POWER POINT ACCOMPANIMENT FORCAROLINA K-12’S LESSON:

EMERGENCE OF ANAMERICAN IDENTITY

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WARM-UP

¢Completethefollowingin5ormoresentencesofdescription:

AnAmericanis…

FROM ENGLISH COLONIST TO “AMERICAN”¢ ThecolonistswhocametoliveinwhatwastobecometheUnitedStatesofAmericadidnot,untilaroundthe1770s,thinkofthemselvesas"Americans."

¢ MostcolonistsintheNewWorldidentifiedthemselvesasEnglishcitizens.TheymayhavecometoliveinaplacefarawayfromEngland,buttheystillidentifiedwiththatnation.

¢ ColonistsbegantodevelopagreaternationalidentityasvariouseventsledthemtogrowfrustratedwithEngland’spolicies,declareindependence,rebelagainstEnglishrule,andfinallyformtheirowngovernment.

THE FRENCH & INDIAN WAR - 1763¢ TheemergenceofanAmericanidentitybeganwiththeendoftheFrenchandIndianWarin1763.� ThewarleftEnglandincontrolofvirtuallyallthelandeastofthe

MississippiRiver.� Eventhoughvictorious,thewardoubledthenationaldebtof

EnglandandquadrupledtheprospectivecostofadministeringthegreatlyenlargedempireinAmerica.

� TheBritishexpectedthecoloniestohelppaythecostsofthewaraswellastheincreasingexpensesofrunningthecolonies.

� Todothis,theBritishgovernmentbeganimposingvarioustaxesandlawsonthecolonies,whichcolonistsfeltviolatedtherightsfromtheirEnglishheritage.

� AscolonistsgrewmoreangrywiththeEnglishgovernment,theynaturallystoppedidentifyingthemselveswiththeenemycountry.

ENGLAND FURTHER ANGERS COLONISTS¢ TheStampActwasparticularlyangeringtocolonists.

� firstdirecttaxeverlaidonthecoloniesbyParliament� feltthisviolatedtheirrights;“taxationwithoutrepresentation”� StampActwasrepealedin1766whenitbecameclearthatitcouldnotbe

enforcedeffectivelyduetohostileresistancefromthecoloniesbutwasfollowedbyotherlawsfromParliamentthatsimilarlyangeredcolonists

¢ Relationsworsenedin1773withtheBostonTeaParty.� Englandstruckbackwithanumberoflaws- theIntolerableActs� ActsincludedclosingtheBostonportuntilthecostofthelostteawas

repaid,revisingthecharterthatsetuptheMassachusettscolonytogiveEnglandmorecontrol,andtransferringtoEnglandthetrialsofroyalofficerschargedwithmurder.

� AnotherlawgavetheFrench-Canadian—andCatholic—royalprovinceofQuebecallofthelandwestoftheAppalachianslyingnorthoftheOhioRiverandeastoftheMississippi.ThisactalienatedmuchofProtestantAmerica.

� TheQuebecActof1774wasseenasanotherpunitivemeasurebymostcolonistsandhelpedmusterbroadsupportfora"generalcongressofallthecolonies"proposedbytheVirginiaandMassachusettsassemblies.

THE FIRST CONTINENTAL CONGRESS

¢ Thecallfora"generalcongress"waswellreceived(onlyGeorgiadidnotsenddelegates)

¢ MetinPhiladelphiaonSeptember5,1774.

¢ AdoptedaDeclarationofRights&GrievancesagainstallBritishactstowhich"Americans cannotsubmit"andapprovedcommercialboycottsofmanygoodstradedwithEngland.

¢ ThedelegatesadjournedinlateOctober,agreeingtomeetthefollowingMayifnecessary.

INDEPENDENCE FROM ENGLAND, IDENTITY AS AMERICANS

¢ InEnglandKingGeorgeIIIdeclaredthecolonieswere"nowinastateofrebellion.“

¢ Eventsescalatedthefollowingspringtowarddeclaringindependence,whichledtowar.

¢ ColonistsconvenedtheSecondContinentalCongressinPhiladelphiaonMay10,1775.� MostdelegatesstillhopedtoavoidwarwithEngland.� However,duetotheoutbreakofviolenceatLexingtonandConcord,

delegatesagreedtoraiseanarmyandaskthecoloniesforfundstopayforit.

� GeorgeWashington,adelegatefromVirginia,wasmadetheContinentalArmy'scommanderinchief.

� Thedelegatesapprovedapetitiontothekingaskingfora"happyandpermanentreconciliation"betweenthecoloniesandEngland.

� Anotherdeclarationdisavowedanydesireforindependencebutresolved"todiefreemenratherthanliveslaves."

� ThekingwasnotpleasedandinAugustheproclaimedastateofrebellioninthecolonies.

DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE¢ Bythefollowingsummer,theContinentalCongresswasunderincreasingpressurefromthemostvocalradicalsinthecoloniestomovetoindependence.

¢ InJune1776agroupofdelegateswasnamedtodraftadeclaration,buttheactualwritingfelllargelytoThomasJefferson.

¢ TheDeclarationofIndependence,celebratedbyAmericanseveryyearonJuly4,wasinlargepartarecitationofeverygrievanceagainstEnglishcolonialpolicythathademergedsince1763.

¢ TheDeclarationofIndependencecommittedthecoloniestowageawarthatwasalreadyunderway.

¢ ThewarwoulddragonformorethanfiveyearsbeforeEnglandgaveupthestruggle.

