For Three Of The Five Identification Terms That Appear ✓ Solved

For three of the five identification terms that appear on th

For three of the five identification terms that appear on the exam, explain each term with specificity and detail and explain why it is significant to American history. Use the following list of identification terms from course lectures: Middle Passage; Law of Descent; Seven Years’ War; Pontiac’s Rebellion; The Stamp Act Riots; The Coercive Acts; First Continental Congress; Lexington and Concord; Loyalists; Common Sense; Declaration of Independence; Saratoga; Yorktown; Treaty of Paris; Articles of Confederation; 3/5 Compromise; Hamilton’s Economic Plan; Jefferson’s Revolution of 1800; Re-Export Trade; War of 1812.

Paper For Above Instructions

Introduction

This paper selects three identification terms from the provided list—Middle Passage, Declaration of Independence, and Articles of Confederation—and explains each term in detail while assessing its significance to American history. Each entry provides definition, specific historical context, key features, and why the item matters for understanding early United States history.

1. Middle Passage

Definition and specifics: The "Middle Passage" refers to the transatlantic leg of the triangular Atlantic slave trade during which captive Africans were transported under brutal conditions to the Americas. This voyage typically lasted several weeks to months and was marked by extreme overcrowding, disease, malnutrition, and high mortality rates. Ships were retrofitted to maximize human cargo capacity; captains and slavers used methods such as chaining, tight packing, and denial of hygiene to control enslaved people (Rediker, 2007). Quantitatively, historians estimate that between the 16th and 19th centuries more than 12 million Africans were forcibly transported across the Atlantic, with mortality estimates often in the range of 10–20% on the Middle Passage alone (Eltis, 2000; Klein, 2010).

Significance to American history: The Middle Passage is central to understanding the demographic, economic, and social foundations of colonial and early national America. Enslaved Africans provided the labor backbone for plantation economies—especially in tobacco, rice, indigo, and increasingly cotton—which generated wealth that fueled colonial development and linked North American colonies to global markets (Eltis, 2000). The human and cultural consequences of the Middle Passage shaped African American communities, resistance traditions, and the racial ideologies that underpinned slavery and later segregation (Rediker, 2007; Klein, 2010). Recognizing the Middle Passage emphasizes that U.S. history is deeply entangled with forced migration and global slavery networks rather than being an isolated national narrative (Rediker, 2007).

2. Declaration of Independence

Definition and specifics: The Declaration of Independence, adopted by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, is the foundational political document by which thirteen British colonies formally announced their separation from Great Britain. Drafted primarily by Thomas Jefferson and revised by a committee and Congress, the Declaration presents a philosophical argument grounded in natural rights—life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness—and lists grievances against King George III to justify rebellion (National Archives; Maier, 1997).

Significance to American history: The Declaration had immediate political and symbolic effects. Practically, it unified the colonies in a public claim to sovereignty and justified diplomatic and military efforts to other powers, enabling foreign recognition and aid (Wood, 1993). Intellectually and culturally, it articulated ideals that became central to American political identity. Phrases from the Declaration inspired later reform movements by offering a language of universal rights even as the new nation struggled with slavery, exclusion, and inequality (Bailyn, 1967; Maier, 1997). The document’s rhetorical power shaped constitutional debates and has remained a touchstone for claims to justice and reform throughout U.S. history (National Archives).

3. Articles of Confederation

Definition and specifics: The Articles of Confederation, ratified in 1781, served as the first constitution of the United States and established a loose confederation of sovereign states with a weak central government. Under the Articles, Congress had authority over foreign affairs, war, and diplomacy but lacked power to levy taxes directly, regulate interstate commerce effectively, or compel states to comply with national policies. Amendments required unanimous consent of states, and major national decisions were difficult to implement (Encyclopaedia Britannica; Jensen, 1943).

Significance to American history: The Articles are significant for demonstrating the challenges of governing a newly independent people committed to state sovereignty and wary of centralized authority. The structural weaknesses—especially fiscal impotence and interstate economic conflict—led to crises such as debts from the Revolutionary War, reliance on voluntary state contributions, and events like Shays’ Rebellion that exposed the confederation’s instability (Rakove, 1996; Jensen, 1943). The failure of the Articles catalyzed the Philadelphia Constitutional Convention of 1787, where delegates designed a stronger federal system embodied in the U.S. Constitution. Thus, the Articles occupy a critical transitional role: they reflect revolutionary commitments and directly influenced the design debates that produced the Constitution’s federal framework (Wood, 1993; Rakove, 1996).

Comparative Analysis and Conclusion

These three terms—Middle Passage, Declaration of Independence, and Articles of Confederation—illustrate three interlocking dimensions of early American history: social and economic foundations, political ideology and identity, and institutional evolution. The Middle Passage emphasizes global economic networks and the moral contradictions of liberty alongside slavery (Rediker, 2007; Eltis, 2000). The Declaration of Independence supplies the ideological rhetoric and diplomatic instrument that authorized the break with Britain and later served as a moral standard (Maier, 1997; Bailyn, 1967). The Articles of Confederation show how revolutionary principles translated into governance and why those principles had to be recalibrated to produce a stable union (Encyclopaedia Britannica; Rakove, 1996).

In sum, closely examining these terms helps students understand how economic practices, political ideals, and institutional designs interacted to shape the trajectory of the United States through 1865 and beyond. These items provide lenses for interrogating continuity and change: the persistence of slavery despite revolutionary rhetoric, the power of founding documents as living symbols, and the iterative process of constitutional design.

References

  • Rediker, Marcus. The Slave Ship: A Human History. Viking, 2007.
  • Eltis, David. The Rise of African Slavery in the Americas. Cambridge University Press, 2000.
  • Klein, Herbert S. The Atlantic Slave Trade. Cambridge University Press, 2010.
  • National Archives and Records Administration. "Declaration of Independence: A Transcription." https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/declaration-transcript
  • Maier, Pauline. American Scripture: The Making of the Declaration of Independence. Knopf, 1997.
  • Wood, Gordon S. The Radicalism of the American Revolution. Vintage, 1993.
  • Encyclopaedia Britannica. "Articles of Confederation." https://www.britannica.com/topic/Articles-of-Confederation
  • Jensen, Merrill. The Articles of Confederation: An Interpretation of the Social-constitutional History of the American Revolution. University of Chicago Press, 1943.
  • Bailyn, Bernard. The Ideological Origins of the American Revolution. Harvard University Press, 1967.
  • Foner, Eric. Give Me Liberty!: An American History. W. W. Norton & Company, 2017.

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