Early History of the United States - Essay Example

U.S. History Part I The Paleo-Indians and Mesoamericans are some of the first people to inhabit North America. The Clovis people are a Paleo-Indian group that is said to have entered North America through the Bering Strait Bridge. Despite the scanty evidence of the timing or route of their movement into North America, these early inhabitants are believed to have migrated after civilization. The Clovis People are said to be hunters and gatherers given the fact that their overhunting led to extinction of certain species. The Mesoamericans inhabited the areas around Mississippi and Tennessee. These early inhabitants were dependent on hunting, gathering, farming and fishing. The Adena and Hopewell were some of the cultures of the Mesoamerican origin. The southern colonies included Georgia, Virginia, Maryland and the Carolinas. Virginia is one of the southern colonies that created a reputation for itself with its deplorable slavery situation (Walter 5).However, it was Carolina, that was later referred to as the ‘slave colony’, that was notorious. Due to the ease with which plantation owners could bring in slaves to work on their tobacco and cotton fields, the population increased considerably in these two states (Walter 7). In fact, there was a point when the slaves population of the outstripped that of the native inhabitants. In 1935, Roger Williams was banished from Massachusetts Bay Colony due to his belief in the separation of religion from state. He letter founded Rode Island where religious freedom was allowed. In 1659, Quaker William Leddra was sentenced to death by hanging after being proved guilty of practicing this banished religion. Before the hanging of William Leddra, Margaret Jones was hanged for being a witch in 1648. On her part, Margaret claimed to be an ‘herbal practitioner’. However, it was Mary Dyer who was the first female to be executed on the basis of her religious beliefs. In the period after the French and Indian war victories, Britain commanded a lot of respect from many countries. This status was to last for a short while since the influence of Britain to its colonies started to wane afterwards due to the heavy debt accumulated over the war. The parliament decided to enact the 1765 stamp act, which required the colonies to pay additional tax on British goods. Resistance and boycott of British goods met this move. The events of April 8, 1775 refer to the ride that Paul Revere went to in order to deliver a message to the people of Boston. This happened just within 10 days after a premature ride to Concord. The objective of the rides was to warn the inhabitants the possibility of an impending war (Longfellow, Wadsworth & Christopher 4). The legend, however, is in the fact that he covered 13 miles within two hours and gathered the Lexington militia. The fundamental principles of the United States government include self-governance, separation of powers and inherent rights. The self-governance principle is important in that it helps people choose their own president. The idea of separation of powers is in the constitution is to ensure that no specific body controls all the powers; instead the three branches of the government have checks and balances against each other (Longfellow, Wadsworth & Christopher 11). The first foreign policy failure of John Adam’s administration was the endeavor to gain Texas from Mexico.The other issue he encountered with his foreign policy attempts was to increase the volume of trade with the West Indies. The domestic policy issues that drew the most criticism during Adam’s tenure were the signing of the Alien and Sedition Acts into law. These acts were heavily criticized for their insensitive nature. Part II The Article of Confederation and The Constitution differed in their approach towards the executive, sovereignty, levying taxes, and powers of the Congress, trade regulations and state representation (Silberdick 1). The other striking difference between the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution is the recognition of the executive. In the 1781 Article of Confederation, there was no known executive who had power. The only task of the president was to preside over the Congress. In adopting the Constitution, the president was named the head of executive (Silberdick 3). The head of state, therefore, had the power to appoint a Cabinet, which acted as a branch of checks and balances for the legislature and judiciary. The interpretation of sovereignty also differed between the two constitutions. While the current Constitution remains the supreme law, the Articles of Confederation stated that the Constitution resided in the States.This difference implies that the Articles of Confederation recognized states as sovereign, but the current Constitution recognizes the people of America as sovereign. The interpretation of this distinction is clearly seen in the division of sovereignty between the central government and the constituent states. Under The Articles of Confederation, the Congress was only allowed to levy tax on the states. However, with the coming in of the Constitution in 1788, the Congress has the right to request tax payment from individuals living within the states. The change in the powers of the Congress also meant that they could also control interstate commerce (Silberdick 5). The other responsibility bestowed upon the Congress in The Constitution involved empowering them to raise armies in the event of military situations. These duties and responsibilities were not given to the Congress in The Articles of Confederation. State representation was the other aspect that differed between the two constitutions. While The Article of Confederation gave each State a single vote in complete disregard of the size, The Constitution considered the population of each State while allocating representatives at the senate (Silberdick 3). Under The constitution, the representation was divided into the upper house (Senate) and the lower house (House of Representatives). Each state is entitled to senate representatives and other House of Representatives grounded on their population size. The Articles of Confederation and the Constitution also differed in their judicial approach. While the Articles of Confederation let the States establish their own courts, which enforce the laws, the Constitution created the federal court system. These federal courts could be used to solve all legal concerns in every State. Works Cited Feinberg, Barbara Silberdick. The Articles of Confederation: the first constitution of the United States. Brookfield, Conn.: Twenty-First Century Books, 2002. Print. Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth, and Christopher H. Bing. The midnight ride of Paul Revere. Brooklyn, N.Y.: Handprint Books, 2001. Print. Williams, Walter E... "Regrets for slavery: Virginia acknowledges its abominable past, but shuts its eyes to the deplorable present. (RACE RELATIONS)." Western Standard 9 Apr. 2007: 1-23. Print. Read More