Transcript Early American History

(Notes… continued)
EARLY AMERICAN HISTORY
COMPROMISES
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Great Compromise (1787) (also known as the
Connecticut Compromise) – resulted in our bicameral
legislative branch
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House – based on population
Senate – each state gets 2
3/5 Compromise – slaves would count as 3/5 of a
person for population count toward representation in
the House of Representatives
Presidency Compromise – electoral college system; no
direct election of the president
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Bill of Rights – first 10 amendments to the
Constitution in order to ensure civil liberties
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Federalism – division of powers between the
Federal (national) and state governments;
Americans are citizens under two governments –
state and federal
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Concurrent powers are those held by BOTH federal and
state governments (i.e. taxation)
Delegated powers are held by the federal government
ONLY
Reserved powers are held by the state governments
ONLY
INTERPRETING THE CONSTITUTION
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Loose constructionists – follow the Constitution
loosely (reading between the lines to find flexibility)
Strict constructionists – follow the Constitution as
written with no exceptions
“Elastic Clause” (also referred to as the Necessary
and Proper Clause) – allows Congress to make
laws as needed for the government to function as
prescribed by the Constitution
SEPARATION OF POWERS
Article I – LEGISLATIVE Branch or Congress:
House of Representatives and Senate
 Article II – EXECUTIVE Branch or Presidency:
indirectly elected (electoral college) – winnertake-all; each state has electoral votes = to #
representatives and 2 senators
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SEPARATION (CONTINUED)
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Article III – JUDICIAL Branch or Court System –
Supreme Court is top law of the nation
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Judicial Review – power of the Supreme Court to
determine if local, state, or federal law violates the
Constitution – has the power to declare a law
unconstitutional
Case: Marbury v. Madison – John Marshall overturned
part of the Judiciary Act of 1798 – this established
judicial review
Case: McCulloch v. Maryland – upheld the
constitutionality of the Bank of the United States – said
Maryland could not tax a federal institution
Case: Gibbons v. Ogden – the Federal government had
authority over interstate trade
MORE GOVERNMENT!
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Lobbying – groups and individuals (lobbyists) can
persuade officials to see their side of an issue (got
the name from early times when they would approach congressmen in the
LOBBY of the Capitol Building in D.C.)
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National Bank – Federalists vs. DemocraticRepublicans:
Alexander Hamilton (a federalist) argued that the
establishment of a national bank could be done
under the “elastic clause” of the Constitution which
grants implied powers to Congress (The Bank of the
United States eventually became the Federal Reserve Bank)
FOREIGN POLICY
George Washington’s Farewell Address –
 Extols the benefits of the federal government
 Warns against the party system (factionalism)
 Stresses the importance of religion and morality
 Sparingly use public credit and avoid accumulating
debt
 Warns against permanent foreign alliances
 avoid an overly-powerful military establishment
Proclamation of Neutrality (1793) – Washington warned we
were too young a nation, too weak economically and militarily to take
sides in world affairs – particularly with either England or France
EXPANSION
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Louisiana Purchase (1803)
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Thomas Jefferson bought it from Napoleon (of France) for
$15 million
The new territory added more than 800,000 square miles to
the nation
Monroe Doctrine (1823)
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No NEW European colonization in America
U.S. would defend any area if at risk
America would remain neutral in European affairs
THE CONSTITUTION IS TESTED!!!
