United States of America

1
United States of America

• A Look at the Beginning of the US
• Politics, Economics, Society, Culture
• Values of Revolution and Post-Revolution

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Were Free!Were Independent!

• Now what???

3
How do we create a viable nation?

• Spirit of revolution cannot single-handedly
  create a nation
• Need for governmental structure
• Need for leadership
• Need for public support for the new nation
• Remember country was divided among patriots,
  loyalists, and neutrals

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Declaration of Independence

• Equality
• We hold these truths to be self-evident, that
  all men are created equal, that they are endowed
  by their Creator with certain unalienable rights,
  that among these are Life, Liberty and the
  Pursuit of Happiness.
• Pursuit of Happiness Property

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Problems inherent in Declaration

• What problem did founding fathers create with
  the Declaration?
• What problem could there be with saying that all
  men are created equal?
• What was the notion of equality?
• Male
• property owner
• White (European descent)
• French Revolution (1789) would learn from this
  and adopt liberty, equality, fraternity

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Virtue

• What does virtue mean today? If we say that a
  person is virtuous, what do we mean?
• Virtue had different meaning in the 1700s
• Virtue as basis for republic
• Connection of idea of virtue to values of
  Revolution?

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Virtue

• Industrious virtue of America v. corruption of
  Britain (Europe)
• What did virtue mean in 1780s?
• Three Types of Virtue
• Virtue as basic for republicanism
• Distinguishes Republicanism from Monarchy

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Definitions of Virtue

• 1- Educated Elite view
• Sacrifice personal gain for good of the whole
• Work solely for best interests of nation
• Hard work
• Rank based on merit not inherited wealth
• Natural Aristocracy talent raised someone from
  humble beginnings to power
• 2 Elite and Craftsmen
• Based more on economic theory
• Individual pursuit of self-interest
• Nation would benefit from economic expansion
• First Trickle down economics idea
• 3- Egalitarian view
• Widening mens participation in political process
• Government respond to ordinary people

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Virtue

• All had similar assumptions
• Virtue self-sacrifice, frugality,
  self-interest, include even propertyless free men
  in politics
• Virtuous country
• Hard working people
• Dress simply
• Live plainly
• Elect wise leaders to public office

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Values of the Revolution

• Humility
• Humble origins
• Hard-work and make life for self and family
• Self-made man
• Intellectualism
• No aristocracy
• Fraternity
• Equality???

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Reality of virtuous republic

• Virtue defined as opposite of England at the time
• Virtue meant absence of immorality, selfishness,
  monarchy, frivolous luxuries
• Where do arts fit? Authors, artists and
  playwrights faced difficult time had to create
  virtuous works could not promote luxury
• Are the wealthy going to give up luxuries just
  because they claim to want a virtuous republic?
• Reality luxury and corruption were never absent
  from America

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Implications of Virtue as basis for republic

• Consumption of luxuries never ended
• New type of aristocracy?
• Social clubs became popular
• Gambling, card playing, taverns, elaborate
  parties
• Can you be virtuous and support slavery?
• Can you be virtuous and continue to kill Native
  Americans and take their land?
• Can you be virtuous and condemn women as
  non-citizens who are incapable of political
  participation?

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Education

• Education became a very important aspect of
  creating a sense of a virtuous republic
• Solution to inconsistencies we will educate our
  children and ensure that they are virtuous
• Schooling as public purpose
• Survival of nation depended on educated citizenry

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Education

• 1789 Massachusetts offered public elementary
  education
• Many other northern states used tax money to
  support public elementary schools
• Schooling also emphasized for girls, even though
  not really considered citizens
• Why? Why did elite men want to educate women?

