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Virginia Declaration of Rights
This document authorized "inherent rights" of men, which expressed civil liberties and the ability to reshape or abolish a faulty government. This text was a primary influence to the Bill of Rights found in the U.S. Constitution. This document was drafted by George Mason and received unanimous support, revealing the common belief of high personal liberty. -
Ratification of the Articles Of Confederation
The Articles of Confederation were the first Constitution of the United States of America, which were designed to govern the former colonies through the Revolutionary War. When fighting ceased in 1781, they Articles were ratified by the U.S. Congress and became the basis of the government. There were many flaws to this document, including a lack of federal power, which led to its replacement by the current U.S. Constitution in 1789. -
Treaty of Paris (1783)
The Treaty of Paris was a formal declaration of the ending of the Revolutionary War. Although the treaty was created in 1783, the fighting had stopped in 1781, showing the drawn out political diversities at the treaty signing. The document was ratified by Congress in 1784 and gave the United States more westward lands and recognized the former colonies as a free and Sovereign entity. -
Land Ordinance of 1785
The land Ordinance of 1785 established an organized system for dividing the westward territory of Ohio. The system established grid-based townships and auctioned off units of the grid for $640, which was a lot of money at the time. This directed the early migration of former colonists, moving west. -
Bill for establishing Religious Freedom
In 1786, Jefferson's Bill for establishing Religious Freedom was finally ratified by the Virginia Assembly. The document disestablished the church of England as the official religion of Virginia and allowed for tolerance all religions. This was a great influence to later separations of church and state, like the Establishment Clause of the Constitution. -
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Shays' Rebellion
Says' rebellion was a series of protests by farmers who were unhappy about their taxes. It was most serious in Massachusetts, because they had a poor harvest and they refused to pay taxes. The protest turned to revolt and the state militia commander came in to destroy the rebellion in early 1787. The revolt showed the weakness of the federal government and the issues of the Articles of Confederation, and is one of the causes to the Constitutional Convention. -
Constitutional Convention
The Constitutional Convention was a gathering of delegates from 12 of the recently established, who were tasked with the revision of the Articles of Confederation. The four month-long meeting turned into the creation of a new government directed by the Constitution. This transformation of government was extremely illegal and it took ten months after the convention for the Constitution to be ratified by nine of the thirteen states. -
Northwest Ordinance of 1787
The Northwest Ordinance of 1787 was a federal declaration that outlined how the northwestern territory acquired through the Revolution would be distributed and established into states. The document stated that the territories would have a bill of rights, it would be divided into 3-5 states and it would have a three step system for the admittance of a state into the union. -
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Ratification of the Constitution
Ratification of the Constitution was a long and drawn out process; the first state to agree to the document was Delaware on December 7, 1787. Other states would agree to this new government given assurances that it would be revised. So, on June 21, 1788 New Hampshire became the 9th state to ratify the Constitution and made the new government which would start march 4, 1789. The final state to ratify the Constitution was Rhode Island in 1790, which shows the diverse groups current in the nation. -
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French Revolution (Relating to U.S.)
In relation to the U.S, the French revolution created two factions in government; those who supported the revolution, and those that rejected it. Jefferson was the primary supporter and Hamilton the primary objector as the French Revolution was different from their own in the structure and lack of organization to the rebellious cause. The U.S. ultimately decided the effort of siding with the French commoners was not in the best interest of the U.S. nation. -
Inauguration of George Washington
On April 30th, 1789, George Washington was Inaugurated as the first president of the United States. This was historic in many ways; he was the first president of the new republic, he set precedent for future executive branch leader, and he stood as a symbol for America on the international field. -
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Whiskey Rebellion
The Whiskey Rebellion was a climactic point during the protest to the American Whiskey Tax, which was really a tax on all distilled beverages, but whiskey was the most popular. The rebellion was a front by farmers in western Pennsylvania to attack and oppose this obtrusive tax from a distant government. George Washington rode at the head of a 13,000 man army to crush the rebellion, and more importantly to show the power of the U.S. government. -
Treaty of Greenville
This treaty ended conflict with the Native Americans in the Ohio territory. The conflict ended at the Battle of Fallen Timbers a year prior to the treaty. The treaty established the Greenville Treaty Line, which created a border between Native Americans and westward settlers. -
Jay Treaty
The Jay Treaty was signed in 1794, but did not take effect until 1796. The document was a formal agreement between the United States and England, in which it appeared that the U.S. was bowing to their English rivals. The treaty gave the U.S. assurance of British removal of forts in the North America, but did little else. The treaty was thought to have been signed due to an American fear of war. -
Pinckney Treaty
This compromise detailed the friendship between the U.S. and Spain. The U.S. ambassador, Thomas Pinckney established relations and debated for U.S. navigation rights on the Mississippi as well as defining the U.S. - Spanish border. The treaty was ratified by both countries in 1796 and proclaimed on August 3, 1796. -
Washington's Farewell
Washington's Farewell Address, which summarized his reasons for leaving office and expressed his hopes for the future, was published during the final year of his second term. His farewell to the Presidency set precedence for terms of office and showed his amassing criticism. He believed that his figure was no longer what the country needed. -
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The 1796 Election
This election is crucially important because it was the first contested election and it created the first political parties and represented the growing differences and factions in the U.S. It was also the only election in which the president and VP ran on separate tickets, which caused problems in the government. John Adams beat Thomas Jefferson by a small margin and as a Federalist created a stronger and more authoritative national government. -
XYZ Affair
The XYZ Affair was essentially a quasi-war between America and France, which began when French Diplomats demanded a bribe for Peace. America wanted to show its Military power and took the bribe as an insult. This started an informal war between the nations, which was encouraged by the Federalist and ultimately ceased in 1800. -
Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions
Thomas Jefferson and James Madison wrote the resolutions for Kentucky and Virginia, respectively, as response to the Alien and Sedition Acts. They claimed that the Federalist bills denied Free Speech and gave the government powers not expressed by the Constitution. These Democratic Republicans feared the central government claiming too much power for themselves and the elite. -
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Quasi War
The Quasi-War between France and the United States was an informal war caused by the XYZ affair. It was a limited conflict War and was never declared. Most of the time was spent trying to reform relations and the little conflict that did occur was in the Caribbean. It also established the Logan Act, when George Logan tried to negotiate peace as a private citizen and the act criminalized unauthorized diplomatic negotiations. -
Alien and Sedition Acts
The Alien and Sedition Acts were four laws passed by John Adams and the Federalist dominated Congress, which limited the abilities of immigrants and non-citizens. They also criminalized making false statements against the gov. More importantly they show the conflict between the Federalists and their critics, who argue of the governments ability to control the people. -
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Election of 1800
In this Election, Adams and Jefferson rematched and this time Jefferson won. This was largely due to media trickery and public dissent towards the Alien and Sedition Acts, as well as the disorganized structure of the Federalist Party. This Election brought the Democratic-Republicans to power and ended the influence of the Federalists.
