A New Nation

European powers colonized the Americas in order to gain wealth from thenew land. The English colonies established ideas of self-government and liberty. The American colonists became increasingly dissatisfied with British rule and decided to declare their independence. With the Declaration of Independence, the country’s leaders announced to the world the establishment of a new republic, the United States, and justified to other countries the rightto be independent.

In the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson expands on the ideasof English philosopher John Locke. Locke believed people had natural rights,and people formed governments to protect these rights. According to Locke, if a country’s leaders failed to act in the interests of its people, they have the right to revolt and replace that government with a new one. In the declaration, Jefferson defends that the United States is a country founded on the principle of individual liberty. He states that “all men are created equal” and all people have “unalienable rights” given to them by God, which includes the right of liberty. Jefferson argues that the king of England has not served the interests of the American colonists. Therefore, the American colonies had the right to declare that they are free and independent states. In this way, Jefferson established some of the basic principles of American government and society. Primarily, the United States would be a nation where common citizens have a strong voice in their government.

During the approval of Jefferson’s draft of the Declaration of Independence, a debate over the social complication of slavery emerged. Jefferson accused the king of being responsible for the slave trade and referred to it as “this execrable commerce.” Sadly, the proponents of slavery prevailed, and all mention of slavery was deleted from the document.

The victory of the colonists in the American Revolutionary War led to the formation of a new republic. Leaders of the new country met at a Constitutional Convention and, after debate and compromise, devised a new form of government. The new Constitution was subsequently ratified by the states.

The Constitution written in 1787 has remained basically the same until today. It has survived because it is flexible enough to adapt to social changes but specific enough about certain important questions so as not to be misinterpreted by future generations. It not only defines the structure of American government, but also declares its goals. The Preamble to the

Constitution begins with the three words, “We the People.” The rest of thedocument follows this basic idea that in the United States it is the people who govern.

The Constitution still serves as the plan for the government of the United States. The key point of the document deals with keeping government under control. It does this by dividing power in two ways. First, the Framers (those men at the Constitutional Convention) established a federal system of government. In this system power is shared among state governments and national governments. Some powers are delegated only to the national government (i.e. declaring war), some powers are reserved solely for the states (i.e. establishing an educational system), and some powers are possessed by both (i.e. collecting taxes). Secondly, the Constitution created what is called a separation of powers among the legislative, executive, and judicial branches (powers) of government. Each branch has its own authority, but no branch hascomplete power over the government. Furthermore, to guarantee no branch of government gains too much power, the Framers created a system of checks and balances. This system gives each branch of government the power to check, or stop, the other branches in certain ways. For example, the president, who is the head of the executive branch, can veto laws passed by Congress. The structure of the legislative branch also demonstrates its effort to preserve and limit people’s control of government. The Constitution creates a bicameral Congress. Representation in the House of Representatives is based oneach state’s population. Members serve for only two years before they must face another election. In this way, the people have the opportunity to change their representatives relatively quickly. In the Senate, each state elects two members. Senators are elected for six-year terms, which allow them some independence from popular opinion.

The Constitution created a strong executive officer, the president, who is elected to serve a four-year term. Among the powers of the president is the role of commander-in-chief of the nation’s military forces. This establishes the important principle of civilian control of the government. The president also has the power to veto laws and choose, with the approval of the Senate, the judges for the national courts.

Finally the Constitution establishes a national court system. Judges were supposed to be independent. To guarantee this, they were selected indirectly from the people (chosen by the president and approved by the Senate). The Constitution also makes the removal of judges difficult so they cannot be controlled by the people. Federal judges hold office for life, or as long as they do not act dishonorably.

To approve the Constitution, several accords, or compromises, had to bereached to resolve social complications among the Framers. One of these compromises focused on the question of slavery. Southern leaders refused to consider giving blacks the right to vote; however, they wanted to include them as part of a state’s population. Some of the Framers considered slavery to be immoral. Still they did little to stop this contradiction. In the end, it was agreed that three-fifths of a state’s slaves be counted for purposes of House representation. It was also decided that the new government could not ban the slave trade for at least 20 years.

While the Constitution was being debated by the states for its final approval, some criticized the document because it did not specifically protect individual liberties. Consequently, it was agreed that ten amendments would be immediately added to the Constitution after its ratification. These ten amendments are called the Bill of Rights.

