hist.txt

turning point in relations with Britain; previously had salutary neglect with colonies, don't interfere with US; end of French and indian war;end of 70 yrs war;peace treaty bega;-britian had conquered many territories of the French

The purpose of the proclamation was to organize Great Britain's new North American empire and to stabilize relations with Native North Americans through regulation of trade, settlement, and land purchases on the western frontier. Could not go to the western frontier, or west of the mountains of the US because there was much conflict because Indians resisted colonial expansion, thus causing much fighting btwn them and the british did not want to pay for any british soldiers to defend from indian attacks . Problems: people were interested in expansion, manifest destiny (to spread from east to west; the british do not enforce it; it angered a lot of land speculators because it was a way of making money

declaration of independence is adopted.

reinforces sugar act 1733, making sure trade was truly restricted to the british west indies, making sure sugar does not go to the colonies from anywhere else

1764 This act prohibited American colonies from issuing their own currency, angering many American colonists.

1765 The British further angered American colonists with the Quartering Act, which required the colonies to provide barracks and supplies to British troops.

1765 Parliament's first direct tax on the American colonies, this act, like those passed in 1764, was enacted to raise money for Britain. It taxed newspapers, almanacs, pamphlets, broadsides, legal documents, dice, and playing cards. Issued by Britain, the stamps were affixed to documents or packages to show that the tax had been paid. First time direct taxation is given in colonies; caused colonists to be angered because they had no American representation in parliament; caused colonies to come together.

mobs that burned property, chased loyalists thru the streets, disorder; was a political group made up of American patriots that originated in the pre-independence North American British colonies. The group was formed to protect the rights of the colonists from the usurpations by the British government after 1766. They are best known for undertaking the Boston Tea Party in 1773, which led to the Intolerable Acts (an intense crackdown by the British government), and a counter-mobilization by the Patriots that led directly to the American Revolutionary War in 1775; tried to get their way by force and attack. members: alexander McDougall, Isaac sears, samuel adams, john handcock, john Lawrence scott, paul revere

sons of liberty came and attacked his home

1765,many colonies sent delegates to ny and held a stamp act congress, joseph Galloway, john Dickenson; was a meeting held between October 7 and 25, 1765 in New York City, consisting of representatives from some British colonies of North America; it was the first gathering of elected representatives from several of the American colonies to devise a unified protest against new British taxation. Parliament had passed the Stamp Act, which governed all its overseas colonies and was coming into effect November 1. The Congress discussed and united against the act, because did not include any representation from the colonies themselves. First began by sending letters to parliament about disagreement with stamp act, then decided to boycott british goods until they removed stamp act

1766, an act made by parliament which declared that all laws parliament set down must be obeyed. After stamp act was repealed by them, they put down this act to let colonists know that they had to obey british law.

acts passed beginning in 1767; put taxes on things like glass, lead, tea, paint, things brought in from England, this backfired because the colonies began making their own goods that England had put taxes on rather than buying English goods. Eventually, taxes are repealed except for the one on tea.

silversmith;important because he made American silver, allowed americans to buy silver from here rather than from England and pay a tax

On March 5, 1770, a crowd led by sailor Crispus Attucks formed to demonstrate against the customs agents. When a British officer tried to disperse the crowd, he and his men were bombarded with rocks and dared to shoot by the unruly mob. After being knocked to the ground, one soldier finally did shoot, and others followed. Five people were killed, including Attucks, who is often considered the first casualty of the Revolutionary War

1773, was a direct action by colonists in Boston, a town in the British colony of Massachusetts, against the British government and the monopolistic East India Company that controlled all the tea imported into the colonies. On December 16, 1773, after officials in Boston refused to return three shiploads of taxed tea to Britain, a group of colonists boarded the ships and destroyed the tea by throwing it into Boston Harbor. The incident remains an iconic event of American history, and other political protests often refer to it.