STATE CONSTITUTIONS¢ AyearafterthesigningoftheDeclarationofIndependence,allbut

threeofthecolonieshadwrittennewconstitutionsandmovedtoestablishnewgovernments.

¢ Althoughtheyvariedindetail,allhadsimilarities.� Allwerewritten—GreatBritainhadnowrittenconstitution.� Allincludedorwereaccompaniedbysomekindof"BillofRights"to

securethoseEnglishlibertiesthatGeorgeIIIhadviolated,suchasfreedomofspeech,press,andpetition,andtherightsofhabeascorpusandtrialbyjury.

� Allpaidtributetotheideaofseparationofpowersbetweenthelegislative,executive,andjudicialbranches,althoughineverystatethelegislatureswerefarstrongerthantheexecutive.Thisreflectedthecolonists'fearofexecutivepowerthatgrewfromtheirconflictswiththeEnglishCrownandtheroyalgovernors.

� Alltheconstitutionsrecognizedthepeopleassovereign,butfewentrustedthemwithmuchpower.Moststatesadheredtopre-Revolutionarylimitsonsuffrage.Ownershipofsomeamountofpropertywasgenerallyrequiredasaqualificationtovote,andmoreusuallywasrequiredtoholdoffice.

¢ ThesestateconstitutionsbecameforerunnersofthenationalConstitutionthatwastobecreatedyearslater.

ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION &THE US CONSTITUTION

¢ ThepeacetreatywassignedonSeptember3,1783.

¢ FreeofEngland,thecoloniesneededaplanofconfederationtojointhem.

¢ OnNovember15,1777theContinentalCongressadoptedtheArticlesofConfederation&PerpetualUnion.

¢ TheArticlesreflectedthedominantmotiveofAmericanswhowererebellingagainstBritishrule:topreservetheirfreedomsfromtheencroachmentsofcentralizedpower.

¢ TheArticleswerereplacedbytheUSConstitutiononJune21,1788.

EMERGENCE OFAMERICAN IDENTITY

¢ Formanycolonists,theprocessofAmericanidentificationtookplacenaturallythroughoutthelate1700sasideasaboutself-governmentgrewintoreality.

¢ Asangerwiththe“MotherCountry”grew,warerupted,independencewaswonfromEngland,andtheunitedcoloniesformedtheirowngovernment.Thus,identificationwithBritainnaturallylessened.

¢ Beyondgovernmentandwar,everydaylifeintheAmericancolonieswasoccurring(peoplewerebuildinghomes,working,formingcommunities…)andthustheemergenceofanAmericansocietywastakingplace.

J. HECTOR ST. JOHN DE CRÈVECOEUR –WHAT IS AN AMERICAN?¢ In1782,J.HectorSt.JohndeCrèvecoeur publishedavolumeofnarrativeessays- LettersfromanAmericanFarmer.

¢ HewasthefirstwritertodescribethelifeontheAmericanfrontiertoEuropeansacrossthesea.

¢ Heexploredtheconceptofthe“AmericanDream”,portrayingAmericansocietyascharacterizedbytheprinciplesofequalopportunityandself-determination.

¢ ThewritingcelebratedAmericaningenuityanditsuncomplicatedlifestyle.

¢ ItalsodescribedthereligiousdiversityinAmericaasameltingpotbeingcreatedfromavarietyofethnicandculturalbackgrounds.

¢ Hisworkprovidedusefulinformationandunderstandingofthe"NewWorld“,helpingcreateanAmericanidentityinthemindsofEuropeanswithhisdescriptionsofthenewcountryofAmerica

THE AMERICAN DREAM¢ WhatistheAmericanDream?Whatcomestomindwhenyouhearthisphrase?

"Give me your tired, your poor,Your huddled masses yearning

to breathe free,The wretched refuse of your

teeming shore.Send these, the homeless,

tempest-tost to me,I lift my lamp beside the

golden door!"

THE AMERICAN DREAM¢ TheAmericanDreamintheUnitedStatesreferstothe

democraticidealsandapromiseofprosperitythecountryisknownfor.

¢ ThephrasebecamepopularafterJamesTruslow Adamswroteabout“TheAmericanDream”inhis1931book.

¢ HedescribedtheAmericanDreambeingmetwhencitizensofeveryrankfeelthattheycanachievea"better,richer,andhappierlife."

¢ TheideaoftheAmericanDreamisrootedinthesecondsentenceoftheDeclarationofIndependencewhichstatesthat"allmenarecreatedequal“ andthattheyhave"certaininalienableRights“ including"Life,LibertyandthepursuitofHappiness."

¢ TheAmericanDreamhasbeencreditedwithhelpingtobuildacohesiveAmericanexperiencebuthasalsobeenblamedforoverinflatedexpectations.

¢ ThepresenceoftheAmericanDreamhasnothistoricallyhelpedthemajorityofminorityraceandlowerclassAmericancitizenstogainagreaterdegreeofsocialequalityandinfluence. Instead,theAmericanwealthstructurehasoftenbeenobservedtosustainclassdifferencesinwhichwell-positionedgroupscontinuetobeadvantaged.

¢ ThetermAmericanDream isoftenusedasasynonymforhomeownership,sincehomeshavehistoricallybeenseenasstatussymbolsseparatingthemiddleclassesandthepoor.

SOURCES

¢ http://cqpress.com/incontext/constitution/docs/evolving_constitution.html

¢ http://en.wikipedia.org/¢ www.encarta.com¢ M.G.J.deCrèvecouer,LettersfromanAmericanFarmer(Philadelphia:MatthewCarey,1793),46-47.