Chapter 8
Constitution
And
The
Articles of Confederation
“For a decade after independence, American
revolutionaries were less committed to creating
a single national republic than to organizing 13
separate state republics, united only loosely
under the Articles of Confederation. By the mid1780s, however, the weakness of the
Confederation seemed evident to many
Americans…”
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“Republican ideology viewed property as
the key to independence and power.
Lacking property, women and black
Americans were easily consigned to the
custody of husbands and masters. Then,
too, prejudice played its part: the
perception of women and blacks as
naturally inferior beings.”
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 Slavery and Sectionalism
– 1775: African Americans were 20% of nation’s population;
90% of them lived in the South
– Difficulty of squaring republican ideals with the continued
presence of slavery
– Most northern states began to abolish slavery
– Free black population grew in both the North and South
– Slavery continued to exist in southern states
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The Northwest Territory
– Congress adopted three ordinances in the
1780s to deal with issue of westward
expansion
– The most important was the Northwest
Ordinance of 1787, which outlawed slavery
north of the Ohio River
– Ordinance ignored rights of Indian peoples
living in the region
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The Attack on Aristocracy
– Limited success in achieving equality
because of republicans’ obsession with
rooting out vestiges of the monarchy rather
than “raising up the bottom” of society
– Disestablishment of state-supported
churches
– Example of Society of Cincinnati, which
could no longer base membership on
heredity
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Republican Experiments
The State Constitutions
– Desire to curb executive power
– Strengthened legislative powers
– Written constitutions seen as legal codes to protect
the people
From Congress to Confederation
– Articles of Confederation created a weak federal
government that consisted only of a national
legislature
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• The Jay-Gardoqui Treaty
– Sectional animosity aggravated by proposed—but
never ratified—treaty between the United States
and Spain over shipping rights on the Mississippi
River
• Shays’s Rebellion
– 1786: Daniel Shays led rebellion of disaffected
farmers in western Massachusetts
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Articles of Confederation
• Adopted in Nov 1777 a
National constitution; 4
years of squabbling before
ratifying the Articles of
Confederation.
• National Legislature
(Unicameral); wage war,
make peace, conduct
diplomacy, regulate Indian
affairs, appoint military
officers, conscript into the
Continental Army
 Wartime Economic Disruption
 War produced massive public and private debt
– Reckless printing of paper money and shortage of goods
sparked severe inflation
– Serious conflicts among nation’s leaders over economic
policy
“As long as the individual states remained sovereign, the
Confederation was crippled—unable to conduct foreign
affairs effectively, unable to set coherent economic policy,
unable to deal with discontent in the West.”
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Articles of Confederation
• Power of the Purse remained with the States.
• States retained their sovereignty over this
federation.
• Any legislation passed had to be unanimous.
• Could not levy taxes on the individual states; had
no distinctive executive branch—did not have
ultimate authority—that rested with the individual
states.
Articles of Confederation
• Because many feared the tyranny of a strong
governmental entity, this is how the articles were
worded;
• 1) This shall be a confederacy of states (notice
not union);
• 2) Each state shall retain sovereignty and its
individual independence;
• 3) The individual states agree to enter voluntarily
into a league of friendship with each other.
Issues Concerning the Articles
• Patriotic souls that had loaned money to
Congress—were given certificates—(War Bonds).
• Congress was indebted to its people and foreign
countries; especially France and the Netherlands.
• Could not regulate the money supply in hard
specie, all they could do was print more paper
money.
• Could not pay interest on the national debt—no
power to enforce foreign or domestic commerce.
• The states refused to accept Continental IOUs as
collateral—many people were losing everything lack
of monetary--.
• Debtors began to fight back, Shays rebellion in
Western Massachusetts. Force the probate and
foreclosure courts to close. State Militia had to put
the rebellion down.
• Another big issue:
• Britain was dumping cheap goods on the
American Market;
• The British West Indies and other Foreign Ports
were closed to American Shipping; no outlet for
American goods;
• Un-Regulated money supply;
• No ability to tax or collect duties.
