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The Constitution

Part 1: Background

Part 2: The Constitutional Convention

Part 3: After Ratification

Part 4: The Bill of Rights

Part 5: The New Government

America under the Confederation

Articles of Confederation

First written constitution of the United States

One-house Congress

No president

No judiciary

Only powers granted to the national government were those for declaring war, conducting foreign affairs, and making treaties.

In the Revolutionary era, Americans described their nation as a “rising empire” that would eventually control all of North America. America’s empire would not be ruled by force, as were the empires of Europe. As Thomas Jefferson wrote, America would be an “empire of liberty” cemented by a commitment to the principles of the Declaration of Independence. The United States was already larger than Great Britain, Spain, and France combined, and it benefited from its isolation from war-torn Europe, its young population, and a broad distribution of property and literacy among whites. Yet America did not control its vast western territories, which was populated by Indians and bordered by the British and Spanish, and who posed a military and commercial threat. The nation was also rural and its population divided among varying ethnic and religious groups. No republic had ever been established in such a large area, with such a diverse people. The success and unity of the nation was far from assured.

The nation’s first written constitution was the Articles of Confederation, drafted by Congress in 1777 and approved by the states in 1781. The articles were an attempt to balance the national coordination needed to win the war against fears that centralized power threatened liberty. With the articles, the thirteen states retained their own sovereignty. The national government was a one-house Congress, in which each state had only one vote. No president existed to enforce laws, and no judiciary existed to interpret the laws. Major decisions required the approval of nine states, rather than a simple majority. The national government only had powers related to war—the powers to declare war and conduct foreign relations. Congress could make money but not impose taxes or regulate commerce, and its revenue came from the voluntary contributions of state governments. Amendments to the articles never received enough votes to pass. Although the articles made a strong central government impossible, they did enable the states to surrender their disputed claims to western lands and give them to the federal government—a major achievement.

Part 1: Background

In 1786, in Mass, Shays’ Rebellion erupted over debt. Similar attitudes swept through the colonies.

Solidified Federalist sentiment for strengthening the central government

(Continued)

A convention is called to clear up commercial problems (e.g. problems caused by lack of a common currency, business regulations, etc)

THE ANNAPOLIS CONVENTION: asks the Congress of the Confederation to call for convention to revise Articles of Confederation.

Alexander Hamilton was the one who called for the convention to revise the articles of Confederation

Pt.1

Part 2: The Constitutional Convention

In 1787:

55 men (12 states) met in Philadelphia

Who were these 55 delegates:

34 were lawyers.

19 owned slaves

DEBATE OVER CONSTITUTION:

Who are they? (Occupations, social situations)

PRO: vs. ANTI:

elite vs. common people

creditors debtors

merchants farmers

land speculators

Labels:

Federalists: nationalists

Anti-federalists: localists

THE GREAT COMPROMISE

Madison, very educated & very conservative, proposes the VIRGINIA PLAN:

1. Scrap the articles,

2. VERY strong central Govt

Small states oppose it and NEW JERSEY PLAN is introduced:

1. Single house legislature with equal representation for each state

Result: THE GREAT COMPROMISE

1. House of Rep w/ seats allotted by population (Southern (white) delegates insist on counting 3/5 slave population)

2. Senate w/ seats = for each state (no matter how many or how few the people)

Pt.2

The 3/5 Compromise

3/5 of Slave population would count for the House of Representatives apportionment of seats.

Pt.2

New Constitution

The Limits of Democracy

The Constitution left the determination of voter qualifications to the states.

The new government was based on a limited democracy.

Federal judges would be appointed by the president.

The president would be elected by an electoral college, or, in the case of a tie in that body, by the House of Representatives.

The direct election of members of the House of Representatives was an expansion of democracy. But the government structure created by the Constitution represented overall a limitation on democracy. Delegates hoped to isolate the nation’s government from popular sentiments that had alarmed elites in the 1780s. They wanted to ensure that the right kind of men were elected to office.

While the people would remain sovereign, they would choose those who governed them from among the elite. They assumed the Senate would be composed of each state’s most prominent citizens, and made the House of Representatives quite small, assuming that only very prominent men could win elections in large districts. Neither the president nor federal judges would be elected directly. The president was to be chose by the electoral college or the House, and electors were not voted upon directly, either. The electoral college was an indirect means to elect the president, because the delegates did not trust ordinary voters to choose the president and vice president directly.

