Honors US History I: Summer Reading Assignment Chapter Summary Questions Preface: The Generation 1. According to Ellis’s preface, explain what is so phenomenal about the founding of the United States? One reason why the founding of the US is so phenomenal is because the founding fathers were able to create a nation with a government, out of people who were against any type of political power (due to all previous corrupted rulers). There were also many people who were against the idea of a “band of national advocates.” (Ellis 9). People divided and scattered came together as a nation--which is a miracle in itself. 2. Analyze what the author calls “the paradox” of the revolutionary era. The “paradox” of the revolutionary era is the …show more content…
4. Evaluate some of the problems that plagued the United States making it difficult to “build a nation?” In your opinion, which problem was most pressing? Explain. One problem was that no man had ever created a republican government with a country as large as the US; so no higher authorities had faith in the creation of this republican nation. Another apparent obstacle was that the legacy of the Revolution and the Declaration of Independence contradicted with the establishment of governmental authority. Furthermore, the Revolution encouraged people to rebel authority. Also, the states in the new nation did not share a history in the past and did not come together (other than wars). Lastly, there were many black peoples growing rapidly amongst racist whites. In my opinion, the contradiction between the legacy of the Revolution and building a nation with an authority strikes as the most pressing because the people the people as a whole become angry and stubborn when something they have fought/are fighting for is crushed. Chapter 1: The Duel 5. According to Ellis’s explanation, why did Hamilton and Burr duel in the first place? Burr challenged Hamilton to a duel, and Hamilton accepted it with all his pride and honor. Burr was “justified” in challenging Hamilton because of their many differences in politics and character. One specific example
Chapter One: The Duel was a well-known duel in American history. Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton. July 11, 1804 is the exact date when the duel took place. It was presumed to have taken place in Weehawken, New Jersey; when in actuality, the duel really took place on a ledge above the water near Weehawken. This isolated spot was foolproof for illegal acts like this. Hamilton ends up dying because of Burr. Burr shot him from a distance. The bullet hit a rib and then ricocheted off into his spine mortally wounding Hamilton. Hamilton was the one that chose the position and the weapons for the duel, but the public thought that Burr killed him in cold blood. The public also started to call Burr the new Benedict Arnold. (Benedict Arnold was considered a traitor.) Burr was never harmed in the whole incident. Because everyone thought Burr was the initiator, he had to leave the city and this was the decline of his political power. Both of these men’s reputations were failing by 1804. Hamilton was appointed the first Secretary of Treasury under George Washington after the Revolutionary War. The Federalist Party was in decline and Hamilton did not hold office for approximately ten years. Burr lost the support
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When Burr was running for president against Thomas Jefferson, it came down to Hamilton’s opinion for the Federalists. Hamilton chose to indorse Jefferson because he had beliefs about the government, while Burr kept quiet about his opinions so he could sneak his way into office without angering anybody. Thomas Jefferson won by a landslide, and Burr was so angry at Hamilton that he challenged him to a duel. Not only was the duel a horrible idea, it was also cruel. The location of the duel was in the same spot Hamilton’s son died, in the exact same way, a duel. When the duel commenced Hamilton aimed his gun for the sky, while Burr shot him. Burr was smart enough to know that Hamilton was not going to shoot him, when his son was in that position he told him to aim his gun toward the sky because “to take a man’s life is something you can’t
After the colonies gained independence, the founding fathers soon found that becoming a new independent nation was going to be a difficult task. The biggest task was deciding on the division of power in the government. This issue divided the people into two groups, the federalists and the Jeffersonian republicans. Alexander Hamilton led the federalists and Thomas Jefferson led the republicans. These two important men in history would later show how the challenges of becoming a new nation. In this essay I will be analyzing the ideas of Linda K. Kerber’s “The Fears of the Federalists,” to Drew R. McCoy’s “The Fears of the Jeffersonian Republicans.” Furthermore, comparisons will be made about both essays to gain a better understanding of the struggles of government in early America.
