chapter 7 slideshow

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The First Republic1776-1789

7

The First Republic
1776-1789

The New Order of Republicanism

Problems at Home

Diplomatic Weaknesses

Toward a New Union

Conclusion

The illustration on this 1783 map of the United States pairs George Washington on the left with Liberty and Benjamin Franklin on the right

The illustration on this 1783 map of the United States pairs George Washington on the left with Liberty and Benjamin Franklin on the right with Justice in a symbolic identification of the new republic with the values of equality and individual dignity.

Learning Objectives

What were the most significant weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation?

How did economic problems lead to political conflict in the 1780s?

What steps did Britain and Spain take to block American expansion?

Learning Objectives (cont'd)

Which groups in American society were most likely to support the Constitution? Why?

The New Order of Republicanism

Defining the People

The central tenet of republicanism was the people were sovereign.

Republicanism also suggested that political rights should be limited to those who owned property because economic self-sufficiency was considered necessary for informed political judgment.

Defining the People (cont'd)

Republicanism limited political participation to propertied adult white men, approximately 6085 percent of all adult white men.

Women and the Revolution

The traditional patriarchal assumptions that politics was a male domain did not change. Women were considered a dependent class.

Though some women protested their status, only New Jersey extended the suffrage to women and that was rescinded in 1807.

With the exception of New Jersey, where women meeting the property qualifications were eligible to vote, the state constitutions of the Revolutionary era prohibited women from voting.

Women and the Revolution (contd)

Women did benefit from slightly less restrictive divorce laws, somewhat greater access to education and business, and a higher moral status.

SuffrageThe right to vote in a political election.



The Revolution and African Americans in the South

The Revolution stimulated the growth of free black communities and the development of African American culture.

One in ten African Americans in slavery gained their freedom.

FIGURE 71 Growth of the Free Black Population between 1750 and 1800

FIGURE 71 Growth of the Free Black Population between 1750 and 1800 Gradual emancipation in the North, the freeing of many slaves by their owners in the South, and the opportunities for freedom offered by the Revolution, all contributed to an explosive growth in the free population of African Americans in the second half of the eighteenth century.Data Source: A Century of Population Growth in the United States, 17901900 (1909). p. 80. Data for 1750 estimated.

Northern Blacks and the Revolution

Most northern states gradually abolished slavery but African Americans struggled against racial prejudice.

Natural rightsPolitical philosophy that maintains that individuals have an inherent right, found in nature and preceding any government or written law, to life and liberty.

Phillis Wheatley was an acclaimed African-American poet.

Phillis Wheatley was an acclaimed African-American poet. Kidnapped into slavery as a child in Africa, she was a domestic slave to the Wheatley family of Boston when her first poems were published in 1773.

Richard Allen, a former slave in Pennsylvania who purchased his freedom in the 1770s, was a co-founder in 1787 of the Free African Society in Philadelphia and later a bishop in the African Methodist Episcopal Church.

Richard Allen, a former slave in Pennsylvania who purchased his freedom in the 1770s,was a co-founder in 1787 of the Free African Society in Philadelphia and later a bishop in the African Methodist Episcopal Church. This 1785 portrait conveys the firmness and calm dignity he brought to his leadership in the black community.

The Revolutions Impact on
Native Americans

Most Native Americans stayed neutral during the Revolution but sought to free themselves from American domination.

Territorial demands on the Native Americans escalated.

To combat the growing pressure of white Americans, Native Americans forged new alliances.

The Revolutions Impact on
Native Americans (cont'd)

In the 1780s, imperial rivalries continued to allow Native Americans to play the United States and European colonial powers off against each other.

The State Constitutions

New state constitutions were in place by 1777 and were written documents that curbed the power of governors and strengthened legislatures.

The new state constitutions weakened the traditional ties between church and state for the support of religion.

The State Constitutions (cont'd)

Radicals and conservatives held differing visions of republicanism. Radicals wanted all male citizens to participate in government. Conservatives wanted limited government by substantial property holders.

