UNIT 2 LECTURE NOTES
I.
THE CONSTITUTION
A. WESTERN EXPANSION
1. Expansion
- Westward expansion continued during and after the Revolutionary War
- Daniel Boone cut his way through the Kentucky wilderness with 30 axmen
- During the revolutionary War states and Congress had recruited soldiers with
promises of land
- They needed Indian lands to fulfill those pledges
- New York confiscates Iroquois lands
- Secessionists movements arose in the 1780s when neither Congress or state
governments were able to solve western problems
- Most states gave up their land claims
2. Northwest Ordinance
- In the Land Ordinance of 1785 Congress authorized the survey of the Northwest
Territory
- Land was to be divided up into townships and sets of square mile
- Surveyed land would then be sold at auction at a dollar an acre In July 1787
- Congress sessions met in New York
- Congress passed the Northwest Ordinance as the Constitutional Convention was
meeting in Philadelphia
 This provided government for the region
 This rejected Thomas Jefferson’s goal of turning the territory into 10 or
more states once they adopted a constitution and had reached 200,00
settlers
 The ordinance authorized the creation of 3 to 5 states to be admitted as
equals of the original 13
 States would have a Congress appointed governor
 At 60,000 they could adopt a constitution and apply for statehood
 Protected civil liberties
 Made provisions for public education
 Prohibited slavery within the region
 After population reached 5,000 settlers they could elect an assembly
empowered to pass laws
- The Constitutional Convention omitted its slavery clause which gave
southerners reason to overlook prohibition of slavery in the NW territory
- This was the U.S. coherent western policy
B. EARLY GOVERNMENT
1. Articles of Confederation
-
-
-
-
-
Early Government
o In the years following the Revolution, Americans thought of
themselves as citizens of individual states, not of a common
nation.
o The new challenge became – could the new country create a
unified national government?
o No one wanted a powerful national government
o Congress was only a loose collection of delegates from 13
separate colonies
o Many thought of the Congress only as a wartime necessity
o Most Americans thought of themselves as citizens of states and
not a nation
o The United States was not a nation as much as it was a
confederation, an alliance of separate governments that work
together.
o State governments had more power than the national
government. Individual state constitutions were important
during this period.
Debate resumed on a national government resumed after
Washington’s victories at Trenton and Princeton
o Thomas Burke of North Carolina introduced a resolution that
each state would retain its freedom and sovereignty which was
accepted
o Only after Saratoga would Congress complete the articles
o In 1777, the Continental Congress adopted a set of laws to
govern the United States.
o These laws were called the Articles of Confederation.
o In November 1777, congress asked states to ratify the Articles
by March 1778, but only Virginia met that deadline
Articles finally went into effect March 1 1781
o the Articles established a limited national government
o Consisted of only one branch of government: the legislative
branch, or Congress.
o Congress carried out the duties of both the legislative and
executive branches.
o No national court system existed.
o Congress could declare war and borrow money, but lacked the
power to tax.
o most of the power lay with the states.
The 1780’s were difficult times
o The economy was in the tank and failed to rebound
o State politics became bitter and the states were divided
o Personal, debt, and national debt were serious
o Out of this rose the demand to replace or fix the Articles of
Confederation
2. Debt
- Huge amounts of public and private debt were creating economic
chaos in the new republic.
- Many upper-class critics of the Articles felt that this problem was due
to citizens having too much power in their state legislatures.
- Americans were still heavily dependent on British goods, and exports
had not recovered to their pre-war status
- Private debt became a huge social problem in the 1780’s that the
states could not address due to their own steep debt
- Farmers faced with the loss of crops livestock and their farms looked
to state governments for relief, instead states passed heavier taxes
3. Cosmopolitans v. Localists
- Tensions in states surfaced everywhere
- Crowds of debtors besieged lawmakers or closed courts
- There became a divide between cosmopolitan and localist coalitions
- Cosmopolitans: merchants
o professionals, urban artisans, southern planters, former army
officers
o They looked to government to solve their problems
o Favored aggressive trade policies, hard money, payment of
public debt, leniency toward returning loyalists
- Localist’s: farmers, rural artisans, militia veterans
o Distrusted government policies
o Demanded paper money and debtor relief
o In most states localist’s were successful and won elections
- Cosmopolitans lost so often that they despaired state politics and
began to look to a strong central government or relief
o National debt was huge and by requisitioning the states they
were only getting a small portion of what they needed or
requested (Grenville)
- Foreign relations were also suffering
o Angry talk of disbanding the union soon filled Congress
o In February 1787 a Boston newspaper calls for dissolution of
the union
o By the mid 1780s Cosmopolitans were becoming nationalists
to strengthen the union
- Annapolis: James Madison organized and urged all of the states to
participate at a convention to explore ways to improve American
trade
- Many states ignored the call and few attended, when in September
1786 delegates from 4 states drafted a report from Alexander
Hamilton of New York
- It asked all states send delegates to Philadelphia next May to address
issues with the federal government
4. Nationalists
- A group called the Nationalists felt that a weak national government could not
keep order. They argued that European history had demonstrated that people
were not naturally wise enough to have so much power over their own affairs.
