[Framing a New Government]
· Confederation Congress became unpopular by mid-1780s
· 1783: members withdrew from Philadelphia to escape army’s demand for pay
o took shelters in Princeton, New Jersey, then to Annapolis
· 1785: settled in NY
o scarce delegates
o hard time to produce quorum to treaty with Britain
(Advocates for Reform)
· 1780s: top class looking for a stronger national government
· 1786: intense demand to strengthen gov.’s lack of power to tax
· Alexander Hamilton: successful NY lawyer
o called for national convention to fix the Articles of Confederation
o ally: James Madison
· 1786 – Annapolis, Maryland: Convention (only five states present), approved proposal drafted by Hamilton
· 1787: Shay’s rebellion -> more worried -> George Washington’s presence -> more states showing up
(A Divided Convention)
· 1787: “Founding Fathers” 55 delegates (no Rhode Island)
o young, rich property owners, well educated, feared complete democracy and concentrated power
· Virginia Plan: (drafted by James Madison -> Edmund Randolph) a national gov. with a supreme Legislative, Executive, and Judiciary.
o legislature be divided into two: lower house (population-weighted representation) / upper house (elected by lower house, no rep. restriction)
o approved
· New Jersey Plan (William Paterson): one house legislature with all states equal representation
o rejected (too concentrated power)
· debate topic: Are slaves counted as population or property? Representation or taxation?
(Compromise)
· “Grand Committee” – to resolve the unsolvable issue with some civilized way
o Great Compromise: 1) lower-house: population-weighted rep. / 2) slaves = 3/5 a free person / 3) upper-house: two members per state
o 1787 July 16th: Final conclusion
· to settle Southerners: no stopping slave trades for twenty years
· didn’t settle
o definition of citizenship
o Indian relationship
o absence of list of individual rights
§ Madison: if you specify the rights then people would limit those rights
§ Others: central gov. might abuse this
(The Constitution of 1787)
· Madison: drafted Virginia Plan / Constitution, + sovereignty and limiting power
o neither state/fed. gov. is truly sovereign; they derived from the power of people, below them
o “federalism” – division of powers between the national and state governments
§ constitution and gov. created to be supreme law, but importatnt powers in the hands of the states
o Baron de Montesquieu: belief that to avoid tyranny you must keep the gov. away to the people -> Madison fixed it by: republic would be better to prevent tyranny; “Checks and Balances”
o president has power to veto
o federal courts would be protected from both the executive and the legislature, since judges would serve for life
o protect tyranny of small group and of people (mob)
o 39 delegates signed the constitution
[Adoption and Adaptation]
· no fixing the constitution; created new form of gov.
· ratify Constitution
· proposed state convention (not legislature) to ratify it
(Federalists and Antifederalists)
· Congress of NY agreed convention -> sent to each state for admission -> all except Rhode Island showed up
· 1788: beginning of convention
· “Federalist” – centralization
o Washington, Franklin, Madison, Hamilton, John Jay
o The Federalist Papers : “Publius” (Madison, Hamilton, Jay) wrote a series of essays, on newspapers, on meaning/virtues of the Constitution
· “Antifederalist” – state government
o Patrick Henry, Samuel Adams
o argument: Constitution would increase taxes, weaken the states, wield dictatorial power, favor aristocrats over common people, abolish individual liberty, no bill of rights
· 1787-1788: Delaware Convention – ratified the constitution unanimously (though not immediately)
(Completing the Structure)
· 1789: First elections under the Constitution
· George Washington (president), John Adams (federalist - VP)
o Washington inaugurated on April 30, 1789
· 1789: Bill of Rights
o 10 amendments: 9 restricting central gov. not to interfere with:
§ freedom of religion, speech, press, (no) arbitrary arrest, trail with judges
· Judiciary Act of 1789 – Supreme court with 6 members / system of lower district courts and courts of appeal / power to make final decision in cases involving constitutionality of state laws
· Congress created: state, treasury, war departments, attorney general and postmaster general
o secretary of treasury: Alexander Hamilton
o secretary of War: General Henry Knox (federalist)
o attorney general: Edmund Randolph
o secretary of state: Thomas Jefferson
[Federalists and Republicans]
- Federalists (Alexander Hamilton) : America = genuine nation-state, centralized authority and complex commercial economy
- Republicans (Thomas Jefferson and James Madison) : national government, remain predominantly rural and agrarian
(Hamilton and the Federalists)
· for 12 years: Federalists retained control over the new gov.
