Homework for Acquiring Liberty

QUESTION: In 1776 the United Colonies declared independence from the State of Great Britain and George Washington was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army. Who presided over the Continental Congress during the fourteen years before George Washington was elected President and took office in 1790? Answer: See Our Forgotten Presidents QUESTION / ESSAY: The Declaration of Independence (1776), the Articles of Confederation (ratified 1781), and the U.S. Constitution (ratified 1788) all use the phrase "United States of America," (variously capitalized). What do these documents say about who should set tax policy within the USA and who should determine the foreign policy of the USA? What were the responsibilities of the elected leader of each of the governing bodies created by these documents? Do the documents indicate any staff or associates to help the leader with the prescribed duties of leadership? DISCUSSION / ESSAY: Who Has Paid for What since 1776? One well-known slogan of the 1770s was "We shall accept no taxation without representation!", and one of the complaints against the King and Parliament of Great Britain in the Declaration of Independence was "For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent." Use the following questions to start a discussion about taxes and liberty: -- What sorts of taxes did they have in 1770? For each sort of tax, what groups of people paid that tax? For each sort of tax, what government body determined who should pay that tax and how much? -- What sorts of taxes do we have now? For each sort of tax, what groups of people pay that tax? For each sort of tax, what government body determine who should pay that tax and how much? DISCUSSION / PROJECT: How Has the Base of Voters Expanded since 1776? The Declaration of Independence says "all men are created equal" and that governments derive "their just powers from the consent of the governed". Use the following questions to start a discussion about participation in governance: -- What did "all men" and "created equal" and "consent of the governed" mean to people in 1776? What do they mean to us today? How could you represent the percentages of people who hold a the variety of opinions on one of these issues today and compare this with the distribution of opinions on thois issue in 1776? -- A stacked bar chart is a 100% bar made up of segments, each of which stands the percent of the total population for a specific group at a specific time -- for example, youth age 18-21 who are citizens (and who were allowed to vote after 1971) might have made up be 2.7% of the total U.S. population in 1971. Include and label the block in the stack for a year if this group could vote after the event noted for that year. This will make a stacked bar chart showing the percent of residents in the U.S. who were legally eligible to vote for local officials after each of the following events: 1776: Declaration of Independence 1828: vote was extended to free males who did not hold property. 1865 Amendment 13 abolished slavery, made everyone free 1868 Amendment 14 said that "all persons born or naturalized in the United States are citizens" and that states could not abridge their rights. 1870 Amendment 15 extended the vote to all races, but did not rule out other barriers, such as requiring a test on reading and comprehension of that reading. 1915 "grandfather clauses" declared illegal. These barred people from voting unless they or their ancestors were eligible to vote before Amendment 15 was passed. 1920 Amendment 19 extended to women the right to vote 1948 American Indians no longer barred from voting in any state 1961 Amendment 23 allowed residents of DC to vote for president, but did not allow electing any representatives or Senators to Congress. 1964 Amendment 24 prohibits poll taxes for national elections (restricted voting by people with little money) 1970 literacy (reading) tests were banned (restricted voting by those with weak reading skills) 1971 Amendment 26 dropped the voting age from 21 to 18 DISCUSSION: Liberty's Best Friend was 'Hard" Currency When the Revolutionary War broke out, there were few coins circulating in America, and most of these were copper rather than silver or gold. Foreign suppliers demanded to be paid in hard currency for arms and clothing. The U.S. government obtained this by collecting taxes in "hard" currrency and paying its internal debts using paper money. The first paper money (Continental Currency) was circulated on May 10, 1775, shortly after Lexington and Concord. The Continental Congress issued paper money in many denominations from one-sixth of a dollar to over 75 dollars. The small denominations were intended to help merchants make change for purchases involving larger bills. These notes were certificates to be redeemed in Spanish milled dollars at a later date. At first the notes were accepted at face value, but the large number printed and the failure to keep the British from invading and holding major cities eroded public faith in the prospects of being re-paid. Adding to these woes British counterfeiters put more paper into U.S. circulation, and the notes became nearly worthless. From their face value (and original exchange value) of 100 Spanish pillar dollars per 100 Continentals, the purchasing value fell by March 1779 to 10 per 100 Continentals, and by 1781 only 1.33 per 100 Continentals. People used the phrase "Not worth a Continental" when speaking of anything that was considered worthless. Eventually, Congress redeemed the Continentals at 1/100th of their original value, and only in bonds that would not mature until 1811. SPIES!! Project: Search for information to write an essay on how military intelligence played a role in one of the following events: the British attempt to confiscate military supplies stored at Concord MA in 1775 the battle of Long Island in 1776 the battle of the Brandywine in 1777 the hanging of British Col. John Andre in 1780 the decision of Cornwallis to "dig in" at Yorktown in 1781

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Latest Changes: 05Sep24 - split from Acquiring / 07Feb20 - add project /

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