-
C. FIXING THE ISSUES
1. The Annapolis Convention
- In February 1787 a Boston newspaper calls for dissolution of the union
- Annapolis: James Madison organized and urged all of the states to participate at a
convention to explore ways to improve American trade
- Many states ignored the call and few attended the Annapolis Convention
- In 1786, Nationalists held a convention to discuss economic problems
- Convention held in Annapolis, Maryland
- The goal was to develop a federal plan for regulating interstate and foreign trade
- Only 12 delegates showed by they came to one important decision
- They decided to organize another convention in Philadelphia in 1787 (proposed by
Hamilton)
- Although the conference itself accomplished little, delegates agreed to call another
convention in Philadelphia in 1787.
2. Shay’s Rebellion
- Causes
 In order to help pay off its large debts, Massachusetts passed the heaviest
direct tax ever.
 This tax had to be paid in specie, gold or silver coin, rather than paper money.
 Supporters of the tax were merchants who lived in the eastern part of the state
 Farmers in the west opposed this tax
 This brought back memories of unfair British taxes
 Farmers grew desperate after the state refused repeal and then began seizing
possessions when the tax wasn’t paid
 Upset over taxes and paper money farmers in Mass protested
 After the Revolutionary war, wealthy people who had loaned out money
started to demand repayment
 The pressed state governments to raise taxes to collect money and pay off
debts
 Supporters of the tax were merchants who lived in the eastern part of the state
-
A group of farmers led by Daniel Shays rebelled against these taxes in a crisis which
came to be known as Shays’ Rebellion.
 Daniel Shays was a war veteran and farmer
 He was facing jail time for unpaid debts









-
In 1786, he led a rebellion that quickly spread
Citizens drove off tax collectors and protested the new taxes
When state courts rejected their petitions they closed the courts
Shay’s small army marched to Springfield to acquired guns stored at an
arsenal
Congress had no way to put down the rebellion
 No money to raise an army
 No way to force states to pay for an army
Farmers drove off tax collectors and forced courts to close when their
petitions were rejected.
Soon, open conflict raged as angry crowds rioted.
Government officials insisted that acts of resistance that had been
appropriate against the British and tyrannical monarchy were
unacceptable in a government elected by the people
The Massachusetts state government raised an army that quieted the rebellion
 An army of volunteers under Benjamin Lincoln eventually
scattered the Shaysites
Effects
 Shays’ Rebellion demonstrated to many prominent Americans that a stronger
national government was needed to avoid civil unrest.
 The event converts many into nationalists who had until then opposed
strengthening the central government
 Shay’s Rebellion represented the citizens determination to defy a government
they felt went against the people’s wishes
 It demonstrated to American leaders that steps had to be taken to strengthen
the national government
 The convention in Philadelphia in 1787 was well attended by 12 states (R.I.)
3. Constitutional Convention
- The meeting in Philadelphia became known as the Constitutional
Convention
o Began in May 1787
o George Washington presided
o Lasted 4 months in secret sessions
o It created the United States Constitution
o 55 delegates attended
- The convention in Philadelphia had been empowered only to amend,
or revise, the Articles of Confederation, not to replace them.
o Shays Rebellion had occurred which had changed some minds
D. WRITING THE CONSTITUTION
1. Convention Divisions
- The Virginia Plan
 Submitted by Edmund Randolph (Madison wrote it)
 Larger states benefitted the most from this plan
 Proposed a bicameral, or two-house, national legislature
 Each state would send representatives in proportion to the number of its
citizens.
 The new legislature would have the power to tax; the right to regulate foreign
and interstate commerce; to veto, or prohibit from becoming law, any act of a
state legislature; and to use force against a state, should that state defy national
authority.
- The New Jersey Plan
 William Patterson proposed the plan
 Gave Congress more powers, tax, regulate trade, use force to collect
delinquent requisitions from states
 Each state has one vote
 Proposed a unicameral, or one-house, national legislature, and the creation of
executive and judicial branches
 Each state would send the same number of representatives to the legislature.
 The new legislature would have the right to tax and to regulate foreign and
interstate commerce.
2. The Great Compromise
- Roger Sherman introduced a solution when the Convention couldn’t decide on a plan
- It is called the Great Compromise
- The legislative branch would have 2 houses of Congress
- In the Senate each state, regardless of size, would have 2 representatives
- In the House of Representatives, the number of seats would be determined by state
population
- Compromise approved in July 16, 1787
- Bicameral legislature, one by population, one by equal representation
- president serves 4 years, elected by electoral college, could be reelected
3. 3/5 Compromise
- The question remained: would slaves count in state population?
- This would favor southern states, who had large numbers of slaves on their
plantations
- This would give them greater power in the House of Representatives
- A compromise was made which became known as the Three Fifths Compromise
- Under the plan 3/5 of a state’s total slave population would be counted for
representation
- This did not mean slaves would receive any political rights
4. Ratification
- After further debate, the convention approved the final draft of the United
States Constitution on September 17, 1787.
