The Faces of Anti-Federalism

Transcription

1 The Faces of Anti-Federalism On October 31, 1787, George Mason declared he would "rather chop off my right hand than put [my signature] to the Constitution as it now stands." From left to right: Patrick Henry, Samuel Adams, George Mason, Elbridge Gerry

2 Jefferson and John Madison A Letter from Thomas Jefferson to John Madison, 1787, written while the Convention was drafting the Constitution.

3 The Main Controversy in the Debate Can a Republic based on the consent of the governed be large, even an empire the kind of empire it was clear the U.S. was to become? James Madison: Yes Patrick Henry: No.

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5 The Bill of Rights: Afterthought? The anti-federalists revenge 1791

6 , "What can avail your specious, imaginary balances, your rope-dancing, chain-rattling, ridiculous ideal checks and contrivances. Patrick Henry, Anti-Federalist, Patriot

7 Some Hard Truths About the U.S. Constitution No popular vote was taken directly or indirectly on the proposition to call the Convention which drafted the Constitution The Constitution was ratified by a vote of probably not more than one-sixth of the voting population (all white males).

8 A Coup d'état? Of the 55 men who attended the Constitutional convention, 40 held government bonds. Most of the delegates were lawyers, great landowners, and merchants: all were relatively wealthy. The Charles Beard Thesis.

9 The Charles Beard Thesis Who was the wealthiest landholder in the new republic? Who provided significant funding towards the Revolution and had much to lose if chaos broke out after the war?

10 Some Key Points to Remember 1. The Articles of Confederation ( ), the first official government of the United States, helped win the war against Britain, but it was a temporary measure that ignored the function of lawmaking and interpreting the law. 2. The U.S. Constitution (1787) was proposed as a remedy to the Articles. It created a strong Federal government by seizing certain powers from the 13 States. The chief of these was the right to tax the States. 3. The Greatest hurdle of the Founding Framers during the Constitutional Convention was slavery. They built slavery right into the Constitution itself without naming it directly.

11 Key Questions for Chapter 8 Or, Test-Driving the New Government How would the Constitution stand up under the stresses and strains of real-life? Would the young nation survive its birth? Could an American be loyal to the Nation and yet disagree with the nation s government its policies and direction? Or did disagreement make one an enemy of the nation? What kind of Republic should the U.S. be? In what direction lay freedom, and by what means?

12 Securing the Nation

13 Some Review What were the Articles of Confederation? Why were they replaced? Name two guiding principles that shaped the Constitution of the U.S. How did the Constitution deal with slavery? Who opposed the Constitution? Why?

14 Key Questions for Chapter 8 Or, Test-Driving the New Government How would the Constitution stand up under the stresses and strains of real-life? Would the young nation survive its birth? Could an American be loyal to the Nation and yet disagree with the nation s government its policies and direction? Or did disagreement make one an enemy of the nation? What kind of Republic should the U.S. be? In what direction lay freedom, and by what means?

15 George Washington The Reluctant President A failed British officer A Virginian planter with 15,000 acres and 240 slaves. An aristocrat with no titles: a country gentleman An "icon" of the American War of Independence; a law-and-order man who was willing to sacrifice some Liberty to preserve Order. First President of the U.S

16 Washington's Chief Problems as President 1. How to Repair the Economy: Getting One s House in Order 2. How to Avoid Getting Involved in Europe and its Conflicts 3. How to stabilize the Young Republic until the economy recovered? How to establish Order?

17 Jumpstarting the Economy: Alexander Hamilton as Secretary of the Treasury The Problem: In 1789, the national debt of the Republic was 53.2 million dollars (About 4.3 billion dollars today). The debt per person in 1789 = $197 (About 15,400 dollars in today s dollars)

18 A young Secretary of The Treasury Alexander Hamilton Hamilton s Remedies Mercantilism Revisited 1. Establish a National Bank 2. Establish good credit: honor all outstanding debts. How? 3. Give subsidies and grants to promising industries 4. Tax whiskey the poor man s currency. 5. Tax imported goods; i.e. establish a tariff.

