United States vs. The Amistad (1841)

In February of 1839, Portuguese slave hunters abducted a large group of Africans from Sierra Leone and shipped them to Havana, Cuba, a center for the slave trade. This abduction violated all of the treaties then in existence. Fifty-three Africans were purchased by two Spanish planters and put aboard the Cuban schooner Amistad for shipment to a Caribbean plantation. On July 1, 1839, the Africans seized the ship, killed the captain and the cook, and ordered the planters to sail to Africa. On August 24, 1839, the Amistad was seized off Long Island, NY, by the U.S. brig Washington. The planters were freed and the Africans were imprisoned in New Haven, CT, on charges of murder. Although the murder charges were dismissed, the Africans continued to be held in confinement as the focus of the case turned to salvage claims and property rights. President Van Buren was in favor of extraditing the Africans to Cuba. However, abolitionists in the North opposed extradition and raised money to defend the Africans. Claims to the Africans by the planters, the government of Spain, and the captain of the brig led the case to trial in the Federal District Court in Connecticut. The court ruled that the case fell within Federal jurisdiction and that the claims to the Africans as property were not legitimate because they were illegally held as slaves. The case went to the Supreme Court in January 1841, and former President John Quincy Adams argued the defendants' case. Adams defended the right of the accused to fight to regain their freedom. The Supreme Court decided in favor of the Africans, and 35 of them were returned to their homeland. The others died at sea or in prison while awaiting trial.

A case before the Circuit Court in Hartford, Connecticut, was filed (September 1839). Slavery was still legal in Connecticut, although not widespread. The Africans were charged with mutiny and murder. The court ruled that it lacked jurisdiction, because the alleged acts occurred on a Spanish-flag ship in Spanish waters as Cuba was a Soanush colony. This began the complicated legal process. Various parties filed property claims the captives, the ship, and the cargo. The British entered the picture because they had a treaty with Spain and argued that the Amjistad Afrucabs should be set free, n eliminating the slave trade so The Van Buren Administration mindful of the need to carry the Southern states in the up coming 1840 election attempted to return the Africans to Cuba. The issue became more complicated when it was discovered that they were not Cubans, but Africans. While slavery itself was legal in the United States and Cuba, the slave trade was illegal. This thus called into question the status as slaves. The ensuing court proceedings and diplomatic maneuverings that resulted energized the fledgling abolitionist movement in the United States. Former president John Quincey Adams took up the cause of defending the Africans. The First Congregational Church, Thomaston, Connecticut raised money for the Amistad captives (1840). Both the Cuban buyers and Queen Queen Isabella II of Spain claimed ownership. The case eventually reached the U.S. Supreme Court as United States v. Libellants and Claimants of the Schooner Amistad, commonly cited as U.S. v Amistad (1841). The high court ruled that the Africans had been illegally transported and held as slaves, and ordered them freed. 

Had this not been decided as was would have affected and been an unconstitutional act because the time of slavery had been over since 1808 which meant that transporting slaves was illegal and against the law. If this case had no been decided this way it would have also continued this transportation of slaves which meant the continuation of such acts. As a result if anyone would intend to prohibit this act it would have been a lot worse because now the plantation owners could defend themselves if they let it happen once there would never b no end it this chain. As for the rich plantation owners if this case would have been decided this way this meant more slaves, more land, more money. Fortunately, it was decided otherwise, and prevented any more scandal than what was already created.

McCulloch vs. Maryland (1819)

Discuss how the American system of government would have evolved had this not been decided as it was:

The justices first addressed the issue of whether the Constitution gave Congress the power to establish a national bank.  They acknowledged that it was not within the enumerated powers of Congress, authority explicitly given to Congress in the Constitution, to establish a national bank.  He also noted that there is nothing in the Constitution restricting the powers of Congress to those specifically enumerated.   Rather, only the “great outlines” of the powers of the three branches are specified.  Instead of listing every power of Congress, the Constitution gives Congress the authority to make “all laws which shall be necessary and proper” for exercising the powers that are specifically enumerated.  This means that Congress has the authority to pass any law that is “necessary and proper” to exercise its power as specified in the Constitution, even if the Constitution does not explicitly give Congress the authority to pass that specific law or to regulate that specific matter.  This is the principle of unenumerated powers.  The justices noted that the Constitution expressly gives Congress the powers to “lay and collect taxes; to borrow money; to regulate commerce; to declare and conduct a war; and to raise and support armies and navies.”  Because a national bank would be “necessary and proper” to allow Congress to exercise these enumerated powers, the Court concluded that the Constitution gave Congress the authority to establish one.