The Bill of Rights guarantees that all Americans have basic rights. These fundamental rights permit people living in the United States to worship as they wish, speak freely, and read and write what they choose. Other amendments of the Bill of Rights guarantee the right to bear (possess) arms, the right to a trial by jury, and the right not to testify against oneself. The Bill of Rights also ensures that every person will have fair and equal treatment under the law. The Tenth Amendment guarantees that states have all powers not specifically mentioned in the Constitution.

An early test of the republic came in the War of 1812. The war started badly. The nation could have collapsed if American victories hadn’t ended the war quickly and favorably. As a result of the War of 1812, a new spirit of nationalism appeared in the United States.

1820-1865 Regional Conflict and Civil War

The advance of the Industrial Revolution caused a division between theNorth and the South. Geographic advantages helped the North develop more industries than the South. These northern industries increased even more with the arrival from England of the steam engine, which created a new era of productivity in the American workplace. By the middle of the 19th century, theeconomy of the North was based on industrial production, while the economy of the South continued to be based on the production of agricultural products, which depended on slavery. This division led to social complications as Americans became more divided on the question of slavery.

One of the most influential books ever written about the United States is Democracy in America by Alexis de Tocqueville. In his book, Tocqueville proposes the idea that the United States is an exceptional country. He identifies five values he believed to be crucial to the success of the American constitutional republic. These values are liberty, egalitarianism, individualism, populism, and laissez faire.

  • One way that America has maintained democracy is by emphasizing theimportance of liberty. An example of this is seen in the decentralizednature of government in the United States. According to Tocqueville,"Without local institutions a nation may give itself a free government,but it has not got the spirit of liberty."
  • Tocqueville admired the high degree of equality among immigrants. Hefound that people are respected on the basis of intellect and virtue.There is no aristocratic element in American society.
  • In times of equality, Tocqueville says that people tend to beindividualistic, causing each citizen to isolate himself or herself. Because tyrants have an interest in keeping people isolated, theindividualism resulting from equality can become a great danger todemocracy. Therefore, exercising freedom through participation inpublic affairs is extremely important. It gives people a personal interest in thinking about others in society. America’s emphasis on local selfgovernmentforces the people to act together and feel theirdependence on one another.
  • Populism through the formation of associations is an excellent tool tocombat individualism. They allow people to exercise their freedom bytaking a part in politics. Tocqueville believed that Americans use theright of assembly more frequently and effectively than anywhere else inthe world.
  • Finally, Tocqueville admires the decentralized American system becauseof its political effects in allowing the people to exercise their freedom.Freedom of businesses to work away from government interferenceresults in less chance for tyranny.

Beginning in the 18th century and continuing into the 19th century, social complication increased between North and South as the abolitionist movement began to emerge in the North. From 1774 until 1804, every northern state, except for Maryland, passed laws that gradually abolished slavery. All importing of slaves to the United States ended in 1808. While the abolition movement grew stronger, southerners began to resist more firmly any effort to end slavery.

Abolitionist authors such as Harriet Beecher Stowe increased the antislavery sentiments of Northerners. The success of Stowe’s abolitionist novel UncleTom’s Cabin made many Americans understand better the evil consequences of slavery. Another writer that supported the abolitionist cause was Henry David Thoreau. In his book Walden, Thoreau explained the philosophy of transcendentalism and displayed the value of simple living.

Between 1820 and 1860, a series of compromises were made between to maintain an equal number of slave states and free states. These compromises only were temporary solutions as a growing sentiment against slavery continued in the North. In 1857, the Supreme Court’s decision in the Dred Scott v.Sanford case affirmed that fugitive slaves like Mr. Scott had no rights because they could not be considered U.S. citizens.

Although he received little support in the South, Abraham Lincoln, who was firmly against slavery, was elected President in 1860. The Southern states feared that the end of slavery would ruin their economies and seceded from the Union. Southerners were more loyal to their states than to the federal government. The newly formed Confederate States of America chose Jefferson Davis as president.

The Civil War began when the South attacked Fort Sumter. Lincoln declared war in order to try and preserve the Union. In the first two years of the war, the Confederate (Southern) army, led by General Robert E. Lee, successfully defended the eastern front. In the west, the Union (Northern) army, commanded by General Ulysses S. Grant, won significant victories.

