Cover Slide
The American
Pageant
Chapter 9
The Confederation
and the Constitution,
1776-1790
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1779 South Carolina Continental currency
1779 South Carolina Continental currency
Every state issued paper money to finance its part in the Revolution. Because this currency had
little solid backing, it lost value almost immediately. By the time these South Carolina notes
were printed, their real value was only 10 percent of their face value. One outcome of such
drastic drops in the value of money was that even inelegant dressers like patriot Samuel Adams
had to pay $2,000 for a new hat and suit. (Eric P. Newman Numismatic Education Society)
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Bust of George Washington by Jean-Antoine Houdon
Bust of George Washington by JeanAntoine Houdon
When the great French sculptor JeanAntoine Houdon prepared this bust of
George Washington in 1785, he chose to
show the revolutionary leader in
classical garb rather than in
contemporary clothing. Such images
linked the aspirations of the new nation
to the ancient republics American
thinkers revered. (Collection of Dr. Gary
Milan)
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First draft of the Constitution with wide margins for notes, August 6, 1787, folios 1 and 5
First draft of the Constitution with wide margins for notes, August 6, 1787, folios 1 and 5
In August of 1787 a first draft of the Constitution was secretly printed in Philadelphia for the
use of convention members. Wide margins left room for additions and amendments, such as
those made on this copy by Pierce Butler, the South Carolina delegate. Note that in this early
version the preamble does not yet read "We the people of the United States," but instead begins
by listing the individual states. (The Gilder Lehman Collection, on deposit at the Pierpont
Morgan Library/Art Resource, New York)
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General Daniel Shays, Colonel Job Shattuck, artist unknown
General Daniel Shays, Colonel Job Shattuck, artist unknown
An anti-Shays cartoonist depicts Shays and a key supporter as bogus military officers
who sought power and threatened the people's liberty. (National Portrait Gallery,
Smithsonian Institution/Art Resource, New York)
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James Madison by Charles Willson Peale, 1783
James Madison by Charles Willson
Peale, 1783
James Madison described himself as
"feeble" and "sickly" and suffered all his
life from dizzy spells and stomach
disorders. But this small, shy Virginia
planter and lawyer won the respect of his
colleagues as a brilliant political theorist
during the drafting of the Constitution,
and later as a genius for organizing the
machinery of party politics. (Library of
Congress)
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Jefferson/Hartley manuscript map, 1784
Jefferson/Hartley manuscript map, 1784
In 1784 Thomas Jefferson proposed a scheme for organizing the new nation's
western lands. His plan divided the region on a grid pattern, yielding fourteen new
states (with names such as "Metropotamia" and "Pelisipia") composed of 19-milesquare "hundreds." After a year of debate, Jefferson's plan was replaced by the one
adopted in the Land Ordinance of 1785, which is described in the text. (Clements
Library, University of Michigan)
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John Marshall by Charles B.J. Fevret De St. Memin, crayon, 1801
John Marshall by Charles B.J. Fevret
De St. Memin, crayon, 1801
John Marshall (1755–1835) was chief
justice of the United States from 1801–
1835. He posed for this portrait by the
French artist Charles Balthazar Julien
Fevret de Saint-Memin in 1801, the year
he joined the Court. The artist captured
the power and strength with which
Marshall would dominate the Court.
(Duke University Archives)
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Patrick Henry by Thomas Sully, 1815
Patrick Henry by Thomas Sully, 1815
A Virginia planter and lawyer, Patrick
Henry may have acquired his oratorical
brilliance from his father, a fiery Virginia
preacher. Henry chose politics rather
than the pulpit, and throughout the 1760s
and 1770s he stirred the House of
Burgesses to resist British policy and the
British king. ( Colonial Williamsburg
Foundation)
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The Federal Procession in New York
The Federal Procession in New York
The unknown artist of The Federal Procession in New York, 1788, captured the
jubilant mood of Americans as they celebrated their new Constitution with parades,
bonfires, and banquets. As the "Ship of State" float indicates, New Yorkers were
particularly eager to acknowledge the role of their own Alexander Hamilton in
launching the new government. (Library of Congress)
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Map: Disputed Territorial Claims, Spain and the United States, 1783-1796
Disputed Territorial Claims, Spain and the United States, 1783-1796
The two nations' claims to lands east of the Mississippi and north of the thirty-first parallel were a principal point of
contention until the Treaty of San Lorenzo was ratified in 1796.
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Map: Federalist and Antifederalist Strongholds, 1787-1790
Federalist and Antifederalist Strongholds, 1787-1790
Federalists drew their primary backing from densely populated areas along major transportation routes, where trade,
mobility, and frequent contact with people in other states encouraged a nationalistic identity. Antifederalist support came
from interior regions where geographic isolation bred a localistic perspective. However, some westerners, especially in
Georgia and western Virginia, voted for a strong central government that would push back the Indians or the Spanish.
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Map: The Northwest Territory, 1785-1787
The Northwest Territory, 1785-1787
The Ordinance of 1785 provided for surveying land into townships of thirty-six sections, each supporting four families on
160-acre plots (approximately twenty-five people per square mile). In 1787 the Northwest Ordinance stipulated that states
would ultimately be created in the region.
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Map: The United States in 1787
The United States in 1787
This map shows the extent of American westward settlement in 1787 and the limits placed on that settlement by French and
Spanish claims west of the Mississippi and in Florida. Plans for the creation of three to five states in the Northwest territory
were approved by Congress in 1787, ensuring that the settlers in this region would enjoy the same political rights as the
citizens of the original thirteen states.
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Map: Western Land Claims and Cessions, 1782-1802
Western Land Claims and Cessions, 1782-1802
After the United States achieved independence, states competed with each other for control of valuable lands to which they
had possible claims under their original charters. That competition led to a series of compromises among the states or
between individual states and the new nation, which are indicated on this map.
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