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Education for Women

• Women were mothers
• Mothers needed to be able to teach their sons the
  values of the republic and teach their sons to be
  good citizens
• Side effects
• Beginnings of womens rights movement in the US

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Education and Women

• Trace womens rights movement back to American
  Revolution and idea of virtue that stemmed from
  it
• Regardless of official rationale for offering
  education, women learned history, geography,
  philosophy, mathematics, etc
• Writings start to emphasize the fact that women
  have equal intellectual capabilities as men and
  both
• Ideas that inadequate education would prevent
  women from living up to ideals of revolution

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Education and Women

• P 170 Both men and women realized that female
  patriots made vital contributions to winning the
  war and that their notions of gender roles had to
  be rethought.
• Your text greatly exaggerates this
• Overemphasizes the movement at this point
• In reality, the division between mens and
  womens work became more prominent

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Women

• Women did start to use revolutionary ideology and
  ideology associated with a virtuous republic to
  their own advantage
• Abigail Adams Remember the Ladies
• If men were naturally tyrannical, that marriage
  laws should be changed so that wives are not
  legally subordinate to their husbands
• Others called for right to vote for women
• Usually, womens rights movement traced to
  mid-1800s, but clearly started by 1780s

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Growth of Racism

• virtuous republic
• free country
• What about the 700,000 African Americans who were
  enslaved?
• How can slavery coexist with the ideals of
  freedom and virtue?

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Racism and Racist Ideology

• African Americans applied revolutionary ideology
  to argue that slavery was wrong
• Reclassified struggle for freedom in terms of
  revolutionary ideology
• 1779 New Hampshire and Connecticut slaves
  petitioned for freedom based on ideals of liberty
  and justice
• Did not succeed
• However, postwar years did see gradual abolition
  of slavery in the North
• First Emancipation
• Why?
• Was it because the government wanted to do what
  was right?
• Or, did it have to do with economics? Or both?

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Emancipation in North

• 1777 Vermont
• 1780 Pennsylvania
• 1804 New Jersey
• No southern state adopted emancipation laws
• Some southern states did allow slaveowners
  greater ability to free their slaves
• North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia continued
  to require that manumission be approved by county
  courts

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Manumissions in Chesapeake

• Economic changes
• Declining soil fertility
• Shift from tobacco to grain
• Influence of antislavery Baptists and Methodists

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Growth of Free Black Population

• 1755- only 4 of African Americans in Maryland
  free by 1810, 50 free
• 1790 60,000 free African Americans in US
• 1800 108,000 free African Americans 11 of
  total African American population
• Many moved to northern cities Boston and
  Philadelphia
• Women outnumbered men in migration because of
  better employment opportunities
• Domestic service in cities
• Many were skilled workers

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Growth of Free Black Population

• Traditions and ideals continued
• Strong families and communities important
• Established independent two-parent nuclear
  families instead of continuing to live in
  employers households
• Own institutions rely on their own collective
  efforts

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Racist theory

• Coincidence that racist theory may develop at
  time when there is an increase in free black
  population?
• Slave owners needed new justification in light of
  all men created equal
• Argued that people of African descent were not
  fully human
• Race became based on skin color
• Many African Americans challenged this and there
  was also some educated European Americans who
  were against slavery and challenged this ideology

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Blacks Petition for Freedom Rights

• How does this resemble or compare to the
  Declaration of Independence and other documents
  and/or ideologies of the American Revolution?
• Why did African Americans use the terms and
  structure their petitions in the way they did?

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Challenges

• Social discussed on previous slides
• Political and economic
• Government

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Government

• Articles of Confederation
• First attempt at national, federal, government
• One-house legislature
• Each state had 1 vote
• Powers foreign relations, mediating disputes
  between states, maritime affairs, regulating
  Indian trade, valuing state and national coinage
• Could not raise revenue, enforce commercial
  policy, clear policy on expansion

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Economic and Political Issues

• Articles established a firm league of
  friendship
• No truly national policies
• Financial concerns
• Financed war by printing currency
• Depreciation of currency
• Inflation
• 1781 collapse of monetary system
• Tried to levy federal taxes
• Farmers, merchants, no one happy with this
• Just fought war over taxes

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Failure of Articles of Confederation

