Download The United States: A New Nation

The United States: A New
Nation
•1783 - 1800
•1. The Origins of the Constitution
•2. The Constitution of the United States
•3. The Federalist Era (George Washington
and John Adams)
•Americans faced many challenges as they attempted to
forge national unity under the guidelines of the Articles
of Confederation.
•Political problems soon arose that led to the drafting of
the Constitution of the United States.
•Newly elected government officials, the president and
members of Congress, set out to put the Constitution into
action
The Origins of the
Constitution
•1. The Articles of Confederation
•2. Movement Toward a Stronger Government
•
•
•
On June 11, 1776, the
Continental Congress
resolved that a committee
should be appointed to draw
up articles of confederation
among the colonies.
The Congress urged the
colonies to draft new
constitutions to replace
their British royal charters
John Dickinson headed the
committee
“Under the Authority of the
People”
•
•
•
•
“You and I have been sent into
life at a time when the greatest
lawgivers of antiquity would
have wished to live. . . . How few
of the human peace have ever
enjoyed an opportunity of
making . . . Government . . . For
themselves or their children.”
John Adams
What does this suggest about
the challenges Americans faced
at the beginning of our new
nation?
What does this quote suggest
about the few?
John Locke
•
•
Enlightenment thinker and
English philosopher who
theorized natural rights,
life, liberty, and property
The role of government
was to protect these
rights
State Constitutions
Republicanism – political
leaders receive their
authority from the citizens to
make and enforce laws
Most will limit power of
governor (no veto) and limit
term
Most had bicameral
legislatures.
Property required for voting.
Some had universal white male
suffrage.
Most had bills of rights.
Many had a continuation of
state-established religions
while others disestablished
religion.
The Virginia Statute for
Religious Freedom
•
•
•
•
Statute stated that the human mind was created free and that
government control over religious beliefs or worship was tyrannical.
Written by Jefferson, Governor of Virginia
James Madison, fellow Virginian, declared “Religion . . . Must be left to
conviction and conscience of every man.”
By 1833, every state had forbidden the establishment of official state
churches supported by tax dollars. (separation of church and state)
Thomas Jefferson
James Madison
The Virginia Statute for
Religious Freedom
•
•
•
“Whereas Almighty God has created the mind
free, that all attempts to influence it by
temporal [civil] punishments or burdens . . .
Tend only to . . . Beget [produce] habits of
hypocrisy and meanness . . . [and] that to
compel a man to furnish contributions of money
for the propagation of opinions which he
disbelieves is sinful and tyrannical; that even . .
. Forcing him to support this or that teacher of
his own religious persuasion [belief] is depriving
him of the comfortable liberty. . . .
Be it enacted by the General Assembly that no
man shall be compelled to frequent or support
any religious worship, place, or ministry
whatsoever. . . . All men shall be free to profess
. . . Their opinion in matters of religion.”
Thomas Jefferson, 1779
Republican Motherhood
•
•
•
•
Proposed that American women could influence
politics and society through their work in the
home.
Women would offer moral guidance to their
husbands and educate the young children in
the principles of democracy.
Can you believe that many believed that women
should not involve themselves in politics!!!
Judith Sargent Murray – one of the first
female playwrights in the United States –
began to redefine the ideal of motherhood
“While we are pursuing the needle, or the
superintendency [management] of the family, I
repeat, that our minds are at full liberty for
reflection; that imagination may exert itself in
full vigor; and that if a just foundation [be]
early laid, our ideas will then be worthy of
rational beings.” Judith Murray, The
Massachusetts Magazine, 1790
Republican Motherhood
•
•
James Peale, The Artist and his family, 1795
What does this image suggest about women during the early 1800’s?
The Articles of
Confederation
•
•
John Dickinson of
Pennsylvania formed the
basis of the articles as
proposed to Congress and,
after some debate and a
few changes, America’s
first constitution was
adopted November 15,
1777.
The Articles of
Confederation provided
for a new central
government with specified
powers.
Confederation limited the powers of the national
government
Confederation Powers
•
•
•
•
•
conduct foreign affairs
maintain armed forces
borrow money
issue currency
establish a postal system
State Powers
• Any power not given to the national
government was given to the states.
• The state could regulate commerce, or trade,
within the state itself as well as with other
states.
• It also had the power to impose taxes on its
citizens.
Weaknesses of the
Articles of Confederation
A unicameral Congress
[9 of 13 votes to pass a law].
13 out of 13 to amend the constitution
The Congress could not regulate commerce, or
trade
Representatives were frequently absent.
Could not tax or raise armies.
No executive or judicial branches.
Faced severe financial problems caused by the
Revolutionary War
Bureaucracies
•
•
•
Although there was no executive,
the Congress set up specialized
departments to handle affairs
Robert Livingston of New York
headed the Office of Foreign
Affairs.
Robert Morris of Pennsylvania
became superintendent of the
Office of Finance.
