The History of the United States

1
The History of the United States
1784 to 1800
The dynamics of
change
By Justin Peavey
2
Thesis statement

• The period of 1784 to 1800 was a time rife with
  political, social, and economic upheaval. A new
  nation was being born, and was taking its first
  shaky steps at independence. The United States
  was an experiment in democracy, and few knew
  whether this fledgling nation was up to the
  challenge.

3
Political Change

• This time period saw the end of the American
  Revolution, and the beginnings of a nation that
  would one day become a world super-power. Many
  changes in the early attempts at a democratic
  government were necessary to ensure a strong and
  stable country.

4
The end of the war

• On January 14th of 1784 the US Congress ratified
  the Treaty of Paris with Great Britain to end the
  American Revolutionary War, with the signature of
  President of Congress Thomas Mifflin.
• The newly independent nation turned to the
  daunting task of creating a stable government.

5
Articles of Confederation

• The Articles of Confederation was the first
  constitution of the United States of America and
  legally established the union of the states.
• However, with no executive branch, the Articles
  were not able to effectively enforce laws, and
  because of the economic depression that followed
  the war, many people became burdened by debt and
  heavy taxes

6
Shays Rebellion

• Shays' Rebellion was an armed uprising in
  Massachusetts from 1786 to 1787. The rebellion is
  named after Daniel Shays, a veteran of the
  American Revolution who led the rebels. Most of
  Shays' allies were poor farmers angered by
  crushing debt and taxes.
• Shays and his men were seeking debt relief
  through the issuance of paper currency and lower
  taxes, and they attempted to prevent the courts
  from seizing property from indebted farmers by
  forcing the closure of courts in western
  Massachusetts. The participants in Shays'
  Rebellion believed they were acting in the spirit
  of the Revolution.

7
The Constitution

• It soon became clear that the Articles of
  Confederation were not powerful enough to enforce
  the law.
• On May 14th , 1787, delegates begin arriving in
  Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to revise the
  Articles.
• On May 25th the delegates begin to convene a
  Constitutional Convention intended to amend the
  Articles of Confederation. However, a new
  Constitution for the United States is eventually
  produced. George Washington presides over the
  Convention.
• On September 17th The United States Constitution
  is adopted by the Constitutional Convention.

8
The ratification of the Constitution

• On October 27th , The first of the Federalist
  Papers, a series of essays written by Alexander
  Hamilton James Madison and John Jay calling for
  ratification of the U.S. Constitution, is
  published in a New York paper.
• On December 7th, Delaware ratifies the
  Constitution and becomes the first U.S. state.
• On December 12th , Pennsylvania becomes the
  second U.S. state.
• On December 18th , New Jersey becomes the third
  U.S. state.
• In 1788 Georgia, Connecticut, Massachusetts,
  Maryland, South Carolina, and New Hampshire
  ratifies the United States Constitution and with
  the ratification of the constitution by the 9th
  U.S. state, New Hampshire the Constitution goes
  into effect.

9
The new Government

• On January 7th the 1789 United States
  presidential elections and House of
  Representatives elections are held.
• George Washington is unanimously elected the
  first President of the United States by the
  United States Electoral College on February 4th .
• At Federal Hall in New York City, the 1st United
  States Congress meets on March 4th and declares
  the new United States Constitution to be in
  effect.
• On April 1 At Federal Hall, the United States
  House of Representatives attains its first quorum
  and elects Frederick Muhlenberg of Pennsylvania
  as its first Speaker of the House.
• On April 30 George Washington is inaugurated at
  Federal Hall in New York City, beginning his term
  as the first President of the United States.

10
George Washington

• George Washington set many precedents for future
  presidents during his term as president, such as
  only serving two terms (later broken by Franklin
  D. Roosevelt and afterwards made into law by the
  22nd amendment). He also set constitutional
  precedent by being the first president to use the
  Presidential Veto.
• On September 17th U.S. President George
  Washington issued his Farewell Address, which
  warns against partisan politics and foreign
  entanglements, on shaped American policy for
  years to come.

11
The Bill of Rights

• Many people felt the Constitution was not
  complete, and needed a written guarantee of the
  peoples rights. Several states only ratified the
  Constitution with the understanding that a Bill
  of Rights would soon be included.
• On December 15th Ratification by the states of
  the first ten amendments to the United States
  Constitution is completed, creating the United
  States Bill of Rights. Two additional amendments
  remain pending, and one of these is finally
  ratified in 1992, becoming the Twenty-seventh
  Amendment.

12
Economic Change

• There were many changes in the technologies and
  availability of resources during this time
  period, new inventions and opportunities to grow
  for the new country

13
Inventions

• In 1794, March 14th Eli Whitney is granted a
  patent for the cotton gin, which would
  revolutionize the southern cotton industry and
  cause slavery in the south to increase
  tremendously.

14
Pirates

• The young nations shipping interests were
  greatly affected by fierce raids made by Barbary
  corsairs (pirates) in the Mediterranean and the
  United States economy was suffering because of
  this.
• On October 21st in Boston Harbor, the 44-gun
  United States Navy frigate USS Constitution is
  launched to fight Barbary pirates off the coast
  of Tripoli.
• In 1798 The United States Marine Corps, successor
  to the Continental Marines, was established to
  combat the threat of corsairs .

15
New Territories

• On July 11th The United States takes possession
  of Detroit from Great Britain under the terms of
  the Jay Treaty.
• By 1800 the number of States was 15.
• The United States was growing slowly but surely,
  and was becoming more economically stable

16
Social Changes

• There was little significant social change during
  this time period, but the changes that did occur
  were very important.

17
Republican Motherhood

• "Republican Motherhood" identifies the concept
  related to women's roles as mothers in the
  emerging United States after the American
  Revolution. It centered on the belief that
  children should be raised to uphold the ideals of
  republicanism, making them the ideal citizens of
  the new nation. Republican motherhood meant a new
  and important role for women, especially
  regarding civic duty and education.

18
Art

• Art of this time period was focused mainly on the
  elaborate portraits commissioned by the rich and
  influential.
• The Washington Family by Edward Savage is a
  life-sized group portrait of U. S. President
  George Washington, First Lady Martha Washington,
  two of her grandchildren, and an enslaved
  servant.

19
Other Works

• François Marie Suzanne was a French sculptor. His
  works included a terra cotta statuette of
  Benjamin Franklin
• Liberty Displaying the Arts and Sciences (1792)
  is an oil-on-canvas painting by American artist
  Samuel Jennings.
• The Lansdowne portrait is an iconic oil-on-canvas
  portrait of George Washington, the first
  President of the United States. The portrait was
  commissioned in April 1796 by Senator William
  Bingham of Pennsylvania

20
Conclusion

• So as you can see, the period of 1784 to 1800 was
  a time of great change, a young people shaping
  their nation, and setting themselves on the path
  of freedom and justice.

21
Works Cited

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• Bailey, Kennedy, and Cohen, The American pageant
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