Historian John Fiske, 1888
North America After the
Treaty of Paris, 1783
• Some historians have argued that
the US Constitution was a radical
departure from the Articles of
Confederation.
• Support, modify, or refute this
contention using specific evidence.
Make sure if you write this
essay DO NOT include:
– Foreign relations
• Britain ends Salutary Neglect, May
include, Treaty of Paris 1783 & French
Alliance of 1778
– Economic conditions
• Sugar Act, Stamp Act, Townshend
Duties, Tea Act, No Taxation w/o
Representation
– Western Lands
• Proc 1763
Weaknesses in the structure of the
Articles of Confederation
A unicameral Congress
[9 of 13 votes to pass a law].
13 out of 13 to amend.
Representatives were frequently
absent.
Could not tax or raise armies.
(Could only ask states for tax money
or soldiers.)
No executive or judicial branches.
Could not regulate trade between
states
State Constitutions
Republicanism.
Most had strong governors with veto
power.
Most had bicameral legislatures.
Property required for voting.
Some had universal white male
suffrage.
Most had bills of rights.
Many had a continuation of stateestablished religions while others
disestablished religion.
The United States in 1787
Indian Land Cessions:
1768-1799
Foreign
Affairs
•British did not
evacuate forts in
the west, like
promised in the
Treaty of Paris of
1783, supplied
Indians and
encouraged them
to raid frontier
settlements.
Disputed Territorial Claims •Spain tried to
monopolize access to
Between Spain & the U. S.: the Mississippi River
1783-1796
•Proposed (never
ratified) JayGardoqui Treaty
(1786), secured
trading rights with
Spain for
northeastern
merchants while
recognizing Spain’s
supremacy on the
Mississippi.
•2 nations prevented
US from exercising
control over ½ territory
•France cut off trade,
demands $
•(AoC did win the Rev
State Claims to Western Lands
Northwest
Ordinance
of 1785
•Major
accomplishments:
"disunited states"
(as the Tories liked to call them)
•Convinced
states to give
up their claims
to Western
lands and made
process for
new states to
enter the nation
when had
60,000 people
in the territory
Northwest Territory
•Abolished
slavery in the
territory
•Sold land in
small,
democratic
parcels, yet
many land
speculators
bought large
tracts of land
•Funded public
schools
•Land sells
helped pay for
the national debt
Economy in the 1780’s, Major
Depression
1. Huge national and state debts were left from the
Revolution.
2. Excessive use of credit to purchase consumer
goods after the war (especially debts to British
merchants.
3.
Lack of currency
4. Farmers demanded laws to help their plight – and at
times acted violently (e.g. Shays’ Rebellion)
5.
Runaway inflation was ruinous to many citizens
6. British companies flooded America with goods at
very low prices.
7. States taxed each others imports!
1779 South Carolina Continental currency
By the time these notes were printed, their real
value was only 10 percent of their face value.
Wholesale
Price
Index:
1770-1789
American Exports, To & From
Britain: 1783-1789
Shays’ Rebellion:
1786-7
Daniel Shays
Western MA
Small farmers angered
by crushing debts and
taxes, close down
court houses to
prevent foreclosures
• Debtors demanded
cheap paper currency,
lower taxes, &
suspension of mortgage
foreclosures
• marched to Springfield
where state's Supreme
Court was in session and
where the arsenal was
kept.
• Wealthy New Englanders
provided money for a
large militia in the region.
• Propertied class feared
that the Revolution had
created a "mobocracy."
Shays’ Rebellion: 1786-7
• "A little rebellion now and then
is a good thing. It is a medicine
necessary for the sound health
of government. God forbid that
we should ever be twenty years
without such a rebellion.“
• “The tree of liberty must be
refreshed from time to time with
the blood of patriots & tyrants.
It is it's natural manure.”
Shays’ Rebellion: 1786-7
There could be no
stronger evidence of
the want of energy in
our governments than
these disorders.
-- George Washington
Add: Cause and effect:
Shays’ Rebellion led to the Constitution
Review Rebellions
• As a class, please name as many
rebellions as from this year that
we have covered?
