Transcript File

Creating a New Government
“We the People of the United States, in Order to form a
more perfect Union, establish Justice, ensure domestic
Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote
the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty
to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish
this Constitution for the United States of America.”
The Radicals
Thomas Jefferson
Patrick Henry
• Sought to bring about a democratic
revolution in America that would
curb economic and social privilege
• “no taxation without representation”
applied to their own legislatures as
well as Parliament
• Established in America the principle
that governmental authority is
derived from the consent of the
governed
• Desired a weak central government
with strong local self-government
The Conservatives
George Washington
Alexander Hamilton
• Desired independence because it
would relieve them of a substantial
burden of debt and of the threat of
British mercantilist regulations
• They wanted few changes in America
itself.
• Sought to keep political power in the
hands of the aristocracy
• Desired a strong central government
able to maintain order, regulate trade
and finance, provide an army and
navy, and restrain the states.
Early State Governments
Washington's march
through Philadelphia is
commemorated in this
mural by Violet Oakley,
which is displayed in the
Pennsylvania State Capitol
building.
• Patriots drew on their colonial
experience
• Conservative opinion would
dominate
• Written constitutions adopted by all
states
• All had bicameral legislatures except
Pennsylvania (unicameralism)
• Most created a weak executive
branch
• Most included a bill of rights in their
constitutions
• All imposed property qualifications
for voting
Concessions to the Radical Viewpoint
• Qualifications for voting and office-holding
were lower than they had been in the colonial
period
• Imprisonment for debt was abolished
• A considerable quantity of land passed into the
hands of small farmers (taken from loyalists)
• There was widespread demands for education
• Feudal restrictions such as primogeniture were
eliminated
The Articles of Confederation
• Congress began to move for ratification
of the Articles of Confederation in 1777:
"Permit us, then, earnestly to recommend
these articles to the immediate and
dispassionate attention of the legislatures
of the respective states. Let them be
candidly reviewed under a sense of the
difficulty of combining in one general
system the various sentiments and
interests of a continent divided into so
many sovereign and independent
communities, Under a conviction of the
absolute necessity of uniting all our
councils and all our strength, to maintain
and defend our common liberties...”
The Articles of Confederation
• The first plan of government was a significant
victory for the radicals. (Drafted by John
Dickinson)
• A weak central government was created, and with
most powers in the state governments.
• The plan was not adopted until 1781 when all of
the states agreed to transfer their Western land
claims.
• The Articles could be amended only if all 13
states agreed.
• A Committee of States could make minor
decisions when the congress was not in session
Congress
• Unicameral legislature
• Each state could send 3 to 7 delegates, but
each state had only one vote
• Could engage in diplomatic relations, make
treaties, declare war and make peace
• Could raise an army and a navy
• Could make appropriations but could not levy
taxes; had to request revenue from the states
Accomplishments of the Confederation
Government
Article VI of the Northwest Ordinance
of 1787 stated “that any person
escaping into the same [Territory],
from whom labor or service is
lawfully claimed in any one of the
original States, such fugitive may be
lawfully claimed in any one of the
original States, such fugitive may be
lawfully reclaimed and conveyed to
the person claiming his or her labor or
service as aforesaid.”
• Treaty of Paris of 1783
(favorable terms)
• Land ordinances of 1784-1787,
which established the future
course of U.S. public-lands
policy
• Northwest Ordinance of 1787:
(1) established a set of rules to
create new states
(2) Granted limited selfgovernment and prohibited
slavery
• States established a tradition of
unity
Prelude to a New Constitution
• Conservative concerns:
(Foreign) nations of Europe refusing to make
trade treaties with a weak Confederation government
-threatened to expand interests in the west
(Financial) government unable to pay off
Revolutionary War bond holders (no taxing power)
-Veterans not being paid promised bonuses
- No tariffs to protect American industries
- No national court system to enforce contracts
and collection of debts
(Domestic) Shay’s Rebellion
A New Plan Is Needed
Although all of the states experienced
fiscal hardship, disorder and at least the
threat of unrest, the failure of
Massachusetts to maintain order proved
especially shocking to observers. Thomas
Jefferson’s famous response that “a little
rebellion now and then is a good thing”
notwithstanding, many more were
concerned that if Massachusetts with its
celebrated republican government and
constitution fell prey to anarchy, could the
rest of the states be far behind?
