SS Praxis Notes - Cause and Effect, History, and Exploration

Cause and Effect When studying human history, it\'s important to frame all events in terms of their cause and effect. Similarly, events are always shaped by the overall **chronology **of when they occur. For example, World War I led to World War II. Following WWI, there was a shift in the economic...

Cause and Effect When studying human history, it\'s important to frame all events in terms of their cause and effect. Similarly, events are always shaped by the overall **chronology **of when they occur. For example, World War I led to World War II. Following WWI, there was a shift in the economic balance of power due to European debt, and the United States became the leading industrial power and creditor for other countries. Germany was penalized with economic and military sanctions, and lingering mistrust and bitterness brewed between countries. The rise of aggressive nationalists like Italy\'s Benito Mussolini, Spain\'s Francisco Franco, and Germany\'s Adolf Hitler was possible because they could blame economic problems arising from World War I on scapegoats. In order to hold off another war, the League of Nations continued to negotiate with and accede to the aggression of these nations. However, this failed** **appeasement policy only emboldened the aggressors, and on September 1st, 1939, Adolf Hitler invaded Poland, starting World War II. Ancient Laws **Hammurabi\'s Code** - one of the earliest examples (1750 B.C) of laws to regulate a society. Although primitive, Hammurabi\'s Code suggests a presumption of innocence and a rough outline that could act as a Constitution. The Code heavily relies on the \"eye for an eye\" mindset. **Justinian\'s Code of Laws** - a compilation and formal organization of Roman Laws. The laws were issued during the rule of Emperor Justinian in early 500 A.D. They served as a foundation of jurisprudence during the Renaissance and the ideas of the laws can be seen today in the judicial systems of Western Europe, developed Asia, and the US. Origins of Democracy **Democracy** is the form of government in which all members of society have a share in decision making. Democracy can be traced back to many early societies. The foundations of modern democracies are often credited to Ancient Greece and Rome. Athens, Greece, is considered the birthplace of democracy, although forms of democracy existed in small tribes and communities dating back as far as 599 BC. The Greeks created **direct democracy**, in which all eligible citizens can vote on every issue. This doesn\'t work well with larger populations. A **representative democracy **is a system of government in which all eligible citizens vote to elect representatives to act on their behalf. The United States is an example of representative democracy. Dark Ages and Democracy in Europe After the collapse of the Roman Empire, serfdom and **monarchies **were common in Europe. In 1215 the **Magna Carta** first established the idea of limited government, the belief that the king did not have absolute power. Although the document only required the sitting English king, King John, to confer with nobles before he made decisions like passing taxes, the Magna Carta laid the groundwork for the later development of the **Model Parliament **in 1295. It was Britain\'s first elected legislative body, whose purpose was to tax the wealthy landowners and create laws. During the reign of the Stuart kings in England, a power struggle began between the monarchy and parliament. Although prior kings had abided by the Magna Carta, the Stuart kings considered themselves \"**divine right\" **monarchs and refused to consult with Parliament when they wished to levy taxes. Eventually, a power struggle between the Parliament and King Charles I resulted in the **English Civil War **(1642-1651). The Presbyterian Puritans, or Roundheads, made up the majority of Parliament. They opposed the wealthy nobility called the Cavaliers. The ensuing civil war resulted in the beheading of Charles I and the establishment of the Commonwealth of England; Oliver Cromwell was the leader of the government during this time, taking the title of Lord Protector in a period known as the Interregnum. Eventually, the monarchy was reinstated with Charles II. The Enlightenment During the seventeenth century, an intellectual movement known as the **Enlightenment** began, when thinkers (called philosophers) began to explore new ways of thinking about society and government. This helped spread rational and secular philosophy. A chart with numbers and text AI-generated content may be incorrect. **Thomas Hobbes **began this trend by writing the book *Leviathan *(1651), in which he stated that society without a strong ruler would be absolute chaos, therefore advocating a traditional **absolute monarchy**. In contrast, **John Locke **introduced **social contract theory** in ***Two Treatises of Government***: the idea that [a ruler rules with the consent of the governed]. He also introduced the idea of **natural rights**, and said it was the monarch\'s duty to protect those rights, which he defined as life, liberty, and property. If the monarch failed to do so, it was the responsibility of the citizens to overthrow him. Locke\'s ideas became the ideological foundation for the Declaration of Independence and the French Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen. A successful example of Locke\'s theory is contained in the **Glorious Revolution **(1688), when King James II was overthrown in order to create a **constitutional monarchy **in England. A consequence of this revolution was the creation of the **English Bill of Rights **(1689), which secured the power of the Parliament over the monarchy and guaranteed the individual rights of the citizens. Thomas Jefferson placed these ideas in writing of the Declaration of Independence. The effect of the American Revolution was the formation of the United States of America and the addition of the Bill of Rights to the Constitution. European Exploration and Colonization When the last stronghold of the Byzantine Empire, Constantinople, fell to the Ottomans in 1453, trade routes between Europe and Asia collapsed. This prompted European nations to seek alternative trade routes and partners and led to what is commonly referred to as the Age of Exploration in Europe. There were several different groups of Europeans that came to the Americas during the **Age of Exploration**.  Spanish Exploration Originally, Spain was looking for a way to reach the East Indies. **Christopher Columbus** began advocating for a more efficient trade route by sailing west to Asia. It\'s a common misconception that only Columbus believed the world was round. In fact, most people at the time knew the world was round. However, Columbus believed the circumference of the Earth to be *smaller *than was believed by most. Thus, he thought a westward route to India [across the Atlantic] was a much better solution than sailing [around the African continent]. Columbus had a hard time finding an investor, as his calculations were so different than his contemporaries and his personality was difficult. Eventually, Columbus managed to convince Ferdinand and Isabella, the King and Queen of Spain, to support him. In exchange for the funding, Columbus vowed to share his profits with the monarch and spread the Christian faith in the distant lands. (Isabella was a devout Catholic and invested in Columbus primarily to spread this Christian faith). While Columbus miscalculated the circumference of the Earth by one-third, he found land located in the modern-day Caribbean in 1492. He called the natives \"Indians,\" as he thought he was in India. Columbus had found a new world; through his exploration, he encouraged other Spanish explorers to sail across the Atlantic. The Spanish exploration of the New World had three goals: God, gold, and glory. Young men, often second or third-born who did not have wealth waiting for them at home, sailed to the New World to claim territory in the name of Spain, clear the way for missionaries, and amass huge amounts of gold and silver. When they were successful, the crown granted them a sizable share of the riches they uncovered, land from which they could extract more precious metals, and free labor from the natives. These Spanish **conquistadors **are known for destroying and plundering the empires of **Mesoamerica**, modern Central and South America. Later, the Spanish King Charles I funded **Ferdinand Magellan** to connect the Americas and Asia. While he died on the route, his ship completed the first circumnavigation of the Earth (going all the way around). French Exploration French exploration began with the purpose of finding the **Northwest Passage**--a water route through North America to the Pacific that would facilitate trade with Asia. French explorers, led by **Jacques Cartier**, began in the Gulf of St. Lawrence to explore the waterways, exploring the Great Lakes, the Mississippi River, and its tributaries. They founded three major colonies: Quebec, in present-day Canada; the large territory of Louisiana; and the French West Indies in the Caribbean. They also attempted to establish Fort Caroline in Florida, but they were quickly attacked and pushed out by the Spanish. A map of the north america AI-generated content may be incorrect. French traders began establishing colonies to export furs and fish to Europe. French fisheries were founded along the ocean and Hudson Bay, as these were the most advantageous geographic locations. The fur trappers established colonies inland, along the rivers. They lived in the woods, setting traps in the nearby forest. The French fur trappers also established good relations with the Native Americans to facilitate trade. English Exploration As the settlement of the New World began to crystallize, it looked as though Spain and Portugal would be the main benefactors of colonization and trade because they were able to obtain so much immediate wealth through the extraction of gold and silver. But the quick flush of cash caused rampant inflation and damaged their economies. On top of that, in 1588, the English Navy, led by Sir Francis Drake, defeated the **Spanish Armada** in an unexpected victory and** **established England as the premier European naval power.  