Transcript Chapter 6

Chapter 6
Part 2
Finance, Trade, and
Economy
1781-1786
• Debt
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160 million
Borrowed money
Continentals
Massive inflation
• Robert Morris
– Superintendent of Finance 1781
– Proposed national import duty of 5%
– Didn’t pass
• RI rejected
• Newburgh Conspiracy 1783
– Morris/ Hamilton
• Persuaded Army officers to threaten a
Coup d'état to get treasury taxation
authority to raise officers pay
• GW responds with speech focused on
honor
• Coup never happened
• Highlights perils of nations finances
• Trade
– Economic depression
• NE
– Short growing season
– High taxes
• Mid-Atlantic
– Prospered
– Europe famine
• South
– Failure of rice/tobacco
• Land ordinance of 1785
– 160 million acres north of OH river
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Uniform procedures for surveying land
Township and range
Six square miles is basic unit
One lot for educational purposes
Land sold at public auction
– Min. $1 an acre
• Land ordinance of 1787
– Defined steps for creation and
admission of states
– Forbade slavery in territories
– Stages of acceptance
• Territorial government
• 5,000 males – temporary constitution,
elect a legislature
• 60,000 males- vote to ratify, Congress
had to approve
Confederation and
the West 1785-1787
• Natives
– Thought British would support them
– Joseph Brant
• Mohawk
• Led resistance in Northwest
• Southeast
– Difficulties with Spanish and their
native allies
• Alexander McGillivray
• Creek Indian
• Secret treaty with Spain 1780s
– Miss/ New Orleans
• John jay
• Jay-Gardoqui treaty of 1786
Toward a New constitution
• Shay’s Rebellion 1786-1787
– Causes
• Jay- Gardoqui treaty
• NE depression (1784) continued
• Legislature raises taxes to pay off
war debt in 3 years (1786)
• Shortage of gold/silver
• Mass passed constitution
– Favors wealthy
– Heavy taxes
– Farm seizes
• Spark
– Daniel Shays led 2,000 men to shut down
courts in 3 counties
– Goal: to stop sheriff’s auctions for unpaid
taxes – prevent foreclosures
• Consequences
– Causes leaders to worry about
Confederations ability to handle civil
disorder
– Gw’s meeting
– Call for Annapolis convention
• Delegates from 5 states
• Suggest Constitutional convention
– Jefferson “a little rebellion is good now
and then to replenish the tree of liberty”
Philadelphia Convention 1787
• 55 delegates from every state
– exception Rhode Island
– Delegates:
• White, wealthy males
• James Madison, Alexander Hamilton,
Gov. Morris, John Dickinson
• Not there:
– John jay, Thomas Jefferson, John
Adams, Thomas Paine
• Independence Hall
– Private sessions
– GW chairperson
• Ben Franklin – major influence
• j
• Issues
– What to do with articles?
– How to balance conflicting interests
of large and small states
*group activity:
drafting the constitution
responses
– Patterson
• Plans
– Madison
• Virginia plan
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Favor large states
Strong central government
Congress rights of legislation/taxation
Power to veto any state law
Authority to use military force against
states
– Bicameral legislature
» Upper house : rep. population
» Lower house: elected by votes
» Both houses appt. president and
judges
– Opposition
• Abolishment of state’s rights
• Biggest problem– Representation
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New jersey plan
Favors small states
States rights
7 smallest states have control of congress
Congressional laws “supreme laws of land”
Similar to VA plan
– July 2
• Grand committee
– One delegate from each state
• Connecticut Compromise “grand”
– Senate: equal vote for each state
– HOR: proportional voting
• Approved Sept. 17, 1787
Powers
• Congress
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Lay and collect taxes
Regulate interstate commerce
Conduct diplomacy
Supreme law of the land
• States limits
– Coin money
– Interfere with contracts / debts
– Tax interstate commerce
• National government
– Could use military force against any state
• Restraint of power
– Three separate branches
– Judicial, legislative, executive
• Executive
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Power to veto congress
Limit 4 years per term
No limit to terms
Elected by people and electoral college
• To limit mob rule
• Federalism
– System of shared power and dual lawmaking
by national and state governments
• Places limits on central authority
• National government:
– Foreign affairs, national defense, regulating
interstate commerce, coining money
Dilemma: Slavery
• Should they be counted as persons?
• 3/5ths compromise
– A slave represented 3/5ths of a person
– Slavery could be imported for 20 more years
• End 1808
Struggle for ratification 1787-1788
• Draft approved Sept 1787
– Sent to each state
– Population elected convention
• Federalists
– Support constitution and strong gov’t
– Advantages
• Political clout: GW, Ben Franklin
• Political organization
• Most newspapers “pro” constitution
• Anti-federalists
– Constitution would “doom” states
– Suspicion of central power
– Believed states’ gov’t more responsive
to the will of the people
– Issue with no protection for individual
rights
– Disadvantages
• Lacked opp. Contacts and experience at
national level
• Failure to create sense of urgency
• People: Patrick Henry, mercy Otis
warren, Henry Richard lee
Debate
• Federalist Papers
– Response to anti-federalists
– 85 newspaper essays
– Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, James
Madison
– Arguments
• Concerns about powers and limits of new
federal government
• Constitution had twofold purpose
– Defend minority rights against majority
tyranny
– Prevent stubborn majority from blocking
well considered measures necessary for
national interests
– Federalist #10
• Madison rejects anti-federalist argument
that establishing a republic for a nation as
large as US would unleash chaotic contest
for power
• Argues that size and diversity would
neutralize factions
• Bill of Rights
– For : Anti-federalist
• What was to stop government from
becoming a tyranny
• BOR would protect Americans
– Against: Federalist
• Congress elected by people so they
didn’t need protecting
• Better to assume all rights were
protected than to create limited list of
rights
Rethinking the U.S. Constitutional Convention
• Who?
