Key Moments in US History: From Founding to Civil War
Article I: Legislative Branch
It outlines the structure and powers of Congress, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives, and defines the limitations on its authority.
Article II: Executive Branch
It defines the presidency, its powers and responsibilities, and establishes how the President and Vice President are elected.
Article III: Judicial Power
It creates the federal judicial system, headed by the Supreme Court, and gives Congress the authority to establish lower courts.
Articles
Read MoreThe End of Basque Autonomy: A Legal and Political Analysis
This is a first-hand legal text that was written by the courts and ratified by the King on the 29th of July 1876. The aim of this was to put an end to the Basque provinces’ autonomy.
Political Instability and the Fall of Isabella II
When O’Donnell died, his party, the Liberal Union, now directed by General Serrano, approached the progressives, aiming to put an end to Isabella II’s government. The progressives, under Prim’s direction, and the democrats, in favor of universal suffrage, signed the Ostende
Read MoreThe 1848 Revolutions: Europe’s Democratic Uprisings
The Revolutions of 1848: The Springtime of Peoples
Progress in the 1830s fell short and no longer served the interests of the bourgeoisie. Converging in 1848 were the needs to expand the conquests of the bourgeois, liberal, and nationalist unrest caused by industrialization. The European revolutions were demanding democracy. The revolutionary crisis arrived in a context of economic hardship: bad crops caused soaring commodity prices, which in turn ended up affecting the demand for manufactured products.
Read MoreUS Influence in Central America: Bananas, Panama Canal, and Nicaragua
The Banana Empire
The United Fruit Company significantly expanded its business into Guatemala, Costa Rica, and Honduras. It acquired land and benefited from the free marketing of bananas without paying export taxes. The so-called “banana empire” stretched from the early 20th century until the 1929 crisis. Coffee-growing families, fortified by this trade, were the elite of these countries and had strong ties to the global market in the 20th century. However, American companies introduced the cultivation
Read MoreWorld War I: Causes, Impact, and Post-War Transformations
The Outbreak of Conflict
On June 28, Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated in Sarajevo. The attack was conducted by a student related to Bosnian Serb nationalist groups. Austria, accusing Serbia of being behind the bombing, decided to annex it and declared war. From there, the game of alliances between powers began, and within a week, the whole of Europe was at war. Russia sided with Serbia and declared war on Austria. Germany declared war on France and Russia. Britain declared war on
Read MoreCold War and Decolonization: A Historical Analysis
The Cold War: A Divided World
The final rupture between the two blocks occurred in 1947 when the U.S. President explained what is known as the Truman Doctrine. They denounced the establishment of communist regimes in the countries occupied by the Red Army and proposed intervention against the perceived American threat of communist expansion in Europe. The U.S. aimed to increase the number of American troops and bases in Europe, and the Marshall Plan was proposed to help promote the economic reconstruction
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