Transcript APUS Project

The History of the
United States
1784 to 1800
The dynamics of
change
By: Justin Peavey
Thesis statement
• The period of 1784 to 1800
was a time rife with political,
social, and economic
upheaval. A new nation was
being born, and was taking its
first shaky steps at
independence. The United
States was an experiment in
democracy, and few knew
whether this fledgling nation
was up to the challenge.
Political Change
• This time period saw the end
of the American Revolution,
and the beginnings of a nation
that would one day become a
world super-power. Many
changes in the early attempts
at a democratic government
were necessary to ensure a
strong and stable country.
The end of the war
• On January 14th of 1784 the US Congress ratified the Treaty of
Paris with Great Britain to end the American Revolutionary
War, with the signature of President of Congress Thomas
Mifflin.
• The newly independent nation turned to the daunting task of
creating a stable government.
Articles of Confederation
• The Articles of Confederation was the first constitution of the
United States of America and legally established the union of
the states.
• However, with no executive branch, the Articles were not
able to effectively enforce laws, and because of the economic
depression that followed the war, many people became
burdened by debt and heavy taxes
Shays’ Rebellion
• Shays' Rebellion was an armed uprising in
Massachusetts from 1786 to 1787. The
rebellion is named after Daniel Shays, a
veteran of the American Revolution who led
the rebels. Most of Shays' allies were poor
farmers angered by crushing debt and taxes.
• Shays and his men were seeking debt relief
through the issuance of paper currency and
lower taxes, and they attempted to prevent the
courts from seizing property from indebted
farmers by forcing the closure of courts in
western Massachusetts. The participants in
Shays' Rebellion believed they were acting in
the spirit of the Revolution.
The Constitution
• It soon became clear that the Articles of
Confederation were not powerful enough to
enforce the law.
• On May 14th , 1787, delegates begin arriving in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to revise the
Articles.
• On May 25th the delegates begin to convene a
Constitutional Convention intended to amend
the Articles of Confederation. However, a new
Constitution for the United States is eventually
produced. George Washington presides over
the Convention.
• On September 17th The United States
Constitution is adopted by the Constitutional
Convention.
The ratification of the Constitution
• On October 27th , The first of the Federalist Papers, a series of essays
written by Alexander Hamilton James Madison and John Jay calling for
ratification of the U.S. Constitution, is published in a New York paper.
• On December 7th, Delaware ratifies the Constitution and becomes the
first U.S. state.
• On December 12th , Pennsylvania becomes the second U.S. state.
• On December 18th , New Jersey becomes the third U.S. state.
• In 1788 Georgia, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maryland, South Carolina,
and New Hampshire ratifies the United States Constitution and with the
ratification of the constitution by the 9th U.S. state, New Hampshire; the
Constitution goes into effect.
The new Government
• On January 7th the 1789 United States
presidential elections and House of
Representatives elections are held.
• George Washington is unanimously elected the
first President of the United States by the
United States Electoral College on February 4th .
• At Federal Hall in New York City, the 1st United
States Congress meets on March 4th and
declares the new United States Constitution to
be in effect.
• On April 1 At Federal Hall, the United States
House of Representatives attains its first
quorum and elects Frederick Muhlenberg of
Pennsylvania as its first Speaker of the House.
• On April 30 George Washington is inaugurated
at Federal Hall in New York City, beginning his
term as the first President of the United States.
George Washington
• George Washington set many precedents
for future presidents during his term as
president, such as only serving two terms
(later broken by Franklin D. Roosevelt and
afterwards made into law by the 22nd
amendment). He also set constitutional
precedent by being the first president to
use the Presidential Veto.
• On September 17th U.S. President George
Washington issued his Farewell Address,
which warns against partisan politics and
foreign entanglements, on shaped
American policy for years to come.
The Bill of Rights
• Many people felt the Constitution was not complete, and
needed a written guarantee of the people’s rights. Several
states only ratified the Constitution with the understanding
that a Bill of Rights would soon be included.
• On December 15th Ratification by the states of the first ten
amendments to the United States Constitution is completed,
creating the United States Bill of Rights. Two additional
amendments remain pending, and one of these is finally
ratified in 1992, becoming the Twenty-seventh Amendment.
Economic Change
• There were many changes in the technologies
and availability of resources during this time
period, new inventions and opportunities to
grow for the new country
Inventions
• In 1794, March 14th Eli Whitney is granted a
patent for the cotton gin, which would
revolutionize the southern cotton industry
and cause slavery in the south to increase
tremendously.
Pirates
• The young nation’s shipping interests were
greatly affected by fierce raids made by Barbary
corsairs (pirates) in the Mediterranean and the
United States’ economy was suffering because of
this.
• On October 21st in Boston Harbor, the 44-gun
United States Navy frigate USS Constitution is
launched to fight Barbary pirates off the coast of
Tripoli.
• In 1798 The United States Marine Corps,
successor to the Continental Marines, was
established to combat the threat of corsairs .
New Territories
• On July 11th The United
States takes possession of
Detroit from Great Britain
under the terms of the Jay
Treaty.
• By 1800 the number of
States was 15.
• The United States was
growing slowly but surely,
and was becoming more
economically stable
Social Changes
• There was little significant social change
during this time period, but the changes that
did occur were very important.
Republican Motherhood
• "Republican Motherhood"
identifies the concept related to
women's roles as mothers in the
emerging United States after the
American Revolution. It centered
on the belief that children should
be raised to uphold the ideals of
republicanism, making them the
ideal citizens of the new nation.
Republican motherhood meant a
new and important role for
women, especially regarding civic
duty and education.
Art
• Art of this time period was
focused mainly on the
elaborate portraits
commissioned by the rich and
influential.
• The Washington Family by
Edward Savage is a life-sized
group portrait of U. S.
President George
Washington, First Lady
Martha Washington, two of
her grandchildren, and an
enslaved servant.
Other Works
• François Marie Suzanne was a French
sculptor. His works included a terra cotta
statuette of Benjamin Franklin
• Liberty Displaying the Arts and Sciences
(1792) is an oil-on-canvas painting by
American artist Samuel Jennings.
• The Lansdowne portrait is an iconic oilon-canvas portrait of George Washington,
the first President of the United States.
The portrait was commissioned in April
1796 by Senator William Bingham of
Pennsylvania
Conclusion
• So as you can see,
the period of 1784 to
1800 was a time of
great change, a
young people
shaping their nation,
and setting
themselves on the
path of freedom and
justice.
Works Cited
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http://library.thinkquest.org/06aug/00439/images/scotsahamilton2.jpeg
http://www.constitutioncenter.org/timeline/flash/assets/asset_upload_file867_11926.jpg
http://www.springfieldmuseums.org/writable/collection/2004-D03-565.jpg
http://www.class.uh.edu/gl/critical2_files/image001.gif
http://www.elcivics.com/george_washington_drawing.jpg
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1784
http://www.freewebs.com/dforecastle99/Pictures/Ships/uss_constitution.JPG
http://www.google.com/
http://media.photobucket.com/image/American%20eagle/dudemjk/american
http://www.hickerphoto.com/data/media/4/american_flag_pictures_t2684.jpg
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Bailey, Kennedy, and Cohen, “The American pageant “, Houghton Mifflin Co., 1998