elizabeth phan apush questions # 1

Beginnings to Construction

1. Even though the Albany Plan to Union was not successful, why was it an important precedent? (113)

Americans had revealed an astonishing lack of unity.
In 1752, the British government summoned an intercolonial congress at Albany, New York where Travel-weary delegates from only seven of the thirteen colonies showed up. The immediate purpose was the keep the Indians loyal to the British in the spreading war. The purpose of the Alban Congress was to achieve greater colonial unity and thus bolster the common defense against France.
The Albany Plan, purposed by Benjamin Franklin at the Albany Congress, the Albany delegates unanimously adopted the plan but the individual colonies spurned it, copies were then sent to the Colonial assemblies and the British Board of Trade in London.
Franklin’s plan of union was one of the several put forth by various delegates of the Albany Congress. Franklin also published his famous “Join or Die” cartoon featuring a snake in pieces, symbolizing the colonies.
The Albany Plan was an early attempt at forming a union of the colonies “under one government as far as might be necessary for defense and other general important purposes” during the French and Indian War.
The Plan called for the general government to be administered by a President General appointed and supported by the Crown, and a Grand Council to be chosen by the representatives of the colonial assemblies.
The Plan was promptly rejected by both sides. “The colonial assemblies and most of the people were narrowly provincial in outlook, mutually jealous, and suspicious of any central taxing authority.”
British government preferred the colonists’ focus remain on the forthcoming military campaign. The Board of Trade never sought official approval for the Plan from the Crown.
States were reluctant to give up their sovereignty or power.
It was the first step toward unity and served as an inspirational primer for the writing of the Articles of Confederation.

6. What poor choices made by the British eventually heightened the pre-Revolutionary era conflict? (CH.7)

The British embraced a theory that justified their control over the collies called mercantilism, severely handcuffing American trade:
A country’s economic wealth could be measured by the amount of gold or silver in its treasury.
To amass gold and silver, a country had to export more than it imported (it had to obtain a favorable balance of trade).
Counties with colonies were at an advantage, because the colonies could supply the mother country with raw materials, wealth, supplies, a market for selling manufactured goods etc…
For America, that meant giving Britain all the ships, ships’ stores, sailors, and trade that they needed and wanted.
Also, they had to grow tobacco and sugar for England that Brits would otherwise have to buy from other countries.
The Navigation Laws restricted commerce from the colonies to England (and back) to only English ships, and none other.
Other laws stated that European goods consigned to America had to land first in England, where custom duties could be collected.
Colonial laws could be voided by the Privy Council, though this privilege was used sparingly (469 times out of 8,563 laws), it infuriated colonists by its use.
Prime Minister George Grenville ordered that the Navigation Laws be enforced, arousing resentment of settlers. He also secured the Sugar Act of 1764, which increased duty on foreign sugar imported from the West Indies; after numerous protests from spoiled Americans, the duties were reduced.
The Quartering Act of 1765 required certain colonies to provide food and quarters for British troops.
The Stamp Act mandated the use of stamped paper or the affixing of stamps, certifying payment of tax in order to raise money for new military forces.
In 1766, Parliament repealed the Stamp Act but passed the Declaratory Act, proclaiming that Parliament had the right “ to bind” the colonies “in all cases whatsoever.”
The Townshend Act in 1767 was persuaded by Charles “Champaign Charley” Townshend to Parliament, putting light taxes on lead, paper, paint and tea, which were later repealed, except for tea.
Tea was smuggled so British sent troops to America.
The Boston Massacre was on March 5th, 1770, where a crowd of about 60 townspeople in Boston harassed some ten redcoats, where the redcoats open fire wounding or killing eleven “innocent” citizens including Crispus Attucks, a former-slave and the “leader” of the mob, becoming a symbol of freedom, only two redcoats were prosecuted.
Parliament passes the “Intolerable Acts”, in 1774, by huge majorities, Parliament passed a series of “Repressive Acts” to punish the colonies, namely Massachusetts. These were called the Intolerable Acts by the Americans:
The Boston Port Act closed the harbor in Boston
Self-government was limited by forbidding town hall meetings without approval.
The charter to Massachusetts was revoked.
The Quebec Act:
A good law in bad company, it guaranteed Catholicism to the French-Canadians, permitted them to retain their old customs, and extended the old boundaries of Quebec all the way to the Ohio River.
Americans saw their territory threatened and aroused anti-Catholics were shocked at the enlargement that would make a catholic area as large as the original 13 colonies. Plus, Americans were banned from this region through the Proclamation Line of 1763.


