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1 B. The New American House 2. The New Nation Takes Form i. Purpose: Through a combination of their own research, key terms, primary documents, and the lecture, students will shape their own understanding of how the Constitution’s ratification positively affected the new nation’s development. Particular attention will be paid to the search for stability that characterized the 1790s, as well as the numerous important changes that were happening in areas such as agriculture, finance, and commerce. Also, relations with Indians, Europeans, and between Americans shall be investigated, with a special emphasis on the formation of political parties for the first time in American history. ii. Background Website: 1. http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/database/subtitles.cfm?titleID=20 iii. Key terms: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. The First Bank of the United States The Whiskey Rebellion The Neutrality Proclamation The XYZ Affair The Alien and Sedition Acts iv. Key Concepts: 1. How did the Whiskey Rebellion demonstrate the resolve of the new country? 2. To what extent did events external to America influence the formation of political parties? 3. In which way did Alexander Hamilton desire the country to develop? 4. Why was the Sedition Act unconstitutional? 5. What is significant about the responses to the Sedition Act? v. Document: 1. The Sedition Act http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/statutes/sedact.htm 2 Lecture on the New Nation Takes Form I. The Search for Stability a. The Bill of Rights "...a bill of rights is what the people are entitled to against every government on earth, general or particular, and what no government should refuse or rest on inference." Thomas Jefferson - - - Seven states had bills of rights protecting fundamental freedoms from government infringement. Among the rights that were guaranteed were freedom of the press, of speech, and of religion, and the right to a jury trial. However, some people thought the Constitution should have been prefaced with a Bill of Rights, but others, for example, James Madison, feared that by specifying certain rights for protection might suggest that other rights might be tampered with. But there was a huge swell of pressure for a Bill of Rights. State ratification conventions proposed more than two hundred proposed amendments. From these proposals, Madison produced 19 possible amendments, 12 of which the Congress accepted, and 10 of which the states approved: I. II. III. IV. V. VI. VII. VIII. IX. X. Freedom of religion, speech, and the press, and the right of assembly and to petition government Right to bear arms Quartering of troops Searches and seizures Rights in criminal cases Rights to a fair trial Rights in civil cases Bails, fine, and punishments Rights retained by the people Powers retained by the states and the people b. The Right to Vote Significantly, no one complained about the fact that the right to vote had been omitted from the Bill of Rights… - The Constitution deliberately left all decisions about defining voters to the individual states (in order to promote stability) Most states upheld property requirements to be able to vote as it was thought that only property owners would be independent enough to vote in perfect freedom This left out: slaves, servants, apprentices, tenants, children, wives, and a new and growing class of propertyless wage laborers at the lower end of the social scale 3 c. The Republican Wife and Mother The exclusion of women from politics did not mean that they had no civic role or responsibility….Writers, both male and female, in the 1790s reevaluated courtship, marriage, and motherhood in light of republican ideals. Unlimited, tyrannical power in the rule, whether king or husband, was now declared a thing of the past. Affection, not duty, bound wives to their husbands and citizens to their government. - The power relations of republican marriage were supposed to mirror the power relations of civil society. Specifically, the writers claimed that women had the capacity to reform the manners and morals of men. By upholding public virtue, women bolstered political liberty (sexual chastity promoting good morals!) Republican ideals cast motherhood in a new light as well, centering on the importance of mothers as the teachers of virtuous sons d. Counting on progress Concern over the potential failure of the “Great Experiment” led some people to adopt empirical reasoning to prove the progress of the new nation - II. The popularity of data collection was grounded in the assumption that progress was measurable and that bigger meant better “Statistics” became the new word that came to describe such data collection As an outgrowth of this obsession with numbers, came the reform of the country’s money system: English, state, continental, and foreign money were all being used (commercial nightmare!) – Thomas Jefferson came up with the decimalized system which made things a lot simpler and allowed average people to participate more fully in the widening world of commerce. Sources of Economic Change Following a decade of severe economic instability, the 1790s ushered in a period of prosperity and sustained economic growth. New agricultural