HIST 1305 Essay -
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A Virtuous Republic
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Creating a Workable Government 1783-1789
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In1776,Patriot leader JohnAdams wrote that "public virtue is the only foundation of Republics. There mustbe a positivepassion for the public good, the public interest." Adams echoedmany Americans' views whenhe wrote that republicangovernment
Republicanism and the depended on the concept of civic virtue,whichmeantpursuing thepublic goodand Politics of Virtue p. 134
; CONTENTS 1
placingit ahead of personal interest or local attachments.Menwere expected to serve in themilitia, sit on juries,and, if they were truly virtuous and wise, take on theburden ofpublic service as elected representatives. Women, too, were expected toplay a major role in the political life of the new republic, assuming the role of republicanmothers and wives who wouldinstillpatriotism and virtue in their children and spouses.
Americans of the revolutionary generation took their cues from the lessons of history,particularly the example of the RomanRepublic and its ideal of publk \ ktue WhenDr. Joseph Warren,physicianandPatriot leader, addressed Bostonians on the fifth anniversary of the BostonMassacre in1775,he literally donned a Roman toga, the long flowing gown that symbolized a free, adult Romanman's freedom and citizenship. Warren's dramatic gesture, linkinghimself withRomanrepublicanism, was mirroredin the pages of nearly every Americannewspaper of the day, where letters and essays onpoliticalmatters were signed withpennames drawn from the history of the RomanRepublic, such as the senators Brutus and Cato and the general Cincinnatus.
P*H 5.2 Lifeunder the Articles
of Confederationp. 141
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To mold a new generation of virtuous citizens, Americans looked to education, j religion, and even the arts, including architecture. No American was more enthusias- JL tic about architecture's capacity to instruct than Thomas Jefferson. Public buildings, Jefferson wrote, "shouldbe more than things of beauty and convenience, above all they should state a creed." Rather than emulate contemporary Georgian-style build¬ ings such as the Pennsylvania State House (see Chapter 3 ), where the Declaration of.
Independence was drafted,Jefferson argued for a return to the "purity" of Roman architecture. Inhis design for the Virginia State Capitol (picturedhere), Jefferson > re-created the simple beauty of Roman architecture. He believed that the Capitol would inspire citizens to emulate the ideals of the ancient RomanRepublic, which included an emphasis oncivic participation andpublic virtue.
In the decade following independence, Americans' faithin their ability to create a virtuous republic was challenged. An aborted coup ledby disgruntled Continental Army officers, conflicts between debtors and creditors, and anuprisinginwest¬
ernMassachusetts drove the nation to a political crisis. The postwar period tested America's faith inrepublicanism and led some leaders to abandon traditional repub- / lican theory, withits emphasis onvirtue, and to embrace anew approach to consti¬
tutional government that relied on a balance of conflicting interests and a system of
checks and balances. The culmination of this struggle between the two competing visions of constitutional government was the U.S. Constitution and the first ten amendments, which we now know as the Bill of Rights.
5.3 The Movement for ConstitutionalReform
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5.4 The Great Debate p. 152
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"Wemay look up to Armies for our Defense, but Virtue is our best Security.It isnot possible
that any State should longremain free, where Virtue isnot supremely honored."
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134 CHAPTER 5 A VIRTUOUS REPUBLIC: CREATING A WORKABLE GOVERNMENT, 1783-1789
Republicanism and the Politics of Virtue
The AmericanRevolutionmarked a decisive break fromideas and values that had defined British culture for centuries. Monarchy and aristocracy were swept away. America was now a republic. Republicanismplaced a premium on the ideal of virtue. As the poet,playwright, andhistorian Mercy Otis Warren observed, Americans needed "to cherish true, genuine
republican virtue." The postwar period would test this commitment in a host of ways.