19 Opposition to the Hamilton-Washington Plan Hamilton and the so-called 1%. Yes, the Banks again. Hamilton s plan favors big states and a commercial elite. The Plan tied the U.S. to Great Britain and Europe the old enemy, since Great Britain controlled the West Indies. The plan s taxes hurt Whisky-farmers: the Whisky Rebellion, 1794

20 Washington D.C.

21 Staying Clear of Events in Europe: The French Revolution Between 1789 and 1815, all of Europe was plunged into war. The chief rivals were Great Britain and France. Which side should America take? The Act of Neutrality and the Genet Affair.

22 What Kind of Republic Would the U.S. Be? Two Visions Two Parties Two strong men held positions in Washington's first cabinet, established in One would become a future president and set the U.S. economy down the path of capitalism and free trade. He would die a very old man minutes after John Adams died, on July 4 th, The other was Washington s right-hand man, an architect of the early Republic s economy. He would die in a duel, shot by his political enemy Aaron Burr.

23 Hamilton and Jefferson Secretary of the Treasury Secretary of State

24 The Jeffersonian Vision: The Agrarian Republic

25 What does the Jeffersonian Vision include? Free Trade Cheap Land; westward expansion Small Federal government - stronger State governments; close ties with all trading nations Party Name: Democrat-Republicans No or few tariffs Commerce and Industry as "handmaidens to agriculture."

26 Alexander Hamilton

27 The Hamiltonian Vision: Commerce, Trade, Banks

28 What does the Hamiltonian Vision Include? Some government oversight of economy; business subsidies, incentives; a National Bank Slow down westward expansion Strong Federal government - weaker state governments Close ties with Great Britain Party Name: Federalists Tariffs on manufactured goods Agriculture as a "handmaiden to Industry and Commerce."

29 The First American Political Party System Federalists Centralized power is good; a strong Federal Executive is best. Order and security over liberty. Alliance with Britain and government aid to business Vision of America: commerce, cities, trade, manufactures, the East. Broad Constructionism of the Constitution. Chief leaders: Alexander Hamilton, John Adams, George Washington Democratic-Republicans State power is good, a weak Federal Executive is best. Liberty over order and security. Alliance with all countries: play no favorites. Free trade. Vision of America: farming, agrarian, crops, land, the West Strict Constructionism of the Constitution Chief Leaders: Thomas Jefferson, John Madison, Thomas Paine

30 Key Achievements of the Washington Administration Preservation of the New Nation He kept Hamilton and Jefferson from killing each other. He paid down the; U.S. commerce slowly recovered A Cabinet System was created. Titles -- "Mr. President;" no imperial presidency No foreign entanglements: peace with Great Britain and France

31 Washington's Last Hurrah: The Farewell Address: Don't meddle in the affairs of other countries (What would Washington s view b e of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars?) 2. Avoid faction at all costs: the virtues of nonpartisanship (What would Washington say about the fighting among Republicans and Democrats?) 3. Civic virtue must be founded on Religion and morality.

32 The John Adams Presidency: Adams is a Federalist, a northerner, a lawyer. He gains the presidency in 1796 and rules till Like Washington s administration, Adam s administration will be dominated by three themes:

33 John and Abigail Adams

34 Adams inherited several of the problems of the Washington Administration: 1. The Risk of Foreign Entanglements: The Hazards of Neutrality 1798 and the X, Y, Z Affair The Quasi- or Almost War 2. The Growth of Faction or Political Parties. Alien and Sedition Acts, 1799 Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions

35 The X,Y, Z Affair The Young Republic and Corrupt Europe Problems with the Allies. The French Treaty of 1778 and its renewal. Tallyrand and Matters in Revolutionary France in Old Corruption Consequences of the Affiar

36 The Alien and Sedition Acts 1798 The shipwreck of the treaty with France led to anger towards the Adams administration. The Democratic-Republicans attack Adams and his policy. Adams responds: The Alien Act: extended the residency period for immigrants from 5 to 14 years. The Sedition Act: limited criticism of the national government by curbing freedom of speech

37 By 1798, Jefferson and Adams stopped talking with each other. The nation was divided. By the time John Adams s first term is done, in 1800, he is tired, cynical, and almost friendless. Yet he runs for a second term. And loses to Thomas Jefferson.

