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Creating a New Government

C R EAT I N G A N E W

G O V E R N M E N T

V i e w p o i n t 1 4 A A Strong National Government Is Necessary to

Ensure the Nation 's Survival (1 783) George Washingron ( 1 732-1 799)

I N T R O D U C T I O N As American independence became a reality in 1 783, political debate turned towards the social and political fature of the new nation, consisting

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Pa1·t 2: Fo rging a New Nation (1750-1800)

of thirteen new states united by the Articl.es of Confed­ eration. In one of his last acts as commander in chief of the Continental Army, George Washington wrote a letter in 1 783 to the state governors in which he announced his intention to retire to private life and described some ofhis ideas about government and A merica '.r fo.ture. He contended that the choices America 's citizms made now could determine whether the new nation would be "respectabl.e and prosperous, or contemptible and miser­ able. "A main point Washington wanted to raise was the danger of states going their separate ways and effectively dissolving the Union-a prospect he considered danger­ ous both to national survival and to the well-being of the American people. The necessity for greater national unity was a prime motivation for the Philadelphia Conven­ tion of 1 787-a meeting Washington chaired, and which created the U.S. Constitution to replace the Articles of Confederation.

Why might Washington want to.address state governors in his letter? What advantages does Washington per­ ceive the new nation possessing? What four el.ements does he deem critical?

The citizens of America, placed in the most enviable condition as the sole lords and proprietors of a vast tract of continent, comprehending all the various soils and cli­ mates of the world and abounding with all the necessaries and conveniences of life, are now, by the late satisfactory pacification, acknowledged to be possessed of absolute freedom and independency. They are, from this period, to be considered as the actors on a most conspicuous the­ ater, which seems to be peculiarly designated by Provi­ dence for the display of human greatness and fel icity. H ere they are not o nly surrounded with everyth i ng which can contribute to the completion of private and domestic enjoyment, but Heaven has crowned all its other blessings by giving a fairer opportunity for political happiness than any other nation has ever been favored with. Nothing can illustrate these observations more forc­ ibly than a recollection of the happy conjuncture of times and circumstances under which our republic assumed its rank among the nations.

The fo undation of our empire was not laid in the gloomy age of ignorance and supersti tion but at an epoch when the rights of mankind were better u nderstood and more clearly defined than at any former period. The researches of the human mind, after social happ iness, have been carried to a great extent; the treasures of knowl­ edge, acquired by the labors of philosophers, sages, and legislators through a long succession of years, are laid open for our use; and their collected wisdo m may be happily applied in the establishment of our forms of

From John Marshall, The Life of George Washington, etc. etc. 2 n d ed., Philadelphia, 1 848.

government. The free cultivation of letters, the unbound­ ed extension of commerce, the progressive refinement of manners, the growing liberal i ty of sentiment, and, above all, the pure and benign light of revelation have had a mel iorating i n fl uence o n mankind and i n creased the blessings of society. At this auspicious period, the United States came into existence as a nation; and, if their citizens should not be completely free and happy, the fault will be entirely their own.

A TEST FOR AMERICANS

Such is our situation, and such are our prospects; but not­ withstanding the cup of blessing is thus reached out to us; notwithstanding happiness is ours, if we have a disposi­ tion to seize the occasion and make it our own ; yet it appears to me there is an option still left to the United States of America, that it is in their choice, and depends upon their conduct, whether they will be respectable and prosperous, or contemptible and miserable, as a nation. This is the time of their political probation; this is the moment when the eyes of the whole world are turned upon them; this is the moment to establish or ruin their natio nal character forever; this is the favo rable moment to give such a tone to our federal government as will enable it to answer the ends of its institution; or this may be the ill-fated moment for relaxing the powers of the Union, annihilating the cement of the Confedera­ tion, and exposing us to become the sport of European politics, which may play one state against another, to pre­ vent the i r growing imp ortance and to serve thei r own interested purposes. For, according to the system of pol­ icy the states shall adopt at this moment, they will stand or fall; and by their confirmation or lapse, it is yet to be decided whether the Revolution must ultimately be con­ sidered as a blessing or a curse-a blessing or a curse not to the present age alone, for with our fate will the destiny of unborn millions be i nvolved . . . .

FOUR NECESSARY ELEMENTS

There are four things which, I h u mbly conceive, are essential to the well-being, I may even venture to say to the existence, o f the United States as an i ndependen t power.

First, an indissoluble union of the states under one federal head.

