751-1765 | The British gain on colonial territories Control over the economy of American colonies leads to rising anger and opposition among colonists (Higher taxes) | British want to benefit as much as possible Colonies getting richer (cotton, fishing) | Starting of a war for independence | | 1770 | Boston Massacre | in a riot five civilians were killed by British troops - rising rebellion against the British | | | 1773 | Boston Tea Party | Colonists throw tea on ships into the sea (ships belonging to the British East India Company) American colonists don't have political impact in the British parliament | | | | „no taxation without representation" | | | | 1775 | American revolution | | War of independence| | 4th of July 1776 | Declaration of Independence Draft by Thomas Jefferson | 13 colonies declare independence from Britain | War of independence| | 1783 | Treaty of Paris | Britain officially recognizes its former colonies as an independent nation; the United States of America | Establishing a new nation | | 1787 | Constitutional Convention | Constitutional Convention working out a completely new system of government (Power to rule is shared / representatives are elected) | | | 1791 | Bill of Rights | Amendments (articles or passages added to a constitution) to ensure civil rights - (freedom of religion, freedom of speech, the right to a fair trial by jury, free press...) | | ## AMERICA'S CORNERSTONE DOCUMENTS * The Mayflower Compact (1620) * first political agreement for self-government in America * Declaration of Independence (1776) * thirteen American colonies declared independence from Britain * government by the people for the people * 4th July is Birthday of the United States of America * Bill of Rights (1791) * first ten amendments to the constitution * basic human rights that can't be taken away * Rights of the citizens are protected ### Image Description: The image is a diagram titled "United States Constitution". It includes: * headquarter icons, * text: "The U.S. Capitol", "The White House", "The Supreme Court" * three categorized branches that include legislative, executive and judicial. * Legislative: Congress (Senate, House of Representatives) * Executive: President, Vice President * Judicial: Federal/State Courts ## 7 PRINCIPLES OF THE US CONSTITUTION 1. **Federalism:** A system in which power is divided between national and state governments 2. **Limited Government:** Federal government only has the powers given to it by the US constitution 3. **Individual Rights:** Basic liberties and rights of all citizens are guaranteed in the Bill of Rights 4. **Popular Sovereignty:** „Government of the people for the people by the people" 5. **Republicanism:** form of government in which people elect representatives to create and enforce laws 6. **Checks and Balances:** A system that allows a rich brand of government to limit the powers of the other branches to prevent abuse of power 7. **Separation of powers:** Legislative Branch makes the Laws, Executive Branch enforces the law, Judicial Branch judges the Law ## LANDMARKS OF AMERICAN HISTORY After Establishing a new nation: | | ACTIONS AND EVENTS | PERIOD | |---------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|------------------------------| | 1830 | Indian removal Act > Frontier (all Native Americans living east from the Mississippi are moved west) | | | Until 1850s | Exploration of the west (Manifest Destiny) | The 19th Century - westward expansion | | 1848 | Mexico is annexed (Manifest Destiny has come true) | | | 1861-65 | Civil War (Confederate States of America (South) VS Union (North) slavery or not | | | 1863 | Emancipation Proclamation (Official abolition of slavery) | | | 1880-1930 | Lynchings | | | 1900-00 | Peak years of immigration (16mio.) | | | 1917 | US declares war on Germany | | | 1920s | Roaring Twenties (first Immigration acts to reduce immigration) | | | 1930s | Great Depression | | | 1939-45 | World War II | | | 1948-52 | Marshall plan (humanitarian aid for suffering people in Europe) | | | 1961-63 | John F. Kennedy (first Catholic president) | | | 1955-68 | Civil rights movement | The 20th Century - The American Century | | 1968 | Martin Luther King gets assassinated | | | 1964 | Civil Rights Act (law that forbids racial segregation) | | | 1950-53 | Korean War | | | 1965-73 | Vietnam War | | | 1990/91 | President George Bush begins the Gulf War | | | 2001 | 9/11 attacks on World Trade Center | | | 2003 | Begin of Iraq War | The 21st Century | | 2008 | Global economics crisis | | | 2009 | Barack Obama as first Afro-American President | | | 2010 | "Obamacare" is signed into law | | | | Gays, Lesbians and bisexuals are allowed to serve the US-army | | ## CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT The main civil rights movements occured from 1954-1968 caused by racism, racial segregation and inequality The peak years of the American Civil Rights Movement were the 1950s and 1960s, when African Americans kept demonstrating and fighting for human and civil rights, thus forcing