5.1 George Washington: The American Cincinnatus
Ona dark wintry dayinMarch1783, Washington traveled to Newburgh,New York, to address the officer corps. The assembled officers met ina makeshiftbuilding that some of them had dubbed the "Temple of Virtue." Washington prepared to read a letter that hehoped would persuade the officers that their demands would be met. Fumbling to find apair of glasses he had recently acquired,hepaused, and then addressed the hushed crowd: "Gentlemen, youmust pardon me.Ihave grown grey inyour service, andnow find
myself growingblind." The impact onhis audience 1
was dramatic. "There was something so natural, so unaffected inhis appeal," Major Samuel Shaw later wrote, "as renderedit superior to themost studied
oratory, and youmight see sensibility moisten every eye." Washington's ownwartime sacrifices had already provided a powerful rolemodel for the officer corps.Now the figure of their beloved commander growing gray andblind in the service of his country struck a resonant chord.He exhorted
his men to giveposterity "proof of unexampled patriotism andpatient virtue." Civic virtuehad
triumphed over corruption,and theNewburgh Conspiracy was crushed without a shotbeing fired.
Another event that enhanced Washington's
reputation as the embodiment of republican virtue was thepublic ceremony of turning over his military commission to Congress after the war. InAnnapolis,Maryland, where Congress was convened, Washington addressed a room crowded
with congressional delegates and a gallery packed with well-wishers. "Havingnow finished the
work assignedme," he informedhis audience,
many of whom werebrought to tears,"Ihere
offer my commission, and take my leave" of "the 7"ÿ employments of public life." By abandoningpublicÿ’"''7 life andreturning tohisplow, Washington was seen as placing the good of the nation ahead of personal
No individual inAmerica was more closely identified with the ideal of virtue than George Washington. A symbol of the virtuous citizen- soldier, responding to the summons of his nation and retiring to private life once his service was no longer needed—Washington was a model of civic virtue.His reputation for public virtue and ability to command the respect of his troops hadhelped the beleaguered Continental Army during some of its more dire campaigns. In1783, Washington faced a different challenge. This time it was not the threat of enemy troops,but the rumors of a
military coup by the Continental Army's officers. Washington wieldedhis personal authority to win over disgruntled members of the corps and made an impassioned appeal to "reason and virtue," crushing the revolt without firing a shot.
Washingtonhadlearned of rumors that the army's leadership wouldno longer tolerate
Congress's failure to dealwithcomplaints about their pay andpensions. Ananonymous essay had circulated among officers suggesting that the time might soon come to turn their arms against Congress itself. The officers' anger hadbeen simmering for
some time.Frustration with the Confederation
Congress was widespread; Washingtonwas well aware of the officers' grievances.Hehad complained about the inefficiency and ineffectiveness of
Congress onmany occasions. Withnopower to tax,
Congresshad to depend onvoluntary contributions from the states. Without reliable revenue,it was
difficult to wage war or conduct the routinebusiness of governing.Faced witha possible rebellionbyhis ownofficers, Washingtonresolved to addresshis
meninperson andpersuade them of the folly of their plan.
5.1 REPUBLICANISM AND THE POLITICS OF VIRTUE 135
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glory.In thepublic's view, Washingtonhad
ransformedhimself into themodern Cincinnatus, an allusion to the ancient world's great symbol of public virtue, the Roman general Cincinnatus. After serving the RomanRepublic as its supreme commander, Cincinnatushad returned to his farm.
"No free Government, or theblessing of liberty, canbe preserved to any peoplebut by a firm adherence to justice,moderation,
temperance, frugality, and virtue.. VIRGINIA DECLARATION OF RIGHTS,1776
After resigning, Washington went on a
triumphal tour of the nation. InPhiladelphia, he was salutedby cannons andringingbells from the city's steeples.He sat for portraitsby America's leadingpainters and enjoyed listening to commemorative verses that comparedhim to Cincinnatus. Well schooledin thehistory of the ancient RomanRepublic,Americans understood
5.1 The Politics of Virtue: Views from the States
The republican emphasis on virtue suffused that a popular military leader's decision to emulate American culture. The first state constitutions Rome's dictatorial general Julius Caesar rather than drafted after independence used their declarations Cincinnatus would lead to despotism. Years later
the Virginia legislature commissioned the French sculptor Jean-Antoine Houdon to create a life-sized government. In these declarations of rights, the statue of Washington as the modernCincinnatus (5.1). Washington stands before a plow, the symbol law. The Virginia Declaration of Rights (1776) of the virtuous farmer, the ideal embodiedby Cincinnatus.
