American Politics

Jefferson and Hamilton had very different viewpoints. Hamilton believed in strong national power and he didn't have faith in the people. He also favored a loose construction of the Constitution meaning that he thought that the government could use implied powers of the Constitution to do anything as long as they weren't prohibited by the Constitution. He also thought that America should pay back the debts gained during the Revolutionary War by putting taxes on whiskey and on imported goods. Jefferson, on the other hand, had more faith in the people than he had in the government. He favored a strict construction of the Constitution meaning that he believed that the government should use implied powers only when it was necessary. Jefferson thought that Hamilton was betraying the ideals of the American Revolution because Hamilton was taking away some of the liberties of the American people that they had worked hard for.

A political party is a group of people who seek to win elections and hold public office in order to control government policy and programs. The first political parties were the Federalists an the Jeffersonian Republicans, who were state leaders who promoted resistance to the Federalists.

John Adams' presidency was very difficult for him because he had to deal with and mend situations that occurred during Washington's presidency. He had to deal with the parties that were new to the country and the feuding between them. Also, he had to deal with the consequences of making a treaty with Britain. The French were angry that America made a treaty with Britain. Adams tried to solve this by sending officials to Paris but this only resulted in more controversy and eventually an undeclared war.

Jefferson's presidency in his first term was satisfying for both political parties. The first thing he did was reduce the influence of the government in the Americans' lives by undoing some of the acts of the Federalists like reducing taxes, cutting the size of the federal bureaucracy, and reducing the size of the army. This was in favor of the Republicans. He also let some of the Federalist's acts be like letting the Bank of the United States function. This was in favor of the Federalists. Pleasing both parties was a good move, because he later won reelection. One of the last things John Adams did before leaving office was to appoint John Marshall as Chief Justice and William Marbury as justice of the peace for the District of Colombia. This angered Jefferson because he wanted to appoint judges from his own party. So Jefferson had James Madison never deliver the papers to give Marbury official authority. Marbury sued Madison and wanted the Supreme Court to make Madison let him take his office. Marshal decided that the Supreme Court couldn't make this order to the executive branch. It was unconstitutional. This was a victory for Jefferson and the Supreme Court because it established judicial review. Judicial review helped make laws more fair. Jefferson also bought Louisiana from France which increased America's size as well as it's debt. Jefferson convinced Congress to pass the Embargo Act of 1807 which made most trade with foreign countries illegal when Jay's Treaty expired and America was being threatened by Britain and France. This ruined Jefferson's second term because it hurt Americans who made their living through trade.

http://www.mindmeister.com/31535560/sarah-james-madison

This is the link to my mindmeister about James Madison.

Water on the Moon?

On October 9th, NASA's Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite, LCROSS, launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida and created twin impacts on the surface on the moon to look for water ice. The Centaur was the first to impact the moon and LCROSS followed looking for water in debris caused by this first impact. A debris cloud was expected to rise from the first impact, but none were apparent in the pictures sent back by the spacecraft. Scientists are currently analyzing the data provided by the LCROSS mission. No conclusions were made yet, so we will have to wait for the results.
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The Constitution and Bill of Rights

1st Amendment.
The 1st Amendment states five liberties. The first is the freedom of religion which protects religious practice and makes sure the church doesn't interfere with the state. The second and third liberties are the freedom of speech and press. These are rights to speak, publish, and express one's views. The fourth and fifth liberties are the rights of assembly and petition. These are rights to join with associations to discuss public affairs and influence public policy.
I think this is important because it's about general freedoms that can help a society. It's important that one can practice the religion that they want. It's also important that people can speak freely.

13th Amendment.
The 13th Amendment forbids slavery in the United States except as a punishment for a crime in which not all forms are allowed.
I think this is really important because it ends slavery in the United States. It could have influenced other nations to do so as well.

19th Amendment.
The 19 Amendment states that no one can be denied the right to vote in any election in the U.S. because of their sex.
I think this is important because it is a start to women rights. It's very important that there is no discrimination of women. Women should have the same rights as men. I think this was a turning point in history.

Article III, Section 2, Clause 3
This states that a person accused of a federal crime has the right to trial by jury and that the trial will be held in the state that the crime was committed in.
I think this is important because you have many points of view and opinions that decide if your guilty or innocent instead of just one person. This helps make more sensible and accurate decisions that will put people in their right place.

Article IV, Section 3, Clause 1
This states that only Congress can add States to the Union. A new State can't be made by taking territory from an existing State without consent of the State's legislature.
I think this is important because it can prevent war within the nation. States wouldn't be able to conquer other states. It assures peace.
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British Colonists in America Defeat Britain

The colonists were able to defeat the greatest world power of their time because of the tension between Britain and the colonies, the idea of a revolution, and the help they got in the Revolutionary War.
After the French and Indian War, the British didn't treat the colonists as equals. Great Britain was in debt and needed money and they decided to tax the colonists. They first established the Sugar Act and Quartering Act. Colonists complained about these but they didn't really resist them. Then, the Stamp Act came along and the colonists reacted badly and boycotted English goods. The Townshend Acts were then established which led to protest and violence. The colonists had no representative in parliament and this upset them a lot too. Events such as the Boston Massacre, and the Boston Tea Party followed. Then, the colonist started getting ideas about being independent and breaking free from British rule. They then put their foot down wrote the Declaration of Independence.
The British and colonists then started fighting in the Revolutionary War. With the help of France and Spain. The war was ended with the Treaty of Paris in which Great Britain recognized the independence of the colonies.
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