The second issue the Court considered is whether the state of Maryland had the authority to tax a branch of the national bank operating within its borders.  The Court determined that it did not.  In their decision, the justices declared that “the constitution and the laws made in pursuance thereof are supreme; that they control the constitution and laws of the respective states, and cannot be controlled by them.”  In other words, if the United States Congress passed a law within its authority under the Constitution, a state legislature could not pass a law to interfere with that action.  “The power to tax is the power to destroy,” they decided.  Allowing a state to tax a branch of the national bank created by Congress would allow that state to interfere with the exercise of Congress’s constitutional powers.  Thus because “states have no power, by taxation or otherwise, to retard, impede, burden or in any manner control” the operation of constitutional laws passed by Congress, Maryland could not be allowed to tax a branch of the national bank, even though that branch was operating within its borders.  The law passed by the Maryland state legislature imposing a tax on the Bank of the United States “is unconstitutional and void.”

Had this not been decided as it was would have meant that the Constitution had to be completely different to how it was at this time Article I Section VIII had to be revised and some parts of it deleted because this is one things that the Supreme Court took into consideration in order to make a decision. The system of government would have evolved in the sense that the second national bank would have not been created and made a difference in the economy after the series of wars that the united states had faced. which would as a result also allowed Maryland to tax a branch to help the economy of a single state if the Constitution was not as was.

Chapter #2-Blog #3: Describe the cultural and social changes that Indian communities underwent in response to English colonization.

The early southern colonies’ encounters with Indians and Africans (especially by way of the West Indies) established the patterns of race relations that would shape the North American experience in particular, warfare and reservations for the Indians, and lifelong slave codes for African-Americans. As the British were colonizing Virginia, they were also settling into the West Indies. By mid-1600's, England had secured several West Indies islands, including Jamaica. They grew lots of sugar on brutal plantations there, slaves were needed to operate the sugar plantations. Indians were being used but 90% of the died due to diseases. Due to the involvement of various cultures and races being involved in Virginia, the English Colonization was changed.

Chapter #2-Blog #2: Describe the development of the jamestown colony from its disastrous beginnings to its later prosperity.

    The London Company dispatched three ships, the Godspeed, the Discovery, and the Sarah Constant, to repopulate the settlement.  They arrived in May of 1607.  A mercenary soldier, Captain John Smith, was commissioned to bring order to Jamestown.  He decreed that anyone who did not work would not eat.  While waiting for crops to grow, Smith sustained the settlers on food seized from surrounding Indian camps.  Over time, the raids grew increasingly violent, eventually leading to Smith’s capture by the Indians.  Tribal chief Powhatan took pity on the starving Jamestown settlers, returning John Smith to his people, along with a large supply of corn. During a period known as the Starving Time of 1609-10, nine out of every ten settlers died from either starvation or disease.  With Jamestown on the brink of extinction, the Virginia Company dispatched emergency shipments of food and supplies.  In 1611, the colony’s new governor, Sir Thomas Dale, arrived with threats of harsh and oppressive penalties for those who failed to meet food production quotas.  When his intimidation tactics failed to improve conditions, Governor Dale abducted the Indian princess, Pocahontas, demanding a large supply of Chief Powhatan’s corn as ransom.  At the age of eighteen, she married Jamestown planter John Rolfe—a union that launched a period of friendship and sharing between the settlers and Indians.  Jamestown survived, becoming the first permanent English colony in America. Pocahontas changed her name to Rebecka, traveling to England in 1616 with Rolfe and their infant son, Thomas.  Tragically, her immune system was unaccustomed to viruses common among the English, and she died in 1617.  Her grief-stricken husband, John Rolfe, returned to Virginia to develop his tobacco crop, a product of growing appeal in England.

Chapter #2-Blog #1: State the factors that led England to begin colonization.