Conservatives ruled in South Carolina and restricted suffrage to approximately 10 percent of white males.

The State Constitutions (cont'd)

Radicals ruled in Pennsylvania where all free males who paid taxes could vote.

Bill of RightsA written summary of inalienable rights and liberties.

The Articles of Confederation

The Articles of Confederation delegated extremely limited powers to the central government. It was predicated on protecting the freedoms for which the Revolution was fought from oppressive, centralized power.

Congress was the sole national authority but constitutional safeguards made it impossible to to threaten state interests.

The Articles of Confederation (cont'd)

Congress was primarily responsible for foreign policy and national defense.

The issue of western lands hindered ratification of the Articles until 1781.

Articles of ConfederationWritten document setting up the loose confederation of states that comprised the first national government of the United States from 1781 to 1788.

MAP 71 Cession of Western Lands by the States

MAP 71 Cession of Western Lands by the StatesEight states had claims to lands in the West after the Revolution, and their willingness to cede them to the national government was an essential step in the creation of a public domain administered by Congress.

Problems at Home

The Fiscal Crisis

The United States and the states had incurred heavy debts during the Revolution.

A group of nationalists wanted to strengthen the national government and reduce state power. Robert Morris organized a Bank of North America to hold government funds, make loans to the government, and issue paper money.

The Fiscal Crisis (cont'd)

Morris wanted Congress to assume payment of the national debt but that required Congress gaining the power to tax. He proposed a constitutional amendment for a national impost or tariff but it failed.

NationalistsGroup of leaders in the 1780s who spearheaded the drive to replace the Articles of Confederation with a stronger central government.

This invitation in 1784 to discuss plans for a new bank led to the founding of the Bank of New York by Alexander Hamilton.

This invitation in 1784 to discuss plans for a new bank led to the founding of the Bank of New York by Alexander Hamilton.

Economic Depression

After the war, Britain kept its markets closed to American goods, hoping to keep the United States weak and dependent.

British merchants flooded the American market with cheap consumer goods but ultimately required payment in hard currency.

Foreign loans were the United States only source of hard money.

Economic Depression (cont'd)

Prevailing economic conditions led to an immense bubble of credit that burst in 1784 triggering a depression that lasted the remainder of the decade.

FIGURE 72 American Exports to and Imports from Britain between 1783 and 1789

FIGURE 72 American Exports to and Imports from Britain between 1783 and 1789During the 1780s, the United States imported far more from Britain than it exported there. The resulting huge trade deficit drained the country of gold and silver and was a major factor in the credit crisis that triggered an economic depression in the middle of the decade.U.S. Bureau of the Census, Historical Statistics of the United States: Colonial Times to 1970, pt. 2 (1975), p. 1176.

Depicted here in a folding fan, the Empress of China was the first American ship to undertake an extensive trading voyage to China.

Depicted here in a folding fan, the Empress of China was the first American ship to undertake an extensive trading voyage to China. Sailing from New York in February 1784, the Empress of China returned on May 11, 1785, and netted a profit of $37,000 for the investors who had financed the voyage. Building trading contacts with new markets in Asia and Europe helped the United States break its economic dependence on England.Courtesy of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania Collection, Atwater Kent Museum of Philadelphia.

The Economic Policies of the States

Artisans, merchants, and workers pushed for tariffs against British goods to encourage domestic manufacturing and to protect jobs and wages.

Northern state legislatures passed tariffs, but the lack of a uniform, national policy rendered them ineffective.

The Economic Policies of the States(cont'd)

Tariff policies raised sectional tensions between northern and southern states. Southern agrarian states favored free trade policies.

The most bitter divisions were between debtors and creditors. Shays Rebellion in 1786 showed the seriousness of this issue.

