Transcript Establishment of New Political Systems

ESTABLISHMENT OF NEW
POLITICAL SYSTEMS
1787-1800
DESIRE FOR A STRONGER CENTRAL
GOVERNMENT
• Americans wanted a better government than what the Articles of Confederations gave
them.
• Legacy of the Articles of Confederation
•
Creation of the Great Seal
•
Creation of the U.S. Treasury
•
Establishment of statehood of Western Territories
•
Establishment of a Post Office
• The Constitutional Convention took place in 1787 in Philadelphia to amend the AOC
•
They quickly realized it was not amendable and threw it out
•
They wanted a stronger government that could raise an army, collect taxes, and regulate commerce.
•
Rhode Island did not attend because they already had a strong economy and felt that the AOC was just
fine
• Big states and small states did not see eye to eye and North and South did not see eye to eye
GOVERNMENT UNDER THE NEW
CONSTITUTION
• Virginia Plan
• Presented by Edmund Randolph (Drafted by James Madison)
• Bicameral legislature with proportional representation
• It gave the legislative branch the power to tax
• James Madison pushed for this plan as well as a structured three
branch government
• Judicial, Legislative, and Executive.
• This three branch system would ease concerns of too much
power in too few hands
GOVERNMENT UNDER THE NEW
CONSTITUTION
• New Jersey Plan
• Smaller states wanted a strong centralized government
• They did not like Madison idea behind the Virginia Plan
• Felt it would benefit the large states too heavily
• Smaller states wanted a unicameral legislature where every state would receive one
vote.
THE GREAT COMPROMISE
• Upper House
• Senate has two representatives per state
• This appeased the smaller states
• Lower House
• House of Representatives, whose members be elected by proportional representation
• This appeased the larger states
• This is how our legislative branch is set up today.
THE
ELECTORAL
COLLEGE
• The chief executive was to be elected not by
the people of the United States, but by a
group selected by the states
• This was because the founders felt that the
president was too important of a position
to have the “common person” elect it.
• The Senate positions were originally was
elected by the state legislatures
• Today, candidates develop their campaigns
around winning states to put them over the
mark to win the Electoral College.
• Slavery was a major issue during convention
ISSUE OF
SLAVERY
• The new National Government could not regulate
slavery for 20 years.
• The Nation needed to figure out how slaves were to be
counted for the House of Representatives.
• Slave states wanted slaves to be counted into the
population in order to have more votes within the
house.
• Non slave states felt that slaves could not count as
population.
• Three-Fifths Compromise- 3/5 of the state’s slave
population would be counted when determining
representation in the HoR
• This becomes problematic because the 3/5
compromise officially recognized the institution of
slavery
• Southern states also pushed for national aid with
“domestic violence” This was assumed to help put
down slave revolts
RATIFICATION OF
THE
CONSTITUTION
FEDERALISTS
• The constitution had to be ratified by each state in a
ratifying conventions.
• People who were in favor of the Constitution were
calling themselves “Federalists”
• Federalists- Wanted a strong national
government with a strong manufacturing
economy. They tended to be elite socialites, and
more northern. Major leader was Alexander
Hamilton.
• Also wanted as got the Necessary and Proper
Clause
• Leaned towards Great Britain
RATIFICATION OF THE CONSTITUTION
ANTI-FEDERALIST
• Those who opposed a stronger
government called themselves “AntiFederalists”
• Anti-Federalists
• The government should be able to
hold a standing army in times of
peace
• A Bill of Rights was necessary
• The executive branch threatened
state’s rights
• Power was best vested in the
hands of state governments.
• Leaned towards France
• The Anti-Federalists would only accept
the new Constitution on the condition
that the US puts in a Bill of Rights.
PRESIDENCY OF GEORGE WASHINGTON
• George Washington was “elected” as the first President of the
United States.
• During his first administration he believed that the office of
president was to administer the laws, and not make legislative
proposals to Congress.
• Judiciary Act of 1789
• An act passed by congress to establish the lower level Federal
Court system.
