AP History Day 4

Revolution, Constitution and a New Nation to 1796

Adam Ritchin: adamosity@gmail.com

http://excellentunion.wikispaces.com

Essay Review

• You don’t have to do the essays.• I need you to at least try some of the

outlines each week though.• If you do not plan to take the AP test,

focus on the information for multiple-choice.

• If you are going to the AP test, you must focus on the essay work if you expect to pass.

Sample Outlines

• 1995 1607-1750 For the period before 1750, analyze the ways in which Britain’s policy of salutary neglect influenced the development of American society as illustrated in the following:

• <Legislative assemblies

• <Commerce

• <Religion

Sample Outline• I. Thesis: Salutatory neglect in America

provided the ability for religion, local issues, and economic choices to strongly influence legislatures, commerce and religion. (also make sure to define SN in the thesis)

• II. Legislatures1. Aside from occasional issues over smuggling, the legislatures were ignored.

2. Colonists were able to set their own tax rates and control all of their local economic issues without interference from Britain.

3. Colonists were able to make their own regulations concerning property rights and morals.

Sample Outline 2

• III. Commerce1. Due to the non-enforcement of salutatory neglect, the colonies effectively traded with multiple nations, which led to better prices for both selling and buying.

2. While they were able to nominally receive the benefits of the Triangular Trade, they also were able to go outside it to better fulfill their needs.

3. (I’ll let you fill this in)• IV.. Religion

– 1. no state church or official religious influence– 2. allowed for different religions in different colonies– 3. Allowed the freedom of the Great Awakening– 4. Due to the lack of control over legislatures, religions were

able to put their stamp on each individual state in terms of morals, regulations on religion, and societal norms.

V. Conclusion

Sample Theses:

• 2005 1607-1750 Compare and contrast the ways in which economic development affected politics in Massachusetts and Virginia in the period from 1607 to 1750.

• Thesis: Massachusetts and Virginia developed differently in terms of economic development due to the distribution of rich and poor, rural farmers compared to people in towns, and the role of slavery.

2005 B

• 2005 Exam B (Question 2): “Geography was the primary factor in shaping the development of the British colonies in North America.”

– Assess the validity of this statement for the 1600’s.

• Thesis: a) say yes/no, and b) say why• Example: The geographic differences of Virginia

and Maryland affected their development in the areas of settlement, economics, and society.

Declaration of Independence—People and Ideas

King George III (1760-1820): unlike kings before him, wanted to rule strongly over colonies

John Locke (Treatises of Government, 1690): attacked divine right monarchies, argued that powers belonged to the people

Decline of Salutatory Neglect (as covered in the last class)

Locke: overthrowing unjust governments is an obligation, ideas of checks and balances and separation of church and state come from him

Thomas Jefferson: plantation owner/lawyer, Virginia, main author of Declaration of Independence, also diplomat to France, Secretary of State, 3rd President

Declaration of Independence—Preamble

• Preamble-basically saying why it’s written.

• Key part: listing of rights (right to change the government if their unalienable rights are not being protected)

• These rights: life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness

• Note: The original theory for that was not the pursuit of happiness, but property (see why it was taken out?)

• Governments exist only through the power of the people they represent (and England isn’t!)

Declaration 2—List of Abuses and Usurpations

• 27 in all• First 12: tyranny in

place of representation, laws that weren’t democratic, higher taxes, etc

• 13-22: described the destruction of their self-ruling rights

• 23-27: actions of war that are unforgiveable (including lack of protection against Native Americans)

• In general, the decline since 1763 is listed in detail!

Quotes from the Declaration

• Part 1: • He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone for the

tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.

• He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people and eat out their substance.

• He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.

• He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil Power.

• He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:

• For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:

Quotes Part 2• For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:• For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:• For depriving us in many cases, of the benefit of Trial by Jury:• For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences:• For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Pr

ovince, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies

• For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:

• For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.

• He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.

• He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.

Declaration 3: Past Colonial Actions

• Until this time, colonists have been non-violent (petitions, etc)

• Each attempt to negotiate has been met by neglect and more abuse

• Appeals to Parliament have been ignored

• Basically, it’s trying to say “we have similar senses of justice, shared heritage and culture, and we are economically connected. We want to be friends, but not now.”