opportunities, transportation improvements, and innovations in finance were beginning to transform not only the economy but the way ordinary men and women thought about their work and their chances for bettering their lives. The simplified monetary system and serious attention to arithmetic training allowed many more people to participate confidently in the world of commercial exchange…. a. Commercial Agriculture From at least the mid-18th century, most farmers had participated in market transactions at local stores and in nearby towns. Self-sufficiency was simply not possible in a society where a taste for some of the luxuries of life had taken hold…. - Grain production soared in 1790’s America and became a very valuable export However, the single-most-important invention in 18th century agriculture came in the cotton industry. 4 - In 1793 Eli Whitney, a clever young Yale graduate, invented the cotton gin, which meant that cotton could be cleaned up to 50 times faster than by hand In the south, cotton production skyrocketed: In 1792, approximately 140,000 pounds of cotton were grown; by 1800 this figure had reached 35 MILLION pounds! Cotton fever had gripped the South, with momentous and chilling consequences for the 1 million enslaved black Americans living there b. Transportation In the 1790s, east-to-west road building commenced…. - The lack of decent roads was hindering the nation’s commercial development, so private companies, under charter by state governments, started building turnpike roads Western roads greatly facilitated the migration of settlers, but they were too slow to allow an economical movement of heavy, bulky agricultural products like grain. Consequently, western farmers usually opted to distill their surplus into a much more compact form—wheat and rye whiskeys—for transport to eastern markets (for example Jack Daniels in TN) c. Merchants and Capital The surge in the overseas grain and cotton trades stimulated the growth of the commercial classes in the seacoast cities of the new nation. - III. The surge in the overseas grain and cotton trades stimulated the growth of the commercial classes—the merchants—in the seacoast cities of the new nation, and helped them become very rich Related to this was the growth in the number of banks (there were 3 in 1790 and over 100 by 1810) as the banks helped merchants and speculators invest in expensive and potentially lucrative projects Hamilton’s Political Economy In the 1790s there were growing political rifts, and Alexander Hamilton, the new nation’s head of the Treasury, was at the center of the escalating controversy a. The Public Debt and Taxes “A national debt if not excessive will be to us a national blessing; it will be a powerful cement of our union Alexander Hamilton - Owing to the financial instability and political insecurity of the 1780s, America found herself with a public debt worth some $52 million – the big question of the 1790s was what to do about it Hamilton’s plan basically meant that the US would issues new bonds and promise to pay back the money within 40 years He also took the much bolder step of adding another $25 million to the national debt! The clever thing about Hamilton’s plan was that only about 2% of the white population held the largest portions of the debt; therefore, now these influential men would have a 5 - direct stake in the government, support that Hamilton regarded as essential to the government’s stability. In order to be able to make the interest payments on the debt, Hamilton raised the taxes on whiskey by 25% He intended for the nation to drink down the national debt! b. The First Bank of the United States Believing that banks were the “nurseries of national wealth,” Hamilton modeled his plan on the Bank of England: a private corporation that worked primarily for the public good. - Hamilton’s 1790 plan for a national bank was for it to help stabilize the economy, exert prudent control over credit, interest rates, and the value of the currency c. The Report on Manufactures The third component of Hamilton’s plan was set out in December 1791 in the Report on Manufactures, a proposal to encourage the production of American-made goods - Manufacturing was in its infancy in 1790, as a result of years of dependency on British imports Hamilton recognized that a balanced and self-reliant economy required the US to produce its own cloth and iron products The Report on Manufactures was the one Hamiltonian plan not approved by Congress. The plan sought to impose tariffs and impose subsidies to encourage the growth of local manufacturing d. The Whiskey Rebellion Hamilton may have been a financial genius, but he still could make serious political mistakes, as his excise tax on whiskey showed. - The Whiskey Rebellion, 1794, was an uprising in the Pennsylvania counties west of the Alleghenies, caused by Alexander Hamilton's excise tax of 1791. The settlers, mainly Scotch-Irish, for whom whiskey was an important economic commodity, resented the tax as discriminatory and detrimental to their liberty and economic welfare. There were many public protests, and rioting broke out in 1794 against the central government's efforts to enforce the law. Troops called out by President Washington quelled the rioting, and resistance evaporated. Nevertheless Hamilton sought