· Alexander Hamilton: dominant admin. figure
o believed elite ruling class
o fund the debt through selling interest-bearing bonds to wealthy ppl
§ to get their bond money back, the wealthy ppl would always support the gov. to make sure it survives
o wanted to created national bank
§ provide loans and currency to businesses, gov. to deposit federal fund, facilitate the tax collection, pay gov. expenditures
§ chartered by federal gov.
o two kinds of taxes: to gain more revenue other than public land sale
§ 1) excise tax on alcohol
§ 2) tariff on imports (to protect internal industries as well)
§ “Report on Manufactures” of 1791: stimulus plan for the growth of industry
(Enacting the Federalist Program)
· bonds: one argued it’s not fair to exchange new bonds for old certificates of indebtedness on a dollar-for-dollar basis -> Congress still passed the Bill in Hamilton’s favor
· some opposed tax: some states have to pay more even though they don’t have as much debts <- Hamilton nego. with Virginia -> assumption bill passed
· Hamilton and Jefferson met -> exchange northern support for placing the capital in the South for Virginia
o between Virginia and Maryland
· Republicans argued that Congress has no power create federal bank
o Congress agreed, Bank of the United States set at 1791
· tax <- protests from farmers -> revisions of taxation
o 1792: (although not able to protect his tariffs plan completely) raise the rates somewhat
(The Republican Opposition)
· many opposed dividing into factions / parties
· Federalists began their “corruption” <- Republicans thought it was the same as British gov. in early 18th century
o to oppose, formed “party” Republicans
· Federalists(North; urban influence) vs. Republicans(South / West; rural influence)
· French Revolutions (1790s)
o Federalists: expressed horror
o Republicans: applauded as democratic, anti-aristocratic spirit
· 1792: Washington was urged by Jefferson and Hamilton to run the second term
o Washington more toward Federalists
[Establishing National Sovereignty]
- Federalists succeeded in issues on 1) Western territories; 2) diplomacy
(Securing the West)
· disunity: ex) farmers in western Massachusetts rebelled, settlers in Vermont, Kentucky, Tennessee sought to withdrew their relationships from the Union
o 1794: western Pennsylvania – farmers refused to pay whiskey excise tax -> began terrorizing the tax collectors
§ sent militia men (15,0000 led by Washington -> rebellion crushed
· accepted new states into Union (Vermont 1791, Kentucky 1792, Tennessee 1796)
· Ordinances of 1784-1787 – Whites moving in -> Indian border conflicts
o Congress -> Constitution or common law - did not set clear boundary of Indian rights / legal standing
(Maintaining Neutrality)
· 1793: crisis of Anglo-American relationship <- Revolutionary French gov. went war against Britain
o America declaring neutrality
· 1794: Royal Navy seized American ships engaged in trade with French West Indies
· War = end of imports with Britain = no more tariffs
· Hamilton (Federalists) did not trust State Department (Randolph) -> persuaded Washington to send special commissioner (John Jay) to England and nego. a solution
o compensation on British-seized American ships
o withdrawal of British forces from the posts on the frontier of U.S.
o nego. a commercial treaty with Britain
· 1794 – Jay’s Treaty: Jay failed to achieve such goals, but:
o settled the conflicts
o America’s undisputed sovereignty over tne entire Northwest
o satisfactory commercial relationship
· 1795 – Pinckney’s Treaty:
o Spain recognized American’s rights to navigate the Mississippi and deposit goods at New Orleans
o agreed to fix northern boundary of Florida along 31st boundary
o commanded no Indian raids across the border
[The Downfall of the Federalists]
(The Election of 1796)
· 1796: Washington refused to run third term
· Jefferson (Federalist) vs. Adams (Republicans)
o Adams (president by 3 votes) / Jefferson (VP)
(The Quasi War with France)
· French vessels captured American ships, French gov. refused to receive Pinckney when he came in Paris as American minister
· 1797: Adams appointed bipartisan commission to nego. with France
o Prince Talleyrand (French foreign minister) demanded loan for France and bribe
o Pinckney: no way man!
