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The Northwest Ordinance of 1787
The Northwest Ordinance was one of the United States most important founding documents, only less significant than the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. The act, enacted by the Confederation Congress on July 13, 1787, created the Northwest Territory, officially known as the Territory of the United States North West of the River Ohio. This legislation created the country’s first organized incorporated territory and established a framework for further territorial expansions.
The Treaty of San Lorenzo
The Treaty of San Lorenzo, also known as Pinckney’s Treaty, was an agreement signed on October 27, 1795, between the United States and Spain. It settled a dispute between the two nations over the boundary of Spanish Florida and granted navigation rights on the Mississippi River to Americans.
The Jay Treaty Cools Rising Tensions Between America and England
The Jay Treaty, officially known as the Treaty of Amity, Commerce, and Navigation, Between His Britannic Majesty and the United States of America, was signed on November 19, 1794. Its primary goal was to cool rising tensions between England and America over issues remaining from the American Revolution.
The Constitution of the United States
The opening phrase of the preamble, “We the People,” spoke volumes regarding upon whose authority the Constitution rested and suggested the unanimity of country and purpose that this new Constitution would create. It was written by Gouverneur Morris, a delegate from New York, and his eloquent words speak for themselves.
The Slavery Question at the Constitutional Convention
When delegates met at the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in the summer of 1787, one of the most troublesome questions was what to do about slavery. Not whether it should be abolished, because even the most vehement abolitionist recognized this was neither the time nor the place for that fight. The issues to be decided were how would slaves be counted in the census and whether the states or the central government would control the institution, and what that control would look like.
Key Debates at the Constitutional Convention
On May 29, 1787, Edmund Randolph, Governor of Virginia, rose and introduced fifteen resolutions to the Federal Convention. Known to history as the Virginia Resolves or the Virginia Plan, Randolph’s proposal, which was probably drafted by James Madison, was an outline for an entirely new national government. It called for a national executive, a two-house national legislature, and a national judiciary.
The Federal Convention Opens
In the years immediately following the successful conclusion of its war for independence, the United States struggled to survive under the Articles of Confederation. The nation’s leaders knew something had to be done to fix its many issues for this great experiment in democracy to continue.
American Revolution Ends with the Treaty of Paris
After Lord Charles Cornwallis surrendered to General George Washington in Yorktown on October 19, 1781, English officials reached the painful conclusion that the war was simply too costly to continue. Not only was the war in North America expensive to prosecute, but it was also a distraction from England’s defense of their more lucrative possessions elsewhere in the world, such as the sugar islands in the Caribbean and trading posts in India.
The Early Life of Daniel Boone
One of the greatest American explorers from our founding era was Daniel Boone. A legendary woodsman, Boone helped to make America’s dream of westward expansion in the late 1700s a reality.
Virginia’s House of Burgesses, British America’s First Elected Legislature
The Colony of Virginia was established at Jamestown by the Virginia Company in 1607 as a for-profit venture by its investors. To bring order to the province, Governor George Yeardley created a one-house or unicameral General Assembly on July 30, 1619.
How Colonial America Was Governed
When the English began to settle North America in the 1600's, the leaders of the various colonies had different motives. While all colonies exercised their authority in the King’s name, they were not created in the same mold, and some had more autonomy than others. In fact, there were three different types of colonies: royal, self-governing, and proprietary.
America’s “Era of Good Feelings” Comes to an End
When President George Washington retired in 1796, he devoted much of his Farewell Address to warning his fellow citizens about the danger of forming political parties. Unfortunately, the politicians did not listen.