Second, a sacred regard to public justice. Third, the adoption of a proper peace establishment;

and, Fo urth, the prevalence of that pacific and friendly

disposition among the people o f the United States which will induce them to forget their local prejudices and pol icies; to make those mutual concessions which are requisite to the general prosperity; and, in some

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instances, to sacrifice their individual advantages to the interest of the community.

These are the pillars on which the glorious fabric of our independency and national character must be sup­ ported. Liberty is the basis; and whoever would dare to sap the fo undation, o r overturn the structure, under whatever specious pretext he may attempt it, will merit the bitterest execration and the severest p unishment which can be i nflicted by his injured country.

On the three first articles I will make a few observa­ tions, leaving the last to the good sense and serious con­ sideration of those immediately concerned.

Under the first head, although it may not be neces­ sary or proper for me, in this place, to enter into a partic­ ular disquisition on the pri nciples of the Union, and to take up the great question which has been frequently agi­ tated-whether it be expedient and requisite for the states to delegate a larger proportion of power to Congress o r not-yet it will be a part of m y duty, a n d that of every true patriot, ro assert without reserve, and to i nsist upon, the following positions: That, unless the states will suffer Congress to exercise those prerogatives they are undoubtedly invested with by the constitution, every­ thing must very rapidly tend to anarchy and confusion. That it is indispensable to the happiness of the individual states that there should be lodged somewhere a supreme power to regulate and govern the general concerns of the confederated republic, without which the Union can­ not be of long duration. That there must be a faithful and pointed compliance, on the part of every state, with the late p roposals and demands of Congress, o r the most fatal consequences will ensue. That whatever measures have a tendency to dissolve the Union, or contribute to violate or lessen the sovereign authority, ought to be con­ sidered as hostile to the liberty and indepe ndency of America, and the authors of them treated accordingly. And lastly, that unless we can be enabled, by the concur­ rence of the states, to participate of the fruits of the Rev­ olurion and enjoy the essential benefits of civil society, under a fo rm of government so free and u n corrupted, so happily guarded against the danger of oppression as has been devised and adopted by the Articles of Confed­ eration, it will be a subject of regret that so much blood and treasure have been lavished for no purpose, that so many sufferings have been encountered without a com­ pensation, and that so many sacrifices have been made 111 vam.

Many other considerations might here be adduced to prove that, without an entire conformity to the spirit of the Union, we cannot exist as an independent power. It will be sufficient for my purpose to mention but one o r two which seem to me of the greatest importance.

It is only in our united character, as an empire, that our independence is acknowledged, that our power can be

Creating a New Government

regarded, or our credit supported, among foreign nations. The treaties of the European powers with the United States of America will have no validity on a dissolution of the Union. We shall be left nearly in a state of nature; or we may find, by our own unhappy experience, that there is a natural and necessary progression from the extreme of anarchy to the extreme of tyranny, and that arbi trary power is most easily established on the ruins of liberty abused to licentiousness.

FOR FURTHER REA D I N G

B ruce Chadwick, George Washington 's War: The Forging of a Revolutionary Leader and the American Presidency. Naperville, IL: Sourcebooks, 2005.

Joseph J . E l l i s , His Excellency: George Washington. N e w York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2004.

Thomas J . Fleming, Liberty! The American Revolution. New York: Viking, 1 997.

V i e w p o i n t l 4 B Strong State Governments Are Maintaining

Freedom and Prosperity (1787) James Winthrop ( 1 752- 1 82 1 )

I N T R O D U C T I O N The Artic/.es of Confederation, ratified by the former colonies in 1 781, formed the basis of the national government of the United States for several years. Under the Articl.es Congress had the power to declare war and enter into foreign alliances, but it had little power to raise taxes, make laws, or create a national economic or trade policy. Political leaders met in Philadelphia in 1 787 and came up with a new blueprint for national government-the Constitution­ which then had to be ratified by the states. The following viewpoint is taken from a 1 787 newspaper article arguing that such a new Constitution was not needed and that the new nation was indeed prospering under its current weak central government. The autho1; "Agrippa, " is believed by most historians to be James Winthrop, a librarian and teacher at Harvard University.

What argument does Winthrop make about the gov­ ernments of large states. What objections does he have to the proposed Constitution and its "consolidation " of the states?

Having considered some of the principal advantages of the happy form of government under which it is our . peculiar good fo rtune to live, we find by experience, that it is the best calculated of any form hitherto i nvented,

Massachusetts Gazette (Bosrnn), December 3, 1 787, reprinted in American History Told by Contemporaries, Alben B. Hart, ed., New York: Macmillan, 1 90 1 .