· Adams sent a message to Congress to prepare for a war
o XYZ Affair: Adams deleted the names of three French agents and made a report on France’s treatment to America
§ provoked outrage at France’s actions
§ popular supports for the Federalists’ response
o 1798 – 1799: U.S. engaged in an undeclared war with France
· Adams commanded the Congress to:
o cut trades with France
o capture French armed ships
· 1798: Congress created Department of the Navy (captured total of 85 ships)
o increased cooperation with Britain
o as a result – France tried to conciliate with U.S. -> Adams sent commission to Paris in 1800 -> new treaty with French gov. (led by Napoleon Bonaparte)
o “quasi war” came to a peaceful end
(Repression and Protest)
· Federalists gained power after the conflict with France -> tried to silence Republicans
o Alien and Sedition Acts: restricting foreigners to become American citizens, allowed gov. to prosecute those involved in sedition against gov.
§ Adams agreed to the law but tried to prevent it as a crusade against the Republicans
§ discouraged immigrations to America and encouraged foreigners to leave
§ arrested ten men (Republican newspaper editors)
o to reverse the law, Republicans: whenever a state decided central gov. had exceeded power, then it has rights to nullify -> “nullification”
§ not widely supported
o politicized legislature: Matthew Lyon (Republican from Vermont) fought (physically) against Roger Griswold (Federalist from Connecticut)
(The “Revolution of 1800)
· Jefferson vs. Adams
o each side fulminated each others
o Aaron Burr mobilized Revolutionary War veterans (Tammany Society) as the Republican political machine
§ After long vote, Jefferson chosen
· New Congress mostly made up of Republican
o Only judiciary = Federalists
· Adams admin. spent last months to make the party hold most power
o Judiciary Act of 1801: Federalists reduced the number of Supreme Court justiceships / increased the number of federal judgeships
o appointed John Marshall (Fed.) as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court (held for 34 years)
· “Revolution of 1800” – Republicans had saved the nation from tyranny!
· Confederation Congress became unpopular by mid-1780s
· 1783: members withdrew from Philadelphia to escape army’s demand for pay
o took shelters in Princeton, New Jersey, then to Annapolis
· 1785: settled in NY
o scarce delegates
o hard time to produce quorum to treaty with Britain
(Advocates for Reform)
· 1780s: top class looking for a stronger national government
· 1786: intense demand to strengthen gov.’s lack of power to tax
· Alexander Hamilton: successful NY lawyer
o called for national convention to fix the Articles of Confederation
o ally: James Madison
· 1786 – Annapolis, Maryland: Convention (only five states present), approved proposal drafted by Hamilton
· 1787: Shay’s rebellion -> more worried -> George Washington’s presence -> more states showing up
(A Divided Convention)
· 1787: “Founding Fathers” 55 delegates (no Rhode Island)
o young, rich property owners, well educated, feared complete democracy and concentrated power
· Virginia Plan: (drafted by James Madison -> Edmund Randolph) a national gov. with a supreme Legislative, Executive, and Judiciary.
o legislature be divided into two: lower house (population-weighted representation) / upper house (elected by lower house, no rep. restriction)
o approved
· New Jersey Plan (William Paterson): one house legislature with all states equal representation
o rejected (too concentrated power)
· debate topic: Are slaves counted as population or property? Representation or taxation?
(Compromise)
· “Grand Committee” – to resolve the unsolvable issue with some civilized way
o Great Compromise: 1) lower-house: population-weighted rep. / 2) slaves = 3/5 a free person / 3) upper-house: two members per state
o 1787 July 16th: Final conclusion
· to settle Southerners: no stopping slave trades for twenty years
· didn’t settle
o definition of citizenship
o Indian relationship
o absence of list of individual rights
§ Madison: if you specify the rights then people would limit those rights
§ Others: central gov. might abuse this
(The Constitution of 1787)
· Madison: drafted Virginia Plan / Constitution, + sovereignty and limiting power
o neither state/fed. gov. is truly sovereign; they derived from the power of people, below them
o “federalism” – division of powers between the national and state governments
§ constitution and gov. created to be supreme law, but importatnt powers in the hands of the states
o Baron de Montesquieu: belief that to avoid tyranny you must keep the gov. away to the people -> Madison fixed it by: republic would be better to prevent tyranny; “Checks and Balances”
o president has power to veto
o federal courts would be protected from both the executive and the legislature, since judges would serve for life
o protect tyranny of small group and of people (mob)
o 39 delegates signed the constitution
[Adoption and Adaptation]
· no fixing the constitution; created new form of gov.
