Terms
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federalism
Articles of Confederation republicanism Northwest Ordinance Shay's Rebellion Constitutional Convention Founding Fathers James Madison Alien and Sedition Acts Election of 1800 |
Daniel Boone
Virginia Plan New Jersey Plan Legislature Separation of Powers The Presidency Judiciary federalist anti-federalist The Federalist Papers John Adams |
The Constitution
democratic republic Jeffersonian Republicans George Washington Thomas Jefferson Alexander Hamilton John Jay Bill of Rights Sectional Differences Bank of the U.S. Jay's Treaty |
*** Assignment dates may change, if they due, I will let you know ahead of time, otherwise these are the dates they are due. To avoid after school detention make sure you have them completed and turned in the due date.
***Note about Crossword Puzzle - Will be the last name if a person, will not have any spaces if the answer is more than one word, and the answer will not have the word "the" at the beginning: Example: the answer will not be TheFederalFarmLoanAct, it will FederalFarmLoanAct
***Note about Crossword Puzzle - Will be the last name if a person, will not have any spaces if the answer is more than one word, and the answer will not have the word "the" at the beginning: Example: the answer will not be TheFederalFarmLoanAct, it will FederalFarmLoanAct
Power to the People
The American Revolution created not only a new country, but also a new type of government that the world had never seen before. What Americans feared more than anything in the late 1700s (late 18th century), was governmental abuse, or a government that was too powerful. Even though they had won the American Revolution and their independence from Great Britain, they were still a country in name only and needed to build something that would express their goals of limited government power, but also something that had enough power to actually be able to function. The period from the end of the Am. Revolution (1783) and to the creation of the Constitution (1787) was one of political division and uncertainty.
The Confederation Government
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One of the first goals of the new nation was to determine federalism. Federalism is the sharing of power between the new states and the national government. The first formal American government had actually formed while the American Revolution was still going on, called the Articles of Confederation, it was a loose alliance of 13 states (Confederation means a loose alliance of states) that often did not get along or agree with one another on their role in government. The first point that the Articles of Confederation highlighted was that each state would be sovereign (independent) and have freedom. This weak government was composed of only one legislature which only had one house. There was no president or any other branches of government. The Congress could not enforce what few laws it could create. It's budget relied on "voluntary" contributions or donations from the states. In the first year of its existence, the Congress asked for $8 million dollars, but the states only sent $420,000. The Articles of Confederation emphasized the idea of republicanism, or the idea of democracy through elected representatives, it DID NOT want a king or nobles to lead it.
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One of the few things the Articles of Confederation government accomplished was the Northwest Ordinance of 1787. The Northwest Ordinance of 1787 established that all of the land west of the Appalachian Mountains would someday become states and slavery was banned north of the Ohio river. It created a new set of rules for this new territory to carve out states. First a territorial governor and government had to be created. Once that was completed, the territory had to have 60,000 people in it in order to petition or ask to be a state.
Growing Crisis with the Articles of Confederation
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Only states could impose taxes, which they all did. This angered many poorer people living in the states who could not pay those taxes because they were barely making enough to survive. In western Massachusetts, farmers began asking the government for more time to pay their taxes because they feared they would lose their land if they could not pay them. They also resented the new state government which made it to where only those who actually owned their land could vote. Farmers began to band together to form militias in order to keep tax collectors from taking their homes and livestock to pay their taxes.
Thirty-nine year old Daniel Shays was the leader of this ragtag army of farmers. In 1787, he marched his small army to the state arsenal (an arsenal is where weapons are kept) at Springfield and took the weapons stored there. As Shays rebellion spread throughout Massachusetts, the national government lacked an army to stop them from tearing down government property. Eventually 4,000 militiamen were raised to put down the rebellion, which it eventually did. Shays rebellion showed many in Massachusetts and other states that a stronger national government was needed in order to deal with such matters and it needed to create a national army, even if it was small, to respond to such crisis. |
Shays Rebellion
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James Madison
In 1787, James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and George Washington called for a special convention to look at either fixing the problems of the Articles of Confederation or to create a new "federal (which means national when it is used this way)" government. All states participated in the new Constitutional Convention (in Philadelphia), except for Rhode Island. Thirty-nine delegates met to begin the creation of new government which was based on a constitution. These men that met to create the constitution are often referred to as the "founding fathers" or "framers" of the Constitution. Most of these men were familiar with government and had been active in the creation of the original Articles of Confederation or had participated in the creation of various state governments. Their average age was 42, all were white, almost all were landowners and considered "privileged." Nine of them had signed the Declaration of Independence and over half owned slaves.
