United States History to 1877

Revolution and the New Nation: 1770s to the Early 1800s

SUGGESTED INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES

• Begin the unit by asking students what the major national issues and events faced by the first five presidents were.
• Congress and the first five presidents made decisions establishing a strong government that helped the nation grow in size and power.
• All of the first five presidents were Virginians except John Adams.
• Introduce the five key individuals that will be covered in this section.
• Use graphic organizers available at http://www.sdcoe.k12.ca.us/score/actbank/torganiz.htm (Score Graphic Organizers), http://teacherresourcecatalog.pwnet.org/docs/Reading%20Strategies%20for%20Content%20Teachers.pdf (Reading Strategies for Content Teachers), or http://curry.edschool.virginia.edu/go/readquest/strat/ (ReadingQuest: Reading Strategies for Comprehension) to assist the students as they organize the following background information on the five key individuals.
• Introduce George Washington.
• Provide the following background information. Born in 1732 into a Virginia planter family, he learned the morals, manners, and body of knowledge requisite for an 18th century Virginia gentleman. From 1759 to the outbreak of the American Revolution, Washington managed his lands around Mount Vernon and served in the Virginia House of Burgesses. When the Second Continental Congress assembled in Philadelphia in May 1775, Washington, one of the Virginia delegates, was elected Commander in Chief of the Continental Army. On July 3, 1775, at Cambridge, Massachusetts, he took command of his ill-trained troops and embarked upon a war that was to last six grueling years. He realized early that the best strategy was to harass the British. He reported to Congress, "we should on all Occasions avoid a general Action, or put anything to the Risque, unless compelled by a necessity, into which we ought never to be drawn." Ensuing battles saw him fall back slowly, then strike unexpectedly. Finally in 1781 with the aid of French allies--he forced the surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown. After the Revolutionary War, Washington realized that the Nation under its Articles of Confederation was not functioning well, so he became a prime mover in the steps leading to the Constitutional Convention at Philadelphia in 1787. When the new Constitution was ratified, the Electoral College unanimously elected Washington President. More information is available at http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/gw1.html.
• Provide the following background information of accomplishments during Washington's presidency.
• Federal court system was established.
• Political parties grew out of the disagreements between Hamilton and Jefferson over the proper role of the national government.
• The Bill of Rights was added to the Constitution of the United States of America.
• Plans were initiated for development of the national capital in Washington, D.C. Benjamin Banneker, an African American astronomer and surveyor, helped complete the design for the city.
• Introduce John Adams.
• Provide the following background information. John Adams was born in the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1735. A Harvard-educated lawyer, he early became identified with the patriot cause; a delegate to the First and Second Continental Congresses, he led in the movement for independence. During the next few years, Adams became deeply involved in the steady colonial march toward separation from Britain. Once the Continental Congress officially voted for independence on June 7, 1776, Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and two others were chosen to draft a manifesto declaring independence. After a lengthy debate in which Adams vigorously defended the document before his fellow delegates, Congress accepted and ratified the final version of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. By denouncing the authority of the Crown, the signers of the declaration were committing a dangerous act of treason. Nevertheless, their actions, and the stirring language of the document itself, would forever change the world and its concept of liberty and equality. During the Revolutionary War he served in France and Holland in diplomatic roles, and helped negotiate the treaty of peace. From 1785 to 1788 he was minister to the Court of St. James, returning to be elected Vice President under George Washington. When Adams became President, the war between the French and British was causing great difficulties for the United States on the high seas and intense partisanship among contending factions within the nation. More information is available at http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/ja2.html.
• Provide the following background information of accomplishments during Adams' presidency.
• A two-party system emerged during his administration.
• Introduce Thomas Jefferson.
• Provide the following background information. Thomas Jefferson was born in 1743 in Albermarle County, Virginia, inheriting from his father, a planter and surveyor, some 5,000 acres of land, and from his mother, a Randolph, high social standing. He studied at the College of William and Mary, then read law. Jefferson was eloquent as a correspondent, but he was no public speaker. In the Virginia House of Burgesses and the Continental Congress, he contributed his pen rather than his voice to the patriot cause. As the "silent member" of the Congress, Jefferson, at 33, drafted the Declaration of Independence. In years following he labored to make its words a reality in Virginia. Most notably, he wrote a bill establishing religious freedom, enacted in 1786. Sharp political conflict developed, and two separate parties, the Federalists and the Democratic-Republicans, began to form. Jefferson gradually assumed leadership of the Republicans, who sympathized with the revolutionary cause in France. Attacking Federalist policies, he opposed a strong centralized government and championed the rights of states. As a reluctant candidate for President in 1796, Jefferson came within three votes of election. Through a flaw in the Constitution, he became Vice President, although an opponent of President Adams. In 1800 the defect caused a more serious problem. Republican electors, attempting to name both a President and a Vice President from their own party, cast a tie vote between Jefferson and Aaron Burr. The House of Representatives settled the tie. Hamilton, disliking both Jefferson and Burr, nevertheless urged Jefferson's election. When Jefferson assumed the Presidency, the crisis in France had passed. More information is available at http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/tj3.html.