As the last country to begin exploring and colonizing the New World, England had slim pickings when it came to establishing colonies. The other powers were not interested in the eastern seaboard because it was far from South and Central America--the center of exploration. But, while they lacked strong pull factors, England had much stronger push factors for would-be colonists. Overpopulation of the small island coupled with religious unrest made the British population particularly eager for the population outlet that the New World provided. Dutch Exploration The Dutch established colonies in the Caribbean Sea and **New Amsterdam** in modern-day Manhattan, NY. Their primary purpose in colonization was the increase of wealth through trade. They established a strong naval presence to protect their trade, which specialized in sugar, spices, and enslaved people. As a small nation, they understood that trade was the key to wealth, and so their colonies were the most open to settlers of all varieties. New Amsterdam quickly became the most diverse colony. In fact, when the British Duke of York arrived to lay claim to the colony in 1664, there were so few actual Dutch living there that the Dutch governor could not rouse the people to defend the colony. - - - - - Effect of Europeans - Trade **The Columbian Exchange **was a global exchange of goods, flora, fauna, and cultural practices** **between Europe and the Americas. This exchange created new economic opportunities for Europeans, facilitated European subjugation (slavery), and caused the destruction of indigenous peoples (smallpox). Why did Native Americans die? In addition to armed conflict, settlers brought deadly European diseases, such as smallpox, to which the natives had no immunities. These diseases spread like wildfire through both continents and decimated the population of the Americas. When the British arrived in Jamestown in 1607, they found a very different world than they would have found if they had arrived one hundred--or even fifty--years earlier. Additionally, the economy of the colonies was made most profitable through slavery and forced labor of both trafficked African and Native peoples which created a race-based social hierarchy in many Latin American countries, the effects of which are still seen today. **Mercantilism** was the economic thought that dominated Europe during the 16^th^, 17^th^, and 18^th^ centuries. It is the economic belief that a country\'s wealth is measured by its gold reserves and that countries should [export more than they import] to build the wealth of the nation. To this end, it was thought that nations should establish colonies for the purpose of almost exclusively trading with the parent nation. Colonies provided raw goods for cheap to the mother country and paid for manufactured goods from the mother country. Therefore, by setting up colonies, the parent nation reduced the need to import from other countries, thus reducing the need for gold to leave the country. A cartoon of a person in a garment AI-generated content may be incorrect. Governments and citizens of Europe saw the colonies as existing to serve their countries. This is not to say they saw colonial populations as second-class citizens, but that their purpose was the same of their European counterparts. The American colonies were founded for business and the dream of religious freedom, and time only reinforced these two fundamental beliefs. The British crown was distracted by internal issues and conflicts with the other world powers. They also recognized that they would need their American colonists in case of a conflict with France on that continent. So, although mercantilist laws were in place, they were not enforced, a policy called **salutary neglect. **This neglect allowed the colonies to flourish, develop infant industries, and trade with other nations. This would have large ramifications in the events leading up to the Revolutionary War. As each world power developed its colonies, a global system of trade emerged between the Americas, Europe, and Africa. This was termed **Triangular Trade** because of the three main trading routes: 1. Europeans traveled to Africa where they traded their manufactured goods and rum for enslaved African people. 2. Those enslaved Africans were then sent to the Americas to work in the plantations, growing cash crops of sugar, tobacco, and (later) cotton. 3. These cash crops would then be sold to Europe, where they were turned into manufactured and processed goods to then sell in Africa and the Americas.  The French and Indian War The **French and Indian War** (1754 - 1763) began over land disputes surrounding the Appalachian Mountains. As colonies began expanding, the colonists looked west to the Ohio River Valley for additional land. Although the French fur trappers had already claimed the land for France and Native American tribes were scattered throughout the land, there were few white settlers in the region. The British colonists considered this land available for British settlement.  Small confrontations escalated to a widespread war in 1754. The French and many Native American tribes (with the exception of the Iroquois) allied together to fight the British. Although the Native Americans had their qualms with both sides, the French fur trappers were less of a threat to the land than the British settlers, who sought to control large areas of land for agriculture and other industries. After years of fighting that spiraled into a global war involving nearly all world powers at the time (the Seven Years War), Britain emerged victorious and signed the **Treaty of Paris (1763)**. A map of the united states AI-generated content may be incorrect.Long-term Effects of the French and Indian War There were several significant consequences of the war that would shape the next decade: - **Proclamation of 1763 **- As a compromise with Native tribes, a proclamation was issued by the British **King George** and stated that British colonists would not be allowed to settle west of the Appalachian mountains, including in the Ohio River Valley. King George decided this was the best course of action because protecting the colonists from the Native Americans living in the land would be too expensive. This angered the colonists because they had fought a war over the right to settle the land and were now being told that they could not settle the land they had fought for, causing tension between the colonists and the crown. - **Movement Toward Colonial Unification** - **The Albany Plan of Union **was proposed in 1754 by Benjamin Franklin and other colonial leaders as a way to create a unified government for the Thirteen Colonies during the French and Indian War. The plan aimed to centralize defense efforts and coordinate relations with Native American tribes. Although it was ultimately rejected by both the colonial legislatures and the British government, who feared it would give too much autonomy to the colonies, it laid the groundwork for later discussions on colonial unity and cooperation, foreshadowing the movement toward independence. - **French Cessation of Land, Rise of British** - The French were effectively kicked off of the North American continent, ceding much of its land, including land in modern-day Canada, to Britain. Napoleon would later regain the region of Louisiana and sell the land to the U.S. for fifteen million dollars in 1803. The French and Indian War established Britain as the dominant force in North America and shifted French colonial attention to the Caribbean and Africa. - **Weakened Political Power for Native Americans** - With the many French removed from the land, the Native Americans lost a strong military ally. They were significantly weakened after the war. - **The Rise of George Washington** - George Washington emerged as a colonial military leader. He was the commander in the first conflict with the French and earned the rank of Major in the colonial British militia. The experience he gained would be essential in the Revolutionary War, and it established him as a colonial hero (rather than a British hero). - **Increase in Britain\'s debt** -** **The war placed a heavy financial burden on Britain and doubled the nation\'s debt. To finance this debt, Britain began implementing new taxes across their worldwide empire, which would increase tensions between the colonies and the crown. - - - Native American Groups Pre-Colonization Before the arrival of the Europeans, the Native Americans were several distinct tribes, varied in their economic and cultural practices.  Cultures of Indigenous North American Civilizations **Farming ** Before European colonization, Native American tribes and civilizations across North America engaged heavily in agriculture. Indigenous agricultural practices were highly adapted to local ecosystems, varying greatly by region and environment. In areas with fertile soil, such as the Southeast and the Midwest, Indigenous communities developed complex, sustainable farming systems.  - **Three Sisters farming **- A broadly popular method of planting corn, beans, and squash together, Three Sisters farming was an extremely effective and sustainable agricultural technique. This intercropping approach not only maximized yields but also helped maintain soil fertility, with each plant playing a role: corn provided a natural pole for beans to climb, beans enriched the soil with nitrogen, and squash spread along the ground, preserving moisture and suppressing weeds. A diagram of a plant AI-generated content may be incorrect. - **Innovative irrigation** - In arid and semi-arid regions, Indigenous farmers used irrigation and water conservation techniques to grow crops. In the Southwest, for example, the Hohokam people engineered extensive canal systems that transported water from rivers to their fields, allowing them to cultivate crops in desert conditions.  - **Other food sources** - Most civilizations, including the Pueblo peoples in the Southwest, combined crop cultivation with gathering, fishing, and hunting to create a balanced diet and resilient food system. - **Women-led systems** - In many large communities, such as the Iroquois of the Northeast, women were primarily responsible for managing farming practices.  - **Cultural Significance **-  Native American agriculture was deeply interwoven with their spiritual beliefs and community structures, promoting a harmonious relationship with the land. Their farming practices were designed to ensure sustainability and food security, preserving resources for future generations while supporting a thriving agricultural economy. **Trade** Prior to European contact, many major Native American civilizations had extensive trade networks that allowed for the movement of goods, services, and ideas across North America. Trade at that time involved a combination of bartering and currency exchange.  