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The American Revolution is one of the most important eras in American history. It was the period that fashioned the American society and influenced the making of the constitution in readiness for the conceived independence. It refers broadly to the war fought by the 13 American states against his majesties army in a bid not only to reject the influence of the English parliament over American land but also to severe all forms of allegiance to Britain.

There were many factors that led to the war yet it was clear that such recourse was inevitable due to the growing American society and the difference in ideologies between the leadership in American and that in Britain. One of the main issues that led to the war and consequent declaration of independence is the British imposition of higher taxes over the American Brits as passed by British parliament. Americans felt that since they did not have any representation within that parliament, then such a move was unconstitutional.

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The British needed to raise money and therefore decided that colonies must pay more as a cost of their upkeep by the British Empire. The American leadership tried to have those decisions lifted by appealing to the king since although hey did not recognize parliament authority over them, they still felt that they owed their allegiance to the king. However, the king did not intervene but instead called them rebellious and declared war on the.

Another reason is the fact that the British Empire had made legislations restricting trade thus leading British traders to benefit more form trade than their American counter parts a move that was greatly resented. This in turn slowed growth in America and led to its leadership agreeing that a drastic measure was important to redress this situation. Another factor that led to the revolution was a shift in ideologies influenced by thinkers like Locke whose ideologies in liberalism led to the growth of a republican mood and a strong distaste to values that oppressed some while benefiting others.

Furthermore, most felt that Britain was corrupt and unfair which fuelled a need to break away in order to establish a state that recognized certain rights of the people to decide the direction their country took. These and many more factors, including the Boston massacre led congress to declare America’s independence from British rule and thereby starting the American revolutionary wars. The war was won by the Americans with the help from the French armies and navy and later more help from Spain and the Netherlands (Cohen, 2004).

Andrew Jackson’s popular brand of politics was a distinct break from the previous administrations. Why was it different? What was his legacy for both good and bad? Support your answer with specific examples. Andrew Jackson was the 7th president of the United States of America and the last to have been a captive of war. He has a rich history which together combined to make him one of the most important men in the American history. He was known for being a tough man both as an administrator and as an army commander.

He was born third born of a family of Irish immigrants and was born in South Carolina. His birth of an immigrant family is simply another testament to the great opportunity that America is since it offers people, from all background the chance to realize their dreams; no matter how ambitious they might be. Jackson’s military carrier started when he was fourteen when he joined the army as a courier which saw him captured by the British and consequently lost his brother as a result of that imprisonment.

He later went on to distinguish himself as a military commander rising to the rank of major general due to his heroic act in the Battle of New Orleans defending the country against British attack. It is clear from observing Jackson’s history that he was a very determined man and his endeavors earned him popularity among the people. In the 1824 elections he lost to Adams although he had won the popular vote but congress chose the former since the Electoral College could not decide on one man to lead the nation.

This election might have called in question the prudence of an electoral system of elections that runs against the feelings and decisions of the majority and that installs a leader voted for by the minority. Such a move might be seen to be contrary to the fundamental pillars of democracy that America so holds dear and might even run contrary to the provisions of the constitution that guarantees certain rights to individuals. This is because the decisions of the majority should reflect the greater good and to have such a decisions quashed by a small group of citizens is simply not right.

Traditional democrats including Jefferson differed greatly with jack son on several fronts. They opposed increased federal strength fearing that it might lead to a centralization of power by the federal government. They also opposed plans for the formation of a central bank to offer regulations to all other banks and in doing so preferred that states retain most powers over their affairs. They also opposed plans to have a large national army and navy. They also favored low tariffs probably one of the areas that Jackson concurred with an opinion greatly opposed by the federalists.

Jackson found the Democratic party after he broke off from the one led by Adams after he lost the election to Adam. Unlike his former allies, he favored a strong army probably because he had a good military carrier. However, his controversial life was because of his support for slavery and the Indian removal which is a contradictory to the bills of right and the American constitution. It is curious to note that as president he would be expected to defend the constitution yet he had shown his oppositions against such fundamental issues raised by the very constitution he would be expected to uphold.

Nonetheless, the splinter Democratic Party he helped to make would come to dominate American politics for many decades to follow a trend that continues even to today (Ward, 1962). During the first half of the 19th century, America became increasingly industrialized. It is important to understand what the industrial revolution was in order to relate it to how it affected the American society in the early 19th century. The industrial revolution first started in Britain in the 18-20th century and there were great changes in the area of agriculture, transport, industry and manufacturing and in the transport sector.

