What were the main goals of shifting from the Articles of Confederation to the Constitution?
To address political and economic concerns, though some issues remained unresolved.
What were the key sectional divides in the early United States?
North v South, and sub-regional divides like New England, mid-Atlantic, upper south, and deep south
What were the agrarian and commercial interests in the early US?
Agrarian interests focused on farming in the South, while commercial interests were in the Northeast and mid-Atlantic.
What was the debate between diffusion and consolidation of power?
Diffusion favored regional power(states), while consolidation supported a stronger central federal government.
What was the significance of Hamilton's financial plan?
It aimed to stabilize national credit by assuming state and national debt, creating a stronger central government with the ability to to tax and repay debts.
Why did Madison oppose Hamilton's Plan?
Madison believed it favored wealthy speculators and betrayed the spirit of he revolution by creating unfair advantages for the financial elite.
How did Hamilton’s plan affect state sovereignty?
It threatened state sovereignty by making states reliant on the federal government for financial stability.
What future did agrarians and commercial interests envision for the US?
Agrarians envisioned a nation of farmers, while commercial interests foresaw a commercial empire with strong financial institutions.
What unresolved issue lingered after the Constitutional Convention?
Slavery remained unresolved, continuing to be a divisive issue.
What was the assumption in Hamilton’s Financial Plan?
The federal government would assume all state and national debt to restore the nation's credit and create a stronger financial foundation.
What were the main weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation?
The central government was too weak, lacking the power to tax or enforce laws, which led to economic and political instability.
How did war veterans suffer under the economic crisis after the Revolution?
Veterans were often paid in worthless bonds, and speculators took advantage of them by buying their bonds at a fraction of their value.
What was Madison’s moral opposition to Hamilton’s plan?
Madison believed that rescuing speculators who bought bonds cheaply was a betrayal of the revolutionary ideals of fairness and virtue.
Why did Anti-Federalists oppose the new government system after the Constitution?
They believed it favored big money interests and would undermine the common man.
What were Madison's three proposals for resolving the issue of bondholders and veterans?
Pay both speculators and original war veterans (impractical).
Choose one side (speculators or veterans).
Develop an equitable scheme to pay both (favored by Madison but difficult).
What was Hamilton's view on money and capital?
"Money spread out in the hands of many is just money. In the hands of a few who know how to use it, it becomes capital."
What was the key outcome of the Compromise of 1790?
Hamilton secured the passage of his financial plan, while Jefferson and Madison got the U.S. capital placed on the Potomac River.
What was significant about the Quaker petition in Congress in February 1790?
It prompted the first public debate on slavery in the U.S. Congress.
How did Jefferson’s agrarian vision differ from Hamilton’s capitalist vision?
Jefferson valued land and agriculture, while Hamilton focused on finance, investment, and industrial growth.
How did Hamilton’s vision ultimately win out over Jefferson’s in the 20th century?
By the early 1900s, the U.S. became a primarily urban and industrial society, embracing Hamilton’s ideas on commerce and finance.