Iroquois Confederacy Before European contact, the **Iroquois Confederacy** was an alliance of five (later six) nations in the northeastern region of North America; the Confederacy included the Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, and Seneca tribes, with the Tuscarora joining in the early 18th century. This alliance was rooted in a shared commitment to internal peace, unity, and mutual defense and was governed by a constitution known as the Great Law of Peace. This law established a participatory government with decision-making through a Grand Council of clan leaders, who were selected by female elders, giving women an influential role in governance. Cooperation among tribes in the confederation allowed the Iroquois to focus on military force, including protection and conquest of other peoples. Military might was highly prized. The Iroquois Confederacy also maintained complex trade networks and sustainable agricultural practices that supported a rich cultural life and resilience.   Geographic Influence As with all civilizations, Native American culture was heavily influenced by the geography of their regions. The following table provides a summary of the key geographic elements of each region and the cultural practices influenced by that geography.  +-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+ | **Geographic Impact | | | | on Native American | | | | Groups by Region** | | | +=======================+=======================+=======================+ | **Region** | **Key Geography** | **Impact on Native | | | | American Tribes** | +-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+ | Eastern Woodlands | Fertile wooded lands | - Three Sisters | | | with rivers and | farming | | | streams, mild springs | | | | and summers, cold | - Hunting and | | | winters | fishing | | | | | | | | - Trade | | | | | | | | \*Early contact with | | | | Europeans due to | | | | geographic location | +-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+ | Southeast | Humid and fertile | - Three Sisters | | | | farming  | | | | | | | | - Small permanent | | | | villages | | | | | | | | - Mound building  | +-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+ | Great Plains | Wide-open fertile | - Three Sisters | | | grassland | farming | | | | | | | | - Permanent | | | | settlements | | | | | | | | - Once horses | | | | arrived, became | | | | more nomadic, | | | | using teepees | +-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+ | Southwest | Hot and dry desert | - Three Sisters | | | | farming | | | | | | | | - Used \"dry | | | | farming\" - | | | | moisture | | | | collection | | | | systems | | | | rather than | | | | irrigation; | | | | planted in | | | | areas of | | | | natural water | | | | collection | | | | like canyon | | | | bottoms | | | | | | | | - Tiered homes made | | | | out of adobe | | | | bricks | +-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+ | Great Basin | Flat, rocky soil, | - Nomadic hunters | | | desert climate | and gatherers | +-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+ | California | A variety of | - Ample sustenance | | | microenvironments, | through hunting | | | such as coasts, | and gathering | | | rivers, lakes, | | | | forests, valleys, | - Sedentary | | | deserts, and | communities | | | mountains | | | | | - Reached levels of | | | | cultural | | | | complexity not | | | | seen among other | | | | hunting and | | | | gathering | | | | cultures | +-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+ | Plateau | Mountainous, | - Expansive trade | | | surrounded by 4 other | network | | | regions | | | | | - Borrowed | | | | innovations from | | | | surrounding | | | | regions | | | | | | | | - Resided in | | | | permanent | | | | villages in | | | | winter | | | | | | | | - Cultivated | | | | natural plants | | | | without full | | | | domestication or | | | | farming | | | | | | | | - Became more | | | | nomadic with the | | | | introduction of | | | | horses | +-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+ | Northwest Coast | Ocean, coastal | - Sea fishing via | | | forests | canoes  | | | | | | | | - Created memorial | | | | (totem) poles and | | | | other wood | | | | carving art | +-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+ | Arctic | Cold, harsh | - Hunted caribou | | | environment | and sea animals | | | | through ice | +-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+ | **Example Question** | | | | | | | | Which [TWO]{.underlin | | | | e} of | | | | the following farming | | | | practices were | | | | prevalent among | | | | Native American | | | | tribes prior to | | | | colonization? | | | | | | | | A. fertilization of | | | | crops using manure to | | | | create more robust | | | | yields | | | | | | | | B. planting staple | | | | crops together to | | | | enrich the soil | | | | | | | | C. using horses and | | | | cattle to pull plows | | | | to improve efficiency | | | | | | | | D. irrigation and | | | | water collection | | | | techniques to improve | | | | sustainability | | | +-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+ | | | | +-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+ | | | | +-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+ | **Answer Choice | | | | Explanations** | | | | | | | | Choices A, and C were | | | | agricultural | | | | practices prevalent | | | | in Europe and, later, | | | | American farming but | | | | were not practiced by | | | | Native American | | | | farmers. Neither | | | | horses nor cattle | | | | were native to the | | | | Americas, so Native | | | | farmers did not use | | | | manure for fertilizer | | | | or animals for farm | | | | labor.  | | | | | | | | Many Native American | | | | groups employed the | | | | Three Sisters farming | | | | technique -- planting | | | | corn, beans, and | | | | squash together in | | | | the same field. The | | | | three crops worked | | | | together to improve | | | | yields and protect | | | | the soil, each | | | | serving a specific | | | | purpose that boosted | | | | sustainability and | | | | improved yield. | | | | Nearly all tribes | | | | also used irrigation | | | | and water collection | | | | techniques to allow | | | | for farming, even in | | | | arid climates. B and | | | | D are the correct | | | | answer choices. | | | +-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+ | | | | +-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+ Maya, Inca, and Aztec Empires There were three main pre-Columbian Native American civilizations in Central and South America: the Maya Civilization, the Inca Empire, and the Aztec Empire. **Maya** - **The Mayan civilization** was composed of multiple **city-states** interlinked but without a strong central government. The Mayan civilization was incredibly sophisticated, including monumental architecture and temples, a highly developed system of trade, a complex agricultural system that fed a large population, calendrical systems, astronomical understanding, and one of the world\'s first systems of writing. The decline of the Mayan civilization was rapid, and the causes are still essentially unknown. At the time of the arrival of the Spanish, while many of the cities were still thriving, the empire had dissipated into distinct and warring small kingdoms and cities. The Spanish were able to quickly and easily conquer each of them. **Aztecs **- In 1428, the city-states of Tenochtitlan, Texcoco, and Tlacopan formed a triple alliance to rule the valley. Together, they built an empire that covered most of central Mexico. The empire\'s strength was based primarily on military might: the alliance conquered other cities by force. However, the administration of the empire was loose. Local leaders were allowed to maintain power as long as they paid an annual tribute to the alliance, contributed soldiers to other conquests, and formally worshiped the imperial God Huitzilopochtli alongside their local gods. The Aztec Empire was conquered by** Hernan Cortes** in 1521 after two years of conflict and a massive smallpox epidemic. **Incas** - Lasting from the early 13^th^ century to the destruction of the final stronghold in 1572, the highly centralized empire was organized around the capital of Cusco in modern-day Peru. The empire was ruled by a single king, viewed as a descendant of the sun god. After an initial period of expansion, most of the Incan conquest was done peacefully, as resistance was rare. Conquered areas were required to pay tribute to Cusco and were connected by a complex system of roads used for trade and to carry messages across the Empire. Because the Inca did not use a common writing system, they used a complex messenger system to spread information across the large area controlled by the central leadership. Many conquered areas maintained their local customs and practices. Weakened by a smallpox outbreak and internal political conflicts within the empire, Cusco\'s Empire fell to Spanish conquistador **Francisco Pizarro **in 1532. Spanish conquest brought disease, massive casualties of battle, destruction of cities and infrastructure, and, ultimately, the decimation of the population and destruction of culture for all three of these civilizations. The Spanish believed that they could find and exploit gold and other valuable resources in the cities and lands inhabited by the Aztec, Inca, and Maya civilizations. While the Spanish conquistadors did seize gold from these civilizations, they never found the fabled cities of gold that they sought. There are descendants of these empires living today who retain the language and some elements of culture; however, the trajectory of these civilizations was forever altered by Spanish colonization. **Maya Civilization** **Aztec Empire** **Inca Empire** --------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------- **Time Period** 750-900 CE c\. 1428-1521 CE c\. 