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"City Upon a Hill" Speech
John Winthrop gave the "City Upon a Hill" speech to the New England colonists. His purpose was to inspire them to live good, faithful lives as they begin settling in New England. Winthrop, in his speech, metaphorically discusses the "City Upon a Hill" as close to God. He also describes how it acts as an example for all colonists on how to live in their new land. -
Bacon's Rebellion
Nathanial Bacon led a rebellion against the Virginian Governor William Berkley. Berkley had raised the taxes, favoring the upper class and being pro-Native American. Bacon and others rebelled because of the lack of government aid until Bacon's death. Bacon's Rebellion opened the eyes of the government, showing them that they needed better relations with the settlers. -
Pennsylvania is Founded
King Charles the Second of England owed the son of an admiral, William Penn, money. He gave Penn who practiced the Quaker faith land west of the Delaware River. William Penn established the Pennsylvania, "Penn's Woods," as a religiously diverse colony. It was tolerant of Quakers, Anglicans, German Baptists, and Lutherans, and even kept peace and trade with the Native Americans. -
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The French and Indian War
European countries, Britain and France were competing for land in North America. The American Indians benefited, receiving bribes from both sides to fight for them. Eventually, Britain became more powerful than France and France allied with the American Indians by treating them with respect while Britain mistreated them. This led to war breaking out, starting in 1754 in the Ohio River Valley over control of the fur trade. -
The Proclamation of 1763
The proclamation of the British colonists in 1763 created temporary peace between the American Indians and the colonists. The document ordered no colonial settlement west of the Appalachian Mountains. This plan to keep relations between the American Indians and British failed because there were too many colonists who wanted to expand and not enough troops to restrain them from doing so. -
Treaty of Paris
The Treaty of Paris marked the end of the French and Indian War. British got the Ohio River Valley, the Great Lakes, Florida, and Canada. France is driven out of North America. The peace between the colonists and the Native Americans ends after the war is over, and colonists take over their land. -
The Sugar, Quartering, and Stamp Acts
Under a new Prime Minister, George Glenville, the British Parliament passed the Sugar, Quartering, and Stamp Acts in the colonies to raise money for Britain. The Sugar Act lowered foreign molasses prices but was an attempt to force the colonists to pay the duties and stop smuggling. The Quartering Act required colonists to house and pay for the care of British troops that remained in the colonies after the war. The Stamp Act put a direct tax on all printed goods in the colonies. -
The Boston Massacre
As a protest against the Townshend Act, colonists threw snowballs at British soldiers. In response, British soldiers shot into the crowd and killed five colonists. Samuel Adams, a colonial leader, named the killings a massacre as a method of propaganda to gain patriotic support. -
The Boston Tea Party
The colonists boycotted the Tea Act which forced colonists to buy and pay taxes on tea from the British East India Tea Company. Eventually, Britain passed a law to lower the price of their tea and encourage the colonists to buy it. The colonies saw this as a trick to pay their tax and decided to take action. They destroyed the tea of three British ships and dumped it into the Boston Harbor. -
Invention of the Cotton Gin
Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin to make it easier to separate cotton fiber. The cotton gin not only made cotton production more efficient, but also made the cotton industry essential to the south. The importance of the cotton industry made slavery more important than it been before. Slaves were needed to work on cotton plantations, keeping slavery around and making it more common in the south. Northerners also benefited from the invention because more cotton textile factories were created. -
XYZ Affair
The French were seizing American ships and French officials, X, Y, and Z demanded over 250,000 dollars in bribes from Adams in his attempt to keep peace. This was embarrassing to the American government. To prevent war, Adams funded a small navy to fight the French ships and made many negotiations with the French. The federalists, his own party, wanted war. Therefore, he lost support, although he did save America money. -
Alien and Sedition Acts
These acts passed by the federalists gave the government the right to arrest and deport immigrants who were critical of the federal government and made it a crime to publicly criticize the government. Adams hoped to weaken the democratic republican support because immigrants and French supported the party. As a federalist, he wanted to protect the federal government and reduce the power of the opposing party. -
Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions
Thomas Jefferson and James Madison wrote these resolutions declaring the Sedition Act unconstitutional. It was also implied through the Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions that states had the right to nullify federal laws that were unconstitutional. They went against the current president Adams, threatening to dissolve the union. -
The Barbary War
The North African Barbary States began seizing American ships and capturing sailors. Presidents before Jefferson paid off the Barbary States for protection. When these states demanded more money for safety, Jefferson refused. He instead blocked the port of Tripoli with the American Navy and succeeded in creating peace in the Barbary War. -
The Louisiana Purchase
After defeating Spain, the Louisiana territory was given to France and Napoleon. Jefferson wanted New Orleans for access to trade ports so he offered to buy it from France. France, needing money to fight Britain, sold the entire territory to the United States for fifteen million dollars. This doubled the size of America, although it was not strictly stated in the Constitution that Jefferson had the power to buy land. -
Marbury v. Madison
Before the end of his presidency, Adams tried to appoint federalist officials including justice William Marbury. New secretary of state James Madison did not want to appoint him, so Marbury went to the Supreme Court. Supreme Court Justice John Marshall denied his appointment, as the democratic republicans wanted, while giving the Supreme Court the power to deem Congressional actions unconstitutional. This became known as judicial review and set a precedent for all future Supreme Court rulings. -
Lowell Mills
The Boston Associates, organized by Francis Cabot Lowell, established their first mill in Waltham, MA in 1813. This contributed to the Industrial Revolution. All operations, from thread to cloth were done at one site. This system employed young woman who were unmarried from farms to do the labor. They became known as Lowell girls and lived in boardinghouses under strict rules. Women operated the machines in the textile mills until they were old enough to get married and leave the mill. -
Tariff of 1816
Following the War of 1812, America wanted to improve itself and its manufacturing. To do so, Congress passed the Tariff of 1816 to protect America's industry. The tariff made foreign goods more expensive to buy so that Americans would buy American made goods. The north generally supported the tariff because it helped manufacturers, but the south was against it because farmers had to pay more for goods. It increased division between the north and south and led to growth of factories and cities. -
The Missouri Compromise
Tensions were high between the north and south. It was debated whether Missouri would enter the union as a free or slave state. Henry Clay crafted the Missouri Compromise as a temporary solution. Maine would enter the union as a free state and Missouri would enter a slave state. A line was also drawn to divide the north and south and all states below the live would be slave states and above would be free. -
Adams-Onis Treaty
In 1819, Adams tried to pressure Spain into selling Florida to America. After Jackson and the First Seminole War, it was realized that Spanish control was weak. This treaty was ratified in 1821 and gave the United States more territory, Florida and Oregon. American settlers began to expand into Florida and the fur trade began. -
Monroe Doctrine
President Monroe formulated this doctrine to respond to threats by European powers. France was going to help Spain recover colonies that declared independence in Latin America. America wanted them to remain republics, so this doctrine declared that Europe had no business in America. In return, the America would not interfere with Europe. This doctrine was not enforced, but it did reveal America's desire for land and power.
