American History Lecture Two

Before we start our second lecture for American history, let's review some test-taking tips for multiple-choice history exams. Treat a multiple-choice exam like a contest or a game. Your performance on the exam is a function of two elements: how well you prepared prior to the exam, and how well you tried on the exam itself. Many students do not perform as well on a multiple-choice exam as they could have. These tips will help you improve on multiple-choice exam you take, whether in history, grammar or even your driving test.

On history exams many of the correct answers can be figured out during the test, if you do not give up too easily on a question. The person in the class who knows the most history probably won't be the person who does the best on the exam. Instead, the highest score usually goes to the person who tried the hardest during the test itself.

Test-taking tips

Tip Number One: Understand the question before you try to answer it. Read the question twice if you have doubts. Never, ever try to answer a question you do not understand. You can improve your score by 10% on each exam by making sure you understand each and every question before attempting to answer it. You will see other students miss questions because they misread them.

Example: Pay particular attention to qualifiers in questions, such as "EXCEPT". Every exam there are many students who miss questions because they overlook "EXCEPT". Question: "George Washington was popular for all of the reasons EXCEPT" .... You will miss this question if you overlook the "EXCEPT".

Tip Number Two: Eliminate the wrong answers before picking the right one. Draw a line through the wrong choices. Examples of wrong answers that can be immediately eliminated:

• Wrong dates or time period
• The answer doesn't match the question – e.g., the answer is generally true, but not limited to the time period in question.
• The answer violates common sense.
• The answer is familiar for reasons unrelated to the question, such as an answer choice of "Magna Carta," which is not part of American history.
• The answer is too general, too broad, too sweeping, or too strong, such as an answer that everyone liked George Washington.
• The answer is too awkward.
• The answer is something you never heard of. Don't pick it based on hope that it might be right.
• Two answers are too similar to each other.

When you eliminate wrong answers, cross out their corresponding letter on the exam. Try to cross out 3 answers to narrow the choice to 2 answers. If you guess at that point, you have a 50% chance of getting it right. Every time you eliminate an answer choice, your chance of answering correctly increases greatly.

Tip Number Three: Go with your first impression unless you have a good reason to change it. More often than not, your first impression is right. Don't outsmart yourself. There are no trick questions on these exams. There are traps to avoid falling into, but not tricks. Don't second-guess yourself into changing a correct answer into an incorrect one.

Tip Number Four: Stay on track. Expect to miss a few, and do not waste too much time on a difficult question. This is like a round of golf or a game of tennis or baseball: expect to miss some shots or swings. Skip a question that confuses you. Move on and then return to the question later. But when you have a separate answer page with a grid of dots, always make sure that you leave space on your answer sheet for any question you skip.

Tip Number Five: Try different approaches to a difficult question until you figure out the right answer. There are many ways to find the correct answer for a question. For example, think of the event in the question in the context of other events. Use all the information that is given you. There will always be a few questions that you can answer without knowing anything about U.S. History, if you are clever and use common sense.

Tip Number Six: On College Board exams, expect bias. The bias is greatest in the selection and presentation of the questions. For example, there will likely be more questions about liberal artists and writers than about George Washington or Christopher Columbus. College Boards will ask more about the decline of the Puritans than about their Christian success. Rarely does bias affect the answer choice itself, but having a sensitivity for the political views of the test-writer can be helpful in considering answer choices. For example, a College Board question will never have as a correct answer that men have some skills that are better than women's, but will often have as a correct answer that men have been prejudiced against women.

Remember and apply the above tips and it will raise your score by 10-30% on test day. Here they are again: Understand, Eliminate, First Impression, Stay on Track and Try Different Approaches. On College Board exams: Expect Bias.

One of my former students took my test-taking advice to heart, and while in college he was once required to take a multiple-choice exam without being able to study or prepare for it. (He had been told he would not have to take the exam, but then the teacher surprised him on exam day.) Using the above techniques, he scored the highest in the class on the exam, beating other students who had spent hours in preparation.