- ratification process:
- Each state would call a special convention to approve it
- Would go into effect as soon as 9 states accepted it
- The hope was after 9 states accepted the others would jump on board
- This was key to success of the union, create a popularly sovereign
government that was legal with all states agreeing to it
5. Federalists
- Those who favored the Constitution were called Federalists. The Federalists included
many Nationalists, such as George Washington, James Madison, and Alexander
Hamilton, who favored a strong national government.
- Main supporters of the Constitution were called Federalists – would have to use
persuasion, not force to win approval
- Federalist Papers
 Federalists began a quick campaign in newspapers
 During this time Hamilton Madison and Jay wrote the Federalist Papers
published first in New York
 To make their case for the Constitution, the Federalists wrote a series of 85
essays, collectively known as The Federalist.
 One issue addressed in these essays was that one powerful faction, or group
concerned only with its own interests, could not control the government under
the Constitution.
 Most comprehensive body of political thought produced by the
revolutionary generation
 Madison argued a large republic is far more stable than a small one –
small factions could gain power and trample rights, constant scramble for
power – and constitution forbids hereditary rule
6. Anti-Federalists
- Those who opposed the Constitution were called anti-Federalists.
- Anti-Federalists believed that the Federalists’ plan threatened state governments and
the rights of individuals.
- The anti-Federalists included older revolutionary figures such as Patrick Henry,
people in isolated areas who had less need for a strong national government, and
some former Nationalists who wanted a national government but were unhappy with
the Constitution.
- According to the anti-Federalists, a President would be too similar to a king, a figure
whose control American patriots had fought to escape.
- Anti-Federalists also objected to the proposed federal court system.
- While the Federalists feared the people more than government, the anti-Federalists
feared government more than the people.
- Anti-federalists had little time to organize
-
-
First ratifying conventions met in December, by end of January 5 states had
approved, mostly northern
Anti-Federalists, especially in Penn demanded a bill of rights
In Connecticut federalists promised support of a bill of rights amendments after
ratification
Even after New Hampshire becomes 9th state to accept, ratification controversy
stiffens as this becomes first great debate in American union history
By 1788 anti-federalists were better organized
Bill of Rights
 New government was to remote and far from the people to be trusted
with powers in Constitution
 Feared Congress would be filled with only wealthy prominent men of
aristocracy, absence of a bill of rights troubled them
 Many Americans believed that the national Constitution, like most state
constitutions, should include a clear declaration of the rights of the people.
 In September 1789, Congress proposed twelve constitutional amendments,
largely drafted by James Madison and designed to protect citizens’ rights.
 Ten of these amendments were ratified by the states.
 These ten amendments became known as the Bill of Rights.
Most Federalists saw no need for these amendments.
These Federalists claimed that under the Constitution, the people and the government
were the same. Therefore, the people needed no additional statements to protect their
rights.
7. Approval
- Federalists began a quick campaign in newspapers
- Anti-federalists had little time to organize
- First ratifying conventions met in December, by end of January 5 states had
approved, mostly northern
- Anti-Federalists, especially in Pennsylvania demanded a bill of rights
- New government was too remote and far from the people to be trusted with powers in
Constitution
- Feared Congress would be filled with only wealthy prominent men of aristocracy
- absence of a bill of rights troubled them
- In Connecticut federalists promised support of a bill of rights amendments after
ratification
- Even after New Hampshire becomes 9th state to accept, ratification controversy
stiffens as this becomes first great debate in American union history
E. The Document
1. Framers
2. The Preamble
3. The Electoral College
-
-
-
Electoral college created in reflection of the fear that localist impulses
might prevent a majority vote for anyone
Why was the Electoral College created by the Framers?
o Created as an alternative to either popular election or Congress
electing the President.
o Each state chose electors---based on the number of
representatives each states has in Congress.
Electoral vote was state to state
o each elector voted for two candidates
o One vote per candidate.
o Electors vote with the “will” of the people from the state they
represented……….but not required.
o Candidate with the most votes became President; runner-up
became Vice President.
In case of a tie, the House of Representatives elected the President.
4. Separation of Powers
- Branches of Government
 Within the federal government, a separation of powers was created to prevent
any one of the three branches of government from acquiring too much power.
 Each branch has its own area of authority, but no one branch has complete
power over the government.
-
Checks and Balance
 The Constitution also set up a system of checks and balances, in which each
branch has the power to check, or stop, the other branches in certain ways.
 This system prevents the misuse of power by any one branch.
-
Federalism
 The Constitution created a federal system of government, in which power is
shared among state and national authorities.
 In a federal system of government, powers are divided into three categories:
 Some powers are reserved for the states only.
 Others are delegated to the federal government only.
 Still others, called concurrent powers, are held by both the federal government
and state governments.
5. Fugitive Slave Law
- Indians of the eastern woodlands played an active role in the war