To protect themselves from reprisals over the mass murders, nervous Spanish priests erected a fort in St. Augustine, Florida.  This was the first permanent European settlement in North America. By this time, Elizabeth I ruled the throne of England, and this pro-Huguenot queen was troubled by Spain’s hostile dominance in the New World.  The writings of geographer Richard Hakluyt reminded the English people that John Cabot had staked a claim for England in the New World a mere five years after the first voyage of Columbus.  Queen Elizabeth commissioned the bold sea captain, Sir Frances Drake, to challenge the Spanish monopoly in the Americas.  From 1577 to 1580, Drake raided Spanish galleons and stormed settlements along the west coast of South America.  When the queen openly received the captured Spanish treasures and granted knighthood to Drake, Spain’s King Philip II ordered people to prepare for war against England. During this period, Sir Humphery Gilbert twice attempted to establish an English colony in Newfoundland, only to be thwarted by foul weather.  Upon his return to England, Gilbert was killed in a shipwreck.  His half-brother, Sir Walter Raleigh, assumed the challenge, setting his sights southward, where the climate appeared more hospitable.  In 1585, Raleigh planted 107 men on Roanoke Island, in Chesapeake Bay, off the coast of what is now North Carolina.  Frustrated over the absence of women, the men returned to England the following year.  On his second attempt to establish a settlement, Raleigh allowed women and children to accompany the men.  The new group of 114 people landed at Roanoke in July 1587.  The island served as gateway to a large expanse of land that Raleigh called “Virginia” in honor of Elizabeth, England’s celebrated “virgin queen.”  On August 18, 1587, the Roanoke settlers celebrated the birth of Virginia Dare, the first English child born on American soil.

Chapter #1-Blog #3: Explain the changes and conflicts that occurred when the diverse worlds of Europe, Africa, and the Americas collided after 1492.

The Spanish wanted to explore the Americas because of gold. And when the Europeans and Americas collided the Europeans ended up colonizing the Americas and expanded through North America. The Europeans change the agriculture, religion, and the architecture. The Columbian Exchange was a dramatically widespread exchange of animals, plants, culture, human populations (including slaves), communicable diseases, and ideas between the Old World and the New World. Christopher Columbus’s first voyage to the New World in 1492 is what sparked this revolution hence the name “Columbian” Exchange. The Columbian Exchange greatly affected almost every culture around the world. New diseases brought to the New World by the Europeans killed off many populations because the Indians had no immunity to diseases such as smallpox.

Chapter #1-Blog #2: Describe the geological and geographical conditions that set the stage for North America history.

Two million years ago the "Great Ice Age" began, the oceans became glaciers and sea levels dropped. As a result of The Great Ice Age, it created a land bridge that connected Eurasia with North America allowing nomads to come over. When the great land bridge melted it transformed the upper part of America and formed the Great Lakes. Early North American history was affected by the fact that the North American continent was far away enough from Europe and Asia that it was unknown yet the land bridge over the Bering Strait allowed for early peoples to migrate to the region. The climate was temperate enough in many areas that animals and crops were plentiful as well.

 George Mason

In 1725 George Mason was born to George and Ann Thomson Mason. When the boy was 10 years old his father died, and young George's upbringing was left in the care of his uncle, John Mercer. The future jurist's education was profoundly shaped by the contents of his uncle's 1500-volume library, one-third of which concerned the law. Mason established himself as an important figure in his community. As owner of Gunston Hall he was one of the richest planters in Virginia. In 1750 he married Anne Eilbeck, and in 23 years of marriage they had five sons and four daughters. In 1752 he acquired an interest in the Ohio Company, an organization that speculated in western lands. In early 1776, before the Declaration of Independence, Mason drafted the Virginia Declaration of Rights and framed Virginia’s constitution. George Mason was rightfully proud of the Virginia Declaration of Rights, and pleased that it became a model for other states. George Mason’s primary objection to the Constitution was the absence of a bill of rights. He not only refused to sign the document at the convention, he hotly fought against it during Virginia ratification, despite promises by James Madison and others to add a bill of rights in the first congress. Although he believed a bill of rights was mandatory, he had additional objections to the Constitution. Among his other concerns, he believed the convention was giving the executive branch (president) too much power. In the end, George Mason did not believe the Constitution established a wise and just government. He was one of only three delegates present in the final days of the convention who didn’t sign the document.  Throughout his career Mason was guided by his belief in the rule of reason and in the centrality of the natural rights of man. He approached problems coolly, rationally, and impersonally. In recognition of his accomplishments and dedication to the principles of the Age of Reason, Mason has been called the American manifestation of the Enlightenment. Mason died on October 7, 1792, and was buried on the grounds of Gunston Hall.

The Great Awakening

Question: Compare the ways in which religion shaped the development of colonial society (to 1740) in two of the following regions:
New England
Chesapeake

Thesis: During the 1730's and the 1740's  the mother country went through a series of revolutions that fought for religious freedom and therefore caused social, political, and economic changes.The Great Awakening had a major impact to the New England and Chesapeake colonies and shaped their society and caused many colonist create war.