The Economic Policies of the States(cont'd)

Shayss RebellionAn armed movement of debt-ridden farmers in western Massachusetts in the winter of 17861787. The rebellion shut down courts and created a crisis atmosphere, strengthening the case of nationalists that a stronger central government was needed to maintain civil order in the states.

Armed with long muskets equipped with bayonets, Shayss supporters are depicted here gathering on the steps of a courthouse in western New England in 1786.

Armed with long muskets equipped with bayonets, Shayss supporters are depicted here gathering on the steps of a courthouse in western New England in 1786.

Congress and the West

Congress took several steps to establish jurisdiction in the West, including negotiating a series of treaties with Native Americans to gain their land, and passed several ordinances to organize the settlement of western lands.

Thomas Jefferson wrote the Northwest Ordinance that included an antislavery clause.

Congress and the West (cont'd)

Land Ordinance of 1785Act passed by Congress under the Articles of Confederation that created the grid system of surveys by which all subsequent public land was made available for sale.

Northwest Ordinance of 1787Legislation passed by Congress under the Articles of Confederation that prohibited slavery in the Northwest Territories and provided the model for the incorporation of future territories into the Union as coequal states.

Congress and the West (cont'd)

Southwest Ordinance of 1790Legislation passed by Congress that set up a government with no prohibition on slavery in U.S. territory south of the Ohio River.

FIGURE 73 Land Ordinance of 1785

FIGURE 73 Land Ordinance of 1785The precise uniformity of the surveying system initiated in the Land Ordinance of 1785 created a rectangular grid pattern that was the model for all future land surveyed in the public domain. The uniform grid system that was laid down ignored the natural contours of the land for the sake of speed and convenience in bringing the land to market.

Diplomatic Weaknesses

Impasse with Britain

The Confederation Congress was unable to resolve major differences with Great Britain.

Issues included prewar American debts and treatment by the patriots of Loyalists that the British used to maintain their hold on western forts.

Spain and the Mississippi River

Spain refused to recognize the southern and western United States boundaries, denied United States free navigation of the Mississippi River, and sought to exploit the divided loyalties of westerners.

MAP 72 Disputed Territory in the West after the Treaty of Paris

MAP 72 Disputed Territory in the West after the Treaty of ParisThroughout the 1780s, Spain asserted title to a large area in the West south of the Ohio River.

This portrait, sketched in about 1790 by John Trumbull, is the only known likeness of Alexander McGillivray

This portrait, sketched in about 1790 by John Trumbull, is the only known likeness of Alexander McGillivray, a Creek leader who effectively played off Spanish and American interests in the Southeast to gain a measure of independence for the Creeks in the 1780s.

Toward a New Union

Nationalists saw that everywhere were unsolved problems and portents of disasterthe republics survival was at stake. Fundamental actions needed to be taken to address the situation.

Toward a New Union (cont'd)

Annapolis ConventionConference of state delegates at Annapolis, Maryland, that issued a call in September 1786 for a convention to meet at Philadelphia in May 1787 to consider fundamental changes to the Articles of Confederation.

Constitutional ConventionConvention that met in Philadelphia in 1787 and drafted the Constitution of the United States.

Toward a New Union (cont'd)

Constitution of the United StatesThe written document providing for a new central government of the United States, drawn up at the Constitutional Convention in 1787 and ratified by the states in 1788.

The Road to Philadelphia

A meeting at George Washingtons Mount Vernon estate began the movement for a new constitution.

The subsequent Annapolis Convention was attended by nine states and called for a constitutional convention in Philadelphia in May 1787.

All states except Rhode Island sent delegates to the constitutional convention.

The Road to Philadelphia (cont'd)

The delegates were largely lawyers, most had served in the Confederation Congress, over one-third had fought in the Revolution, were extremely well-educated, and wealthier than the average American.

The Convention at Work

Congress had authorized only a revision of the Articles of Confederation, but the delegates quickly moved to replace it.

Their first action was to elect George Washington unanimously as the conventions presiding officer.

