Study Questions for: The Evolution of Political and Economic Institutions during the Early National Period Readings: Lots of class notes & handouts Wood, Gordon. 2009. Empire of Liberty: A History of the Early Republic, 1789-1815. Oxford University Press. pp 400-408, and 433-452. Objective/Short answer questions 1. At right you have voting data for all members present for a vote during the Congress of Confederation. Georgia, although part of the Articles of Confederation, did not have any delegates present. The two letters in front of the delegate s name indicate the state he is from. The item being voted one was of normal importance (i.e. not requiring an amendment, etc.). Delegate Vote Delegate Vote NH Gilman Nay PA Fitzsimmons Nay NH White Yeah PA Wilson Nay MA Holten Yeah MD Carroll Yeah MA Osgood Yeah VA Jones Yeah MA Gorham Yeah VA Madison Nay CT Wolcott Yeah VA Bland Yeah CT Dyer Yeah VA Mercer Nay NY Floyd Nay NC Hawkins Yeah NY Hamilton Nay NC Williamson Yeah NJ Boudinot Yeah SC Rutledge Yeah NJ Condict Nay SC Ramsey Yeah NJ Elmer Yeah SC Izard Yeah SC Gervais Yeah Does the item pass? Briefly explain your answer. 2. What happened in the Continental Congress (i.e. the Congress under the Articles of Confederation) is 1783? Hint: Something about an impost that did not happen. 3. Why is the above occurrence (or non-occurrence) of interest to the Economic Historian especially John Lovett? Hint: The question is as much about what failed to happen as it is what actually happened. 1
4. The Replacement of the Articles of Confederation is usually portrayed as a movement from a weak national government to a stronger national government. What other political changes were occurring during this time period (1787 - about 1800)? a. Government in the United States was generally becoming more elitist and republican. Decision making was becoming farther removed from the masses. b. Government in the United States was generally becoming less elitist and more directly democratic. The masses had more and more sway over decisions made by government. c. The northern states benefited greatly from measures designed to induce Canada into the United States. This is considered the beginning of ante-bellum north-south struggle. d. The U.S. was shifting away from its revolutionary war allies into alliances with those it traded with. A tariff on French goods was implemented, but not one on Spanish goods. e. The U.S. was shifting away from its revolutionary war allies into alliances with those it traded with. A tariff on Dutch goods was implemented, but not one on French goods. 5. Which of the following gave the federal government the ability to make sure that states let goods flow freely between states (rather than states having place barriers, such as tariffs, on goods flowing between states)? a. the repeal of the Constitution s Sovereign State Clause b. the repeal of the Constitution s Common Property Clause c. the Constitution s Interstate Commerce Clause d. the Constitution s Common Property Clause 6. Which of the following greatly facilitated the eventual expansion of powers of the federal government? a. Dang! I forgot to put in the options! If I remember correctly, I was looking for a certain clause in the Constitution something not listed in question # 5. 7. Which of the following limited the power of the national government and helped to preserve the power of the states? It s something in the Constitution &/or the Bill of Rights 8. Candice is a Canadian who believes that Market Preserving Federalism is the key to long-run economic prosperity. The Canadian province (similar to a U.S. state) of Manitoba is experiencing extreme economic difficulties. Businesses and people are leaving Manitoba in droves and the Manitoban provincial government is nearly bankrupt. Since Candice is a fan of Market Preserving Federalism, she likely: a. does not want the Canadian national government to offer any assistance to Manitoba. b. wants the Canadian national government to offer assistance to Manitoba, but also to give the same level of assistance (per/capita) to all the Canadian provinces. c. wants the Canadian national government to offer assistance to Manitoba, but not offer assistance to states that are doing well economically. 2
9. Which of the following is an example of checks and balances found in the U.S. Constitution, as originally adopted (i.e. before any amendments)? 10. Why, in the context of long-run growth and development, are checks and balances (ex. question # 9) important? 11. The Time Travel Fairy is back and this time she has a tyranny meter. It indicates where a country is on a spectrum running from one type of tyranny, to a 2 nd type of tyranny. What does she find as she travels through time? Fill in the blanks above the line with the 2 types of tyrannies. Fill in the blanks below the line another way to define that end of the spectrum. Next, plot where each of the 6 times and places below fall on the spectrum. 1) The 13 American Colonies in 1773 2) The United States in 1787 3) France under Louis XVI in 1787 4) France about 1793-1794 during the terror 5) The United States in 1796 6) **France under Napoleon Bonaparte about 1810 ** Napoleon is a bit hard to place.) Tyranny of Type 1 (name of this type of tyranny) Tyranny of Type 2 (name of this type of tyranny) (another def. of this end of the spectrum) (another def. of this end of the spectrum) 12. 3