• Could not raise sufficient revenue
• No national commercial policy so did not have
  national power over foreign trade
• Other nations saw weakness in government
• Little control
• State and local government refused to follow
  Treaty of Paris and repay war debts or allow
  loyalists to take back their confiscated land
• Continued conflicts in the western lands
• Calls for new structure of government

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Constitutional Convention

• Constitutional Convention
• Philadelphia 1787
• James Madison first wrote about the principle of
  checks and balances no part could become too
  powerful in federal government

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Compromises

• New Jersey and Virginia Plans
• Virginia
• 2 houses of legislature
• lower house elected by people
• upper house appointed by lower house
• Proportional to population
• Favored large states
• New Jersey
• William Paterson led the NJ delegation
• Reform Articles of Confederation
• Each state has equal say and equal votes

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Compromise

• House and Senate
• Proportional representation in House
• Equal representation in Senate
• House elected by people
• Senate elected by state legislatures

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Slavery and the Constitution

• How to decide proportional representation?
• How to count population
• Indians who paid no taxes would be excluded
• Delegates from states with large slave
  populations wanted African and European residents
  counted equally
• Delegates from states with few slaves only wanted
  free people counted

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Slavery and the Constitution

• Compromise among delegates
• Three-fifths compromise
• Three-fifths of slaves would be included in
  population totals
• P. 186 the formula reflected delegates
  judgment that slaves were less efficient
  producers of wealth than free people, not that
  they were 60 percent human and 40 percent
  property.
• What do you think?

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Debates over Constitution

• Why wasnt there full support?
• What problems or issues did people have with the
  Constitution?
• Why?

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Federalist or Antifederalist

• Arguments of both sides
• Federalist
• Anti-Federalist

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You decide

• How would you vote? Would you vote in favor of
  the Constitution or against it?
• Would you ratify the Constitution or not?
• Why?

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Constitution

• Constitution is over 200 years old
• Is it still effective?
• Is it still appropriate?
• Why has it survived as long as it has?

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Politics and the new nation

• Government, Politics, Growth
• Becoming a Nation
• 1780s-1815

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Creating a Workable Government

• Consensus seemed likely at first
• First Congress largely Federalist men who
  supported strong federal government
• 4 tasks
• Raise revenue
• Bill of rights
• Executive Departments
• Organize Judiciary

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Bill of Rights

• State conventions called for Bill of Rights
• 10 amendments passed in the states and Bill of
  Rights officially part of the Constitution on
  Dec. 15, 1791
• Diffused Antifederalist opposition and rallied
  support for new government
• Freedom of speech, press, peaceable assembly (1st
  amendment)

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Washingtons Presidency

• 1st President
• Position designed with him in mind
• Cautious movements understood the idea of
  precedence and wanted to be careful
• Mr. President title (other choices His
  highness, Protector of their Liberties)
• Created Cabinet
• Delivered State of the Union Address to Congress
• Made a point to visit states

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Hamilton and the Bank

• Alexander Hamilton - Secretary of Treasury
• Loyalty with nation as a whole
• No ties to any one state
• Lived in British West Indies until 1773
• Did not understand or believe in notion of local
  autonomy

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Hamilton and the Bank

• Proposed that Congress assume outstanding state
  debts
• Concentrate economic power at the national level
• Debate in House and Senate
• Ended up tied to bill to relocate the capital to
  Washington DC
• 1790 Recommended National Bank
• Opposition to this
• Belief that Constitution did not allow Congress
  authority to charter a bank
• Bank largely successful (at least at first)

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Hamilton, the Bank and Opposing Points of View

• Handout on Debate over the Bank of US
• Class debate

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Whiskey Rebellion

• Taxes on whiskey produced in US
• Harmful to Western farmers Hamilton not
  concerned because his support was with merchants
• Protests in frontier areas of Pennsylvania
• Taxed disproportionately
• PA, MD and VA protest for 2 years
• Washington called militia to get involved
• Symbolic message that national government would
  not allow violent resistance to its laws

