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Showing posts with the label American Constitution

The American 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   Prologue:  America on the Brink of Revolution 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. About one-third of England's total trade (imports plus exports) was with the American colonies. America's total output and population were growing faster than England's. Besides providing raw material imports that England taxed and exported to other countries, primarily tobacco, America was becoming an important market for English manufactured goods. America also provided ships, shipbuilding, and sailors augmented the British merchant marine in times of peace  and the English navy in times of war. About one-fourth of England's merchant marine was American. But England had to be careful. Again,  America  was a very different colony in 1775 th...

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...