Brooks Academy Summer School

1. Summer School History
Brooks Academy of Science and
Engineering -- 2012
1

2. Unit 1:
Colonial
America

3. American Indians before 1492
• Arrived via a land bridge
across the Bering Strait
(between Siberia and Alaska)
sometime between 30,000
and 10,000 years ago
• Filtered down throughout the
continent over the centuries
• created hundreds of separate
tribes and societies
• Adapted to the environment
wherever they went.

4. European Colonial Holdings in North
America before 1763

5. European Colonization – Spain
 Spain – 1492
◦ Columbus
◦ Conquistadors
◦ Three Gs: God, Gold and Glory
◦ Nueva Espana – “New Spain” –
huge super colony created to
exploit the Indians
◦ Spanish missions set up in the
American Southwest and along
the California coast – idea was to
convert the Indians to Christianity
– led to a system of loosely held
territories
◦ Colombian Exchange – movement
of goods, food, disease, culture
and people between the Old
World and New World (be
prepared to give examples)

6. New Spain
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7. Columbian Exchange
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8. European Colonization – France
 France – Canada and Louisiana
◦ Quebec -- French speaking even today
◦ Louisiana -- Strong French influence,
combined with Creole from the islands
◦ Big reason for colonization -- MONEY
FROM FUR TRADERS
◦ Small settlements in Canada --
Montreal and Quebec City centered on
trade with the Indians
◦ Big missionary effort -- French will use
the Indians as allies against the English
-- this effort will be largely
unsuccessful, but the French will try
◦ French trappers will eventually make it
to the Great Lakes area and down the
Mississippi
◦ Important to remember -- French
colonies founded over money and
TRADE. THEY'RE REALLY THE ONLY
EUROPEAN POWER THAT TREATS THE
INDIANS AS ALLIES

9. European Colonization – English
 Virginia (Southern Colonies)
◦ 1607 – Jamestown settled
◦ Important aspect of southern colonies -- started
for Money. They quickly turn to crops and
Mercantilism (tobacco, Rice, indigo)
◦ DEFINE MERCANTILISM AND TRIANGLE TRADE
ON THE BOARD (Sugar -- Rum -- Slaves)
◦ 1619 -- Dutch ship blown off course by a storm
lands in Jamestown. They trade Black Africans
for supplies. The Africans are not slaves, but
rather indentured servants -- slavery will not
come to Virginia in full force until the 1640s.
 Massachusetts (New England)
◦ Religious descent -- Puritans unhappy with the
Church of England -- it's too Catholic
◦ 1620 -- Pilgrims (separatists) settle Plymouth
after crossing on the Mayflower
◦ Will bring the idea of the people
ruling themselves – Mayflower
Compact
◦ Thriving trade system takes hold -- only
substance agriculture, but fishing and shipping
create wealth

10. Mayflower Compact
• First time the colonists
(Americans) came together
to form their own
government
• Gives us the idea of
government being by the
people and for the people
• Signed by all free men on
board the Mayflower. Each
man given equal weight to
vote, regardless of class or
social status. 10

11. Mayflower Compact
11

12. Slavery in Virginia 1619
• Dutch ship is blown off course coming
from the Caribbean – lands in
Jamestown
• Traded black slaves for supplies to
make it home
• Slaves – just another commodity to
trade
• By 1640 – slavery in Virginia was based
on race (slaves were then born into
slavery)
• Slavery becomes a major part of the
economy of the South
• From an economic standpoint – slavery
worked. Remember, there were no
machines to work plantations / farms
like we have today
• Slavery was cheaper in the long run,
but more expensive in the short term
• Slavery quickly spread to other
colonies (even northern ones), but was
critical to the success of the
agricultural colonies of the South 12

13. More Original 13 Colonies
• New York – Originally
settled by the Dutch
• Pennsylvania – Settled by
the Quakers
• Maryland – Settled by Lord
Baltimore for Catholics
• Georgia – originally a
colony for prisoners (to
relieve overcrowding in
English prisons)
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14. Unit 2
The American
Revolution
14

