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An Essential Guide To American Politics And The American Political System

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Contents

Declaration Of Independence..............................1Congress.................................................39Judiciary................................................53Political Parties........................................59Terms—Definitions—Events.....................63Primaries................................................161Wars In American History.................................197Foreign Policy Doctrines.................................215

Chapter One

TREATY OF PARIS

In 1783, American and British officials signed the Treaty of Paris ending the Revolutionary War. A year later Congress ratified the treaty negotiated by Benjamin Franklin, John Jay, and James Madison. Great Britain recognized the independence of the thirteen states. The treaty consisted of ten articles dealing with items such as territorial boundaries, fishing rights, the payment of debts, property rights, the confiscation of property, prisoners of war, captured territory, and access to the Mississippi River. After completing the treaty, many disputes developed between the two countries because of conflicting interpretations regarding certain treaty provisions. Both sides were guilty of numerous violations. Individual states violated treaty provisions and there was little the national government could do to remedy the situation. Many Americans refused to pay debts owed to the British and many refused to return confiscated properties. The British government violated treaty provisions without fear of retaliation. The British refused to return captured slaves and failed to vacate some captured territories. Relations between Great Britain and the United States remained strained for many years after the war. The two countries resolved some of their conflicting interpretations of the Treaty of Paris when they signed the Jay Treaty in 1794. Despite the resolution of many of their differences, the two countries again went to war in 1812. Despite winning independence, there was no guarantee the union of thirteen states would endure and prosper. The new nation had to cope with many complex problems, both foreign and domestic. The leaders of the new nation soon realized that finding solutions to these problems would take time. In many ways the two sets of problems, foreign and domestic, were connected and this made the search for solutions more difficult. U.S. ties to Great Britain were complicated by the fact that many Americans were ambivalent about relations with Great Britain after the Revolutionary War. Some Americans favored a closer relationship but others were more comfortable with closer ties to France. George Washington supported a policy of neutrality. He did not want the United States too closely aligned to the policies of any European state. The Treaty of Paris left the United States the ruler of all the territory east of the Mississippi. George Washington envisioned the United States a great power without rivals other than some Indian tribes.

CONTINENTAL CONGRESS 1774-1789

The Continental Congress convened in 1774. It was a unicameral body meaning it was composed of only one house. All the states except Georgia sent representatives to the Congress that had a membership of fifty six members, each selected by their state legislature. Members of the Congress had to decide how to respond to the actions taken by the British government in response to Boston Tea Party. The Continental Congress ruled the country during a time of uncertainty and had to cope with many complex problems without having adequate power to do so effectively. It did institute a boycott of British goods and this contributed to the decision on the part of the British to deal more harshly with the colonies. Initially, delegates to the Congress did not intend to seek independence from Great Britain but they did demand changes in the way the British government dealt with the colonies. King George III did not think it was necessary to appease the colonists and this convinced many members of the Continental Congress that independence was their only option. In 1775, King George III formally accused the colonies of rebellion. That same year, the Second Continental Congress convened and was responsible for conducting the war for independence that had already begun. Military clashes between the two sides spread throughout the colonies. In 1776, the Second Continental Congress approved the Declaration of Independence. There was much support for such a declaration because delegates to the Congress did not think they could win any international support without it. Foreign governments would have no incentive for supporting a rebellion if the only goal of the colonists was to win political and economic reforms. The leaders of the revolution had to determine how to govern the new country. They completed that task in 1777, when the Continental Congress approved the Articles of...