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Colonial History

Keep in mind that during the colonial period each colony was a separate government and like a different country. There were no restrictions on travel, but if you find yourself saying the wrong thing in another colony then you might end up in jail, as many non-Puritans did in Massachusetts.

The only union before the American Revolution was the United Colonies of New England, which existed from 1643 to 1684 in the northeast. It consisted of a union of Massachusetts, Plymouth, Connecticut and New Haven in order to fight war and address interstate disputes. Other than that, "disunity" existed among the colonies.

Now let's review the colonies and keep them in order:

Colony	Year Established	Who Founded It	Why It Was Founded	Year it Became a Royal Colony
Virginia	1607	London Company	To Make Money	1624, King James took back ownership
Massachusetts	1620	Puritans	To Establish a Religious Society	1691
New Hampshire	1623	John Wheelwright	???	1679
Maryland (Land of Mary)	1634	Lord Baltimore	To Establish freedom for Catholics; many died from Chesapeake Bay moisture	Never
Connecticut	1635	Thomas Hooker	Hooker wanted voting rights for all men who owned property, not just church members as in Massachusetts	Never. Obtained Charter from King in 1662
Rhode Island	1636	Roger Williams	Expelled by the Puritans	Never. Obtained Charter from King in 1663
Delaware	1631	founded by Dutch	In 1704, Quakers bought it to protect the water route to Pennsylvania	Never.
North Carolina	1653	8 English noblemen (granted by Charles II)	colonized all of Carolina to grow silk and failed; split in 1729 into N(farms) and S(rice and indigo)	1729
South Carolina	1663	8 English noblemen (granted by Charles II)	colonized all of Carolina to grow silk and failed; split in 1729 into N(farms) and S(rice and indigo)	1729
New Jersey	1664	Lord Berkeley & Sir George Carteret	It had two parts: the west was acquired by Penn and Quakers, and the east was dominated by the Duke of York	1702
New York (after defeat of Dutch)	1664	Duke of York	great port of Manhattan, supposedly purchased from the Indians in 1626 for $24 worth of trinkets	1685
Pennsylvania	1682	William Penn	Religious Freedom for Quakers; King Charles II gave land to Penn	Never
Georgia	1732	James Edward Oglethorpe	refuge for debtors jailed in England; buffer against Spanish Florida; initially banned slavery	1752

Learn and remember the above chart. Notice how many colonies were "taken back" by the King of England. Such is the power of kings, and a good reason to dislike that form of government.

Let's continue now with the Colonies around the turn of the century (from 1600 to 1700). Keep the periods separate in your mind: 1600s and 1700s. In the 1600s most of colonies were just getting started (except for Georgia, which was the only colony founded in the 1700s rather than the 1600s). In the 1700s, the colonies were established and were just growing stronger.

I should be able to mention an event and you should be able to tell me if it happened in the 1600s or 1700s. Learn to quiz yourself: Jamestown settlement, 1600s or 1700s? Bacon's Rebellion, 1600s or 1700s? Founding of Pennsylvania, 1600s or 1700s? If you don't know the answers in all three cases, then please go back and read the first lecture.

Several key events occurred leading up to the "turn of the century" from the 1600s into the 1700s. In 1688, there was upheaval in England. The people there overthrew King James II, who was Catholic. His daughter Mary and her husband William of Orange took the throne and reinstated Protestantism, and adopted the English Bill of Rights. A century later this would inspire the American Bill of Rights.

In 1692, the Salem Witch Trials began. There was a panic that some teenage girls were practicing witchcraft. Girls were prosecuted for this. Some were convicted and then executed. The authorities thought that these criminal prosecutions would help expose the ways of the devil for the benefit of everyone. Then someone observed that killing all these people may itself the work of the devil. Finally one of the accused said that the wife of the governor was also a witch. Then the authorities put a stop to the prosecutions and freed everyone who was still alive. The whole episode was an embarrassment to the Puritans in charge, and has been cited ever since as an excess of religious authority in civil life. But this episode did not directly weaken Puritan authority. Instead, it was success and prosperity, and books like The Scarlet Letter (published in 1850 to criticize morality in Puritan Boston in the 1600s), that caused people to turn away from the strict Puritan life. Today Boston and Massachusetts are the most liberal areas in the nation, directly opposite to what it was in the 1600s.

