History questions - Assignment Example

In response to aggressiveness, British soldiers opened fire upon civilians in order to maintain order. This slaughtering of civilians enraged the colonists. Lastly, the Quartering Act was an order in which the colonists were required to take in soldiers and provide for them. This angered the colonists as this served as a drain on already scarce and expensive resources. The English thought that it was necessary due to the fact that it was a reimbursement for having soldiers to protect the colonists from Indians, other countries. Etc. The Boston Massacre is considered by many to be one of the primary starting points to the start of the Revolutionary War.

Evidence and speculation from the time leads many questions to be asked as to far who was the sole instigator in the act. Boston was already in turmoil as tensions were rising between the British and the colonists. Often, the colonists would taunt the soldiers. On this particular incident, it was reported that the taunting had reached an elevated level. In order to disperse the crowd, shots were fired into the air. This translated into turmoil in which the soldiers opened fired on the civilians until both parties retreated.

Regardless of the facts, it is the colonists who instigated the attacks. The soldiers were just doing their duty and enforcing the laws. If this were to happen today with a riot facing the police, even if the policies were unfair, the blame would fall on the crowd. The purpose of the preamble of the Declaration of Independence was written in response as to the way the crown was treating the colonists. In essence, it was a dictatorship. As a result, the preamble states that the power, which is wielded by the government, is derived directly from the power, which is given by the people.

The understanding that “all men are created equal” meant only white males in the colonies. At this time, women’s rights were unheard of and blacks were regarded as slaves meaning they were in essence treated as property. The Declaration of Independence was a justification for why the colonies needed to break away from the corrupt form of government in England. The Virginia and New Jersey plans were created in order to help set up the new form of government, which would govern over the new independent colonies.

The Virginia plan was based on the power in the government being based on population. Thus larger states would have more representative power in the government. The smaller states felt that this was not fair; therefore they constructed a system based on equality, one vote per state. The Connecticut Compromise set up a bicameral legislature, using the New Jersey Plan as a template. The Senate would have equal representation given by each state and population would base the House of Representatives.

Samuel Slater is known as the father of the American Industrial Revolution. His idea of interchangeable parts allowed industry and the creation of machines to be accelerated due to the fact that these parts could now be easily replaced and changed in mechanical components. One of the main areas in which Slater had an impact was on the textile industry, in particular the Lowell mills. It combined the textile and weaving process all in the same building, which maximized production and efficiency.

Calhoun’s theory of nullification stated that in some instances, a state has the right to refuse to recognize a federal law within its