to make an example of the settlers and illustrate the newly created government's power to enforce its law; many were arrested. President Washington pardoned the two rebels who were convicted of treason. This rebellion was very important because it proved that the new government had the power and the will to enforce its laws 6 IV. Conflicts West and East Washington’s second term began in 1793, after a smooth and again unanimous reelection. But as the Whiskey Rebellion demonstrated, the widespread admiration for the individual man did not translate to complete domestic tranquility. a. To the West: Indians By the Treaty of Paris of 1783, England had given up all land east of the Mississippi River to the United States. But unfortunately this land was not entirely England’s to give…. - A doubled American population, from 2.5 million in 1770 to 5 million in 1790, created an insistent pressure for western land Bloody frontier raids and skirmishes between settlers and Indians led the US to expand its military forces north of the Ohio River Things came to a head, and so in the fall of 1791, General Arthur St. Clair led a force of 2,000 soldiers against some Miami an Shawnee Indians…they got totally beaten, losing over half their number It was the worst defeat in the entire history of US-Indian wars The grisly tales of St. Clair’s defeat served to increase and the level of sheer terror that Americans had of the “barbaric” Indians, and only strengthened their resolve to exterminate them But, a couple of years later, the Americans returned to defeat the confederated Indian tribes at the Battle of Fallen Timbers, and made a peace terms that saw most of presentday Ohio ceded to the US b. Across the Atlantic: France and England In 1793 and 1794, while the nation battled Indians in Ohio, other conflicts stirred far to the east, across the Atlantic. Ever since the French Revolution of 1789, when the Sans Culottes had overrun the Bastille in the name of liberty, equality, and fraternity, England had been looking over at France with some distaste; after 1793, however, the two countries were at war with each other. The fledgling American nation could not afford to get involved in any “entangling alliances” with either of the two world super powers at the time… - - Until 1793, support for the French Revolution could remain a matter of personal conviction, but afterwards the question of French vs. British loyalty turned into a very delicate and critical foreign policy issue Because of the Franco-American alliance signed in 1778, the US was obliged to aid France in the war, but it still had very important economic ties to England, which it couldn’t afford to risk. Therefore, America went against its treaty with France and tried to remain neutral In May 1793, President Washington issued the Neutrality Proclamation with friendly assurances to both sides, but no promise of aid to either The Proclamation was good in theory, but in practice American merchants were still trading with the French which very much angered the British, so the British seized 300 American ships and took their cargoes This made for a big crisis; John Jay, the chief justice of the Supreme Court, was sent to England to hammer out some kind of a treaty 7 c. The Jay Treaty John Jay returned from his diplomatic mission to England with a treaty that almost no one liked. V. Jay's negotiations with the British were not particularly successful. The British agreed to vacate the western forts, and to compensate American ship owners. In compensation, the British got most-favoured-nation trading status from the Americans. The British refused to give any more compensation, however, unless the United States provided compensation for the vast amounts of United Empire Loyalist property seized after the revolution. The British also refused to allow trade between the U.S. and the Caribbean However the treaty failed to deal with two other issues between the nations, the impressment of sailors and the debts owed by way of compensation to Loyalists The Treaty was ratified in 1796, but the American people were very displeased with this settlement, and there were many protests against Jay and his treaty (Jay was burned in effigy and Hamilton was stoned while he tried to make a speech). Alexander Hamilton, however, convinced Washington it was the best treaty that could be expected, and Washington agreed to sign it. This action caused Thomas Jefferson to start forming an active and open opposition group to Hamilton and his associates. They began to call themselves Republicans Federalists and republicans The assumption that a division into political parties was a sign of failure was soon put to a severe test. In Washington’s second term, consistent voting blocs first appeared on economic issues. By the time of the Jay Treaty, party labels—Federalist and Republican—had come into use, and rival newspapers were beginning to identify with one or the other label. a. The Election of 1796 After two presidential terms, George Washington stepped down from the nation’s premier post, thus precipitating a contest between the Federalists and the Republicans to secure the presidency… - George Washington, worn-out, stung by criticism and yearning for the pleasures of Mount Vernon, refused to consider a third term. He supported his vice president, John Adams, a Federalist, but thought it unseemly to campaign on behalf of any candidate. The Constitution in 1796 required presidential electors to place the names of two individuals on their ballots; the candidate with the highest vote count, if a majority, became the president and the runner up the vice president There were 8 main candidates, and the results were not anticipated by anyone. Adams won with 71 electoral votes, but was followed by Thomas Jefferson with 68 votes The president was a Federalist, but the vice president was the leader of the Republican opposition – an untidy situation. 