¶ … American Colonial experience and the Articles of the Confederation influence the content of our Constitution? The American colonies existed as separate political entities. The only attempt to consolidate any of the colonies under one united government was that of the ill-fated "Dominion of New England," an attempt to reign in the independent colonies by a monarchy (that of James II) that was thought by many to want to 'catholicize' the Anglican church in the late 1680's. Administration had to be done at a local level because of the inferior condition of the roads. The advent of newspapers and printing presses in the mid-1700's was really the first non-commercial link between colonies; often colonies had been openly hostile to one another. For instance, dissenters that disapproved of the government of Massachusetts founded Conneticut, New Haven, and Rhode Island. The consolidation or division of colonies, when it occurred, happened by skillful diplomacy in London as was the case when Massachusetts absorbed Plymouth Colony and Connecticut absorbed New Haven. Wars with Indian tribes and the French also brought colonies together. These created popular writers and diplomats that self-identified as being 'American;' Ben Franlin was a writer and a diplomat. Finally disputes over taxation and the popularity of literature such as Common Sense and Poor Richard's Almanac. The crisis that demanded the replacement of the loosely confederated United States in the 1780's was Shay's Rebellion. The budget of the young Republic was created at the unanimous discretion of the state assemblies and had no taxing authority....
When rebellions such as the Shays rebellion got out of hand, or when states such as Virginia and Maryland had contesting maritime rights or when the administration of the western territories was in dispute, a stronger authority was needed.
American Mistrust of Centralized Government This is a paper written in APA style that examines the traditional preference that Americans have for local government, the traditional distrust they have of centralized government, and the reasons behind these phenomena. Local Government: A Traditional American Preference There is a strong traditional preference for local government over centralized government in this country. This preference goes back all the way to the beginnings of our nation and
The result, however, seems less scholarly, less cold and professionally aloof than similar works by other more science-minded authors. Earle, however, operates with the intent to construct a true-to-life catalogue of the things that went into making up the lives of the Colonists. Earle's research does lead the reader to trust her sources and her findings, but the writing style can still distract from the overall impact - by
Thus, the latest influxes of immigrants from Europe prior to the war may have been the worst off. The Revolution shifted the social realities for all indentured servants in the colonies, and only less so for Blacks. Only war could undermine the social structure that enabled the restrictive hierarchies to exist. The war led to forced migrations of people, the disruption of established avenues and systems of trade, and political
It is written that the intension of the rebellion was to "ruin and extirpate all Indians in general" (Foner 59) because they were basically in the way. These accounts prove that there are two sides to every story and no one group of people is going to be "better" and "above" another. It was inevitable that such tension would occur given the nature of both groups of people. The
Colonial America The Philosophy of Individual Rights Before the Constitutional Convention in England and America Although many individuals today might like to romanticize the origin of individual rights in America, suggesting that such rights began and ended with the passage of the current version of the United States Constitution that now governs the totality of the American land, the actual history of a private citizen's individual rights in America and England is
156. Ibid, pg. 157. "General Nathanael Greene." Historic Valley Forge. 2006. Internet. Retrieved March 14, 2009 at http://www.ushistory.org/valleyforge/served/greene.html. "Brigadier General Francis Marion, the Swamp Fox." The American Revolution Homepage. 2004. Internet. Retrieved March 14, 2009 at http://americanrevwar.homestead. A com/files/marion.htm. Ibid, Internet. 10 Cheaney, Janie B. "Daniel Morgan." 1998. Internet. Retrieved March 14, 2009 at http://jrshelby.com/kimocowp/morgan.htm. 11 "The Winning of Independence, 1777-1783." American Military History, Chapter 4. U.S. Army Military History. 2001. Internet. Retrieved March 14, 2009 at http://www.history.army.mil/books/amh/amh-04.htm. 12
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