Gweneth Ke

Civics

11.08.18
Events Leading to a Split with Great Britain 
Road to Independence 
 
Great Britain/Colonies Relationship 
● Started with the British creating a settlement in Virginia 
○ Jamestown 
● Pilgrims settle Plymouth Colony 
● Puritans settled Massachusetts Bay Colony 
● Expansion further to the south 
● Great Britain let colonies self-govern… for the most part 
 
French & Indian War 
● Also known as the Seven Years War 
● Conflict between Great Britain and France 
○ Disagreement about land claims in North America 
● “North Americans” take sides 
○ Colonists fought with the British 
○ Native Americans fought with the French  
● Great Britain and the Colonists won  
○ French lose control of their land west of the Appalachian Mountains  
 
Proclamation of 1763 
● Declared all land west of the Appalachian Mountains off-limits to colonists 
○ Private citizens or colonial governments could not buy land or negotiate land 
agreements with Native Americans west of this line  
● British claim they wanted to protect the colonists from hostile Native Americans and to 
protect NAs from attack  
● Colonists claimed British were trying to exercise tight control after many years of loose 
control 
 
Sugar Act of 1764  
● New taxes on sugar, cloth, coffee, wine, molasses, etc… coming in the colonies 
● Direct export of tobacco, sugar, and timber from Colonies to Great Britain 
● British navy given permission to board and inspect colonial ships  
○ Meant to prevent smuggling goods in and out of the colonies  
 
 
 
 
 
Stamp Act of 1765 
● Taxes on most printed material  
○ Legal documents  
○ Newspapers 
○ Pamphlets 
○ Playing cards 
● Colonists were required to purchase a stamp with each of these items as a way to enforce the 
tax 
 
Quartering Act of 1765  
● Required colonial innkeepers, public officials, and (on occasion) private citizens to house and 
feed any British soldier upon request 
● Put in place because soldiers were coming back from lands in the west 
 
Declaratory Act of 1766 
● Parliament declared the right to pass any law they saw fit against the colonists 
● Purpose was to remind colonists who was boss 
 
Boston Massacre, 1770 
● British soldiers sent to Boston to manage tensions and help enforce British laws 
● Crowd gathered outside the Customs House to ridicule a British soldier 
● Reinforcements came into support the soldier  
● Colonists began throwing ice and snow at the soldiers  
● One soldier’s gun goes off and they open fire into the crowd, killing 5 people and injuring 6 
 
Tea Act of 1773 
● Allowed only tea being sold by the East India Company to be sold in the Colonies 
● Purpose was to prevent the company from going bankrupt  
● Secondary purpose was to undercut the colonists buying smuggled tea 
● Directly led to the Boston Tea Party 
 
 
 
11.16.18
The Declaration of Independence 
 
Part I : The Preamble 
● Declaration of natural rights  
○ All men have inalienable rights 
■ Rights given to them that cannot be taken away 
■ Rights they are entitled to because they are humans  
● Life  
● Liberty 
● Pursuit of happiness 
 Part 2: List of Grievances 
● List of ways the colonists believe King George has taken advantage of them and others 
○ Abuses of power 
○ Abuses of laws 
○ States how the British government and King George are working against the 
colonists’ natural rights 
■ Shows that the British Government and King George do not respect the rights 
of the colonists 

Part 3: Resolution/Conclusion 

● This where the colonists officially announce their break or split from Great Britain  
○ Explains that the 13 colonies become independent from Great Britain 
■ Can do all the things an independent country can 

12.4.18
Articles of Confederation Notes 

Background 
● After the 13 colonies declared independence from Great Britain, they needed to set up a central government to… 
○ Unite the states under the banner of one country 
○ To fight the Revolutionary War  
○ Conduct international business with other nations  

Structure of the Central Government 

● Only one branch of government called Congress 
● Each ​state​ had one vote 
● No executive branch 
● No judicial branch 

Decision Making Under the Articles of Confederation 

● 9 of 13 ​states​ had to approve a proposal or bill before it became a law (about a 2/3ds majority) 
● To get an existing law changed, all ​states​ had to agree or the law stayed as it was original 

Money and Finances Under the Articles of Confederation 

● Under the articles of confederation.. 
○ The central government could not collect taxes 
○ The central government had to ask the ​states​ for money (the ​states​ could refuse to do this) 
○ The central government could print and borrow money 
○ Each ​state​ could regulate or oversee trade with other ​states 
○ Each state could tax its residents (could set their own tax levels or amounts) 
Protection For Citizens in the United States 
● The central government managed agreements with other countries  
● The central government managed agreements with Native Americans  
● The central government could appoint military officers 
● Only the states could establish militias  
○ When citizens organize themselves to serve as a military group 

Other Things the Articles of Confederation Does 

● Established a postal system  
○ Created the post office and mail delivery system  
● Established a department of weights and measures  
○ Creates rules and standards for measuring EVERYTHING  
■ Money  
■ System of measurement (English measurement system, NOT the Metric system) 
● Establish courts  
● Establish consequences for piracy  

Accomplishments of the Articles of Confederation 

● Successfully declared and waged war on Great Britain  
● Negotiated the Treaty of Paris  
● It provided that each state recognize the laws of other states 
○ Citizens could travel freely from one state to another  
○ Criminals that crossed state borders could be returned to the state where the crime was committed  
○ A marriage in one state would be recognized in other states 
 
Accomplishments of the Articles of Confederation cont. 
● Northwest ordinance  
○ Gave people the right to organize territory in the northwest  
■ Could ask to be admitted as a state once they did this 
○ Provided public education  
○ Made slavery illegal  
○ Citizens were given freedom of religion  
○ Right to trial by jury 
 
