The Crisis Period and the Early Republic, 1781 - 1796A Second Revolution: From Thirteen Independent States to the United States of America

What’s so bad about the Articles?As governments go, the Articles of Confederation wasn’t such a bad plan. It had a weak central government, but that – in and of itself – isn’t really a weakness. Since it is constantly compared unfavorably to the Constitution, the Articles are much disparaged. The government, however, was a much more democratic government than the Constitution, and it allowed the states greater autonomy. After all, some would argue that the state governments were much more democratic and responsive to the needs of the people. But the Founding Fathers had their own ideas about democracy – and they were not positive views for the most part.

The Accomplishments of the Articles of ConfederationThe United States of America won the

Revolutionary War – against the most powerful nation on Earth, England.

Treaties of alliance were negotiated with France, Spain, and Holland under the Articles.

The Treaty of Paris of 1783 was signed under the Articles, gaining independence for the nation.

The Northwest Ordinance solved the disputes over western land claims which had divided several states – and outlawed slavery there.

The Northwest OrdinanceThe Congress was able to convince

most of the states to cede their Western land claims.

Selling land in the West became a major source of revenue, making it less important to insist upon a tariff immediately.

The 1784 Northwest Ordinance would set up five new states, each of which would be added to the union as a state equal in power to the Original Thirteen.

The Northwest Territory Five new states would

be carved out of the region.

Once the required number of citizens emigrated to the region, an assembly could be elected.

Each state would have a bill of rights to protect their citizens.

Slavery was outlawed.

Sale of lands to speculators was discouraged.

DEBTS AND DIPLOMACYRedeeming the “good faith” debts of the government, and paying back the nation’s debts to France, Spain, and Holland.

Paying back France, Spain, and Holland was a major priority of the new nation. And yet, how to collect the taxes to pay the debt was a major point of contention.

An excise tax, or a tariff, seemed like a very reasonable solution to this problem. Unfortunately, the Articles of Confederation required unanimous consent in order to establish such a tax. In this case, both Virginia and tiny Rhode Island objected, and the tax was scuttled.

Soldiers and Currency SpeculationDomestically, there was a major currency problem as well. During the war, money speculators had bought up as many of the paper bills distributed by the Congress as possible. Many merchants and storekeeps would not accept continental currency during the war, and insisted on specie. Wealthy money speculators would exchange paper money for specie – at a significant markdown. Say, one dollar in gold for a $10 paper certificate. Their hope – which eventually would come to fruition – was that the Congress would pay off the paper money at face value. When this happened, speculators made lots of money, and the soldiers and government contractors who had been paid in these formerly worthless paper bills were left bitterly robbed of their rightful pay.

Shays’ Rebellion, 1786In 1786, a group of Western Massachusetts farmers, many of whom were also former members of the Continental Army, found themselves up against loan collectors. When creditors attempted to seize the men’s land and even imprison some of the debtors, violence erupted. The state militia was brought in, but turmoil still prevailed in Massachusetts.

The Resolution to Shays’ Rebellion

During the 18th Century, the idea of disorder in society was bad enough. The Founding Fathers, and particularly George Washington, were alarmed that citizens would resist the law by threat of force. But what happened after the next election in Massachusetts may have been even more unsettling. Debtors in the state were able to elect a majority to the state assembly, and pass laws forgiving much of their debt. Tyranny of the majority – a flaw in democratic governments everywhere – was as frightening to the Founding Fathers as anything the English had offered during the 1760s and 1770s. Efforts to revise the Articles of Confederation were redoubled.

THE CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTIONAfter a meeting scheduled for 1786 in Annapolis was cancelled due to lackluster attendance and difficult traveling conditions, the 1787 Convention in Philadelphia was scheduled. Shays’ Rebellion brought a greater sense of urgency to the Philadelphia meeting.

The Constitutional ConventionThe Constitutional Convention was

approved in advance by the Continental Congress, for the express purpose of revising the Articles of Confederation.

One of the first motions made was to scuttle the Articles of Confederation and start from scratch. Hence, from the outset, the Constitutional Convention was “extra-legal.” Or, some would argue, illegal. What gave the meeting legitimacy was the cast of characters involved in drafting the document.

