Chapter 7
I swear I read the
article!
Please…No! Not
the quiz! No,
Please!
The New Country
• US seen as a rising empire – an
empire of liberty as opposed to
Europe
• Advantages
 Physical isolation
 Youthful population
 Broad distribution of property
ownership
 High literacy rate
The New Country
• Disadvantages
 Control of vast territory not secure
 Almost all citizens lived near
Atlantic coast
 Large areas of West remained in
Indian hands
 The British retained military posts
on American territory near Great
Lakes (Northwest territory)
 Spain controlled port of New
Orleans and could close it to
Americans at any time
America Under the Confederation
• First constitution written in 1777
was Articles of Confederation
• First US government
• National government was Congress
– each member state had one vote
• Major decisions required approval
of nine states – to amend the
articles required unanimous vote
• States had more power than
Congress – Congress could not tax
America Under the Confederation
• Congress only had powers essential
to the war
• Revenue was contributions from
states
• Articles won ratification only after
large states ceded claims to
Western regions
• Most Indians supported British in
Revolution – therefore they
forfeited rights to land
• Treaties with Indian tribes required
surrender of thousands of square
miles to US
America Under the Confederation
• End of Revolution saw large
migration of settlers into new
frontier lands
• Land disputes between large
landowners, settlers, and
speculators
• Rush for land created chaos
America Under the Confederation
• The Ordinance of 1784
 Established stages of selfgovernment for the West
 Regions to be divided into districts
initially governed by Congress
 Eventually admitted into union as
states
 Prohibition of slavery in new
regions rejected by one vote
America Under the Confederation
• Northwest Ordinance of 1787
 Established governments for
the west
 Territories carved out of
western lands
 Territories ruled by a governor
until adult male population
reached 5,000
 Upon 5,000 territorial
legislatures were elected that
could send delegates to
Congress
America Under the Confederation
 The Land Ordinances allowed for a
systematic and orderly way for
new states to be formed and
admitted into the union
 These ordinances were used as
the country moved west
 When 60,000 people had settled
the territory could become a state
 Government had to be a republic
and slavery was prohibited
 Indian land could not be taken
w/out consent
Confederation Weaknesses
• Country facing worsening
economic problems
• Congress printed money – now
worthless
• Congress borrowed large sums of
money by selling interest-bearing
bonds and paying soldiers in notes
to be redeemed in future
• Congress could not pay interest or
debt
• Foreign goods flooding US market –
hurt US businesses, caused outflow
of money, and drove down wages
Confederation Weaknesses
• States imposed tariffs on foreign
goods and raised taxes
• Farmers and craftsmen often
could not pay taxes/mortgages
• States printed large amounts of
paper money to increase money
supply / make it easier to pay
debts
• Creditors howled at “attack” on
property rights
Shay’s Rebellion
• Late 1786 – early 1877 debt-ridden
farmers forcibly closed courts to
prevent foreclosures
• Called themselves “Regulators” –
led by Daniel Shay
• Used symbols of the Revolution to
protest failure of Massachusetts to
provide relief
• Governor used militia to put down
rebellion
• Rebels dispersed – more than
1,000 arrested
Shay’s Rebellion
• American elite alarmed by
rebellion – believed central
government needed more
power to stabilize economy
and protect property
• Believed “public liberty”
(unchecked power in the
hands of the people) could
endanger personal liberty and
property rights
Nationalists of the 1780s
• James Madison, Alexander
Hamilton, and others proponents
of a strong national government
• Hamilton saw US future as a
powerful economic giant
• Nationalists included army officers,
many members of Congress, and
diplomats
• Economic interests such as
bondholders, urban artisans, and
those fearing state interference
w/property rights
Nationalists of the 1780s
• Led by Hamilton, delegates from 6
states met to discuss better
regulation of interstate and
international commerce
• Proposed convention in
Philadelphia to amend Articles of
Confederation
• Shay’s Rebellion added urgency
• All states except Rhode Island sent
delegates in May 1787 – decided to
scrap the articles and draft new
constitution
A New Constitution
• The convention filled with the
most prominent Americans –
Washington chosen President of
the Convention (prestige)
• Jefferson & Adams did not take
part – both in Europe as
diplomats
• To ensure no one would be
swayed by public opinion –
convention held in private
A New Constitution
• Delegates agreed quickly on many
points




Three branches of government
Separation of powers
Checks and balances
Congress should have power to raise
revenue
 It would be a republic based on
popular sovereignty
 It would be based on federalism –
sharing of power between the central
government and states
 Federal government would control
military, make treaties, regulate
interstate and international trade
A New Constitution
• Conflicts arose over state & federal
powers and representation
• Virginia Plan – bi-cameral legislature with
representation based on population
numbers
• New Jersey Plan – single house legislature
with all states having one vote
• Great / Connecticut Compromise
 Bi-cameral legislature
 Senate (upper house) each state two
representatives chosen by states – 6 year
terms
 House of Representatives (lower)
representation based on population – 2
year terms
A New Constitution
• Expanded democracy – representatives in lower house elected by the
people
• Voting rules to be established by each state (property, money, gender,
etc.)
