Political and Social Change in the United States

Edd Applegate

Description

Through the prism of the U.S. Constitution and other foundational documents, Edd Applegate’s Political and Social Changes in the United States will discuss major transformations in American social and political life since the Founding, beginning with England’s expansion in North America, the War of Independence, and the early national period. It proceeds through industrialization, the Civil War, economic growth, progressivism, and the emergence of the United States on the world stage. It concludes with considerations of the Cold War and post-Cold War worlds and new threats and challenges to the United States and its institutions.

Sujets

• Political Science
• History of the United States
• United States constitutional law
• World History
• American History

Informations

• Publié par: Academica Press
• Date de parution: 20 juillet 2021
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781680539554
• Langue: English

Extrait

Political and Social Change in the United States:
A Brief History, with the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union, the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution of the United States, and the Amendments to the Constitution
Edd Applegate
Political and Social Change in the United States:
A Brief History, with the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union, the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution of the United States, and the Amendments to the Constitution
Edd Applegate
Academica Press Washington~London
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Applegate, Edd (author)
Title: Political and social change in the united states : a brief history, with the articles of confederation and perpetual union, the declaration of independence, the constitution of the united states, and the amendments to the constitution Applegate, Edd
Description: Washington : Academica Press, 2021. Includes references.
Identifiers: LCCN 2021943276 ISBN 9781680539301 (hardcover) 9781680539318 (paperback) 9781680539554 (e-book)
Copyright 2021 Edd Applegate
Contents
Introduction
Chapter 1
Political and Social Change in England from 1660 to 1775
Notes:
References:
Chapter 2
Political and Social Change in the American Colonies from 1660 to 1783
The 13 English Colonies
Notes:
References:
Chapter 3
Political and Social Change in the United States from 1784 to 1900
States of the Union during the Civil War
Confederate States during the Civil War
Notes:
References:
Chapter 4
Political and Social Change in the United States from 1901 to 1960
Notes:
References:
Chapter 5
Political and Social Change in the United States from 1961 to 2000
Notes:
References:
Chapter 6
Political and Social Change in the United States, from 2001 to 2020
Notes:
References:
Appendix A
Presidents of the United States and the National Debt
Appendix B
Unemployment Rates for Each President Since 1929
Appendix C
Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union
Appendix D
Declaration of Independence
Appendix E
The Constitution of the United States
Appendix F
The Amendments to the Constitution
Bibliography
About the Author
Index
Introduction
This book presents a brief history of the major political and social changes in the United States since the nation was founded. It includes the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union , the Declaration of Independence , the Constitution of the United States , and the Amendments to the Constitution . Considering these documents have contributed to the foundation on which the United States is based, all should be important to every living American. Every person old enough to vote should not only read these documents but thoroughly understand each.
During the presidency of Donald Trump, Democratic members of the House of Representatives impeached him-twice! Apparently, these members had not read the Constitution of the United States , the Amendments to the Constitution , and what the founders had said about impeachment (see The Journal of the Constitutional Convention by James Madison, the Father of the Constitution and the fourth president of the United States). If they had, more than likely some would have changed their votes. (By the way, no founder seriously thought any president would be impeached by the House of Representatives primarily because each believed the American people would elect an individual who not only understood but adhere to the documents on which the nation was founded. After all, many colonists had sacrificed their lives so that others could be free.)
Chapter 1
Political and Social Change in England from 1660 to 1775
The year 1660 marked a dramatic change in English history.
Termed the year of the Restoration because King Charles II returned from his exile of 17 years, 1660 marked the beginning of what was to become an important age. Between the mid-1600s and the late 1700s, England grew into a neo-classical empire that saw a great influx of immigrants, continued expeditions to other countries, including America and India, and the rise of Parliament as a powerful force in the English political structure. However, this neo-classical age came to an end when
