The Confederation and the Constitution, 1776-1790

Charles Beard

An Economic Interpretation of the Constitution of the United States (1913) argued that the Articles of Confederation had protected debtors and small property owners and displeased wealthy elites heavily invested in trade, the public debt, and the promotion of manufacturing.

Shays' Rebellion

Armed uprising of western Massachusetts debtors seeking lower taxes and an end to property foreclosures. Though quickly put down, the insurrection inspired fears of "mob rule" among leading Revolutionaries.

Philadelphia Convention

Beginning on May 25, 1787, the convention recommended by the Annapolis Convention was held in Philadelphia. All of the states except Rhode Island sent delegates, and George Washington served as president of the convention. The convention lasted 16 weeks, and on September 17, 1787, produced the present Constitution of the United States, which was drafted largely by James Madison.

Besides George Washington, among the most influential figures in the Constitutional Convention were

Benjamin Franklin, James Madison, and Alexander Hamilton.

states' rights

But the poorer states' rights people poohpoohed the talk of anarchy. Many of them were debtors who feared that a powerful federal government would force them to pay their creditors

The Federalist essays

Collection of essays written by John Jay, James Madison, and Alexander Hamilton and published during the ratification debate in New York to lay out the Federalists' arguments in favor of the new Constitution. Since their publication, these influential essays have served as an important source for constitutional interpretation.

How did the Constitution differ from the Articles of Confederation?

Constitution is bicameral while the Articles were unicameral.

Northwest Ordinance (1787)

Created a policy for administering the Northwest Territories. It included a path to statehood and forbade the expansion of slavery into the territories.

After the Revolution, slavery was abolished in New York and Pennsylvania, but continued to exist in New England and the South.

False

The Northwest Ordinance originally attempted to make the western territories permanent colonial possessions of the United States.

False

The antifederalists opposed the Constitution partly because they thought it gave too much power to the states and not enough to Congress.

False

The delegates to the Constitutional Convention were all extremely wealthy slaveholders.

False

The greatest failure of the national government under the Articles of Confederation was the inability to deal with the issue of western lands.

False

The state governments after the Revolution stayed mostly under the light political control of the eastern seaboard elite.

False

The states send their delegates to Philadelphia in 1787 for the purpose of writing a new Constitution with a strong central government.

False

Articles of Confederation

First American constitution that established the United States as a loose confederation of states under a weak national Congress, which was not granted the power to regulate commerce or collect taxes. The Articles were replaced by a more efficient Constitution in 1789.

Identify and explain the major compromises at the Constitutional Convention.

Great Compromise: created the bicameral legislature. 3/5 Compromise: recognized slaves as 3/5 of a full citizen to be represented. Electoral College: voting

Virginia Plan

Its essence was the representation in both houses of a bicameral Congress should be based on population - an arrangement that would naturally give the larger states an advantage.

Gordon Wood

Scholars since the 1950s have searched for new ways to understand the origins of the Constitution. The most influential work has been Gordon Wood's Creation of the American Republic (1969). Wood reinterpreted the ratification controversy as a struggle to define the true essence of republicanism.

Abigail Adams

Wife of John Adams. During the Revolutionary War, she wrote letters to her husband describing life on the homefront. She urged her husband to remember America's women in the new government he was helping to create.

One way that American independence actually harmed the nation's economic fortunes was by

cutting off American trade with the British empire.

The primary political obstacle to the formation of the first American government under the Articles of Confederation was

disputes among the jealous states over control of western lands.

Massachusetts Constitution

drafted by special convention, final draft sent directly to the people for ratification, could only be amended at another constitutional convention, adopted in 1780.

state constitutions

had many features in common. The documents they drafted were contracts that defined the powers of government, as did the old colonial charters, but they drew their authority from the people. They were intended to represent a fundamental law, superior to the transient whims of ordinary legislation. All of them deliberately created weak executive and judicial branches.

Shays's Rebellion contributed to the movement for a new constitution by

raising the fear of anarchy and disorder among wealthy conservatives.

"mobocracy"

rule or domination by the radical masses

Alexander Hamilton

saved the Annapolis Convention by setting up the Constitutional Convention. In the Constitutional Convention, he was present as an advocate of a super-powerful central government.

John Jay

secretary of foreign affairs under the Articles of Confederation

A major new political innovation that emerged in the Revolutionary era was

the idea of a written constitution drafted by a convention and ratified by direct votes of the people.

"natural rights"

the idea that all humans are born with rights, which include the right to life, liberty, and property

Among the important changes brought about by the American Revolution was

the increasing separation of church and state.

In the new state constitutions written after the Revolution, the most powerful branch of government was

the legislative branch.

Antifederalists generally found their greatest support among

the poorer debtors and farmers.

Ratification process

the ratification of the Constitution required only nine of the thirteen states (not unanimity, like the Articles of Confederation)

Attempts to establish strong governments in post-Revolutionary America were seriously hindered by

the revolutionary ideology that preached natural rights and suspicion of all governmental authority.