Declaration 4: Conclusion• 2nd Continental Congress represents the people

of the new nation• We are an union of independent states• We claim the right to levy war, make peace and

alliances, to make trade, and all of the other things that governments do (this is important because they wanted the French to help them!)

• The French declared war against England in 1778, and so did Spain (1779), Dutch Republic (1780)—the British troops were very spread out!

• Problem: Congress couldn’t tax, and could only request money to try to pay for the war.

War Summary

• The loyalists were also called “Torys” and the pro-independence people were called “Whigs” (you will see this name later)

• Americans lost badly at first (due to lack of resources), but came back to win

• France did contribute 2,500 troops to help the Colonies• This was at least partly due to Britain had to reduce their

troop loads, and key victories in 1781.• Articles of Confederation government drafted in 1777 (si

gned in 1781), but it had problems• Treaty of Paris (1783): recognized American independen

ce, agreed for troops to leave. U.S. borders were set along Canada, the Mississippi River, and Spanish Florida

Treaty of Paris Borders

State Constitutions

• By 1784, all 13 states passed constitutions outlining civil rights and freedoms

• Common features: Weak executive branches, bicameral legislature, elected officials, reduced property requirements for men to vote, more social equality, no official state religion (Not every state had all of this, but almost every one was in at least 10-11 states)

Articles of Confederation

• Favored colonies over a strong central government (many people were afraid of a strong central government after England)

• Had no real power

• Congress had no real power to tax (only request), make treaties, raise troops, regulate interstate commerce

• No executive or judicial branch

Challenges/ Problems of the Articles of Confederation 1

• Challenge 1: Finances/Structure

There was a huge war debt (Congress twice tried to pass taxes, but states rejected)

Virtually helpless to solve financial issues

One vote per state; 9 votes out of 13 required to pass anything

• Challenge 2: Westward Expansion

Some success here

States, settlers and speculators wanted to use the new land

Were able to pass laws regulating the use

Challenges 2

• Challenge 2 regulation• Land Ordinance of 1785

(outlined the protocol for settlement)

• Northwest Ordinance (1787)

• Forbade slavery above the Ohio River

• Contained a settlers’ bill of rights

• Defined process that territories could become states

• Native Americans and Spanish were opposed

• Spanish closed Port of New Orleans in 1784, claiming the Treaty of Paris was invalid.

Northwest Ordinance Maps

Challenge 3: Law and Order

• Economic Issues

Depression, inflation and high state taxes hurt most Americans

This was due to finding the money to pay war debts

• Shay’s Rebellion (1787)

Led by Daniel Stays, Western Mass. Farmer, 2,000 men stormed and closed courts in 3 counties to prevent farm foreclosure

This rebellion exposed that the central government couldn’t solve problems (both economic and internal control issues)

Therefore, they needed change.

• The Constitution was the new document to replace the failing Articles of Confederation.

• Delegates from 5 states met at the Annapolis (MD) Convention, decided to ask Congress for a convention, which was approved.

• May 1787, 55 delegates from all but Rhode Island (including Washington, Jay, Franklin, Hamilton, Madison) met in Philadelphia

• They decided that they needed something new.

Issues of the Constitution

• Large vs. Small states• Need for courts and

an executive• Separation of Powers• Slavery• Economy• Balancing the powers

of the federal government and state government

• May 1787, Constitutional Convention

• Based on the size of the states, most delegates broke into two groups, led by Virginia (large) and New Jersey (small)

State Population 1790• State Population 1790

• CT: 237,000• DE: 59,000• GA: 82,500

• MD: 320,000• MA: 560,000• NH: 142,000• NJ: 184,000• NY: 340,000• NC: 394,000• PA: 434.000• RI: 69,000• SC: 249,000

• VA: 748,000

• Slave Population/ Free Blacks 1790

• CT: 2,759/2,801 • DE: 8.877/3,899• GA: 29,264/398• KY (not a state): 11,830/114• MD 103.036/8.043• MA: 0/5,463• NH: 158/630• NJ: 11,423/2,762• NY: 21,324/4,654• NC: 100,572/4,975• PA: 3,737/6,537• RI: 952/3,462• SC: 107,094/1,801• TN (not a state) 3,417/361• VA: 293,427/12,766

Virginia Plan

• Written by James Madison on behalf of the larger states

• Two-house (bicameral) with both houses based on population

• Congress would name judges and President

• Gave all effective power to the larger states

• National legislature could veto state laws

New Jersey Plan

• One house (unicameral)

• Each state gets the same number of seats.