New Constitution

The Division and Separation of Powers

The Constitution embodies federalism and a system of checks and balances.

Federalism refers to the relationship between the national government and the states.

The separation of powers, or the system of checks and balances, refers to the way the Constitution seeks to prevent any branch of the national government from dominating the other two.

The Constitution is actually quite brief and barely outlines the structure of the national government. It embodies two basic political principles: federalism, sometimes called “the division of powers,” and the system of “checks and balances” between different branches of the national government, also called the “separation of powers.”

Federalism is the relationship between the national government and the states. The Constitution, compared to the Articles, strengthened national authority. It gave the president power to enforce the law and command the military. It gave Congress powers to impose taxes, borrow money, regulate commerce, declare war, deal with Indians and foreign nations, and promote the “general welfare.” States were barred from printing their own money or relieving debtors, as they had done under the articles. But the daily responsibilities of government, such as law enforcement and education, were left to the states.

The “separation of powers” is the way the Constitution is designed to prevent any single branch of the national government from dominating the other two branches. Congress enacts laws, but the president can veto them, and a two-thirds majority is needed to pass a law over his veto. Federal judges are nominated by the president and approved by Congress, but they have life-long terms to ensure their independence. The president can be impeached by the House and removed from office by the Senate.

James Madison, “father of the Constitution,” (left)

Alexander Hamilton, another youthful leader

of the nationalists of 1780s (right)

Ratification:

21 of the 55 delegates (38%) favor a monarchy of some sort, including Alexander Hamilton.

If these were VERY conservative people, who feared the general populace, why did the constitution get ratified?

1. These were very educated, articulate men, and they seized the initiative in the debate.

2.Their critics were less unified they were by definition localists and varied.

3. The Country was in crisis economically

Pt.2

Ratification

Federalists dominated the press, which helped them carry the day.

Madison won support for the Constitution by promising a bill of rights later.

The Ratification Debate and the Origin of the Bill of Rights

“Extend the Sphere”

Madison helped to popularize the liberal idea that men are generally motivated by self-interest and that the good of society arises from the clash of these private interests.

The Anti-Federalists

Anti-Federalists, who opposed ratification, argued that the republic had to be small and warned that the Constitution would result in an oppressive government.

Madison thus strengthened the idea that westward expansion was essential to American freedom, made the structure of government and its size, not virtue, the basis of republicanism, and advanced the “liberal” notion that men are motivated by self-interest, and that social good emerges from conflict between private interests.

Those opposing ratification, called Anti-Federalists, believed the Constitution favored power more than liberty. They were poorly organized, and included many of the farmers who sought economic relief in the 1780s. The Anti-Federalists predicted that the new government would be controlled by merchants, creditors, and others hostile to the interests of ordinary Americans. They believed that only a small republic could succeed, not an expansive republic, as Madison argued.

The Ratification Debate and the Origin of the Bill of Rights

The Bill of Rights

Some rights, such as prohibiting excessive bail and cruel and unusual punishments, reflected English roots, while others, such as the recognition of religious freedom, were uniquely American.

Among the most important rights were freedom of speech and of the press, vital building blocks of a democratic public sphere.

Madison presented a series of amendments that became the basis for the Bill of Rights ratified by the states in 1791. They included the First Amendment, prohibiting Congress from legislating about religion and protecting freedom of the press and assembly, the Second, upholding the right to bear arms and organize militias, and other amendments affirming right to trial by jury and prohibiting abuses such as arrests without warrants and forcing a person accused of a crime to testify against himself. The Ninth declared that rights not specifically mentioned in the Constitution were “retained by the people,” opening the door to establish new rights not articulated in the text. The Tenth Amendment affirmed that powers not delegated to the national government or prohibited to the states were reserved for the states, protecting states against encroaching federal power.

The Bill of Rights showed how the Revolution had changed America. Most remarkably, the Constitution recognized religious freedom. The Constitution, unlike the Declaration of Independence, is entirely secular. It does not refer to God and it bars religious tests for federal officeholders. The First Amendment prohibits Congress from legislating on religious matters, a departure from colonial and British precedent.

Bill of Rights (10 Amendments)

12 proposed & sent to states for ratification

10 passed then.