• Do you notice any common
themes to any of them?
• Group them in categories
East- West (frontier) divide
Rich v. Poor # 1 most common
•
•
•
•
•
Bacon’s Rebellion, 1676
Leisler’s Rebellion, 1691
Paxton Boys, 1763
Regulator Movement, 1770’s
Shays’ Rebellion, 1786-1787
• Indian frontier ones: Pueblo,
Pontiac, Paxton, Bacon
• Slavery: Stono
Shays’ Rebellion= Anarchy
Annapolis Convention
(1786)
GOAL
address barriers
that limited trade and
commerce between the
states.
Sent a report to the
Congress to call a meeting
of all the states to meet
in Philadelphia to examine
areas broader than just
trade and commerce.
Previous attempts at Unity
Years
Attempts at
Participants
1643-1684
New England Confederation (united to protect 4 colonies
from Indians)
1686-1689
Dominion of New England (forced on the
colonies to impose the Navigation Acts)
7 colonies
1754
Albany Congress (failed)
7 colonies
1765
Stamp Act Congress
9 colonies
1772-1776
Committees of Correspondence
13 colonies
1774
12 colonies
1775-1781
First Continental Congress (adopted The
Association)
Second Continental Congress
1781-1789
Articles of Confederation
13 states
13 colonies
1789-Present Federal Constitution
13 states
1860
11 States
Confederate Secession
Do Articles of Confederation
Handout, page 25
• What categories are
you going to
develop?
Articles of Confederation
Handout suggestions:
•
Foreign
• Western
• Weak • Poor
Relations
Federal Domestic Lands
–F
Economy
Gov.
–B
–L
–
E
Structure
–F
–A
–C
–D
–O
–I&N
–G
–I
–J
–N
–H
–M
–P
–Q
–R
–S
–T
Now read essay answers
pages 27 -32
• Analyze the degree to which the
Articles of Confederation provided
an effective form of government with
respect to any two of the following:
– Foreign relations
– Economic conditions
– Western Lands
Shaping a New Nation
“The Constitution did not come from
a desire to protect the liberties won
in the American Revolution, but
rather to protect the financial
interests of the framers.”
-Assess the validity of this
statement.
To what extent was the US
Constitution a radical departure
from the Articles of Confederation?
James
Madison:
Father of the
Constitutionwrites the
“rough draft,’
the Virginia
Plan
Virginia vs. New Jersey Plans
Slide show not in notes (next 4
or so)but helps explain Great
Compromise better
Constitutional Convention
(Philadelphia, 1787)
- George Washington was elected president of the Convention.
Virginia Plan
- It called for a
bicameral
legislature, in
which the number
of representatives
in each house
would depend on
the population of
the state.
New Jersey Plan
- Both plans
called for a
strong
national
government
with 3
branches.
- It called for a
unicameral
legislature, in
which every state
received one vote.
Virginia Plan
- It called for a
bicameral legislature,
in which the number
of representatives in
each house would
depend on the
population of the
state.
New Jersey Plan
- Both plans
called for a
strong
national
government
with 3
branches.
- It called for a
unicameral
legislature, in
which every state
received one vote.
Great Compromise
• It provided for a bicameral Congress.
A. House of Representatives – each state is represented
according to its population (satisfied the VA Plan)
B. Senate – each state has 2 Senators (satisfied the NJ Plan)
* Both houses of Congress must pass every law.
Compromise to Conflict
• Connecticut/Great Compromise- mix both
plans, have two houses, the upper based on
statehood, the lower based on population
• 3/5th Compromise- Slaves count as 3/5 of a
person for determining population
• Questions:
– SC has 1 million free people and 1 million slaves.
How many people would be counted for
representation purposes?
– Would a large slave holder from SC want a 5/5
clause or a 0/5 clause for representation purposes?