1. Why were major accomplishments of the Founding Brothers during the Revolution unprecedented? (3 Reasons)
Using information from the evidence below as well as your knowledge of the period, discuss the development of the United States Constitution as a document which ensured popular sovereignty.
The American Revolution marked the historical intensity associated with this great nation. The revolution was multifaceted and was also dynamic in nature as it involved a lot of twists and turns that later shaped the course of the American citizens. There are numerous causes linked with the triggering and commencement of the revolution. The discussion below critically exploits and explores various reasons that led to the start of the revolution.
The often told story of America’s founding begins the Founding fathers waged a revolution and created a unique place called the United States of America. This story may include the early Jamestown colony and puritan colonists, and at times deal with the depollution and dispossession of the America’s native inhabitants. However frequently the complex nature of America’s prerevolutionary era is left out. Daniel Richter offers a refreshing non-teleological revision by showing that the United States has a much deeper history. Richter presents America as a nation with multiple pasts that stretch back as far as the middle ages. These pasts, he argues, continue to be felt in the present. Richter’s history utilizes a vast array of primary sources and his cultural history spans more than seven centuries. Richter works to recover the histories of an intermingling sort of individuals from North America, Europe, and Africa. The struggle for control of land and resources of these individuals took place in a global context. This multilayer struggle gradually gave rise to a distinctive American culture. Richter argues that by dissecting and understanding this culture on its own—and not as a build-up to an inevitable revolution—reveals the origins of American history.
The first central point that Ellis tells the reader to understand is that each and every one of the Founders checked as well as balanced each other on many occasions, especially during the achievements that they made for this country. When a founder wanted some action executed by the nation, another would attempt to persuade that one to not to push for it; checking him into which that
When America’s founding fathers broke away from England, they weren’t the first colonial Englishmen on the American continent, there were plenty of French, Spanish, Dutch and even Russian colonial outposts established before them. What makes the English colonies along the Eastern seaboard story so important, was the fact that 13 colonies joined together to form what is now known as the United States. Furthermore, this 13 colonies New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia risk their lives, fortunes, and sacred honors to start a new nation free from Great Britain’s rule. In the mist of declaring independence from the most powerful nation on earth, America’s founding fathers created a governmental system that was unfamiliar during their era. America’s founding fathers created a government designed to protect civil liberties and encourage independence, a complex yet young and evolving system.
Whose side would you have been on in the 1790s, Thomas Jefferson’s or Alexander Hamilton’s? Both of these men served under George Washington in the first presidential cabinet, yet they had very different views of what government should be (Davis 86). My objective in this research essay is to inform the reader of why there was so much controversy between these two founding fathers, and to determine which side had the better views for our newly forming country.
Developing a country and its principals comes with many debates, arguments, and many decisions to be made. In the end of the eighteenth century the Founding Fathers of the newly established America dealt with the difficulties of creating a country with strong political, social, and economic power. With the writing of the Articles of Confederation the country had now developed a national government, but was weak and ineffective. The top leaders of the country knew the flaws of the Articles and gathered together to rewrite the draft. When these decisions makers met in Philadelphia for the Convention the Constitution of the United States was written. This Constitution developed the foundation of the American governmental system. Along with
politics. The recent historiography of the incident provides us with a complex, evolving web of
A country driven to war for Independence is sure to have many struggles before and after the fight for freedom. The United States separated from Britain in order to govern themselves any way they chose. As soon as the new American Republic was created, many issues pressed on the mind of the people: What rights would be given to the people of America, and would slaves and women be given the same rights of white men? Would the lower class get more representation in government and a better spot in society? How would the economy work? All of these issues were important in the minds for Americans, but the most important would be the task of creating a unique social identity. The people of the United States would find that once they were granted independence, they would find that an immense opportunity laid before them: the chance to shape society in their own eyes. For those who previously didn’t have a voice, it was a fresh start. A new social identity was the most pressing issue to the new American Republic.