Your Notes

Here are the notes you presented in class today. Remember: I will take quiz questions from this material. I did not have time to format or edit any of this, so make sure you double-check it all against your reading:

The Revolutionary Roots of the Constitution

• ·    Defines the basic structure of the government
• ·    Divides the government into 3 branches: judicial, legislative, executive
• ·    Describes power of branches
• ·    Relationship btwn govt and states
• ·    Makes itself supreme law of the land
• ·    Written in 1787 for agric. Society
• ·    Prevents anarchy

Freedom in Colonial America

• ·    Land owners control property at own will
• ·    No payments to support church
• ·    No ceiling on wages or guilds on professional associations (no labor unions)
• ·    Almost complete freedom of speech, press, and assembly
• ·    Foot English bills through taxes

The Road to Revolution
Disliked treatment from British Gov’t

Britain taxes too steep

No taxation without representation
Protests from colonists:

      Sons of Liberty (men)
      Daughters of Liberty (women)

      Consumed American foods and made       American goods to avoid taxes
Boston Tea Party

Colonists dumped tea in Boston Harbor

Intolerable Acts

      Response to Boston Tea Party

      Harsh taxes on colonists

      Quartering of British troops

      Colonists decided it was time for a REVOLUTION!

Revolution Action

1775 a movement that the colonist were calling a revolution had begun b/w Massachusetts who was fighting the British at Concord, Lexington

Second Continental Congress remained in session served in government of the colony states.

On June 1776 the continental congress met to resolve that America declared independence from Britain.

Group of 5 men appointed to plan confirmation for reasons of independence

Declaration of Independence pt 1

·    Jefferson listed many deliberate acts of gov.

·    Jefferson denounced king for enslaving people

·    SC and Georgia dropped paragraph about slave trade in 1^st draft of declaration

·    Thomas Jefferson drafted proclamation

·    Proclamation was edited by congress

Declaration of independence pt. 2

2^nd continental congress  approved on July 4, 1776

Reps. Felt that some languages should be changed

Jefferson felt that it would change his plan

Signed by august

Catholics were in a tough position

2 choices, Join revolutionaries or be loyal to England

The war lasted longer than expected April 19 1775

Yorktown, Virginia October 19 1781

Greatest percentage of deaths than any other war

Britain had to send many supplies over