• Slave Trade Compromise- : Will be allowed to
make it illegal to buy slaves from around the
world in 20 years, 1808
• Executive Compromise- will have a
Presidential term limited to 4 years, yet will be
elected by the electoral college
• See handout on page 38 for more details
Roger Sherman
Questions
• Q. If there were 2 million people in
South Carolina and 1 million were
slaves and 1 million were free, then
what was their population for
representation and tax purposes?
Answers
• 1,600,000 people because 1
million free plus 600,000
enslaved.
• (3/5 * 1,000,000 = 600,000)
Questions
• Q. For representation purposes,
would a person from South
Carolina who wants to have the
most power possible for their
state, would they want their to be
a 0/5, 3/5, or 5/5 clause in the
Constitution?
Answers
• 5/5 clause because those who
did vote would be even more
powerful (Would want a 0/5
clause for taxation)
Questions
• Q. If there were 1 million slaves
in South Carolina, then how
many slaves could vote because
of the 3/5 clause?
Answers
• 0, because slaves cannot vote,
their vote does not count for 3/5
of a vote or anything like that.
States got to decide who voted
and they did not let slaves vote.
Structure of the Constitution
Mother always taught us to share
• Federalism is the
division of power
between the
national
government and the
state governments.
• Much like
administration and
individual
classroom teachers
here at school.
Separation of Powers
Ratification
debate:
Federalist
vs. AntiFederalist
Strongholds
Federalist Papers (85 in all)- Argue
that the state of NY should adopt
the Constitution
Promise of
a Bill of
Rights
persuades
many AntiFederalists
to support
the
Constitution
How
democratic
was the
Constitution?
Conservative safeguards
• .
1. Purpose was to check the excesses of
the "mob"
-- Convention delegates were unanimous
in believing that manhood-suffrage democracy
was dangerous
2. Safeguards:
a. Federal judges were appointed for life
b. President was elected indirectly by the
Electoral College
c. Senators chosen indirectly by state
legislatures
3. Only House of Representatives permitted
to choose officials by direct vote of qualified
(propertied white male) citizens.
Beard Thesis
• Historian Charles Beard wrote in
1913 that the Constitution was
written not to ensure a democratic
government for the people, but to
protect the economic interests of its
writers
• Benefited wealthy financial
speculators who had purchased
Revolutionary War government
bonds
• "They were well-bred, well-fed,
well-read, and well-wed."
If you want to know more
about the Beard Thesis read
pages 33-37
Let skim, not enough time to read
it all in class
• Some historians have argued that
the US Constitution was a radical
departure from the Articles of
Confederation.
• Support, modify, or refute this
contention using specific evidence.
Read chart on page 39, fill
out outline on page 41 on a
separate sheet of paper
•
•
•
Answers
Economically, the change to the central government having a more
substantial amount of power to regulate the economy was significant.
– Levy taxes
– Commerce clause- regulate trade
– Exclusive power to coin money
– Can still tax imports, cannot tax exports
– Beard Thesis argues this was the Founding Father’s main motivationHamilton’s Financial Program, BUS, Excise tax whiskey, funding national
debt at par, assuming state debts, tariff
The shift to a bicameral legislature was a significant reactionary change back
to the British model.
– AoC- Unicameral, 1 vote per state, 9/13 to pass laws
– Constitution, bicameral, Senate and House, majority to pass laws
– Return to the British bicameral legislature: House of Lords and
Commons, very similar lower house elected, upper house appointed
The Constitution fundamentally changed the location of sovereignty by
centralizing power from the states to the national government.
– Supremacy Clause
– Federalism, not an unitary system, or a confederation
– States still relevant, but share power, with the central government
supreme
– Compare Shays’ Rebellion to Whiskey Rebellion in the growth of federal
power
Was the Revolution a revolution?
No (1) or Yes (9)
1
3
7
9
5
________________________________________
I
I
I
I
I
Revisionists
(radicals &
NO
Moderates
liberals)
Inbetween
Traditional
(Conservatives)
YES
• Some historians have argued that
the American Revolution was not
revolutionary in nature. Support,
modify, or refute this contention
using specific evidence.
• Plus, this will be our
debate topic too!
How revolutionary was the
Revolution?