“Pros” of the Articles of Confederation 
● Offered first chance for UNITY 
○ First major attempt at creating an identity instead of identifying as individual states  
● It gave the colonies a chance to go GLOBAL  
○ With a central government, it allowed the US and other countries to communicate with one another 
● It required complete agreement from all states for any changes to take place 
○ Made it hard to change the rules/laws which shows people consistency  
● Allows free movement of colonists from state to state  
○ Established borders but made it so that colonists didn’t have to show a passport or visa to go from state to 
state  
“Cons” of the Articles of Confederation 
● Congress had no money and no power to get it  
○ Had to ask states to contribute money  
○ Could not force states to pay  
○ States often didn’t pay their fair shares and Congress couldn’t make them  
● Congress had no power over state governments 
○ Could not make a state obey a rule if they didn’t want to  
● Congress couldn’t make states honor trade agreements  
○ People in states sometimes refused to pay for goods from other countries 
○ Caused other countries to avoid trading with the US 
● Congress couldn’t protect citizens from unfair discrimination by states 
○ Loyalists before the war were denied payment for land and shit  
● Congress could not prevent unfair competition between states 
○ Sometimes states would tax goods from other states very heavily 
○ Slowed down and ruined trade between states  

Shays’ Rebellion 
● In Massachusetts, many farmers couldn’t pay their debts 
● Many farmers lost their farms and/or ended up in prison for not paying  
● Farmers began closing local courthouses to keep the courts from taking farms 
● This movement and idea spread across Massachusetts under the leadership of a man named Daniel Shays  
● Shays and his followers tried to take over the arsenal of weapons in Springfield for their fight 
● Massachusetts merchants raised money to pay a militia to stop the rebellion  

Effects of Shays’ Rebellion  

● People feared that this could happen around the country, not just in Massachusetts 
● Made people realize that the central government had NO POWER to stop this rebellion  
○ Had no way to provide or pay troops to fight 
● Made people realize that a country couldn’t exist if the central government could not keep law and order  
 
12.12.2018
Constitution Notes 
 
Parts of the Constitutions 
● Preamble 
○ Sets the goals for the constitution  
● Articles 
○ Establishes the rules for our national government 
■ States the framework of and defines the power of each branch of government 
● Amendments  
○ Establishes the individual rights of the citizens  
○ Allows for changes to the Constitution   
 
 
 
 
Articles of the Constitution  
● Article 1 
○ Establishes the framework, powers, and limits of the Legislative branch of government 
■ Congress 
● House of Representatives(members elected to a 2 year term) 
○ Number of representatives is determined by the state’s population 
○ No term limit 
● Senate (members elected to a 6 year term) 
○ 2 senators per state… no exceptions 
○ No term limit  
○ The Legislative branch is responsible for law making  
 
● Article 2 
○ Defines the role of the Executive branch of government 
■ President (elected to a 4 year term) 
● Can only serve for 2 terms or 10 years 
■ Vice President (elected to a 4 year term) 
● Can serve an unlimited amount of 4 year terms...in theory 
■ Cabinet members  
● Appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate 
● Not an elected position so no term limit 
○ The Executive branch is responsible for enforcing the laws 
 
● Article 3 
○ Creates and defines the role of the Judicial branch  
■ Supreme Court 
● Supreme Court Justices (judges) receive a lifetime appointment 
■ US Court of Appeals 
■ US District Court 
○ The Judicial branch JUDGES or interprets laws to see if they are “Constitutional” 
 
● Article 4 
○ Establishes the responsibilities and duties of the states 
○ Clarifies the responsibility the federal government has to each state 
 
● Article 5 
○ Establishes rules for making changes to the Constitution 
■ “Amending” the Constitution 
● Article 6  
○ Establishes responsibility of the country to its debt 
○ Establishes the Constitution as the highest law of the land  
■ All judges and officers are to uphold the laws stated within it  
● Article 7 
○ Establishes the rule for adopting/ratifying the Constitution  
■ 9 of the original 13 states required  
 
 
Amendments to the Constitution  
 
● Changes made to the Constitution  
● In order to “amend” the Constitution  
○ Need ⅔ majority of both houses of Congress to vote in favor of the amendment  
● The Constitution has been amended 27 times  
● The first 10 amendments to the Constitution happened immediately 
○ This was called the Bill of Rights 
 
12.20.18
Bill of Rights 
 
The First 10 Amendments  
 
1st Amendment 
● Freedom of speech 
● Freedom and practicing of religion 
● Freedom of the press 
● Right to peacefully assemble  
● Right to protest the government about grievances 
 
2nd Amendment 
● A well-regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep 
and bear Arms, shall not be infringed 

3rd Amendment  

● No Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of 
war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law 

4th Amendment 

● Citizens cannot be forced to subject themselves to seizure and search without a search warrant and probable 
cause.  

5th Amendment 

● Prohibits abuse of government authority in legal procedure  

● Establishes rules for indictment by eminent domain and grand jury  
● Guarantees the due process rights 
● Protects citizens from self-incrimination and double jeopardy 

 
6th Amendment 
● Guarantees fair and speedy jury trial  
● The rights to know the accusation 
● The rights to know the accuser 
● The right to find counsel and witnesses 
 
7th Amendment  
● Sets the rules for the right to a jury trial in certain civil cases and stops courts from overturning a jury’s 
findings of facts. 
 
8th Amendment 
● Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishment inflicted  
 
9th Amendment 
● Reserves the rights of citizens which are not specifically mentioned by the US Constitution  
 
10th Amendment 
● Reserves powers that are not given to the US government under the Constitution are given to people and the 
States