1200-1572 CE **Location** Mexico and Central America Valley of Mexico Western South America **Structure** Loosely linked city-states Loose empire of semi-autonomous conquered states Highly centralized empire **Major Cities** Tikal Tenochtitlan Cusco **Significant Cultural Achievements** advanced understanding of astronomy, one of the world\'s first writing systems complex architecture (examples still standing in modern-day Mexico), irrigation systems, advanced agricultural techniques terrace farming, aqueducts, sophisticated metalworking and artwork Regionalism in the Early Republic Certain regions of America developed distinct characteristics based on their motivation for settlement, geography, crops, and religion. The distinct regions were New England, the middle, and the southern colonies. A map of the state of new england AI-generated content may be incorrect. **New England** - included Rhode Island, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire. Many northern colonists were motivated to come to the new world for religious freedom. For example, Massachusetts (Pilgrims), Connecticut (Puritans), and Rhode Island (religious dissidents) were established for religious reasons. The New England colonies had abundant forests, rocky soil, mountains, and a short growing season, which made farming difficult and instead encouraged manufacturing. Their main economic activities were logging, fishing, and shipbuilding. **Middle Colonies** - included Delaware, New York, and New Jersey, which were established as trade centers, and Pennsylvania, which was established by Quakers for religious freedom. The middle colonies had fertile soil for farming, access to iron ore, and were in close proximity to coastlines, which allowed them to develop their economy in the areas of agriculture, manufacturing, and mining. These colonies were nicknamed \"the breadbasket\" because of the large amounts of grain they produced. **Southern Colonies** - included Maryland (sometimes considered to be a middle or Chesapeake colony), Virginia, North and South Carolina, and Georgia. The Carolinas were settled by private companies seeking a profit, Maryland was settled by Catholics seeking religious freedom, and Georgia was created as a debtor\'s colony. The southern colonies had coastlines and fertile soil, which lent itself to plantation-style agriculture and the production and exportation of cash crops like tobacco, cotton, and indigo. This plantation-style agriculture also fostered a systemic dependence on African slave labor and discouraged the development of any other industries. Colonial Period The colonial history of America covers the time of European colonization in the early 16th century until the American Revolution in 1776. While the Spanish and French colonies were ruled in a very centralized fashion by the crown, the British colonies enjoyed unparalleled political freedom. The colonists were English (and later - British) citizens who chose to relocate to the New World. They valued individual freedom and representative government. These values greatly influenced the establishment of government in the colonies. The majority of colonists living in the modern-day US were British because, unlike the French government, the British crown allowed those seeking religious freedom to leave the country and resettle. Because of the many sects of Protestantism that were erupting across Europe in the 17th and 18th centuries, the American colonies were an attractive choice for many British citizens who wished to practice their religion without the direct influence of mainstream British culture and the Church of England. New England, for example, was largely settled by **Puritans**, the cultural influence of whom is still evident in modern-day US society. Mayflower Compact Before the pilgrims arrived on the Mayflower, they decided to outline the structure and function of their government. The resulting document was the **Mayflower Compact**, an influential charter that established a self-regulating government for the Pilgrims at Plymouth Colony. Based upon principles of democracy found in Ancient Rome and Greece and a moral standard based on the Bible, the Mayflower Compact was signed by the men of the colony. In signing, they agreed to live under the common rules and laws decided by the majority of the colonists.  House of Burgesses The **House of Burgesses **was established in 1619. This was Virginia Colony\'s own representative legislative body, established as a replication of Great Britain\'s parliamentary system. The original house was composed of 22 representatives, called burgesses, each representing 11 different settlements or plantations. This became a model for structuring governments in the other colonies---particularly in the Chesapeake and South---as they developed. Town Hall Government In the Northern colonies, a town hall structure of government emerged, because they were in more organized towns rather than scattered settlements. As in the Mayflower Compact, the church members acted as a democratic body to make decisions for the colony. As the colonies grew in size and became more diverse, the restriction of church membership led to a much smaller percentage of the population participating in elections. Eventually, the laws were changed to reflect the changing nature of the colonies. Indentured Servitude As agricultural production in the colonies required additional labor, the colonists began importing African slaves and indentured servants. Slaves were bound for life, unless emancipated or given the opportunity to buy their freedom, whereas indentured servants---who were both European and African---were only bound for a period of seven years, in order to pay off the debt of their transport. When their service was complete, they would not only be free, but they would also receive a plot of land. Over time in the Virginia colony, as more indentured servants ended their service contracts and claimed their pieces of land, it became increasingly crowded. Many farmers preferred slave labor for this reason. The lands provided to the indentured servants were typically the least desirable, the least fertile, and located on the frontier, leading to continuous conflicts between the poorest members of the colony and the Native American tribes just beyond the settlement. The situation came to a head in 1676 when a colonist named Nathaniel Bacon led angry former indentured servants against the colonial government. While the uprising was quelled, it signaled an end to the sustainability of indentured servitude and the shift to relying solely on African slavery to sustain Southern agriculture Conflict with Native Americans European colonization disrupted Native American life, causing demographic and cultural transformations. The **Lakota **tribe, who had been sedentary forest dwellers, moved to the open plains with the acquisition of horses from the Spanish. They adopted a completely new way of life as mounted nomadic hunters. Disease had the biggest effect on the Native Americans; it extinguished entire cultures. Disease epidemics often killed elders of the Native American tribes, the ones who preserved the oral traditions. Without their elders, some tribes were forced to migrate and even combine with other tribes. For example, the Catawba nation of the southern Piedmont region was formed from the remains of several different groups. Trade also changed Native American life; traditional barter networks began to be replaced by European commerce. Firearms, for example, were highly desired by the Native Americans and increased competition among them for access to hunting grounds that could supply the animal skins the Europeans wanted. The result: the growth of violence among tribes. General Causes of the American Revolution **The American Revolution **(sometimes called **The War for Independence, or the Revolutionary War**) was an uprising of the colonies in America against the British. They were greatly influenced by the philosophy of **John Locke** of the **Enlightenment** period. The grievances of the colonists centered around being taxed without having legal representation in Parliament. The cost of the French and Indian War was very high and the British wished to pay the expenses by taxing the colonists. Additionally, the crown under **King George III** forbade the colonies in the **Proclamation of 1763** from migrating to the land west of the Appalachian Mountains and into the **Ohio River Valley**, valuable land with rivers for trading. The colonists also wanted to trade with other countries in order to get a better price for their goods, but they were barred from trading with other countries because of Mercantilism. Mercantilism stated that the purpose of the colonies was to build wealth for the parent country and that colonial businesses trading with other nations was harmful to the parent nation, which, in this case, was Britain. Specific Acts **Sugar Act of 1764 **- Parliament placed a tax on sugar, along with textiles, coffee, wines, and indigo. It also forbade the importation of foreign rums and French wines (France had a large network of sugar plantations in the Caribbean and the rum is made from sugar). This tax was placed on all British colonies throughout the empire. *Colonial reaction: *The colonists were generally outraged, as the economy was experiencing a dip due to the ending of the **French and Indian War**. Some small protests and boycotts were organized, and the Act received a great deal of negative press. **Stamp Act of 1765 **- A tax levied only on the American colonies. The first direct tax on the colonists, this act placed a tax on all printed materials. This affected the most influential colonists: lawyers, publishers, landowners, shipbuilders, and merchants. *Colonial reaction: *Representatives from each colony came together in the Stamp Act Congress to formally protest the tax. This was one of the first formal acts of intercolonial unity, and it resulted in the repeal of the Act. The** Sons of Liberty**, an underground resistance organization, formed at this time as well. They would play a major role in every formal resistance to British taxation over the next ten years. **Quartering Act of 1765 **- Required colonists to provide room and board to all British soldiers. If there weren\'t enough barracks, private buildings could be used. *Colonial reaction: *Colonists were angry about the idea of using their private homes for troops again (it had occurred during the French and Indian War). Led first by New York, the colonies refused to comply with the act. Almost all the colonies found a way to circumvent the act by providing funds for the housing and feeding of soldiers via their legislatures. **Townshend Act of 1767 **- Placed new taxes on imported items such as paper, glass, tea, lead, and paints. These new taxes were implemented to cover the increasing cost of protecting and administering the American colonies. *Colonial reaction: *There were widespread protests throughout the colonies, including the organization of boycotts and the first non-importation agreement aimed at reducing the revenues Britain earned from the colonies. In response, Parliament repealed all of the taxes except the one on tea. **Boston Massacre of 1770 **- A group of British soldiers fired into a mob of colonists that was harassing them. While called a massacre, only three people died immediately, and two others from injuries. The Boston Massacre is a symbol of the tensions between the colonists and the British during this time. Colonists were getting tired of the increased taxes to pay for increased troops within their cities. Boston, in particular, was the site of many demonstrations and informal hazing of troops. *Colonial reaction: *Propaganda about the event spread throughout the colonies, turning the British soldiers into villains. This became popularly considered the first truly violent encounter between British soldiers and colonists. **Tea Act of 1773 **- This act actually reduced the cost of tea, but allowed British traders to bypass typical middlemen and sell directly to the colonists. The British East India Company lobbied Parliament for this act, which established them as a monopoly. *Colonial reaction: *Colonists disguised as Native Americans snuck aboard a British East India Company ship and dumped hundreds of pounds of tea into the Boston Harbor in protest of the Tea Act, an event that became known as the **Boston Tea Party.