• Because of War there was a great deal of capital
loss, labor loss; then natural effects of recovering
from war; weakened economy, destabilizing of the
currency, loss of jobs, double digit inflation and a
lowered GNP. (150 million dollars in debt).
• Manufactures wanted protective tariffs, stronger
navigation laws, and a centralized currency and
control over commerce foreign and domestic.
• South wanted foreign ports open to trade; farmers
needed credit; begin to galvanize against the
industrious North.
• Many of the older Generation feared a strong
government; trading one tyrant for another;
• New Younger Generation: They saw America as a
Nation, not as individual states;
• Had fought under one flag and one commander for
America and Congress; not for an individual state.
• Best Example is Alexander Hamilton—something
had to be done, or America would soon be a
British colony again.
• Two events sparked the
need for a re-evaluation of
the Articles of
Confederation;
• 1) Annapolis Convention to
discuss some uniformity
and enforcement of
interstate commerce and
navigation practices;
• 2) Capt. Daniel Shays
rebellion against the tax
collectors—supporting
popular revolution.
End of Articles
• Shays rebellion was problematic for a fledgling
nation.
• These were not rabble, but reputable members of
the community who wanted their property
protected.
• The Confederation Government had failed to
protect them against creditors, recession and
debtors and foreign annoyance.
The Jay Treaty--Sectionalism
Granted favor nation status to Britain; abandoned
neutrality of shipping w/o repercussions;
No more boycotts or economic sanctions against
Britain; America would repay their
Revolutionary debts to British merchants;
Britain agreed to indemnity of shipping seizures
during “The Quasi-War” and would abandon all
Northwest fortifications—limited trading rights
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in the West Indies and India.
Constitutional Convention
• The idea was simple, this convention would forge
a constitution “adequate to the exigencies of the
Union.”
• 55 of the most distinguished men in America most
of them lawyers on May 25, 1787 decided the fate
of the Union.
• There would never be more than 26 people in
attendance at any one given time—sickness,
business, or temperament absented some: Rhode
Island never participated.
Constitutional Convention
• Washington President of
the Convention;
• Benjamin Franklin elected
Pro-Tempore;
• The rest were relatively
young, served in the
Continental army;
• Imbibed with
Revolutionary zeal
Constitution
• The procedures of the convention were less than
democratic, but proved to be beneficial;
• Wanted honest and open dialogue, not some
political denizen harping to the press;
• The convention would be in secret, no speaking to
the media or others;
• Agreed that 1) the federation must be altered; and
2) a strong central government was needed.
Constitution
• Most obvious issue was that of power and how it
was to be structured.
• 1) This new national government was authorized
to levy taxes on states and areas of commerce; also
it was authorized to raise and maintain a standing
Army and Navy.
• Second issue was who was to control this
government—A strong national legislature, or a
strong natural executive, or the individual states?
Constitution
• Another issue was how this structure would develop—
large states swallow up the small, or would the small
states have equal voice.
• James Madison put forth the Virginia Plan: two house
legislature, an executive and a judiciary. Senate would be
elected by the state legislatures, the House of rep. Would
be popular vote; The national Congress would elect the
President.
• Squabbling outright, the large states had the most
population therefore could send more reps to congress and
always influence who the President would be.
Constitution
• Gunning Bedford of Delaware preferred a European
Monarch than dictatorship by Virginia, Pennsylvania and
Massachusetts.
• William Patterson of New Jersey offered what became the
“New Jersey” Plan.
• A one house national legislature with each state having an
equal voice—congress could tax and regulate
commerce—President would be chosen by a plurality in
Congress—establish a national Supreme Court—seemed
that states would have too much power—back to square
one.
Constitution
• Connecticut Compromise: House of Representatives
popularly elected; Senate consisting of two from each
state; no state could be deprived of equal suffrage—small
state would have protection in the Senate—to appease the
Large states—the power of the Purse would be in the
House (Ways and Means Committee).
• The Great Compromise was the two House legislature,
one elected by popular vote and the other composed of
equal representation from each state. A Separate and
Supreme Judiciary.
