SOSC3000I: American Politics

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Introduction and Overview

David Hendry

Hong Kong University of Science and Technology

hendry@ust.hk

September 4, 2025
Important Historical Dynamics

Indigenous-European First Contact

Important Historical Dynamics

The Voyages of Christopher Columbus (1492-1504))

Important Historical Dynamics

Columbus’s Journal Entry on the Date of First Contact

(October 12, 1492)
Many of the men I have seen have scars on their bodies, and
when I made signs to them to find out how this happened, they
indicated that people from other nearby islands come to San
Salvador to capture them; they defend themselves the best they
can. I believe that people from the mainland come here to take
them as slaves. They ought to make good and skilled servants,
for they repeat very quickly whatever we say to them. I think they
can very easily be made Christians, for they seem to have no
religion. If it pleases our Lord, I will take six of them to Your
Highnesses when I depart, in order that they may learn our
language.
Important Historical Dynamics

Skip ahead to the U.S. Constitution (drafted in 1787)

Article I, Section 2:
Representatives and direct Taxes shall be apportioned among
the several States which may be included within this Union,
according to their respective Numbers, which shall be
determined by adding to the whole Number of free Persons,
including those bound to Service for a Term of Years, and
excluding Indians not taxed, three fifths of all other
Persons.
Article I, Section 8:
The Congress shall have the Power To...regulate Commerce
with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and
with the Indian Tribes...
Important Historical Dynamics

Skip ahead to the U.S. Constitution (drafted in 1787)

Article I, Section 2:
Representatives and direct Taxes shall be apportioned among
the several States which may be included within this Union,
according to their respective Numbers, which shall be
determined by adding to the whole Number of free Persons,
including those bound to Service for a Term of Years, and
excluding Indians not taxed, three fifths of all other
Persons.
Article I, Section 8:
The Congress shall have the Power To...regulate Commerce
with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and
with the Indian Tribes...

The origin of this term for the indigenous people of America

was Columbus!
Important Historical Dynamics

Columbus initially (and perhaps for the rest of his life) believed
he had reached “the Indies”
Important Historical Dynamics

Columbus initially (and perhaps for the rest of his life) believed
he had reached “the Indies”
Important Historical Dynamics

Columbus initially (and perhaps for the rest of his life) believed
he had reached “the Indies”
Catch-all term used by European powers in the Age of Discovery
for the island nations of what is now considered Southeast Asia
Including the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia
Important Historical Dynamics

Columbus initially (and perhaps for the rest of his life) believed
he had reached “the Indies”
Catch-all term used by European powers in the Age of Discovery
for the island nations of what is now considered Southeast Asia
Including the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia
People from the region were termed “Indios” by the Spanish,
which was translated into “Indian” in the English-speaking world
Important Historical Dynamics

Columbus initially (and perhaps for the rest of his life) believed
he had reached “the Indies”
Catch-all term used by European powers in the Age of Discovery
for the island nations of what is now considered Southeast Asia
Including the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia
People from the region were termed “Indios” by the Spanish,
which was translated into “Indian” in the English-speaking world
Some historical dispute that Columbus may have meant “a
people in God” because he referred to the indigenous people as
“una gente in Dios” in his journal
Important Historical Dynamics

Columbus initially (and perhaps for the rest of his life) believed
he had reached “the Indies”
Catch-all term used by European powers in the Age of Discovery
for the island nations of what is now considered Southeast Asia
Including the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia
People from the region were termed “Indios” by the Spanish,
which was translated into “Indian” in the English-speaking world
Some historical dispute that Columbus may have meant “a
people in God” because he referred to the indigenous people as
“una gente in Dios” in his journal
But there is much evidence that Columbus strongly believed (or
wanted the powers funding his trip to believe) he had reached
the Indies
E.g., in his report to Royal Court of Spain when he
returned from his first voyage, Columbus insisted that
Hispaniola (modern day Haiti/Dominican Republic) was o↵
the coast of China
Important Historical Dynamics

First permanent European settlement in the modern-day

U.S.
St. Augustine, Florida (founded by the Spanish in 1565)
First British colony in the modern-day U.S.
Roanoke Colony (island o↵ the coast of modern-day North
Carolina; failed in 1587)
First permanent British settlement in the modern-day U.S.
Jamestown, Virginia (founded in 1607)
Establishment of “New England” in the modern-day
Northeastern U.S.
Plymouth Colony (founded by “the Pilgrims” in
present-day Massachusetts in 1620)
Important Historical Dynamics

Indigenous-European First Contact

Important Historical Dynamics

Indigenous-European First Contact

Myth and Fact about Initial British-Indigenous Relations
Important Historical Dynamics

Indigenous-European First Contact

Myth and Fact about Initial British-Indigenous Relations
The Growth of a Nation by Peter Mays
Important Historical Dynamics

Indigenous-European First Contact

Myth and Fact about Initial British-Indigenous Relations
The Growth of a Nation by Peter Mays
The Roots of Black Americans
Important Historical Dynamics

The African Slave Trade Throughout the World

Important Historical Dynamics

The African Slave Trade in the U.S.