In an attempt to win the war, Lee and his army invaded the North in the fall of the 1862. Union forces stopped the Confederate army advance at the Battle of Gettysburg. The Union victory at the Battle of Vicksburg gave the Unioncomplete control of the Mississippi River. Grant assumed command of theentire Union army and began to attack the South. In 1865, the Confederacy surrendered.

The Civil War was the first war in which several thousand women served as nurses. Among these nurses was Clara Barton, who later would establish the American Red Cross. The leadership of Abraham Lincoln was essential in the victory of the North. As a consequence of Lincoln’s efforts, people came to seethe United States as a single nation rather than a collection of states.

1865-1900 Rebuilding the South

After the war the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution was passed,and slaves were officially given their emancipation (freedom). President Abraham Lincoln, with the Congress, began to formulate a plan to rebuild the government and society of the South. The plan to reunite the country following the Civil War was known as Reconstruction. It was Lincoln’s intention to treatthe South generously, as if it had never actually left the Union. Lincoln was assassinated before he could effectively start his plan, and Andrew Johnson became the next president. One of the first organizations created during Reconstruction was the Freedman’s Bureau, which was established in 1865 to aid the poor of the South.

President Johnson fought with Congress about how to implement Reconstruction. Being an ex-slave owner and from the South, Johnson favored a more soft approach with Southern leaders. Johnson opposed the Republicans’ proposal for the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution, which declared all ex-slaves citizens. After only one of the ex-Confederate States approved the Fourteenth Amendment, Republicans became more militant. Congress passed the Reconstruction Act of 1867, which effectively took over control of Reconstruction from the president. This new phase, called Radical Reconstruction, imposed military rule on the South in an attempt to establish political equality for blacks. The Republican Congress proposed the Fifteenth Amendment, which constitutionally ensured the right to vote for blacks.

The three Reconstruction Amendments (13th, 14th, and 15th) addressed the social question of civil rights of African Americans. These amendments gave African Americans constitutional protection of their rights. The process had begun with the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution. It was advanced by the abolitionist movement and the compromises to limit slavery in the West. Unfortunately, the social complications caused by slavery only ended after the election of Abraham Lincoln and the victory of the North in the Civil War. African Americans now had the same rights as all citizens of the United States.

Many southern whites resisted change. Land and labor practices led to the increase of rural poverty. The most common of these practices was called sharecropping. In this model, the landowner supplied the land and seed in exchange for the labor of the farmer (often an ex-slave) and a large portion ofhis harvest. This way the poor farmer never escaped the cycle of poverty. In the 1870s the Ku Klux Klan emerged with the goals of intimidating black voters, forcing blacks out of politics, and restoring white supremacy. A deal made between southern Democrats and presidential candidate Rutherford B. Hayes after the disputed election of 1876 formally ended the era of Radical Reconstruction. Jim Crow laws were passed that made segregation a common part of southern life. Southern white Democrats formed a new political coalition, referred to as the “Solid South,” and started taking control.

1865-1900 The Emergence of Industrial America

Between the Civil War and 1900, innovations and inventions revolutionizedalmost every area of American life and resulted in the expansion of American industries. Innovations such as the Bessemer process helped to create the steel industry. The development of the steel industry permitted the expansion of railroads. The expansion of railroads had a very positive impact on industry in the United States. Railroads offered a fast and efficient way to transportproducts. They also reduced the cost of transporting goods. The expansion of railroads permitted businesses to sell products nationally, not just locally. Similarly, resources used to make products could be obtained anywhere in the country. The development of steel also stimulated the construction of buildings and bridges, improving city life.

Inventions like the electric light bulb by Thomas Edison revolutionized life in America. Two inventions, in particular, had a dramatic impact upon industrial productivity. Samuel Morse’s creation of Morse code for the telegraph made communication between individuals much faster. Customers could place orders more quickly as inventories fell low. Investors could buy stocks faster. Railroads could keep people informed of changes to schedules. The invention of the telephone by Alexander Graham Bell also had a dramatic impact on industrial production. Businesses could now speak directly with customers, reducing the number of production mistakes. Customers could receive immediate responses to their questions. Similar to the way the Internet improved communication in the 1990s, the telegraph, and telephone have advanced communication in their era and helped industries and the economy grow.