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| | [[American History Lecture Four|Lecture]] - [[American_History_Homework_Four|Questions]] - [[American History Homework Four Answers|Student Answers]] | | [[American History Lecture Four|Lecture]] - [[American_History_Homework_Four|Questions]] - [[American History Homework Four Answers|Student Answers]] |
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| | + | Here are a few more tips on answering multiple-choice history questions: |
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| − | Here are additional tips on answering multiple-choice history questions:
| + | #First determine the general time period of the question. Was it before the Revolutionary War, or after? Was it before the Civil War, or later? If possible, eliminate any answers from the wrong time period. |
| | + | #Next determine who was president, simply as a landmark for recalling other events. Was there a war going on? If it was before there were any presidents (i.e., during colonial times), what else was going on? |
| | + | #Just as when you use landmarks for finding your way to a location, use easy-to-recall events to find your "way around" history. If you know when the Constitutional Convention was (1787), then it becomes easier to estimate when George Washington first became president (elected in late 1788, and sworn into office in early 1789). |
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| − | #First determine the time period.
| + | After 1788, the easiest "landmark" for each period is the President. That does not mean he is the most important person, but being able to identify the President is an easy way to organize the important events. '''I should be able to name any date and you should be able to say who was President.''' Or, if you prefer, you can organize events around the numerous wars, but that may not be as easy because there were significant periods in American history without ''any'' wars. |
| − | #Then determine who was president. Was there a war going on? If it was during colonial times, what was going on? What other significant events affected this period?
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| − | #Have mental landmarks for each time period: something that you know very well, so that you can find your "way around." It is like knowing how to start from a landmark in your town, and then being able to find somewhere else in relation to it.
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| − | After 1788, the easiest "landmark" for each period is the President. That does not mean he is the most important person. Not by a long shot. But being able to identify the President is an easy way to organize the events. By the end of this course, I should be able to name any date and you should be able to say who was President.
| + | Let's try it now: 1798: who was president?<ref>John Adams.</ref>1793?<ref>George Washington.</ref> 1790?<ref>Also George Washington.</ref> |
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| − | Let's try it now: 1798. Who was president?<ref>John Adams.</ref>1793?<ref>George Washington.</ref> 1790?<ref>Also George Washington.</ref>
| + | Throughout the late 1700s and all of the 1800s the federal or national government raised money for its operations primarily through tariffs, which are taxes on imports. When a foreign country sent goods to be sold in the United States, our federal government would impose a tariff (tax) on those goods. The more goods that were imported, the more the revenue there would be from the tariffs. Tariffs were ultimately replaced by the income tax on individuals as the primary means for supporting our government, because President Woodrow Wilson thought tariffs caused conflicts and wars between nations. |
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| − | In this class we have reached the year 1800. The federal or national government has been in operation for a dozen years. How did it pay for its operations? George Washington was President. Did he serve for free? Who paid for his buildings? Where was his office?
| + | Tariffs helped protect the domestic (United States) businesses by increasing the costs of the foreign competition, and thus are called "protective tariffs." If you owned a factory that produced computers, and there was a tariff imposing a $100 tax on all imported computers, then you would be thrilled because you could undersell the competition and make more profits. The North liked tariffs because they protected their manufacturing companies against competition by foreign manufacturers; the South disliked tariffs because it caused the cotton farmers to pay more for equipment, and because foreign nations would retaliate by imposing similar tariffs on the cotton exported by the South to them. |
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| − | Tariffs on imports supported the federal government all the way until World War I (1917). What is a tariff?
| + | An example of a protective tariff today would be a surcharge of $2000 on every foreign car sold in the United States. American car companies would benefit from such a tariff, and the government would benefit from the extra revenue, but buyers of cars would not be happy about it. People in the North were like the car companies that would support tariffs; people in the South were like car buyers that would oppose them. The conflict between the North and the South over tariffs was a major economic cause of the Civil War. |
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| − | A tariff is a tax imposed on imported goods, which are goods brought into our country from another country. When a foreign country sent goods to the United States, our federal government would impose a "tariff" or surcharge on those goods as a condition for them to be sold in this country. The more goods we import, the more the revenue there would be from the tariffs. Tariffs were ultimately replaced by the income tax on individuals as the primary means for supporting our government, because President Woodrow Wilson thought tariffs caused wars. Others think tariffs are the best way to raise revenue for the government, far better than income taxes. Some tariffs still exist today.
| + | By 1800 decisions about tariffs and all other federal laws were being made in the marshy land now known as the District of Columbia. This, too, was a compromise between the North and the South. Our capital was initially in New York City, but then Hamilton brokered a compromise with Jefferson whereby the capital would move to Philadelphia in 1791 for ten years, and then to D.C. starting in 1800. In order to obtain support by northerners for moving the capital towards the South, Hamilton agreed to arrange for the federal government to assume debts incurred by the states for the Revolutionary War. So Washington actually suppressed the Whiskey Rebellion by riding from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, not from Washington, D.C., because the capital was in Philadelphia at that time. |
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| − | A tariff often has a protective effect on domestic (United States) businesses by increasing the costs of their competition. If you owned a factory that produced computers, and there was a tariff imposing a $100 tax on all imported computers, then you would be thrilled because you could undersell the competition and make more profits. Tariffs were often used to protect developing domestic industries, but were disliked by the South because the tariffs did not help them sell more cotton. In fact, tariffs hurt them because it made it more costly for the farmers to buy the equipment and other materials they needed to produce their cotton.
| + | In this class we focus on the period from 1800 to 1840. |
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| − | In sum, remember this: a "protective tariff" is a tax on imports which both raises money to fund the federal government '''and''' protects domestic manufacturers against imports. An example today of a protective tariff would be a tax on the importation of Toyota cars in order to raise money and help General Motors and Ford compete more easily.
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| − | By 1800 decisions about tariffs and all other federal laws were being made in the marshy land now known as the District of Columbia. This was a compromise between the North and the South. Our capital was initially in New York City, but then Hamilton brokered a compromise with Jefferson whereby the capital would move to Philadelphia in 1791 for ten years, and then to D.C. starting in 1800. In exchange, Hamilton was able to have the federal government assume the war debt. So Washington suppressed the Whiskey Rebellion by riding from Philadelphia, not from Washington, D.C., because the capital was in Philadelphia at that time.
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| − | This class we focus on the period from 1800 to 1840.
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| | == Revolution of 1800 == | | == Revolution of 1800 == |