us cours

• The USA became an independent country at the end of the 18th century. It's a recent nation as a Republic. Before the 18th century, it was a British colony.
• The British colonies were known as the Thirteen Colonies, they were along the Atlantic side.
• Reasons for the British colonies

  • Profit, making money
  • Religious persecution
• The colonies saw a rapid demographic growth. Between 1625 and 1775, the numbers went from 2000 people to 2.4 million.
• Mercantilism


  The fact that a country wants to protect its own interest through economy
• The British excluded their colonies from their trade even though they had a policy of only dealing with British merchants.
• The colonies rebelled against the British Crown and took their independence


  1. Colonies became states

  2. They chose their system of government

  3. They decided to create the American Constitution
• The American Constitution has had rare amendments since its creation, but the institutions have been changed to adapt to new challenges and the evolution of society.
• Some of the English laws were used and adapted to create the American legal system. For example, The Commentaries on the Laws of England by W. Blackstone was used in America.
• "No taxation without representation"

  The Americans' opposition to being taxed without legislation regulating it
• The British government made money out of the colonies through taxes, duties and tariffs.
• Examples of British taxes on the colonies

  • Tea Act of 1773
  • Stamp Act of 1765
• The colonies started to refuse paying the taxes that Britain put in place. They wanted to decide for themselves, and showed resistance to the British fiscal policies.
• Rebellious groups that appeared

  • Sons of Liberty
• Tensions between the colonies and the British Crown

  • Boston Massacre
  • Burning of the Gaspee
  • 1773 Boston Tea Party
• The first military operations of the Revolutionary War were known as the Battles of Concord and Lexington.
• Key documents signed during the revolutionary period

  • Declaration of Independence, 1776
  • Articles of Confederation, 1777
  • American Constitution, 1787
• Declaration of Independence


  Document where the United States declared their independence from the British Empire
• The Declaration of Independence was signed on the 4th of July, 1776 during the Continental Congress.
• Main founding fathers


  • Benjamin Franklin
  • Alexander Hamilton
  • Thomas Jefferson
  • George Washington
  • James Madison
  • John Jay
  • John Adams
• Declaration of Independence


  • Justification of why they want to put an end to the colonization
  • Clear statement of the King's George III abuses
  • Focus on their foundation principles: they want to be a democracy
• Articles of Confederation


  Established a weak government to avoid tyranny
• The Articles of Confederation were a failure concerning the national unity.
• When France joined the Revolutionary War in 1778, it helped America following the Treaty of Alliance. This help lead to the Treaty of Paris in 1783 where Britain recognized the independence of America.
• The Constitutional Convention


  1. Delegates came to the conclusion that nothing could be changed even though the system was not working

  2. They decided to create a whole new document

  3. The Constitution was drafted on the 17th of September of 1787
• The Constitution proposed a new three-branch government: the legislature, the executive and the judiciary sharing the federal power.
• After the Constitutional Convention, some heated local debates appeared because each state was required to ratify the document.
• The Federalist Papers strongly supported the Constitution and constitute the main arguments for the new US national government.
• After the Revolutionary War, states had the option of writing or not a constitution. But, most states adopted new constitutions.
• The individual states constitutions could bring some details that are not in the Federal Constitution.
• The Southern States gave more importance to the issue of slavery in their constitutions, creating a division between the South and the North.
• Enlightenment


  17th-18th century movement celebrating reason, progress, science, liberty, knowledge and individual happiness
• Some philosophers like Locke, Montesquieu and Algernon Sidney contributed to bringing Enlightenment ideas to the American Revolution.
• Natural rights


  Unalienable rights considered as truths concerning the human nature, coming from God, not from the government
• Popular sovereignty


  Source of popular legitimacy of the Constitution, with the phrase "We, the people"
• Liberalism


  Political doctrine that takes protecting and enhancing the freedom of the individual to be the central problem of politics
• Rule of rights


  • Transparency
  • Predictability
  • Impartiality
  • Accountability
• Separation of powers


  Distribution of powers between three branches of the government: legislature, executive, judiciary
• Checks and balances


  System of mutual control between the branches of government to prevent abuse of power
• Federalism


  Dual system of government with a federal level and a federated level (individual states)