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Pai·t 2: Forging a New Nation (1750-1800)

to secure to us the rights of our persons and of our prop­ erty, and that the general circumstances of the people shew an advanced state o f improvement never before known. We have found the shock given by the war in a great measure obliterated, and the publick debt con­ tracted at that time to be considerably reduced i n the nominal sum. The Co ngress lands are fully adequate to the redemption of the principal of their debt, and are sell­ ing and populating very fast. The lands of this state, at the west, are, at the moderate price of eighteen pence an acre worth near half a million pounds in o u r money. They ought, therefore, to be sold as quick as possible. An appli­ cation was made lately for a large tract at that price, and co ntinual applications are made fo r other lands in the eastern part of the state. Our resources are daily augmenting.

We find, then, that after the experience of near two centuries o u r separate governments are i n full vigour. They discover, for all the purposes of internal regulation, every symptom of strength, and none of decay. The new system is, therefore, fo r such purposes, useless and burdensome.

It is impossible for one code of laws to suit Georgia and Massachusetts.

Let us now consider how far it is practicable consis­ tent with the happiness of the people and their freedom. It is the opinion of the ablest writers on the subject, that no extensive empire can be governed upon republican principles, and that such a government will degenerate to a despotism, unless it be made up of a confederacy of smaller states, each having the full powers of internal regulation. This is precisely the principle which has hith­ erto preserved our freedom. No instance can be found of any free government of considerable extent which has been supported upon any other plan. Large and consoli­ dated empires may indeed dazzle the eyes of a distant spectator with their splendour, but i f examined m o re nearly are always found to be full of misery. The reason is obvious. In large states the same principles of legislation will not apply to all the parts. The inhabitants of warmer climates are more dissolute in their manners, and less in­ dustrious, than in colder countries. A degree of severity is, therefore, necessary with o ne which would cramp the spirit of the o ther. We accordingly fi nd that the very great empires have always been despotick. They have indeed tried to remedy the inconveniences to which the people were exposed by local regulations; but these con­ trivances have never answered the end. The laws not being made by the people, who felt the inconveniences, did not suit their circumstances. It is under such tyranny

that the Spanish provinces languish, and such would be our misfortune and degradation, if we should submit to have the concerns of the whole empire managed by one legislature. To promote the happiness of the people it is necessary that there should be local laws; and it is neces­ sary that those laws should be made by the representatives of those who are immediately subject to the want of them. By endeavouring to suit both extremes, both are injured.

AGAINST CONSOLIDATION

It is impossible for one code of laws to suit Georgia and Massachusetts. They must, therefore, legislate fo r them­ selves. Yet there is, I believe, not one point of legislation that is not surrendered in the proposed plan. Questions of every kind respecting property are determinable in a con­ tinental court, and so are all kinds of criminal causes. The continental legislature has, therefore, a right to make rules in a!L cases by which their j udicial courts shall proceed and decide causes. No rights are reserved to the citizens. The laws of Congress are in all cases to be the supreme law of the land, and paramount to the constitutions of the indi­ vidual states. The Congress may institute what modes of trial they please, and no plea drawn from the constitution of any state can avail. This new system is, therefore, a consolidation of all the states into one large mass, how­ ever diverse the parts may be of which it is to be com­ posed. The idea of an uncompounded republick, on an average, one thousand miles in length, and eight hundred in breadth, and containing six millions of white inhabi­ tants all reduced to the same standard of morals, of hab­ its, and of laws, is in itself an absurdity, and contrary to the whole experience of mankind. The attempt made by G reat-Britain to introduce such a system, struck us with horrour, and when it was proposed by some theorists that we should be represented in parliament, we uni­ formly declared that one legislature could not represent so many different interests fo r the purposes of legislation and taxation. This was the leading principle of the revo­ lution, and makes an essential article in our creed. All that part, therefore, of the new system, which relates to the inter­ nal government of the states, ought at once to be rejected.

FOR FURTHER READ I N G

Keith L. Dougherty, Collective Action under the Articles of Confederation. New York: Cambridge University Press, 200 1 .

Chrisropher M . Duncan, The Anti-Federalists and Early American Political Thought. DeKalb: Northern Illinois University Press, 1 99 5 .

David C. Hendrickson, Peace Pact: The Lost World of the American Founding. Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 2003.

Robert W. Hoffert, A Politics of Tensions: The Articles of Confederation and American Political Ideas. Niwot: University Press of Colorado, 1 99 2 .

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