One more passed in 1992 (so what would have been the 11th amendment is now the 27th.)

A college student noticed it was short of ratification and campaigned to get it passed.

Congress not able to vote for an immediate salary raise for themselves

What is in the Bill Of Rights?

Bill of Rights protects freedoms of speech, press, and religion. It gives all persons within the United States of America (not just citizens) right to keep and bear arms, freedom of assembly, freedom to petition.

It prohibits unreasonable search and seizure, cruel and unusual punishment, and compelled self-incrimination.

The Bill of Rights also prohibits Congress from making any law respecting establishment of religion and prohibits Federal Government from depriving any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law.

Bill of Rights: 5th Amendment

No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger;

nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb;

nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself,

nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law;

nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.

14th Amendment (for comparison)

Ratified 1868

Section 1.

All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside. No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States;

nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law;

nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

Ratification Celebrations

A late eighteenth-century engraving

Part 3: After Ratification

A) Precedents

B) Hamilton vs. Jefferson:

C) The US & Indian Peoples:

D) 1794—The Year of Crisis:

E) The Government’s Solution:

F) Washington’s Farewell:

A) Precedents

Looking for a balance of opinions & a government of national unity

System of Federal courts.

Supreme Court of 6 (Now = 9.)

Circuit courts.

Avoided a national uniform code of local laws.

Pt.3

Politics in an Age of Passion

Though American financiers, manufacturers, and merchants supported Hamilton’s vision of the nation as a powerful commercial republic, many had a different vision. His plans for close ties with Britain alarmed James Madison and Thomas Jefferson, who looked not to Europe but westward expansion as assuring a prosperous, republican future. They disliked urban growth and manufacturing and did not want economic policy that catered to bankers and business leaders. They hoped America would be a republic of independent farmers who sold their goods to the world through free trade. Jefferson and Madison feared that a powerful central government, if allied with a growing class of commercial capitalists, would endanger American freedom.

Hamilton’s Fiscal Plan

Failed but did influence economic health

High protective tariffs

Gov’t bonds as capital for start-up industries

Money to encourage innovation.

Pt.3

Hamilton’s Program

As secretary of the treasury, Alexander Hamilton’s long-range goal was to make the United States a major commercial and military power.

President Washington embodied national unity and the virtue of republican self-sacrifice, having retired from public life after the war. His vice-president, John Adams, was an important political leader of the Revolution. His cabinet included Thomas Jefferson as secretary of state and Alexander Hamilton as head of the Treasury Department. He formed a Supreme Court, with John Jay as its chief justice.

But a financial plan proposed by Hamilton frayed national unity. Taking Great Britain as his model, Hamilton wanted to stabilize the nation’s finances, garner the support of powerful financiers, and foster economic development. He hoped to make the United States a world military and commercial power.

Hamilton’s Program

His program had five parts:

Create creditworthiness by assuming state debts

This makes up a new national debt

Create a bank of the United States

Tax producers of whiskey

Impose tariffs and provide government subsidies to industries

To establish the government’s creditworthiness, Hamilton proposed that it pay off at full face value all national and state debts from the Revolution. He wanted to create a new national debt, issued as interest-bearing bonds to government creditors, that would tie wealthy investors to the national government. He wanted to establish a Bank of the United States, modeled on the Bank of England, that would act as the nation’s financial agent—a private corporation that would hold government funds, make loans to the government, and make profits for stockholders. To raise revenue, he proposed a tax on whiskey. And in a Report on Manufactures, Hamilton called for a tariff and government subsidies to develop factories that would produce in the U.S. goods then imported from abroad.

Hamilton’s Fiscal Plan

1st Bank of the United States in 1792

Its banknotes (US paper currency) became the favorite, and was widely accepted.

The US was getting a strong National currency.

There was no income tax, and the federal gov’t needed revenues.

Pt.3

The National Debt

The internal debt was controversial cause it had seemed worthless, and had passed into the hands of speculators.

Federal Govt assumed international and internal debt.

Pt.3

The Emergence of Opposition

Opposition to Hamilton’s plan was voiced by James Madison and Thomas Jefferson.

Hamilton’s plan depended on a close relationship with Britain.

Opponents believed the United States’ future lay westward, not with Britain.