• Provide the following background information of accomplishments during Jefferson's presidency.
• He bought Louisiana from France (Louisiana Purchase).
• Lewis and Clark explored this new land west of the Mississippi River.
• Introduce James Madison. Provide the following background information. Born in 1751, Madison was brought up in Orange County, Virginia, and attended Princeton (then called the College of New Jersey). A student of history and government, well-read in law, he participated in the framing of the Virginia Constitution in 1776, served in the Continental Congress, and was a leader in the Virginia Assembly. When delegates to the Constitutional Convention assembled at Philadelphia, the 36-year-old Madison took frequent and emphatic part in the debates. Madison made a major contribution to the ratification of the Constitution by writing, with Alexander Hamilton and John Jay, the Federalist essays. In later years, when he was referred to as the "Father of the Constitution," Madison protested that the document was not "the off-spring of a single brain," but "the work of many heads and many hands." In Congress, he helped frame the Bill of Rights and enact the first revenue legislation. Out of his leadership in opposition to Hamilton's financial proposals, which he felt would unduly bestow wealth and power upon northern financiers, came the development of the Republican, or Jeffersonian, Party. During the first year of Madison's Administration, the United States prohibited trade with both Britain and France; then in May, 1810, Congress authorized trade with both, directing the President, if either would accept America's view of neutral rights, to forbid trade with the other nations. Napoleon pretended to comply. Late in 1810, Madison proclaimed non-intercourse with Great Britain. In Congress a young group including Henry Clay and John C. Calhoun, the "War Hawks," pressed the President for a more militant policy. The British impressment of American seamen and the seizure of cargoes impelled Madison to give in to the pressure. On June 1, 1812, he asked Congress to declare war. More information is available at http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/jm4.html.
• Provide the following background information of accomplishments during Madison's presidency.
• The War of l812 caused European nations to gain respect for the United States.
• Introduce James Monroe. Provide the following background information. Born in Westmoreland County, Virginia, in 1758, Monroe attended the College of William and Mary, fought with distinction in the Continental Army, and practiced law in Fredericksburg, Virginia. As a youthful politician, he joined the anti-Federalists in the Virginia Convention that ratified the Constitution. In 1790, as an advocate of Jeffersonian policies, Monroe was elected United States Senator. As Minister to France in 1794-1796, he displayed strong sympathies for the French cause; later, with Robert R. Livingston, he helped negotiate the Louisiana Purchase. His ambition and energy, together with the backing of President Madison, made him the Republican choice for the Presidency in 1816. With little Federalist opposition, he easily won re-election in 1820. Early in his administration, Monroe undertook a goodwill tour. At Boston, his visit was hailed as the beginning of an "Era of Good Feelings." Unfortunately these "good feelings" did not endure, although Monroe, his popularity undiminished, followed nationalist policies. In foreign affairs Monroe proclaimed the fundamental policy that bears his name, responding to the threat that the more conservative governments in Europe might try to aid Spain in winning back her former Latin American colonies. Monroe did not begin formally to recognize the young sister republics until 1822, after ascertaining that Congress would vote appropriations for diplomatic missions. He and Secretary of State John Quincy Adams wished to avoid trouble with Spain until it had ceded the Floridas, as was done in 1821. Monroe accepted Adams's advice. Not only must Latin America be left alone, he warned, but also Russia must not encroach southward on the Pacific coast. ". . . the American continents," he stated, "by the free and independent condition which they have assumed and maintain, are henceforth not to be considered as subjects for future colonization by any European Power." Some 20 years after Monroe died in 1831, this became known as the Monroe Doctrine. More information is available at http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/jm5.html.
• Provide the following background information of accomplishments during Monroe's presidency.
• He introduced the Monroe Doctrine warning European nations not to interfere in the Western Hemisphere.
• Review the first five presidents through the Tour: Gilbert Stuart Paints the First Five Presidents at http://www.nga.gov/collection/gallery/gg60aa/gg60aa-main1.html.

WEB SITES

http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/gw1.html
George Washington

http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/ja2.html
John Adams

http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/tj3.html
Thomas Jefferson

http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/jm4.html
James Madison

http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/jm5.html
James Monroe

http://www.nga.gov/collection/gallery/gg60aa/gg60aa-main1.html
Tour: Gilbert Stuart paints the first five Presidents

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