Robert Livingston
Robert Morris
Wholesale Price Index:
1770-1789
•Inflation in the colonies
•Prices skyrocketed
during the revolution
because of the lack of
supply of goods
•The result was
hyperinflation – the
worst in American
history to date
•Britain decided to close
some of its colonial
markets to American
commerce and at the
same time flooded the
United States with
inexpensive goods
•This undercut
American manufacturing
American Exports, To & From
Britain: 1783-1789
•The colonists were importing more goods to Great Britain and
not exporting goods to her.
•As a result this created a huge trade deficit and led to a
depression – a sharp drop in business activity accompanied by
rising unemployment
Occupations in the Colonies
•Northern Colonies are mostly professionals and/or merchants
•Southern Colonies are mostly plantation owners and/or
farmers
State Claims to Western Lands
•Another major issue in the Congress - several states
fought over the control of the Allegheny Mountains and the
land just east of the Mississippi
•To promote national unity, New York and Virginia ceded
their disputed land to the Confederation Congress
•Maryland refused to at first until she was granted the land
she felt she was entitled to, but by 1781 all the former 13
British colonies officially became the United States of
America
Land Ordinance of 1785
•Members of Congress knew that the western lands remained a
problem.
•Land Ordinance - marked off the land into townships and
divided each township into 640-acre tracts (6 miles by 6 miles)
•One dollar per acre and one section for a school – first
national government aid to public education.
Northwest Ordinance of 1787
One of the major accomplishments of the Confederation
Congress!
Set up a system for governing the Northwest territory
Banned slavery in the territories, but the return of fugitive
slaves must be given back to owners
Statehood achieved in three stages:
1. Congress appointed 3 judges & a governor to govern
the territory.
2. When population reached 5,000 adult male
landowners  elect territorial legislature.
3. When population reached 60,000  elect delegates
to a state constitutional convention.
Led for a need for a stronger government to govern the
west
Shays’ Rebellion: 1786-7
The depression in the states left farmers with
fewer markets for their goods and little money to
pay their debts
Daniel Shays, in 1776, led a group of angry farmers
to Springfield, Massachusetts, with intent to seize a
federal arsenal
The governor of Massachusetts sent in the state
militia that crushed the rebellion
Shays’ Rebellion: 1786-7
His rebellion
led for a need
for a stronger
national
government
Spain in the United States
•Disputed Territorial
Claims Between Spain
& the U. S.:
1783-1796
•Spain wanted to
confine the United
States to the land
east of the
Appalachian Mountains
•The Spanish regained
Florida during the
Revolution and hope to
expand northward into
the Ohio River Valley
•Led for a need for a
stronger national
government
The United States in 1787
Spain controlled the area known as the Louisiana,
which she ceded to Napoleon in 1800
The United States settled the first thirteen states
and would also settle the frontier
The quest for westward expansion and the institution
of slavery in the new territories will result in the Civil
War
George Washington and
Federalism
•“There could be no
stronger evidence of the
want of energy in our
governments than these
disorders.” (Shays
Rebellion)
• Shays rebellion led for
a need for a
Confederation Congress
with more powers to
handle the problems
caused by the
depression, civil unrest,
land ordinances, and
foreign threats
George Washington
Movement toward a stronger
federal government
U.S. Capitol Building
•
•
A federal form of government divides power
between individual states and the central
government.
In the United States this term refers to a
national government.
Annapolis Convention (1786)
12 representatives from 5 states
[NY, NJ, PA, DE, VA]
GOAL  address barriers that
limited trade and commerce
between the states.
Not enough states were
represented to make any real
progress.
New York representative
Alexander Hamilton sent a report
to the Congress to call a meeting of
all the states to meet in
Philadelphia to discuss the
weaknesses of the Articles of
Confederation and the need for a
stronger national government
In the meantime, the
Confederation Congress had little
power to handle all the pressing
issues in the colonies
Annapolis State Hall
The Constitutional
Convention
•
•
•
•
Independence Hall
The Call to Philadelphia
May 14, 1787
Fifty-five representatives
from twelve states
gathered at Independence
Hall, also known as the
Pennsylvania State House,
to begin the work of
revising the Articles of
Confederation.
Rhode Island did not send
a delegate.
The Delegates
Washington
•
•
•
•
•
“Gentlemen, I am sorry to find
that some one member of the
body has been so neglectful of
the secrets of the Convention
as to drop in the State House a
copy of their proceedings. . . . I
know not whose paper it is, but
there it is, let him who owns it
take it”
“Make sure you take good notes in
Mr. Schenk’s class so you can be the
father of something great!”
Mr. Madison 1778 “Good luck Mr.
Schenk”
The president of the Constitutional
Convention was George Washington.
Benjamin Franklin was the oldest and
known as the “peacemaker” of the
convention.
James Madison -the “Father of the
Constitution.”
Alexander Hamilton was a strong
supporter of a powerful national
government.