A radical colonist famous for his "Give me liberty or give me death" speech. Henry openly advocated rebellion against the Crown in the years prior to the Revolutionary War.

A Philadelphia printer, inventor, and patriot. Franklin drew the famous "Join or Die" political cartoon for the Albany Congress. He was also a delegate for theSecond Continental Congress and a member of the committee responsible for helping to draft the Declaration of Independence in 1776.

British statesman who provided crucial leadership during the latter half of the French and Indian War. Pitt focused British war efforts so that Britain could defeat the French in Canada. Many have argued that without his leadership, Britain would have lost the war to the French and their allies.

adam smith, 1776, wealth is not measured by gold and silver, measured instead by trade and commerce-economics should be left to govern itself

The Townsend and Goddard families were two Quaker families that were part of a large cabinetmaking community centered in the Easton's Point neighborhood of Newport, a predominately Quaker neighborhood.

January 1774 Parliament passed the Coercive Acts, also known as the Intolerable Acts, which shut down Boston Harbor until the British East India Company had been fully reimbursed for the tea destroyed in the Boston Tea Party. Americans throughout the colonies sent food and supplies to Boston via land to prevent death from hunger and cold in the bitter New England winter

1774;came together to decide how to deal with british policy; A meeting convened in late 1774 that brought together delegates from twelve of the thirteen colonies (Georgia abstained) in order to protest the Intolerable Acts. Colonial leaders stood united against these and other British acts and implored Parliament and King George III to repeal them. The Congress also created an association to organize and supervise a boycott on all British goods. Although the delegates did not request home rule or desire independence, they believed that the colonies should be given more power to legislate themselves.

in the colonies, struggle to decide who governs the colonies; when the rev takes place. American forces win Battle of Lexington and Concord Second Continental Congress convenes in Philadelphia Second Continental Congress extends Olive Branch Petition King George III declares colonies in state of rebellion. Existing colonial government changes, people of the colonies now decide who runs the colonies rather than the crown.

was convened a few weeks after the Battle of Lexington and Concord to decide just how to handle the situation. Delegates from all thirteen colonies gathered once again in Philadelphia and discussed options. The desire to avoid a war was still strong, and in July 1775, delegate John Dickinson from Pennsylvania penned the Olive Branch Petition to send to Britain. All the delegates signed the petition, which professed loyalty to King George III and beseeched him to call off the troops in Boston so that peace between the colonies and Britain could be restored. George III eventually rejected the petition. This is the one where they decide on the revolution and independence.

army raised by General Montgomery to invade Canada, after invading Canada, it fails. George Washington is chosen as the general of the army.

was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of the Constitution in 1787. The unanimous choice to serve as the first President of the United States (1789-1797)

1777,center is NY, b/c it is like a pin that holds the north and south together. upstate NY;british army comes from eastern Canada, west Canada, nyc, and would meet in the center of the state.

1781: Hamilton achieved his dream for glory when he led a charge of 400 men against the British at the Battle of Yorktown in 1781.

one of the delegates of the constitutional convention, comes from western virginis, slave owner, very much involved in learning and education, plays violin very well, interest in philosophy and history, and is also a politician; A plantation owner and a lawyer, Thomas Jefferson was a delegate from Virginia to the Second Continental Congress. After Richard Henry Lee called for independence in June of 1776, Thomas Jefferson was appointed to a committee to draft the Declaration of Independence.Thomas Jefferson is known as the author of the Declaration of Independence, although his draft was heavily edited by the delegates of the Second Continental Congress. Thomas Jefferson continued as an important figure in early American politics by serving as diplomat to France, Secretary of State, and as the third President of the United States. The leader of the Republican Party, Jefferson was president from 1801 to 1809, during which time he organized the national government by Republican ideals, doubled the size of the nation, and struggled to maintain American neutrality.