Venerate the Plough

B) Hamilton vs Jefferson:

1) National Bank

2) Foreign Policy

Pt.3

1) National Bank

Jefferson opposed the bank. (He was secretary of State.)

He was a ‘strict constructionist and supported implied powers in the Constitution.

US economy improved with this program:

Bank of the United States’ bank notes became the most used currency.

Pt.3

Politics in an Age of Passion

The Jefferson-Hamilton Bargain

At first, opposition to Hamilton’s program arose almost entirely from the South.

Hamilton argued the “general welfare” clause of the Constitution justified his program.

Initial opposition to Hamilton’s program came from the South, which lacked investors and owners of government bonds, where support for manufacturing and a diversified economy was weak, and whose states had paid off much of their war debt. Hamilton argued that the Constitution’s clause giving Congress the power to enact laws for the “general welfare” authorized his plans, but opponents, known as “strict constructionists,” argued that the federal government could only use powers that were explicitly in the Constitution—which, they charged, did not authorize a national bank.

Politics in an Age of Passion

The Jefferson-Hamilton Bargain

Jefferson insisted on “strict construction” of the Constitution, which meant the federal government could only exercise powers specifically listed in that document.

Jefferson agreed southerners would accept Hamilton’s plan in exchange for placing the national capitol on the Potomac River between Maryland and Virginia.

A compromise secured Hamilton’s fiscal program, minus subsidies for factories, in exchange for locating the nation’s capitol between Virginia and Maryland. This became Washington, D.C.

2) Foreign Policy

THE ISSUE: Relations with France & Britain

Did the Franco American Alliance make it necessary for the US to support France in its war with Britain?

Hamilton wanted to suspend the treaty.

Controversy over the French Revolution

Pt.3

Politics in an Age of Passion

The Impact of the French Revolution

The French Revolution became very radical by 1793, and France went to war with Britain.

George Washington declared American neutrality.

Jay’s Treaty abandoned any American alliance with France by positioning the United States close to Britain.

The French Revolution of 1789 deepened political divisions in America. At first almost all Americans celebrated the Revolution, as it seemed inspired by their own revolution and republic. But the turn in France in 1793 to a more radical revolution, marked by the execution of King Louis XVI and aristocrats and war between France and Great Britain, polarized Americans.

Jefferson and his followers thought the French Revolution, despite its extremism, was a victory for self-government everywhere. To Washington and Hamilton and their followers, the Revolution invited anarchy, and they believed America should befriend Britain. But since the Revolution, the United States had been a permanent ally of France. In 1793, Washington declared that the United States would be neutral in the war between France and Britain. But he also moved to expel a French envoy, Edmond Genet, for trying to recruit American ships to attack British vessels. At the same time, Britain seized American ships and sailors. John Jay negotiated a controversial treaty in 1794 that effectively cancelled the American-French alliance and recognized British commercial and naval supremacy.

Democratic Republican Societies

Sympathizers organized Democratic Republican Societies, like the Mingo Creek Democratic society.

They were proto political party clubs.

George Washington denounced them as diabolical

Citizen Genet: raised $, commissioned privateers, overstepped bounds by calling for Pres. Washington to call a special session of Congress.

Even though Jefferson finally denounced him:

It caused a rift w/ Washington,

In 1793, Thomas Jefferson left Washington’s cabinet

Pt.3

C) The US & Indian Peoples:

US Legislation:

Northwest Ordinance of 1787

The Indian Intercourse Act of 1790

Indian Resistance:

In the Ohio valley, under Little Turtle (Miami) – Shawnee, Delaware, Miami, etc. came together in a confederation to fight.

Little Turtle was a great military strategist, and he defeated American troops in 1790 & again in 1791 –

The most Americans ever killed or wounded in Wars against the Indians [900]

Pt.3

Indian Resistance:

In the Ohio valley, under Little Turtle (Miami) – Shawnee, Delaware, Miami, etc. came together in a confederation to fight.

Little Turtle was a great military strategist, and he defeated American troops in 1790 & again in 1791 –

The most Americans ever killed or wounded in Wars against the Indians [900]

Pt.3

Treaty of Greenville 1795

Under this treaty, twelve Indian tribes ceded most of Ohio and Indiana to the United States.

The treaty established the annuity system—yearly grants of federal money to Indian tribes that led to continuing U.S. government influence in tribal affairs.