The Founding Fathers

James Madison Alexander Hamilton

Legitimacy

Benjamin Franklin George Washington

Dissent - Antifederalists

Elbridge Gerry George Mason

The Great CompromiseFaced with the prospect of satisfying the desires of both large states (Madison’s Virginia Plan) and small states (the New Jersey Plan), the Founding Fathers brokered a deal which created the current bicameral Congress.

The Electoral CollegeSince they had such grave reservations about democracy, the Founding Fathers conceived the still perplexing Electoral College – an archaic system which is still preserved in order to insert a barrier between the Presidency and the people. The implications of the system on modern politics – and the possibility of minority Presidents assuming office – complicate the system further. Yet, Electoral College reform is seldom mentioned in political circles.

The Three-Fifths CompromiseThe Three-Fifths Compromise was devised in order to allow Southern states greater representation in Congress. Although the enslaved people in those states had no political power or influence, they would be counted as three-fifths of a person in order to give the Southern States greater representation in Congress. Thus, the Southern states were rewarded for their “peculiar institution” with greater representation in government.

Did the Founding Fathers know that this compromise was morally wrong?Sometimes the Founding Fathers are given a free pass on slavery issues, because we don’t want to judge them morally by the standards of our own time period. But, seriously, did they not know slavery was wrong? George Mason, a member of the Constitutional Convention, did. In 1773 he had stated, “Slavery…that slow poison which is daily contaminating the minds and morals of our people. Every gentleman here is born a petty tyrant. Practiced in acts of despotism and cruelty, we become callous to the dictates of humanity, and all the finer feelings of the soul. Taught to regard a part of our own species in the most abject and contemptible degree below us, we lose that idea of the dignity of man which the hand of nature had implanted in us, for great and useful purposes.”

Virginian George Mason

The *-*-*-*-*-*-* Issue Although they dared not speak its name, the slavery issue permeated the Constitution. It is discussed in no fewer than three ways: The Fugitive Slave

law, The Three-Fifths

Compromise, & The International

Slave trade.

The Constitution, 1787The Separation of Powers:

Executive, Legislative, and Judicial Branches

Checks and BalancesFederalismPluralism Majority Rule and Minority RightsFactions

Separation of PowersThe Constitution was designed with the principles of Montesquieu in mind. Separating power between an executive, a legislative, and a judicial branch – each with unique checks and balances over the over – was essential to preventing tyranny or the usurpation of power by any one branch.

Checks and BalancesFor example, the president has the right to veto legislation passed by Congress; Congress has the power to approve Presidential appointments, and the Supreme Court has the power to rule laws unconstitutional. Each branch of the government has some capacity to control the others; each branch has the ability to assert its will over the others.

FederalismThe notion that more than one government can rule over a group of people concurrently is behind this notion. You answer to a mayor, a governor, and a President; a city council, a state assembly, and the Congress; the local courts, state courts, and federal courts. Some powers are reserved to the state governments and others are shared. Some powers are held exclusively by the national government.

PluralismMany political philosophers did not believe it would be possible to make a democratic government work on a large scale. The assumption then was that people could not know candidates who were not from their communities. They feared that elections would perhaps boil down who which candidates campaigned more viciously for power – which would reward the ambitious instead of the most reliable servants of the people. Madison, however, suggested that by dividing the population into virtually infinite minority groups, people would be required to compromise and cooperate in the public interest. Madison, like all of the Founding Fathers, opposed “factions” – political parties – which he viewed as “interested” selfishly in their own agendas.

Minority RightsThe greatest fear of the Founding Fathers regarding democracy was “tyranny of the majority.” The practice of using majority rule in order to persecute minorities – similar to fascist regimes in the 20th Century – was feared for the damage it might do to the commonweal. James Madison considered the preservation of minority rights to be absolutely essential if the democracy would be preserved. Hence, his advocacy of the Bill of Rights in the early 1790s.

Faction George Washington never

claimed a political party, because he believed that all political parties were bad for society.

Faction was self-interested promotion of political agendas. Today, every political party is a faction, promoting its self-interests – or the self-interest of their party members.

The promotion of pluralism made factions more likely, even if it was never palatable.

Ratification Requirements for Ratification – 9 of the 13 Colonies

must approve the government for it to take effect.

Federalists: The Federalist Papers were penned by Madison, Jay, and Hamilton to approve ratification of the Constitution.