** **Intolerable Acts (Coercive Acts) of 1774 **- Parliament passed a series of laws aimed at punishing Massachusetts for the Boston Tea Party. The acts included: - The closing of Boston Harbor - Royal control of the Massachusetts government - The trial of all British officials in Britain rather than in the colonies - A stronger Quartering Act - The Quebec Act, which preserved French Catholic dominance of Quebec *Colonial response: *Representatives from 12 of the 13 colonies (Georgia did not send representatives) came together at the **First Continental Congress** to voice opposition to the suppression of Massachusetts and the violation of the right to self-governance. The Tipping Point After the passage of the Coercive Acts, violent conflicts between Massachusetts and British soldiers were inevitable. In 1775, the first shots were fired in Lexington and Concord, MA. Although at war, the colonists still hoped to reconcile with Great Britain. At this stage, they were not fighting for independence, but to change British policy towards the colonies. As the conflict progressed and leaders like John Adams, **Benjamin Franklin**, Samuel Adams, and Thomas Jefferson met to discuss their goals, it became increasingly clear that they were unlikely to find common ground with Great Britain. In 1775, a newspaper editor in Philadelphia named **Thomas Paine **published a pamphlet called *Common Sense. *Paine argued that the colonies should separate completely from Great Britain; the present relationship no longer made sense. The pamphlet sold hundreds of thousands of copies, and people began to consider the idea of independence in earnest. The American Revolution After months of discussion and debate, on July 4, 1776, the **Second Continental Congress** issued a **Declaration of Independence**.** **Written primarily by **Thomas Jefferson**, the declaration outlined the complaints the colonists had about Great Britain and explained the reasons for independence. One of the primary grievances listed was the crown\'s interference with colonial trade through some of the restrictive policies put in place to recoup the costs of the French and Indian War. While Parliament and the crown were enraged by this, many British citizens were tired of the cost of the colonies and supported separation as well. Led by **George Washington**, eight years of war followed. In September and October of 1777, two battles were fought near **Saratoga**, New York. These battles are often called the turning point of the Revolutionary War in favor of the Americans. Due to the victory of America over the British, the French were convinced to recognize the independence of America and to give it military assistance. It is believed that this victory and ensuing French assistance made possible America\'s future success in the war. In 1783, the two sides signed the **Treaty of Paris** which granted independence to the newly created United States. In 1793, George Washington declared in the **Proclamation of Neutrality **that the US would not interfere/involve itself in European conflicts. The American Revolution, and later the French Revolution, set an example upon people throughout the world. Those who seek democratic freedoms look at the revolutionary periods as a model for their grievances. If the existing powers keep the status quo and refuse to make reforms, the people have the right, if they have the will, to make changes for their own betterment, happiness, and security. Early Politics National political parties didn\'t exist when George Washington became America\'s first president. There had been Whigs and Tories, Federalists and Anti-Federalists, but these groups were factions, not political parties. They were created in response to contested issues and then faded away. The **Whiskey** **Rebellion **(1791-1794): In response to a tax placed on whiskey, backcountry farmers in Pennsylvania rose up in a rebellion that mirrored Shays\' Rebellion in Massachusetts under the Articles of Confederation. Whereas Shays\' Rebellion had been hard to control with no standing army and no way to force the other states to send support to Massachusetts, the Whiskey Rebellion was quickly suppressed when Washington, encouraged by Hamilton, sent troops to Pennsylvania. This showed the increased strength of the federal government, which commanded a new respect. The biggest conflict in the young government was the debate over the **Bank of the United States.** The Constitution gave Congress the power to tax, but did not specifically give them the power to create a bank. Some people, like Thomas Jefferson, believed that this meant Congress did not have the power to do so. Others, like **Alexander Hamilton**, who was the first Secretary of the Treasury, believed that Congress had powers implied by the Constitution, including setting up a bank to collect and manage taxes. Washington agreed with Hamilton, and the bank was established over the objections of many. The establishment of the Bank of the United States, along with other financial decisions made by Hamilton, created unrest. Some Americans thought his decisions infringed on states\' rights and made the federal government too strong. An organized opposition began, led by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison. When Jefferson and Madison first organized their opposition to the Hamiltonian program, they didn\'t intend to create a political party. However, as newspapers spread their political message, as well as Hamilton\'s, the beginnings of political parties began to emerge. The two-party system has existed in the U.S. since that time. By the election of 1800, two parties had emerged: the **Democratic-Republicans **(who advocated for states\' rights) and the **Federalists **(who advocated for a stronger central government). Both parties recruited and ran candidates for elections.  The parties have changed over the years, but in general, this divide still exists. Modern Republicans generally advocate for less federal control over states, and modern Democrats generally advocate for a strong central government. The Constitution The **Constitutional Convention **was held in Philadelphia in 1787, and it laid out a new blueprint for the American government, the **Constitution**. The new governing law increased the powers of the federal government while still safeguarding the powers of the states. It was built on compromise, trying to find ways to bring the various parts of the new country---and their various needs---together, rather than protecting them from each other. It also was built to adapt, with a clear structure for any amendments written into the document itself. In spite of attempts to balance the interests of the various factions, a fundamental disagreement still existed over the size and role of the national government. This resulted in a heated debate and an extended ratification process before the Constitution could become the law of the land. - Supporters of the Constitution, called **Federalists**, argued that the central government was now strong enough to properly function, but it was still limited enough to prevent tyranny. Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay articulated their position in a series of papers called the **Federalist Papers**. - Opponents, called **Anti-Federalists**,** **argued that the extension of national power would lead to the violation of state and individual rights. Patrick Henry and Thomas Jefferson were among those who spoke out. To resolve this conflict, a section was added to explicitly protect the rights of individuals. These first ten amendments to the Constitution are called the **Bill of Rights.** - 1^st^ Amendment: Protects against restrictions on freedom of speech, religion, press, petition, and assembly - 2^nd^ Amendment: Protects against restrictions of the right to bear arms - 3^rd^ Amendment: Protects against the quartering of troops in homes - 4^th^ Amendment: Protects against unlawful searches and seizures (requires warrants) - 5^th^ Amendment: Protects against unsupported accusations of wrongdoing, self-incrimination, and double jeopardy (being charged for the same crime twice) - 6^th^ Amendment: Protects the right to a fair, speedy, and public trial; the right to a lawyer, the right to confront accusers, and the right to an impartial jury - 7^th^ Amendment: Protects the right to a jury trial in civil cases - 8^th^ Amendment: Protects against cruel and unusual punishment - 9^th^ Amendment: Protects the rights of the individuals not specifically listed (unenumerated rights) - 10^th^ Amendment: Protects powers of states that are not specifically listed in the Constitution (reserved powers) A diagram of a bill of rights AI-generated content may be incorrect. Key Names in the Early Republic - **Samuel Adams**: ***Massachusetts lawyer and politician who became one of the Founding Fathers**.* As a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives in the 1760s, Adams led the opposition to British taxation of the colonies. He wrote the Massachusetts Circular Letter calling for colonial noncompliance and developed the committees of correspondence that allowed the colonies to communicate with each other before and during the war. He also served in both the First and Second Continental Congresses and helped draft both the Declaration of Independence and the Articles of Confederation. Adams was particularly effective in delivering rousing and insightful speeches and is credited with articulating much of the ideology behind the Revolution. - **George Washington: *commander of the Continental Army and first president of the United States.*** First gaining fame for his service in the French and Indian War, Washington proved himself a capable soldier and leader. In 1775, at the outbreak of the Revolutionary War, the Second Continental Congress commissioned Washington as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army. He led a grueling campaign made harder by limited resources and manpower. He was able to turn the tide after crossing the Delaware River in midwinter, and by winning two decisive battles at Saratoga and Yorktown. Later, Washington was elected to preside over the Constitutional Convention and then unanimously as the first president of the United States. He managed his slaves and estate when not serving his country. - **Ben Franklin:** ***a Founding Father, an inventor, a diplomat, a writer, and a scientist*.