13. In 1824, Mexico adopted a constitution that gave lots of autonomy to the states of Mexico (Chihuahua, Sonora, etc.). In 1835, Mexico replaced the 1824 Constitution with a new constitution that gave most of the power to the central government. If Francine is an ardent fan of Market Preserving Federalism, she likely believes: a. the 1835 Constitution hindered Mexico s long-run growth and development (relative to the 1824 Constitution). b. the 1835 Constitution helped Mexico s long-run growth and development (relative to the 1824 Constitution). c. while political freedoms were likely worse under the 1835 Constitution, the change in constitutions did not affect Mexico s long-run growth. d. while political freedoms were likely better under the 1835 Constitution, the change in constitutions did not affect Mexico s long-run growth. 14. Oh that Time Travel Fairy loves her gadgets. She just received her new Centralization Meter from Amazon.com. This meter, with fancy new styling, indicates the purview of the national government relative to state governments. What does she find as she travels through time? Label the spectrum. What is it measuring and what are the ends? Indicate and name the relevant ranges of the spectrum. Next, plot where each of the 5 times and places below fall on the spectrum. 1) The United States in 1784 2) The United States in 1796 3) The United States today 4) The European Union today (ooh, tricky) 5) France today 6) North Korea today 4
15. The state of Colorado passes a law declaring that the Time Travel Fairy can travel through time, changing history, if she makes Colorado her home base (apparently, lots of people see her in Colorado now). Unfortunately for her, the U.S. Supreme Court declares that Colorado s new law violates U.S. law. Since (today at least) federal trumps state law, the U.S. Supreme Court overturns Colorado s law. Now she s mad. She plans to use her powers to try to prevent federal law from trumping state law. She plans to go back in time and kidnap the early U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice most responsible for making the Constitution the Supreme Law of the Land. Who does she want to kidnap? a. John Marshall, the chief justice who helps keep state law subordinate to national law in McCulloch v. Maryland, 1819. 16. The Time Travel Fairy failed in her (# 14) kidnapping attempt. Luckily for her, however, the U.S. Congress passes a bill stating that she can freely travel through history changing the timeline as she pleases. President Obama signs the bill into law. Unfortunately for her, the U.S. Supreme Court declares that the new federal law violates the 14 th Amendment to the Constitution. The Supreme Court overturns the federal law. Now she s really mad. She plans to use her powers to try to prevent the U.S. Supreme Court from becoming the ultimate arbitrator of whether a law is constitutional. She plans to go back in time and ruin the career of the early U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice most responsible for making the Supreme Court the ultimate arbitrator of the law. Who does she want to kidnap? 17. Which of the following is the best example of judicial review? 18. Which of the following is the best example of an independent judiciary? 19. How and why might judicial review by an independent judiciary affect long-run economic growth? 20. It s 1783 and the U.S. just won its independence from Britain. What does the average U.S. citizen think about an independent judiciary? How popular was the idea of an independent judiciary during this time period? 5
21. Which of the following are true regarding Marbury v Madison? Check () each and every blank that describes Marbury v Madison. You can have as many or as few checked blanks as you wish. The first two have been done for you. The World Wrestling Federation never paid a dime to either Marbury or Madison. Rocko the Junkyard Dog once wrestled both Marbury and Madison at the same time and Rocko won! 22. Which of the following are true regarding McCulloch v. Maryland? Check () each and every blank that describes McCulloch v. Maryland. You can have as many or as few checked blanks as you wish. The first two have been done for you. Maryland is a state. If this McCulloch dude (or dudette) is taking on an entire state that s like big, man! McCulloch is a state too. I m pretty sure Dr. Hawley grew up there. Maryland tried to tax the notes ($ bills) issued by the 1st Bank of the U.S. (& any other bank not chartered in MD). John Marshall (Chief Justice) and the rest of the Supreme Court helped keep state law subordinate to national law. They ruled that Maryland could not tax notes of the 1 st Bank because the Consititution states that the Federal Govt. regulates interstate commerce, and Federal law trumps State Laws. Samuel Chase (Chief Justice) and the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that state jurisdiction should be interpreted liberally whereas federal jurisdiction should be interpreted narrowly. 23. What, if anything, did the 1789 Constitution say about slavery? Hint: It s something about the slave trade. 24. What else did the 1789 constitution have to say about slaves? Hints: It s a (fractional) compromise. 25. Which of the following is the best example of Market Preserving Federalism working to make the economy run better? b. Dang! I forgot to put in the options! Check out your class notes. Hints: May the best state (fairly) win and may the others copy it. 6