A prominent Boston lawyer who first became famous for defending the British soldiers accused of murdering five civilians in the Boston Massacre. Adams was a delegate from Massachusetts in the Continental Congresses, where he rejected proposals for reconciliation with Britain. He served as vice president to George Washington and was president of the United States from1797 to 1801.

was a merchant, statesman, and prominent Patriotof the American Revolution. He served as president of the Second Continental Congress and was the first and third Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

signs articles of confederation, signed constitution

A 1787 meeting in Philadelphia in which delegates from twelve states convened to revise the Articles of Confederation. The Convention quickly decided that the Articles should be scrapped and replaced with an entirely new document to create a stronger central government binding the states. The result was the Constitution

tells people what they are fighting for, political motivator, attack against the king, long list of grievances against the king, even though they should have blamed parliament, divides US as separate from England, creates document in order to defend life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness {pursuit of happiness instead of property because not everyone had property, so this gave the opportunity for everyone to become involved in independence movement}

was an English Philosopher who influenced the thoughts and actions of American leaders in the revolutionary era. The author of Two Treatises of Government (1690), Locke attacked the theory of divine right of kings, arguing that the power of the state rested on the power of the people. Locke believed that governments were formed to protect the natural rights of men, and that overthrowing a government that did not protect these rights was not only a right, but also an obligation. His thoughts influenced many revolutionary pamphlets and documents, including the Virginia Constitution of 1776, and the Declaration of Independence. Additionally, his ideas about checks and balances and the division of church and state were later embodied in the U.S. Constitution.

A series of eighty-five articles written by James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay in 1787 to 1788 to convince New Yorkers to ratify theConstitution. The Federalist Papers are now regarded as some of the finest essays on the Constitution, American government, and republicanism.

fighting begins in NYC and staten island, troops land in queens and Brooklyn, washingtons army is defeated, but they escape

treaty of paris is signed; This treaty, negotiated on behalf of the U.S. by Benjamin Franklin, John Jay and Samuel Adams, formally acknowledged the independence of the thirteen American colonies, and set the boundaries of the new nation at the Atlantic Ocean in the east, the Mississippi River in the west, Florida in the south, and Canada in the north.

1777, completed in 1781; was an agreement among the 13 founding states that legally established the United States of America as a confederation of sovereign states and served as its first constitution.[1] Its drafting by the Continental Congress began in mid 1776 and an approved version was sent to the states for ratification in late 1777. The formal ratification by all 13 states was completed in early 1781. Even if not yet ratified, the Articles provided domestic and international legitimacy for the Continental Congress to direct the American Revolutionary War, conduct diplomacy with Europe and deal with territorial issues and Indian relations.

Proposed by Thomas Jefferson just a month after Virginia officially handed over western lands to congress, this ordinance established the process by which new lands would be divided into states, the process for surveying and sale, and the qualifications of new states to enter into Congress. This ordinance set the precedent to prohibit any attempts to colonize newly ceded lands.

1785 A revision of the earlier Land Ordinance of 1784, the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 refined some of the earlier qualifications for statehood. It further provided that a certain amount of land had to be reserved for public education, and that slavery was to be prohibited in this territory north of the Ohio River.

Daniel Shays organized farmers throughout New England to protest legislation that increased taxes and demanded immediate debt-repayment. When the state legislature refused to respond, Shays and his armed followers closed the courts in western Massachusetts in protest of foreclosed properties. The rebellion came to a head when Shays was defeated while trying to seize a federal arsenal of weapons in Springfield, Massachusetts, on January 25, 1787. This rebellion demonstrated the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation, and convinced many states of the need for a stronger central government.

the desire to expand a country or territory. Americans specifically wanted to expand from sea to sea and from Canadian border to gulf

that the land is what supports the country

1798, consisted of four acts dealing with the protection of national security, the Alien Enemies Act, the Alien Friends Act, the Naturalization Act, and the Sedition Act. While Federalists claimed these acts were essential for national security, Republicans countered that they were politically motivated and served only to deny Americans of their guaranteed rights to fair trial and free speech. The Alien and Sedition Acts were the undoing of the Federalist Party, as Thomas Jefferson won the presidency in 1800 based largely on popular dissatisfaction with the acts.