38 Adams s Revenge The Appointment of John Marshall To the Supreme Court John Marshall with Hamilton, chief architect of the American capitalist economy. Is appointed Chief Justice of the Supreme Court by John Adams in 1800 Freedom rests on the safekeeping of property and contracts Judicial Review: Marbury v. Madison The Constitution: a fence against the mob and mob mentality; a bastion of the Federal government.

39 The Election of 1800: Why a Revolution? Jefferson and Liberty The election: in by a hair. Jefferson and Aaron Burr Peaceful Transfer of Power between two Opposing Parties.

40 Jefferson s First Inaugural Address, 1800 Let us, then, fellow-citizens, unite with one heart and one mind. Let us restore to social intercourse that harmony and affection without which liberty and even life itself are but dreary things. And let us reflect that, having banished from our land that religious intolerance under which mankind so long bled and suffered, we have yet gained little if we countenance a political intolerance as despotic, as wicked, and capable of as bitter and bloody persecutions.

41 Jefferson s First Inaugural Address every difference of opinion is not a difference of principle. We have called by different names brethren of the same principle. We are all Republicans, we are all Federalists.

42 Key Issues in Jefferson s Presidency John Marshall at the Supreme Court Westward Expansion the Louisiana Purchase of 1803 Foreign Entanglements: The War in Europe and The Embargo Act of

43 Marshall and Jefferson: The Virginia Quarrel Jefferson = Republican; Marshall = Federalist Before Adams leaves office, he appointed many Federalists to the Federal Courts in Washington D.C. packing the courts. Marbury, one of these appointees, is denied his commission to assume a federal judgeship by Jefferson; it is not delivered in time. The case goes to the Supreme Court, overseen by Marshall

44 The Lousisana Purchase, 1803 The Jefferson Vision at Work: 828,000 square miles for 15 million dollars

45 The Napoleonic Wars in Europe The U.S. its trade and expansion were overshadowed by events in Europe from 1803 to American Shipping Attacked. The Embargo Act assumed Europe needed U.S. trade more than the U.S. needed Europe. Consequences of the Embargo Act

46 James Madison: Inheriting the headaches of Jefferson The War of 1812 Causes War Hawks Tecumseh and the Prophet Consequences The Federalists disappear Nationalism abounds Andrew Jackson as national hero Resolves outstanding issues with Britain since the War of Independence.

47 : Key Points to Remember 1. The Washington Administration stabilized the young Republic at a critical time and ensured that it did not become a military dictatorship or monarchy. 2. Two very different visions or narratives for the new Republic dominated political discourse - the Hamiltonian and the Jeffersonian visions of America. Neither was fully embraced: both deeply influenced future political developments in the U.S., helping to fuel regional rivalry and Sectionalism 3. Washington straddled both visions, shepherding the Constitution through its infancy, and giving the young Republic some breathing space so its economy could get on its feet. 4. Jefferson s Revolution was revolutionary in that it established the precedent of a peaceful transfer of power from a defeated party to its successor.

48 The End

49 Summary of Last Week The Constitution as a supposedly improved version of the Articles of Confederation The Constitution s main principles; Federalism or Division of Powers Checks and Balances or Separation of Powers The Constitution derives its authority from We the People not the states. The Constitution Under Three Aspects: The Structure of Government Slavery Ratification Madison s new idea about Republican Freedom Extend the sphere