Revolution and the Constitution: 1776-1789 (#2)

John Locke

1632-1704, English philosopher, founder of British empiricism. Locke summed up the Enlightenment in his belief in the middle class and its right to freedom of conscience and right to property, in his faith in science, and in his confidence in the goodness of humanity. His influence upon philosophy and political theory has been incalculable.

William Paterson

1658-1719, British financier. By the time of the Glorious Revolution (1688-89, which he supported), he had acquired considerable wealth and influence through foreign trade. In 1691, he was the chief projector of the plan to establish the Bank of England, which finally came into being in 1694. Paterson served as a director from 1694 to 1695. In 1695, he proposed to the Scottish Parliament the famous but ill-fated Darién Scheme. Subsequently he devoted several years to carrying out that plan and accompanied the expedition of 1698 to Darién. Paterson advised William III on economic, financial, and state affairs, and he strongly advocated the union of Scotland and England. Paterson strenuously argued for free trade and was a recognized authority in later years.

George Washington

1732-99, 1st President of the United States (1789-97), commander in chief of the Continental army in the American Revolution, called the Father of His Country, presiding over the Constitutional Convention in 1787

Thomas Jefferson

1743-1826, 3rd President of the United States (1801-9), author of the Declaration of Independence, and apostle of agrarian democracy, or a person who favors the equal division of landed property and the advancement of agricultural groups.

Publication of the Federalist, 1787-1788

Although the essays had little impact on the debate to ratify the Constitution, they are still considered a classic work of political theory. The authors (Hamilton, Madision, Jay) expounded at length upon the fundamental problems of republican government, and argued that federalism offered a means of both preserving state sovereignty and safeguarding the individual's freedom from tyrannical rule

Treaty of Alliance, 1778

Believing that they would benefit militarily by allying themselves with a powerful nation, the revolutionary colonies formed an alliance with France against Great Britain. According to this first military treaty of the new nation, the United States would provide for a defensive alliance to aid France should England attack, and neither France nor the United States would make peace with England until the independence of the United States was recognized.

Alexander Hamilton

First Secretary of Treasury, under George Washington. His ideas about government were at the heart of the republican form of government we now have, and his economic theories form the basis of our economy still. Along with James Madison and John Jay, he wrote The Federalist Papers, letters to New York newspapers designed to convince the people in that state to ratify the Constitution. He was a leader of the new Federalist Party, along with John Adams. His politics brought him into conflict with Thomas Jefferson, who was a leader of the new Democratic-Republican Party. Hamilton was killed in a duel with Aaron Burr.

Marquis de Lafayette

French aristocrat general in the American-Revolutionary War and a leader of the Garde Nationale during the French Revolution; an important link between the American and French Revolutions

Edmund Randolph

He served briefly in the Continental army as aide-de-camp to George Washington. He was a member of the Virginia constitutional convention of 1776, state attorney general (1776-86), a delegate to the Continental Congress (1779-82), and governor of Virginia (1786-88). Randolph was prominent at the Constitutional Convention in 1787, presenting the Virginia, or Randolph, Plan, which favored the large states. He at first vigorously opposed the Constitution as finally drafted, although his plan, more than any other, closely resembled it; later he urged its adoption in the Virginia ratifying convention (June, 1788). First Attorney General of the United States (1789-94)

Battle of Saratoga, 1777

Militia blocked the path of General John Burgoyne's British troops to Saratoga (an attempt to cut off New England from the other colonies), making them run out of supplies and forcing them to surrender; a crucial victory for the Patriots during the American Revolution and is considered the turning point of the Revolutionary War. The Battle was the impetus for France to enter the war against Britain, re-invigorating Washington's Continental Army and providing much needed supplies and support.

