Major Problems in the Era of the American Revolution, 1760-1791 Documents and Essays

by Brown, Richard D.

• ISBN13: 9780395903445
• ISBN10: 0395903440
• Edition: 2nd
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1999-11-16
• Publisher: Wadsworth Publishing

Summary

This text delves into the many facets of the colonial uprising and its aftermath, concluding with the ratification of the Bill of Rights. The volume combines primary sources, analytical essays, chapter introductions, and headnotes to encourage students to think critically about the revolutionary era.

Table of Contents

Preface	xiii
Interpreting the American Revolution	1	(26)
Essays
The Revolution Preserved Social Inequality	4	(4)
Barbara Clark Smith
The Revolution Destroyed Monarchy and Paved the Way for Democracy	8	(5)
Gordon S. Wood
Boycotts Made the Revolution Radical	13	(14)
T.H. Breen
Society and Politics on the Eve of the Revolution	27	(44)
Documents
a Connecticut Slave, Earns His Freedom, 1729-1766	28	(4)
Venture Smith
a College Graduate, Views Rural Massachusetts, 1760	32	(5)
John Adams
a Schoolgirl, Learns About Growing Up in Boston, 1771	37	(3)
Anna Green Winslow
a New Jersey Tutor, Admires the Tidewater Gentry, 1773	40	(7)
Philip Vickers Fithian
Essays
The Preconditions of the American Revolution	47	(12)
Jack P. Greene
The Emergence of Popular Politics	59	(12)
Richard R. Beeman
The British Empire and the War for North America	71	(27)
Documents
Franklin, et al., Devise Albany Plan of Colonial Union, 1754	72	(3)
Benjamin Franklin Predicts the Plan of Union Will Fail, 1754	75	(1)
Order in Council on the Reform of the Customs Service, 1763	76	(1)
Rev. Thomas Barnard Looks to Future Glories, 1763	77	(2)
Essays
Friction Between Colonial Troops and British Regulars	79	(9)
Fred Anderson
Britain Defined by Its Empire	88	(10)
P.J. Marshall
British Reforms and Colonial Resistance	98	(40)
Documents
Virginia Stamp Act Resolutions, 1765	99	(1)
Governor Francis Bernard Describes the Boston Riot, 1765	100	(2)
The Declarations of the Stamp Act Congress, 1765	102	(1)
``William Pym'' Asserts Parliamentary Supremacy, 1765	103	(2)
The House of Commons Questions Benjamin Franklin, 1766	105	(5)
Lord Camden (Charles Pratt) Exhorts Parliament to Change Direction, 1766	110	(2)
Parliament Repeals the Stamp Act but Declares Its Authority, 1766	112	(1)
John Dickinson Exhorts the Colonists to Opposition, 1767-1768	113	(4)
Charleston Merchants Propose a Plan of Nonimportation, 1769	117	(2)
Essays
The Assertion of Parliamentary Control and Its Significance	119	(9)
Edmund S.
Helen M. Morgan
The Townshend Acts and the Consolidation of Colonial Resistance	128	(10)
Pauline Maier
The Imperial Crisis: From the Tea Act to the Declaration of Independence	138	(51)
Documents
John Adams Reflects on the Boston Tea Party, 1773	140	(1)
Parliament Debates the Coercive Acts, 1774	140	(3)
The Coercive Acts, 1774	143	(3)
Thomas Jefferson Asserts American Rights, 1774	146	(6)
Declaration and Resolves of the First Continental Congress, 1774	152	(2)
King George Proclaims America in Rebellion, 1775	154	(1)
Thomas Paine Calls for Common Sense, 1776	155	(15)
The Declaration of Independence, 1776	170	(3)
Essays
The Mixed Motives of Merchant Revolutionaries	173	(7)
Thomas M. Doerflinger
Declaring Independence	180	(9)
Pauline Maier
Fighting for Independence	189	(35)
Documents
John Adams Discusses Military Preparations, 1776	191	(3)
General George Washington Asks Congress for an Effective Army, 1776	194	(3)
Congress Calls on States to Support Continental Army, 1776	197	(1)
A Soldier Views Mutiny Among American Troops, 1780	198	(2)
General George Washington Explains Army Problems and Calls for Help, 1780	200	(1)
A Veteran Remembers the Battle of Saratoga, 1777	201	(1)
Two Views of the Battle of Yorktown, 1781	202	(3)
Essays
Hearts and Minds: The Case of ``Long Bill'' Scott	205	(7)
John W. Shy
The Strengths and Weaknesses of the Militia	212	(12)
Don Higginbotham
Outsiders and Enemies: Native Americans and the Loyalists	224	(32)
Documents
Oneida Indians Declare Neutrality, 1775	225	(1)
John Adams Reports on Congress's Strategy Toward the Native Americans, 1775	226	(1)
Chickasaw Indians Seek Help, 1783	227	(2)
Patriots Intimidate a New Jersey Loyalist, 1775	229	(1)
A Patriot Urges Congress to Execute Loyalists, 1776	229	(1)
A Newspaper Attack on Loyalists, 1779	229	(2)
Thomas Hutchinson Criticizes the Declaration of Independence, 1776	231	(2)
Loyalists Plead Their Cause to King, Parliament, and the British People, 1782	233	(3)
Benjamin Rush Contrasts Loyalists and Patriots, 1777	236	(2)
Essays
There Was No Winning Strategy for the Indians	238	(9)
Gregory Evans Dowd
The Loyalists Confront Civil, Revolutionary, and Partisan Warfare	247	(9)
Robert M. Calhoon
