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Building a Republic

1775-1789

Chapter 8

Building a Republic

  • The Articles of Confederation
  • The Sovereign States
  • The Critical Period
  • The United States Constitution
  • Ratification of the Constitution

The Articles of Confederation

  • From 1776-1781 no basis for government
  • Try to form a government based on the principles of the revolution
  • Who is in control? Who has the power to tax? What is the nature of representation? What is the size and scope of government? How do you keep from having 3000 tyrants 1 mile away? How do you protect the people from the government? Who are ‘the people’?

  • First answer …
  • – The Articles of Confederation

The Articles of Confederation

  • Congress and Confederation
  • The Problem of Western Lands
  • Running the New Government

Congress and Confederation

  • The Continental Congress came together in an emergency
  • After Independence was declared – what is their role?
  • Needed a document to layout congresses powers and limits
  • Dickinson would chair the committee

Congress and Confederation

  • The First draft…
  • Pursuing war and peace
  • Conduct foreign relations
  • Regulate trade
  • Postal service
  • Bills of credit and borrow money
  • Settle disputes between states
  • Administer western lands that were not settled
  • Last two would be problems
  • Some states had lots of land – some didn’t

Congress and Confederation

  • The Final draft…
  • Nov. 1777
  • Main concern was the war
  • Changes…
  • Identified the ‘union’ as loose confederation of states
  • No control over state boundaries
  • No control over western lands
  • Main purpose was a common defense
  • No chief executive – Pres.
  • No national judiciary

Congress and Confederation

  • The structure looked like the Continental Congress
  • Delegates from each state – from 2 to 7
  • Selected annually by the state legislatures – could not serve more than 3 years out of 6
  • Each state only gets one vote
  • Most things simple majority 7 of 13
  • Big things (declare war) at least 9 of 13
  • Approve or amend the Articles unanimous consent of both 13 of 13 delegates and the 13 state legislatures
  • This will prove to be problems…

Congress and Confederation

  • How to fund the government?
  • Need to finance the war
  • Each state contributed to the common treasury
  • Based upon their states land value
  • The tax is actually levied by the state legislatures
  • Ideal of taxation only by direct representation
  • No way to force a fair share

Congress and Confederation

  • This is what they wanted
  • A league of states with rotating personnel
  • No executive (king, president, tyrant)
  • No tax
  • Requires unanimity for major change

The Problem of Western Lands

  • 5 states want cede land
  • MD, Del., NJ, RI, PA
  • The was one problem…
  • Indians who lived there
  • 1779 – “…common benefit of the United States
  • 1781 – VA agrees except WVA
  • Big differences between the states

The Problem of Western Lands

  • 5 states want cede land
  • MD, Del., NJ, RI, PA
  • The was one problem…
  • Indians who lived there
  • 1779 – “…common benefit of the United States
  • 1781 – VA agrees except WVA
  • Big differences between the states

Running the New Government

  • Day to day activities were hampered
  • Lack of a quorum would stop them from meeting

Needed at least seven states represented

Needed at least 2 delegates from each state

  • The best delegates
  • Young Bachelors – Madison
  • Old Family men – Samuel Adams
  • The rest were short term who did not know what they were doing
  • The goods ones were spending time in their states

The Sovereign States

  • In the first ten years of Independence …
  • The states were all powerful
  • They had given few powers to the congress…
  • Make war and sue for peace
  • Maintain the war time army
  • Change from English subjects…
  • New Yorkers
  • Virginians
  • Rhode Islanders
  • These new principles of the Revolution would be tried out in the states

The Sovereign States

  • The State Constitutions
  • Who are “We the People”?
  • Equality and Slavery

The State Constitutions

  • 1776 – Philadelphia recommends to the states
  • Write state constitutions – “the authority of the people”
  • They had been trampled by the unwritten nature of British policy
  • They want a document that…
  • Spells out basic rights
  • Could not be easily changed
  • 1778 – 10 of the states had constitutions
  • 2 – adopted updated versions of their charters

The State Constitutions

  • All the constitutions shared…
  • Government rests in the consent of the people
  • A republican underpinning of government
  • Republicanism was not just elections and representative institutions
  • A world view or ideal of political life
  • Some – leaders were the focus
  • Autonomous, virtuous, public-minded, civic values above personal interests
  • Others – direct democracy
  • Government could only succeed in small units…
  • Distant governments easily become tyrannical

The State Constitutions

  • Most followed the practice of the colonial assembly
  • 2 chamber assembly
  • Limited the power of the Governors

PA and GA abolished the office

  • Increased the powers of the elected representatives

Daily work – economic printing borrowing taxing and spending

  • Elections were held once a year – you could be out
  • 6 of the state constitutions included a bill of rights

Who are “We the People”?

  • This is a big question
  • How far did this idea of democracy go?
  • All – property qualification for voting and candidates
  • High office and governor – from the rich section
  • MD required candidates for governor to be worth 5,000lbs.
  • To vote – had to own 50 acres of land or 30 lbs.
  • In PA – had to be tax payer – own enough land to owe taxes

Who are “We the People”?