Antifederalists – many patriotic Americans opposed the Constitution.

The Bill of Rights – The first Ten Amendments to the Constitution were insisted upon by many Antifederalists; most refused to support the Constitution until they were all ratified.

The Federalist PapersAs soon as the Constitution was printed and sent out to the states, the battle over ratification began. The Federalist Papers were a series of letters to the editor – written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay – which encouraged the immediate passage of the Constitution without a Bill of Rights.

Federalists Alexander

Hamilton

James Madison

George Washington

Ben Franklin

John Adams

Most federalists sought greater power for the central government, more vigor and energy for the executive, and the ability raise revenue for the resolution of debts or the raising of military forces in the even of war.

AntifederalistsElbridge Gerry

George Mason

Patrick Henry

Mercy Otis Warren

Samuel Adams

Antifederalists opposed the Constitution for a variety of reasons. Some felt that the document didn’t give enough power to the government. Most, however, feared that the executive branch might become too powerful, and that the lack of a Bill of Rights was dangerous.

THE PRESIDENCY OF GEORGE WASHINGTON

Precedents and the Presidency

New York City, 1789

Accomplishments of Washington Judiciary Act of 1789

The Bill of Rights, 1791

The Whiskey Rebellion

The French Revolution and the Emergence of Faction

Jay’s Treaty; Pinckney’s Treaty

Washington’s Farewell Address

The Judiciary Act of 1789The Judiciary Act established the

Supreme Court’s jurisdiction and the entire federal court system. An independent judiciary with checks and balances of it’s own was only sketched out in the Constitution itself. The Judiciary Act gave greater substance to the branch.

The Bill of RightsThe Constitution was ratified in 1788; however, at the time the Constitution became the law of the land, at least two states – Rhode Island and North Carolina – had yet to ratify the document. The reason? Both states insisted they would not sign the Constitution until a Bill of Rights was added. In 1791, James Madison made good on his promise to resent twelve amendments to the Constitution. The first ten (10) are known as the Bill of Rights today; eleven of the twelve are currently amendments to the Constitution.

The Whiskey Rebellion

In 1794, George Washington personally led an army to Western Pennsylvania in order to compel the people of the state to pay their taxes. Washington is the only President to commandeer such of force. His actions demonstrated the power of the federal government to compel citizens to pay their taxes.

The French RevolutionThe French Revolution is a much more complicated story than we have time to discuss; however, it’s influence on American politics in right in our wheelhouse. Washington, Hamilton, and Federalists – the emerging political party – viewed the Revolution in France suspiciously, fearing too much democracy would undermine the rights of the people. Jefferson and the Republicans hailed it as a major success. When the Reign of Terror led to bloodshed, there was much less enthusiasm for the “democratic” revolution.

Jefferson’s RepublicansLed by Jefferson & Madison

“Liberal Republicans” – idealizing the citizen-farmer

Favored agrarian interests over the expansion of industry and trade.

Favored the expansion of democratic participation and easier citizenship requirements.

Pro-France in Foreign Policy

Hamilton’s FederalistsLed by Alexander Hamilton, John Adams (they

were rivals, unlike Jefferson and Madison)

“Classical Republicans” – representative government, with a little less direct democracy.

Favored Aristocracy over the arbitrary passions of democracy.

Favored the growth of American industry and trade with Europe.

Pro-England in Foreign Policy.

Washington’s Farewell AddressDo not “interweave our destiny with any

part of Europe” or “entangle our peace and prosperity in the toils of European ambition.”

Avoiding foreign entanglements in Europe, however, should not be confused with “isolationism” as many have suggested.

How isolationist was the continued expansion across the continent of North American from 1796 – 1850? Was American really an isolationist nation?

Washington Retires Washington set a precedent by

serving just two (2) terms, which would last until FDR won four elections: 1932, 1936, 140, and 1944, under extraordinary circumstances.

Increasingly Washington tended to favor the vision of Alexander Hamilton over Thomas Jefferson. A strong central government, free markets, commerce, trade, and industry evolved. Nevertheless, Washington condemned faction and never endorsed Hamilton’s Federalists.

Avoiding entanglement with European powers was a priority in foreign policy.

The continuing virtue of the people of the United States was the most critical component of our nation’s continued and “permanent felicity.”