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French Revolution

• What impact did French Revolution have on
  America?
• U.S.-France Relations
• US believed they inspired French Revolution and
  felt validated by it
• Concerned when France started having problems
  with Austria, Spain, Britain and Holland
• 1778 Treaty of Alliance seemed to commit US to
  help France forever just as they helped us in
  American Revolution
• Decided (Hamilton and Jefferson even in
  agreement) that US would not choose sides

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Relationship with Britain

• Strong connection to Britain
• Shared history and language
• Key economic partners
• Purchased most goods from Britain
• Depended on Britain for trade
• Problems as well
• British seizure of American merchant ships
• US wanted freedom of seas
• Wanted Britain out of American Northwest

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Politics

• Political parties started to form
• Antifederalists and Federalists really were the
  beginnings of partisan politics and examining the
  arguments of both sides, its evident where our
  modern sense of political division stems from
• Real partisan politics developed after
  Constitution in place and Washington in place

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Partisan Politics

• Democratic-Republicans
• Jefferson and Madison
• Charged Hamilton with subverting republican
  principles by favoring wealthy commercial
  interests over agricultural interests
• Federalists
• Hamilton and his supporters
• Dramatize their claim that they are real
  supporters of Constitution

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Partisan Politics

• Democratic-Republicans
• Aristocrats v. people
• Agricultural interests
• Southern and middle states
• Optimistic
• Non-English ethnic groups Irish, Scots, Germans
• Focus on own economy, lessen focus on
  international
• Federalists
• True patriots v. subversive rabble
• Commercial interests
• New England
• Mostly English
• Little grassroots organization and little focus
  on ordinary people in government

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Transfer of Power

• Peaceful transfer of power
• Washington to John Adams
• Why was this important?
• What symbolic meaning did this event have?
• If this was not peaceful, what may have occurred?
  
• Peaceful transitions of power still a trademark
  of America even in 2000, it was peaceful
  people debated whether it was legal or legitimate
  but it was peaceful

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Washingtons Farewell Address

• Decided to step down after 2 terms (not a law
  until 1951)
• Asserted 3 principles that guided American
  foreign policy
• To maintain commercial but not political ties to
  other nations
• To enter no permanent alliances
• American Exceptionalism
• Independent action in foreign affairs Americas
  uniqueness

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Adams Presidency

• XYZ Affair
• Political cartoon page 207
• French government seized American ships
• Negotiations in France
• Agents X,Y,Z refused to negotiate
• Anti-French sentiment in US
• Call for war against France
• Seizure of French vessels
• Alien and Sedition Acts
• Federalists supported law to quell dissent of
  Democratic-Republicans against war
• Laws that intended to Suppress Dissent
• Targeted immigrants and gave President authority
  to detain immigrants he deemed dangerous to
  national security
• Sedition Act tried to control speech outlawed
  writing and printing that had intent to disagree
  with government

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Protests against slavery

• Gabriels Rebellion
• Gabriel was enslaved blacksmith
• Planned large-scale revolt
• Encouraged African Americans to fight for freedom
• Plan to attack Richmond
• Politically sophisticated plan
• Rain delayed attack and word spread
• 26 conspirators and Gabriel were hanged
• Slowed but didnt stop protests in support of
  freedom

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Jeffersons Presidency

• Democratic-Republicans in power
• Refused to use Alien and Sedition Acts against
  enemies
• Pardoned those imprisoned under these Acts
• Let Sedition Act expire in 1801 and Alien Act
  expire in 1802

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Judiciary

• Early years of nation was rather weak
• Supreme Court did not seem like a major power
  compared to Congress and the Presidency
• Refused to review the Alien and Sedition Acts
• Jefferson appointed 3 justices, one was John
  Marshall

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Marbury v. Madison

• Defined Supreme Court and its power
• Marshall determined that Marbury had a right to
  his judicial appointment but the Court could not
  force Madison to honor request because Court did
  not have power to issue a writ of mandamus
• Supreme Court denied itself the power to issue
  writs
• Established power to judge the constitutionality
  of laws passed by Congress concept of judicial
  review

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Marshall and the Supreme Court

• What was the significance of the way John
  Marshall ran the Court?
• What impact did his leadership on the Court have?
• Supreme Court became equal branch of government
• Is it really separate when the President
  nominated justices? Is it really separate if any
  President can have the opportunity to nominate
  multiple justices, resulting in a new majority?