• Favored by the smaller states

• June 1787: Committee of both sides met to hammer out an agreement

Connecticut Compromise

• Bicameral legislature: equal votes in upper house, base on population in lower house

• How should slaves be counted?• Compromise: “Three-fifths clause” where slaves

were counted as 3/5 of a person for representation in the House

• Original ratio: 1 seat per 30,000 people (all states guaranteed one)

• Senate (upper): 2 seats per state• President: elected by electors (based on vote)

Compromise of Power

• Many leaders were concerned about the federal government having too much power, even as they acknowledged that the Articles of Confederation were too weak.

• National government received these powers: set and collect taxes, diplomacy, invoke military action, and all acts of Congress were binding on each state

Checks and Balances

• Three independent branches—Legislative, Executive, Judicial

• Each branch had powers to check the others (see charts on the next two pages)

Checks and Balances 1

Checks and Balances 2

Preamble

• We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

Article 1: Legislature

• Lower (House)• Based on population• 2 year term• Voted on by the

people• Must be 25 years

old/citizen 7 years

• Upper (Senate)• Two seats per state• 6 year term• Voted on by state

legislatures (until amended later)

• Must be 30 years old/ citizen 9 years

Legislative Powers• In Article 1, Section 8• To lay and collect, taxes, duties• To pay debts• To borrow money• To regulate commerce with foreign nations, states, and with Indian tribes• To establish uniform rules of naturalization and bankruptcy• To coin money and fix standards of weights and measures• To punish for counterfeiting• To establish post offices and post roads• To establish copyright law• To constitute courts below the Supreme Court• To raise and support an army and a navy• To run the District of Columbia• To make all laws which make these powers possible• To provide for the “common defense” and “general welfare”

Article 2: Executive Branch

• Section 1: To create the presidental office

• 35 years old, 14 years citizen, must be natural-born after 35 years (to provide for people who recently moved to the US)

• The Vice President is second and charge, and becomes President if the President dies or is removed from office

• Presidential Oath of Office

Article 2, Section 2: Powers

• Commander-in-Chief of Armed Forces

• Require opinions of governmental officers

• Granting reprieves, pardons (except for himself!)

• Make treaties (but must be approved by 2/3 of the Senate)

• Appointments when Senate is not in session

Article 2, Section 3/4: Congress, Impeachment Rules

• President must report in the State of the Union

• May convene houses of Congress

• May adjourn them if they disagree on the time

• Can be removed for conviction of treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors

Right to Veto Legislation

• The President has the right to veto legislation from Congress, but must either accept it all or reject it all as a whole

• This introduced the problem of minor causes being attached to major bills (pork projects)

• To override a veto, you need 2/3 of both houses to vote for the bill (rarely happens)

Article 3: Judicial Power

• Structure of the Supreme Court (9 justices for life or until they leave)

• Congress makes lower courts

• Requires trial of jury in all criminal cases

• Defines treason (actions to help overthrow, make war against, or seriously injure the parent nation)

Article 4: State powers and limits

• States must enforce federal laws• Sets up extradition (claiming prisoners) and

forbids discrimination against citizens of other states

• Provides for the creation and admission of new states

• Each state must have a republican form of Government (note: This is completely different than the Republican party—it means that people vote on their representatives in the government)

Article 5: Amendments

Article 6/7: Federal Powers

• To assume all debts of the Articles of Confederation

• Federal laws are supreme over state laws

• No religious test for public office

• Article 7: process of ratification—required nine states (New Hampshire was the 9th state)

Federal and State Powers

• Federal Powers:• Regulate foreign and

interstate commerce• Levy taxes• Conduct international

relations• Declare and wage war• Raise an army and navy• Coin money

• State Powers• Regulate intrastate

commerce• Run elections• Provide education• Maintain state borders• Maintain police power• Ratify proposed

constitutional amendments

Ratifying the Constitution

• Started in late 1787

• Federalists got it through 8 states, rejected originally in Rhode Island and North Carolina