Are All Men Equal? The African-American Challenge	256	(31)
Documents
Massachusetts Slaves Argue for Freedom, 1773	257	(1)
Worcester County, Massachusetts, Calls for the Abolition of Slavery, 1775	258	(1)
Lemuel Haynes, a New England Mulatto, Attacks Slavery, 1776	258	(1)
Lord Dunmore Promises Freedom to Slaves Who Fight for Britain, 1775	259	(1)
Three Virginia Countries Defend Slavery, 1785	260	(1)
Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, 1863	261	(1)
Essays
Slavery Attacked and Defended	262	(13)
Sylvia R. Frey
The Revolution in Black Life	275	(12)
Ira Berlin
Gender and Citizenship in a Revolutionary Republic	287	(24)
Documents
Thomas Paine Admits Women Have Some Rights	288	(2)
Abigail and John Adams Debate Women's Rights, 1776	290	(3)
An American Woman Asserts Women's Rights, 1780	293	(1)
The Declaration of Sentiments of the Seneca Falls Convention, 1848	294	(2)
Essays
The Revolution and Women's Rights	296	(10)
Linda K. Kerber
Women Were Recognized in the Constitution	306	(5)
Jan Lewis
Toleration Versus Religious Freedom in a Protestant Republic	311	(30)
Documents
Toleration Can Be Joined to Religious Establishment, 1776	312	(2)
The Massachusetts Declaration of Rights, 1780	314	(1)
Boston Supports Religion for the Sake of Order, 1780	315	(1)
Ashby, Massachusetts, Opposes Religious Establishment, 1780	316	(1)
Rev. Ezra Stiles, America Will Sustain Christian Truth, 1783	317	(2)
Philadelphia Jews Seek Equality Before the Law, 1783	319	(1)
James Madison Protests Religious Taxes, 1785	320	(4)
Thomas Jefferson's Virginia Statute of Religious Liberty, 1786	324	(2)
The First Amendment to the United States Constitution, 1791	326	(1)
Essays
Was There a Revolutionary Millennium?	326	(8)
Jon Butler
The Role of Religion in the Revolution	334	(7)
William G. McLoughlin
Peacetime Government Under the Articles of Confederation	341	(48)
Documents
The Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union, 1781	343	(6)
Congress Passes an Ordinance on Western Lands, 1785	349	(1)
The Northwest Ordinance, 1787	350	(3)
Congressman Charles Pinckney Admonishes the New Jersey Legislature, 1786	353	(2)
Delegates Report from a Demoralized Congress, 1787	355	(2)
Hampshire County, Massachusetts, Farmers Call for Help, 1786	357	(1)
Regulators Call for Popular Support, 1786	358	(1)
The Massachusetts Legislature Advises Thrift, Virtue, and Patience, 1786	359	(5)
Essays
American Federalism Before the Constitution	364	(10)
Jack N. Rakove
In Massachusetts All Politics Was Local in the 1780s	374	(15)
John L. Brooke
Making the Constitution of 1787	389	(50)
Documents
James Madison on the Vices of the Political System of the United States, 1787	390	(5)
Edmund Randolph Presents the Virginia Plan, 1787	395	(2)
William Patterson Proposes the New Jersey Plan, 1787	397	(2)
Congress Debates the New Jersey and Virginia Plans, 1787	399	(3)
Congress Debates the Issues, 1787	402	(9)
Democracy and the Lower House	402	(1)
Sectional Interests and Legislative Apportionment	403	(3)
Qualifications for Voters	406	(3)
Slavery and the Importation of Slaves	409	(2)
The Constitution of the United States of America, 1787	411	(8)
Essays
What Happened at the Constitutional Convention	419	(9)
Lance G. Banning
Ideas and Interests Drove Constitution-Making	428	(11)
Jack N. Rakove
Ratification Politics and the Bill of Rights	439	(44)
Documents
The Federalist Expounds the Advantages of the Constitution, 1787-1788	440	(11)
Factions and Their Remedy (James Madison, No. 10)	440	(4)
The Constitution Is National and Federal (James Madison, No. 39)	444	(3)
The System of Checks and Balances (Alexander Hamilton or James Madison, No. 51)	447	(1)
No Bill of Rights Is Needed (Alexander Hamilton, No. 84)	448	(3)
Antifederalists Attack the Constitution, 1787-1788	451	(3)
Richard Henry Lee on Why a National Government Will Be Unrepresentative and Despotic	451	(1)
James Winthrop Explains Why a Large Republic Cannot Work	452	(1)
Mercy Otis Warren Offers Eighteen Reasons to Reject the Constitution	453	(1)
Proceedings in the State Ratifying Conventions, 1788	454	(8)
Massachusetts Proposes Amendments to the Constitution	454	(2)
Patrick Henry of Virginia Denounces the Constitution	456	(2)
Virginia's Declaration of Rights and Proposed Amendments to the Constitution	458	(4)
The Constitutional Amendments, 1791 (The Bill of Rights)	462	(2)
Essays
The Main Themes of Constitutional Discussion	464	(9)
Isaac Kramnick
The Politics of the Bill of Rights	473	(10)
Leonard W. Levy
The Consequences of the Revolution	483	(29)
Essays
The Revolution Advanced Men's and Women's Rights	484	(10)
Rosemarie Zagarri
The Revolution Was Radical in Some Ways, Not in Others	494	(18)
Alfred F. Young
The Revolution Rearranged North America's Human Landscape	512
Edward Countryman