The Constitution and the New Republic

Unit 2: Week 6

Framing a New Government

The Articles of Confederation were TERRIBLE, just TERRIBLE.

The A.O.C., the “Final Straws”

• 1783: Army veterans demanding back pay cause Congress to leave Philadelphia

• Can’t reach a quorum to ratify the treaty ending the Revolutionary war.

• By 1786: most agreed that the government needed strengthening • Lack of power to tax.

We need a stronger government

• Alexander Hamilton• Overhaul the AoC

• James Madison• Persuades Virginia Legislature to convene an

interstate conference on commercial questions

•

• 1786: Annapolis: only 5 states send delegates

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• 1787: Shays Rebellion

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• 1787: Philadelphia meeting

• Washington makes plans to go• Gives meeting credibility

The Constitutional Convention

• 55 delegates

• Every state but Rhode Island

• Average Age:44

• Well educated, most wealthy property owners

• “Turbulence and Follies” of democracy

• Suspicion of concentrated powers.

• Washington Chosen unanimously to preside

• Each state given a single vote

• Major decisions would require a simple majority

• Need for a stronger central government

The Virginia Plan

• James Madison

• Legislative, Executive, and Judiciary

• Legislature: 2 houses• Lower house: proportional

representation

• Upper house: selected from lower house

• No rigid system of representation

• Small states could be excluded

• Strong Executive

The New Jersey Plan

• William Patterson

• Stay similar to the AOC

• One house Legislature

• All states have equal representation

• Congress given expanded powers to tax and regulate commerce.

• Larger states realized that they would have to make concessions to smaller states. Agreed to let members of the upper house be elected by state legislatures

The Great Compromise

• 6 weeks of arguments

• July 2nd Grand Committee created, one delegate from each state

• Two house legislature• Lower house on population basis• Upper house on equal representation basis

• 3/5ths Compromise• Slaves counted for population (representation) and

taxation• Every 5 slaves counted same as 3 free people.

• AkA: Connecticut plan or Connecticut compromise

• July 16,1787: Convention excepts the plan

• The issue of slavery: The government could not stop the slave trade for 20 years

The Unaddressed Issues

• No definition of citizenship

• No resolution for native American issues

• No list of individual rights• Madison: listing rights would

limit rights

• Others: without listing them, the gov would abuse them

The Constitution (1787)!!!

The Issue: Sovereignty

• All power flowed from the people

• Neither state nor federal gov. Sovereign

• “Federalism”: A division of power between National, State, and Local governments.

• Constitution= “Supreme Law of the Land” but important powers left in hands of the states

• “Checks and Balances”

• Competition between branches would prevent corruption

The Issue: Limited Power

• Limit power of Government Branches and Levels

• Limit power of the people: “Tyranny of the Majority”• Shays Rebellion

• Only H.O.R. directly elected by the people.

• September 17, 1787: 39 delegates sign the constitution.

• Adopted 1789

Adoption and Adaption

Even after the framers of the Constitution agreed that their document was good, they fought a battle over ratification…

The Ratification: The Rules

• 9 of 13 States had to ratify the Constitution• Recommended state

conventions rather than state legislatures

• Technically illegal, the AOC required all states to approve

The Federalists

• Strong Central Government

• “Nationalist”

• George Washington, Ben Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, John Jay

• The Federalist Papers

Anti-Federalists

• Opposed to constitution in its current form

• Fear of strong central government

• Patrick Henry, Samuel Adams

• Constitution would increase taxes, weaken the states, wield dictatorial powers, favor the “well-born” over the common people, abolish individual liberties.

• Wanted a Bill of Rights

• Only way to ensure rights are protected

A Triumph: Ratification!

• Ultimately all states will ratify the Constitution except Rhode Island, but many only do so on the assumption that a Bill of Rights will be added (esp. Virginia and New York)

• George Washington inaugurated President in New York on April 30, 1789

• September 25, 1789: Congress approves 12 Amendments to be a Bill of Rights

• States approve of 10 by 1791.