 

 

 

In late 17th Century England, fighting between religious and political groups came to a halt with the Glorious Revolution of 1688, an event which established the Church of England as the reigning church of the country. Other religions, such as Catholicism, Judaism, and Puritanism, were subsequently suppressed. From a political perspective, this led to stability since everyone now practiced the same religion. But instead of being a positive driving force for religious belief in general, it created complacency and spiritual “dryness” among believers. Religion became something of a pastime in which people would “go through the motions” during religious services without deeply-felt convictions of the heart and soul. It was only after some decades of this kind of complacency in both England and the American colonies that the spiritual “revival” of the Great Awakening came about. The fire leapt over to the Baptists of Pennsylvania and Virginia before the extraordinary awakening that began in Northampton, Massachusetts, under the ministry of Jonathan Edwards in December 1734.

Atlantic Slave Trade

Question: How did economic, geographic, and social factors encourage the growth of slavery as an important part of the economy of the Southern colonies between 1607 and 1775?

Thesis: Between 1607 and 1775, slavery in the southern colonies grew resulting from different reasons; however, the greatest influence was the "necessity" of profit. Blacks were inhumanely treated, leading to American dependence on profitable plantation systems.

The transatlantic slave trade generally followed a triangular route:

• Traders set out from European ports towards Africa's west coast. There they bought people in exchange for goods and loaded them into the ships.
• The voyage across the Atlantic, known as the Middle Passage, generally took 6 to 8 weeks. Once in the Americas those Africans who had survived the journey were off-loaded for sale and put to work as slaves.
• The ships then returned to Europe with goods such as sugar, coffee, tobacco, rice and later cotton, which had been produced by slave labor.

The triangle, involving three continents, was complete. European capital, African labor and American land and resources combined to supply a European market.
The colonists in the Americas also made direct slaving voyages to Africa, which did not follow the triangular route. This trade increased after 1800, particularly from Brazil.
The story of the transatlantic slave trade is the story of people on all three continents, as well as the dreaded 'Middle Passage' voyage. Follow the links on this page to find out more.

The Glorious Revolution

Question: Analyze the ways in which British imperial policies, intensified colonials resistance to British rule and their commitment to republican values. 

Thesis: English colonists fervently believed in the rights given to the British during the Glorious Revolution  but when the policies established by the British imperial rule during 1763 and 1776 were placed upon the colonists, many felt disillusioned with the government and began to demand the republican values given to men in the mother country.

 

 

 

 

After King James I being made King after the death of Queen Elizabeth. The Glorious Revolution began in England when King James II was overthrown and William III  and Mary II came into power to replace King James II. The Revolution allowed colonists to recieve their rights and independence from Great Britain. Yet, the Parliament decided that every person under the rule of England was to be virtually represented. Which meant that even if their representation did not live in the colonies he could speak for them without knowing the real needs of the colonist. The Stamp Act, Currency Act, Sugar Act, and Tea Act passed by England and the virtual representation angered the colonists, as a result; resisted from the English rule. The English Bill of Rights introduced some rights to the English which inlcuded freedom of speech and freedom to petition. However, even after the revolution everything seemed to by the same all the promises all forgotten.

The Seven Year War

"The French and Indian War"

Question:Analyze how the French and Indian Wars aftermath affected the relationship between Great Britain and the New England colonies.

Thesis: The ties between the mother country and the colonies was strained because of the compelling movement towards colonial independence, which involved social, economic, and political issues. The British Colonial government neglected to the needs of the American colonies, by imposing taxes, resulting in several colonial rebellions.

The Seven Year War was fought from 1756-1763 and this was a clash between France, Spain, and the British empire. This can also be the known as one of the first world wars because it did not only involve these three mighty countries but so many other ones that took sides.  The number one conflict, and reason why there was a war, was because Britain wanted to expel France from the colonies.The war was started when the governor of Virginia ordered George Washington to lead troops into the Ohio area, which was French territory. However, George Washington was forced to surrender upon the French. After this long never ending war closed with the Treaty of Paris as a result also brought disgrace to the colonies with a never ending list of Acts beginning with the Stamp act, Tea Act and protest against these acts as the Boston tea party. this was the first step to a movement to promote independence in the colonies.

The Enlightenment

Question: Explain how the Enlightenment influenced the ideas of the American Revolution. 

Thesis: The enlightenment influenced the American Revolution in three different forms, ideology, the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. 