Pt.3

D) 1794—Year of Crisis:

1) Had been by beaten Indians

2) British were seizing American Ships trading with the French

They had an embargo on the French, with whom they were at war

3) Spanish were putting pressure from the West and South.

They had gotten Florida at the Treaty of Paris, in 1783

4) Whiskey Rebellion

Pt.3

E) The Government’s Solution:

A) Washington sends troops to crush the Whiskey rebellion.

Sent 13k troops to occupy western PA, and had people held in concentration like camps.

B) Then The American Troops won a decisive victory over Little Turtle’s forces at the BATTLE OF FALLEN TIMBERS in Northern Ohio in August of 1794.

Pt.3

(Continued)

C) Jay’s Treaty: Finally, Washington’s envoy Jay negotiated the withdrawal of British troops from the Old Northwest.

D) Then in a treaty negotiated with the Spanish, Pinckney’s Treaty, the Spanish Gave up their claims to the land south of the Ohio River

Alabama, Mississippi, and Western GA, and even parts of TN & KY.

Pt.3

F) Washington’s Farewell:

Washington stepped down after 2 terms, and we’re r lucky for that precedent, since at one point he could have been Pres for life.

But it wasn’t just that he was being so democratically conscious, had been beaten up by the pro French press, and he was really tired of the dissension.

Pt.3

The most memorable part of his Farewell, was a warning against ENTANGLING ALLIANCES.

Part 4: The New Government

A) The First American Party System

B) Elections of 1796

C) Quasi War with France

D) Alien & Sedition Acts (1798)

E) Jefferson Elected (Revolution of 1800)

A) The First American Party System

The Rise of Political parties: by 1796 election we had…

The Federalists

Based in merchants, big property owners, and even urban artisans & commercial farmers

The Democratic-Republicans

Based in farmers and Southern planters

Pt.4

B) Elections of 1796

Party Candidates:

Federalists: John Adams

Democrat-Republican: Thomas Jefferson

Although federalists party more powerful, ridden with greater turmoil, this combination resulted in:

John Adams won 1796 presidency

Thomas Jefferson won 1796 vice presidency

Factional splits

Pt.4

C) Quasi War with France

France captured American ships, more than 300, on the high seas, and even imprisoned some crews.

Although some Federalists wanted to go to war with France, Adams choose conciliation. And sent envoys to negotiate.

Pt.4

(Continued)

Congress voted money to develop a Navy, and by the time it was all over between France and the U.S, the US captured some 85 French ships.

The US. Had abandoned neutrality, and was virtually an ally of Britain, exchanging code information.

The French took notice, and when the Americans sent a new delegation, a new treaty between the US and France was signed, as the old 1778 treaty of alliance w/ France was abrogated.

Pt.4

D) Alien & Sedition Acts (1798)

Downfall of the Federalists was choosing “stability” over protecting individual liberties.

In 1790s, both mainstream parties believed there was no place in a secure government for an organized opposition.

Fines/imprisonment for those convicted of writing or publishing or speaking anything of a “false, scandalous, and malicious” nature against the government or its officials!!

Pt.4

The Adams Presidency

The “Reign of Witches”

The Alien and Sedition Acts limited civil liberties.

The main target was the Republican press.

The Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions

The Sedition Act thrust freedom of expression to the center of discussions of American liberty.

No other state endorsed the Virginia and Kentucky resolutions.

The most controversial acts of the Adams administration were the Alien and Sedition Acts, passed by a Federalist-dominated Congress in 1798. The acts made it harder for immigrants to become naturalized citizens and allowed the deportation of immigrants deemed “dangerous” by federal authorities, moves meant to silence immigrant radicals who supported the Republicans and the French. They also authorized the prosecution of any assembly or publication critical of the government. This was meant to allow federal authorities to suppress Republican newspapers attacking the Adams administration and its policies.

Jefferson, referring to the Salem witch trials, believed these acts inaugurated a “reign of witches.” More than a dozen individuals were charged with sedition, many of whom were convicted, including Matthew Lyons, a Republican member of Congress.

Instead of squelching the opposition, the Alien and Sedition Acts provoked more of it by making an issue out of free speech. Madison and Jefferson drafted resolutions to be passed by the Virginia and Kentucky legislatures. Both criticized the acts as violations of the First Amendment. The original draft of Jefferson’s resolution asserted that states could unilaterally stop the enforcement of such laws within their borders—but the Kentucky legislature deleted this passage before passing its resolution. While many Americans were repelled by the idea that states could refuse to follow federal laws, more Americans believed the Alien and Sedition Acts violated protections for free speech enshrined in the Constitution.