The Convention at Work (cont'd)

The Virginia Plan called for a new national government with a bicameral legislature, executive, and judiciary. It granted Congress greater legislative powers and made representation proportional to population. It favored large states.


Small states responded with the New Jersey Plan that kept the one state, one vote rule of the Articles but expanded the powers of Congress and the national government.


Virginia PlanProposal of the Virginia delegation at the 1787 Constitution Convention calling for a national legislature in which the states would be represented according to population. The national legislature would have the explicit power to veto or overrule laws passed by state legislatures.


New Jersey PlanProposal of the New Jersey delegation at the 1787 Constitutional Convention for a strengthened national government in which all states would have equal representation in a unicameral legislature.

This c.1790 folk art depiction of Washington and his wife reveals how quickly Washingtons fame became part of the public consciousness and made him the obvious choice to preside over the Constitutional Convention.

This c.1790 folk art depiction of Washington and his wife reveals how quickly Washingtons fame became part of the public consciousness and made him the obvious choice to preside over the Constitutional Convention.

The Great Compromise

The issue of state representation in the national government was solved by the Great Compromise. Equal representation was provided in the Senate and proportional in the House of Representatives. It also settled the issue of counting slaves for representation in the House.

The Great Compromise (cont'd)

Great CompromisePlan proposed by Roger Sherman of Connecticut at the 1787 Constitutional Convention for creating a national bicameral legislature in which all states would be equally represented in the Senate and proportionally represented in the House.

Regulation of Commerce and
the Issue of Slavery

The issue of trade legislation was solved by compromise.

A simple majority of Congress could enact trade legislation but Congress was barred from acting against the slave trade for 20 years.

The Office of the Chief Executive

Because Washington was the likely first president, the delegates provided the chief executive with broad discretionary powers.

Overview of the Constitution

The Constitution provided for a strong executive, a Supreme Court, and specifically delegated economic powers to Congress.

The powers of the states were restrained but provided for internal checks and balances on the national government.

Overview of the Constitution (cont'd)

The relationship between the state and national governments were based on federalism.

Judicial reviewA power implied in the Constitution that gives federal courts the right to review and determine the constitutionality of acts passed by Congress and state legislatures.

Overview of the Constitution (cont'd)

FederalismThe sharing of powers between the national government and the states.

The Articles of Confederation and the Constitution Compared

The Struggle over Ratification

Federalists supported the Constitution and antifederalists opposed it.

The Federalists skillfully built momentum for ratification and used The Federalist, a series of essays, to allay fears the national government would be too strong.

The Struggle over Ratification (cont'd)

The key to ratification was passage by Virginia and New York. North Carolina joined the Union in 1789 and Rhode Island joined in 1790.

FederalistA supporter of the Constitution who favored its ratification.

The Struggle over Ratification (cont'd)

AntifederalistAn opponent of the Constitution in the debate over its ratification.

MAP 73 The Ratification Vote on the Constitution

MAP 73 The Ratification Vote on the ConstitutionAside from some frontier districts exposed to possible foreign attack, the strongest support for the Constitution came from coastal and interior areas tied into a developing commercial economy

President Johnson signs the 24th Amendment barring the poll tax in federal elections.

President Johnson signs the 24th Amendment barring the poll tax in federal elections.

Washington presides over the Constitutional Convention.

Washington presides over the Constitutional Convention.

Conclusion

Conclusion

Between 1776 and 1789, Americans developed a unique constitutional system.

Written constitutions were proclaimed supreme over legislation and detailed the powers of government, and protected freedom through the Bill of Rights.

Equally important, the nations constitution and government were changed peacefully.

Federalists versus Antifederalists

Copyright 2011, 2008 by Pearson Education, Inc.All rights reserved.

The American Journey: A History of the United States, Brief Sixth EditionGoldfield Abbott Argersinger DeJohn Anderson Barney Weir Argersinger

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THE AMERICAN JOURNEY

A HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES

Brief Sixth Edition

Chapter

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