Transcript The United States In Congress Assembled

The United States In
Congress Assembled”:
“
America under the Articles of
Confederation
Articles of Confederation
• Richard Henry Lee/John Dickinson
• Passed by the 2nd Continental Congress in 1777,
but not ratified by the states until 1781.
• Congress was the dominant force (no separate
executive or federal courts), but it was hobbled by
rules:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
All bills required 2/3 vote for passage
Any amendment = unanimous vote
Each state had 1 vote.
No power to regulate commerce
No tax enforcement power (states paid taxes
voluntarily).
Land Cessions
• Geographical knowledge of North America was
incomplete when colonies were founded.
• Many were established by royal proclamation or
charter that defined their boundaries as
stretching "from sea to sea"; others did not have
western boundaries established at all.
• ended up with theoretical extents that
overlapped each other, and conflicted with the
claims and settlements established by other
European powers.
• With Union, states must give up claims!
– New York vs. Virginia = the biggest problem
– Jan 2, 1781 – Virginia Cession unblocks the logjam
Other Problems of the West
• GB abandoned their Indian allies who
didn’t consider themselves defeated
• Pressure of American Expansion
• GB troops still in posts in the NW
territories, encourage raids on American
settlers
• Diplomatic problems – some westerners
threatened to rejoin GB!
First President?
• Peyton Randolph
– 1st President of the
Continental Congress
• John Hancock
– President of the Continental
Congress when Declaration
was Adopted
• Samuel Huntington
– “President of the United
States in Congress
Assembled” (AOC)
• George Washington
– “President of the United
States” (Constitution)
New Political Dynamics
• “Pro-democracy” efforts gained.
– Loss of 80,000 Loyalists = loss of balance?
– Entail and primogeniture repealed, weakening aristocracy.
– Expansion of voting rights, citizen participation
• Two new political cliques (not parties.. Yet!)
– Republicans – liberalish – believe in rule of the people – the
voice of the masses should drive decisions
– Whigs – conservatives – believe in rule of the educated
elite, insulate the government from popular mood swings
• Land Ordinance of 1785 (drafted by TJ)
– NW Territory land sold to pay off debt.
• Northwest Ordinance
of 1787
– revision of 1785 + a little
more
– 1. Territories established,
which could eventually
become states on an
equal basis with the
original 13.
• Needed a minimum of
60,000 inhabitants.
– 2. Slavery forbidden in
Northwest. (had been
rejected in 1785, but
added back now)
Social Adjustments…
• African Americans
– Vermont – 1777 abolishes slavery
– 1776-1786 – all states but GA and
SC prohibit or heavily tax the
international slave trade
– Rise of free black population with
schools, churches, other
institutions
– Personalities
• Benjamin Banneker
• Phillis Wheatley
• Religious Change
– Church of England ruined,
replaced by Episcopal
Church, separate from
England.
– Democratic spirit
encouraged spread of
“frontier faiths” (Methodist,
Baptist).
– Virginia Statute for
Religious Freedom
• Strong statement on
separation of church and
state written by TJ.
Foreign and Domestic Problems
• The U.S. had difficulty commanding respect
from allies or enemies
– Britain refused to send an ambassador, to make
a commercial treaty, or repeal the Navigation
Laws. Trading posts along Canadian border
source of trouble with Indians.
– Spain seized lands granted to the U.S. by Britain
and harassed trade on the Mississippi River.
– France demanded repayment of loans made
during the Revolution and restricted trade with the
West Indies.
• Domestic disputes arise
–Some states refused to pay any taxes,
while interest on the public debt grew
and the nation's credit dwindled.
– States began levying duties on each
other's products and quarreling over
boundaries.
Economic Stresses
• Some Loyalist land was broken up into
parcels for farming, sold off for $...
• Currency totals $400 million, but is
subject to great inflation
– Fixed income vs. inflation…
– 1787, $167 of paper money = $1 in specie
• Food Riots in several major cities…
• March 1783: Newburgh Mutiny
Economic Growth?
• Immediate economic problems resulted from severing ties with
Britain
– Commerce with GB almost completely halted
– Speculation and profiteering during the war = inflation.
• Congress unable to control effects !!!
– Economic causes of war had led to distaste for taxes, further
weakening Congress' ability to take action.
• After the downturn, postwar trade with GB returns to earlier levels
in the 1780s
• Exports abroad surpass previous levels, but represent a smaller
part of the total economic activity…
• Domestic economy flourishes!
• Trade moves inland – ports with no inland access go into
decline…
Problems in the State Legislatures?