George Washington presided over the Constitutional Convention, but participated little in the debates. Ben Franklin of Pennsylvania was also there, as one of the oldest in attendance. The most active was James Madison of Virginia. He was a 36 year old attorney who had a history of political philosophy and stood only five foot tall and weighed about 120 lbs. He was shy and so soft-spoken that most had trouble hearing what he said, but the Constitutional idea was primarily his, and no one else influenced its creation more than Madison. Madison pushed for a national or federal government where supreme authority fell upon the national government over the state governments. Most agreed that a stronger national government of some sort was needed. He proposed that the national government should have authority directly over the people and not just the states.
George Washington presided over the Constitutional Convention, but participated little in the debates. Ben Franklin of Pennsylvania was also there, as one of the oldest in attendance. The most active was James Madison of Virginia. He was a 36 year old attorney who had a history of political philosophy and stood only five foot tall and weighed about 120 lbs. He was shy and so soft-spoken that most had trouble hearing what he said, but the Constitutional idea was primarily his, and no one else influenced its creation more than Madison. Madison pushed for a national or federal government where supreme authority fell upon the national government over the state governments. Most agreed that a stronger national government of some sort was needed. He proposed that the national government should have authority directly over the people and not just the states.
They also understood that in order to be a LIMITED GOVERNMENT, the power of government's authority came from the people. It wanted to make sure that the government could not become too powerful. They also realized that the government needed the authority to collect taxes, borrow and issue money, regulate commerce (trade), make treaties, make war, and create tariffs (taxes on goods coming into America from other countries). The states would also have powers reserved just for the states in which the national government would not hold authority over.
Legislature
Madison proposed a legislature, or law making body also called Congress, in which representatives from each state would be sent to represent the people of that state based on population. Larger states with more people would have more representatives in the legislature than smaller states because they believed they would share more of the tax burden since they had more people. This plan became known as the Virginia Plan. Smaller states were unhappy with this idea because they would not be properly represented and they were afraid they would be dominated by the larger states. Delegate William Preston of New Jersey presented a different idea in which every state would send an equal number of representatives to the legislature, therefore being equal. This plan favored smaller states was called the New Jersey Plan. In the end a compromise was reached where the legislature, or Congress, would be bicameral, or contain two houses: The House of Representatives would be the lower house and the representatives sent to it would be based on a states population, the other house, called the Senate, would send two senators from each state to represent them and would become the "higher" house and have a little more power than the House of Reps. This was called the Connecticut Compromise or Great Compromise.
The Great Compromise embedded or created the concept of separation of powers in the new Congress. Each house was created to be able to counter balance one another to ensure no one house became too powerful.
The Great Compromise embedded or created the concept of separation of powers in the new Congress. Each house was created to be able to counter balance one another to ensure no one house became too powerful.
The Executive Branch
The Constitutional Convention had the most trouble creating the executive branch because this would be the branch that was in charge of the military and enforcing the laws that Congress created, they were afraid that if one branch might become too powerful it would be this one. Many feared that single person in charge of the executive branch would appear too much like a king. In the end they created the office of the President in a way that Congress would be able to counterbalance the power of the President, as well as the President had ways to counterbalance Congress, this would help protect that neither would become too powerful . The Presidency would be the boss or chief of the executive branch, they would be elected for four year terms, could veto, or reject laws from Congress (in return Congress could override the President's veto with a 2/3 vote), be in charge of the military, enforce the laws created by Congress, and appoint diplomats. The President would be elected by a special group of electors from each state called an electoral college.