of rights to outline the rights of citizens and also instruct citizens in the premises of republican
ideal of virtue was literally written into American
asserted that free government couldnot survive without a virtuous citizenry, a point echoedby the Massachusetts Constitution four years later.
Educating citizens in the importance of republican ideals became a priority for the new nation.
Art,architecture, and even fashion were
What was the Newburgh Conspiracy?
1 pressed into service tomold the character of anew generation of citizens. Jefferson's design for thenew Virginia Capitol was the most ambitious visible
symbol of instillingrepublican valuesby reforming architecture. (See the chapter opening image,p. 133.) The impact of theRevolutionwas even seeninhome
furnishings. Before theRevolution,many furnishings Washington contained decorative elements. Agood example of republican style, thisbrokenpediment is a simple classical design. Gone is the fancy carvingin the pediment of the late colonial chest (5.2 onpage 136).
Education was another means of inculcating virtue. The Massachusetts Constitution expressly linked republicanism, virtue, and education. The state achieved thisby providingpublic primary education for boys and girls. Several of the larger towns also provided secondary education for boys. Thomas Jefferson framed the most ambitious proposal to create a public system of education in1778.In "ABill for the More GeneralDiffusion
of Knowledge," he proposed that Virginia adopt a publicly funded system of education. White children, includingboys and girls, wouldbe educated at public expense for three years. The best male students would thenbe selected for
w)% 5.1 George
: \ as the Modern Cincinnatus
George Washington
is cast as the
modemCincinnatus inthis sculpture. He stands in front
of aplow and beside the Roman
"fasces," abundle
of rods and an ax
that symbolized the legalpower of
Romanmagistrates. His sword rests
on the "fasces," a
visual reminder
that ina republic militarypoi resides withcivilian
leaders.
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136 CHAPTER 5 A VIRTUOUS REPUBLIC: CREATING A WORKABLE GOVERNMENT, 1783-1789
secondary education, and a small select group from among this cohort would later attend the
College of William andMary.
Jeffersonintroducedhisbillin the state legislature several times, althoughit never passed.
Jefferson's faithineducation reflectedhis debt to the ideals of theEnlightenment, the internationalphilosophical movementbased on thenotion that reason and science would improvehumanity. (See Chapter 3.) Following theEnglishphilosopher
JohnLocke,Enlightenment thinkersbelieved that people were bomablank slateuponwhich
society could write its ownmoral code.Many AmericanFounders,
includingJefferson, were also influencedby other Enlightenment ideas. Philosophers of the
Enlightenmentbelieved that humans had an
innatemoral sense, akin to the fivephysical senses.In the same way that people see different shades of the color
spectrum, so the moral
sense helpedpeople see the differencebetween
right and wrong. One need only cultivate this inborn sense to
produce enlightened citizens. Taken together, Lockeanpsychology andEnlightenment moral theory led many Americans to
put enormous faithin
education's ability to
shapemorality and moldcharacter.
Inspiredby Enlightenment ideals about educationand the
AmericanRevolution's
educational institutions tohelp create an enlightened citizenry.Ezra Stiles, thepresident of Yale College, wrotein1786 that "the spirit for Academy making is vigorous." The charter for one of these new academies inNorthCarolina declared that "the good education of youthhas the most direct tendency to
promote the virtue, increase the wealth and extend the fame of any people."NorthCarolina was one of the states that founded auniversity. Georgia and Vermont also establishedpublic institutions of higher education. Among thenewprivate colleges were Williams (Massachusetts), Transylvania (Kentucky), the College of Charleston (SouthCarolina), and Bowdoin (Maine).