** Benjamin Franklin was one of the best known Americans of his time. As a scientist, he conducted early experiments with electricity. He is also credited with many inventions, including bifocals, the penny, and the rocking chair. He established, in newspapers and in his annual almanac, a distinctly American cultural voice for the colonies. He is most celebrated, however, for his role in the founding of the nation. Franklin was a vocal and strong supporter of the Revolution and helped write the Declaration of Independence and negotiate the Treaty of Paris of 1783 that ended the war. He served as an ambassador to France and was critical in establishing early American international relationships. He also played a key role in the writing of the U.S. Constitution. Older than many of the other Founding Fathers, Franklin was seen as a mentor and guide to the new nation. - **John Adams**: **a founder and the second president of the United States. **A delegate from Massachusetts at both the First and Second Continental Congress and is credited with helping to write the Declaration of Independence. He served as the first vice president under George Washington. In 1796, Adams was elected the second President of the United States. He was the only president who belonged to the short-lived Federalist party. - **Alexander Hamilton: *first secretary of the treasury.* **Hamilton immigrated to the United States from the Caribbean as a young adult and quickly became involved in the movement opposing British taxation policies. He served as Washington\'s aide-de-camp during the war and soon became one of the most influential voices in the new nation. Hamilton believed strongly that the future of the nation depended on the strength of its economy. He favored a trade-based economy and so lobbied for a strong central government and strong ties to Britain. He was one of the chief promoters of the Constitution during ratification, writing the majority of the Federalist Papers. Washington appointed Hamilton as his secretary of the treasury, and Hamilton developed a five-point plan that became the basis of the American financial system. - **James Madison: *a* *Founding Father and fourth president of the United States*. **James Madison is best known as the \"Father of the Constitution.\" Madison arrived at the constitutional convention with a plan for a new government that became the blueprint from which the convention worked. He lobbied strongly in favor of the ratification of the Constitution, writing the Federalist Papers with Alexander Hamilton and John Jay. However, as the new nation progressed under the Constitution, Madison shifted away from a belief in a strong central government and became a leading Democratic-Republican, advocating for states\' rights. He drafted the Bill of Rights and later wrote the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions with Jefferson in protest of the Alien and Sedition Acts. The challenges of the War of 1812 later convinced then-President Madison that the country could not thrive without a strong army and financial system. He returned to his earlier commitment to a strong national government. - **Thomas Paine: *a political activist and journalist who spurred the colonists toward independence. ***Paine came to the colonies in 1774 with the help of Benjamin Franklin in order to advocate for American independence from the British monarchy. He wrote a pamphlet called *Common Sense* in which he laid out an argument for independence. Paine argued that the king and Parliament violated the natural rights of the people, and that independence was the only option. Unlike many of his fellow revolutionary writers, Paine wrote to be understood by the common person. The pamphlet became hugely popular, selling upward of 100,000 copies. *Common Sense* is often cited as one of the key factors that led to independence. - **John Jay*: first chief justice of the Supreme Court****.* Jay was an early opponent of British colonial policies. He joined the New York committee of correspondence and helped to organize protests. During and after the war, he served as an ambassador to Spain. He was one of the chief defenders of the new Constitution during the ratification process, writing five articles of the Federalist papers, which argued for a strong central government. After the new government was formed, Jay was appointed as the Supreme Court\'s first chief justice. In that role, he established the independence of the court by refusing to weigh in on legislation pending in Congress. He also established many of the rules and procedures of the court still in effect today. In 1794, while still chief justice, Jay traveled to Britain to act as a chief negotiator between the United States and Britain. The resulting treaty, the Jay Treaty, was seen as a victory by Federalists and a failure by Democratic-Republicans. He voluntarily left the court and won the governorship of New York, where he worked to abolish slavery. - **Abigail Adams: *wife of Founding Father and second president John Adams****. *As the wife of John Adams, the revolutionary leader and Founding Father, Abigail Adams was intensely involved in both the Revolution and the early years of the country. She corresponded regularly with her husband during the Continental Congresses and the Constitutional Convention, offering advice and input. These letters have been preserved, making her one of the most documented first ladies. They demonstrate a high level of intellectual engagement and political understanding. Most famously, in one letter, she asked her husband to \"remember the ladies\" in the formation of the new government. Along with Mercy Otis Warren and Martha Washington, Adams was part of a small group of revolutionary women who saw women\'s rights as an important---but forgotten---part of the Revolution and the building of the republic. - **Martha Washington: *wife of George Washington****.* Martha Washington took her role as wife to the commander of the Continental Army, and later, first lady of the United States, seriously. She maintained the social network of the leaders of the new nation. During the war, she traveled with Washington to all of his winter encampments, where she hosted gatherings and supported her husband. As first lady, she established traditions of the role that are still in place today, including hosting a weekly reception open to the public that allowed the representatives of the new government to meet and form connections in an informal setting. While not a public advocate for women\'s rights, Martha Washington maintained strong connections with other Revolutionary women and, through her position, actively engaged in the politics of the time. She managed the slaves and estate of her husband throughout his long career. - **Thomas Jefferson: *a founder, first Secretary of State, and third president of the United States*. **Jefferson was an author, lawyer, politician, and diplomat who served the United States before, during, and after the American Revolution in various capacities. He was the primary author of the Declaration of Independence and, though absent during the Constitutional Convention, his ideas and writings on democracy and republicanism helped shape the Constitution. He was the first secretary of state under president George Washington and the second vice president under John Adams. He later served as the third president of the United States from 1801-1809 (the first Democrat-Republican to hold the office) in which he oversaw the Louisiana Purchase and supported a controversial Embargo Act in response to renewed tensions with Great Britain and France. - Slavery in the Colonial Americas - Portugal was the first of the European nations to begin the transatlantic slave trade (c. 1526), but others, including Spanish, Dutch, English, and French nations, soon followed. The slave trade evolved out of the desire for plentiful and inexpensive manual labor to cultivate the cash crops of sugarcane in the Caribbean, and tobacco and cotton in the American colonies. - In the Americas, some Africans from western and central Africa were initially brought across the Atlantic as **indentured servants,** with the initial plan being to release them from forced labor and provide them with land after seven years of labor, similar to the system created for some indebted European immigrants who settled in modern-day Georgia. However, the indentured servitude system was revoked as it became increasingly unpopular with established land owners as former indentured servants competed for land following the completion of their contracts. The African individuals in the indentured servitude system lost the opportunity to earn their freedom after a given time and were made to remain enslaved as forced agricultural laborers. Landowners began to shift towards relying solely on forced slave labor, and the African slave trade began to boom in the American colonies heading into the 18th century. - Responding to a desire for manual labor to cultivate sugar and tobacco in the colonies, Africans were enslaved in large numbers by the European colonial powers. - Slavery in the New Republic - When the Declaration of Independence was written in 1776, there were approximately 500,000 Black American enslaved people. Even Thomas Jefferson, the main author of this Declaration of Freedom and Equality, owned enslaved Africans. Slavery was concentrated in the southern colonies, where enslaved people made up about 40 percent of the population. Although some Northern colonists were **abolitionists** and opposed slavery, the Southern colonies relied on slave labor. The practice of slavery concentrated power and wealth in the South to a small population of white slaveholders. Beginning in 1780, many northern states independently banned slavery within their borders. - In 1781, the first national government began under the Articles of Confederation, which did not address slavery, therefore leaving the power to regulate slavery to the states themselves. - In 1787, it was decided that a Constitution would be created and that the government would have three branches: executive, legislative, and judicial. Slavery would affect the representation in the House of Representatives, which was determined by population size. A debate began over whether or not enslaved people should count as part of the population. In the end, it was decided that each enslaved person would count as three-fifths of a person, a decision known as the **Three-Fifths Compromise. **Counting the enslaved people as members of the population greatly increased the political power of the South by increasing their representation in Congress and the Electoral College. - The **Northwest Ordinance** was a document created in 1787 that dealt primarily with the annexation of land, but it declared that the Northwest Territories (modern-day Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio) were to be free of slavery. However, the Ordinance had a clause promising that enslaved