The Judiciary or Judicial Branch
The convention created a third branch, called the judicial branch, as a supreme national court headed by a chief justice. The Supreme Court's job was not to create laws or to enforce them, but to interpret the laws and make sure that all citizens of the United States received equal justice under the law. This made it clear that no one would be exempt from the law, no matter how rich or poor someone was, they had to follow the same laws. The Supreme Court also makes sure that laws created by Congress are allowed by the Constitution (this is the interpret part of their job). State laws were declared to be inferior IF they conflicted with a federal or national law. Any time two or more states had a disagreement, the Supreme Court would step in and make a decision.
The Fight for Ratification of the Constitution
When the final draft of the Constitution was completed, it was then sent to the states for ratification, or to be passed. Those for the Constitution how it was written and were for a stronger central government were called federalists. Federalists included Madison, Hamilton, and Washington, they were generally from the North and were for a national government that was much more powerful than the states. Those who opposed such a strong national government were called anti-federalists. Anti-federalists believed that a strong central government could trample or violate individual rights and allow the government to become too powerful. They were leery of a strong central government. Most anti-federalists were from the South and included Thomas Jefferson, George Mason, and Patrick Henry. Anti-federalists criticized the absence of a "bill of rights" which would protect the rights of individual citizens. They decided that without a bill of rights, they would not sign on to ratifying the Constitution.
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In 1787 and 1788, James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay wrote a collection of 85 essays called The Federalist Papers, in which they outlined to the American people their reasoning behind why the Constitution should be supported and ratified. The Federalist Papers argued why it was important to have a Democratic Republic. A Democratic Republic means that the will of the people is not expressed directly but through their elected representatives that are sent to Congress on their behalf. The Passing of the Constitution created the first Democratic Republic in history. When the Bill of Rights, the first ten amendments to the Constitution which specifically outlined the individual protections of U.S. citizens (such as freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and so on), most anti-federalists came on board in support of signing the Constitution. An amendment is a change to the Constitution.
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Alexander Hamilton
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The Era of the New Constitution
Two new types of political parties formed after the creation and ratification of the Constitution. The federalists, which represented those who believed in a strong central government and more national government power. The Jeffersonian Republicans, or simply, Republicans, were formed from those who had formally been anti-federalists who still believed that the new government must remain a limited one.
On March 4, 1789, George Washington was elected the first President of the United States. Back then, the guy who came in second place became the vice president, which was John Adams. Washington would have rather stayed on his farm at Mount Vernon, but always felt an obligation to serve his country when asked. In the beginning he had only two secretaries to help him with Presidential business, today, the president has hundreds of secretaries to help him/her carry out duties. In 1789, Congress gave the President permission to create cabinet positions to help him carry out certain duties. The Department of State was created with Thomas Jefferson as the head of that department. Alexander Hamilton was appointed the first secretary of the Treasury. John Jay was selected as the first chief justice of the Supreme Court.
Sectional differences emerged when secretary of the Treasury, Alexander Hamilton, proposed that the national government assume the debts that states had created before the Constitution was created. The problem with this was that most of the Southern states had paid off most of their debts from the American Revolution while the Northern states still owed a lot of money. This created some conflict because the Southern states believed the Northern states should pay the debt since they had already done as they were supposed to. One compromise that helped ease the sectional tensions between the North and South was that it was agreed upon that a new national capital city would be created and it would be placed further south than where it had been in New York and Philadelphia. This new city would be on the Potomac River on the border between Virginia and Maryland, called Washington, in the District of Columbia, or Washington D.C. for short.
Another compromise to ease sectional differences was the 3/5 rule. The Southern states were concerned that since the Northern states had a larger population than they did they would constantly be overpowered in Congress by Northern states. Since the number of representatives to the House of Representatives was based on population, Southern states proposed that 3 out of 5 of their slaves should be counted in their population county for Congress reps. This became known as the 3/5 compromise and helped give the South a larger voice in Congress.