Politics in an Age of Passion

An Expanding Public Sphere

Newspapers and pamphlets were a primary vehicle for political debate.

Supporters of the French Revolution and critics of the Washington administration formed nearly fifty Democratic-Republican Societies in 1793–1794.

The societies argued that political liberty meant not only voting at elections but also constant involvement in public affairs.

These men included members of the Democratic-Republican societies, inspired by the Jacobin clubs of Paris. They openly supported the French Revolution and praised American and French liberty. Federalists viewed them as illegitimately usurping the representative authority of the government; Washington dismissed them as “self-created societies.” They justified their existence by claiming that the people had a right to debate political questions and organize to influence government policy. They believed political liberty involved more than just voting, and included popular organizing and pressure tactics, too. Although the societies soon disappeared, they were absorbed by the emerging Republican party, which also found support among radical British immigrants who defended the French Revolution, such as Thomas Paine.

A print shop in the early republic

The Haitian Revolution

Successful slave uprising led by Toussaint L’Ouverture established Haiti as an independent nation in 1804.

Napoleon’s invasion failed.

France – AND Jefferson – would do their best to destroy it through isolation.

The Haitian Revolution demonstrated how slavery shaped and warped American freedom. Jeffersonians who celebrated the French Revolution as an advance for liberty were horrified by the slave revolt in 1791 in St. Domingue, France’s most treasured colonial possession, an island of sugar plantations in the Caribbean. The slaves defeated British and French forces sent to suppress the rebellion and they declared an independent nation in 1804.

The revolt affirmed the universal appeal of freedom in this age of revolutions, and fostered hopes of freedom among America’s slaves. Whites were generally terrified by the specter of armed slave insurrection, and they interpreted the turmoil in Haiti as a sign that blacks could not govern themselves. Jefferson’s administration hoped to isolate and destroy the hemisphere’s second independent republic.

Gabriel’s Rebellion

A slave rebellion was attempted in Virginia in 1800.

The conspiracy was rooted in Richmond’s black community.

Gabriel spoke the language of liberty forged in the American Revolution and reinvigorated during the 1790s.

Virginia’s slave laws became stricter.

1800 also saw a slave revolt in America, led by Gabriel Prosser, a Virginia slave. Plotting to kill whites on the way to Richmond, where they would hold government officials hostage and demand the abolition of slavery, the slave rebels were discovered, arrested, and many of them executed. They were inspired by the language and symbols of the American Revolution, invoked their right to liberty, and compared themselves to George Washington. In response, Virginia passed laws that tightened control over the state’s blacks, made it more difficult for owners to free their slaves, and forced freed slaves to leave the state or return to slavery.

Politics in an Age of Passion

The Rights of Women

The expansion of the public sphere offered women an opportunity to take part in political discussions, read newspapers, and hear orations.

Mary Wollstonecraft’s Vindication of the Rights of Women (1792, England)

Judith Sargent Murray

The democratic spirit of the 1790s also invigorated discussion of women’s rights. In England in 1792, Mary Wollstonecraft published A Vindication of the Rights of Women, in which she argued that rights should be extended to women. While not challenging traditional gender roles, she argued that women should have greater access to education and a role and representation in government. The expanding public sphere of the 1790s offered opportunities for American women to participate in politics, and a small but growing number of women published political and literary writings in American newspapers. One of these, Judith Sargent Murray, insisted that women should have equal access to education. If women seemed intellectually inferior to men, she argued, it was because they were denied an opportunity to learn.

Politics in an Age of Passion

The Rights of Women

A common call was for greater educational opportunities.

Women and the Republic

Although politics was a realm for men, the American Revolution had deepened the democratization of public life.

Women were still not part of the body politic. Although women were counted in determining representation in Congress and nothing in the Constitution explicitly limited rights to men, the document and almost all Americans assumed that politics was an exclusively male sphere.

E) 1800 Jefferson Elected

Revolution of 1800

Democratic Republican Party win their first election

Universal white male suffrage in 4 states

12th amendment

Reduction of property requirements

Pt.4