Transcript Chapter 7 Consolidating the Revolution

Chapter 7
Consolidating the
Revolution
The American People, 6th ed.
I.
Struggling with the
Peacetime Agenda
Demobilizing the Army
 After the war, many of the troops refused to go
home until the government acted upon their
grievances regarding back pay and other
benefits.
 Some officers began to hint at a military coup if
demands were not met.
 Washington moved quickly to defuse the
situation, asking for patience and giving
assurances that pay would be rendered, as it
eventually was.
Opening the West
 The most notable accomplishments of Congress
during this period were:
 The Land Ordinance of 1785 – Provided for the systematic survey
and sale of the lands west of Pennsylvania and north of the Ohio
River.
 The Northwest Ordinance of 1787 – Provided for the political
organization and terms of eventual statehood for the same region.
• Congress operated as if the Native Americans were a
conquered people who had given up their land by virtue
of their alliance with Britain.
• Subsequent treaties with Indian tribes were often
produced by force, and usually spawned resentment and
violence.
Wrestling With the
National Debt
 Evidence of the Confederation’s
inadequacy rested in its inability to deal
effectively with the nation’s war debt.
 The debt has been recently estimated at
$35 million, owed largely to Dutch and
French bankers.
 Lacking any authority to tax, Congress
had to rely on the willingness or ability of
the states to meet these debts.
Surviving in a Hostile
Atlantic World
 Even after the United States had won its
independence, England, France, and
Spain continued to be an aggressive
presence on the continent.
II.
Sources of Political
Conflict
Separating Church
and State
 Prior to 1776, only Rhode Island, New
Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware
promoted full religious freedom.
 Other states supported a central church
to which they gave government funds for
operation.
 The rhetoric of the Revolution inferred
that freedom of choice was the only safe
basis for church/state relations.
Slavery Under Attack
 By 1790, every state except South
Carolina and Georgia had abolished the
importation of new slaves within their
borders.
 As a result, a higher proportion of slaves
were American born, speeding the
process of cultural assimilation.
 In the North, slavery was abolished or put
on an eventual path to abolition.
Politics and the Economy
 Although the victors, America’s loss of
trade with England sent the country into an
economic depression.
 As always, certain artisans and people
with the right political connections suffered
little trouble.
 Many farmers were unable to pay the
exorbitant taxes on their farms with the
worthless paper money of the states.
III. Political Tumult in
the States
The Limits of Republican
Experimentation
 The period following the Revolutionary
War saw a backlash in the political spirit of
the country as conservatism returned to
the mainstream.
 Political leadership began to fall to men
who felt the republican experiment had
gone too far.
Shays’s Rebellion
 Massachusetts citizens in 1786 had to borrow money to simply pay
their taxes or support their families.
 People usually borrowed from each other rather than from a
traditional bank.
 Facing foreclosure, the citizens turned to the state for “stay laws”
prohibiting private creditors from demanding payment in “hard
currency” rather than questionable paper money.
 Massachusetts scoffed at the citizens and demanded immediate
payment of debts in gold or silver.
 Backed into a corner, the citizens – led by Daniel Shays – took up
arms against the government of Massachusetts and later the United
States.
 The insurrection eventually collapsed, but it underscored the
problems of the Articles of Confederation.
IV. Towards a New
National Government
The Rise of Federalism
 Federalists: the supporters of a strong,
central government.
 Anti-federalists: Concerned with
supremacy of the states.
 Federalist leaders feared the loss of their
own political and social power.
 Congress’s inability to deal with the
pressing issues of the country nullified
the arguments for state supremacy.
The Grand Convention
 Delegates gathered at Independence Hall
in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1787 to
construct the blueprint for a new and
better form of government.
 George Washington was chosen as the
convention president and all deliberations
were to be kept secret.
Drafting the Constitution
 Two major differences separated the delegates:
The Virginia Plan called for a bicameral system
of legislature with proportional representation.
Large states loved it.
The New Jersey Plan called for representation
in terms of equal votes per state but adopted the
basic state supremacy plan of the Articles.
 After some debate, the Virginia Plan was votes
as the most workable solution.
 Another contentious question was how to
census the number of blacks within its
borders. The Great Compromise
dictated that blacks be counted as threefifths of a white resident for purposes of
proportioning.
 An Electoral College of informed
delegates would be selected by state
legislatures for electing the president.
 Selection of the Senate would come from
the votes of the House of Representatives.
 Dodging a political bullet, the founders
agreed that slavery as an institution could
not end for at least twenty years.
The Struggle Over
Ratification
 No national referendum or review was
ever held on the content of the
Constitution.
 It took less than a year to secure the nine
states needed to win ratification.