United States History
United States History
This domain spans colonial settlement, the Revolution, constitutional development, sectional conflict, industrialization, reform, and modern America. Massachusetts examples appear often: Puritan town meetings, the 1780 state constitution, Shays' Rebellion, and abolitionist activism.
Core chronology
- Colonial era: charter colonies, salutary neglect, and self-government; the Mayflower Compact (1620) and Massachusetts Body of Liberties (1641) limited authority.
- Revolution: Stamp Act (1765), Boston Massacre (1770), Tea Act and Coercive Acts, Lexington and Concord (1775), Declaration of Independence (1776).
- Constitution: Articles of Confederation weaknesses; Federalist vs. Anti-Federalist debate; Bill of Rights (1791); judicial review in Marbury v. Madison (1803).
- Civil War and Reconstruction: Missouri Compromise (1820), Dred Scott (1857), Emancipation Proclamation (1863), 13th–15th Amendments, and the retreat from Reconstruction after 1877.
- Modern era: Progressive reforms, New Deal, WWII, civil rights movement, Great Society, and conservative realignment.
Worked example
How did the Fourteenth Amendment change federalism? Before 1868, the Bill of Rights restrained the federal government, not states. The Fourteenth Amendment's due process and equal protection clauses applied to state action. Later, the Supreme Court used the due process clause to incorporate most Bill of Rights protections against states (e.g., Gitlow, Gideon). So the amendment did not instantly apply all rights; incorporation was gradual and selective.
Traps
- Confusing the Declaration (1776) with the Constitution (1787).
- Saying the Emancipation Proclamation freed all enslaved people-it applied to Confederate-held areas.
- Treating Brown v. Board as immediate nationwide desegregation.
- Forgetting that women and African Americans were excluded from many early rights.