11. John Adams once claimed that 1/3 of the colonists were for revolution, 1/3 were against, and 1/3 didn’t really care. What types of people fell into each category? (CH.8)

Loyalists: (Tories) Those who were loyal to the king during the Revolutionary era. A popular definition of a Tory among the Patriots betrayed bitterness: “A Tory is a thing whose head is in England, and its body in America, and its neck out to be stretched.”
Patriots: (Whigs) America rebels who were for revolution.
Neutral: The societal group that didn’t care about the revolutionary era.

16. What compromises needed to be made for the Constitution to be successful? (CH.9)

The Great Compromise was worked out so that Congress would have two houses, The house of Representatives, where representation was based on population, and the Senate, where each state got two representatives.
The Commerce Compromise was the result of the North and South whether slaves are counted for tax and representation.
Slaves would count as 3/5 of a person in census counts for representation.
The election of the president would go through the Electoral College, rather than by the people directly. The people were viewed as too ignorant to vote.

Washington to Jackson

4. What elements of Adams and Jefferson’s presidencies foreshadowed future conflicts between political parties and geographic regions? (182 + internet)

Adams was a federalists and federalists believed in a strong government such like we have today.
Jefferson was, at the time, called antifederalists which is now called democratic republican. He believed the states should be supreme and the federal government limited power.
Now in the present day, we have political parties, the democrats vs. the republicans.
For geographic regions, the Civil War divided up the union like the political parties did, the North fought to preserve the Union which is the federal government. The Southern states were fighting because they felt State’s Rights should be supreme and were being infringed upon.

9. What factors led to the Panic of 1819? Which of these factors would lead to additional recessions in future years? (243 + internet)

The War of 1812 caused widespread foreclosures, bank failures, unemployment, and a slump in agriculture and manufacturing.
Government borrowed heavily to finance the War of 1812 which caused tremendous strain on the banks.
Partially due to international events. European demand for American foodstuff was decreased because agriculture in Europe was recovering from the Napoleonic Wars, which had decimated European agriculture.
War and revolution in the New World destroyed the supply line of precious metals from Mexico and Peru to Europe. This caused American bankers and businessmen to start issuing false banknotes and expand credit.
The additional recession would be the Great Depression because the stock market dropped and banks have failed us once more, closing and taking the money with them.

14. What about 1824 and 1828 elections forever changed election campaigns? (CH.13)

1824: John Quincy Adams was elected President on February 9, 1825.
The Federalist party died out. The people who ran for President was John Quincy Adams, Andrew Jackson, William H. Crawford, and Henry Clay.
Andrew Jackson clearly had the strongest personal appeal, especially in the West, and polled almost as many popular votes as his next two rivals combined, but failed to win a majority of the electoral vote. The house of Representatives are forced to choose, Clay was eliminated for having the lowest vote.
As Speaker of the House, he disliked Jackson, and Crawford fell into a stroke so he was left to influence the house upon Adams instead. Later Adams wins hands down and the Jacksonians accused this corruption as “the corrupt bargain”.
The outcry over Adam’s election showed that change was in the wind, What had once been common practice was now condemned as furtive, elitist, and subversive of democracy. The next president would not be chosen behind closed doors.
1828: Jackson became president after John Quincy Adams lost to a second term, Jackson won easily in the popular vote and the electoral votes.
He became the icon for the “common man”, showing that political people don’t have to come from a wealthy, aristocratic background because Jackson himself was viewed as a “common man” as well.
Jackson’s inauguration became filled with the common people and now the people felt like their rights were gonna be heard and presented by Jackson’s position.