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Showing posts with the label American Constitution

Revolution and the New Country: American History, 1755-1790

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  The Causes of the American Revolution How the Colonials Won Creating a New Nation-State   Background America in 1775 was a very different English colony than in 1700. In 1700, America was a poor "country" compared to England. By 1775, America's total output was about 40% of England's. America's total output and population were growing faster. Besides providing raw material imports that England taxed and exported to other countries, America was becoming an important market for English manufactured goods. America also provided ships, shipbuilding, and sailors that could augment the British merchant marine  and navy in times of war. But England had to be careful. America  was a very different colony in 1775 than in 1700. Its population was much greater and more diverse. In 1700, almost all the white population in the 1600s came from England. But in the 1700s, about half of immigrants from England were convicts forced to serve long indenture terms in the American co...

The Roman Republic and America

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  The Pantheon   Remember, Roman, that it is yours to lead other people. It is your special gift.      Virgil,  The Aeneid   We are the indispensable nation.  We stand tall.  We see further into the future.      Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright A Roman General Comes to Washington                  Imagine an educated patrician Roman officer from around 20 BC. He has spent most of his military career in the last decades of the Roman Republic and now is a legion commander in the first years of the Roman Empire of Caesar Augustus. Rome is at the height of its power and influence, acquired through conquest during the Roman Republic. Now imagine he is transported through time to today’s Washington. After marveling at the new technology (horseless chariots?), like any curious tourist he would start to look for similarities to his hometown, Rome.   The similarities...