Overview of 8th grade US History

Overview of 8th grade US History
Pre-Colonial and Colonial
Many early attempts were made to colonize.
The first successful permanent colony was Jamestown, Virginia.
It was established in 1607 by England.
European nations struggled to dominate North America.
France, Spain, and Great Britain fought to gain permanent control of North America.
By the Early 1700s, England had established thirteen colonies in the northeast part of what is
now the United States.
In the 1750s, France and England fought both in Europe and the Colonies.
In the colonies, this was called the French and Indian War.
This war, and the English policy of mercantilism (setting up colonies to provide raw materials,
shipping these to the mother country to make finished products, then sell the finished
products back to the colonials), led to many grievances that the American colonists bore
against the British king.
The colonists responded with several unruly acts, like the Boston Tea Party.
The British responded with repression and harsh new tax laws.
By 1776, the Colonial Congress decided to formally separate from Great Britain.
Thomas Jefferson wrote the formal declaration.
Grievances listed in the declaration:
Taxation without representation
Trials without juries
Quartering troops in colonists’ houses
Many other distasteful things
Revolutionary War
The American army led by George Washington fought several battles against the British.
1. Lexington and Concord (1775) – First battles – no significant casualties or gains for either
side
2. Saratoga (1777) - - First significant victory for colonists
3. Yorktown (1781) - Final British surrender to Washington
New Nation and New Government
The first U.S. government was called the Articles of Confederation.
Gave no power to the national government.
Could not levy taxes, recruit soldiers, or compel the states to do anything they did not want to
do.
Constitutional Convention is called.in 1787.
Its purpose was to change the Articles of Confederation to make a more workable
government.
James Madison (right) proposed instead a new document called The Constitution.

Written with several principles in mind:
1. Limited Government
2. Republicanism
3. Checks and Balances
4. Separation of Powers
5. Popular Sovereignty
6. Individual Rights
1. Limited Government
The ruler is subject to the law.
Came from the Magna Carta (1215).
2. Republicanism
It was borrowed from the Ancient Romans.
A philosophy of limited government in which elected representatives serve at the will of the
people.
Examples
State legislatures
Congress
3. Checks and Balances
From the French author Montesquieu
No part of the government has too much power over the others.
Each part is checked by the other parts.
Examples:
Judicial branch can declare a law unconstitutional
Legislative branch can override presidential veto with a 2/3 vote
Executive branch can veto law
Legislative branch can remove judges from office
4. Separation of Powers
Montesquieu, again
Government should be separated into branches. (get it?)
Ours has three: Legislative (making laws) Executive (enforcing laws) and Judicial
(interpreting laws).
5. Popular Sovreignty
This word comes from various English philosophers such as:
John Locke, Thomas Hobbes and Jean-Jacques Rousseau.
“Popular” means people.
“Sovereignty” comes from “sovereign” which means ruler.
Popular sovereignty = people choose
6. Individual Rights
The basic liberties that all people are entitled (by God or nature) to certain rights
From John Locke: life, liberty and property
These liberties are guaranteed in the first 10 amendments to the Constitution, the Bill of
Rights
The foundations of these ideas can be found in the English Bill of Rights.
Individual rights have been extended through subsequent amendments to the Constitution.

When it came time to vote on the Constitution, there was a fight.
Federalists
Led By James Madison, John Jay and Alexander Hamilton
Favored the Constitution.
Wrote the Federalist Papers in support of ratification of the Constitution.
Anti-Federalists
Led By Patrick Henry (right).
Felt the Constitution gave too much power to a far-away central government.
Favored the addition of a Bill Of Rights.
The Constitution was ratified.
The Bill Of Rights was added soon after.
The first ten amendments to the Constitution
Largely limited what the federal government could do in terms of infringing on rights.
First Amendment
Freedom of speech, press, assembly, religion, and petition
Vital in a democratic society
Second Amendment
the right to keep and bear arms
Third Amendment
The government may not quarter troops in private homes without permission.
Fourth Amendment
Right to be secure in your property, person, and papers
Police need a warrant in order to search or arrest.
Fifth Amendment
No double jeopardy
Right to remain silent
Right to due process of law
Sixth Amendment
Right to speedy trial
Right to confront witnesses
Seventh Amendment
Right to trial by jury in civil cases (someone suing someone else)
Eighth Amendment
No cruel and unusual punishment
Or excessive bail or fines
Ninth Amendment
Rights not listed are reserved to the people (Right to privacy included here)
Tenth Amendment
Powers not granted to the federal government are reserved to the states.

This division of power between the state and national government is called Federalism.
State Powers
•provide for education
•conduct elections
•provide public safety
•regulate trade in state
National Powers
•maintain armed forces
•coin money
•declare war
•make foreign policy
Powers Shared by National and State Governments
•raise taxes
•administer criminal justice
•provide for public welfare
•charter banks
•borrow money
Historically, there have been several major conflicts over the rights of states.
The Nullification Crisis
The election of Andrew Jackson ushered in the era of the “common man.”
In 1832, President Jackson threatened to send the army to South Carolina to prevent the
state from disobeying (nullifying) a federal tariff law.
Civil War
Crusades to end slavery, the abuse of alcohol, and subjection (being under the authority) of
women to men also played an important part in making society better.
Writers, artists, and religious leaders also joined in to bring attention to American social
issues (ex: Henry David Thoreau). Henry David Thoreau advocated that people challenge
laws they considered unjust by refusing to obey them. The process of defying codes of
conduct within a community or ignoring the policies and government of a state or nation when
the civil laws are considered unjust is known as civil disobedience.
Civil Disobedience (noun)-Refusal to obey civil laws in an effort to induce change in
governmental policy or legislation, characterized by the use of passive resistance or other
nonviolent means.
On April 12,1861, Ft. Sumter, in Charleston Harbor, South Carolina was attacked.
It was a “bloodless opening to the bloodiest war in American history”.
The winds of war howled and the U.S. Civil War began.
People from every walk of life were faced with the choice... North or South. Some families
were split with sons on both sides.
Many battles were fought with death and destruction on both sides.

The winds of war whipped across the nation. The land, the hearts and soul of the nation were
ripped apart.
On January 1, 1863, Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, a formal order declaring
slaves in Confederate states to be free.
“The time came when I felt that slavery must die so that the nation might live.”
The struggle for power ended on April 9, 1865, at Appomattox Courthouse, Virginia. Union
General U.S. Grant accepted a surrender from Confederate General Robert E. Lee to end the
war.
Radical Republicans had their own plan for Reconstruction.
The Reconstruction Act of 1867:
Divided the South into 5 military districts
New Southern constitutions had to be written
Guaranteed freedmen (former slaves) citizenship
Guaranteed freedman voting rights
13th Amendment- freed all slaves
14th Amendment- defined citizenship and extended it to blacks
15th Amendment-gave blacks the right to vote
By 1877, the post-war era (called “reconstruction”) ended, and gave way to the Industrial Era.
The Industrial Revolution and Westward Expansion
Industrial Revolution contributed to westward expansion.
The invention of the steam engine provided cheaper, and faster transportation. Steam power
also allowed for factories to be built anywhere, including the West.
The Industrial Revolution and westward expansion brought about rapid change.
Organized efforts to reform society for the better began with much enthusiasm.
Not all Americans saw the Industrial Revolution and Westward expansion as positive aspects
of society.
Reform movements for schools, prisons, and hospitals swept the country.