the coming of the industrial world due to industrial invention threw England into a revolution which brought in machinery and factories, changed the face of the landscape, expanded enormously the size of cities, and gave a profound shock to the existing habits of thought and outlook on life. 1
Restored to the throne, Charles II was not without critics. Although many believed his reign would be an exceptional one, within a few years they saw that he was interested more in what the French had to offer primarily because his exile had been in France than in what his English subjects needed.
Charles II, a Catholic, resigned himself to his ministers wishes and allowed them control of the government. As a result, the Church of England became more influential than Puritanism, which previously had been influential. After all, Oliver Cromwell, along with other Puritan leaders, had died.
Under Charles II, English citizens, particularly those living in London, experienced several major calamities that changed their lives. For instance, the bubonic plague killed thousands of citizens in 1665. The Great Fire of London, which immediately followed, destroyed thousands of buildings and killed thousands of citizens as well. A war with the Dutch Republic erupted in the mid-1660s, and an anti-Catholic rebellion occurred in the late 1670s. As if these were not grave enough, the King failed to produce an heir to the throne.
When Charles II died in 1685, his brother, James II, succeeded him as King and for three years flaunted his Catholicism. The Duke of Monmouth, who was Charles II s natural but illegitimate son, attempted to overthrow James II and was subsequently executed. Tensions between persons of different religions mounted until the King issued a Declaration of Indulgence which granted citizens of England the freedom of worship. Protestants had believed that the successor to the throne would be Mary, the King s daughter as well as an Anglican who had married William of Orange. When they realized that the King s newborn son, a baptized Catholic, might become King, they immediately rebelled. Consequently, James II lost his throne in 1688 to William and Mary.
Although William and Mary were welcomed to the throne, Parliament exercised its power, and William and Mary had to accept a Bill of Rights . No longer did a King or Queen have power because of his or her heredity. Rather, the power was granted by Parliament. However, the two-party system-Tories and Whigs (Cavaliers and Puritans), which had appeared during Cromwell s reign-failed to have an impact on English rule until after Mary s death in 1695 and William s death in 1702, when Mary s sister, Anne, became Queen.
During Anne s reign, a bitter struggle for power between the two parties erupted. Under the leadership of Robert Harley, Earl of Oxford, and Henry St. John, Viscount Bolingbroke, the Tories got control. When Anne died in 1714, the Whigs came to power and drove out the Tories.
When Anne died in 1714, Parliament demanded the next Queen or King be a Protestant. George, who became George I, King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain (England and Scotland had united under Anne s reign), was the only Protestant heir. George, who was the son of Sophia of Hanover, Germany, the granddaughter of James I, was not particularly interested in political affairs. Thus Parliament had a free hand. When George II succeeded his father to the throne in 1727, he, too, was disenchanted with English government. He was succeeded by his son, George III, in 1760, during the Seven Years War (1756-1763) in which England successfully acquired Canada from France. George III tried to be a better King than his father and grandfather, but he failed to realize that England s colonial philosophy, which affected America, Canada, and India, was creating tensions abroad, especially in America.
* * *
During this period many English citizens contracted one or more diseases probably because of unsanitary conditions and the improper storage of food, not to mention rodents. Furthermore, personal hygiene was not a high priority. As if disease was not terrible enough, thieves, including highwaymen, robbed and even murdered citizens who tried to ride to town. Citizens who lived in London also experienced hardship and tragedy. For the most part, the thousands of buildings that burned in the Great Fire were inferior in construction and maintenance when compared to today s structures. Citizens, particularly those who lived in rural areas, since they seldom rode to town to hear the latest gossip, were illiterate and backward, socially speaking. Those who lived in London had to walk or ride on dirty streets. If they shopped at stores or visited coffee-houses, they did so during the day. During the night thieves and even murderers roamed the streets searching for victims.
Nonetheless, Britain prospered-first, from a large trade in the import and export of colonial produce; second, from a large trade in the export of agricultural produce such as grain; and third, from the Industrial Revolution. After the Great Fire, the citizenry eventually became enlightened from frequent visits to coffee-houses rebuilt of stone. Although problems such as war with another country plagued the Empire, the Empire survived. Even the internal bickering between Tory and Whig and