• Federalist Papers—a series of articles written by John Jay, James Madison and Alexander Hamilton arguing for passing the Constitution

Bill of Rights• Many people were concerned that the Constitution did not have a lis

t of guaranteed rights.• They were afraid of abuse if the rights were not stated.• Proposed by James Madison due to conflicts between Federalists

(wanted it passed) and Anti-Federalists (who thought it had too much power for the Federal Government) in 1787

• Many leaders argued that the Constitution should not be passed due to not having these in them

• Massachusetts Compromise of 1788 said that if they passed the Constitution, these must be included (New Hampshire, Virginia and New York had the same language) and suggested amendments

• Adopted as a group in 1791• Influences: 1776 Virginia Declaration of Rights (George Mason), 16

89 English Bill of Rights, natural rights in the Age of Enlightenment, 1215 Magna Carta

• 12 proposed—only 10 passed (the representation of House members never passed, and the 27th amendment passed 200 years later covered the other (which did not let Congress increase their own salaries until after the next election)

1st Amendment

• Free exercise of religion/no state religion

• Freedom of Speech

• Freedom of the Press

• Freedom of Asssembly

• Right to Petition

2nd-5th Amendments

• 2nd: Right to keep and bear arms (weapons)• 3rd: Protection from quartering of troops• 4th: Protection from unreasonable search and se

izure• 5th: Right of due process (a Grand Jury must ind

ict them and they must have a hearing), no double jeopardy (tried twice for the same crime) allowed, no self-incrimination, and eniment domain protection (government can not take your land without paying you a fair value)

6th-8th Amendments

• 6th: All criminal trials can be by jury

• Rights of the accused (speedy trial, right to counsel)

• 7th: All civil trials over $20 must have a jury

• 8th: Prohibits excessive bail (money required to get out of jail before trial), cruel and unusual punishment

9th-10th Amendments

• 9th: protection of rights not listed directly

• 10th: All powers not delegated to the federal government or the states belong to the people

A New Nation: Trends and Themes

• The U.S. government began to build and define itself under George Washington’s leadership.

• The debates over ratification of the Constitution spawned the development of two separate political parties. New England Federalists supported a loose interpretation of the Constitution and a strong central government. Southern Republicans supported a strict interpretation of the Constitution and a more limited central government. Enmity between the two parties deepened, until the events of the War of 1812 finally eliminated the Federalists as a significant political party.

• The U.S. made a concerted effort to stay out of European entanglements and maintain neutrality during its effort to build its national infrastructure. Often, though, the U.S. was caught in a tug-of-war between Britain and France. Eventually, British aggression and America’s desire to increase its territory and prove itself as an international force led to the War of 1812.

Trends and Themes 2

• After the war, the U.S. enjoyed a period of optimism and general cooperation under a single political party: the Republicans. In this period, the U.S. asserted its dominance in the Western Hemisphere through the Monroe Doctrine.

• Westward expansion began in earnest after the Louisiana Purchase. The sectional tensions created by expansion, made apparent in the Missouri Compromise, illustrated the increasing role slavery and regionalism would play in the politics of the nineteenth century.

• Through various rulings, the Supreme Court established itself as a body able to declare acts of Congress unconstitutional and supportive of Federalist policies.

The First President

• George Washington elected first president, with John Adams being the Vice President

• Congress first met in New York City, March 1789 (moved to Washington, D.C. in 1800)

• Goals of Congress: establish a judicial branch, develop executive branch, Bill of Rights

• Congress worked on the bureaucracy and domestic policy, and Washington focused on finance, diplomacy and the military. (much less interaction than later presidents)

• Unlike later presidents, he didn’t speak much about policies, didn’t suggest many laws, only vetoed two bills

Cabinet

• The cabinet wasn’t in the Constitution

• Washington started off by making offices under him: Secretary of State, Secretary of War, Secretary of the Treasury, Attorney General (later 15+ positions)

Splits between Federalists and Anti-Federalists

• In 1790, Alexander Hamilton proposed having the federal government pay war debts of the states

• Southern states were against this because they paid off theirs early, while the Northern States did not

• In order to sign off on this, they insisted on a southern capital city (Washington, D.C.)