The Bill of Rights

• Amendment 1-10

• 9 of 10 place limits on gov.• Forbid it to infringe

on rights

Setting up the Federal Courts

• One Supreme Court

• Congress sets up lower courts

• Judiciary Act of 1789• Six member supreme court

• Lower district courts

• Appeals level courts

• Supreme Court gets power to make final decision in cases involving constitutionality of state laws

• Fed Laws: established in 1803 with Marbury v. Madison

Setting up the Executive Branch

• Winner becomes president, second place becomes VP

• Congress creates 3 departments: State, Treasury, War.

• Congress creates Attorney General and Postmaster General positions

• Washington selects: Treasury/Hamilton, War/General Henry Knox, State/Thomas Jefferson

Federalists Vs. Democratic-Republicans

• Is America?

• A nation-state with centralized authority and a complex commercial economy.• Hamilton

• A more modest nation that aspires to be rural and agrarian rather than urban and commercial.• Jefferson and Madison

• Hamilton’s Federalists will control the gov. for 12 years

Washington’s Beliefs

• Washington wanted a strong national government• Believed President should

stand above political controversies

• Stayed out of personal involvement in Congressional deliberations

• Hamilton became dominate person in Administration

Hamilton’s Beliefs

• A stable gov. required an elite ruling class

• Gov. should take over state’s debt from the revolutionary war

• Create a permanent national debt to force elites to have a stake in the gov.

• Elites can afford to buy bonds

• If the gov owes elites money, they will always have a reason to want it to survive.

• Create a national bank

• New taxes

• Excise tax on alcoholic beverages

• Most affect small backcountry farmers

• Tariff on imports

• Raise money

• Protect domestic manufacturers

The Federalist Vision

• A nation with a wealthy, enlightened ruling class, a vigorous, independent commercial economy, and a thriving manufacturing sector.

The Federalist Program: Part 1

• Assuming States Debt• Opponents argued, some states would be

forced to pay for more than their original debt others less than original debt.

• Oddly enough led to the location of the nation’s capital.

• Virginia supported the Assumption bill.

• The New Capital• Banks of the Potomac, between Maryland and

Virginia

The Federalist Program: Part 2

• Bank Bill• Const. says nothing about National

Bank. Does congress have authority to create one?

• Law passes

• Bank of the United States (1791)

• Excise tax• Farmers protested

• Revisions to reduce burdens on smaller distillers

• Tariff Tax• Not everything he wanted but did pass

in 1792

The Democratic-Republican Opposition

• Federalist policies served the interests of a small number of wealthy elites

• Fear of permanent and divisive factions

• Federalists were creating a tyrannical power structure• Using powers of office to reward supporters

• “Republicans”• Formed committees, societies, and caucuses in every

state.• Banded together to influence state and local elections• Did not claim to be a political party (neither did

federalists!)

• Thomas Jefferson, James Madison

• Agrarian Republic of citizen farmers

• The nation should be wary of too much urbanization and industrialization

Sectionalism Develops in Political Affiliation

• Federalists: North East, Southern seaports

• Republicans: Rural South and West

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• 1792: Washington reluctantly accepts another term. Urged by both factions to do so. Has respect for both factions, more sympathetic to the Federalist cause.

Establishing National Sovereignty

What power did the new federal government really have?

The Whiskey Rebellion (1794)

• Farmers in Western Pennsylvania

• Whiskey excise tax

• Terrorized tax collectors

• Washington calls out militias from 3 nearby states • Army of 15,000

• Personally leads them to crush the rebellion

• Upon hearing of Ws approach the rebellion collapses.

• Showed that the constitutional system worked (compare to shays)

The United States in 1796

Native American Nations and the Federal Gov.

• Inherited clashes from the AOC gov.

• Constitution did not place Native tribes anywhere within the new federal structure.

• Congress had power to “regulate commerce” with the tribes and that was it.

• New gov. had to respect treaties negotiated by the AOC

• Tribes got no direct representation in new gov.

• Constitution did not address issue of land• What were the boundaries of the US?• Native nations within the boundaries, what were

their rights? Sovereignty?• “nation within a nation”?