 

 

The Enlightenment was a sprawling intellectual, philosophical, cultural, and social movement that spread through England, France, Germany, and other parts of Europe during the 1700s. Enabled by the Scientific Revolution, which had begun as early as 1500, the Enlightenment represented about as big of a departure as possible from the Middle Ages—the period in European history lasting from roughly the fifth century to the fifteenth. Which help develop important documents as the Declaration of Independence, English Bill of Rights, and The Constitution. An important influence of the Enlightenment was John Locke with his idea that "All Men are created equal." Jean Jacques-Rousseau was the creator of the "social contract' which stated that only designated people may have rights. Baron De Montesquieu  was another influence during this time because of him we have the three branches which consist of the  judicial, legislative,and executive.

POCAHONTAS

 Pocahontas was born in 1595 with the name of  Matoaka and her nick name was Pocahontas which meant "little play thing" and was given to her because of her nature playful personality. She was the daughter of the powerful leader of the Powhatan Confederacy Wahunsoncock she was the one that advised her father the most out of the 27 children he had and therefore, she was the favorite. Pocahontas's mothers identity is unknown due to the fact that she never told her life story to any one or kept a diary. She had a very humble personality on top of the fact that she was the daughter of this man she did the exact same things as all the other Powhatan women. She was a true believer and practiced their religion and daily life, until 1607 when the English arrived to their land. The arrival of these men would change her life forever.  Yet, on top of the arrival of these men this was the time when she was the closest to her father watching his every move and when he was about to kill John Smith the captain of the English she intervened and saved his life she was a very caring human being with a gentle heart. Obviously, the English wanted to take possession of the land that was there as a result, they began a war against the Powhatan. In April of 1613 Pocahontas is kidnapped and forced into the English religion and culture, and in 1614 Pocahontas married John Rolfe and brought back peace to the colonies. Before her marriage with John Rolfe Pocahontas was baptized and given the name Rebecca.  when John and Pocahontas marry he was ten years older than she was we are not sure if they fell in love or she was forced into this situation but he was much older than her. In 1616 Pocahontas, John, and their infant baby sailed to England where Pocahontas would be sensational, she was presented to the King and Queen of England and was highly respected for her portrayal of a princess because of the fact that she was the daughter of a "King" back at home. Since all the good people in the world always die first this was the case for Pocahontas she died of a disease and dies before she can return home.

Hernando De Soto

Hernando De Soto was born in the provinces of Extremadura, Spain the exact year is unknown but it is suspected that he was born in the year 1500. At a very young age he began his career of explorer his first journey was to travel travel the Atlantic Ocean. Then, in 1530 his old friend Francisco Pizzaro asked him to visit him in Peru and proposed him to help Francisco conquer the Inca Empire. Once they arrived to Cusco the capitol of the Inca Empire with they lies and tricks the both of them deceived and captured the Inca's Chief. The Inca's paid them lots of treasure and gold to retrieve their Chief, Francisco and Hernando took the treasure and gold and still killed the Chief. Just like Columbus they took Some Indian's as slaves and cause many death with diseases that were brought by them and lots of deaths caused by war. Hernando De Soto after this voyage was very wealthy and was named governor of present day Cuba in 1537 thanks to his success of bringing more wealth to the Spaniards. Yet, he decided to continue exploring his next expedition was authorized by King Charles I to conquer the southeastern part of the United States. After this other success he returned to Spain and was asked to explore and conquer present day Florida, Georgia, the Carolinas, Alabama, and the Mississippi. This is when for the first time in Hernando's life encountered failure. While intending to conquer all this land the Indians were much stronger and corned him by the Mississippi River. One night while trying to escape the Indians killed him and some of his men if they would not have killed him he would have died of the fever that was slowly weakening him, he died in the banks of the Mississippi River in 1542. 

Chapter # 1: Blog #1 - Describe the origin and development of the major Indian cultures of the Americans.

The actual dates and places that they Indians passed through are still being debated but there is some clues that lead us to how they got to the Americas. What is suspected is that the Indians originally lived in Alaska during the Ice-Age Era, and used the Pleistocene animal to find where they migrated to. Well you might be asking yourself but how did they walk or how did they travel such far distances? Well the exact method is not yet defined but the Indians Had two options walk or use the boats that even Columbus got to use to travel back to Europe. There are many different therioes but this is the one that I support. The reason why this is undefined is because there is no documents or evidence of what route they could have taken or any other further information.

Favorite Historical Figure

My Favorite Historical Figure would have to be Queen Elizabeth because on top of her being a Women she was powerful and was able to rule over her people nothing got in her way. She always accomplished to have whatever her people needed.