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Political Aspects of US

• Constitution in place
• Presidential election and transfer of power is
  peaceful and successful
• Court and Congress also established
• National government in place and feeling confident

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Growth

• One major issue of the Revolution
• Britain prevented colonists from moving into the
  western lands
• Colonists wanted to move west and settle new
  territories
• With independence, Americans saw a new
  opportunity to explore and settle in western
  lands

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Where to move to?
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Louisiana Purchase

• In 1803 the US purchased the territory of
  Louisiana from France
• 830,000 square miles of wilderness west of the
  Mississippi River
• The Louisiana Purchase almost doubled the size of
  the United States
• gave the nation control over an abundance of
  natural resources and fertile land
• continued the westward expansion that would
  eventually end at the Pacific Ocean.

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How did we get all this land?

• In 1802 President Thomas Jefferson sent James
  Monroe and Robert Livingston to France
• Instructed to buy New Orleans and part of West
  Florida in order to ensure U.S. navigation rights
  on the Mississippi River.
• During negotiations, French officials made an
  unexpected offer to sell the entire Louisiana
  Territory
• Although the American diplomats did not have the
  authority to make such a purchase, they agreed to
  buy the land for 15 million.
• President Jefferson approved the acquisition
• some politicians argued that his unilateral
  decision was unconstitutional

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Louisiana Purchase

• Was it unconstitutional?
• What would you have done if you were one of the
  diplomats sent to France?
• Would you have agreed to buy it?
• Country at time still very unsure and uneasy with
  concept of strong federal government

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Growth of NationPhysically and Politically

• Country expanding with new explorations
• Political division and conflicts persist
• Began as diverse country always going to be a
  divided country?
• Was there an opportunity to unite the nation?
• Is there an opportunity now?

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Growth politically, but what about socially

• Were we growing socially as well?
• Social ideas, ideologies, customs, feelings,
  beliefs much more difficult to change than the
  laws or the political system
• Still cruelty, hatred, racism

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Iron Slave Mask and Collar     Date 1807

• Inhumane treatment
• Chains, leg irons, and other devices were used to
  make escape impossible.
• This engraving depicts an iron mask and collar,
  used by some slaveholders to keep field workers
  from running away and to prevent them from eating
  crops such as sugarcane.
• Fitted securely over the slave's head and locked
  in place, the mask made breathing difficult
  despite ventilation holes. If left on too long,
  moisture would accumulate inside the mask so that
  when it was removed, it would tear away the
  slave's skin.

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Growth

• Nation is growing up
• Institutions are basically accepted
• Political structure in place
• Becoming a physically larger country
• Party politics
• Political system role of press

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New Political Culture

• Partisan Press
• Role of Free Press
• Free Press important political institution
• Why is free press important?
• What impact has the Free Press had on American
  society?
• What role does the press play in politics today?

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Grassroots Campaigning

• Grassroots ideas and political activism
• Democratic-Republicans became known for having
  political barbeques
• Do we see this today?
• How is grassroots campaigning different?
• What is its purpose?