Educators also publishednew republican materials to instruct childreninreading,writing, and arithmetic. Spellers and readers included
patriotic lessons with illustrations that reinforced their republicanmessage. Inabook of alphabet rhymes, for example, the bald eagle from the Great Seal of America, the new nation's official
symbol, represented the letter "E" (5.3). The design of the great sealhad gone throughmany versions before Congress finally approved one that included an American eagle clutching an olive branch and thirteen arrows, symbolizing the new
government's power to make war andnegotiate peace. The thirteen states are representedby the same number of stars, stripes, and arrows. Charles Thomson, the secretary of Congress, observed that the eagle bore a shield to symbolize that "the United States ought to rely on their own Virtue."
The expansion of education openedup possibilities for white women. Whereas Jefferson's plan for educationalreformcalled for basic education for women, other reformers recommended more ambitiousplans to educate thenation's female population. Jefferson's friend, the eminent PhiladelphiaphysicianBenjaminRush, offered a robust statement of the importance of educationin
a republic,but also framed abold call to educate women for their role as republican citizens. Women needed tobe familiar with thepoliticalideas of republicanism. As the mothers of future citizens of
the republic, womenhad a special role to play. Rush wasnot aloneinchampioning female education. ThePhiladelphia YoungLadies Academy (1787) was
typicalof thenew institutions for educating women. Inaddition tomusic, dance, andneedlework, these A
new schools taught girls subjects, such as rhetoric,
oratory, andhistory, once exclusively taught toboys. MarthaRyan, a student at one of thenew schools inNorthCarolina, inscribed thephrase "Liberty or
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5.3 Book of Children’s Verses
Thisbook of children's verse uses America's new
national symbol, thebald eagle, taken from the Great Seal of the United States. Educationalmaterials such government,Americans
faithinrepresentative
as this one included republicanandpatriotic themes. foundednew
5.1 REPUBLICANISM AND THE POLITICS OF VIRTUE 137
different religious views or that religionmight
corrupt government. DissentingProtestant sects,
notably the Baptists and Methodists, opposed state support for religion for a different reason. These groups had long felt oppressed by the
state-supported AnglicanChurch,particularly by taxation to support that church. For Virginia's Baptists, separation of church and state was a means to protect the purity of religion from corruptionby government.
Evangelicals and supporters of the Enlightenment came together in Virginia in1785 when the state legislature considered abill for nonpreferential aid for ministers of the Christian religion. Since the scheme was nonpreferential, it wouldnot establish an official state churchbut
rather provide funds to allProtestant churches in a nondiscriminatory fashion.Patrick Henry andRichardHenry Lee, two of the state's leading politicians, campaigned in favor of thebill. James Madison and Thomas Jefferson, champions of Enlightenment values, led the opposition.
Madison and Jefferson outlined their case against state support for religionin The Memorial and Remonstrance Against Religious Assessments (1785). This essay not only was instrumental in
defeating thebill,it also became a landmark in American church-state relations.
Why was education so important to the Founders of the AmericanRepublic?
Death" inher cipher book (5.4). Althoughinfluenced
>y republicanideas,her book also revealed
the continuingimportance of traditional ideas
about women's roles.Boundinto thebook were
penmanship exercises that intoned such traditional moral injunctions as "Honour Father andMother."
Images as History: Women's Roles: Tradition and
Change explores the effects of republican ideas on women's roles (p.138).
Supporters of Enlightenment ideas such as Rush and Jeffersonbelieved that education wouldhelp nurture the virtuenecessary for the survival of
republicanism. Other Americans,however, looked to religion to foster virtue. One minister reminded hisparishioners that although the "civil authority haveno right to establishreligion," it was still true that "religionis connected with the morals of the people." Another minister noted thatby "instilling good sentiments into the tender minds of children and youth,youwill teach them to stand fast in their liberty." Post-revolutionary America remained a predominantly Protestant culture in whichreligious dissent was tolerated only withinlimits. Some states continued tobar Catholics and Jews from
---public office. The assumptionbehind suchlaws was hat only Protestants couldbe counted on to have the necessary virtue to seek the public good.