The "Great Compromise" in the Constitutional Convention provided that

there would be representation by population in the House of Representatives but equal representation of all states in the Senate.

The ideal of "republican motherhood" that emerged from the American Revolution held that

women had a special responsibility to cultivate the "civic virtues" of republicanism in their children.

New Jersey Plan

"Small-state plan" put forth at the Philadelphia convention, proposing equal representation by state, regardless of population, in a unicameral legislature. Small states feared that the more populous states would dominate the agenda under a proportional system.

Annapolis Convention

1786: 9 states appointed delegates, but only 5 were finally represented. Alexander Hamilton engineered the adoption of his report. It called upon Congress to summon a convention to meet in Philadelphia the next year, not to deal with commerce alone, but to bolster the entire fabric of the Articles of the Confederation.

James Madison

36 and a profound student of government, made contribution so notable that he has been dubbed the "Father of the Constitution".

western lands

6 lang-hungry states argued that more fortunate states would not have retained possession of this splendid prize if all the other states had not fought for it also. States without holdings to sell trans-Allegheny tracts would have to tax themselves heavily to defray these obligations.

Benjamin Franklin

81, added the urbanity of an elder statesman, though he was inclined to be indiscreetly talkative in his declining years.

popular sovereignty

A belief that ultimate power resides in the people. Antifederalists believed that it resided in a single branch - the legislature - while the federalists believed that every branch - executive, judiciary, and legislature - effectively represented the people.

paper currency

After the Revolution, Americans hotly debated the issue of paper currency because it had resulted in inflation during the war, when the government used it to pay for goods and services. Many farmers favored issuing paper currency through a land office, which would provide capital based on the value of their land.

The crucial federalist successes in the fight for ratification occurred in the states of

Massachusetts, Virginia, and New York.

George Washington

On the federalist side of the Constitution; was called "a fool from nature" from the antifederalists.

Antifederalists

Opponents of the 1787 Constitution, they cast the document as antidemocratic, objected to the subordination of the states to the central government, and feared encroachment on individuals' liberties in the absence of a bill of rights.

The Great Compromise

Popular term for the measure which reconciled the New Jersey and Virginia plans at the constitutional convention, giving states proportional representation in the House and equal representation in the Senate. The compromise broke the stalemate at the convention and paved the way for subsequent compromises over slavery and the Electoral College.

Federalists

Proponents of the 1787 Constitution, they favored a strong national government, arguing that the checks and balances in the new Constitution would safeguard the people's liberties.

Land Ordinance of 1785

Provided for the sale of land in the Old Northwest and earmarked the proceeds toward repaying the national debt.

Describe the commercial issues that led to the calling of the Annapolis convention.

States were taxing each other. Paper currency caused inflation. Britain stopped trading with the US, Spain blocked trading in New Orleans, and the US owed France a lot of money to pay for the revolution.

compromises

The Constitution was a result of multiple of these. A vital one was the method of electing the president indirectly by the Electoral College, rather than by direct means

Why didn't the Articles of Confederation work?

The federal government, under the Articles, was too weak to enforce their laws and therefore had no power. The Continental Congress had borrowed money to fight the Revolutionary War and could not repay their debts.

Drawing up a written fundamental law in a special constitutional convention and then submitting the document directly to the people for ratification was an important new idea of the Revolutionary period.

True

Shays's Rebellion significantly strengthened the movement for a stronger central government by raising the fear of anarchy among conservatives.

True

The "Great Compromise" between large and small states at the convention resulted in a bicameral legislature with different principles of representation in each.

True

The American Revolution created a substantial though not radical push in the direction of social and political equality.

True

The Articles of Confederation were weak because they contained neither an executive nor power to tax and regulate commerce.

True

The United States experienced hard economic times and some social discontent during the years of the Confederation (1781-1787).

True

The federalists used tough political maneuvering and the promise of a bill of rights to win a narrow ratification of the Constitution in key states.

True

The movement toward the separation of church and state was greatly accelerated by the disestablishment of the Anglican church in Virginia.

True

Electoral college

While the large states would have the advantage in the first round of popular voting, as a state's share of electors was based on the total of its senators and representatives in Congress, the small states would gain a larger voice if no candidate got a majority of electoral votes and the election was thrown to the House of Representatives, where each state had only one vote

Gouveneur Morris

Wrote the preamble to the constitution.

The Northwest Ordinance of 1787 provided that

after sufficient population growth, western territories could be organized and then join the union as states.

The greatest weakness of the government under the Articles of Confederation was that

it had no power to regulate commerce or collect taxes from the sovereign states.

Federalist #10

made by James Madison which brilliantly refuted the conventional wisdom of the day that it was impossible to extend a republican form of government over a large territory.

Despite the Revolution's emphasis on human rights and equality, the Founding Fathers failed to abolish slavery because

of their fear that a fight over slavery would destroy fragile national unity.