ran for president in 1800, chosen by the party to be Jefferson's vice president. However, every Republican elector voted for Jefferson and Burr so a tie ensued that had to be resolved by the House of Representatives. After a considerable struggle in the House, and Burr's refusal to withdraw, Jefferson became president, and Burr was politically dead. Later, Burr would attempt to lead a bizarre conspiracy to attack Texas and secede from the Union. Burr also eventually killed Alexander Hamilton in a duel.

was the chief Justice of the Supreme Court during Jefferson's presidency. His most notable decision during this time came in Marbury v. Madison, in which he asserted the principle of judicial review, which stated that the Supreme Court could deem an act of Congress unconstitutional.

Established by Chief Justice John Marshall in Marbury v. Madison, the principle of judicial review held that the Supreme Court could declare an act of Congress unconstitutional.

John Adams made a number of appointments to federal justice positions on his way out of office. One of those, the appointment of William Marbury as justice of the peace in the District of Columbia, was not delivered by midnight of his last night in office. Secretary of state James Madison refused to deliver the commission to Marbury, who asked the Supreme Court to issue a writ of mandamus ordering Madison to do so. Chief Justice John Marshall denied Marbury the writ, ruling that the Judiciary Act of 1789 was unconstitutional in granting the Supreme Court the power to issue such a writ. This established the principle of judicial review. It formed the basis for the exercise of judicial review in the United States under Article III of theConstitution. It was also the first time in Western history a court invalidated a law by declaring it "unconstitutional", a process called judicial review. The landmark decision helped define the "checks and balances" of theAmerican form of government.

Between December 12, 1800, when it became clear that he would not win reelection, and the day of Jefferson's inauguration, March 4, 1801, Adams appointed a significant number of federal judges. These midnight appointments consisted exclusively of Federalists, most of who had previous political or familial ties to prominent party members. Though Jefferson originally declared that he would not dismiss any Federalist appointees, he later revised this statement to protect only the appointees who did not fall into this category of midnight appointments

were commissioned by Jefferson to explore the new territory of the Louisiana Purchase. They traveled 3,000 miles in two and a half years, collecting scientific data and specimens, and charting the territory to the west of the Mississippi. Their journey spurred much interest throughout the nation in further exploration and settlement in the West.

The peak of British disrespect for American neutrality at sea, on June 22, 1807, The British naval frigate HMS Leopardfollowed the American naval frigate USS Chesapeake out of Norfolk harbor in Virginia, and opened fire upon it after a request to board had been denied. The Chesapeake, not prepared for battle, lost three men and had twenty wounded, and permitted the British to board. The British naval officers boarded, seized four men who had deserted the royal navy, hanged them from a yardarm, and sailed away. Jefferson responded with the Embargo Act.

In response to the Chesapeake Leopard Affair, Jefferson endorsed the Embargo Act, passed on December 22, 1807, which shut America off from the world economically by forbidding ships from leaving American ports to trade with other nations. He hoped the embargo would put economic pressure on the French, and especially the British. It did, but America suffered far more due to its economic isolation, and the Embargo Act was repealed on March 3, 1809.

A British sympathizer or supporter

New York lawyer; coauthor of the Federalist Papers; first chief justice of the Supreme Court; john Jay helped Alexander Hamilton write the Federalist Papers to convince the American people to ratify the new Constitution. In 1794, Jay traveled to Great Britain to represent the United States in settling several disputes between the two nations. Jay was also involved in the XYZ Affair when he went to Paris in 1797 to discuss terms of peace with France. He later became the first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.

accomplished in 1803, was a sale of the Louisiana Territory from France to the United States for a sum of $15 million. Although the Louisiana Purchase raised several thorny issues of constitutional interpretation, it was ultimately approved by Congress, thus initiating the rapid growth of an American Empire in the Western Hemisphere.

author of common sense, was a radical, after revolution began and went to france, was elected to national assembly as a delegate, was arrested, was almost executed, but ended up coming back to the US; Thomas Paine was a political theorist, best known for his work Common Sense, which furthered momentum behind the Revolutionary War movement in America. He later took an active role in the French Revolution and opposed the growth of the Federalist Party in the United States. In his later years, Paine was severely ostracized, and died an impecunious outcast from society.