FRENCH REVOLUTION
• The French Revolution broke out in 1789
• By 1793 Europe was completely against the Revolution.
• Washington issued a Declaration of Neutrality.
• This Declaration would allow United States merchants to trade with both sides
of the conflict. In turn, this would lead to prosperity for US Economics
• Many Americans, particularly the ”Republicans” sided with the French revolutionaries
as their principles aligned with enlightenment American ideals.
• Others didn't support it due to the amount of violence
WHISKEY REBELLION
• Pennsylvania farmers were pretty ticked about Alexander
Hamilton’s tax on distilled alcohol.
• Farmers at the time found it more profitable to distill their grain and
transport their crop in liquid form.
• This tax reduced the profits on whiskey that was produced and sold
• The tax proposed was necessary because the government was broke
• The Pennsylvania Farmers were inspired by the French
Revolution and decided to revolt
• Western farmers supported Jefferson and did not like Alexander
Hamilton (you will see shortly)
• Washington raised a 13,000 troops army to put down the
rebellion and became the “only president to lead troops in the
field”
BILL OF RIGHTS
• Many people believed that adding a Bill of Rights to the constitution would actually limit
the rights of the citizens.
• James Madison believed this until 1791 and finally proposed 12 amendments to be
added to the Constitution.
• Anti-Federalist (worried about a strong government) supported the efforts as it
would provide protection to citizens
• Rights that were protected:
• Speech; Worship
• Bear Arms
• Testify against themselves
• Trial by jury
• Due Process of Law
• Cruel and unusual punishment outlawed
• Any powers not specified to the government was a state issue.
ALEXANDER HAMILTON V. THOMAS
JEFFERSON
COMPETING VISIONS:
ALEXANDER HAMILTON
• Alexander Hamilton
• George Washington’s top military advisor during the
Revolutionary War
• George Washington’s Secretary of the Treasury
• Wanted America to model their economy after Great Britain
• Believe their should be high tariffs on goods
• Believed a strong mercantilist policies, a broad interpretation
of the Constitution, and strong national government was
what the country needed
• The Government did not have the powers that were
specifically denied in the constitution.
• This is the Federalist platform and Hamilton was the
“leader” of this Federalists movement
5 POINT PLAN OF ALEXANDER
HAMILTON
• Hamilton proposed gigantic economic reform for the
American economy to insure that they are an
manufacturing powerhouse in his Report on the Public
Credit
• The United States had an obligation to redeem in full all notes
that had been issued by the government under the Articles of
Confederation.
• The United States government assume all the debt of the
individual states.
• This would allow the National Government to lump all the
debt into one “account” and pay it off
• A private National Bank that could provide loans to develop
industry
• Federal government use tax incentives and subsidies to spur
industrial growth
• All these measures will be paid for by high tariffs
COMPETING VISIONS:
THOMAS JEFFERSON
• Thomas Jefferson
• Writer of the Declaration of Independence and Enlightenment
scholar
• George Washington’s Secretary of State
• Believed that America would remain an agrarian society, and
industry was only to serve at the pleasure of agriculture.
• Believed that all trade should be free in order to keep prices
of goods low
• Laissez-faire economic principles
• The French Revolution influenced his fear of strong
government, and he supported states powers instead of
strong National power
• He believed in a strict interpretation of the Constitution
• If the Constitution does not say it then, the government
can not do it.
OPPOSITION TO:
REPORT ON THE PUBLIC DEBT
• Thomas Jefferson and James Madison opposed these plans on both practical
and philosophical grounds.
• Believed that these economic plans would only benefit the commercially elite at the
expense of the American farmer.
• They reached a compromise by adopting the first four points of Hamilton’s
plan in exchange of establishing a permanent national capital for the omission
of point five.
FEDERALISTS V. REPUBLICANS
• Federalists:
• Supported in the commercialized cities of New England and port cities in the south
• Mostly an elite, upper class party that believed that mercantilism would impel them to propose a strong national government
hand in economic affairs
• They wanted strict regulation on the economy by the national government
• Anti-Federalists (Republicans)
• Republicans wanted very little national government interference in the economy, and coined themselves as the peoples party
as they were popular in the Western and Southern agrarian communities.