Debate: What, if anything, is precisely wrong about having witch trials?

Salutary Neglect and the Zenger Trial

The period of "salutary neglect" was from 1700-1750, during which England let the colonies do what they want in the hope that lax enforcement of rules and little taxation would stimulate much commerce. Laws were enforced then by England in the colonies as little as laws against jaywalking are enforced today, which is very rarely.

During this time period the colonies during this time were very different from each other. Freedoms in the colonies varied widely.

In the colony of New York, for example, John Peter Zenger got in big trouble for publishing something critical of the governor. The New York governor demanded that Zenger be prosecuted and thrown in jail for criticizing him. Zenger was then put on trial in 1735. On the first day of the trial, a good defense attorney from Philadelphia appeared to defend Zenger for free. The defense attorney argued to the jury that it should not be a crime to say something that is true, even though it may embarrass the governor. The judge told the jury that the law says that can be a crime called “libel”. But the jury ignored the law and held in favor of Zenger: “not guilty.” This case established the very important right unique to America: the right of freedom of the press. To this day we have that right in America, but those in England do not have this right.

The case helped convince Americans of the importance of the right to a jury trial, which was later written into our Constitution.

The trial also established an important power of the jury to ignore the law and hold in favor of a defendant even though the law says he is guilty. This is known as “jury nullification”.

Debate: Do you think a jury should be able to ignore the law in order to find a defendant “not guilty”?

1730-1740: The Great Awakening

In the 1700s, the colonies grew in size. The colonies grew to 2 million in population, much more than the French settlements of only 100,000.

The colonies were not just the English. Germans came here, African slaves came here involuntarily, and Scotch-Irish immigrated to the back country of the Middle Colonies and settled in Appalachia. The Middle Colonies were New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware, and consisted of many diverse ethnic groups and religions; prejudice existed between the groups but they were peaceful towards each other. William Penn even advertised for immigrants to come to Pennsylvania.

In the 1730s and 1740s, there was a spiritual revival known as the "Great Awakening." A glorious Christian fervor spread throughout the colonies, helping to bring them closer together in terms of beliefs, customs and practices. Led Jonathan Edwards and George Whitefield, this was called "New Light" revivalism to distinguish it from the spiritualism of the 1600s.

Jonathan Edwards was brilliant man who graduated valedictorian at age 17 from Yale University. (Harvard was founded in 1636; the College of William & Mary in 1693; and Yale in 1701). Edwards developed a sermon entitled "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God." It was so powerful that it moved listeners to tearfully repent simply upon hearing it.

George Whitefield was an even better preacher, perhaps the best ever in the English-speaking world. Known as the "Great Itinerant," he drew enormous crowds for his sermons as he did seven tours on the continent from 1740 to 1770. He would simply arrive at a public place, like the Boston Commons, and many thousands would show to hear his sermon. They did not leave disappointed.

But not all was well for everyone in all the colonies during the Great Awakening. South Carolina had grown heavily dependent on slavery to pick its crops and sustain its economy. By the late 1730s South Carolina had twice as many slaves as white people. In 1739 tensions between the slaves and their masters reached a boiling point in the Stono Rebellion in Charleston. The insurgency by the slaves was brutally suppressed, and then South Carolina passed harsh laws (codes) to exercise even more control over the slaves. More so than any other colony (and later, more than any other state), South Carolina was the state most determined to keep and use slavery.