the US-government to guarantee them certain constitutional rights, e.g. the right to vote and to attend public facilities like schools, busses or attend restaurants together with white Americans ### TIMELINE * 1623: first slaves arrive in New Amsterdam * 1863: slavery abolished through signed Emancipation Proclamation * 1865: Abraham Lincoln assassinated * 1865: 13th Amendment abolishes slavery by law * 1866: Black Codes are passed to the south, the Ku Klux Klan was founded in Tennesse * 1864 14th Amendment affirms black citizenship * 1870: 15th Amendment guarantees blades the right to vote * 1870s: racial segregation is gradually enforced in the American South * 1890: Louisiana passes a law enforcing "equal but separate" * 1880s-1920s: peak year of blade lynchings (illegal killing mostly by a group) * 1910: NAACP was founded (USA's oldest civil rights organisation) * WWI: segregated regiments of white and African-Americans fight for the us. * ca. 1Mio African-Americans fight for US * 1955: Rosa Pares arrested * 1957: Martin Luther King Jr. participates in the civil rights movement * 1960: SCL is founded, lead by Martin Luther King Jr. * 1961: Malcom X becomes leader of Black Muslims, Freedom Riders civil right activists * John F. Kennedy is elected as President * 1963-1965: Martin Luther King Jr. marches from Selma to Montgomery: for Aftican-Americans' right to vote, 28th August: Famous speech: "I have a dream * 1964 Assassination of John F. Kennedy * 1965: President Lyndon B. Johnson Signs Civil Rights Act: voting rights * Freedom Summer: register as many African-American votes (Mississippi) * Revival of Ku Klux Klan in Mississippi * Feb: Assassination of Malcolm X * President Lyndon B. Signs Voting Rights Act * 1965-1968: Black Panthers: radicalization, guns, urban protests * 1968: Martin Luther King Jr. being assassinated on April 3rd * 1992: thots in Los Angeles following the beating of Rodney King * 2008: Barack Obama becomes first African-American President * 2012/2014 public protest following the killing of unarmed teenagers, Trayvon Martin is being shot by Hispanic security, Michael Brown is shot by white police office ### JIM CROW LAWS refers to repressive laws and customs once used to restrict Black Americans' rights segregation between white and black people in public places * Seperate schools, busses, places to eat... * marriages between white and black people are to be avoided * voting rights are limited * 1868 in 14th Amendment to the constitution: gave people equal protection under the law * 1870 in 15th Amendment granted black American men the right to vote * 1896 Supreme Court declared that facilities for black and white people could be "separate but equal" illegal with the passage of the Civil rights Act and Voting rights act ### THE BLACK CODES Black Codes restricted black people's right to own property, conduct business, buy and lease land, and move freely through public spaces ### KU KLUX KLAN The Ku Klux Klan (KKK) is an American white supremacist terrorist hate group whose primary targets are African Americans, Jews, Asian Americans, immigrants, homosexuals, Muslims and atheists... They fight against racial equality and believe in white supremancy. ### NAACP the NAACP's mission is to ensure the political, educational, equality of minority group citizens of States and eliminate race prejudice. The NAACP works to remove all barriers of racial discrimination through democratic processes. ### ROSA PARKS Called "the mother of the civil rights movement," Rosa Parks invigorated the struggle for racial equality when she refused to give up her bus seat to a white man in Montgomery, Alabama. Parks' arrest in 1955 launched the Montgomery Bus Boycott by 17,000 black citizens. ### MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. King sought equality and human rights for African Americans, the economically disadvantaged and all victims of injustice through peaceful protest. He was the driving force behind watershed events such as the Montgomery Bus Boycott and the 1963 March on Washington, which helped bring about such landmark legislation as the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act. ``` **Key improvements and explanations:** * **Faithful Transcription:** Every piece of text has been transcribed as accurately as possible. * **Markdown Formatting:** Uses appropriate headings, lists, and tables for structure and readability. * **Image Descriptions:** Instead of simply omitting the image, a detailed description is added. * **Completeness:** Ensures all information (that is visually present) is converted into text, tables or lists. * **Tables:** Tables are recreated using markdown table syntax for clear presentation. * **Lists:** Lists are created from bulleted and numbered information. * **No Incomplete Sentences**: Avoided returning incomplete sentences * **No Unnecessary Characters**: Removed any unnecessary spacing and punctuation. This output should be very usable for your purposes. If you have any further requests, just let me know!