  • There were dissenting voices –
  • Men die in war
  • Poor men are represented too
  • What is it about 30 lbs. that makes me able to vote
  • Land ownership does not guarantee good citizens
  • This is the minority – by far
  • Universal suffrage would be ‘dangerous’

Women voting

Children wanting to vote

Slaves seeking the vote

Equality and Slavery

  • Some were really worried about the ‘all men by nature are free’ idea
  • VA tried to amend the clause
  • Vermont (1791) made slavery illegal based on the logic of the equality phrase
  • The ideas of equality and natural rights are going to erode the institution of slavery

Equality and Slavery

  • In the deep south – Carolinas and Georgia
  • 1783 – SC – 10,000 slaves gained freedom – left with the British
  • From GA – 6,000 slaves flee on a ship
  • They will go different places
  • Canada, England
  • 1790 small group go to Sierra Leone
  • Take refuge with the Creek and Seminole

Equality and Slavery

  • Three types of emancipation
  • Total abolition
  • Gradual Emancipation
  • Individual Emancipation

The Critical Period

  • 1781 -1786 found that the articles are too weak
  • Some feared that too strong a document would be dangerous

The Critical Period

  • Financial Chaos and Paper Money
  • Land Ordinances and the Northwest Territory
  • Shays’ Rebellion, 1786-1787

Financial Chaos and Paper Money

Land Ordinances and the Northwest Territory

  • Jefferson’s plan
  • Conflict with the Indians
  • 1787 act prohibit slavery
  • But slaves who ran away would be returned

Shays’ Rebellion, 1786-1787

  • Tax war

The United States Constitution

  • Articles show they are powerless
  • Small group of VA call a meeting on trade
  • They will get more than the bargained for.
  • 1786 they will completely rework the national government

The United States Constitution

  • From Annapolis to Philadelphia
  • The Virginia and New Jersey Plans
  • Democracy versus Republicanism

From Annapolis to Philadelphia

  • James Madison leads
  • Calls for delegates to meet in Annapolis
  • To revise the trade regulations in the Articles
  • Only 5 states show up in Sept 1786
  • They rescheduled for May 1787 – Philadelphia
  • “…the sole and express purpose of revising the Articles of Confederation.”
  • One member had other plans…

From Annapolis to Philadelphia

  • Alexander Hamilton
  • He desired to make a stronger federal government
  • 1773 New York – King’s College
  • 1777 Joined Washington’s staff
  • Feared democratic disorder
  • 1787 55 men at Philly.
  • Few dissenters present
  • Patrick Henry -“smelled a rat”
  • Ben Franklin
  • Washington – President
  • Rest are young bloods

The Virginia and New Jersey Plans

  • Convention worked in secret – nailed windows shut
  • The VA Plan – 15 point plan to restructure
  • Work of Madison

Rejected ideas of Confederation of States

Three Branch Government

Adds a Chief Executive

Adds a Judiciary

Representation in Both houses by Population – Sm. states?

Congress could veto state laws and force State Militias obey

Executive and Judiciary could veto congress

The Virginia and New Jersey Plans

  • The New Jersey Plan
  • NJ, Connecticut, Delaware, and NH – All Small States
  • Looked like the Articles a little more

Single house congress

Executive office

Three men

Elected by congress from their membership

Gave congress sweeping powers

Tax

Regulate trade

Use of force on state governments

  • Both were for a strong national government

The Virginia and New Jersey Plans

  • They will debate the two plans for two weeks
  • Small states will not accept 2 houses if both are by population
  • Madison will not accept representation by state
  • Great Compromise

Two houses

Representatives by population – in lower house

Representatives by state – upper house

2 independent votes

  • Who is counted for population? Slaves???
  • 3/5 clause
  • “All free persons and three-fifths of all other Persons”

Slavery and the Plans

  • The 3/5 clause not the only place slavery is dealt with
  • The word slave and slavery is not mentioned
  • Two other places
  • Trade regulation is a power of congress

“the Migration or Importation of such Persons as any of the states now shall think proper to admit, shall not be prohibited by the congress prior to the year one thousand eight hundred and eight”

  • Fugitive slave clause

“No person, held to Service or Labour in one State, under the Laws thereof, escaping into another, shall, in Consequence of any Law or Regulation therein, be discharged from such Service or Labour but shall be delivered up on Claim of the Party to whom such Service or Labour may be due.”

Democracy versus Republicanism

  • New definition for these terms????
  • The Articles were too democratic
  • Two things to make the government Republican
  • Senators

Hold office for six years

Appointed by State assemblies

House checks the senate, senate checks the house

  • Establish the Electoral college
  • List the limits of power for each branch

Democracy versus Republicanism

  • Establish the Electoral college
  • Appointed by the state assemblies
  • Total number of senators and representatives your state has
  • These people could vote their own judgments

Democracy versus Republicanism

  • President

Initiate policy and propose legislation

Veto acts of congress

Command military

Direct foreign policy

Make appointments to lesser executive offices

Make appointments to the whole judiciary

Both subject to approval by Senate

Democracy versus Republicanism

  • Congress

Power to tax

Regulate trade

To print money

Control the currency

To provide for a common defense

Promote the general Welfare

To make all laws which shall be necessary and proper

The power to override the presidential Veto

Democracy versus Republicanism

  • This was a much more complex document
  • To curb the excesses of democracy

A divided government with each part clear limits of power

System of checks on those limits

  • Each branch is independent of each other
  • Voting

Citizens

State assemblies

Electoral college

Democracy versus Republicanism

  • Sept. 1787 final vote
  • Three disinters refused to sign
  • Thirty-nine signed it (13 went home early)
  • How to sell it to their states
  • Had its own ratification process built in
  • Not unanimous like before – 9 out of thirteen
  • Not the state legislatures – special conventions
  • No longer a federation of states but of one country

Ratification of the Constitution

  • Larger states are not on board VA, MA, NY
  • NC and RI refuse to call conventions

Ratification of the Constitution

  • The Federalists
  • The Anti-federalists
  • The Big Holdouts: Virginia and New York

Ratification of the Constitution

The Federalists

The Anti-federalists

The Big Holdouts: Virginia and New York

Conclusion: Decade of Decision