– White, wealthy males
• Issues?
– Slavery, taxation, suffrage, balance of powers
• Our convention
– “invite” groups that were not represented
– Focus:
• Slavery and suffrage
• Homework:
– Key terms list
– Read position, decide arguments (be sure to anticipate opposition)
– Write speech
• Should slavery be abolished?
• Who should have the right to vote?
Debate
• Questions
– Should slavery be abolished?
• Slave trade?
• Escaped slaves?
• Formal proposal
– Who should be allowed to vote?
• What role should gender, race, and property ownership play in such a
decision?
• Formal proposal
Questions
• What did you learn from your participation in the role play
and preparation?
• Given the different social groups in the United States at the
time what do you think might have happened if other people
were really given a voice at the convention?
Who wrote the constitution?
Looking ahead
• May 1790
– Last state, Rhode Island enters
the Union
• Chapter 7: Launching the New
republic
– Constitutional government
takes shape
– Hamilton and the formulation
of federalist policies
– The united states on the world
stage
– The emergence of party politics
– Economic and social change
Ratifying the Constitution
The new national government that
began operation in 1788 was a result of
the Constitution being ratified by
A) state legislatures
B) state conventions
C) Congress
D) the Supreme Court
E) none of the above
Answer
• B) state conventions
Explanation: Article VII of the Constitution detailed
a four-stage ratification process: (1) submission of
the Constitution to the Confederation Congress, (2)
transmission of the Constitution by Congress to the
state legislatures, (3) election of delegates to
conventions in each state to consider the
Constitution, and (4) ratification by the conventions
of at least nine of the thirteen states.
Founding Documents
George Mason of Virginia, known
as the father of the Bill of Rights
(Source: Wikimedia Commons--public domain)
Which of the following statements is incorrectly matched with its source document?
A) "We the people of the United States"—Constitution
B) "Each state retains its sovereignty, freedom, and independence"--Articles of
Confederation
C) "All men are created equal"--Declaration of Independence
D) "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States,
are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people."—Constitution
Answer:
D) "The powers not delegated to the United States by the
Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the
States respectively, or to the people."--Constitution
Explanation: The 10th Amendment to the Constitution was
proposed by the Antifederalists in an attempt to limit the power of the
national government and protect state and individual rights. The first
10 amendments to the Constitution are known as the Bill of Rights
and were adopted in 1791.
George Washington's famous chair
at the Constitutional Convention
(Source: Wikimedia Commons--public domain)
Answer:
C) lawyer
Explanation: The delegates to the Constitutional Convention in
Philadelphia in 1787 drafted the Constitution, thereby creating a
government that radically transformed American political life.
Some veterans of the American Revolution, such as Patrick
Henry and Sam Adams, stayed away, fearing that the freedom
earned by individuals and states during the war would be
sacrificed to a strong central government. Lawyers dominated
the proceedings, though merchants, politicans, farmers,
doctors, educators, and one famous inventor were also
represented.
Federal Hall, New York City,
site of first meetings of Congress
(Source: Wikimedia Commons--public domain)
Which of the following is not listed as a
power reserved to Congress in Article I, Section 8
of the Constitution?
A) to coin money
D) to tax exports from any state
Explanation: Part of the Commerce Compromise
at the Constitutional Convention was the
guarantee that Congress would not tax exports. All
of the other options are powers listed in Article I,
Section 8.
United States History Question of the Day
"Remember the Ladies..."
Independence Hall in Philadelphia,
site of many American firsts
(Source: Wikimedia Commons--public domain)
Question 0101005:
Which early American leader's spouse encouraged her husband: "In the new Code of
Laws which I suppose it will be necessary for you to make I desire you would
Remember the Ladies and be more generous and favourable to them than your
ancestors."
A) George Washington
B) John Adams
C) Benjamin Franklin
D) Thomas Jefferson
Answer:
B) John Adams
Explanation: Abigail Adams wrote to her
husband John in 1776, recommending that
as a new system was developed in a
democratic model, that women's rights be
considered. Her husband's frequent time
away from home in Massachusetts
resulted in long separations. She raised
their four children and managed their home
affairs on her own and was her husband's
chief political confidant. They were married
for 54 years.
Constitutional Amendments
1870 poster celebrating the 15th Amendment
which guaranteed the right to vote for all races
(Source: Wikimedia Commons--public domain)
Since the addition of the Bill of Rights in 1791, the U.S. Constitution has been amended
17 times. Which of the following proposed amendments was not approved?
A) fixed the date for the start of Congress (January 3rd) and the inauguration of the
president (January 20th)
Answer:
B) equal rights for men and women
Explanation: The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) was first
proposed to Congress in 1923 by Alice Paul. It read "Men and
women shall have equal rights throughout the United States and
every place subject to its jurisdiction. Congress shall have power to
enforce this article by appropriate legislation." Despite numerous
attempts, it has never reached the 3/4 of the states approval
requirement for the addition of an amendment. All of the other
amendments have been approved: A) 1932; C) 1909; D) 1960: E)
1947.
Amending the Constitution
Constitutional Convention, 1787
(Source: Wikimedia Commons--public domain)
Which of the following four methods of
amending the Constitution have never
been used?
I. Proposal by convention of states, ratification by state conventions
II. Proposal by convention of states, ratification by state legislatures
III. Proposal by Congress, ratification by state conventions
IV. Proposal by Congress, ratification by state legislatures
A) I only
B) I and II only
C) II and III only
D) I and III only
E) II only
Answer:
B) I and II only
Explanation: All amendments to the
Constitution have been added as a result
of a proposal by Congress and then by
ratification by either state conventions or
state legislatures.