Consolidating the Revolution

Created By:

CB . HB . TC . EF . CS

This is solid, thoughtful work.  However, some of the commentary is 'wordy' and confusing; don't 'over-write' - just get to the point!

Introduction

      Americans, such as Timothy Bloodworth began to witness the weakness of the Articles of Confederation, despite America's recent victory in the Revolution.  In an attempt to create a stronger national government, specifically a new Constitution, debates between Federalists and Anti-Federalists surfaced.

Demobilizing the Army 

     During the late 1700's the Continental Army and various militiamen complained to Congress regarding their promised pay and benefits.  Washington satisfied the men by issuing three months' pay and counseling patience, for they had just won a great victory.  Even still, the Congress was mocked and its authority damaged.

       Commentary: Especially at the start of a new developing government, Congress cannot afford any opposition threatening direct action that would cast its authority in doubt.  Already taken a serious blow, Congress continued to sporadically involve themselves with the States which, in turn, provided instability.

Opening the West

          Congress passed two land ordinances, systematically surveying and politically organizing the region west of NY and Pennsylvania.  By prohibiting slaves into the land, Americans developed a "conquest theory" that the inferior Native Americans and their land already belonged to the United States.  As a result, many tribal groups resisted the expansion with devastating raids.  Lastly, Spain closed the Mississippi River to American shipping.

           Commentary:  The geometrically shaped states of the West in present day are direct results of these ordinances.  Regarding the Indian raids, Congress yet again was not able to quell uprisings and opposition, so Americans began questioning the credibility of the Confederation government.  For example, their intent to form friendly relations with Spain proved futile because of their inability to compromise between the North and South.

Wrestling with the National Debt

         Congress had no idea how high the war debt would be, and, standing at $35 million, it seemed almost impossible to pay back; so Robert Morris was appointed superintendent of finance; he made some financial progress by demanding that the states pay their dues and by chartering a Bank. However, because Congress did not have the power to tax, the states did not supply the government with nearly as much money as was needed.

           Commentary: The States' unwillingness to pay taxes is easily explainable. They were not required by law to pay any taxes asked for by the central government; so when Congress and Robert Morris demanded that the States pay $8 million dollars each, they submitted less than this bear minimum. Why would the states do something that they did not want to do if they did not have to? Congress was weakening still since the States could see how easily they could exploit their easy separation from the central Government. People now began to see the need for a stronger, central government:  one that could help them pay debts, and tie the states together as one.

    http://run4chocolate.wordpress.com/2007/11/12/bushonomics-national-debt-busts-9-billion-ceiling/

Surviving in a Hostile Atlantic World

          European nations continued to threaten the safety of the new nation. Spain closed the Mississippi River to American traders (hurting the American West's major ports for exporting goods), England continued to be portrayed as the tyrannical evil of Europe (yet the American economy was based on British finished products), and Americans knew that the French could not be trusted. In all, Americans saw the threat of European "imperial ambitions" for North America, and were intimidated by competition to the north and west.

           Commentary: The Americans were afraid for the infant republic because they saw that their experiment received little support from Europe. Although against English politics, Americans were completely dependent on British finished goods; as the English were dependent on raw materials. This is quite similar to two feuding parents who refuse to get a divorce. They were still dependent on each other for economic stability, but were constantly at odds. Until the Americans could set up their own industrial system, it would be impossible for them to break away. The French could not be trusted because they were never in support of the American experiment. They only aided the Americans during the Revolutionary war because of their constant battle over power with England in Europe. 

            So? So in conclusion, it was impossible for America to break ALL bonds from Europe because they still inhabited the same continent and were dependent on each other for economic reasons. If America wanted to survive, they would need to regulate foreign commerce, which was denied to Congress in the Articles of Confederation, and instead granted to the states.  

Indian Treaties

          During the Revolutionary war, a majority of the Native Americans sided with the British, but, since the Americans had prevailed and won the war, the fate of the Natives was in the hands of the US government. The treaties with them dealt with everything from land ownership to prisoners of war.