· ratify Constitution
· proposed state convention (not legislature) to ratify it
(Federalists and Antifederalists)
· Congress of NY agreed convention -> sent to each state for admission -> all except Rhode Island showed up
· 1788: beginning of convention
· “Federalist” – centralization
o Washington, Franklin, Madison, Hamilton, John Jay
o The Federalist Papers : “Publius” (Madison, Hamilton, Jay) wrote a series of essays, on newspapers, on meaning/virtues of the Constitution
· “Antifederalist” – state government
o Patrick Henry, Samuel Adams
o argument: Constitution would increase taxes, weaken the states, wield dictatorial power, favor aristocrats over common people, abolish individual liberty, no bill of rights
· 1787-1788: Delaware Convention – ratified the constitution unanimously (though not immediately)
(Completing the Structure)
· 1789: First elections under the Constitution
· George Washington (president), John Adams (federalist - VP)
o Washington inaugurated on April 30, 1789
· 1789: Bill of Rights
o 10 amendments: 9 restricting central gov. not to interfere with:
§ freedom of religion, speech, press, (no) arbitrary arrest, trail with judges
· Judiciary Act of 1789 – Supreme court with 6 members / system of lower district courts and courts of appeal / power to make final decision in cases involving constitutionality of state laws
· Congress created: state, treasury, war departments, attorney general and postmaster general
o secretary of treasury: Alexander Hamilton
o secretary of War: General Henry Knox (federalist)
o attorney general: Edmund Randolph
o secretary of state: Thomas Jefferson
[Federalists and Republicans]
- Federalists (Alexander Hamilton) : America = genuine nation-state, centralized authority and complex commercial economy
- Republicans (Thomas Jefferson and James Madison) : national government, remain predominantly rural and agrarian
(Hamilton and the Federalists)
· for 12 years: Federalists retained control over the new gov.
· Alexander Hamilton: dominant admin. figure
o believed elite ruling class
o fund the debt through selling interest-bearing bonds to wealthy ppl
§ to get their bond money back, the wealthy ppl would always support the gov. to make sure it survives
o wanted to created national bank
§ provide loans and currency to businesses, gov. to deposit federal fund, facilitate the tax collection, pay gov. expenditures
§ chartered by federal gov.
o two kinds of taxes: to gain more revenue other than public land sale
§ 1) excise tax on alcohol
§ 2) tariff on imports (to protect internal industries as well)
§ “Report on Manufactures” of 1791: stimulus plan for the growth of industry
(Enacting the Federalist Program)
· bonds: one argued it’s not fair to exchange new bonds for old certificates of indebtedness on a dollar-for-dollar basis -> Congress still passed the Bill in Hamilton’s favor
· some opposed tax: some states have to pay more even though they don’t have as much debts <- Hamilton nego. with Virginia -> assumption bill passed
· Hamilton and Jefferson met -> exchange northern support for placing the capital in the South for Virginia
o between Virginia and Maryland
· Republicans argued that Congress has no power create federal bank
o Congress agreed, Bank of the United States set at 1791
· tax <- protests from farmers -> revisions of taxation
o 1792: (although not able to protect his tariffs plan completely) raise the rates somewhat
(The Republican Opposition)
· many opposed dividing into factions / parties
· Federalists began their “corruption” <- Republicans thought it was the same as British gov. in early 18th century
o to oppose, formed “party” Republicans
· Federalists(North; urban influence) vs. Republicans(South / West; rural influence)
· French Revolutions (1790s)
o Federalists: expressed horror
o Republicans: applauded as democratic, anti-aristocratic spirit
· 1792: Washington was urged by Jefferson and Hamilton to run the second term
o Washington more toward Federalists
[Establishing National Sovereignty]
- Federalists succeeded in issues on 1) Western territories; 2) diplomacy
(Securing the West)
· disunity: ex) farmers in western Massachusetts rebelled, settlers in Vermont, Kentucky, Tennessee sought to withdrew their relationships from the Union
o 1794: western Pennsylvania – farmers refused to pay whiskey excise tax -> began terrorizing the tax collectors
§ sent militia men (15,0000 led by Washington -> rebellion crushed
· accepted new states into Union (Vermont 1791, Kentucky 1792, Tennessee 1796)
· Ordinances of 1784-1787 – Whites moving in -> Indian border conflicts
o Congress -> Constitution or common law - did not set clear boundary of Indian rights / legal standing
(Maintaining Neutrality)
· 1793: crisis of Anglo-American relationship <- Revolutionary French gov. went war against Britain
o America declaring neutrality
· 1794: Royal Navy seized American ships engaged in trade with French West Indies
· War = end of imports with Britain = no more tariffs
· Hamilton (Federalists) did not trust State Department (Randolph) -> persuaded Washington to send special commissioner (John Jay) to England and nego. a solution
o compensation on British-seized American ships
o withdrawal of British forces from the posts on the frontier of U.S.