On March 4, 1789, George Washington was elected the first President of the United States. Back then, the guy who came in second place became the vice president, which was John Adams. Washington would have rather stayed on his farm at Mount Vernon, but always felt an obligation to serve his country when asked. In the beginning he had only two secretaries to help him with Presidential business, today, the president has hundreds of secretaries to help him/her carry out duties. In 1789, Congress gave the President permission to create cabinet positions to help him carry out certain duties. The Department of State was created with Thomas Jefferson as the head of that department. Alexander Hamilton was appointed the first secretary of the Treasury. John Jay was selected as the first chief justice of the Supreme Court.
Sectional differences emerged when secretary of the Treasury, Alexander Hamilton, proposed that the national government assume the debts that states had created before the Constitution was created. The problem with this was that most of the Southern states had paid off most of their debts from the American Revolution while the Northern states still owed a lot of money. This created some conflict because the Southern states believed the Northern states should pay the debt since they had already done as they were supposed to. One compromise that helped ease the sectional tensions between the North and South was that it was agreed upon that a new national capital city would be created and it would be placed further south than where it had been in New York and Philadelphia. This new city would be on the Potomac River on the border between Virginia and Maryland, called Washington, in the District of Columbia, or Washington D.C. for short.
Another compromise to ease sectional differences was the 3/5 rule. The Southern states were concerned that since the Northern states had a larger population than they did they would constantly be overpowered in Congress by Northern states. Since the number of representatives to the House of Representatives was based on population, Southern states proposed that 3 out of 5 of their slaves should be counted in their population county for Congress reps. This became known as the 3/5 compromise and helped give the South a larger voice in Congress.
Bank of the U.S.
Alexander Hamilton wanted to create a national bank in order to put all of the capital (money) in one place in order to be available to loan out money to jump start manufacturing. Hamilton's new Bank of the US was based in Philadelphia and three jobs: hold the governments funds and pay its bills, provide loans to the federal government and to other banks to promote economic development, and lastly, to to manage the nation's money supply.
Jay's Treaty
John Jay
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In 1793, the U.S. came close to another war with Great Britain. British warships violated international law by seizing (taking) U.S. merchant ships that carried French goods or who had sailed from a French port. President Washington sent John Jay to London to work out an agreement which he did. Great Britain said it would stop seizing American ships and the U.S. promised to not send the French supplies for making war ships. This agreement helped to keep the new nation out of a war that it could not afford and was not prepared to fight.
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The Frontier
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The new land gained after the American Revolution led to a rush for settlement in what was then known as the frontier. Daniel Boone, an explorer and master tracker, led thousands of Americans westward to land called Kentucky. Just prior to the American Revolution, Daniel Boone and a small group cut a road from Virginia to Kentucky called the Wilderness Road. Settlers began pouring into the new territory and by 1792, Kentucky became a state. As new settlers arrived in Kentucky, a small number continued west and crossed the Mississippi River into present day Arkansas and Missouri.
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Daniel Boone
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Transfer of Power
After two four year terms in officer, George Washington decided that he was tired of politics and wanted to return to his home in Mount Vernon. The election of 1796 would become the first contested election. In 1796, John Adams was elected president. During his presidency the Alien and Sedition Acts were passed (1798). This gave the president powers to violate civil liberties by limiting freedom of speech and limited new immigrants who came to the United States. Adams mainly used it as a tool to silence critics of his plans.
Election of 1800 - Thomas Jefferson was elected President after Adams' one term as president. Jefferson ran against Aaron Burr and the election ended in a tie. In such an event, the Constitution stated that the House of Representatives would break the tie by voting for the president, Jefferson was chosen to be president.
Jefferson's time as President would usher in a new era of American History.
Election of 1800 - Thomas Jefferson was elected President after Adams' one term as president. Jefferson ran against Aaron Burr and the election ended in a tie. In such an event, the Constitution stated that the House of Representatives would break the tie by voting for the president, Jefferson was chosen to be president.
Jefferson's time as President would usher in a new era of American History.
Thomas Jefferson