History 1301, Triad E

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History 1301, Triad E

• Dr. Pat Carroll

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American Demographic Profile in the Early Republic

• 1790 95 Americans lived in rural areas.
• 1/2 were under age 16.
• 1800 over 80 of families were farmers.
• The population was doubling every 22 years.

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Defining Political Identity Decentralization of
Power

• Lockes Social Contract of Government
• Political sovereignty (power) rested in the
  people,
• The people delegated limited political power to
  their government in return for the governments
  protection of life, liberty, and property.
• Strategies to insure that this contract was
  protected
• each state adopted a bill that included Lockes
  individual rights
• Create a weak central government, with a
  separation of powers, a legislative branch with
  3 departments
• Each state sovereign, power concentrated in the
  states

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Emerging Political Identity Stage 1 of
Implementing Lockes Social Contract of
Government-All Power to the States

• Articles of Confederation, 1781-1787 Shaped by
  Fear of Strong Central Government
• Rule by Committee, A Congress, but no Executive
  and no Judicial Branches of Central Government
• States were Sovereign in their own right, the
  central government presided over a purely
  voluntary union.
• (This would be the basis for the States Rights
  position down to the present date)

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Federal Legislatures Three Sub-Committees, or
Departments

• Foreign Affairs
• Negotiating an End to the Revolutionary War
• Re-establishing Relations with England and
  Spain after the War, as well as the question of
  the French alliance
• Dealing with Indians on the Western Frontier
• Dealing with Dutch and Swedish settlers in the
  middle states.

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Articles and the Three Departments of Government

• Finance Money to pay for the war and its
  aftermath, to promote trade and industry, as well
  as to provide security
• create a stable money supply and provide credit
• re-establish old and find new foreign markets for
  agriculture, artisan, and industrial products
• Pay off war debts (pay patriot soldiers, and
  compensate Tories for their losses of property).
• How do you do all this without the power to tax?

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Articles and Its Three Departments of Government

• War Responsible for preparations for war and for
  the administration of war .
• During most of the 1781-1787 period this
  department had little to do because the 1783-1787
  period was a time for recovery from the
  Revolution, a time for avoiding conflict. The
  one exception to this rule was its dealing with
  hostile Indians on the nations western frontier.

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Problems With the Articles of Confederation

• Currency The central Government could print
  money, but it could not raise revenue to redeem
  or back that paper.
• Diplomacy The central Government could negotiate
  treaties, but it could not force the states to
  honor them (British Forts and the Tory property
  restitution, debt collection, trade agreements).
• Individual Rights women, blacks, Indians, and
  the poor.

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Currency and Economic Crisis, Hyper-inflation
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Western Lands and Government Revenue

• About the only way the Articles of Confederation
  Congress could raise money or pay patriot
  veterans was through the sale and distribution of
  western lands.

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Legislation to Settle/Sell Western Lands

• Ordinance of 1784 when a territorys population
  equaled that of the smallest existing state it
  would become a state.
• Land Ordinance of 1785 settlement of the land 6
  square mile townships, 1 square mile (640 acre)
  lots at no less than 1/acre
• Northwest Ordinance of 1787 replaced Ordinance
  of 1784 for governing the territories.

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Northwest Ordinance of 1787
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Northwest Ordinance, 1787 Hybrid
Colony/Territory Status

• A U.S. Congress appointed governor, secretary,
  and three judges (executive and judicial branches
  of government).
• when 5,000 free males settled in a territory they
  could elect their own Assembly (legislative
  branch of government).
• With 60,000 residents, a state convention would
  draw up a constitution, the territory could then
  apply to the U.S. Congress for statehood.

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The Constitutional Debates

• Federalists backed a strong Federal Government
  (James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay
  wrote the Federalist Papers in support of a
  Federalist Constitution)
• Anti-Federalists backed a weaker central
  Government (George Mason, Patrick Henry, Richard
  Henry Lee, George Clinton, and Sam Adams)

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Alexander Hamilton
LEADING FEDERALISTS
James Madison
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Examples of Anti-FederalistsRichard Henry Lee
and Patrick Henry
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Constitutional Convention, 1787
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Issues in the Constitutional Debates

• Representation Population v. State
• Virginia and New Jersey Plans, and the Great
  Compromise
• Slavery, Taxes, and Representation
• Separation of Powers
• The Operating Consideration in all of the above
  was Most power should rest in the people, so
  divide power within the government to make sure
  government doesnt take more power than the
  people want to gave it.

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Comparison of Governing Plans at the
Constitutional Convention
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The Convention Failed to Discuss Two Problems
Under the Articles of Confederation

• Indians Rights The Delegates considered this a
  non-issue.
• Only Private Discussion of Womens Rights
• Abigail and John Adams letters, 1776
• Remember the Ladies
• Women denied citizenship did not get the right
  to vote (let alone hold office) until the 19th
  Amendment to the Constitution in 1920.