15. Conflict between British and French
• French and Indian War (1754-
63)
• French armed their Indian allies
against the British colonists
trying to move into the
backcountry lands
• Starts as a North American war,
but eventually spreads to other
British and French colonies
around the globe, such as India
and Egypt
• Peace of Paris (1763) – France
lost all of its North American
possessions – British get
Canada and everything east of
the Mississippi River 15

16. Proclamation Line of 1763
• British Crown said that lands
west of the crest of the
Appellations Mountains were
closed to English settlement
• Problem – Ohio River Valley
was great for farming and
furs
• Colonists from the East Coast
wanted to move into better
lands
• King George’s decision to
close those lands angered
many colonists 16

17. Revenue Acts
• Series of Acts passed by
Parliament in England to tax the
colonists
• Designed to help pay for the
costs of running the empire
• Stamp Act (1765) – most famous
– tax on printed materials
• Stamp Act led to protests across
the colonies
• Colonists cried out
• “No Taxation Without
Representation” – since the
colonies had no representatives
in Parliament, they believed that
no taxes should be passed
without their consent 17

18. Boston Tea Party
18

19. Boston Tea Party
• Sons of Liberty – mostly
young unemployed young
men
• Led by Sam Adams – Brewer,
Patriot and Tavern Owner
• Angered over the Tea Act – a
tax on tea – very important to
the people of Boston
• After a night of heavy
drinking – Sons of Liberty
stormed onto a ship loaded
with tea in Boston Harbor and
dumped thousands of pounds
of tea into the Harbor
• Problem – the tea was private
property. It did not belong to
the British government.
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20. Intolerable Acts
• King George III was furious
over the Boston Tea Party
• Parliament passed 3 acts
in response
– Closed port of Boston
– Suspended Massachusetts
legislature
– Quartering act: troops could
be housed in private homes
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21. First Continental Congress
• Meeting of colonial
representatives (12
colonies attended) in
Philadelphia
• In response to the
Intolerable Acts
• Called for funding a
continental army for
defense
21

22. First Continental Congress
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23. Declaration of Independence
04 Jul 1776
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24. Declaration of Independence
• July 4, 1776 – Declaration of
Independence signed
– Written by Thomas Jefferson
of Virginia
• Men form governments
• Governments must be
responsive to men
• If a government is not
responsive to men, then
men have the right to
change the government
– List of Grievances – what the
king did to break the contract
between the colonists and his
government

25. Revolution in the Northern Colonies
• Lexington and Concord –
first shots of the war –
Outside Boston in 1775
• Bunker Hill – battle that
drives the British Army out
of Boston (they went to
Nova Scotia)
• Saratoga (1777) – American
victory that brings the
French into the war on the
American side
• Continental Army appointed
George Washington of VA as
the Army’s overall
commander 25

26. Revolution in the Southern Colonies
• Mostly back-county fighting
• American colonists held a
huge advantage – they
knew the terrain and
refused to fight “like
gentlemen”
• Colonists harassed the
British army like gnats
• Very frustrating for the
British commanders, who
captured Charleston and
Savannah easily, but
couldn’t fight against the
back-country militias
26

27. Yorktown (1781)
• British General
Cornwallis was
trapped on the
Yorktown
Peninsula in
Virginia
• Washington had
him from the
land
• French Navy had
him from the sea
– prevented his
escape 27

28. Peace of Paris (1783)
• Took 2 years to finally
sign a peace treaty
• Treaty of Paris (1783)
– independence to the
United States
– US given all land east of
the Mississippi river –
south of Canada and
north of Florida
– US granted fishing rights
off Newfoundland in
Canada (important
fishing grounds for
commercial fishermen)
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29. Unit 3
The Constitution
and the Federal Government
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30. Articles of Confederation
• 1st constitution of the
United States
• Drafted by the
Continental Congress
• Very limited in power
to the national
government
• Only one branch of
government –
Congress
• Most power left to the
states 30