people who escaped to the Northwest Territories would be returned to their owners. Later, a similar **Fugitive Slave Clause** was placed in the Constitution, which required states to return any fugitive slaves that escaped from their owners, even if the enslaved person made it to a free state. - Effects of the Cotton Gin - The invention of the **cotton gin** by** Eli Whitney **in 1793 revolutionized cotton production in the United States, making it far more efficient to separate cotton fibers from seeds. This innovation enabled cotton to be produced on a much larger scale, transforming it into a highly profitable cash crop, especially in the Southern states. As cotton became central to the Southern economy, demand for labor to cultivate and process the vast new cotton fields surged, leading plantation owners to increasingly rely on enslaved labor. The cotton gin, therefore, reinvigorated the slave trade, as enslaved Africans were seen as essential to meeting the labor demands of expanding cotton production. The intensified dependence on slavery entrenched the institution further in the American South, directly contributing to the growth of the slave population and increasing the profitability of the domestic slave trade well into the 19th century. This increased demand for slave labor only increased as the U.S. expanded westward and more farmable land became available for settlement. - Slavery in the American South - The majority of slaves in the American South were forced into backbreaking work on plantations - large farms that typically specialized in one crop produced on a mass scale. The most common \"cash crops\" produced were indigo, rice, tobacco, and cotton. The majority of plantation slave laborers were forced to work under harsh conditions in the field, cultivating these crops from sunup to sundown, usually six days a week. This maximized the enormous profits reaped by wealthy landowners to the extreme detriment of enslaved peoples.  - Many enslaved African Americans also worked as laborers, including work as blacksmiths, builders, and loggers. Enslaved laborers were also used to create key infrastructure such as roads, drainage systems, or large public buildings. - Slaves were considered \"**chattel**,\" or personal possessions, which meant that slave owners had complete control over their lives, including reproduction, movement, and access to food and water. This power imbalance between slave owners and enslaved individuals often led to abject cruelty, both physical and psychological, toward enslaved peoples. The selling of enslaved humans was a highly lucrative business and often resulted in African American families, including parents and children, being separated as slave owners only considered profit in their decisions. Overall, there was a concerted effort at dehumanization to allow slave owners to justify the institution of slavery and the horrors that the system entailed. Slavery Compromises The United States was created with lofty ideals. Though founding documents declared that all men are created equal, the new country continued the institution of **chattel slavery** and did not extend citizenship rights to many of its people. From the very outset, the states that formed the new nation could not agree on how to legislate slavery. Free states and slave states fought for political and legislative influence in a division that ultimately led to the Civil War.  Three-Fifths Compromise The country\'s first major legal compromise regarding slavery is known as the **Three-Fifths Compromise.** Decided in 1787 during the Constitutional Convention, the Three-Fifths Compromise was born out of disagreement about whether or not enslaved people should be counted towards a state\'s total population. As they drafted the Constitution, the framers established two houses of Congress: the Senate and the House of Representatives. It was decided that each state would elect two Senators, but the number of representatives each state would be allocated in the House was to be determined by the state\'s population. This called into question which inhabitants would count toward the population in southern states, which had low populations of white, voting settlers and high populations of enslaved people.  Northern states argued that since enslaved people were treated as property and not citizens, Southern states had no right to count them toward their population. Southern states knew that if only white settlers were counted in their populations, they would have less power in the House and feared that this new federal government would ultimately abolish slavery. The two sides settled on counting each enslaved individual as three-fifths of a person in state population counts. Enslaved people were not granted any rights in this agreement. This increased the political power of the South by increasing their representation in Congress and in the **Electoral College**, without increasing their voting population or federal taxes owed. Missouri Compromise Issues and sectionalism related to slavery continued well beyond the framing of the Constitution. Between 1789 and 1819, seven new states entered the Union. At first, states were established as free and slave states in even numbers and by 1820, there were 11 free states and 11 slave states. However, Missouri\'s application for statehood as a slave state in 1819 created a problem. Missouri\'s statehood would tip the scales of power in Congress away from abolition and toward policies that might favor Southern economies. The answer to the issue was the Missouri Compromise of 1820. Kentucky Senator Henry Clay was the architect of the **Missouri Compromise**, and he proposed the following solution: - Keep balance in the Senate by: - Allowing Missouri to be inducted into the Union as a slave state - Inducting the territory of Maine as a free state - Create rules for future expansion: - Any new state admitted south of the **36°30\' parallel** in the remaining Louisiana Territory would be a slave state. This would later become known as the** Missouri Compromise Line**. - Any new state created above the 36°30\' parallel in the remaining Louisiana Territory would be a free state. - The 36°30\' parallel would not apply to future land gained in the West through further treaties or conquests, such as the land acquired from Mexico after the Mexican-American War This legislation settled the legal question of slavery for a generation, but America was expanding quickly, and the issue of slavery was becoming increasingly polarizing. Compromise of 1850 The new land gained from the Mexican-American War provided new economic opportunities for the United States, but it also reopened tensions over the issue of slavery. When California applied for statehood, it wanted to become a free state, and its rapidly growing population would mean increased anti-slavery representation in Congress. Again, the threat of a shift in the balance of congressional power created the need for a legislative compromise; and again, Kentucky\'s Henry Clay drafted a slate of legislation to appease both sides. **The Compromise of 1850** helped shape the current boundaries of Western states and contained five separate pieces of legislation. In this compromise: - Texas gave up many of its western lands in exchange for 10 million dollars. - The **Fugitive Slave Act of 1850** was passed, requiring citizens in any state to assist in the capture and return of people attempting to escape from slavery. - The slave trade was abolished in the capital (Washington D.C.). - The New Mexico and Utah territories were established, and each new state would decide for itself to allow slavery or not (known as popular sovereignty) - California was admitted into the Union as a free state. The decision to let New Mexico and Utah vote internally on the legality of slavery set a new precedent. This became known as **Popular Sovereignty**, which let states choose for themselves whether or not to allow slavery. It was immediately controversial. The 1850s became increasingly fraught as the precedent of popular sovereignty took root, and the decision on slavery was left in the hands of voters.  Kansas-Nebraska Act In 1854, the United States Congress, in its final attempt at compromise, passed the **Kansas-Nebraska Act**. This Act overruled and effectively repealed the Missouri Compromise of 1820. The Kansas and Nebraska territories were above the 36°30\' parallel line and were supposed to remain free from slavery per the Missouri Compromise; however, since the Kansas-Nebraska Act allowed settlers to possibly allow slavery under popular sovereignty, the 36°30\' parallel was effectively eliminated and opened up the possibility of slavery to sweep into the former Louisiana Purchase territory.  This proved to be an invitation to violence. An influx of both abolitionists and pro-slavery Americans poured into Kansas, resulting in swift and violent confrontations. This period of tumultuous clashes (1854 - 1859) was known as \"**Bleeding Kansas**.\" The bloodshed underscored the growing realization that legal disputes over slavery were unlikely to be resolved peacefully. The Dred Scott Decision The final landmark legal ruling regarding slavery was the 1857 Supreme Court case **Dred Scott v. Sandford**. Dred Scott was an enslaved man who had lived with his owner in a free state before returning to Missouri, a slave state. He argued to the court that his time spent in a free state should allow him to be emancipated.  