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George Masons Objections

• Document Analysis Questions
• 1. What are the documents main points?
• 2. When and for whom was the document written?
• 3. What conditions existed at the particular time
  and
• place which inspired the writing of the document?
• 4. How does this document reflect identity
  construction
• and promises made promises broken?
• 5. What relevance do you think the document might
• have for describing or addressing conditions
  that exist in Corpus Christi, Texas, the nation,
  and/or the world?

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George Mason, Objections to This Constitution
of Government (1787)

• He saw many faults in the centralized government
  set up by the Constitution.
• 1. the House of Representatives was too weak
• 2. the Senate was too strong, especially since
  the Vice president sat at the President of it
• 3. With VP head of the Senate there was no
  separation of powers between the executive and
  legislative branches of government
• President, head of the Executive Branch,
  lacked a National Council for Advice, which
  might lead to tyranny
• Federal Judiciary was too strong, could override
  state judiciaries
• Federal Government too strong it dominated
  state governments.

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THE FEDERALIST PAPERS, N.Y. Press, 1787-1788

• Series of 85 essays written by James Madison,
  Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay. The essays
  made the following arguments in favor of the
  Consitiution
• Build checks and balances between government
  branches in the Constitution to prevent tyranny
• Executive Branch assigned specific powers
• Legislative Branch assigned different specific
  powers
• Judicial Branch would arbitrate disputes between
  the Executive and Legislative Branches over
  exercise of specific powers.

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James Madisons Federalist Paper X

• Document Analysis Questions
• 1. What are the documents main points?
• 2. When and for whom was the document written?
• 3. What conditions existed at the particular time
  and
• place which inspired the writing of the document?
• 4. How does this document reflect identity
  construction
• and promises made promises broken?
• 5. What relevance do you think the document might
• have for describing or addressing conditions
  that exist in Corpus Christi, Texas, the nation,
  and/or the world?

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Madisons Federalist Paper X

• Factions were the greatest danger to Liberty and
  Lockes Social Contract of Government,
• There were only two ways to avoid the dangerous
  effects of factions on Liberty
• Create a Republican instead of a Democratic form
  of government,
• Create a large and diverse Republic, the more
  factions (diversity) the better. This would
  insure that no single faction would become a
  majority and oppress the Liberty of minority
  factions. Pluralistic Democracy Political
  Parties made up of many factions. Were Madisons
  ideas incorporated into the Constitution? If
  yes, then how?

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ConstitutionRatified June 21, 1788 went into
Effect October 11, 1788.
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Early Politics

• Federalists
• Strong Central Government
• Trickle Down Economics Land, National Bank
• Tariffs and Industry, a diversified economy
• Anti-Bill of Rights Amendment
• Pro-British

• Republicans (old Anti-Federalists)
• States and Individual Rights
• An agriculturally based Economy and Public
  virtue, Anti-Bank
• Anti-Tariffs
• Pro-Bill of Rights Amendment
• Pro-Revolutionary France

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Party Leaders, Washington on the Fence as the
Moderator

• Republicans (grew out of the Anti-Federalist)
• Thomas Jefferson
• James Madison (Aaron Burr

• Federalists
• Alexander Hamilton
• John Jay
• John Adams (although more moderate)

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Specific Issues

• Bill of Rights, 1789-1791
• Public Credit and the National Bank, 1790
• Industry and Tariffs, 1791-1792
• Excise Tax Whiskey Rebellion, 1791-94
• Jay Treaty, 1794, Pinckney Treaty, 1795
• Adams, Jefferson, and the Election of 1796
• French Crisis Edmond Charles Genet, 1793, XYZ
  Affair, 1797, Naval War

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Washingtons Farewell Address, 1796

• Document Analysis Questions
• 1. What are the documents main points?
• 2. When and for whom was the document written?
• 3. What conditions existed at the particular time
  and
• place which inspired the writing of the document?
• 4. How does this document reflect identity
  construction
• and promises made promises broken?
• 5. What relevance do you think the document might
• have for describing or addressing conditions
  that exist in Corpus Christi, Texas, the nation,
  and/or the world?

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Main Points of George Washingtons Farewell
Address, 1796

• 1. Religion and morality enjoin good policy.
• 2. The U.S. should not develop too much affection
  or
• hatred toward any single nation. Rather, just
  and amicable feelings toward all (nations) should
  be cultivated.
• 3. foreign influence is one of the most
  baneful foes of republican government .
• 4. We must not entangle our peace and
  prosperity in the toils of European ambition,
  rivalship, interest .
• 5. We must steer clear of permanent alliances
  with any portion of the foreign world, ... .

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Foreign Pressures and Partisan Politics

• English French Conflict led to Partisan U. S.
  Politics
• Republicans supported France,
• Federalists supported England
• President John Adams Federalists in Congress
  enacted national security laws that hurt French
  and Irish immigrants with Republican leanings.

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Paradoxes in the New U.S. Republican Political
Identity Based on Lockes Social Contract of
Government

• Blacks - most (95 ) Blacks enslaved
• Women no vote
• Poor property requirements to vote, paid
  exemptions for military service
• Native Americans no place in society for
  Indians