What did Montesquieu contribute to American political thought?
Montesquieu recognized three types of government: republican, monarchy, and despotic (dictatorship). He created the idea of liberty as a safety cushion from possible violence/threats against property ownership. Human nature to him was very egocentric, for he was intrigued by the idea of democracy but believed that the people might not be able to work together to achieve the common goal. In Montesquieu’s eyes, free trade was the easiest way for a country to grow wealthy, because he saw free commerce as self-sustaining and at the same time cheap.
Mayflower Compact
The Mayflower Compact was an agreement in which the pilgrims who went ashore Plymouth, Massachusetts were to create a government with laws that they swore to follow. It was signed by 41/44 of the men who were on the ship (no women were allowed to sign it or contribute to developing the agreement). The Pilgrims established a written document for self-government because their leaders believed that a set of laws to govern themselves was a necessity in order to avoid civil disorder. The Mayflower Compact was a social contract, like Locke described, and is basically a prototype for similar compacts in American History.
Stamp Act
The Stamp Act was passed in 1765 by the Parliament. Everyone was forced to use tax stamps on their newspapers, pamphlets, legal documents, and playing cards. The taxes took a huge toll on the economy and were unjust from the colonists point of view. Without an elected official to represent them, the colonists complained about how it was essentially “taxation without representation” and that it was very unfair.
Stamp Act Congress
The Stamp Act Congress was an assembly where 9/13 colonies sent delegates (representatives) to New York. The delegates had prepared complaints and a “declaration of rights” against the British. This was the first time the colonies joined together as one to fight against British law. As a result, the Stamp Act was repealed.
First Continental Congress
On September 5, 1774 in Carpenters’ Hall, Philadelphia the First Continental Congress was held. Everyone, besides Georgia, sent a representative. Together they decided that the colonies should send an appeal to the King to speak up about their issues with the treatment they received. They also intended to continue boycotting all the British goods and for every colony to start an army.
Second Continental Congress
Less than a month later in Pennsylvania, the Second Continental Congress was held. “The congress immediately assumed the powers of a central government”. Establishing an army was one of its main actions. Colonial citizen-soldiers gathered around Boston and they were declared the army. George Washington was the army’s commander in chief.
Who wrote the Declaration of Independence?
The Declaration of Independence was written by Thomas Jefferson, and then edited and revised by Benjamin Franklin and John Adams.
What was the first form of government for the United States?
The Articles of Confederation was the first form of constitution in the U.S.
What was the importance of Shays’s Rebellion?
The rebellion scared a lot of people causing them to realize that an actual national government needed to be made.
Virginia Plan
The fifteen resolutions that were underneath the Virginia Plan suggested a new national government. The plan called for a “bicameral legislature”, or a two-house legislature. Members of the lower house were to be chosen by the citizens while the upper house was to have members who were chosen by the lower house. The population determined the number of representatives and the national legislature could void any state law. It also proposed for a national executive branch elected by the legislature and a national court system created by legislature.The Plan favored bigger states, so naturally the smaller states had many complaints.
New Jersey Plan
William Paterson from New Jersey proposed an alternative plan that favored the states who were smaller, known as the New Jersey Plan. He suggested that Congress should control trade and impose taxes, only one vote would come from each state, anything done by Congress was to be the supreme law of the land, there was to be an executive office with more than one person that was elected by Congress, and that the executive office would elect a national supreme court.
The Great Compromise
On July 16, Roger Sherman from Connecticut proposed a plan to fix the big state/small state feud, known as the Connecticut Compromise, or the Great Compromise. He suggested that there would be a lower house, known as the House of Representatives, and the number of representatives from each state would be based on the population. Then there would be an upper house, known as the Senate, that would have two members from each state who were chosen by the state legislatures.
The Three-Fifths Compromise
Every state allowed slavery, except Massachusetts, and most slaves and their owners lived more south. The south wanted slaves to count for representation purposes, but because the northern states didn’t have as many slaves, they were against the idea. The Three-Fifths compromise helped solve this conflict by having three fifths of the slaves were counted for representation.
Explain why the Anti-Federalists were unhappy with the Constitution.
The Anti-Federalists didn’t like the Constitution because they believed that the Constitution was going to create an overly powerful central government that would put a limit freedom. They also believed that the Constitution needed a Bill of Rights, and without a Bill of Rights the political rights that were won after the American revolution would be stripped away by the government.