           Commentary: In the end, a majority of the treaties created favored the Americans. The Cherokee, for example, were forced to acknowledge American government and give up most of their land. Because they had sided with the British during the war the US could easily force them to abide by their terms or risk loosing their culture forever.

The Limits of Republican Experimentation

           The Democratic Experiment was in grave condition. The States had been given a majority of powers, but people began to see the controversy and problems that it caused. They felt that, although they did need liberty, they needed some order to counter balance it. This feeling was expressed by an invitation of banished Loyalists to be invited back to the Union, in order to share their political expertise on order, and a Constitution written by Conservative Republicans in PA.

          Commentary: The central government desperately needed money to pay back debts, owed due to the Revolutionary war, and, because the Articles of Confederation forbade taxes required by the central government, this task became almost impossible. All Congress could do was ask the States to raise a certain amount of money, and hope they would pull through; however, they were not. People questioned political equality, who should have the rights to vote? But again, each state had a different policy. Also different forms of paper money were being printed throughout the states. People, especially political leaders, now began to see how detrimental these decisions were for the country. If the country was going to survive, then not only would the states have to pull together, but some amount of central order would have to be created.                                                                    

Shays's Rebellion

         Because no commercial banks existed, Massachusetts citizens resorted to loaning money to each other. This created a complex system of credit and debt throughout the entire state; when English banks called in loans taken out by American merchants, the merchants in turn called in loans they lent to others, and then those people called in loans they lent, and so on.  This chain of debt reached from merchants to farmers throughout the entire state, creating an economic crisis.

           Commentary: This extremely disorganized and unstable system of credit and debt further illustrates how ineffectively the country was run under the Articles of Confederation.  With no national bank, or any other way to establish credit or pay back debt, the economy surged into a crisis; this too caused Americans to see the need for a stronger national government.  Note: It is obvious to see why Hamilton later advocated a national bank in his financial plans, under the Constitution.

           The Massachusetts government completely ignored pleas for tax relief; instead, it passed a law for full repayment of state debt and levying heavy taxes.  Angered by the government's unresponsiveness, and unable to pay, farmers and veterans took direct action.  On January 26, 1787, 1200 men led by Daniel Shays marched to the federal arsenal in Springfield.  4 of Shays's men were killed, and the rest retreated.  Within a month, the rebellion was over, and within a year, all rebels were granted amnesty.

           Commentary: Doesn't this conflict resemble something from the past?  Yes, the Revolution, and its principle of "No Taxation Without Representation."  The same ideas and beliefs held so dear during the Revolution were at the core of Shays's Rebellion as well.  However, Shays's Rebellion was crushed by the government.  This action directly contradicts what the Revolution stood for.

           Similar rebellions against the state governments caused by a dwindling economy and high taxes were seen throughout the entire country.

           Commentary: Because of Shays's Rebellion and other rebellions across the states, people began to realize that the Articles of Confederation were in dire need of revision.

The Rise of Federalism

          A group of American leaders, including Washington, Hamilton, Madison, and Jay, felt the nation was in crisis.  Because the Articles of Confederation gave close to no power to the national government, it was unable to deal with the major social and economic issues that had begun to surface.  These men feared the nation collapsing because of too much liberty given to the states.  They came to be known as the Federalists; their opponents became the Anti-Federalists.

           Commentary: This separation of people between "Federalists" and "Anti-Federalists" was one of the first instances of factionalism in the new nation.  These two groups, differing in philosophy, set the stage for the development of political parties in the future.

The Grand Convention

           In Philadelphia of May 1787, delegates from all states, excluding RI, attended the convention with the intent of revising the imperfect Articles of Confederation.  After complying with treaties on republican government and natural laws from France, Madison came to the convention with the Virginia Plan; this plan would soon be the basis of the new Constitution.  However, the question of proportionality and equality of the states became a topic of concern.  After reviewing and discussing Patterson’s counterproposal New Jersey Plan, the delegates reached a compromise that resolved the issue entirely —The Great Compromise.  As a part of this negotiation was the 3/5 Compromise which based the representation of the states on both white and black population; the delegates supposed the entire white population plus 3/5 of the black population would hold the state’s account and the direct taxes would also be separated likewise. 

