chapter 9

reasons for ratification of constitution

Preservation of the union to created fair equitable trade to create the ability to defend themselves to unify the 13 colonies

abolition of slave trade

The egalitarian sentiments unleashed by the war challenged the institute of slavers. Philadelphia Quakers in 1775 founded the world's first antislavery society. Hostilities hampered the noxious trade in 1774 called for the complete abolition of slave trade, a summons to which most of the states responded positively. Several northern states went further and either abolished slavery outright or provided for the gradual emancipation of blacks. Even on the plantations of Virginia, a few idealistic masters freed their slaves-the first ones of the later abolitionist movement. This revolution was sadly incomplete. No states south of Pennsylvania abolished slavery, and in both the North and South, the law discriminated harshly against freed blacks and slaves alike. Emancipated African Americans could be barred from purchasing property, holding certain jobs, and educating their children. Laws against interracial marriage also sprang up at this time. The reason slavery was not completely diminished was because the government wanted to maintain unity.

Daniel Shays

an American soldier, revolutionary, and farmer famous for being one of the leaders of Shays' Rebellion, a populist uprising against oppressive debt collection and tax policies in Massachusetts in 1786 and 1787. This rebellion flared up in western Massachusetts in 1786. Impoverished backcountry farmers, many of them Revolutionary War veterans, were losing their farms through mortgage foreclosures and tax delinquencies. Led by this man, a veteran of the Revolution, these desperate debtors demanded that the state issue paper money, lighten taxes, and suspend property takeovers. Hundreds of angry agitators, again seizing their muskets, attempted to enforce their demands. Authorities responded with drastic action.They raised a small army. After a few skirmishes, three Shaysites were killed and one was injured, and the movement collapsed. The man was condemned to death but was later pardoned.

Slave Trade Compromise

congress could regulate foreign commerce but could not interface with slave trade until 1808 duty (tax on imports) of ten dollars per slave

Great Compromise

decided on after bitter and prolonged debate. The larger states were conceded representation by population in the House of Representatives and the smaller states were represented equally in the Senate. Each state, no matter how small or poor, would have two senators. The big states obviously yielded more. As a sop to them, the delegates agreed that every tax bill or revenue measure must originate in the House, where population counted more heavily. This critical compromise broke the logjam, and from then on success seemed within reach. bicameral legislature house of representatives, with one representative per every forty thousand people in state senate, with two senators per state

3/5 Compromise

each slave would be counted as three-fifths of a person for the purposes of representation in the House north wanted no representation for slaves, saying that they weren't citizens south want representation for slaves because they would gain more influence

Federalists

favored the stronger federal government. the group had washington, alexander hamilton and ben franklin.

Constitution

great compromise, three-fifths compromise, slave trade compromise. balance of powers: delegated powers given to the national government; reserved powers to the state checks and balances among three branches of government: executive, legislative (House and Senate), and judicial (Supreme Court appointed by President, lower courts set up by Congress) president and vice president elected by an electoral college procedure for changing the constitution itself approved by all states except Rhode Island and North Carolina

NJ Plan

introduced by william paterson suggested a single house of congress, which would appoint executive branch and courts called for each state to have one vote planned to add two new powers-taxation and regulation of commerce named the power of national government as the supreme (highest) law of the land, stronger than that of state government

George Washington

man among the demigods, was unanimously elected chairman. His enormous prestige, as "the Sword of the Revolution," served to quiet overheated tempers.

Anti-Federalists

opposed the stronger federal government. they didn't want such a strong government. samuel adams, patrick henry, richard henry lee, thomas jefferson.

Virginia Plan

proposed by Edmund Randolph, but written by James Madison. Recommended a bicameral (two-house) legislature whose membership would be determined by size of the free population. Wanted lower house to be elected by voters, upper house by members of the lower house. Indicated more power for states with larger populations.

NW Ordinance of 1787

related to the governing of the Old Northwest. This law came to grips with the problem of how a nation should deal with its colonies-the same problem that had bedeviled the king and Parliament in London. The solution provided by the Northwest Ordinance was a judicious compromise: temporary tutelage, then permanent equality. First, there would be two evolutionary territorial stages, during which the area would be subordinate to the federal government. Then, when a territory could boast sixty thousand inhabitants, it might be admitted by Congress as a state, with all the privileges of the thirteen charter members. (This is precisely what the Continental Congress had promised the states when they surrendered their lands in 1781.) The ordinance also forbade slavery in the Old Northwest-a path-breaking step, though it exempted slaves already present.

articles of confederation

shortly before declaring independence in 1776, Congress appointed a committee to draft a written constitution for the new nation. They created this document. It was adopted by Congress in 1777, and translated into French after the Battle of Saratoga so as to convince France that America had a genuine government in the making. The papers were not ratified by all thirteen states until 1781, less than eight months before the victory at Yorktown.

civic virtue

the notion that democracy depended on the unselfish commitment of each citizen to the public good. And who could better cultivate the habits of a virtuous citizenry than mothers, to whom society entrusted the moral education of the young? Indeed the selfless devotion of a mother to her family was often cited as the very model or proper republican behavior. The idea of "republican motherhood" thus took root, elevating women to a newly prestigious role as the special keeper of the nation's conscience. Educational opportunities for women expanded, in the expectation that educated wives and mothers could better cultivate the virtues demanded by the Republic in their husbands, daughters, and sons. Republican women now bore crucial responsibility for the survival of the nation.

Federalist Papers

written by John Jay, James Madison, and Alexander Hamilton. It was a masterly series or articles for the New York newspapers. Though designed as propaganda, these essays remain the most penetrating commentary ever written on the Constitution and are still widely sold in book from. argued for republicanism meaning that you had elected representatives that represented the people.