John Jay

President of the Continental Congress, Minister to Spain, author of the Treaty of Paris, the first Chief Justice of the U.S., and governor of New York. He also wrote the New York constitution and wrote several of The Federalist Papers. Created the Jay Treaty when resolving conflicts with England over US territories

Benjamin Franklin

Statesman, publisher, inventor, and patriot known for writing Poor Richard's Almanac, keeping France on the side of America during the Revolutionary War, and inventing all kinds of useful things, including bifocal glasses and the lightning rod. He was the American representative to England for a few years. He was also minister to France for many years and became a national hero there. His last great deed was serving as a delegate to the Constitutional Convention.

Great Compromise

The Connecticut Compromise, also known as the Great Compromise of 1787 or Sherman's Compromise, was an agreement between large and small states reached during the Philadelphia Convention of 1787 that in part defined the legislative structure and representation that each state would have under the United States Constitution. It proposed a bicameral legislature, resulting in the current United States Senate and House of Representatives.

James Madison

The President called "The Father of the Constitution", he is considered the most influential contributor to the United States Constitution, and he worked vigorously to see it ratified. He also contributed to The Federalist Papers to explain his advocacy for a strong federal government. He served as a member of Congress and as Jefferson's Secretary of State before winning the presidential election of 1808. Madison served two terms in office, losing much of his prestige over his leadership during the War of 1812. During the war, Madison was forced to flee Washington when the British army invaded. His wife, Dolley stayed behind and salvaged national treasures. He was the last surviving signer of the US Constitution

Hessians

a Hessian (German) soldier in any of the mercenary units of the British Army in the War of American Independence or the Napoleonic Wars

Loose construction

a broad interpretation of a statute or document by a court

Three-Fifths Compromise

a compromise between Southern and Northern states reached during the Philadelphia Convention of 1787 in which three-fifths of the enumerated population of slaves would be counted for representation purposes regarding both the distribution of taxes and the apportionment of the members of the United States House of Representatives. It was proposed by delegates James Wilson and Roger Sherman.

Battle of Yorktown, 1781

a decisive victory by a combined force of American Continental Army led by General George Washington and French Army troops led by the Comte de Rochambeau over a British Army commanded by British lord and Lieutenant General Lord Cornwallis. The culmination of the Yorktown campaign, the siege proved to be the last major land battle of the American Revolutionary War in North America, as the surrender by Cornwallis and the capture of both him and his army prompted the British government to negotiate an end to the conflict.

Daniel Shays

a farmer from Western Massachusetts who fought the British during the American Revolution as a captain of a regiment; became a leader in the revolt of small farmers that resulted from postwar economic depression, which became known as Shay's Rebellion. He fled to Vermont after the revolt proved unsuccessful, where he was pardoned in 1788.

Strict construction

a literal interpretation of a statute or document by a court

Whigs

a member or supporter of a British political group of the 18th and early 19th centuries that wanted to decrease royal power and to increase the power of the British Parliament; an American who supported independence from Great Britain during the American Revolution; a member or supporter of an American political party of the 19th century that was formed to oppose the Democrats

Tories

a member or supporter of a major British political group of the 18th and early 19th centuries favoring at first the Stuarts and later royal authority and the established church and seeking to preserve the traditional political structure and defeat parliamentary reform

Treaty of Paris, 1783

a negotiation between the United States and Great Britain that ended the revolutionary war and recognized American independence

New Jersey Plan

a plan led by William Patterson, unsuccessfully proposed at the Constitutional Convention, providing for a single legislative house with equal representation for each state.

Virginia Plan

a plan proposed by Edmund Randolph, unsuccessfully proposed at the Constitutional Convention, providing for a legislature of two houses with proportional representation in each house and executive and judicial branches to be chosen by the legislature.

Shay's Rebellion, 1786-1787

a rebellion of farmers in Massachusetts led by an ex-continental soldier by the name of Shay. They were unhappy with the taxes placed on them by the state and the fact that courts kept taking their land when they couldn't pay them. They almost succeeded in a full out revolution had the Massachusetts militia not come and put it down. It was important because it showed the disunity of the colonies after the revolutionary war, and was the final push that lead to the end of the Articles of Confederation and the writing of our Constitution.