           Commentary: Patrick Henry did not attend the convention for fear of what his enemies, the Federalist Party [Note:  there is NO Federalist Party before the Washington administration, after the ratification of the U.S. Constitution.  In fact, there are NO political parties in existence yet (at least in the modern sense of that term); the people to whom you refer called themselves Federalists, and supported the ratification, but were not a political party in the sense of trying to promote candidates, etc.], would do and what the result of their dealings would be.  Henry disagreed with the new, stringent government policies that allowed the President to increase his power over the country.  This would bring the nation back to a monarchy, which neither the citizens nor government wanted.   

           As well as the new government plans, the delegates also settled that the president would be chosen through an Electoral College of erudite and practiced leaders and the slave trade would continue for an additional 20 years.

           Commentary: As far as slavery is concerned, the Northern states agreed to continue the trade only because they knew of the problems the Union would face if they contended.  If the Northern states were to insist on the abolition of slavery, the Southern states would unquestionably refuse to join the Union.  Because this issue was left unresolved, it would emerge once again in the following years during the Second Great Awakening.

The cartoon below is great - but you must cite your sources!  From where did you get this?  (You must cite sources for ALL cartoons on this site - above or below this comment - unless you have created them yourself!)

http://www.learnwellgraphics.com/app/webroot/img/Image/2.6-lg.jpg

Federalists Versus Anti-Federalists

           When the unlikelyness to gain a fast agreement from all of the thirteen states became obvious, it was decided that the Constitution would go into effect after only 9 states agreed to the ratification. After that, the other states could trickle in whenever they wanted. 

           Federalists and Anti-Federalists argued over many different political issues. The Federalists believed in a strong central government whereas the Anti-Federalists stated that a strong central government would be a threat to the interests of the state and even their own political power. Also, the Federalists wanted to expand the Republican empire, but the Anti-Federalists believed it should be simple because an extended Republic may be conflicting and disastrous.

           Commentary: Some Anti-Federalists believed that a Monarchy would soon arise because the president would be able to gain alot of power. The separation of powers was created to control the presidents powers. The Separation of Powers was one of the reasons they were against the Constitution, since it was complicated, and they believed a successful government was a simple one.  

The Struggle over Ratification

           Just as the end of the Philadelphia convention arrived, Federalists rapidly set out to gather votes for authorization for their new administration plans.  In order to gain the votes of Anti-Federalists, Federalist leaders agreed to forward a “bill of rights” as well as a notice of sanction.  For about three years, the Federalists fought to get the approval of the states; on May 1790, Rhode Island, the last state, entered the Union.

           Commentary:  In order for the Constitution to be ratified, nine out of thirteen states needed to adopt it.  Therefore, Federalists needed to convince almost all of the states to ratify the new Constitution.  Many states were wary about accepting these new government ways because they felt the National government possessed too much power and would therefore control the citizens of the Union.  To promote the acceptance of the proposal, Federalists added the "bill of rights" so the nation would know they maintained their essential rights and they would not be overpowered.

Ha!  :-)

The Social Geography of Ratification

          The merchants, businessmen, urban laborers, artisans, and shopkeepers, in support of the Constitution and strength of Federalism, were located along coasts, navigable rivers, and other cities and towns. 

          On the other hand, Anti-Federalism existed far from the coasts but closer to the central locations of the nation, in places such as central New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and the Carolinas. These Anti-Federalists, against the ratification of the Constitution, consisted mainly of farmers.

Conclusion

           As new forms of government were being experimented with, there were mixed emotions about what would be able to fit the environment's needs. But, even though the end of the war left the Americans struggling with economic problems, political problems, and sustaining their liberty, their optimism surpassed their worries as the people looked to the future and new beginnings.