• Shays’ Rebellion would
prove to the conservatives
the impotence of the
Confederation government
Daniel Shay (Revolutionary
War Veteran)
-led farmers in western
Massachusetts in an
uprising against high state
taxes, imprisonment for
debt, and lack of paper
currency
Shays’ Rebellion Demands (1786)
(1) reform the tax system
(2) scaling down of public debt
(3) liberalization of state
constitutions
(4) issuance of paper money
(boost prices/pay off debts)
Western Massachusetts farmer
attack lawyer
• Western farmers turn on the
courts, forcibly preventing
foreclosures-attack judges and
lawyers
• Shays’ insurrectionary band is
quickly suppressed by
Massachusetts’ militia
Two Views of the Rebellion
Conservatives:
- saw the impotence of the
Confederation
government to deal with
uprisings
- wanted a stronger central
government
“All authorities into one center,
that of the nation. The rich, the
well-born and the able should be
set apart from other men in a
senate.”
- John Adams
Radical:
- rebellion was a good
omen
- agrarian protest
movement was seen as a
culmination of economic
and political grievances
“The tree of liberty must
periodically be watered with the
blood of tyrants and patriots.”
-Thomas Jefferson
Complications Under the Confederation
Government
• International Complications
(1)Britain maintained troops in
Ohio Valley
(2)Spain challenged northern
boundary of Florida
(3)States failed to adhere to
Treaty of Paris (Loyalist
property was not paid back)
• Economic Weakness and
Interstate Quarrels
(1) widespread economic
depression
(2) 13 states treated each other
with suspicion (tariffs and
restrictions on interstate
trade)
(3) territorial boundaries
disputed
The Confederation Congress Acts
Independence Hall is the centerpiece of
Independence National Historical Park
located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United
States, on Chestnut Street between 5th and
6th Streets. It is known primarily as the
location where both the Declaration of
Independence and the United States
Constitution were debated and adopted.
• February 1787 Congress calls
for a convention to revise the
Articles of Confederation
• May 25, 1787 the Convention
begins in Philadelphia
- 55 delegates from 12
states attend
- 18 appointed delegates
choose not to attend
The Constitutional Convention
James Madison came to
be known as the father of
the Constitution
• Early Decisions of the Delegates:
- choose George Washington to preside
- keep the convention closed to the public
- create a new form of government
- keep no formal written record of their
discussions
- rejected Articles of Confederation’s
requirement for unanimous approval of
their work
- new government was to operate after 9
states had ratified it (3/4)
The Battle Over Ratification
• The controversy over ratification of the new
constitution involved the same basic cleavage
in the American populace that had existed
during the Revolution and under the Articles of
Confederation: conservatives and radicals.
• Ratification would be accomplished by
intensive propaganda and a variety of political
negotiations and bargains.
The Issues
Representation: Structure of
Congress
(1) Especially divisive was the issue
of whether the larger states such
as Virginia and Pennsylvania
should have proportionally more
representatives in Congress than
smaller states
(2) Madison proposed The Virginia
Plan that suggested
representation of both houses of
Congress be determined by
population (favored large states)
(3) He was countered by the New
Jersey Plan that suggested a
one-house Congress with equal
representation for each state
(favored small states)
(4) The Connecticut Plan or Great
Compromise provided for a twohouse Congress
Slavery: Counting Slave Population
(1) How were slaves to be counted
in the population of the states?
(2) Southern states wanted slaves
counted for the purpose of
representation (Northern states
did not agree)
(3) The so-called Three Fifths
Compromise counted each slave
as three-fifths of a person for
purposes of taxation and
representation
(4) A guarantee that slaves could be
imported for at least 20 years
longer (1808), at which time the
Congress could vote to abolish
the practice
The Issues continued…
Trade:
(1) Northern states wanted the central
government to regulate interstate
commerce and foreign trade
(2) Southern states did not want
export taxes on their agricultural
products
(3) The Commercial Compromise
allowed Congress to regulate
interstate and foreign commerce
(including tariffs), but prohibited
taxing on any exports
Powers and election of the
president:
Some delegates feared a powerful
president and argued for direct
election by the people
Others wanted Congress or state
legislatures to select a president
The compromise called for a strong
president with veto power to be
elected indirectly by an Electoral
College
(1) Each state had assigned electors
who would determine the
presidency
(2) The electoral college system was
instituted because the framers of
the Constitution feared that too
much democracy might lead to
mob rule
The Issues continued…
Ratification:
• The compromise was
that the Federalists
• Anti-Federalists feared a
agreed to a Bill of
strong central
Rights to the
government and
Constitution
demanded a Bill of
(Amendments 1-10)
Rights
• Federalists favored a
strong federal
government and
supported the
Constitution
Anti-Federalist Fears
By no means were all of the
major leaders of the American
Revolution represented at the
convention. John Jay, Thomas
Jefferson, John Adams, and
Thomas Paine were on diplomatic
business abroad. Samuel Adams
and John Hancock were not
chosen as delegates. Patrick
Henry, who opposed any growth
in federal power, refused to take
part in the convention.