Constitution
• They did design a surprisingly strong Executive
Model—President responsible for executing the
Laws, commanding the Armed forces, and
supervising foreign relations;
• This may very well have ended the attempt at
constitutional government—but the President was
to be elected by an Electoral College—Large
states now cannot control the executive—and most
important of all, the 1st President was to be George
Washington …
Constitutional Omissions
• No allowance for Political Parties, Supremacy of federal
government over the states was implied never outright
stated, and no precise standard of citizenship was
established.
• It did not free the African Slaves, address Gender issues,
nor did it address the Native American Issues—it left a lot
to be inferred and out rightly ignored other issues;
however, they addressed and succeeded very well for the
issues that were immediate to them … they offer a
document that could and would transcend time and be
flexible enough to address troublesome issues.
Constitutional Obfuscation
• Slavery was unnamed but identified by the phrase “held
to service or labor, under the laws thereof,” upheld in
Article 4: section 2—
• Section 2 guarantees that any fugitive or person that
escapes to another state must be delivered up by edict of
the law.
• Section 4 indirectly upholds slavery by suggesting that
any uprising or rebellion against said state would have
the benefit of the national militia to quell it.
Constitution
• The entire document is one of compromise and
even frustration; however, it established a system
of checks and balances that serve it very well—
each having a specific duty and responsibility;
• There will be no Cromwell’s or Napoleon's gracing
the pages of American history.
• The document has stood the test of time in good
times and during extreme crisis—simply it is the
greatest document of World History.
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Constitutional Sectionalism
• Controversies between North and South have origins of
fundamental differences; they are truly two distinct
regions with two distinct political, social and economical
philosophies.
• The Mason-Dixon line surveyed in 1767. The states
below this line easily became labeled Southern States.
• South warmer temperate climate—mostly agricultural,
African Slave labor force, intense year round labor
systems—very agrarian and Planter Aristocracy.
South
• Always afraid that the
populace North would
dominate the South;
• Southerners always
distrusted the North based
on economic interests—
South needed western
lands and the free
navigation of the
Mississippi—Central
government was seen as
weakening the South
South
• They forced the North to compromise to gain
Southern consent into this new Union;
• South wanted slaves counted as equal to whites in
apportionment and elections, but not for the
purposes of taxation;
• South Carolina demanded full representation—it
was simple Justice, the slaves were as productive
as those of the Northern states …
Impasse
• Governuer Morris of Pennsylvania suggested that if this
country is modeled on slavery, it will eventually perish;
if the Southerners want to make their way on such a vile
institution, “Then let us at once take friendly leave of
each other …”
• To avoid dissolving the Union before actually
establishing a Union—they compromised on the 3/5ths
rule—essentially suggests that for every three white
people in the South, they may count 2 Black people—
roughly the South was gaining a 60% Apportionment
over the North …
More Compromise
• External and Internal Taxation and Commerce split along
sectional lines;
• North wants a protective tariff—offer the government
good income and protect the new industry of the North—
however, South would not agree to tax exports—Southern
exports more valuable than northern exports.
• Taxation would only profit Yankee Shipping—
Southerners wanted to be free to ship or negotiate
commerce and trade with whomever they desired.
More Compromise
• Deep South wanted to maintain the international slave
trade;
• North opposes the South’s insistence of individual state
sovereignty as compared to foreign trade and contracts—
must be exclusively with National Government—also
oppose trafficking Human cargo—
• Congress would regulate foreign commerce, impose
import taxes, but not export; set a dead line to end the
slave trade—ship with whomever, but honor all National
contracts first. South found this agreeable
Ratification
• Patrick Henry claimed he “smelled a Rat!”
• Samuel Adams worried that the individual states and
especially the communities were giving up too much of
their independence.
• Pro-Constitutionalist took the moniker Federalist
• This left the Old Revolutionaries no choice but to assume
the moniker AntiFederalist.(explain this in lecture)
• Hamilton and Madison undertook a propaganda
campaign in the Federalist Papers—very successfully
explained the constitution and why it was needed.
“Within the life span of a single generation,
Americans had declared their independence
twice. In many ways the political freedom
claimed from Britain in 1776 was less
remarkable than the intellectual freedom from
all the Old World that Americans achieved by
agreeing to the Constitution.”
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