EH+Essential+Question+1

8-30-09 The English decided to persevere with their decision to continue colonizing Jamestown in hopes of a better life away from England. England had become very crowded in the 16th century, leading to a scarcity of jobs. Without jobs, the English could not pay to support their families. It was widely believed that America was a continent made of gold. This sparked the interest of many Englanders who wanted to become rich in America. Although many perished in search of gold (the Starving Time), colonists kept arriving in Jamestown, determined to make a better life. The struggle to find gold outweighed the struggle to find food. Many colonists died in their fight for a better life. Religion also played a big role in the colonization of Jamestown. Because the colonists were away from the restrictions of English religion practices, they were now able to practice religion on their own terms in America. This was a very attractive idea to colonists not only in Jamestown but in future colonies of New England. Additionally, the English wanted to depart from King James’s reign in England. Captain John Smith stated in a letter that the colonists wanted a place to call their own. They basically wanted a clean slate of land to live in and would either find it or die trying. They wanted a place that wasn’t polluted by the royal power of England. The colonists had found their clean slate in Jamestown and began setting up forms of government. This foreshadowed the freedom and democracy in America that we have today.

 9-6-09 The Massachusetts Bay Colony was the best place for a colonist to live in because it was a colony devoted to reaching Puritan social standards, most efficient economic practices, and most effective government ideals. The founder, John Winthrop believed that Massachusetts was achieving “a city upon a hill” status, in that it would be a model colony for all other colonies in the New World. The close minded social beliefs allowed citizens to select the most devote Puritans exclusive to New England to become a member of the society. Because they selected only the most likeminded people, everyone in the colony was on the same page which meant the colony could grow strong. If for some reason they found someone that wasn’t living up to the social standards, they would be promptly escorted out of Massachusetts, as seen in the Salem Witch Trials. They liked to work as a team in order to follow god and shape the colony to suit their beliefs. Because similar people were selected for the community, this meant that these people all spoke the same language. Speaking the same language helped out tremendously in terms of economic power. Puritans didn’t have to waste time buying slaves who couldn’t communicate with each other. They also didn’t have to deal with any other nationalities in order to be productive with trade. Their governing practices included a firm relationship with the Puritan church. This allowed them to make laws specific to their needs in the colony in terms of religion. Massachusetts also had a form of government that included a council that met to form laws for the colony. The closeness of the colonists helped Massachusetts last and even earned it the ranking of one of the most successful English colonies in the New World. 

9-16-09 The French and Indian War and the period following it in the 18th century, was a major turning point between the British and colonists because it resulted in the colonists questioning and attacking Britain’s governing decisions. The Seven Years War resulted in huge debt from Britain who in turn began the Stamp Act of 1765. This was the first taxation that Britain had the force to control because British soldiers were still apparent in the colonies from the war. The colonists were willing to pay taxes given by their colonies but the act had crossed the line. The Stamp Act disgusted many colonists because it was a direct tax that had occurred without representation of the colonists in the House of Commons and affected the upper class and people who could not pay it. This is where the phrase “No Taxation without Representation” originated. The taxation spawned many “terrorist” groups such as the Loyal Nine and Sons of Liberty who voiced their opposition of the act and protested it. This opposition eventually led to the Boston Tea Party and Britain’s response, the Intolerable Acts of 1774.

9-22-09 __In the 17th and 18th century, the Colonists were experiencing the tight grasp of Britain’s rule over their political, and economical being which influenced the Colonists to declare independence from Britain__. The colonies had started to organize a form of self government with the House of Burgesses in Virginia in the 17th century. In 1624, England decided to take a stricter governing stance on the colonies and restricted the House of Burgesses which meant that the colonies’ try at self government was destroyed. This angered many colonists, especially leaders in Virginia who wanted to be more independent from Britain. After the Seven Years War ended in 1763, the Colonists felt that they did not need to depend on Britain for security. At the same time, Britain began the Stamp Act in the colonies in order to pay for the war. This tax angered Colonists because they were not represented at the British House of Commons when the Stamp Act was passed. Protests of the tax began in America as many colonists did not have enough money to pay this tax along with the individual colony taxes. This act was replaced with the Declaratory Act which gave Britain the power to impose laws on the colonies as they saw fit. This event lead to the Intolerable Acts including a tax on monopolized British tea. Eventually, the Battle at Breed’s Hill broke out because of these ridiculous taxes. The colonists were right in breaking away from Britain because they were being forced to give up their establishments at governing themselves at the House of Burgesses and because they were being taxed and restricted by Britain only for Britain’s personal gain.

10-11-09 The Constitution allows for a perpetual political debate because it can be interpreted in many different ways. The Constitution was created to instill order in the United States, but it was created in a way that would allow for things to be amended. Because the Constitution is able to change, there will always be a debate on whether or not things such as the creation of a national bank are needed. The authors of the Constitution aided our debate with the creation of a Judicial Branch responsible for interpreting the Constitution. The Judicial Branch and Supreme Court decide what is and is not constitutional. Many people do not agree with the Supreme Court decisions. This only puts more fuel on the political debate fire. In class, we argued about whether or not the United States should pool their Revolutionary War Debt and create a national bank. One side believed that there should be no national bank because they were literally interpreting the constitution which did not hold any beliefs about the pooling of debt. The other side believed that the national bank was needed because they believed in new ideas and did not want to be restricted by the constitution’s beliefs. Ultimately, there will always be political debate thanks to the constitution because the constitution can be changed and interpreted differently.

Oct. 25, 2009 During the 19th century, the infant America had been maintained by only two presidents. Washington, an undeclared party, and John Adams, a federalist, had done an excessive amount of work in order to get America on her feet and establish herself to the world. Adams’s decisions for the country had received much criticism among the common man. His governing clashed with the ideals of the minorities. Also at this time, France began to bully America and Adams’s bias towards Britain. The exchange of power in 1800 from John Adams to Thomas Jefferson was a revolution. The Revolution of 1800 saw Thomas Jefferson open the door to Democratic-Republicans in the White House. No longer would the Federalist Party enter the White House. The work of the preceding Federalist power established America’s structure in the world. Although he had kept America alive after Washington, Adams’s strict central government views allowed no room for the common man’s voice to be heard. Thus, Thomas Jefferson and his call to minorities began attracting groups of small farmers and merchants for his precedential campaign in 1800. These groups had been negatively affected by Adams’s rule, more specifically, his taxes on property. Thomas Jefferson and his band of minorities took over Washington that same year changing the ideals in the White House forever and amplifying the voice of the common man in government.



 