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THIRD EXAM STUDY GUIDE

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ENTERING THE NEW REPUBLIC!  For the middle part of the class, lectures turned to an examination of the young United States -- to the era that ran from about the 1780s through about 1820.  This is the ERA OF THE NEW REPUBLIC, a time when our nation was new and untested.  In this period, the United States first took shape both politically and socially. 
 

The Social Revolution: 


This lecture examined another side of the American Revolution.  Most people associate the Revolution with military conflict -- the  battles that took place between colonists and British soldiers.  This lecture explained how there was more to the Revolution than just the fighting.  It argued that the Revolution, by breaking the political and social ties between America and Britain, also instigated a social revolution that had wide-reaching effects on American culture, politics, and values.  The key expression to remember here is John Adam's quote that the Revolution was more than the sum of its battles.  The conflict, he said, was also fought "in the hearts and minds of the people."  Men who didn't fight in the military Revolution (and some who did) conducted this social revolution as they tried to figure out what type of society their new nation would feature.  And did they ever break all the rules!  Breaking the rules is what this lecture is about.  Think about something else . . . what does it take to take on and change hundreds of years of social and political tradition?  What we’re talking about here in this lecture is nothing less than the re-ordering of the western world.  The social revolution is a very big deal.

So you need to know the following:

  • The time period of the Social Revolution - not set out explicitly in the lectures.  Use the dates of the various reforms to get a sense of when it happened.  1770s and 1780s, right?

  • The change from Subject to Citizen and the implications of this change

  • The power of the social revolution.  Don’t just think this is a bunch of dull changes.  The social revolution is one of the bravest things early United States citizens did.  They changed EVERYTHING.

  • The men involved in the social revolution – what type of people we’re talking about. 

  • VIRTUE - unselfishness, willingness to put one's own demands aside for the common good of the nation.

  • Separation of Church and State

  • The Virginia Statute of Religious Freedom.  Again, don’t just know it, know what it did.  Understand the dialogue/conflict Jefferson created with this document and the purpose of that conflict.  This is an incredible document that offers real insights into how to get people engaged in a topic they may not want to consider.  As you examine this law, you’ll start to see some of the reasons people consider Jefferson a political genius.

  • Abigail Adams and "remember the ladies"

  • The guardians of virtue

  • End of Primogeniture

  • Slavery's end in the North

  • Gradual emancipation

  • The Quock Walker Case

  • The failure to end slavery in the South

  • Social Leveling

  • The overall significance of the social revolution

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THE AMERICAN CONFEDERATION:

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This lecture dealt with the first version of the United States and its fate.  Originally, the founders of our nation thought we would end up in a very different place.  They envisioned a nation run by the people in the various states.  This nation would not have a strong national government, as strong national government's still reminded everyone of the British and the Revolutionary War.  

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This early version of our nation would put the people in charge of their states and then depend on them to treat each other decently and responsibly.   The concept of VIRTUE was very important here.  The founders believed that if the people behaved virtuously, they would have no problem managing their nation without a strong national government.  The American Confederation, therefore, was a collection of separate states, each independent and sovereign.  There would be no federal oversight, no federal regulation.  In many ways, the American Confederation afforded more power for the people than the modern United States.

 

The American Confederation, as this lecture illustrates, was also an absolutely disaster.  It lasted less than a decade and nearly wrecked our attempt at nationhood.

 

So you need to know the following: 

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  • The definition of a republic

  • The reasons for turning the US into a republic and how republics were first established

  • How the American Confederation was actually more democratic than the modern US

  • The evolution and duration of the American Confederacy

  • The Articles of Confederation. 

  • The shape and design of the United States under the Articles of Confederation

  • State independence and sovereignty and its implications

  • These United States

  • The structure of the national government under the Articles 

  • The powers of the national government under the Articles 

  • What happened to the American Confederacy and why was it so unsuccessful.

  • The effects independence had on American trade.

  • The role of empires in trade before the 1800s.

  • The concept of Free trade.

  • The massive depression that plagued the American Confederation

  • The behavior of the states during the American Confederacy

  • The reasons why virtue failed to guide our nation and its citizens.

  • The whole paper money, property values issues in the states.

  • Sectional problems in the Confederation - the Mississippi Controversey

  • What was happening in Massachusetts in the 1780s

  • Shays' Rebellion.  This is BIG.  Without it, you don’t get a Constitution.  Know it cold.  What happened, why it’s important.

 

The Northwest Ordinance:  (Written)

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This lecture dealt with one of the few achievements of the United States government under the Articles of Confederation.  The Articles didn’t make for a very good government, but the Northwest Ordinance documents were VERY effective.  And they have a massive future impact on the United States.  So knowing about them is rather important.

So you need to know the following:

  • The area of land affected by the Northwest Ordinance

  • The author of the Northwest Ordinance

  • The date of the Ordinance and its provisions.

  • The three most important things about the Ordinance

  • The role the Northwest Ordinance played in shaping American history

 

THE UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION: 

 

This lecture dealt with the emergence of the United States under the Constitution.  It traced early efforts to make republics in the United States, through the Articles of Confederation, and into the Constitution itself.  Remember, the writing and realization of the Constitution was considered miraculous.  So you’re dealing with powerful stuff when you study this document.

So you need to know the following:

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  • The impossible tasks facing the Constitutional Convention's members when they met in May, 1787

  • The Constitutional Convention of 1787

  • James Madison

  • Montesquieu

  • The Virginia Plan

  • The New Jersey Plan 

  • The Great Compromise 

  • Roger Sherman and his role in the Constitution

  • The Great Compromise

  • The miraculous nature of the Constitution and what the members of the Convention said about the document

  • The significance of assigning a diving role in the US Constitution

  • How does the Constitution make our national government a republic?  (Written rules, voting rights, amendment process, Amendment 10, etc.)

  • What shields the powers of the government from abuse by the people? (Checks and balances, separation of powers)

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RATIFICATION:

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  • The first and ninth states to ratify the Constitution

  • The reasons why people didn't accept the Constitution, magnificent as it was

  • The language of the Constitution and the role that played in making people nervous about the document.

  • Antifederalists – those who did not want to ratify the Constitution and their reasons

  • The Federalist Papers

  • Hamilton, Madison, Jay

  • Federalist #51, #10. 

  • Federalist 10 and its impact on the world

  • The flaws in the Constitution

  • Texas Vs White and secession

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THE FEDERAL COURTS:  (Written)

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This written lecture dealt with the emergence of the "mystery branch" of the United States government.  Of all the three branches, the judiciary was the least-developed in the Constitution.  Therefore, shaping its function and powers would fall to the people who worked in the federal courts.  This lecture dealt with the laws that created the court system and the actions of the judges - one in particular - who made the courts viable and powerful elements of the US government.  Don’t ignore the court.  It’s going to be a Supreme Court decision in 1857, after all, that convinces many northerners that Civil War is inevitable.  And everyone knows how important the court has become in modern history.  Whew!  This is where it all starts.

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So you need to know the following:

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  • Article Three

  • Judiciary Act of 1789 and its provisions

  • The size of the Supreme Court at first and now

  • John Marshall

  • Marbury Vs Madison, 1803

  • Writ of Mandamus

  • Fletcher Vs Peck, 1810

  • Gibbons Vs Ogden, 1824

 

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