Maintaining Neutrality

• 1793- French war with UK• Pres. And Congress want to maintain Neutrality

• 1794- British seize American ships engaged in trade with French• War with England?: Mess up Hamilton’s financial system

• End English imports• Did not trust state department to remain neutral

• Washington appoints John Jay as a special commissioner• Secure compensation for the assaults on American shipping• Demand withdrawal of British forces from their posts in the

frontier US

• Negotiate a commercial treaty with UK

Jay’s Treaty (1794)

• Avoided war with UK

• American sovereignty over Northwest

• Satisfactory commercial relationship

• Did not accomplish the other items above.

Pickney’s Treaty (1795)

• Thomas Pinckney

• Spain recognizes right of Americans to navigate the Mississippi to its mouth and deposit goods at New Orleans.

• Fixed the border of Florida at the 31st parallel

• Ordered Spain to prevent Native Americans in Florida from launching raids across the border.

The Downfall of the Federalists

• The Election of 1769

• Washington refused to run for a third term

• Republicans: Jefferson

• Federalists: Hamilton had too many enemies to be a credible candidate• VP John Adams had stayed out of it.

• Adams wins by 3 electoral votes.

• Adams becomes President

• Jefferson becomes VP

The Quasi War with France

• J and P treaties improved relations with UK and Spain

• Relations with Revolutionary France quickly deteriorated• French captured American ships

• French official refused to meet with new minister Charles CotesworthPinckney.

The XYZ Affair (1797)

• Special commission appointed to negotiate with France

• Tallyrand’s ministers demand a loan for France and a bribe before they’ll meet with Americans

• Adams urges Congress to prepare for war.

• Popular outrage at France, popular support for the Federalists.

The Undeclared Naval War (1789-1799)

• Trade cut off with France

• American vessels authorized to capture French armed ships

• Department of the Navy created

• Close cooperation with the British

• 1800- Napoleon Bonaparte’s gov. willing to negotiate with US• Canceled 1778 agreements, new treaty

• War ends

Repression and Protest

• The Alien Act

• Made it more difficult to become a citizen

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• The Sedition Act

• Allows government to prosecute those engaged in “sedition” against the government• In theory “libelous or treasonous

activities”• No clear definition, used to stifle all

opposition• Federalist campaign to destroy

republicans?

President Adams’ Role

• Careful with implementation

• Prevented a crusade against Democratic-Republicans

• Did not deport any aliens, but law did discourage new immigration and some aliens left of own accord.

• Prosecuted 10 men, most Republican newspaper editors who had been critical of the Federalists

The Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions (1798)

• Thomas Jefferson (Anonymous)

• James Madison

• Nullification• John Locke (social contract)

• Tenth Amendment

• Federal government had exceeded its powers, therefore, the states could ignore those laws.

• Idea did not win wide support but it did make the conflict between the two groups a national crisis.• Fight between Matthew Lyon and Roger

Griswold on the House floor

The “Revolution” of 1800

• Adams vs. Jefferson Again!

• Candidates behaved but supporters did not

• Jefferson: a dangerous radical whose followers were wild men who, if they should come to power, would bring on a reign of terror comparable to that of the French Revolution.

• Adams: A tyrant conspiring to become king. The federalists were plotting to impose slavery on the people

• When votes were counted, there was a tie, not between Adams and Jefferson but between Jefferson and Burr (Republicans VP choice)

• No candidate had a majority, H.o.R. choses between two top candidates, each state got one vote.

• 36 ballots. Hamilton convinces other Federalists that Burr is too unreliable to trust with the presidency (he was probably right!) Jefferson wins.

• Hamilton hates both men, but he really hates Burr.

The Judiciary Act of 1801

• Adams’ last act in office

• Reduced number of Supreme Court Justices by one

• Greatly increased number of federal judges

• Appoints federalists to the positions

• Adams hoped to secure Federalist control over the judiciary

• The “midnight appointments”

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• Adams Appoints John Marshal to Chief Justice of the Supreme Court (he’ll serve for 34 years!)

By the middle of 1801, Democratic-Republicans control the Presidency and Congress.Belief that they saved the nation from tyranny

Sources

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