31. National Achievements under the
Articles of Confederation
• Running the Continental Army and government
(with a lot of problems)
• Treaty with France in 1778 – French Alliance is
critical to our success in the Revolution
• Signed peace treaty with Great Britain (1783)
• Northwest Ordinances (1785 and 1787) – set the
pattern for statehood
31

32. Problems with the Articles
• No real authority over the states
• No ability to tax
– could only ask states for money
• Congress could not regulate trade
• Any changes to the articles had to be by
unanimous consent of all the states
• Supposed to protect the individual states
• States saw themselves as independent of each
other
• “These United States” not “The United States” 32

33. 33

34. Northwest Ordinances of 1787
• Greatest achievement of the
national government under the
Articles of Confederation
• Allowed for Settlement in the
Ohio River Valley
• Even set down laws for
government and settlement
patterns
• Sold land in 160 acre lots – small
enough for a family to purchase
• Set a procedure for new states to
join the union
• No colonies – all new areas
would become states
• When 60,000 people settled an
area, it could apply to Congress
for statehood 34

35. Constitutional Convention of 1787
• Eventually many
people realized
the Articles
needed to be
changed
• 55 delegates from
12 states (not
Rhode Island) met
in Philadelphia and
drew up a new
constitution
• That Constitution
is the one we live
under today (with
27 amendments)
35

36. Two Different Plans for the Union were
Presented at the Constitutional Convention
Virginia Plan New Jersey Plan
• Favored large states • Designed to protect small states
• Number of representatives in • Really a revised version of the
Congress determined by Articles of Confederation
population • Unicameral (1 house) Congress
with each state getting the
• Strong national government same number of votes
• Bi-cameral (2 house) Congress • Weak Executive -- appointed by
• Strong Executive (almost a king) Congress
• Strong Judicial (Courts) • Weak Judicial – appointed by
the Executive and approved by
Congress
• Did give Congress power to tax
and control states
36

37. Great Compromise
written by James Madison of VA
• Legislature (Congress)
– Bicameral (2 houses)
• House of Reps – by population
• Senate – each state has 2
– Makes Laws
– Power to tax and control money
– Declare war
• Executive (the President)
– Strong executive
– Supposed to enforce the Laws
Congress makes
• Judicial (Federal Courts)
– Interprets / judges laws
– Determines whether or not a law
violates the Constitution and its
Amendments 37

38. 3/5 -- A Compromise on Slavery
• Southern Position: slaves are
people and should be
counted for representation,
but are also property and
thus should not be counted
for taxation
• Northern states (most had
outlawed slavery by 1787) –
wanted slaves counted as
property for taxation
• Eventually a compromise was
reached where 3/5 of the
slaves would be counted for
both taxation and
representation 38

39. Bill of Rights (1791)
• First 10 Amendments
• Mostly about personal
freedoms
39

40. Bill of Rights (1791)
1. Freedom of Speech, Press, Religion, Assembly and
petition
2. Right to bear arms
3. No quartering of soldiers
4. No unreasonable search and seizure (warrants)
5. Rights of people accused of a crime
6. Right to a speedy jury trial in criminal cases
7. Right to a jury trial in civil cases over $20
8. No cruel and unusual punishment
9. Rights not taken away by the Constitution are
reserved to the people
10.Powers not taken away by the Constitution are
reserved to the states 40

41. Other important Amendments
• 13th – Abolished slavery
• 14th – gave citizenship to ex-slaves and also
established that every citizen is entitled to due
process under the law
• 15th – Black men are given the right to vote
• 19th – gave Women the right to vote
• 22nd – limits president to 2 terms
• 24th – eliminated poll taxes
• 26th – gave 18 year olds the right to vote
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