• The president to be elected by electors or the House – number of
electors determined by sum of representatives and senators
• Electors would be chosen by state legislatures or popular vote
A New Constitution
• Elections would prove chaotic – electors to cast votes for two
candidates / second place to be VP
• If no clear majority – president chosen from top three finishers by the
House – each state casting one vote
• The Senate would elect the VP
• System put in place due to complexity of popular elections and fear
common voters would not be capable of making wise decisions
A New Constitution
• Proposal by Madison to let
Congress veto state laws
rejected
• National legislation declared to
be “law of the land”
• States barred from printing
money, impairing contracts, and
interfering w/ interstate
commerce
A New Constitution
• Issue of slavery divided delegates
• Three-Fifths Compromise
 Prohibited Congress from abolishing
slave trade for 20 years
 Required states to return escaped
slaves
 Provided that 3/5 of a state’s slaves
would be counted towards
representation and taxes
 Much of pro-slavery points pushed by
SC – threatened disunion if not
granted
 Delegates chose unity over slavery
A New Constitution
• Slave trade abolished on first
possible day in 1808
• Between 1787 and 1808, Southern
states imported more than ¼ the
number of slaves in US
• Federal government given no
power to interfere w/slavery
• 3/5 rule gave Southern states more
power by enhancing their numbers
of representatives (and electors)
• Between 1788 – 1848 all presidents
but four were Southern
slaveholders
A New Constitution
• Last session of convention
September 17, 1787
• Ben Franklin urged delegates
to accept the document
despite imperfections
• Of 45 delegates – 39 signed
the Constitution
• Document sent to states for
ratification – 9 states
needed to ratify to make
Constitution official
Ratification
• Fierce public battle ensued over
ratification
• Delaware first state to ratify
• By 1788 only three states outside union:
RI, NY, and NC
• Fierce battle in New York between
Federalists (those wanting ratification)
and Anti-Federalists (those against
ratification)
• To sway public - series of essays written
called Federalist Papers (Hamilton,
Madison, Jay)
• People afraid Constitution would
endanger liberties / federal government
would become oppressive
Ratification
• Anti-Federalists included John
Hancock, Sam Adams, and
Patrick Henry
• “Loss of liberty” was their
watchword
• RI and NC voted against
ratification but relented when
faced w/isolation
• Ratification not really
influenced by addition of first
ten amendments to
Constitution – the Bill of Rights
Assignment 1
• Students will read Federalist Paper #69
• Students will list the various powers, responsibilities, and restrictions
of the executive in bullet form
• Students will note whether each bullet is still valid today
• Grade will be based on thoroughness of work and quality of product
Assignment 2
• Students will read Anti-Federalist Paper #6
• Students will create a position paper that judges the merits of the
Anti-Federalist perspective of the executive
• Some guiding questions
 What fears did they have concerning the executive? Were those fears
justified?
 In what ways did their executive alleviate those fears?
 Looking at the presidency today, have any of their fears been realized?
 Has the presidency become something different from what even the
Federalists wanted?
 How would YOU change the presidency if you could?
Indians in the New Nation
• American government pushed for
westward migration
• Indian fate – removal west, their
total disappearance, or
assimilation into American society
• Treaties often negotiated with
small factions within tribes but all
of tribe expected to conform
• Washington & Knox envisioned
Indians lands protected by US,
bypassed by settlers, and their
eventual assimilation
Indians in the New Nation
• This vision mostly disregarded by
states
• Warfare w/Indians continued
• 1791 Arthur St. Clair massacre – 630
dead
• Battle of Fallen Timbers – General
Anthony Wayne
• 1795 Treaty of Greenville – 12 tribes
ceded most of Ohio & Indiana to US
• Established “annuity” system – yearly
grants of money to tribes
• Indians rejected farming and
assimilation
Blacks and the Republic
• Northern states gradually
emancipated slaves
• Hamilton, Jay, and Franklin
worked for abolition of slavery
• Initially, most free blacks
enjoyed most of the rights of
citizens including right to vote
• Naturalization Act 1790
defined citizenship – restricted
it to “free white persons”
Blacks and the Republic
• Jefferson believed Indians to be as
intelligent as whites and that they
would eventually blend w/whites
• Believed blacks to be unfit for
economic independence and political
self-government
• Believed they should be eventually
free – but in Africa or Caribbean not
US
• Jefferson believed himself humane
slave owner – and slavery immoral
practice
• Freed only 5 slaves in his will – all
relatives of Sally Hemings
Blacks and the Republic
• Race became justification for
slavery
• Hamilton wrote that blacks’
natural faculties were probably
as good as ours, “But the
existence of slavery makes us
fancy many things that are
founded neither in reason or
experience”