Chapter 7 - Give Me Liberty

Anti-Federalist

1. Anti-Federalists, who opposed ratification, argues that the republic had to be small and warned that the Constitution would result in an oppressive government. 2. Liberty was the Anti-Federalists' watchword a. They argues for a Bill of Rights 3. Federalists tended to be men of substantial property, urban dwellers seeking prosperity, and rural residents tied to the commercial marketplace. 4. Anti-Federalists drew support from small farmers in more isolated rural areas. 5. Federalists dominated the press, which helped them carry the day. 6. Madison won support for the Constitution by promising a bill of rights later. 7. By mid-1788, the required nine states had ratified. 8. Only Rhode Island and North Carolina voted against ratification, but they eventually joined the new government.

Indians in the New Nation

1. Indian tribes, seen by most white Americans as savages, had no representation in the new government. 2. The treaty system was used with Indians, and Congress forbade the transfer of Indian land without federal approval. 3. The U.S. victory at the Battle of Fallen Timbers led to the Treaty of Greenville in 1795. a. Under this treaty, twelve Indian tribes ceded most of Ohio and Indiana to the United States. b. The treaty established the annuity system - yearly grants of federal money to Indian tribes that led to continuing U.S. government influence in tribal affairs. 4. Some prominent Americans believed that Indians could assimilate into society. a. Assimilation meant transforming traditional Indian life with tools and changing gender roles. b. Most Indians rejected these changes.

Jefferson, Slavery, and Race

1. John Locke and others maintained that reason was essential to having liberty. a. Many white Americans did not consider blacks to be rational beings. b. Jefferson's Notes on the State of Virginia claimed blacks lacked self-control, reason, and devotion to the larger community. 2. Jefferson did not think any group was fixed permanently in a status of inferiority. 3. He did not believe black Americans should stay in America. a. Freeing the slaves without removing them from the country would endanger the nation's freedom. 4. Jefferson saw slave trade as immoral and tried to avoid selling his own slaves. a. Ironically upon his death, more than 200 of his slaves were sold to pay his large debts

The Bill of Rights

1. Madison believed the Constitution would protect liberty without the addition of a bill of rights. 2. Still, to satisfy the Constitution's critics, Madison introduced a bill of rights to the first Congress. a. In a sense, the Bill of Rights defined the "unalienable rights" of the Declaration of Independence. 3. Some rights, such as the prohibiting of excessive bail and cruel and unusual punishments, reflected English roots, while others, such as the recognition of religious freedom, were uniquely American. 4. Not until the 20th century would the Bill of Rights be revered. 5. Among the most important rights were freedom of speech and of the press, vital building blocks of a democratic public sphere.

"Extend the Sphere"

1. Madison had a new vision of the relationship between government and society in Federalist. 2. Madison argued that the large size of the United States was a source of stability, not weakness. 3. Madison helped to popularize the liberal idea that men are generally motivated by self-interest and that the good of society arises from the clash of these private interests.

The Federalist

1. Nine of the thirteen states had to ratify the document. a. Not a given that ratification would occur. b. Each state elected delegate to special convention. 2. The Federalist was published to generate support for ratification. a. Hamilton argues that government was an expression of freedom, not its enemy.

National Identity

1. The Constitution identifies three populations inhabiting the United States: a. Indians b. "Other persons", which meant slaves c. "People", who were the only ones entitled to American freedom. 2. American nationality combined aspects of both civic and ethnic nationalisms. a. The political principles of the Revolution held Americans together. b. For most of U.S. history, citizenship has been defined by blood as well as political allegiance.

Principles of Freedom

1. The Revolution widened the divide between free Americans and those who remained in slavery. 2. "We the people" increasingly meant white Americans.

Blacks and the Republic

1. The status of citizenship for free blacks was left to individual states. 2. Crevecoeur's Letters from an American Farmer described America as a melting pot of Europeans. 3. Like Crevecoeur, many white Americans excluded blacks from their conception of the American people. a. The Naturalization Act of 1790 limited naturalization (the process by which immigrants become citizens) to "free white persons"