• Revolution (n.):
– A total, radical change, a
fundamental change in political
organization
Think of
categories!
The effects of the Revolution
Slavery
• Rise of anti-slavery societies in all the
northern states (plus Virginia)
– Quakers the first to found such societies.
• Slavery eradicated in most northern
states by 1800
• Slavery not allowed above Ohio River in
the Northwest Ordinance of 1787
• Slave trade to be abolished in 1808
according to Constitution, yet 3/5 clause
• Thousands of southern slaves freed
after the Revolution
Women
• Republican Motherhood- Need to
become educated to raise good
citizens, leads to increased
schooling & literacy rates
• Courts allow more liberal divorce
laws
• Limited gains
Attack on aristocracy
• Ended primogeniture
• Ended entail: (Estates could not be
sold off in pieces; guaranteed large
landholdings to a family and meant
less land available for purchase to
the public. )
• Attacked Cincinnati Society
• Loyalist leave
Separation of Church & State
• Anglican Church replaced by a
disestablished Episcopal Church in
much of the South.
• Thomas Jefferson introduces
legislation to produce separation of
Church & State in Virginia, Virginia
Statute for Religious Freedom (1779),
• Congregational churches in New
England slower to disestablish
– (Connecticut in 1818, Massachusetts in
1833)
Jefferson’s Quotes on Religion
• Subject opinion to coercion: whom will you
make your inquisitors? Fallible men; men
governed by bad passions, by private as well
as public reasons. And why subject it to
coercion? To produce uniformity. But is
uniformity of opinion desirable?
-- Thomas Jefferson, Notes on Virginia, 1782
• Millions of innocent men, women, and children,
since the introduction of Christianity, have been
burnt, tortured, fined, and imprisoned; yet we
have not advanced one inch toward uniformity.
What has been the effect of coercion? To make
one-half the world fools and the other half
hypocrites. To support roguery and error all
over the earth.
-- Thomas Jefferson, Notes on the State of
Virginia, 1781-82
• No man shall be compelled to frequent or
support any religious worship, place, or ministry
whatsoever, nor shall be enforced, restrained,
molested, or burthened in his body or goods,
nor shall otherwise suffer, on account of his
religious opinions or belief; but that all men
shall be free to profess, and by argument to
maintain, their opinions in matters of religion,
and that the same shall in no wise diminish,
enlarge, or affect their civil capacities.
-- Thomas Jefferson, Virginia Statute for
Religious Freedom (1779),
• Reason and free inquiry are the only effectual
agents against error. Give a loose to them,
they will support the true religion by bringing
every false one to their tribunal, to the test of
their investigation. They are the natural
enemies of error only… It is error alone which
needs the support of government. Truth can
stand by itself.
• -- Thomas Jefferson, Notes on the State of
Virginia, 1781-82
• "Believing with you that religion is a matter
which lies solely between Man & his God,
that he owes account to none other for his
faith or his worship, that the legitimate
powers of government reach actions only,
& not opinions, I contemplate with
sovereign reverence that act of the whole
American people which declared that their
legislature should "make no law
respecting an establishment of religion, or
prohibiting the free exercise thereof," thus
building a wall of separation between
Church & State." –Jefferson, Danbury
Baptists Letters
Was the Revolution a revolution?
No (1) or Yes (9)
Write your name and a number
on your post-it note.
1
3
7
9
5
________________________________________
I
I
I
I
I
Revisionists
(radicals &
NO
Moderates
liberals)
Inbetween
Traditional
(Conservatives)
YES
• Some historians have argued that the
French and Indian War marked a turning
point in British imperial policy toward the
American colonies. Support, modify, or
refute this contention using specific
evidence.
• Some historians have argued that the
French and Indian War marked a turning
point in British imperial policy toward the
American colonies. Support, modify, or
refute this contention using specific
evidence.
• The French and Indian War marked a
dramatic turning point in British imperial
policy primarily because they ended the
policy of salutary neglect, began to tax the
colonies, and stationed military forces in
the colonies
http://shaysrebellion.stcc.edu/sh
aysapp/maps/home.do
• Dates skip