Migration, and Conflict

As the population and confidence grew in the mid-1700s, colonists began to migrate to Ohio. There they conflicted with French fur trade with Indians. The French constructed forts in Ohio, and the governor of Virginia sent a 21-year-old named George Washington to check out what was going on in 1754. In Western Pennsylvania, at Fort Necessity, French defeated and captured him and his troops. They made him sign a statement in French (which George Washington did not understand) that his men had assassinated some Frenchmen. Then they released George Washington. He remembered that lesson and in the Revolutionary War made sure he had an aide who could understand French. That aide would be Alexander Hamilton.

George Washington is the most honored person in all of American history. Why was he so great? Was he so great? He was not a brilliant man. He was not a great military general. In terms of military strategy, he was not particularly good. He was inept during the French and Indian War, for example. He did not write anything of value.

Debate: George Washington. Was he great, and if so, why?

French and Indian War

In 1755, the British sent General Edward Braddock to confront French, but they ambushed and beat him badly nearly Fort Duquesne (pronounced DOO CANE). In 1756, war broke out between the French and English in Europe and things got very serious.

Eventually a smart fellow named William Pitt was elected as Prime Minister in England. The city of Pittsburgh is named after him. Pitt believed in appointing generals based on merit, not seniority or friendship. Pitt recognized the importance of the colonies and began investing significant money and resources. He started beating the French. Under Pitt’s leadership, he captured Fort Duquesne in 1758, then Quebec in 1759, and then Montreal in 1760. He started winning other places in world also, including India. In 1763 the Treaty of Paris was signed, eliminating France and her Indian allies as a threat to colonists.

But there was a change in the King of England even before 1763: King George III assumed the throne in 1760, and wanted to end the war quickly. Pitt wanted more war by England and resigned in 1761. A new prime minister gains power in England in 1763: George Grenville. England was angry that colonists didn’t pay fair share of war, and England wanted to make peace with Indians. It passed the Proclamation Act of 1763 to forbid colonists from settling west of Appalachians and stop buying land from Indians. Kind of like today’s problem with new Israeli settlements in areas claimed by Palestinians. Like the Israeli settlers, colonists were angry at this restriction, and ignored it.

Now that a new Prime Minister was in power who wanted peace, and wanted the colonies to pay its share of the war costs. Prime Minister Grenville started taxing colonists, and enforcing the taxes. He taxed sugar, then prohibited colonies from issuing paper currency.

He humiliated the colonists with legal intrusions: writs of assistance to search businesses without a court order or warrant. He violated ancient rights. He passed the Quartering Act to require colonists to house British troops at their own expense.

Next came the Stamp Act of 1765: it required that printed materials, like newspapers, bear stamp showing that coin tax had been paid. The public, and especially the media, was outraged. This sparked the colonies to meet with each other in the Stamp Act Congress, which was attended by 9 colonies. Riots broke out, and colonists boycott tax and British goods. Britain repealed the law, but passed the Declaratory Act asserting right to legislate for colonies in future.

The colonists developed a strong argument: taxation without representation. Britain said colonists had “virtual” representation. Colonists said adequate representation was impossible because England is so far away.

1767: Townshend Act imposes more taxes. It taxed paper, lead, paint and tea in colonies to pay salaries of royal judges and governors. Singled out New York and Massachusetts to suspend their assemblies for failing to levy taxes to house and feed British troops in their colonies. The Act tried to avoid inciting the wrath of all colonies. But the colonists boycotted British goods again, and once again the boycott was very effective.

Debate: should England have been able to impose direct taxes on the colonies?

American Revolution

Boston Massacre in 1770, when troops shot and killed a mob for throwing snowballs (some having rocks) at it.

Green Mountain Boys: Ethan Allen wanted to protect his land holdings in the disputed area that became Vermont; they captured Fort Ticonderoga in 1775 (first American act of aggression).

There was relative calm in 1770-73. But Rhode Island smugglers burned the British ship Gaspee in 1772.

