Archive for August, 2009

3 Little Known Players In African American History


Wednesday, August 12th, 2009

The use of slave labor was a well known practice for several decades in the world community. With the discovery of new lands with great promise to offer, the world’s economy was fast flourishing. The demands for crop produce in large volumes made the slave trade the ideal solution for labor problems. And America was no exception. In fact African American slaves soon outnumbered the white population because of the large import volume.

However, slaves weren’t just made to work the lands, they were made to forget their lifestyles, disciplines and culture. Slave masters world over established slave codes which robbed the Africans of their freedom and will power. Although many slaves did try to resist this treatment they were met with strict and cruel forms of punishment for disobeying their masters. Slaves were forbidden from carrying guns, taking food, striking their masters, and running away. In fact any and all slaves could be flogged or killed for resisting or breaking the established slave codes.
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The Largest Tax Protests in American History


Wednesday, August 12th, 2009

The Stamp Act of 1765
After the British victory in the Seven Years War, the British government felt the American colonies should pay off some of the war’s debt with a new tax. They chose to tax a wide selection of printed materials, such as stamps, to repay the debt. Since the English bill of rights – the Magna Carta – granted citizens the right to only be taxed with proper consent, the colonists felt the new tax was unfair and revolted. By 1766, the tax was repealed, but not before the British Parliament was given the power to legislate over the colonists in the future, which would lead to the American Revolution.

The Boston Tea Party
One of the most famous protests in history, the Boston Tea Party, has become a symbol of American independence. The historic event took place when hundreds of Boston residents dressed as Native Americans and threw hundreds of pounds of East India Trading Company tea bags in to the sea. There were several different reasons they did this, but the most common of which was the lack of colonial representation in the British government.
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The Duel That Changed American History


Wednesday, August 12th, 2009

The most famous duel fought on American soil was undoubtedly that between sitting Vice President Aaron Burr and Secretary of the Treasury, Alexander Hamilton. It was a duel that very likely changed the course of American history.

Aaron Burr was a hero of the American Revolution, a brilliant man and an astute politician, with many friends in high places. Whether or not he carried the 1800 election, it is likely he’d have had a great deal more influence in the course of American affairs, if not for his fateful duel with Alexander Hamilton.

Alexander Hamilton, too, was a revolutionary hero. He was co-author of The Federalist Papers and one of the founding fathers of the new republic on the American continent. A senior aide to General Washington, he commanded three battalions at Yorktown. He served in the Continental Congress, was the new country’s first Secretary of the Treasury and a signer of the Constitution. He quickly became one of its foremost authorities on constitutional interpretation, possibly the first American constitutional lawyer.
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