LibGuides: American History, Revolution & New Nation: Articles

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United States Constitution

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The American Revolution: Should the Colonies Separate from Great Britain? Victory over the French in the Seven Years' War changed the harmonious relationship between Britain's North American colonies and the mother country. New taxes and regulations imposed on the Americans produced a series of protests and crises between 1763 and 1775. These confrontations spurred Britain to suppress disobedience to Parliamentary policy with military force. Beginning with the Battle of Lexington and Concord in April 1775, the colonists mounted armed resistance to British "coercion." After a year of military conflict, American patriots issued a Declaration of Independence that withdrew the United States from the British Empire. Did the Americans make the right decision?
Becoming American The document discussed in this chapter is the full text of the 1790 Uniform Rule of Naturalization, a concise law determining that any free white person who lived in the nation for at least two years could become a citizen so long as they appeared in any court and were judged to be of good character. The simplicity of the law reflects an American culture that had not yet begun to contend with many of the issues that would later define the nation’s immigration debates, as well as the effort to extend the founding principles of the Declaration of Independence and U.S. Constitution to the citizenship process.
Constitutional Convention: Balancing a Strong National Government and States' Rights Should delegates to the Constitutional Convention adopt a radically new constitution that creates a strong central government? Or should delegates merely revise the existing Articles of Confederation, which preserves strong states' rights?
Defining the Presidency When the Constitution of the United States was being drafted, there was considerable debate as to the role of the president. Anti-Federalists wanted the president to function as head of state, a largely ceremonial office for foreign policy and diplomacy. The Federalists wanted the president to serve as head of government and head of state, a more powerful executive office with numerous powers. George Washington, who was enormously popular due, in large part, to his heroic role in the American Revolution, was elected to preside over the Constitutional Convention and had considerable say in how the Constitution was written. He approved of the Federalist proposal for a strong central government, seeing this as the way to protect public welfare and secure America’s diplomatic and military security.
Louisiana Purchase: A Key Source of National Strength or an Ill-Advised Breach of Constitutional Authority? Was it in the best interest for the U.S. to purchase the Louisiana Territory from France? Or did the territory offer far more problems than it was worth?
Marbury v. Madison Does the Supreme Court Have the Power to Nullify Laws It Deems Unconstitutional? In 1803, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Marbury v. Madison that part of a law passed by Congress in 1789 violated the U.S. Constitution and was therefore not valid. This ruling established the doctrine of judicial review—the right of the Court to nullify laws it deemed unconstitutional. Was judicial review a legitimate power of the Supreme Court? Or was the Court overstepping its authority in overturning a law?
Stamp Act Legitimate Tax or "Taxation without Representation"? In 1765, the British Parliament passed the Stamp Act, placing a tax on printed materials in the American colonies. Was this tax legitimately imposed on the colonists? Or was it an unfair case of "taxation without representation"?

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Tar, Feathers, and the Enemies of American Liberties, 1768-1776 Irvin discusses the history and development of tarring and feathering, dubbed as the "popular punishment for modern delinquents," which is still associated with the American Revolution. By transforming the practice from an obscure folk punishment into a popular patriotic ritual, Americans apotheosized the tars-and-feathers as an icon for their struggle for independence.
A Revolution Foiled: Queens County, New York, 1775-1776 In Queens County on Long Island, in the years of 1775-1776, the Whigs never succeeded in discrediting royal authority or establishing the legitimacy of their own extralegal political institutions. Patriots from outside the county felt compelled to attempt subduing the area by force. References.
Thomas Jefferson's Changing Reputation as Author of The Declaration of Independence: The First Fifty Years The belief that Thomas Jefferson was the author of the Declaration of Independence in the first 50 years after the document was signed is examined. Between 1776 and 1826 the text's usefulness hinged on Americans' initial ignorance and then gradual recognition of Jefferson's authorship.
Rape and Race in Colonial Newspapers, 1728-1776 Block examines the creation and perpetuation of racial ideologies in the early American press. Contrary to the histriographic emphasis on the 19th-century "myth of the black rapist," this research shows that colonial newspapers reflected racial differences in the ways that they reported rapes.
Ideology and Nationalism on the Eve of the American Revolution Edmund S. Morgan's "The American Revolution: Revisions in Need of Revising" suggested how people writing about colonial society on the eve of national independence might push the field in productive new directions, and now this revision stands in need of revising.
From Slaves, Convicts, and Servants to Free Passengers: The Transformation of Immigration in the Era of the American Revolution Servitude best characterizes the status of the vast majority of immigrants to came to British North America. The transformation of immigration during the late 18th and early 19th centuries--the period of the American Revolution--is examined.