Review the Historical Background

[Draggingtree]

Contributing Scholars: Elizabeth Cobbs

Review the Historical Background

A brief timeline of the major milestones of the US since its inception and its role in today's world.

·         Historical Background

·          1 Why the thirteen states needed a federal umpire:

·         Today, the United States is one nation, but that’s not how it began. The thirteen North American colonies operated separately, each with its own charter, local laws, and assembly accountable to the British King. When the colonies came together to fight for independence, they wrote individual constitutions to establish self-government. Over a period of five years, while the Revolutionary War proceeded, the states also hammered out a collective agreement. The so-called Articles of Confederation created a federation, “a firm league of friendship,” that could make recommendations but had no power over the sovereign states. The states were thirteen individual countries united against a common enemy. The Articles of Confederation that joined the “United States” created no executive or judiciary branch. Its legislative branch had no power to collect taxes or regulate commerce. When the Revolutionary War ended, the confederation sold its navy and reduced the Continental Army to 700 men. Any and all future changes to the agreement required unanimous consent.