Writ of habeas corpus

a writ ordering a prisoner to be brought before a judge

Land Ordinance of 1785

adopted by the Continental Congress with the goal of raising money through the sale of land in the largely unmapped territory west of the original states acquired after the end of the Revolutionary War in the 1783 Treaty of Paris; also established a mechanism for establishing public education

Annapolis Convention, 1786

an interstate convention called by Virginia to discuss a uniform regulation of commerce; The main achievement of the convention was the decision to summon a new meeting for the express purpose of considering changes in the Articles of Confederation to make the union more powerful.

Tariffs

an official list or table showing the duties or customs imposed by a government on imports or exports

Three branches of government

executive, judicial, legislative

John Adams

followed George Washington as president of the United States, becoming the country's second chief executive. An early colonist agitator against the Stamp Act of 1765, John Adams helped draft the Declaration of Independence in 1776. He served as an all-purpose diplomat for the new republic during the Revolutionary War, and after the war, in 1785, he became the first American Minister to London. He served two terms as vice-president under Washington (1789-97), and beat Thomas Jefferson in 1796 to become president himself. He was respected but not popular, and served one term before losing to Jefferson in the elections of 1800.

Ratification of the Constitution, 1788

for a period of a few years, new states ratified the Constitution one by one, Delaware being the first and Rhode Island being the last. This is the work of our Founding Fathers for the democratic government of our country, which is still in effect today

Roger Sherman

founded the colony of Connecticut; helped to draft and signed the Declaration of Independence. He was long a member (1774-81, 1783-84) of the Continental Congress, helped to draw up the Articles of Confederation, and after serving as a member of the Constitutional Convention (1787) was one of the strongest proponents of the new Constitution. He was prominent in Connecticut colonial and state politics and was mayor of New Haven and treasurer of Yale College. Sherman was a U.S. Representative (1789-91) and U.S. Senator (1791-93).

Anti-Federalists

in American history, opponents of the adoption of the federal Constitution. Leading Anti-Federalists included George Mason, Elbridge Gerry, Patrick Henry, and George Clinton. Later, many of the Anti-Federalists opposed the policies of the Federalist party and of Alexander Hamilton.

Checks and balances

limits imposed on all branches of a government by vesting in each branch the right to amend or void those acts of another that fall within its purview.

Federalists

nationalists who believed that the Constitution was required in order to safeguard the liberty and independence that the American Revolution had created. While the Federalists definitely had developed a new political philosophy, they saw their most import role as defending the social gains of the Revolution

duties

obligation referring to what one feels bound to do

Charles Cornwallis

one of the leading British generals in the American War of Independence; his surrender in 1781 to a combined American and French force at the Siege of Yorktown ended significant hostilities in North America

Patrick Henry

served as Virginia's first governor and dominated the commonwealth's politics throughout the 1780s. He declined to serve in the Constitutional Convention (1787), but afterward emerged as a strong opponent to federalism and helped secure the first 10 amendments to the Constitution. He turned down opportunities to serve in the U.S. Senate and the Supreme Court, choosing instead to remain active in Virginia law and politics until his death. Known for his quote, "give me liberty or give me death!"

Articles of Confederation take effect, 1781

served as the written document that established the functions of the national government of the United States after it declared independence from Great Britain. It established a weak central government that mostly, but not entirely, prevented the individual states from conducting their own foreign diplomacy.

Federal system of government

strength in the national government

Republican form of government

strength in the state governments

Northwest Ordinance, 1787

the act of Congress in 1787 providing for the government of the Northwest Territory and setting forth the steps by which its subdivisions might become states

Constitutional Convention, 1787

the convention in Philadelphia (1787) of representatives from each of the former Colonies, except Rhode Island, at which the Constitution of the United States was framed.

Separation of powers

the doctrine that the individual branches of government (executive, legislative, judicial) have separate and unique powers the others cannot impinge upon

States' rights

the rights belonging to the various states, especially with reference to the strict interpretation of the constitution, by which all rights not delegated by the Constitution to the federal government belong to the states.