The Supreme Court decided that not only was Scott not entitled to his freedom, he had no legal standing to argue his case at all because he was Black. The court went even further, stating that African Americans were not, and could never become, American citizens. The ruling in this case was exceptionally broad, and what started as a question of one man\'s freedom turned into a sweeping judicial interpretation that affected the status of all African Americans in the United States - whether free or enslaved. The highest court in the land had ruled that African Americans would never be afforded the individual rights guaranteed under the United States Constitution. The ruling also determined that the Missouri Compromise of 1820 was unconstitutional. The Court ruled that Congress had no power to prohibit slavery and that legal issues surrounding slavery must be decided by individual state governments. In spite of the waves of compromises and the pro-slavery Dred Scott ruling, popular support for abolition was growing. The Southern, pro-slavery states began to secede from the Union following the election of Abraham Lincoln in 1860. The Civil War began in April 1861. - - - - - Cross-Cultural Comparison All human societies create their own culture, and this culture impacts the people\'s decisions. When studying world history, similarities and differences should be discussed. - Example of similarities: - Both the Mayans in Central America and the ancient Egyptians built pyramids, even though they never interacted. - Almost all languages have a written component. - Examples of differences: - The Abrahamic religions all have one god (monotheism), whereas many other religions, such as Hinduism, have multiple gods (polytheism), and others, including some forms of Buddhism, have no concept of a personal god (atheism). The culture, particularly the norms and traditions, has a direct influence on the shape of history. - Example: the Protestant work ethic - The Protestant faith of early German and Scandinavian pioneers in America reinforced notions of self-reliance and hard work, which aided them not only in settling the land but in developing a rigorous and successful economic enterprise. When teaching social studies skills, promote cross-cultural competencies by including cultures other than those already represented within the classroom. Ancient Egypt Egypt was a major civilization during the **Bronze Age** for one main reason: its geography. **The Nile River** provided a constant freshwater source in a very arid environment. In addition, the river flooded on a predictable, annual schedule, keeping the farmland fertile. Egypt is surrounded by desert on three sides and the Mediterranean Sea to the north. This geography provided natural fortification that protected Egypt from invasion. This allowed Egypt to focus on technological advancements. A map of the land AI-generated content may be incorrect. The constant threat of war between neighboring Mesopotamian civilizations such as the Phoenicians and Assyrians required that resources be dedicated to military preparation and not technological advancement. For this reason, Egypt was able to make significant progress in many scientific areas. The Egyptians were governed by family dynasties, with the ruler being a **pharaoh**; these pharaohs were thought to be god-kings. Pharaohs were buried in large monuments called pyramids. These pyramids still exist today and are a testament to the technological advances of Egyptian culture. The greatest political movement in Egypt was the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt in 3150 BCE, due to the efforts of the **Pharaoh Menes (Narmer)**. The unification solidified the empire of Egypt, allowing it to focus on the cultivation of culture and the creation of monuments, rather than on war between different families. Religion played a major role in every ancient civilization. As tribes united into bigger communities, religion was used to keep social rules and trust in place. The early civilizations were all **polytheistic **(believing in multiple gods), with gods closely tied to the various processes of nature. In the advanced civilizations like Egypt, Phoenicia, and Assyria, a complex social class of priests developed. Priests claimed to communicate with the gods and interpret their signs, to help dictate political and social decisions. These priests became extremely powerful, second only to royalty. The most notable contributions from Ancient Egypt are: - Advancements in mathematics - Written language (**hieroglyphics**) and a paper-like material (Papyrus) - Agricultural technology (allowed large amounts of land to be cultivated with less labor) - Military technology allowed for victories with fewer casualties (e.g. the chariot) - The Library of Alexandria was the most significant library of classical learning  Ancient India (Harappan Civilization) The Indus River Valley civilization began to flourish around 2500 BCE along the Indus River in what is now Pakistan and northwest India. Ancient India is often called the **Harappan Civilization **because one of the ancient cities was called Harappa. The Harappan Civilization had a writing system, carefully engineered urban centers, and a drainage system. The Asian subcontinent of India is dominated by the **monsoon**, a season of great amounts of rain. This season is similar to the flooding of the Nile River, as it prepares the farmland for the upcoming growing season. The Indian culture is greatly influenced by two religions: **Hinduism**, which developed into an organized religion around 1700 BCE, and **Buddhism**, which developed around 500 BCE. Hinduism uses the ancient texts known as the Vedas, the Upanishads, and the Bhagavad Gita for teaching. The rise of Hinduism reinforced the **caste system **in India, where individuals are born into a socio-economic class and are required to stay in that class the length of their lives. Individuals can move up or down in a class in their next lives, based on the actions in their current lives. Buddhism was founded by **Siddhartha Gautama**, who was born in an upper-class family, but upon seeing the hardships of the world as a young man, he shunned his material possessions and began seeking answers to his questions. His answers resulted in the founding of Buddhism, which is based on the belief that suffering is universal and is caused by desire and attachments. To find happiness, one has to follow a spiritual way of life. Gautama is considered the first Buddha (enlightened one). The goal of Buddhism is to reach enlightenment, which requires the study of spiritual teachings and the renouncement of material wealth. Buddhism found little support in India, but it was eagerly accepted via traders and missionaries in Southeast Asia, Tibet, China, and Japan. A statue of a person AI-generated content may be incorrect. Throughout its ancient history, India was ruled by a series of empires, the most notable of which was the **Gupta Empire, **which lasted from 320-550 CE. This empire brought relative political stability to the region, ushering in a period of scientific and social advancements known as the Golden Age of India. The decline of the Gupta Empire left a political and cultural opening for the spread of Islam into India around 700 CE, at which point India was reorganized into city-states. Ancient Greece Ancient Greece refers to the period of Greek civilization that occurred from c. 800 BCE to c. 300 BCE, based around the Mediterranean Sea in what is now Southeast Europe. Greece is situated on mountainous land with poor soil for farming and lacking any great river system. This caused the Ancient Greeks to look to the sea as a means of improving their economy. Greece has an abundance of natural harbors that protected and provided safety for Greek ships. The Ancient Greeks grew to be prominent sea traders, which spread their Hellenistic culture (language, arts, food, and sciences) across the known world.  The mountainous terrain of Greece encouraged isolation among the Greek people, leading to the rise of the **city-state**, a city and its dependent territories that function as a sovereign state. Because of the relative isolation between the various Greek city-states, citizens were loyal first to their city-state and then to Greece as a whole. Due to the low citizen population of the city-state, **direct democracy** began to flourish because all citizens could equally and easily participate and debate matters of government. The city-state of Athens is widely credited as the first known democracy. Democratic governance is considered one of Greece\'s greatest contributions to modern Western society. The **Golden Age of Athens** took place around 450 BCE, under the leadership of **Pericles, **an Athenian political and military leader**.** The **Acropolis **of Athens was home to fantastic monuments, such as the Parthenon, and the people of Greece were considered the most technologically advanced people in the world. In contrast to the robust cultural focuses of Athens was the city-state of Sparta, a civilization known for its militaristic culture and expansionist policies. These two city-states vied for dominance in the 5th century BCE (431 - 404 BCE) in the **Peloponnesian War**. In the aftermath of that decades-long conflict, Sparta emerged as the most powerful city-state in Greece. A ruins of a building AI-generated content may be incorrect. During the 5th and 4th centuries BCE, known as the Classical period, Greek intellectual life, including arts, politics, and philosophy, dominated much of life in the rest of Europe and the Mediterranean. Notable Greeks: - **Homer **- Author of the *Iliad* and the *Odyssey, *two famous Greek epic poems that are still part of the literature canon and instruction today. - **Sophocles **- A playwright of tragedies still performed today - **Socrates **- The \"Father of Western Philosophy\" - **Plato **- Pupil of Socrates; author of *The Republic*; influential political scientist - **Aristotle **- Pupil of Plato; influenced philosophers from the Renaissance to today; personal tutor of Alexander the Great - **Thucydides **- Authored accounts about the Peloponnesian War and the battles between Athens and Sparta - **Pythagoras **- Architect of geometry; known for establishing the Pythagorean Theorem - **Euclid **- \"Father of Geometry\" - **Eratosthenes** - Mathematician, geographer, and astronomer that made the first measurement of the circumference of the Earth - **Alexander the Great **- Macedonian military leader who conquered much of the known world in twelve years; responsible for spreading Hellenistic (Greek) culture throughout the known world, which gave common cultural characteristics and language throughout modern-day Greece, Egypt, Asia Minor, the entire Middle East, and parts of India The most notable contributions from Ancient Greece are in the fields of mathematics, government, philosophy, architecture, athletics, and naval technology. Ancient Greece was a group of relatively isolated city-states that paved the way for modern democracy, mathematics, and philosophy and created many cultural touchstones that are still part of the Western canon today. Ancient Rome The Roman Civilization began to form in the eighth century BCE. It developed into a republic with a representative government and rose to a dominant empire in two centuries through a series of violent civil wars. The transition between Republic and Empire occurred in 27 BCE. The roughly 200 years following the transition from a Republic to an Empire are often referred to as the **Pax Romana** (Roman peace), a period of economic growth through commerce and territory expansion without violent internal conflicts. The Romans were heavily influenced by their Greek neighbors in the fields of philosophy, science, and religion. Rome was both militarily and economically strong due to its geography: - The Alps provided winter protection, deterring invaders from Europe. - The Apennine Mountains provided not only protection but also natural resources. - The Po and Tiber River Valleys produced extremely fertile soil. This allowed Romans to grow many different crops, and to hav