• 1780s – James Madison – a “spirit of
locality” in the state legislatures is
destroying “the aggregate interests of the
community.”
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Power struggles with Governors, Courts
Property Rights
Currency
Debtors rights acts
Strengths of AOC
• State governments are
powerful, can make laws
appropriate for local
needs
• The Central Government
can:
– Conduct foreign relations
– Maintain maritime trade
– Regulate Indian trade
– Manage Western territory
Weaknesses of AOC
•
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•
No Executive to provide leadership
No federal courts
Can not levy taxes
Can not ratify amendments without
unanimous consent
• Can not raise an Army
• Can not regulate interstate commerce
• Boundary disputes (see next slide!)
Shay’s Rebellion (1786)
• 1783: State land taxes rise
• Veterans return: most people have little money
• Violence breaks out in western Massachusetts
with frustrated farmers losing their farms due to
mortgage foreclosures and tax delinquencies.
• 1786: Daniel Shays leads 1000, seizes the
courthouse
• State asks Central Government to send in help:
there is no Army, no money to pay for it, no
other states willing to get involved!
• State puts down rebels alone with force (killing
three), but the win many seats in the next
election – tips balance in state legislature!
• Leaders throughout the nation worried about the
potential of domestic unrest.
• Reveals weakness of the Articles of Confederation.
Call for Reform of the Articles
• Annapolis Convention,
– called to deal with interstate commerce squabbling,
issues arising from Shays Rebellion
– instead requested a convention to meet in
Philadelphia to deal with reforming the Articles.
• Alex Hamilton makes a name for himself…
“Miracle at Philadelphia”:
The Constitutional Convention
Philadelphia Convention
• Open agreement secretly arrived
at--Washington's plea
• Intent of the Convention:
– Economic -- protect property
rights and make America safe
from democracy.
– Idealistic--make a perfect
Union
– Pragmatic--dealing with the
question of sovereignty.
Placing common interests
over regional or personal
concerns.
The Participants
• 55 delegates from 12 states
– Young (average age 42)
– professional (over half were lawyers)
– men of economic substance (remember it’s a
volunteer job!)
– Many were Revolutionary War veterans
– Absent: Thomas Jefferson, John Adams,
Patrick Henry, other Revolutionary War heroes.
• The “Big Names” who went in with
notoriety
– 1) Washington--president of the convention
– 2) Madison--researched every previous republic
• a) Large republic is not only possible, it's
preferred
• b) Popularly elected officials with sovereignty in
the hands of the people, not the states
– 3) Franklin--81 years old. The steadying
influence. Sick, old, but well-respected by all.
The Compromises
• Virginia Plan or Large States Plan
– (Edmund Randolph)
– 2 house legislature with representation based on
population for both
– President and courts chosen by legislature
• New Jersey Plan or Small States Plan
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–
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(William Patterson)
Congress with each state having 1 vote (like AOC)
separate executive and judicial branches
increased powers of Congress
• Great Compromise (Connecticut Plan)
– Bicameral legislature representing both people and
states
– Lower house membership dependent on population
– Upper house with two members from each state
– All revenue bills must begin in lower house
• Three-Fifths Compromise
• Non-slavery states wanted slaves counted for
taxation, but not representation and wanted an end to
importation of slaves
• Slave states wanted slaves counted for
representation, but not taxation and no interference
with slave trade by the federal government
– THE AGREEMENT:
• 60% of slaves counted for representation and taxation;
• no Congressional interference with slavery for 20
years
• Commerce Compromise
• Cotton and tobacco producing states wanted
restriction of taxes on exports and all commerce bills
to be passed by a two-thirds vote of Congress
• Northern industrial states wanted federal tariffs to
keep up out cheaper European products and raise
revenues for the government.
– THE AGREEMENT:
• no tax on exports,
• simple majority needed to pass commerce bills
Ratification
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•
Only 9 of the 13 were needed for the Constitution to take effect
Because of opposition from state legislatures, conventions
elected by the people were given authority to approve or reject
Constitution.
•
Federalists vs. Antifederalists
– Most Federalists were wealthy and well-educated and sought the
creation of a more powerful central government
– Most Antifederalists were farmers who were loyal primarily to their
state governments
• Feared taxation power of federal government
• Republican government could not rule a large nation
•
Federalist Papers
•
Promise of Bill of Rights added to the Constitution helped
persuade opponents to ratify it.
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New York – Jay, Hamilton, Madison
Written to convince NY to ratify!
most influential political literature of the time
Argued that limitations on governmental power were built into the
Constitution
– Need for strength to earn respect abroad