• Powers of the chief executive
would be used to establish a
military despotism
• States would lose their
independence to a centralized
tyranny
• Absence of a bill of rights
• Creation of a federal district
(District of Columbia) as a “federal
stronghold”
• Creation of a standing army
• Ratification by only two-thirds of
the states (in constitution, needs ¾)
Winning Over the Anti-Federalists
• Federalists in Massachusetts promised that
protection of individual rights would be
safeguarded by amendment
• New Hampshire, dominated by Anti-Federalists,
adjourned and then won over enough waivers to
ratify (the ninth state).
• In Virginia, Federalists such as Washington,
Madison, and John Marshall countered the
arguments of fiery Anti-Federalist Patrick Henry;
Virginia ratified by a vote of 89 to 79.
The Battle in New York
The Federalist Papers
is a collection of 85
essays that present
cogent reasons for
believing in the
practicality of each
major provision of the
Constitution
• State convention was heavily AntiFederalist.
• Hamilton, Madison, and John Jay
wrote a series of articles for New
York newspapers.
• The Federalist Papers were written
as propaganda tool to turn public
opinion. They remain the most
important commentary ever written
on the Constitution.
• The New York convention closely
ratified the Constitution by a vote of
30 to 27.
Adding the Bill of Rights
Anti-Federalists argued
that Americans had
fought the Revolutionary
War to escape the tyranny
of a central government
in Britain. Only a Bill Of
Rights could safe guard
American liberties.
Federalists countered
with the notion that
since members of
Congress would be
elected by the people,
they did not need to be
protected against
themselves.
The Federalists Agree
• In order to win adoption of the Constitution in
the ratifying conventions, the Federalists
finally promised to add a bill of rights to the
Constitution
• It would be the first order of business for a
newly elected Congress
• In 1789, the first Congress elected under the
Constitution adopted ten amendments listing
the people’s rights
The Washington Administration Begins
The title "Mr. President" and
"Madame President" may apply to
persons holding the title of President
or presiding over certain other
governmental bodies. Adopted by
President of the United States
George Washington as his official
manner of address as head of state,
"Mister President" was subsequently
used by other governments to refer
to their heads of state.
• Washington was the unanimous
choice of the Electoral College
for President.
• Executive Departments were
created and their heads appointed:
Treasury – Alexander Hamilton
War – Henry Knox
State – Thomas Jefferson
• Crucial question: Who should
advise the President? – led to
development of the cabinet
system
The Early Work of Congress
John Jay was an American
statesman, Patriot, diplomat, a
Founding Father of the United
States, and the first Chief
Justice of the United States
(1789–95).
• Judiciary Act of 1789
- Supreme Court organization:
one chief justice, 5 associate justices
- created federal district and
circuit courts
- creation of position of attorney
general (Edmund Randolph
appointed and confirmed by Senate)
• Submission of 17 amendments to
the states
- 10 were ratified by ¾ of state
legislatures and became known as
the Bill of Rights
Hamilton’s Financial Program
• Hamilton proposed the following:
(1) Pay off the national debt at face value
(government assumes debt)
(2)Protect infant industries (impose high tariffs
on imported goods)
(3) Create a national bank for depositing
government funds and for printing banknotes
(stable currency)
Hamilton vs. Jefferson
Hamilton:
(1) Debt: Jefferson agreed to
Hamilton’s vision
(2) Tariffs and excise taxes:
lower than Hamilton
wanted although persuaded
Congress to pass whiskey
tax
(3) National Bank: used
“necessary and proper
clause” to justify
(President Washington
agreed)
Jefferson:
(1) Debt: Hamilton would
have to agree to Jefferson’s
idea to establish a national
capital in the South
(Washington D.C.)
(2) Tariffs and excise taxes:
against all forms of tariffs
or excise taxes
(3) National Bank: argued that
the Constitution did not
give Congress the power to
establish a national bank
(10th Amendment)
Political Parties (Origins)
• The debated between the Federalists and Anti-federalists in
1787 and 1788 were the first indication that a two-party system
would emerge as an integral and permanent feature of American
politics.
Federalists:
Democratic-Republicans:
Leaders: John Adams/ Alexander Hamilton
View of the Constitution: Loose interpretation
(strong central government
Foreign Policy: Pro-British
Military Policy:
Large peacetime army and navy
Domestic Policy:
Aid business, National Bank, Tariffs
Chief Supporters:
Northern Businessmen and
Large landowners
Leaders: Thomas Jefferson/James Madison
Views of the Constitution: Strict interpretation
(weak central government)
Foreign Policy: Pro-French
Military Policy:
Small peacetime army and navy
Domestic Policy:
Favor agriculture, No national bank, opposed
tariffs
Chief Supporters:
Skilled workers, small farmers (yeomen), and
plantation owners