Political Parties – traditionally there have been 2
major parties
First Parties:
 Federalists (Alexander Hamilton and John Marshall)
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were loose constructionists
Wanted a stronger central government and central control of
the economy
Supported a national bank and protective tariffs
Supporters of this party tended to be wealthy merchants
and manufacturers (pro-British)
THE OTHER PARTY…
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Democratic-Republicans (Thomas Jefferson and James
Madison)
 Were
strict constructionists
 Wanted stronger state governments and less
central control over the economy
 Were against the idea of a national bank
 Supporters of this party tended to be small farmers,
city laborers and frontiersmen (pro-French)
MORE TESTS…
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Whiskey Rebellion – farmers and distillers
refused to pay the tax imposed on whiskey;
felt it to be unfair; President Washington
sent in troops to put down the rebellion and
force payment
MORE TESTS…
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Tariff Controversy/Nullification Crisis –
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1828 – a high protective tariff was set to protect
northern industries from foreign competition
South felt it might ruin their economy based on cotton –
called it the “Tariff of Abominations”
John C. Calhoun (VP) – declared that states could deem
a federal tariff “null and void” - nullification
President Andrew Jackson – said all states must obey
federal laws – if not, the government had the right to use
force if necessary
Henry Clay – wrote a compromise – the tariff would be
reduced over time
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Manifest Destiny – common belief in the
1800s in the God-given right to spread
westward and expand the United States
across the continent of North America
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Texas:
 Declared
its independence from Mexico and
became the Republic of Texas under the
leadership of Sam Houston (1836-1849)
 Eventually became the 28th U.S. state
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Oregon:
 Was
shared with Britain per the Treaty of 1818
(modern Oregon, Idaho, Washington, and part of
California)
 American settlers began to outnumber British in
the 1830s
 In order to win the election of 1844, James Polk
declared, “54°40 or Fight!” – and claimed the
Oregon Territory for the United States
 Americans thought there would be an actual
fight with Britain but they compromised on the
49th parallel and the territory became part of our
country
SLAVERY BECOMES AN ISSUE…
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Sectionalism:
 The
South relied on slavery for the basis of its
agricultural economy
 The North was more industrialized and most
disagreed with slavery
 Slavery became an issue as new states were added
(would they be slave or free?)
DEALING WITH THE PROBLEM OF SLAVERY
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Missouri Compromise (1820):
 Missouri would enter as a slave state while Maine would
be a free state
 No slave states would be admitted north of the 36°30
line of latitude
Compromise of 1850:
 Necessary because the addition of California would rock
the balance of 1 slave to 1 free
 Decision to add California as a free state and allow the
new territories gained from the Mexican Cession make
the decision through popular sovereignty (people decide
by vote)
MORE DEALING WITH THE PROBLEM OF SLAVERY
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Fugitive Slave Law
(part of the Compromise of 1850)
 Required
owners
And…
that escaped slaves be returned to their
MORE DEALING WITH THE PROBLEM OF SLAVERY
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Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854):
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Senator Stephen A. Douglas – believer in Manifest Destiny and the idea of
popular sovereignty; wanted the transcontinental RR to have a main
terminal in Chicago (this required the organization of the Nebraska territory
and removal of the Native Americans there)
Douglas proposed a bill that would allow Nebraska and Kansas to decide
the slavery question by popular vote even though it was north of the 36°30
line – the purpose was to gain Southern votes – Northerners were outrages
Nebraska chose to be free but Kansans were bitterly divided – “Bleeding
Kansas” – people were tarred and feathered, kidnapped, and even killed
After 55 people died, Kansas petitioned to enter the union as a free state
but southerners in Congress disapproved and denied them admission
Only after the Southern states seceded in 1861 was Kansas granted
statehood
MORE DEALING WITH THE PROBLEM OF SLAVERY
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Dred Scott v. Sanford (1857) – decision held that slaves
were property
 Dred Scott was the slave of an army surgeon who was
taken from Missouri to Illinois then Minnesota (the last
two were free)for posting during the 1830s
 After returning to Missouri (a slave state), the surgeon
died and Scott sued for his freedom on grounds he had
lived in a “free” state and territory for a long period of
time
 The court ruled against Scott, claiming both that he
could not claim freedom nor did he have the right to
bring suit against the state since he was not a citizen
MORE DEALING WITH THE PROBLEM OF SLAVERY
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John Brown’s Raid at Harper’s Ferry (1859)
 Brown was an abolitionist who wanted to arm slaves and
lean an uprising
 He and some cohorts (without the help of any slaves)
raided a federal armory to steal guns and ammunition
 They were caught and surrounded by troops – they
exchanged fire and Brown was captured and later
hanged
 Brown was seen as a martyr among abolitionists while
southerners were shocked and outraged