APUSH CH 9+10 Lecture Name: Hour: Chapter 9: The Confederation and the Constitution, 1776-1790 I. From Confederation to Constitution A. The Articles of Confederation: An Attempt at Constitution-Making 1. Devised by the Second Continental Congress in 1777 2. Established a firm league of friendship 3. Set-up a weak central government with only a Congress i. Each state had one vote 4. Required unanimous approval to make changes 5. Did not grant the power to tax 6. Allowed for raising an army and declaring war 7. Allowed for organization of western lands a. The Northwest Ordinance, 1787 was adopted by the Second Continental Congress i. Provided for the organization of the Old Northwest Territory (between the Great Lakes and the Ohio River) ii. Outlawed slavery II. Fixing the Weaknesses of the New Government A. Shays Rebellion (1786; Massachusetts) 1. The rebellion was an attempt to prevent the courts for foreclosing on landowners that were in debt 2. After the rebellion, the Massachusetts legislature enacted laws to reduce the debt of farmers 3. This showed a strong central government was needed and the Articles government was weak a. Ultimately, it led to the Constitutional Convention to revise the Articles B. Constitutional Convention (1787) 1. Purpose: to amend/revise the Articles NOT to create a brand new constitution 2. 12 of 13 states were represented (no Rhode Island); 55 delegates 3. Key people at the Convention: a. Ben Franklin (PA) b. Alexander Hamilton (NY) c. James Madison (VA; Father of the Constitution ) 4. Missing from the Convention a. Thomas Jefferson (France) b. John Adams (Britain) c. Patrick Henry ( smelled a rat and didn t attend) 5. When it was recognized that the Articles were structurally flawed it was decided that a new constitution had to be developed C. Compromises at the Constitutional Convention 1. Virginia Plan (large state plan) a. Wanted representation based on population in both houses of Congress 2. New Jersey Plan (small state plan) a. Wanted equal representation in a unicameral Congress 1
3. The Great Compromise (Connecticut Compromise) a. Settled the issue of representation i. In one house, representation would be based on population ii. In the other house, representation would be equal 4. When finished, the Constitution represented a series of compromises on various issues, such as: a. The executive (and his term of service) b. Election of the executive (Electoral College) c. Representation: House of Representatives and the Senate d. Slavery (3/5 compromise) 5. On September 17, 1787 (after 17 weeks of debate) the Convention approved a draft of the Constitution to submit to the states See Page 173 for a great chart that shows how the Constitution fixed the problems of the Articles III. Ratifying the Constitution A. The Federalists vs. the Anti Federalists 1. Following the Convention, the Constitution was submitted to the states for ratification 2. Federalists: in favor of the Constitution a. They pointed out that the Constitution was full of safeguards that would prevent one branch from becoming too powerful (separation of powers and checks and balances existed) b. People such as Washington, Madison, Hamilton, and Franklin 3. Anti Federalists: against the Constitution a. Argued that the new Constitution gave too much power to the central government b. Disliked absence of a bill of rights c. People such as George Mason, Patrick Henry, John Hancock, and George Clinton B. The Federalist Papers 1. The Federalists publishing a series of essays in order to gain support for the ratification of the Constitution a. Essays were written by John Jay, Alexander Hamilton, and James Madison 2. They discussed many topics from checks and balances to the power of the executive C. Ratification Occurs 1. Despite the long road to ratification, it finally occurred in 1788 after 9 states ratified the Constitution 2
Chapter 10: Launching the New Ship of State, 1789 1800 I. Launching the New Ship of State A. Washington Becomes President 1. Washington: the only President to be unanimously elected by the Electoral College on April 30, 1789 (with 69 votes; John Adams, with 34 votes, became VP) 2. Washington also invoked the power to establish a Cabinet, as stated in the Constitution a. Secretary of State: Thomas Jefferson b. Secretary of the Treasury: Alexander Hamilton c. Secretary of War: Henry Knox B. Unfinished Business: The Bill of Rights 1. Ratification of the Constitution was based on the belief that a bill of rights would be added 2. James Madison took it upon himself to draft the amendments to the Constitution 3. By 1791, 10 amendments were approved by the required number of states a. Freedom of religion, speech, press b. Right to bear arms c. Right to trial by jury d. Right to assemble and petition for redress of grievances e. Prohibition of cruel and unusual punishment f. Prohibition of arbitrary government seizure of private property g. 9 th Amendment: Guard against assumption that list of rights were the only ones protected i. Specification of certain rights did not deny or disparage other rights retained by the people h. 10 th Amendment: Reserved all rights not explicitly delegated or prohibited by the Constitution to the States respectively, or to the people C. Courts are Established 1. Judiciary Act of 1789 a. One of Congress first laws b. Organized the Supreme Court (6 justices) i. John Jay was first chief justice c. Organized federal district and circuit courts d. Set-up office of attorney general II. Different Views of the Constitution and Government: Hamilton vs. Jefferson A. Hamilton 1. Believed in funding the national debt 2. Felt the federal government should assume all state debts a. His goal was to strengthen the national credit of the U.S. 3. Favored the institution of tariffs to help raise revenue a. One major excise tax that he secured was a tax on whiskey which many people disliked 4. Hamilton s idea of a national bank was the most controversial a. Argued the federal government had the right to establish a bank based on the necessary and proper clause of the Constitution b. Argued that a government needed a bank to be able to collect taxes and trade with other nations c. Favored the loose or broad interpretation of the Constitution i. Anything the Constitution didn t forbid was permitted 3