• National Bank—Hamilton wanted a bank to store federal money, issue currency, make loans, regulate banks, and extend credit. Anti-federalists such as Thomas Jefferson thought this gave too much power to the government

Strict and Loose Constructionalists

• Strict: Believed that only what was explicitly mentioned was in the Constitution (i.e. the Charter isn’t in the Constitution, so it can’t happen)

• Loose: Believed that due to the elastic clause (Article 1, Section 8) that Congress had the power “to make all laws which shall be necessary and proper…”

• Bank was chartered in 1791

Tariff Issues

• Hamilton wanted high tariffs to get money and to help industries develop

• Jefferson/Madison opposed this, because industries would become too dependent on government aid (tariff did not pass in the end)

Political Parties--Republican

• Republican Party started in 1793, when Jefferson resigned due to his opposition to Federalist decisions (Hamilton)

• First opposition paper: The National Gazette

• Republicans won slight majority in 1794• Leaders: Jefferson, Madison• Backed by the Western frontier, rural and

farming South

Political Parties: Federalists

• Leaders: Washington, Hamilton

• Argued for a strong central government

• Backed by Industry/Manufacturing in the Northeast

Whiskey Rebellion, 1794

• July 1794, Western Pennsylvania farmers had a violent rebellion over Hamilton’s large excise tax on domestic whiskey

• The putting down of this rebellion proved the central government’s power and authority

Proclamation of American Neutrality, 1793

• War between Britain/Spain and France• America refused to get involved• Offered some minor support to the French against

Spanish in Florida and the Mississippi Valley• British army seized 250 vessels in response, 1794• Jay’s Treaty (1795) with Britain removed troops from the

U.S., opened trade with British West Indies• Treaty of San Lorenzo (1795)—negotiated by Thomas

Pinckney with Spain, provided the U.S. Unrestricted access to the Mississippi River and removed Spanish troops from American land.

Washington’s Farewell

• In 1796, set the two-term precedent (later made law with the 22nd amendment, 1951)

• Farewell address: Washington warned against parties, getting involved with wars with other countries, and concentrate on “efficient government” at home

• He feared that special interest groups and foreign nations would dominate the two sides.

Essay Questions

• 1. 1980 Exam (Question 4): "Between 1783 and 1800 the new government of the United States faced the same political, economic, and constitutional issues that troubled the British government's relations with the colonies prior to the Revolution."

– Assess the validity of this generalization. • 2. 1982 Exam (Question 2): "The American Revolution

should really be called 'The British Revolution' because marked changes in British colonial policy were more responsible for the final political division than were American actions."

– Assess the validity of this statement for the period 1763-1776.

Essay Questions 2• 1985 Exam (DBQ minus documents): "From 1781 to 1

789 the Articles of Confederation provided the United States with an effective government"

– Using your knowledge of the period, evaluate this statement• 1989 Exam (Question 2): "In the two decades before th

e outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, a profound shift occurred in the way many Americans thought and felt about the British government and their colonial governments."

– Assess the validity of this statement in view of the political and constitutional debates of these decades.

• 1991 Exam (Question 2): The Bill of Rights did not come from a desire to protect the liberties won in the American Revolution, but rather from a fear of the powers of the new federal government.

– Assess the validity of this statement.

Essay 3• 11. 1996 Exam (Question 2): Analyze the degree to whi

ch the Articles of Confederation provided an effective form of government with respect to any TWO of the following.

– Foreign relations – Economic conditions – Western lands

• 2004 Exam (Question 2): Analyze the impact of the American Revolution on both slavery and the status of women in the period from 1775-1800.

• 2006 Exam B (Question 2): "The United States Constitution of 1787 represented an economic and ideological victory for the traditional American political elite."

Assess the validity of that statement for the period 1781 to 1789.

Essay 4• 2008 Exam B (Question 2): Analyze the reason

s for the Anti-Federalists' opposition to ratifying the Constitution.

• 2009 Exam (Question 2): Analyze the ways in which British imperial policies between 1763 and 1776 intensified colonials’ resistance to British rule and their commitment to republican values.

• 2009 Exam B (Question 2): Analyze how the ideas and experiences of the revolutionary era influenced the principles embodied in the Articles of Confederation.

• Full lists of exam questions will be on the wikispace.

• http://excellentunion.wikispaces.com