These changes were experienced in other parts of the world including America and they changed society completely. The initial stages of the revolution saw an end to manual and animal labor and an adoption of machines in farming and in other sectors. The pioneering industries included textile, transport and the mining and development of metal including iron. The industrial revolution in America set the country on a course to become the greatest economic power in the face of the planet with wealth and industries unmatched by none.

There are many factors attributed to America’s rapid industrialization among them being presence of capital, vast resources that could be used in industries and the presence of fast and reliable transport system to aid in trade. Before the 18th century American relied on primitive agricultural methods for it’s agricultural out put. However, the revolution changed all this and great technological advancement led to better and innovative methods to farm lands and more advance machines to be used in the production of various outputs.

This led to the growth of other sectors, creation of employment and an increase in the per capita income of the people fuelling growth in all sectors. There are many factors that are credited with accelerating the pace of industrialization in American during this period. Firstly, there was not adequate labor to work in the utilizations of the vast resources found in American pushing efforts to create machinery that would make work effective and easier. Secondly, America was endowed with many rivers that could be used to transport products and also as sites for building mills and many other industries.

Other inventions that accelerated industrialization included the steam engine that made transportation faster and the cotton gin that brought huge profits to plantation owners. Another factor that helped greatly to increase trade in this period was the building of roads and canals to improve transport within the country especially to those states that were landlocked. The invention of the steam engine was used to manufacture steam boats that revolutionized travel.

Furthermore, steam engines were used on trains which saw the building of a rail way line that connected various parts of the country easing movement of people and goods. The invention of thee telephone and telegraph would also prove to be a major factor contributing greatly to the development of service sectors like banks. Lastly the presence of oil in the country was a contributing factor since oil provided useful products in the homes for lighting and in industries for lubricating machines. It would later become even more useful with the invention of the combustion engine.

The industrial revolution not only saw many Americans acquire land but also improved the way they farmed increasing their output greatly. This is because they stopped relying on manual labor and used machinery that helped them keep the soil fertile while reducing the cost of production. Industries provided jobs for people and led to growth of urban centers whereby companies were based and suburbs were people lived. The great technological developments continued in many sectors including arms which saw an improvement in the status of the army (Hudson, 1992).

The causes of the Civil War are many and complex There are many causes of the American civil war but three reasons stand out as the major causes. The American civil war was fought during the period 1861-1865 and was caused by the secession of the southern Sates for the union. It pitted Jefferson Davies commanding the confederate forces against the union forces under the guidance of the president Lincoln. The first reason is the issue of slavery since many differed on the issue depending on which part of the country one came from.

Most northerners were against slavery since they claimed that it went against the constitution that identified that all men are born equal and all had certain rights guaranteed them by the constitution. They therefore could not understand how people calling themselves Americans and subject to the same constitution could own other people and thereby contradict the constitution in such a blatant manner. In this regard they were agitating for an end to slavery a motion that was not well received in the south.

The southern economy was dependent on agriculture and Southerners felt that they needed slaves to work on their large plantations. The election of Abraham Lincoln as president was the last straw for the southerners since they saw it as a clear move of bad things to come since Lincoln was one of the staunch supporters of the motion to abolish slavery. Lincoln and congress however tried to avert the problem by not formulating immediately a law ending slavery but instead drafted one stopping the spread of it.

Southerners felt that if the growth of slavery was stopped hen slavery would die slowly and the effect would still be the same. Furthermore, Northerners gave States powers to hold referendum whereby citizens chose whether those states should keep slaves or not. Another factor that caused the civil war is the economic differences between the South and the north and the various legislations passed by Northern legislators to benefit them in the expense of Southerners. The North depended more on industries and service industry while the South depended largely on agriculture especially in cotton.

This largely meant that need for labor in the form of slaves was increasing and this in turn polarized the two sides of the country against each other. Furthermore, most merchant ships form the south exported cotton and returned with finished products from Europe. Most of those products were similar to those made I the northern part and hence northerners felt that they should purchase from them and not import them . This led to the formulation of higher taxes on imports in order to force them to purchase them from their northern counterparts and this angered them since these products were more expensive.

Another important factor that led to the civil war was the debate of whether to have a strong federal government since most in the south favored strong states with a weak federal government. They felt that they should have the power to make their own regulations and have the authority to veto federal laws that they felt were not good for their states. They also felt that they should have the right to secede from the union and form independent countries if their populace felt so.