ID's

• Timothy Bloodworth - Helped promote the addition of bill of rights to Constitution
• Land Ordinance of 1857 - Provided systematic survey and sale - townships 6 miles square divided into lots of 640 acres - of western regions
• Northwest Ordinance (1787) - Politically organized the interior region
• Conquest Theory - Idea that Native Americans and their land are already subject to the U.S. because of the won war
• Treaty of Fort Stanwix (1784) - First treaty with an Indian tribe but did not last
• Daniel Shays- Revolutionary War Veteran who led Shays's Rebellion because of high taxes and the government's unresponsiveness
• George Washington- Called for a stronger national government
• Robert Morris- Superintendent of Finance who developed policies to deal with the country's economic debt
• Alexander Hamilton- a Federalist leader
• James Madison- Mastermind of the Virginia Plan; a Federalist
• John Jay- Negociated with Spaniard Diego Gardoqui for reopening of Mississippi River; later became a Federalist leader
• Patrick Henry- An important Revolutionary leader; did not attend the Grand Convention because he was an Anti-Federalist
• Thomas Jefferson- Could not attend the Convention because he was in France
• Diego di Gardoqui- Spanish ambassador, who made an agreement to open the Mississippi River to the Americans
• John Adams- First American minister to England, where he was to negociate a commercial treaty
• Governor Bowdain- Governor of Massachusetts, who sent out 4400 men to crush Shays's Rebellion
• Benjamin Franklin- Represented Pennsylvania at the Convention; quite old =]
• Articles of Confederation- First government of US that gave little power to the national government, causing major problems
• Virginia Plan- Formulated by Madison; said representation should be determined by states population
• New Jersey Plan- Emphasized a single legislative branch with equal representation
• Federalist Papers- Written by Hamilton, Jay, and Madison; to promote ratification
• William Paterson- Formulated the NJ Plan; represented NJ at the Convention
• Great Compromise- Took place at Grand Convention; determined representation in the lower house of Congress would be based on white population and 3/5 of black population, and all states had equal vote in the Senate 
• Electoral College- Elite aristocracts specifcally selected to elect the President
• Bill of Rights- Frist 10 Amendments that dealt with people's basic liberties
• Constitution- New document for governing the nation created at the Convention that made the central government stronger; the US is still governed by it today

Geography

• Northwest Territory- Was not available to the United States before the Revolutionary war, but was now being opened to the country for use; organized by Land Ordinance and NW Ordinance 
• Mississippi River-West could use Mississippi river to transport goods to the ocean to the Gulf of Mexico and across the Atlantic to Europe (it was cheaper to transport their goods to Europe by boat than to other parts of the Union by land)
• Great Lakes to Gulf of Mexico- (see Mississippi river) from Great Lakes to Gulf of Mexico to Europe
• Philadelphia-Where constitutional convention was held, and the old capital of the United States
• Springfield, Massachusetts- Location of Shays's Rebellion
• France, England, Spain- America felt threatened by these European nations 
• Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey- First to ratify Constitution in 1787
• Rhode Island- Last state to ratify Constitution, in 1790

Vocabulary

• Federalism- a philosophy that supported a strong central government
• Anti-Federalism- a philosophy against a strong central government
• Social Conservatism- supports maintenance of culture or social ideology
• Political Conservatism- supports maintenance of political ideology or structure 
• Shaysites- small groups of Daniel Shay's supporters who were willing to and did fight 
• Constitutional Amendment- a change made to the constitutional laws by the will of two-thirds majority of the House of Representatives and the Senate and the states
• Ratification- in the case of the constitution the acceptance/ adoption of a political policy
• Plebiscite- a direct vote of qualified voters
• Bicameral- a Congress with two houses/chambers (the US Congress is bicameral)
• Insurrection- a rebellion against an established government
• Revenue- the income of a government from taxation, excise duties,or other sources, payed by the public

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Links

• For information on the constitution-http://www.usconstitution.net/const.html
• For information on the federalist papers- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federalist_Papers 

Excellent work, over-all, with some minor "source notation" problems which MUST be fixed.  95/A.