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Summary: There was a great distance between Great Britain and the colonies which led them to self government because communication between Great Britain and the colonies was slow. The House of Burgesses was an example of colonial self rule. Britain was focused on different parts of their empire as well.
Picture: The picture is the flag of the thirteen colonies. -
Time Period: 1650-1789
Summary: The core ideas of the philosophers of the Enlightenment were based on government. Thomas Hobbes believed in a strong central government so people do not become selfish. John Locke believed that people should have the right to control the government and believed in liberty.
Picture: The picture is the Enlightenment philosophers. -
Connection: This connects to the Enlightenment because it is a violation of the colonists freedoms because they were taxed unfairly which is against the social contract. There was also no consent.
Quote: “No taxation without representation” James Otis -
Summary: During the French and Indian War, the debt of the British doubled and the British responded by taxing the colonies because the war took place in the “new world”. Taxes were put in place on necessities which angered the colonists because they had no say in the taxing and no representative in the British government.
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Time Period: 1754-1776
Summary: During the French and Indian War, the debt of the British doubled and the British responded by taxing the colonies because the war took place in the “new world”. Taxes were put in place on necessities which angered the colonists because they had no say in the taxing and no representative in the British government.
Picture: This picture is fighting during the French and Indian War. -
Summary: The Boston tea party was held in response by the colonists due to them being taxed for unfair acts like the stamp and sugar acts. They boycotted British goods and dumped tea into the water. The reaction to this was considered the “No taxation without Representation” which said that the colonists were not okay with the unfair taxing.
Picture: The picture is a picture of the Boston Tea Party. -
Connection: This connects to the enlightenment because it deals with the idea of consent for citizens with government actions as well as certain freedoms and respects the citizens deserve as Locke has stated. Locke believed that people should have a say more than the government which was also a reason the unjust taxation was unfair.
Quote: George Hewes' shout, "Boston Harbor, a teapot tonight! Hurrah for Griffin's Wharf!". -
Summary: The intolerable acts were passed as a way of “punishing” Massachusetts for the Boston tea party, which closed Boston’s port and stripped them of their self-governance and allowed troops to be in private buildings which led to the revolutionary war at Lexington and Concord.
Picture: The picture is a picture of the intolerable acts. -
Connection: The British used more stricter and harsher punishments to try to even out the amount of debt. This gave the colonists rights to revolt against the British. The colonists could revolt because Great Britain broke their social contract and didn't give them a say.
Quote: “Revolt is the right of the people” John Locke -
Time Period: 1775-1783
Summary: The Declaration of Independence was signed on July 4th, 1776 which physically established the separation between the colonists and Great Britain. The end of the war was at the battle of Yorktown where Great Britain surrendered. The document officially signed is the Treaty of Paris.
Picture: The picture is a picture of the Declaration of Independence. -
Connection: The opening lines of the Declaration are directly implemented from John Locke’s philosophy which is that we as people hold the right to be self-evident. Which means that people have a greater say over the government.
Quote: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness” John Locke -
Time Period: 1781-1787
Summary: The first government of the newly independent colonies was based on the Articles of Confederation. The Articles of Confederation was based on a weak central government and stronger “state” governments. This failed because the government could not enforce laws or collect taxes.
Picture: The picture is a picture of the Articles of Confederation. -
Connection: The failure of the central government power shows an over-emphasis of individual sovereignty. This means that states had the right to govern themselves. This leads to a weak central government because you give all the power to the states and the government has no power.
Quote: “It follows from what has been said that the general will is always just and always aims at the common good; but it does not follow that the deliberations of the people are always right.” Jean-Jacques Rousseau -
Connection: The new Constitution created the separation of powers by creating branches of government that do different things within the government so the power is split. Splitting the power between the government doesn’t allow any one branch to get too powerful.
Quote: “Combining legislative and executive power is the road to tyranny. When the legislative and executive powers are united in the same person, or in the same body of magistrates, there can be no liberty;” -
Time Period: 1787-1789
Connection: The Constitutional Convention was when the Constitution was created. Delegates met to create and change the issues that went from in the Articles of Confederation. The Constitutional Convention was dedicated to fixing the government. The new government that was created was called a federal government. This gave some power to the central government but still gave power to the states.
Picture: The picture is a picture of the Constitution.