1795 settled English and torrie claims, meaning it allowed them to be repaid after taking their land, remove soldiers from US territory, and set boundary btwn us and Canada. Could not get british to respect US boundaries. Public anger towards English

division of labor; used to be that one person did everything, now each step of making something is done by separate people

witney standardized parts, broke down making of the gun into parts, by having each person make only one part, they would be given a government contract

worked with various designs

inventor of the steam boat in 1807

Two resolutions, passed in 1798 to 1799 and written by Thomas Jeffersonand James Madison, that declared that the individual states had the right to nullify unconstitutional acts of Congress. The resolutions stated that because the individual states had created the Union, they also reserved the right to nullify any legislation that ran counter to their interests.

adams to office

was sent to prison for libel, but was elected to congress while in prison

navy is created, federalists want declaration of war with france, but no declaration occurs

Southern delegates wanted slaves to be counted as people only when determining representation in Congress because a larger population meant more representatives and therefore more political power. Northern delegates opposed this view, however, and did not want slaves to be counted as people when determining a state's population. According to the Three-Fifths Compromise, which resolved the dispute, slaves would be counted as three-fifths of a person when apportioning seats in the House of Representatives. This kept the south from seceding, thus preventing the collapse of the US, and increased the souths power in congress.

a presidential voting system whereby a special body of electors in each state casts a fixed number of votes for the president according to the combined number of seats the state has in the House and the Senate. For example, if a state had ten seats in the House and two seats in the Senate, it would cast twelve electoral votes in the Electoral College. Electors can chose whether to vote according to the wishes of the people in their state.

A term referring to the overlapping of powers granted to the three branches of government under the Constitution. For example, Congress has the power to pass laws and regulate taxes, but the president has the ability to veto, or nullify, those acts. On the other hand, Congress may override a president's veto if two-thirds of its members support the bill in question. The Supreme Court, meanwhile, has the power to review all laws but must rely on the president to enforce its decisions. The framers of the Constitution included this system of checks and balances to prevent any one branch of government from having too much power over the others.

Washington appointed Henry Knox his first Secretary of War. Knox played a valuable role in the development of the executive branch. His most notable actions came in relation to the struggle with the Native Americans on the frontier, where he declared the Indian title to the land officially recognized by the US in the early 1790s.

the government can make laws that are proper and necessary

religion, press, assembly, speech, petition

the property of loyalists after should be given to them, property taken b4. Lead to 11th amendment of the constitution-individuals representing foreign interest cannot bring suit to a state; In 1792 in South Carolina, Alexander Chisholm, the executor of the estate of Robert Farquhar, attempted to sue the state ofGeorgia in the Supreme Court over payments due him for goods that Farquhar had supplied Georgia during the American Revolutionary War. United States Attorney General Edmund Randolph argued the case for the plaintiff before the Court.

was an early United States Supreme Court case in which the Court held that a tax on carriages did not violate the Article I, Section 9 requirement for the apportioning of direct taxes. It found the carriage tax was an "excise" instead of a "direct tax" requiring apportionment among the states by population. The Court noted that a tax on land was an example of a direct tax contemplated by the Constitution. Resulted from claim that a federal tax imposed upon private carriages violated the Constitution's requirement that direct taxes be imposed in proportion to the populations of each state.