B. Jefferson 1. Argued that the federal government had no right to establish a national bank a. Believed all powers not granted to the federal government were reserved for the states b. He favored letting states establish banks c. Favored the strict interpretation of the Constitution C. The Bank of the United States 1. Congress approved the bank in 1791 (it was located in Philadelphia and charted for 20 years) III. Washington s Second Term A. Neutrality 1. Based on the alliance the Americans had agreed to with France in 1778, they should have been involved in helping the French during the French Revolution 2. Washington decided this was against the best interest of the U.S. he issued the Neutrality Proclamation in 1793 a. The U.S. would not be involved in France s problems and foreshadowed a U.S. foreign policy of isolationism 3. France had sent Edmond Genet to the U.S. he was determined to get the U.S. into the war on the side of France and tried to persuade some Democratic-Republicans to support his cause a. This upset Washington who asked France to recall Genet back home because he was endangering U.S. neutrality B. The Whiskey Rebellion 1. Cause: high excise tax (Hamilton) placed on whiskey 2. Led by Pennsylvania farmers in 1794 a. They turned corn and rye into whiskey and sold it it was much easier to transport whiskey than grain 3. When tax inspectors came to collect the tax, the farmers protested and threatened them 4. Summer 1794: things got out of hand when PA farmers were to be arrested by the federal government a. They resisted arrest and shot at the tax collectors 5. Washington responded by summoning the militias from several states (about 13,000 men) a. This demonstrated the power of the new government as it enforced its laws C. Relations with Britain 1. Neutrality was not easy to preserve a. The British were trying to provoke the U.S. through the impressments of sailors they would seize merchant ships and capture men to serve on their ships 2. Britain had promised to evacuate their forts in North America and had not done so 3. John Jay was sent to Britain to negotiate a treaty (Jay s Treaty, 1794) a. Goal: to stop Britain from searching and seizing American ships and impressing sailors into the British navy b. Results: Britain would evacuate frontier forts c. Britain would pay damages for American shipping d. No future agreement was made about the capture of American ships or impressment of sailors e. Fearing a U.S.-British alliance, Spain signed Pinckney s Treaty with the U.S. in 1795 (negotiated by Thomas Pinckney, U.S. minister to Spain) 4
i. Spain agreed to open the lower Mississippi River and New Orleans to American trade aa. The right of deposit was granted to Americans so they could transfer cargoes in New Orleans without paying duties to the Spanish government bb. Also set Florida s northern boundary at the 31 st parallel D. Farewell Address 1. Washington s Farewell Address was never delivered it was printed in newspapers a. Warned against permanent alliances b. Warned not to get involved in European affairs c. Warned not to form political parties IV. Adams Presidency A. John Adams 1. Washington s vice president 2. Won by a vote of 71 to 68 in the Electoral College a. The runner-up, Jefferson, became his Vice President according to the Constitution 3. Didn t get along with Hamilton; caused Hamilton to resign 4. He was not well-liked by the people since he seemed aristocratic B. Relations with France 1. Adams had to deal with both Britain and France seizing American ships 2. The two political parties also disagreed over how to handle France a. Jefferson was sympathetic to the French and wanted to aid them b. Hamilton wanted to go to war with France c. Adams just wanted to avoid war altogether but was more pro-british in nature 3. XYZ Affair a. Adams sent envoys to Paris to discuss these issues (seizure of American ships) i. The envoys wanted to speak with foreign minister Talleyrand but 3 gobetweens got in the way and demanded money to do so b. The envoys returned as negotiations broke down c. Led to war preparations and an undeclared naval war between France and the U.S. took place (Quasi-war) i. Talleyrand later would accept new envoys C. The Alien and Sedition Acts (1798) 1. The Alien Acts a. Passed by Federalists in Congress b. The Alien Acts authorized the president to deport anyone who was a threat to national security c. The Naturalization Act changed the residency requirement for aliens from 5 years to 14 years to be eligible for citizenship 2. The Sedition Acts a. Made it a federal crime to falsely and maliciously criticize a federal official b. Many felt it directly undermined the First Amendment and the Constitution c. The Federalists aimed this at the Jeffersonian Democratic-Republicans 3. Both acts were the Federalist response to the criticisms of the Democratic-Republicans 5
D. The Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions 1. Written by Madison and Jefferson to oppose the Alien and Sedition Acts (passed by KY and VA state legislatures) 2. Claimed that the states were the final authority in determining whether the federal government had overstepped its bounds a. Nullification was the correct remedy if this was the case b. Exemplified the states rights view V. The Emergence of the First Party System A. The Constitution and Political Parties 1. Political parties were not mentioned in the Constitution a. Organized opposition to the government in the form of a political party seemed disloyal to the Founders 2. The beginning of the two-party system was due to argument over the creation of a national bank (Washington was staunchly against political parties) B. The Federalists versus the Democratic Republicans The Federalists (Hamiltonian Federalists) a. Favored a strong central government b. Pro-British in foreign affairs c. Favored broad interpretation of the Constitution d. Supported by manufacturers and merchants on the coast e. Favored bank and high tariffs f. Favored a large army and navy The Democratic-Republicans (Jeffersonian Republicans) a. Favored minimal government thought power should be held by the states b. More sympathetic to French in foreign affairs c. Favored strict interpretation of the Constitution d. Supported by small farmers and the lower classes e. Favored agriculture and opposed tariffs f. Favored a small army and navy 6