However, the president and the north saw this as rebellion and could therefore not grant them such a request (Catton & McPherson, 2004). These reasons led to the Confederate states launch a secession war against the north for the right to self governance. As the war progressed Lincoln freed all the slaves held by the South a move aimed at strengthening support for the union and stopping Britain from intervening in the war. The end of the war saw a great period of reconstruction that saw great involvement by federal and state governments.

With the end of the war came an end to slavery and an upholding of the constitutional provision that “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. ” We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness

The issue of human freedom has been an important subject from time immemorial and hence the presence of the phrase “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal” in the American constitution. There are several factors that led American leaders among them Thomas Jefferson to include this provision in the declaration for independence since their efforts to win America’s independence from Britain was motivated by a need for governance that respects the rights of the people.

There are several factors that led America to fight for its independence but most of the included a need to stop British parliament from imposing its legislative authority over the American people. Most importantly was the act by British parliament to pass a law increasing tax over the American Britons a move that many felt was a violation of their sovereign rights since many felt that America owed its allegiance to he king but was not subject to legislations by the British parliament.

Furthermore American leaders during the time preceding the declaration of independence felt that all people have certain natural rights which cannot be taken from them. These rights guarantee people certain rights conferred upon them which cannot be surrendered to the state and which allows men to decide their lives. Natural rights were argued from many schools of thought with religion playing a major part in leading to believe and adoption of the same in the constitution. Furthermore, natural rights could b traced to Britain whereby they were used to challenge the divine powers of kings and therefore remove kings who ruled unjustly.

Therefore, the acts of Britain to dictate various laws upon the American public and levy taxes on them were considered to be breach of such rights since natural rights prohibited a party to gain while causing pain, harm or misery to the other. In this regard, the American constitution after independence went ahead to grant American citizens certain rights that could not be surrendered to the state and clarified that any law made in contradiction to these provisions would be void. This philosophy continued to grow and influence American society in years to come and this was evidence with the thirteenth amendment that abolished slavery.

The issue of slavery was always a very controversial issue all over the world with many questioning the morality of some forcing others to work for them and be subject to their control. The Amendment was preceded by the emancipation proclamation by Abraham Lincoln during the civil war and was aimed at ruining the economy of those states which were trying to leave the union. As expected, the move won the Lincoln administration support from foreign nation especially the United Kingdom and diminishing the rebellious state’s chance of recognition.

However, the proclamation only freed slaves from Southern sates and it became necessary to enact a law ending slavery in the whole country. In this regard, it became illegal for any person to force any person to involuntary servitude guaranteeing the rights of all citizens to liberty. However, the end of slavery was not the end of problems related to minor groups who were mainly blacks in the American society. They were treated as second rate citizens and they did not have most of the rights enjoyed by the white majority.

Though they were no longer slaves they were forced to work under deplorable conditions for their white employers and the same time receive meager earnings as the price of their labor. They were not allowed to vote since they were considered minority citizens and most were even subjected to violence and were not given access to justice to redress these violations of the rights. The American constitution guarantees that all men are born equal and therefore guaranteed rights that cannot be denied them and this led minority groups to fight against such breach of constitutional guarantees.

The situation escalated in the 20th century when segregation became widespread with black citizens not allowed to use white citizen’s facilities. These meant that minority groups were discriminated upon in employment, were not allowed in various establishments, and had separate schools with their white counterparts. This pushed these minority groups deep into poverty, a condition that will continue to be a big factor to the living stands of black people later on in the future.

However, the 1900’s were an era of great civil movements that saw the granting of voting rights to all minority groups including women. The subsequent amendment to the constitution wanted to clarify that since the constitution clearly spelt that all people have certain unalienable rights, then any discrimination based on gender or race was contrary to the provisions of the constitution. Therefore, various governments continue to ensure that laws made do not infringe on the laws of individuals with the court reviewing laws and removing those that violate citizen’s rights.

On the international arena, the adoption of the bill of rights have helped lead to more rights and freedoms for people all over the world (Vorenburg, 2001). References Catton, B. & McPherson, J. (2004). The Civil War. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Cohen, S. (2004). British supporters of the American revolution, 1775-1783. Boydell press. Hudson, P. (1992). The Industrial Revolution. Oxford Publisher. Ward, J. (1962). Andrew Jackson. New York: Oxford Publishers. Vorenberg, M. (2001). Final freedom. New york: Cambridge university press.

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