election, democrat vs. federalist, adams for reelection, and jefferson. Southern states for jefferson, northern states for adams, but middle states are in the middle, and jefferson needs someone to help him get those votes, goes for new vp, aaron burr

created by Hamilton, take the debt of the country and combine it with the state debt, and pay back interest on the debt, and after that people will begin to invest in the country. The bill failed

born a slave, set free, studied, became famous poet.

was a free African American astronomer,mathematician, surveyor, almanacauthor and farmer, made a clock out of wood that worked until his death.

an extraordinary writ commanding an official to perform a ministerial act that the law recognizes as an absolute duty and not a matter for the official's discretion; used only when all other judicial remedies fail

An agreement, pushed by Adams in the wake of the Stamp Act whereby colonies agreed not to import English goods.

whoever, England or france, lifts its restriction on American trade, we will continue to trade with them

madison went to congress and asks for declaration of war

was fought between 1755 and 1763, and involved a complicated web of alliances and adversaries in European and American theaters. The fighting that occurred in the American theater is often referred to as the French and Indian War. The big winners in the event were the British and the Prussians, who increased their claims in North America and Northern Europe, respectively. As a result of the 1763 Treaty of Paris that ended the war, the Floridas passed from Spanish to British control. As compensation, the French transferred control of the Louisiana Territory to Spain.

was aScottish inventor andmechanical engineerwhose improvements to the Newcomen steam engine were fundamental to the changes brought by the Industrial Revolution in both his native Great Britainand the rest of the world.

tennesse enters US as 16th state

as an event spanning from December 15, 1814-January 4, 1815 in the United Statesduring the War of 1812 in which New England's opposition to the war reached the point where secession from the United States was discussed.

Pike earned the nickname "the lost pathfinder" due to his misadventures in exploring the headwaters of the Mississippi, and later the Arkansas River. It is suspected by many that his true mission in exploring the Arkansas may have been to investigate Spanish positions south of the American territory. Pike's maps of the southern portion of the Louisiana Territory proved invaluable to future explorers and settlers.

was a lawyer, politician and skilled orator who represented Kentucky separately in both the Senate and in theHouse of Representatives. He served three different terms asSpeaker of the United States House of Representatives and was also Secretary of State from 1825 to 1829.

Young group of politicians, representing mostly southern and western frontier states, coming to power in Congress in the 1810s. The War Hawks were tired of their fathers' stories about "whipping the British" in theRevolution and were anxious for war themselves. Henry Clay, elected Speaker of the House, was the most visible leader of the War Hawks.

age of Jackson,age of common man

Also called the Southampton Insurrection, this slave insurrection was led by a Virginia slave named Nat Turner in 1831. Turner, who believed himself meant by God to lead the rebellion, planned a revolt along with about sixty other slaves. The group killed Turner's owner's family and then went on to kill fifty-five other whites. It led to a tightening of the existing slave laws in the South and ended any hope of success for the burgeoning abolitionist movement there.

Monroe is most famous for the foreign policy doctrine that bears his name. Devised by John Quincy Adams, the 1823 Monroe Doctrine warned European powers to stay out of the New World and stated that the region was closed to further colonization. In return, the United States would not interfere with Europe's affairs and would recognize all existing European colonies in the New World. The doctrine also pledged Monroe's support for the growth of democracy throughout the western hemisphere. he Monroe Doctrine, undoubtedly Monroe's greatest contribution as president, has become one of the defining features of American foreign policy. Ironically, it was the British who first proposed the doctrine to John Quincy Adams, for they wanted to protect their West Indian colonies from other European powers�and, secretly, to curb U.S. expansion in the Caribbean. Sensing Britain's motives, Adams encouraged Monroe to issue the doctrine on his own, which would give the United States more freedom than a joint U.S.-British declaration would. Ultimately, however, the British supported the Monroe Doctrine as issued, and much of the Doctrine's authority came from the Royal Navy's vigorous enforcement of it.