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Physical and Political Growth of Nation

• What about economics?
• Economy has to keep up with this growth
• Economic reasons for westward expansion
• Shipping an important industry

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Shipping

• Impressment of American Sailors
• British had too few men enlisted in navy
• British soldiers deserted and joined American
  vessels
• Royal Navy stopped and detained British deserters
  and American sailors
• Britain claimed once a British subject, always a
  British subject
• Mockery of US citizenship and sovereignty
• Fueled anger toward Britain
• Economic and Political and Ideological reasons
• Neutral Rights violated
• Embargo Act
• Denied England and France products from America
• Forbade all exports from US to any country
• Well-intentioned but unpopular and unsuccessful

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Mr. Madisons War

• War of 1812
• Economic pressure failed to protect American
  ships and sailors
• Madison justified war
• Impressment
• Interference with neutral trading rights
• British alliances with Western Indians
• Debate on War nation very divided

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War of 1812

• Result of continuous conflict over a number of
  issues, including British harassment of U.S.
  shipping
• the United States declared war on Great Britain
  on June 18, 1812.
• The war was marked by military blunders on both
  sides and ended with no important territorial
  transfers.
• The U.S.-Canadian border was one of the main
  fronts of the war.
• American invasions of Canada were repeatedly
  repulsed by the British, and both sides struggled
  to control border forts and the Great Lakes.
• A noted American victory took place at the Battle
  of the Thames, where General William Henry
  Harrison's troops defeated a combined British and
  Indian force on October 5, 1813.

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Star-Spangled Banner

• The British then attacked Baltimore, but withdrew
  when they were unable to take Fort McHenry.
• Francis Scott Key witnessed this and was inspired
  to write "The Star-Spangled Banner" (now the
  U.S. national anthem) A British invasion of New
  Orleans was mounted in December 1814 the final
  battle for the city took place on January 8,
  1815, two weeks after the war had ended but
  before word of the peace treaty crossed the
  Atlantic. An overwhelming American victory in the
  superfluous battle made General Andrew Jackson a
  national hero.

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War of 1812

• A British invasion of New Orleans was mounted in
  December 1814
• the final battle for the city took place on
  January 8, 1815
• two weeks after the war had ended
• but before word of the peace treaty crossed the
  Atlantic.

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Military in the War of 1812

• Marines
• Marines participated in numerous naval operations
  during the War of 1812
• Also participated in the defense of Washington at
  Bladensburg, Maryland
• Fought alongside Andrew Jackson in the defeat of
  the British at New Orleans.
• Navy
• The U.S. Navy won several courageous victories in
  ship-to-ship actions the most memorable of which
  was that by Captain Isaac Hull in USS
  Constitution ("Old Ironsides") over HMS
  Guerriere. Despite the powerful Royal Navy's
  close blockade of the American coast, a number of
  U.S. warships were able to slip through the
  blockaders to take their toll of enemy naval and
  merchant ships.
• Army
• Battles in Canada from 1812-1815
• Fort McHenry 1814
• New Orleans 1815

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War of 1812

• Study guide
• War of 1812 chart D on page 274-275
• 4 groups
• Group 1 Naval War
• Group 2 Land war Northern US, Canada
• Group 3 page 275 Occupation of Washington
  Battle of New Orleans
• Group 4 Consequences of War of 1812

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Andrew Jackson

• An overwhelming American victory in the
  superfluous battle made General Andrew Jackson a
  national hero.
• Why was Jackson a hero and was he a hero?
• Video on Andrew Jackson

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Consequences of War of 1812

• Affirmed US Independence - Rise of Nationalism
• Ensured Canadas independence from US
• Conflict over trade and territory with Great
  Britain continued, but never led to war again
• American resolve to stay out of European politics
• Indian resistance largely defeated
• Lead to US expansion south and west into Indian
  territory, not north into Canada
• Exposed concerns about transportation
• Fostered economic growth (as most wars do)
• Racial Ideologies
• Fear of arming slaves in South
• British army recruited slaves
• US offered same deal to slaves in Canada
• Philadelphia African American leaders formed a
  Black Brigade to defend the city

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Looking Ahead

• Monday, July 17th
• Meet in TEC 200 computer lab
• WebQuest about the West
• Multiple viewpoints
• 6 groups will explore 6 different aspects of
  Americas movement west