Alan Brinkley
American History: Connecting with the Past
14th Edition
CHAPTER 6
The Constitution and the New Republic
Copyright © 2011 by Bedford/St. Martin’s

Living in the Shadow of Revolution
1.
Revolution introduced unintended changes into American society
2. Challenged hierarchical social relations
3. Raised fundamental questions about the meaning of equality

African Americans in the New Republic
1. Abolitionist sentiment spread in wake of the
Revolution
 John Woolman
2. African Americans embraced Declaration’s stress on natural rights
3. African American intellectual success made it hard to deny their equality
 Benjamin Banneker, math and astronomy
 Phyllis Wheatley, poetry

African Americans in the New Republic: Phillis
Wheatley

African Americans in the New Republic
1.
Northern states
 By 1800, slavery was legally dying in North
 Racism and segregation remained
2. Southerners debated abolition
 Some individuals freed slaves
 Economic motives overcame republican ideals
 Cotton gin breathed new life into slavery

The Constitution of 1787
1. The Rise of a Nationalist Faction
 Money Debates
2. The Philadelphia Convention
 The Virginia and New Jersey Plans
 The Great Compromise
 Negotiations over Slavery
 National Authority

The Constitution of 1787
1.
The People Debate Ratification
 The Antifederalists
 The Constitution Ratified

Independence Hall, Philadelphia

The
“Virtuous
Republic”
1.
Govt. gets its authority from the citizens.
2.
A selfless, educated citizenry.
3.
Elections should be frequent.
4.
Govt. should guarantee individual rights & freedoms.
5.
Govt.’s power should be limited [checks & balances].
6.
The need for a written
Constitution.
7.
“E Pluribus Unum.” [“Out of many, one”]
8.
An important role for women  raise good, virtuous citizens.
[“Republican Womanhood”].

Inventing a Federal Republic:
The Virginia Plan
1. Central government may veto all state acts
2. Bicameral legislature of state representatives
 One house elected, the other appointed
 Larger states would have more representatives
3. Chief executive appointed by Congress
4. Small states objected to large-state dominance

Inventing a Federal Republic:
The New Jersey Plan
1.
Congress given greater taxing and trade regulation powers
2. Each state would have one vote in a unicameral legislature
3. Articles of Confederation otherwise untouched

Inventing a Federal Republic:
William Patterson

Compromise Saves the Convention
1.
Each state given two delegates in the Senate—a victory for the small states
2. House of Representatives based on population—a victory for the large states
 All money bills must originate in the House
3. Three-fifths of the slave population counted toward representation in the House

Compromising on Slavery
1.
Issue of slavery threatened Convention’s unity
 Northerners tended to be opposed
 Southerners threatened to bolt if slavery weakened
2. Slave trade permitted to continue to 1808
3. “Great as the evil is, a dismemberment of the Union would be worse.”
—James Madison

We, the People
1. Convention sought to bypass vested interests of state legislatures
2. Power of ratification to special state conventions
3. Constitution to go into effect upon approval by nine state conventions
4. Phrase “We, the People” made Constitution a government of the people, not the states

Signing of the Constitution

Federalists and Antifederalists:
Federalists
1.
Supported the Constitution
2. Name suggests they supported less of a strong central government than they did
3. Well-organized
4. The Federalist Papers

Federalists and Antifederalists:
Antifederalists
1.
Opposed the Constitution
2. Distrusted any government removed from direct control of the people
3. Suspected the new Constitution favored the rich and powerful
4. Their ideas later reflected in the age of Andrew Jackson

The Jefferson Idyll

The Hamilton Idyll

A House Divided Against Itself Cannot Stand

Federalists and Antifederalists:
Progress of Ratification
1.
No clear correlation between social status and support for
Constitution
2. Succeeded in winning ratification in eleven states by June
1788
3. November 1789—North Carolina ratified
4. May 1790—Rhode Island ratified
5. Americans closed ranks behind the Constitution

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Adding the Bill of Rights
1.
The fruit of Antifederalist activism
2. Adding Bill of Rights forestalled Second Constitutional
Convention
3. Purpose was to protect individual rights from government interference

Adding the Bill of Rights
1.
Rights included:
 Freedom of assembly, speech, religion, the press, and bearing arms
 Speedy trial by a jury of peers
 No unreasonable searches
2. First ten amendments added by
December 1791

Adding the Bill of Rights