led independence movements in Venezuela and Colombia

1792 edmond genet; public Anger towards French; was the French ambassador to the United States in the 1790s. Genet attempted to recruit American soldiers to fight for France in their wars in Europe and used American ports to launch French naval attacks against the British. Hamilton eventually convinced George Washington to expel Genet, but Genet feared reprisals in his own country and requested to remain in the United States.

captain of the continental navy of the American revolution

Public education advocate; pushed for education reforms in Massachusetts

was an agreement passed in 1820 between the pro-slavery and anti-slavery factions in theUnited States Congress, involving primarily the regulation of slavery in thewestern territories. It prohibited slavery in the former Louisiana Territory north of theparallel 36�30' northexcept within the boundaries of the proposed state ofMissouri.

broke down making of the gun into parts, by having each person make only one part, they would be given a government contract- then

worked with various designs to create the steam engine in 1804, steam powered cars

inventor of the steam boat in 1807

adams to office

An act of the United States Congress authorized the operation of a lottery in the District of Columbia. The Cohen brothers proceeded to sell D.C. lotterytickets in the Commonwealth ofVirginia, violating state law. State authorities tried and convicted the Cohens and fined them $100. The state courts found that Virginia law prohibiting lotteries could be enforced, notwithstanding the act of Congress which authorized the D.C. lottery. The Cohens appealed to the Supreme Court, arguing that their conduct was protected by the Act of Congress authorizing the D.C. lottery. The main issue in the case was the preliminary issue of whether the Supreme Court had jurisdiction to hear an appeal in a criminal case decided by the courts of the state of Virginia. The Court found that Congress did not intend to authorize the sale of lottery tickets outside of the District of Columbia. Therefore, there was no conflict between the act of Congress authorizing a lottery in D.C. and Virginia's statute prohibiting lotteries in Virginia. was a United States Supreme Court decision most noted for John Marshall and the Court's assertion of its power to review state supreme court decisions in criminal law matters when the plaintiff claims that their Constitutional rights have been violated.

was a landmark decision by the Supreme Court of the United States. The state ofMaryland had attempted to impede operation of a branch of the Second Bank of the United States by imposing a tax on allnotes of banks not chartered in Maryland. The bank of the US had the power to create the bank, and the states cannot control how the banks are run because they are national banks.

Just two days after James Buchanan became president in 1857, controversy over the slavery issue struck again when the Supreme Court declared the Missouri Compromise unconstitutional in the Dred Scott v. Sanford case. In the infamous decision, the enslaved Dred Scott sued his master for his freedom and that of his wife and daughter. Scott had married a free black woman while traveling with his master in the free state of Illinois in the1830s. The two had a child but then moved back to the South. Scott believed that he had been freed once he had crossed the 36� 30' parallel and that his wife and daughter had been enslaved illegally when they returned to the South. However, Chief Justice Roger Taney, along with a majority of the other justices�all but one from the South�ruled that the Missouri Compromise was unconstitutional because the federal government had no right to restrict the movement of property (i.e., slaves). Taney also contended that Scott had no business suing his master in a U.S. court, because that right was reserved only for citizens. Taney hoped his ruling would finalize blacks' status as property, uphold slavery, and end the divisive sectional debates.

was an American author, poet, philosopher, abolitionist,naturalist, tax resister,development critic, surveyor, historian, and leading transcendentalist. He was a lifelong abolitionist, delivering lectures that attacked the Fugitive Slave Law while praising the writings of Wendell Phillips and defending abolitionist John Brown. Thoreau's philosophy of civil disobedience, and went to prison because he refused to pay poll taxes because of his opposition to the Mexican American war and slavery.

was the seventh President of the United States (1829-1837). Based in frontier Tennessee, Jackson was a politician and army general who defeated the Creek Indians at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend (1814), and the British at the Battle of New Orleans (1815). A polarizing figure who dominated the Second Party System in the 1820s and 1830s, as president he destroyed the national bank and relocated most Indian tribes from the Southeast to west of the Mississippi River.