Tea Act of 1773. Large British tea company lobbied for and obtained monopoly (exclusive) rights from the England. Had a huge inventory of tea. Received an exception from the tea tax and proceeded to import this huge inventory to Boston Harbor, where it would undersell the colonial merchants. The Puritans up there in Massachusetts were outraged. They tried to have the tea turned back to England, but the royally appointed governor refused. Led by Samuel Adams, a group of roughnecks dressed up as Indians and went on board the ship, and dumped all of its tea into Boston Harbor. It had the entire night to do it.

The British responded by revoking Massachusetts’ charter, closing Boston Harbor, installing a British general as governor, and repealing liberties like the right to hold town meetings.

The British also passed the Quebec Act, which gave the Canadians part of the Ohio Valley, which infuriated colonists. It also gave the French more freedoms, such as freedom of religion for the Catholic Church there. Colonists were angered because (1) they felt people in Quebec were getting more freedoms than they had and (2) they feared establishment of an Anglican Church in America.

The First Continental Congress was held in 1774. 12 colonies (not Georgia) agreed to disobey Coercive Acts, withhold taxes, cut trade, and arm the people.

The Second Continental Congress was held in 1775: made written money and named George Washington head of Continental Army, who governed during the Revolution.

The boycott hurt England. The British commander in charge of America, General Thomas Gage, decided to march by surprise from Boston to Concord to seize a storehouse of rebel guns and ammo, and maybe arrest some leaders.

Paul Revere then went on his midnight horseback ride to alert the colonists, and they were ready. War broke out.

Jan. 1776: Thomas Paine’s Common Sense pamphlet argued against divine rule and economic reasons to stay w/ Britain, in plain language. Often written books or pamphlets were a bigger force than military battles.

July 4, 1776: Declaration of Independence. All men are created equal. Natural inalienable rights. Listed grievances against crown (by then we no longer recognized Parliament). Frequent invocation of God. Used philosophy of John Locke: government is a social compact, and rebellion is justified when the government breaks its end of the bargain. John Locke actually wrote the original constitution for the Carolinas in the 1669, but it proved unworkable.

Causes of American Revolution: (1) accustomed to much independence and self-determination, Tory effort to regulate and tax was bitterly opposed by Colonies (and by Whigs in England); (2) British burdens hurt nearly all Colonists in all walks of life; (3) taxes hit at a bad time: postwar depression; (4) legally, colonies disagreed with “virtual representation”; (5) religious reason: many colonists disliked Anglicans (and Catholics), and feared England would install an Anglican bishop; (6) colonists disliked English class distinctions; (7) 1/3 of colonists were not even English, and broad geographic separation; (8) accepted John Locke’s philosophy of natural rights and social contract; (9) bright prospect for future by colonists. Independence was inevitable, as with other British colonies, but came quicker than for most.

1/3rd of the colonists were loyal to Britain. Washington’s army was only 18,000, less than a third the size of attendance at Giants Stadium. The British won early battles at Bunker Hill in Boston, in Canada, and in New York. We started winning on Christmas Eve in Trenton in 1776, then later at Princeton. Big win was at Saratoga in upstate NY in October 1777, when 6,000 British soldiers surrendered. Benedict Arnold led our army brilliantly then, before he became a traitor and went over to the British side. That was the turning point because the French then entered on our side.

The British were beating the Patriots badly in the South. The British captured Charleston in 1780, taking 5,500 soldiers and huge amounts of weapons. Finally, we installed General Nathanael Greene, one of our best generals. He started inflicting heavy casualties on the British, and they retreated from the Carolinas to Yorktown, VA.

In May 1781, French arrived with two fleets, and we trapped the British at Yorktown, Virginia. They had to surrender their entire army of 8000. But the British still held New York, and didn’t finally sign a peace treaty until February 1783. They gave up east of the Mississippi, from Canada to Florida. We promised to treat the Loyalists and English creditors (people owed money by colonists) fairly. We didn’t always do that. But there is blame to be shared on both sides of the issue: in Gladstone, New Jersey, the "Union Jack" (British flag) can be seen prominently flown to this day on one residential lot along with the American flag.