Understanding the #UnitedStatesofAmerica The Treaty of Ghent - an Introduction

The Treaty of Ghent - an Introduction

My name is Turtle and I have an interest in pursuing knowledge and I like to share the things I learn.

The purpose of this blog series, "Understanding the United States of America", is to get an understanding of this nation's ideology by reading the documents that have developed this nation in order to discover what they say. 

The Doctrine of Discovery

The first document this series dove into was the "Doctrine of Discovery". 

The "Doctrine of Discovery" is a Papal Bull that was written in 1493, about 7-months after Christopher Columbus "discovered" the American continents. 

The "Papal Bull" was a land grant drafted by the Roman Catholic Pope and its authority was justified as coming from God, since there were no "Christians" living on the American Continent. 

The 1763 Treaty of Paris

 The 1763 Treaty of Paris was adopted following the conclusion of French and Indian War, in which the territorial claims of the American continents were split up between Great Britain, France, Spain, and Portugal. 

The 1783 Treaty of Paris

The 1783 Treaty of Paris was adopted following the conclusion of the American Revolutionary War in which Great Britain acknowledged the 13 Colonies as 13 free and independent states; they did not acknowledge the "United States" as an independent country, rather each colony as its own independent country 

Thomas Paine's Common Sense Pamphlet

This pamphlet written by Thomas Paine is what inspired the drafting of the Declaration of Independence

The Declaration of Independence (Rough Copy)

The purpose of reading the rough copy of America's Charter was to read what was edited out from the final draft. 

The Articles of Confederation

This was the "Constitution" before the Constitution. The Articles of Confederation served as the frame of government prior to the adoption of the Constitution in 1787

The Constitution for the United States of America

In 1787 the nation decided to scrap the Articles of Confederation and create a new frame of government to increase some of the Federal Government's "power" that it lacked under the Articles of Confederation. 

The Bill of Rights

The Bill of Rights are the first ten amendments to the Constitution that were adopted in 1791 in an attempt to block the Federal Government from carrying out tyranny on its countrymen and serve as an instruction manual for the nation's inhabitants on what they need to do in order preserve their right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

The Federalist Papers

These expressed the ideas behind the purpose for scrapping the Articles of Confederation and drafting the new Constitution.

The Anti-Federalist Papers

These expressed ideas from opposition to the new Constitution and why this new frame of government should be a great concern, the opposition feared it gave too much power to the Federal Government and paved way for despotism and tyranny. Perhaps it was these concerns that led to the creation of the Bill of Rights. 

Now onto the Treaty of Ghent

The Treaty of Ghent is the document that ended the War of 1812. 

It was adopted on December 24, 1814.

The treaty is named for the place where British and American representatives met to sign the treaty - Ghent, Belgium. 

The document features a preamble followed by Eleven Articles. 

You can read the Treaty of Ghent for yourself here - www.ourdocuments.gov