8 b. John Adams’ Presidency Adams had desperately wanted to be president, but now he was uneasy about managing the job…. - - Adams’ first mistake was to retain the same cabinet members in office at the end of Washington’s administration. He had hoped continuity would be a good thing; however, these men were mediocre politicians and were pretty much in the pocket of Alexander Hamilton Thus Hamilton, a private citizen, exercised a great deal of power in the Adams presidency The relationship with the VP was a rocky one, and soon Jefferson withdrew from active counsel of the president, not wishing to be associated with what he regarded as bad policies c. The XYZ Affair Foreign policy lay at the heart of the rift between Adams and Jefferson and between Federalists and Republicans… - - - - The pro-British Federalists pushed for war against France following the recent French seizure of American ships Despite the strained President Adams, however, was determined to avoid war. Adams sent a three member commission to Paris in order to avoid a conflict. Several weeks later, the three diplomats met with three French agents, known only as X, Y, and Z. The three agents demanded $250,000, a loan from the United States, and a formal apology for comments made by Adams in order for negotiations to occur. The American delegates found this bribery unacceptable The U.S. offered France many of the same provisions found in Jay's Treaty with Britain, but France countered with an order that Marshall and Pickney should leave the country, refusing any proposal that would involve these two. Gerry remained in France, thinking he could prevent a declaration of war, but did not negotiate any further President Adams released the report of the affair two weeks later. Many Americans, especially anti-French Federalists, were furious. In 1798, a declaration of war almost came about, but Adams prevented it from passing, preferring to stay with the diplomatic route. Adams appointed new diplomats including William Murray to handle the growing conflict, and eventually averted a war. At home, though, relations between Federalist and Republican supporters were particularly strained, even violent sometimes. A leading federalist newspaper declared that “he who is not for us is against us” 9 d. The Alien and Sedition Acts In June and July 1798, Congress hammered out a two-part Sedition Act that mandated a heavy fine or jail sentence for anyone engaged in conspiracies or revolts against the government…. - - - - VI. Ratified in 1798, these were four laws enacted by the Federalist-controlled U.S. Congress, allegedly in response to the XYZ Affair, but actually designed to destroy Thomas Jefferson’s Republican party, which had openly expressed its sympathies for the French Revolutionaries Depending on recent arrivals from Europe for much of their voting strength, the Republicans were adversely affected by the Naturalization Act, which postponed citizenship, and thus voting privileges, until the completion of 14 (rather than 5) years of residence, and by the Alien Act and the Alien Enemies Act, which gave the President the power to imprison or deport aliens suspected of activities posing a threat to the national government. President John Adams made no use of the alien acts. Most controversial, however, was the Sedition Act, devised to silence Republican criticism of the Federalists. Its broad proscription of spoken or written criticism of the government, the Congress, or the President virtually nullified the First Amendment freedoms of speech and the press Prominent Jeffersonians, most of them journalists, were tried, and some were convicted, in sedition proceedings. The Alien and Sedition Acts provoked the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions and did much to unify the Republican party and to foster Republican victory in the election of 1800. The Republican-controlled Congress repealed the Naturalization Act in 1802; the others were allowed to expire (1800–1801). Parties Nonetheless During the crisis of 1798-1799, a strong sense of peril gripped the nation, and out of that arose the initial acknowledgment of the existence of political parties Federalists: - grew out of the main core of supporters for the Constitution in 1788 - Under Hamilton’s urgings, they supported economic plans to develop commerce and enhance the strength of the federal government - They were pro-British, pro commerce, and ever concerned about the potential excesses of democracy Republicans: - They had the Antifederalist suspicion of a powerful federal government i.e. the Sedition Act - For the most part, the Republicans were pro-France and to a point supported their radical republicanism