• Note: this is not the same republican party that we have today. These “Republicans” are actually the first Democrats that
we know today.
• This is one example of how History really likes to confuse people!
FOREIGN POLICY AND JAY’S TREATY
• The British officials (who were still at war with the French) were concerned
with American neutrality and American merchants trading with the French
West Indies
• British naval vessels began to search and then seize American merchant ships, and
demanding that the crews of the ships join the British Royal navy.
• Washington sent Chief Justice John Jay to broker a deal with the British
• British refused to comply with American freedom on the sea’s
• British forced John Jay to allow British to remove French products
• The British agreed to leave some of the forts they still occupied in the Northwest
Territory's.
JAY TREATY
CONTROVERSY
• Its pretty apparent that this treaty that
was brokered with the British was
HORRIBLE!
• There was another treaty brokered
with the Spanish by Thomas Pinckney
was extremely popular
• The United States gained navigating rights
along the Mississippi River
• Farm produce from the South and the
West got to markets much quicker as a
result of this treaty.
WASHINGTON’S FAREWELL ADDRESS
• The increasing battles between the two “parties” Federalist’s and
Republicans helped make Washington’s decision to not run for a third
term.
• He was very disgruntled with the way the country was moving.
• In Washington’s Speech he warned
• That political leaders need to work together, not against each other in a two
party system
• America should not “interweave our destiny with any part of Europe”
• America should not enter into alliances that would cause them to get
involved into foreign wars.
• I guess America listened to him ….NOT!
PRESIDENCY OF JOHN ADAMS
• John Adams
• President of the United States (1796-1800)
• Rather unsuccessful four years as he spent most of his time in Quincy,
Massachusetts vs. The District of Columbia
• This lead to his cabinet making most of the major decisions.
• Vice President under George Washington
• He was very influential in the leadership of Washington.
• Massachusetts Lawyer
• Thomas Jefferson was his Vice President because he became second in the Electoral
College
PROBLEMS WITH FRANCE
• The French did not like the Federalist’s
movement towards building stronger
economic ties with Great Britain
• The French saw John Jay’s treaty with Great
Britain as solidification of their new alliance
• The French impound American merchant
vessels on their way England
• The French treated the American ”British”
Naval officers as pirates.
XYZ AFFAIR
• Three American Diplomats went to Paris to settle this
matter.
• Through various channels, the French Minister
Talleyrand informed the Americans that a bribe would
have to be paid before they negotiate.
• American Diplomats refuse to pay, and everyone at
home were completely outraged.
• Adams Reaction
• Builds up the American naval forces
• Suspends trading with France
• American ships were authorized to attack French ships
• 1800 Napoleon gets into power and eases tensions
between France and the United States
• Also compensates us for the seized naval ships.
ALIEN AND SEDITION ACTS
• During the undeclared Naval war against France the Press, and French
emigrants attacked Adams and his administration
• The Alien Act gave the president the right to deport any immigrant who was felt to
be “dangerous to the peace and safety of the United States”
• The Sedition Act sated that the administration could prohibit any attacks on the
president or Congress that were to be deemed “malicious.”
• Twenty Republican journalists, and politicians were arrested under the Sedition Act,
with some going to Jail.
NEGATIVE REACTION TO
ALIEN AND SEDITION ACT
• Kentucky and Virginia Resolves was a collective statement from
the State legislatures that came out and said that they were not
going to stand by and enforce an act that they deemed
unconstitutional.
• This established the Idea of “Nullification”
• Connecticut Congressman Matthew Lyons was arrested under the
Sedition act for talking out against John Adams.
• The Acts were so bad that Lyons won re-election … In Jail.
• John Adams would lose re-election to Thomas Jefferson in 1800
• Because the Alien and Sedition Acts were so unpopular
• It also doesn’t help that his campaign slogan was “Vote John
Adams, Because He is Better than You!"