Colonists oppose unfair colonial taxes and colonial elites
The Regulators: Reform of colonial government
Constitutional Experiments
Virginia’s Declaration of Rights
Pennsylvania’s unicameralism
Timothy Matlack
To symbolize Matlack’s role in drafting the
Pennsylvania
Constitution of 1776, the painter included several items in the background, including law books, the great seal of
Pennsylvania, the text of the Pennsylvania
Constitution, and a powder horn and musket.
George Mason

Drafted 1777 as first constitution of the
United States
Created a pact of independent states, not a national government

B. African-Americans and the American
Revolution
How is it that we hear the loudest
Slaves used the broad themes of revolution to escape slavery or agitate for abolition yelps for liberty among the drivers of
Negro slaves?
-Dr. Samuel Johnson,
1775
New England moves toward gradual emancipation

Most natives chose the British
Declaration of Independence showed hostility toward Native-Americans
Murder of Jane McCrea
He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and had endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes, and conditions
Death of Jane McCrea
John Vanderlyn’s painted this scene several decades after the event occurred. He took several liberties with history. McCrea’s fiancé, the military figure rushing to rescue her (circled in red), wears the blue uniform of a Continental soldier. In reality McCrea was a Loyalist and her fiancé a British regular.

D. Women and the Revolutionary Movement
Mercy Otis Warren:
Contributed to the
Patriot cause theater and the arts
Abigail Adams
Wife of John Adams and advocate of greater focus on women’s issues during the Revolutionary era

Continental Paper Currency
The value of Continental paper currency dropped precipitously as
Congress printed more money, and faith in the value of the currency dwindled.
Massive inflation, trade deficits, and debt produced the nation’s first depression.

Border Disputes in Old Northwest and
Southwest
The British refused to abandon their forts in the Old Northwest until Congress complied with all the provisions of the
Treaty of Paris. In the Old Southwest,
Spain frustrated America’s efforts to secure the rights to navigate the
Mississippi River.
Diplomatic Problems
British troops in the west
Indian relations
Piracy on the high seas

A. Government under the Articles of
Confederation(Settling the old Northwest)
Northwest Ordinance of
1787: The final plan for new territories
Religion, morality, and knowledge, being necessary to good government and the happiness of mankind, schools and the means of education shall forever be encouraged.
The Northwest Territory

A. Government under the Articles of
Confederation(Shay’s Rebellion)
Court Closings and Major
Battles in Shays’s Rebellion
Shays and his supporters closed courts in several major towns in central and western Massachusetts.
Shaysites and forces loyal to the state of Massachusetts fought a decisive battle at the
Springfield state armory, where the Shaysites were routed.

Comparison of the Articles of Confederation, Virginia, and New Jersey Plans
Although the Virginia and New Jersey plans differed on the issue of representation, each would have given the new government the vital power of taxation.
We have probably had too good an opinion of human nature in forming our confederation.
--George Washington, 1786

Comparison of the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution
As this chart shows, the new federal government created by the Constitution was far more powerful than the old government under the Articles of Confederation.

National
Legislature
• Enact laws
• Upper and lower house
Executive
• Veto power
• Negotiate treaties
• Issue pardons
Judiciary
• Unclear powers
• Supposedly weakest of the branches

If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary. In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this: you must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place oblige it to control itself.
--James Madison, The
Federalist 1788
Anti-Federalist versus Federalist Ideas
Anti-Federalists and Federalists each believed in republican government, but they disagreed over how to structure such a government.

Geographical Distribution of the
Vote on Ratification
Support for the Constitution was strongest along coastal regions and frontiers exposed to threats from external enemies and among small states such as Delaware, Maryland, and New Jersey. Anti-Federalism was strongest in the backcountry regions of New England, the mid-Atlantic, and the South.