APUSH notes Shay's Rebellion and Reaction

Shay's Rebellion 1786-1787

1786-1787 Following the Revolution, the country fell into severe depression. Many farmers went in debt and couldn't pay it back. Many of these farmers never received promised pay from fighting in the Revolution.

Constitutional Convention

1787 • Washington was unanimously elected chairperson • James Madison directly fashioned most of the Constitution • Issues ○ Madison and Alexander Hamilton quickly took control of the convention, arguing forcefully for a strong Federal government to replace the Articles with a powerful central government. ○ Controversies then arose as to what powers to give the new gov.

Federalists Papers

· A series of highly persuasive appeared in New York newspaper-- written by James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay. · 85 altogether-- and alter published as a book · Presented reasons for each of the major provisions of the constitution

Outcome of Ratification process

· Delaware, New Jersey and Pennsylvania were the first 3 to ratify · Ninth to ratify was New Hampshire in 1788 · New York and Virginia however, had not yet ratified, and were leaning towards the anti-federalists · Rhode Island and North Carolina also hadn't ratified, but no one cared

Issue of Slavery

· If representation in the House of Representation is based on population, who do you get to count in deciding your population? Should you count slaves as people for purposes of representation? If so, southern states would have a lot of extra power. Northern delegates argued you can't do that, since they had less slaves in the north. [note: this is only for purposes of deciding how much representation the white population gets. Black people were still be considered property] · Another issue was the slave trade and slavery itself. Even many southerners objected to the brutality of the slave trade. · Southerners were concerned that the NW Ordinance had already set the precedent that Congress might outlaw slavery. · South insisted upon no banning of slavery, or the slave trade - and further insisted that their slaves count as people for deciding how much representation the south got. Solution: · The North mostly caved in to these demands. · The offered the Three-fifths Compromise whereby each slave would count as three-fifths of a person for the purpose of determining a state's level representation. · The south also got a guarantee that slaves could be imported for at least 20 years after ratification of the constitution--at which time Congress could vote to abolish the practice (which they did in 1808). But Congress was not allowed under the constitution to ban it prior. · Slavery itself then would be left up to the states to decide if they wanted to ban it.

Virginia Arguments

· In 1788, most populas of the states · George Mason and Patrick Henry rallied the Anti-Federalists · Thought the constitution was a threat to their hard-won victory, and it betrayed the revolution. · Focused on the fact that the constitution didn't contain a list of rights. · Washington, Madison, and John Marshall countered that a Bill of Rights would endanger their freedom- because once listed you have no other rights · The Federalists finally caved and promised to add a Bill of Rights through the amendment process · Virginia and New York then ratified it in 1788 · NC and RI in May 1790 then reversed their objections and became the last two states to ratify.

Ratification

· In Sept. 1787, after 17 weeks of debate, The convention approved a draft of the Constitution · Anticipating opposition from the Confederation Congress, they decided to submit it to the states for ratification. · They decided that if only 9 states out of 13 signed on, it would be ratified. · Each state then held conventions to debate and vote on the proposed Constitution

Powers and Election of President

· It was decided to grant the president considerable power, including the power to veto acts of Congress. · Delegates disagreed over the president's term of office (some wanting it to be for life, like Alexander Hamilton), and also over the method for electing the president · Hamilton was concerned about "mob rule" if the president was too accountable to the people · The delegates limited the president's term of office to four years but set no limits to the number of terms to which a president could reelected. · Who is the president actually accountable to? Rather than having the people elect a president directly, the delegates decided to assign to each state a number of electors (delegates) equal to the total of the state's representation and senators. · This Electoral College system was instituted because the delegates at Philadelphia feared that too much democracy might lead to mob rule. □ Didn't want someone like Julius Caesar to overturn the democracy. □ President was only accountable to the elite

Ratification Controversy: Federalist vs. Anti-Federalists

· Ratification was fiercely debated for almost a year -1787-1788. Some ratified it right away though. · Two sides developed in the debates. · Federalists- supported the constitution, wanting a powerful national gov. that could pass laws, tax, and regulate trade. □ Federalists more numerous along the Atlantic Coast in the large cities (Merchants who would benefit from trade regulations and a monetary system) · Anti-Federalists- wanted to maintain state's rights □ Tended to be small farmers and Western settlers feared a strong central gov. as potentially oppressive.

Federalists Arguments

· Strong central gov. needed to maintain order and preserve the union. · Stabilize the economy · May have to eliminate some of the principles fought for, but only preserve it. · Emphasized the weakness on the Articles of Confederation.

Anti-federalists Arguements

· Strong central gov. would destroy (betray) the work of the Revolution, limit democracy, and restrict state's rights. · The gov. being created is anti-democratic. You can't vote for president, for members of the Supreme Court, or for the Senate · Final betrayal- the constitution contained no protection of individual rights.

Daniel Shays

• One such farmer was Danial Shay from Mass. • In Mass, following independence, taxes had been raised to pay off Revolutionary War debts and property qualifications had been raised for the right to vote, (the right to vote was harder to get now) So poor farmers for effectively disenfranchised. • Shays, a former officer in the Continental Army, never received promised pay and then had his property confiscated by the gov. for failure to pay debts and was imprisoned • Shays led a riot of hundreds of farmers in protest • The rebellion most involved Shaysites forcing the closing of courts (which auctioned off their property). At its height, the Shaysites marched on an armory to get more ammo. • The Confederation couldn't pay for an army. • So, Sam Adams, now a Mass. Rep along with several wealthy Bostonians, hired a private army to put down the rebellion. • Adams also tried to a pass a Riot Act, so as to hold those accused indefinitely w/o trial. • Many were put to death. Shays himself was pardoned and died in 1825

Revision of the Articles of Confederation

• Shay's Rebellion and economic problems made some leaders decide to hold a special convention, to consider creating a new gov. • Pushed by Alexander Hamilton, Washington, and James Madison, Congress called on all 13 states to send delegates to Philadelphia "for the sole purpose of revising the Articles of Confederation" ○ Confederation Congress thinks that they are going to revise the Articles... • But in reality, they will throw the Articles of Confederation out. • The Constitution looks like a betrayal of the Revolution, because it is putting England in their backyard, otherwise stated- They are bringing a strong central gov. when that was what they fought against.

Legacy of Shay's Rebellion

• Shay's Rebellion swung many people around to the notion that a strong central gov. was needed, since the states failed to act. • The states were too weak. They couldn't even stop a farmer's revolt. • Revealed hypocrisy of the Revolution. Revolution only replaced British wealthy elite with an American elite. Poor were still oppressed.

Controversies in Constitution

○ Especially divisive was the issue of whether the larger states such as Virginia and Pennsylvania should have proportionally more reps in Congress than the smaller states such as New Jersey and Delaware. ○ Madison's proposal-The Virginia Plan- favored the large states § It called for a bicameral legislature with representation decided by population. ○ Small states objected and countered with the New Jersey Plan, which favored the small states. § Called for a unicameral legislature, with each state getting one vote, just like in the Confederation Congress. ○ The issue was finally resolved by a compromise solution-The Connecticut Plan, which combined both plans. § It created a bicameral congress § Each state would be given equal rep in the Senate: (NJ Plan) but in the larger body the House of Representatives each state would be represented according to the size population (VA plan)

Adding Bill of Rights

○ The first ten amendments ○ In 1789, the first Congress elected under the Constitution acted quickly to adopt a number of amendments listing people's rights, ○ Drafted largely by James Madison, they were submitted to the state of ratification ○ Ten adopted by 1791 have been known ever since as the Bill of Rights.