Chapter 7, Founding a New Nation, 1783-1789

• A new nation emerges from the chaos of the Revolutionary War…

• The rise of the world’s newest empire…

**The United States of America**

“The Constitutional Era: 1783-1789”

• During this time…Americans made 2 attempts to establish a workable gov’t based on REPUBLICAN principles.

• American political leaders feared a powerful central gov’t like Britain’s, so they created THE ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION, which they adopted at the end of the War.

Don’t forget that the American government during the Revolution had…• drafted the Articles of Confederation in 1777 (1st

written constitution of the USA at the Second Continental Congress )

• The Articles of Confederation were ratified (approved) in 1781. BUT two key issues had delayed ratification/approval.

• What were these issues?• 1. How each state was going to be represented.• 2. The disposition/surrendering of claims on

Western land.

But, the Articles of Confederation make for a weak national government

• Why was this?• 1. Allowed states to retain most powers.• 2. No executive (President) or judicial

(legal/courts) branches of gov’t—only a legislature (one-house Congress).

• 3. Gave Congress no power to tax or regulate commerce among the states.

• 4. Provided for no common currency $$$$.• 5. Gave each state 1 vote regardless of size….

Wait…there’s more…

• 6. Required 9/13 states to approve legislation for it to take effect.

• 7. Required a unanimous vote by all states to amend the Articles.

• The only things that Congress can do that have any real teeth are:

Good grief! What on earth can this early Congress do???

• As it turns out, not a whole lot, but it can…• 1-declare war• 2-conduct foreign affairs (ambassadors/ Sec’y of

State)• 3-make treaties• 4-however, Congress did establish NATIONAL

control over the lands to the west of the 13 states and devised/came up w/ rules for its settlement.

Land ordinances of 1784-1785

• For starters…the early Congress• Established stages of self-gov’t for the West (1784)• Authorized the surveying of the NW Territory

(1785)• Divided the NWT into townships 6 miles square,

each composed of 36 “sections” of 640 acres • Stipulated that surveyed land would be sold at

auction, starting at a dollar an acre (still out of the reach of most people) *

The NW Ordinance of 1787

• What else did it do?• 1. authorized the creation of 3 to 5 states out

of the NW Territory.• 2. authorized the admittance of new states as

full equals to the original 13 states.• 3. prohibited slavery in the NW Territory /the

Old Northwest

Shays’s Rebellion of 1786

• Because of the WAR, the American economy was in a DEEP, DEEP depression in the 1780s.

• The shortage of currency made it difficult for people to pay their debts and taxes.

• Farmers feared foreclosure (seizure of mortgaged property by a bank if payments are not made.)

• In 1786, a group of farmers in West. Mass., under the leadership of war veteran Daniel Shays…

Shays’s Rebellion is REALLY, REALLY serious

• …blockaded the courthouse to keep it from doing business and then attacked the federal arsenal (where weaponry is kept) in Springfield, Mass.

“A Little Rebellion Now and Then is a Good Thing.” (T. Jefferson)

• However, many in positions of power did not agree w/ Jefferson, and after Shays’s Rebellion was quashed, certain leaders became convinced that the new country needed a STRONGER CENTRAL GOVERNMENT.

• The Articles of Confederation were on their way out the door.

Enter the “Nation Builders”

• James Madison and Alexander Hamilton spearhead movement for a stronger nat’l gov’t.

• Shays’s Rebellion strengthens the Nationalists’ cause. Men like Shays saw the gov’t as weak. “No respect is paid to the federal authority,” complained Madison.

• Gov’t saw unchecked power in the hands of men like Shays as dangerous.

One last try before it all falls apart

• So…in Dec. 1786, delegates call for yet another convention to amend/fix the Articles of Confederation before the country falls into the kind of anarchy some national leaders so fear. They don’t want to give the Brits the satisfaction of saying “I told you so!” and “Na, na, na, na, na! You failed!”

So…the Articles are scrapped and a new constitution is born

• First of all…common men like Shays are not represented. The new constitution is put together by a wealthy, well-educated elite. The need to centralize power and keep it out of the hands of the “riff raff” is paramount.

• Major points of agreement amongst the elites gathered there are the creation of a/an:

• 1- Legislature• 2- Executive• 3-Judiciary

Wait…it’s not all going to be that easy!