Initially legal throughout the country during the colonial
period
Important Historical Dynamics

The African Slave Trade in the U.S.

Initially legal throughout the country during the colonial
period
Made illegal or fell out of practice in the urban North
Important Historical Dynamics

The African Slave Trade in the U.S.

Initially legal throughout the country during the colonial
period
Made illegal or fell out of practice in the urban North
Article I, Section 9 of the U.S. Constitution
The Migration or Importation of such Persons as any of the
States now existing shall think proper to admit, shall not be
prohibited by the Congress prior to the Year one thousand
eight hundred and eight, but a Tax or duty may be imposed
on such Importation, not exceeding ten dollars for each
Person.
Important Historical Dynamics

The African Slave Trade in the U.S.

Initially legal throughout the country during the colonial
period
Made illegal or fell out of practice in the urban North
Article I, Section 9 of the U.S. Constitution
The Migration or Importation of such Persons as any of the
States now existing shall think proper to admit, shall not be
prohibited by the Congress prior to the Year one thousand
eight hundred and eight, but a Tax or duty may be imposed
on such Importation, not exceeding ten dollars for each
Person.
Act Prohibiting Importation of Slaves (1807)
Came into e↵ect January 1, 1808
Did not a↵ect the domestic slave trade
Illegal smuggling was likely rampant until slavery was made
illegal
Important Historical Dynamics

Slavery in the U.S.

Article I, Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution:
Representatives and direct Taxes shall be apportioned among
the several States which may be included within this Union,
according to their respective Numbers, which shall be
determined by adding to the whole Number of free Persons,
including those bound to Service for a Term of Years, and
excluding Indians not taxed, three fifths of all other
Persons.
Known as the “Three-Fifths Compromise”
Important Historical Dynamics

Slavery in the U.S.

Most important factor perpetuating slavery was likely its
economic benefits in plantation-style agriculture
Important Historical Dynamics

Slavery in the U.S.

Most important factor perpetuating slavery was likely its
economic benefits in plantation-style agriculture
In support of the economic need, establishment of a racial
caste system to perpetuate and justify inequality between
those of African descent and those of European descent
Important Historical Dynamics

Slavery in the U.S.

Most important factor perpetuating slavery was likely its
economic benefits in plantation-style agriculture
In support of the economic need, establishment of a racial
caste system to perpetuate and justify inequality between
those of African descent and those of European descent
Legal framework that codified unequal rights
Justifications based on practicality
Justifications based on pseudo-science
Justifications based on religion
Important Historical Dynamics

Slavery in the U.S.

Abolition movement developed in earnest in the 1800s
Important Historical Dynamics

Slavery in the U.S.

Abolition movement developed in earnest in the 1800s
The modern Republican Party began as an abolitionist
party
Important Historical Dynamics

Slavery in the U.S.

Abolition movement developed in earnest in the 1800s
The modern Republican Party began as an abolitionist
party
The election of the first Republican President, Abraham
Lincoln, led 11 states to secede and try to form another
country
Important Historical Dynamics

Slavery in the U.S.

Abolition movement developed in earnest in the 1800s
The modern Republican Party began as an abolitionist
party
The election of the first Republican President, Abraham
Lincoln, led 11 states to secede and try to form another
country
The U.S. Civil War was fought to bring the states that had
seceded back into the Union
Important Historical Dynamics

Post-Slavery Inequality
The caste system developed to justify slavery did not go
away when slavery was made illegal
Norms persisted
Laws were enhanced to explicitly perpetuate the caste
system until the mid-twentieth century
Important Historical Dynamics

Post-Slavery Inequality
The caste system developed to justify slavery did not go
away when slavery was made illegal
Norms persisted
Laws were enhanced to explicitly perpetuate the caste
system until the mid-twentieth century

Civil Rights Law established in the mid-twentieth century now

dominates legal debates about racial inequality
Important Historical Dynamics

Indigenous-European First Contact

Myth and Fact about Initial British-Indigenous Relations
The Growth of a Nation by Peter Mays
The Roots of Black Americans
Native American Removal Policy with Westward Expansion