o nego. a commercial treaty with Britain
· 1794 – Jay’s Treaty: Jay failed to achieve such goals, but:
o settled the conflicts
o America’s undisputed sovereignty over tne entire Northwest
o satisfactory commercial relationship
· 1795 – Pinckney’s Treaty:
o Spain recognized American’s rights to navigate the Mississippi and deposit goods at New Orleans
o agreed to fix northern boundary of Florida along 31st boundary
o commanded no Indian raids across the border
[The Downfall of the Federalists]
(The Election of 1796)
· 1796: Washington refused to run third term
· Jefferson (Federalist) vs. Adams (Republicans)
o Adams (president by 3 votes) / Jefferson (VP)
(The Quasi War with France)
· French vessels captured American ships, French gov. refused to receive Pinckney when he came in Paris as American minister
· 1797: Adams appointed bipartisan commission to nego. with France
o Prince Talleyrand (French foreign minister) demanded loan for France and bribe
o Pinckney: no way man!
· Adams sent a message to Congress to prepare for a war
o XYZ Affair: Adams deleted the names of three French agents and made a report on France’s treatment to America
§ provoked outrage at France’s actions
§ popular supports for the Federalists’ response
o 1798 – 1799: U.S. engaged in an undeclared war with France
· Adams commanded the Congress to:
o cut trades with France
o capture French armed ships
· 1798: Congress created Department of the Navy (captured total of 85 ships)
o increased cooperation with Britain
o as a result – France tried to conciliate with U.S. -> Adams sent commission to Paris in 1800 -> new treaty with French gov. (led by Napoleon Bonaparte)
o “quasi war” came to a peaceful end
(Repression and Protest)
· Federalists gained power after the conflict with France -> tried to silence Republicans
o Alien and Sedition Acts: restricting foreigners to become American citizens, allowed gov. to prosecute those involved in sedition against gov.
§ Adams agreed to the law but tried to prevent it as a crusade against the Republicans
§ discouraged immigrations to America and encouraged foreigners to leave
§ arrested ten men (Republican newspaper editors)
o to reverse the law, Republicans: whenever a state decided central gov. had exceeded power, then it has rights to nullify -> “nullification”
§ not widely supported
o politicized legislature: Matthew Lyon (Republican from Vermont) fought (physically) against Roger Griswold (Federalist from Connecticut)
(The “Revolution of 1800)
· Jefferson vs. Adams
o each side fulminated each others
o Aaron Burr mobilized Revolutionary War veterans (Tammany Society) as the Republican political machine
§ After long vote, Jefferson chosen
· New Congress mostly made up of Republican
o Only judiciary = Federalists
· Adams admin. spent last months to make the party hold most power
o Judiciary Act of 1801: Federalists reduced the number of Supreme Court justiceships / increased the number of federal judgeships
o appointed John Marshall (Fed.) as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court (held for 34 years)
· “Revolution of 1800” – Republicans had saved the nation from tyranny!