Thomas Jefferson, John and Samuel
Adams, and John Jay were not at the
convention.
James Madison
Benjamin Franklin
Federal Power Versus
States’ Rights
•
•
One of the main
sources of conflict
was the
disagreement
between the large
states and small
states over the
way they would be
represented in
Congress.
Two plans were
suggested and a
compromise
followed.
The Virginia Plan
•Edmund Randolph
•
•
•
•
•Two House legislature
•
Edmund Randolph of Virginia
He proposed that Congress be
divided into two houses (a
bicameral legislature), and in the
first house, the members would
be elected according to the
population of the state.
The first house would elect
members of the second house.
He also presented a need for an
executive branch as well as a
judicial branch of government.
Small states opposed this plan
because they felt they would have
little say in government affairs.
The Virginia Plan
The New Jersey Plan
William Paterson
•
•
•
•
William Paterson of New
Jersey
unicameral (one house)
legislature.
This plan provided for equal
representation in Congress,
regardless of population.
Small states were in favor
of this plan, but it did not
guarantee direct
representation.
The New Jersey Plan
Hamilton’s Plan (British)
The Great Compromise
•
•
•
•
Roger Sherman of
Connecticut proposed a
compromise plan.
According to the
Connecticut Plan,
Congress would have two
houses: the Senate and
the House of
Representatives.
In the Senate, each
state would be given
equal representation:
two senators and two
votes.
In the House, the
number of members
from each state
depended on population.
Roger Sherman
The Three-Fifths Compromise
•
•
•
The question of slaves being
counted in the general
population census was one that
caused great disagreement.
Northerners thought slaves
should be counted when
determining the share of
federal taxes each state
should pay, but not counted
when determining each state’s
representatives in the House.
Southerners wanted the
reverse.
Three out of every five would
be counted
The Ratification Struggle
•
•
•
•
The delegates at the convention agreed to change
the approval process for the Constitution. In the
Articles of Confederation, amendments required
unanimous approval, but the Constitution required
nine out of thirteen states for it to be ratified.
Members of the Federal Convention suggested that
each state hold a special convention to consider the
Constitution.
The small states, which could not survive if the union
collapsed, were the first to ratify. (1787)
Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Connecticut,
Georgia
Two Groups Emerge
•
•
Supporters of the Constitution called themselves
Federalists; they wanted the country to have a strong
central government.
Objectors to the Constitution called themselves AntiFederalists; they wanted more power in the hands of
the states.
Federalists
Alexander Hamilton
•Federalists-published pro
ratification essays to build
support
Anti Federalists
Thomas Jefferson
The Federalist Papers
•
Paper No. 10 and No. 51 were two of the most significant essays from the Federalist Papers.
Both were written by James Madison. In essay No. 10, Madison argues that a strong
national government is necessary to reduce conflict among opposing groups. In essay No. 51,
he contends that the balance of power among different branches of government would
prevent any one branch from gaining too much power.
•
•
No. 10 (1787)
“Among the numerous advantages promised by a well-constructed Union,
none deserves to be more accurately developed than its tendency to
break and control the violence of faction [splinter group] . . . . The
influence of factious [rebellious] leaders may kindle a flame within their
particular states but will be unable to spread a general conflagration
[larger fire] though the other states.”
•
•
No. 51 (1788)
“The great security against a gradual concentration of the several
powers in the same department consists in giving to those who
administer each department the necessary constitutional means and
personal motives to resist encroachments [advances] of the others.
The provision for defense must . . . Be made commensurate [equal] to
the danger of attack.” James Madison, The Federalist Paper, 1788
Federalist vs. Anti-Federalist
•Where was the
highest level of
concentration of
Federalists?
•How about Anti
Federalists?
•Federalists are
concentrated in
the Industrial
New England and
Middle States
•The AntiFederalists were
concentrated in
the southern
states
Federalist vs. Anti-Federalist
A Bill of Rights
•
•
•
•
•
By the spring of 1788, four more states approved the
Constitution:
Massachusetts, South Carolina, Maryland, New Hampshire
Two key states, New York and Virginia, had not given their
approval.
George Mason of Virginia had earlier proposed a bill of
rights to protect people against possible abuses of the
powers given to the federal government.
The delegates of the convention, however, rejected the bill.
The lack of the bill became a rallying point for AntiFederalists in Virginia.
George Mason
A Bill of Rights is Approved
•
•
•
James Madison suggested that amendments be added
to the Constitution protecting the rights of citizens of
the United States.
Virginia decided to ratify the Constitution with a bill of
rights.
New York, not wanting to become isolated, immediately
voted to ratify the Constitution by a count of 30-27.
James Madison
The Constitution is Law!
•
•
•
Congress could begin the process
of governing under the new
document.
The electors unanimously elected
George Washington to be the first
President of the United States.
Vice President – John Adams
•George Washington
•John Adams