The American Revolution established the United States as a nation built on the idea of citizens' rights and freedoms. It was revolutionary in its time, because governments than typically had been in the interests of those at the top of society (kings and aristocrats). But the American Revolution put power in the hands of the people, and that revolutionary idea still holds true. We still think of the United States as having the ability to pursue revolutionary change, including changing who is in control in government, based on what is good for the people. Thomas Jefferson expressed this ideal in the <em>Declaration of Independence </em>(1776):
- <em>We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain </em><em>unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.</em><em>–That to secure these rights, </em><em>Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, </em><em>–That </em><em>whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government,</em><em> laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem </em><em>most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. </em>
Courts of Appeals
The 94 federal judicial districts are organized into 12 regional circuits, each of which has a court of appeals. The appellate court's task is to determine whether or not the law was applied correctly in the trial court. Appeals courts consist of three judges and do not use a jury.
The correct options are as follows:
1. DAWES ACT: The government would not allow tribes to hold property communally.
Dawes Act was put in place in America in 1887 and it gave authority to the federal government to break up tribal lands that belong to the Indian native americans and divide them into individual plots. This was done in order to prevent the native Americans from owning land communally. Those that agreed to the arrangement become American citizens.
2. CURTIS ACT: The government dissolved tribal government.
Curtis Act was enacted in 1898 and it was an amendment to Dawes Act. The Act further weaken the control of the native Americans over lands by transferring the authority to determine tribal membership from the native tribes to the Dawes commission, thus, abolishing tribal government.
3. SPRINGER ACT: Tribes lost their claim to the unassigned lands.
Springer Act makes provision for the placing of unassigned land of the Indian tribes in the territory of the pubic domain. This Act led to the opening of the unassigned lands to settlement. The Act was proposed by William Springer, who was a USA representative from Illinois.