• However, problems over the shape of the new congress arise immediately:

• 1-What is a suitable balance of power between the federal/national gov’t and the states? And…

• 2-What are the best interests of the larger versus/vs the smaller states?

Competing plans emerge

• 1. The Virginia Plan: presented by James Madison. Favored by most populous states. Includes: a two-house legislature with a state’s population determining representation in each house.

• And:• 2. The New Jersey Plan: favored by smaller

states. Includes: a one-house legislature in which each state casts one vote.

Compromises, compromises…

• A compromise is reached that gives the new nation a two-house congress with:

• 1-a Senate (each state has 2 members/appointed every 6 yrs by state legislatures)

• And • 2-a House of Representatives (apportioned

according to population/elected every 2 yrs by people.)

New government is a LIMITED Democracy, because…

• The President is chosen by members of 1- an electoral college; 2- a tied vote is decided by the House of Representatives.

• What is an Elector? (A person chosen by 1-legislature or 2- popular vote, depending on state.)

• The number of Electors is determined by adding together the # of Senators and Representatives.

The New Constitution is genius in that it embodies the principles of FEDERALISM and CHECKS AND BALANCES

• What is Federalism?-The DIVISION of POWERS between the National/Federal Gov’t and the States.

• What are CHECKS AND BALANCES?- The SEPARATION of POWERS within the national gov’t. between the Legislative, Judicial, and Executive branches.

• No one branch can dominate. Huzzah!!

Slavery in the Constitution—It is? Well, where is it????

• No mention of slavery in the new constitution.• Constitutional Convention includes both

abolitionists and slaveholders.• How will they ever agree on such an explosive

issue?• Compromises, compromises…• Concessions made to southern slaveholding

states, particularly S. Carolina.

Slavery’s in the Constitution, just not mentioned by name

• 1. Congress prevented from abolishing slave trade until 1808

• 2. All states had to return fugitive slaves to owners.

• 3. Federal/National gov’t could not interfere w/ slavery in the states.

• 4- Slave states had more power than their numbers warranted because of the 3/5 clause.

Here it is! Here it is!

• FINALLY, the new nation has a new Constitution.

• Final draft signed in September 1787, which is now sent to the states for ratification/approval.

• Let’s see what they think about it.

Will the states ratify it, or not? What happens next…

• 9/13 needed to ratify the new constitution. Will they or won’t they?

• A raging public debate ensues between the Federalists (those in favor of a strong national gov’t) and the Anti-Federalists (those opposed).

• All those in favor??? Men like: Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, John Jay.

• All those opposed??? Men like: Samuel Adams, Patrick “Give Me Liberty!” Henry, John Hancock.

We need a Bill of Rights…• …say the Anti-Federalists. We want our

liberty/freedom assured! We didn’t throw off a foreign tyrant (KG3) only to have him replaced by a home-grown one! We need more assurances before we sign this thing!

• So, in order to gain approval for the Constitution, Madison promises to add a Bill of Rights later in order to “conciliate the minds of the people.” Based on this promise, 9/13 states have signed by May 1788.

What’s in the Bill of Rights

• The Bill of Rights spells out in crystal clear terms that the American people are to have rights that include:

• -freedom of speech• -freedom of religion• - freedom of the Press• -the right to assembly• -the right to bear arms

There’s much, much more…

The Bill of Rights also prohibits:-excessive bail-cruel and unusual punishmentsAnd guarantees:-trial by jury, among other things.

But, just exactly who are “We the People….”

• 1. “People”= the only ones entitled to American freedom, NOT

• 2. “Indians”• 3. “Other persons”= slaves

Indians lose out---again

• Indians have no representation in the new national gov’t

• U.S. victory at the Battle of Fallen Timbers led to the Treaty of Greenville in 1795

• Under this treaty, 12 Indian tribes cede/give up most of Ohio and Indiana to the U.S.

Blacks in the New Republic

• The status of citizenship for FREE blacks was left to individual states

- Thomas Jefferson in his Notes on the State of Virginia claimed blacks lacked self-control, reason, and devotion to the larger community.

- Jefferson did not believe that black Americans should stay in America.

- Failure to deal with the issue of slavery, among other reasons, led to the Civil War.