Althoughexcluded from the fullbenefits of citizenship, religious dissenters were allowed to
worship according to the dictates of conscience.Most statebills of rights and constitutions guaranteed the free exercise of religion.Revolutionary ideas of
liberty and equality slowly led states to abandon the notion that onlyProtestants couldbe trusted tohold
public office.Religious tests requiringpotential office holders to swear abelief in the divinity of Jesus as a requirement for holdingpublic office were abolished inVirginia (1785),Georgia (1789),Pennsylvania (1790), SouthCarolina (1790),Delaware (1792), and
Vermont (1793).
Before the Revolution,many colonies provided direct government support to religion or followed the Englishpractice of having an official church.
Spurredby Revolutionary ideals, Americamoved toward the separation of church and state. The
post-revolutionary era witnessed a move to disestablish the AnglicanChurchin those places where it enjoyedpublic funding. Two different
'Justifications for the separation of church and state emerged. For champions of the Enlightenment, such as Jefferson, separation of church and state
was inspiredby the fear that religionmight use the power of government to oppress citizens of
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5.4 Martha Ryan’s Cipher Book
The cover of Martha Ryan's cipher book proclaims liberty. Yet, thebook included penmanship exercises withsuch traditionalprecepts as "Honour Father and Mother ...A good girlwillmind."
138 CHAPTER 5 A VIRTUOUS REPUBLIC: CREATING A WORKABLE GOVERNMENT, 1783-1789
Images as History WOMEN’S ROLES: TRADITION AND CHANGE
Althoughrepublicanism allowed some women to transform the roles assigned to them, it retained the traditional view that a woman's primary duties were to her family. A popular engraving from this period,Keep Within the Compass, illustrates the happy fate of women who remained within the confines of woman's accepted role. Stepping outside of this accepted role, outside the safety of the compass, carried grave consequences, a fact graphically illustratedby the sad fate of the woman shackled in a cell at the bottom of the image.
A very different message, one steeped in the new republican ideal of womanhood, was stitched into a needlework sampler preparedby a school girl, Nabby Martin of Providence, Rhode Island. Samplers were a standardpart of a young woman's education. Nabby included images of young couples, flowers, and domestic animals, common to pre-revolution
samplers,but republican themes also show through. The home, the symbol of domesticity, traditionally the heart and center image of a younggirl's sampler, has been replacedby the Rhode Island State House. Politics,not home, is the center of this piece.Nabby also showed her respect for the republican emphasis on education by including the College of Rhode Island (BrownUniversity).
As a female,Nabby Martin was barred from the world of the State House and the College of Rhode Island,but the inclusion of their images inher sampler is significant.Although workingwith an art form closely tied to women's roles, Martin turned her gaze to the wider worldboth buildings represented. The republican message of the sampler is clear: Let Virtue be a Guide to Thee.How is virtue represented visually inMartin's needlework?
0 The building pict is the College of Rhode Isla the forerunner of Brown University.
ured at the top nd,
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jg£||K\ : of the republican ideal: r~7"*| ' Let Virtue be a Guide , jB1: to thee.
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12ENTKR SCO* INTO THE VMi'ftFTHBNVKmiA.VD COffOTINTHE..BATH0?EVTLffES. Keep Within the Compass, 1784
Nabby Martin, Sampler, 1786
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5.1 REPUBLICANISM AND THE POLITICS OF VIRTUE 139
nearly every state a new type of politician emerged who embodied the more democratic version of
republicanism: men such as New York's Abraham Yates, a shoemaker, andPennsylvania's William Findley, a weaver.
Supporters of the elitist republican view of
politics mocked the humble origins of the new politicians and questioned their ability to function as legislators. One contemporary political satirist took aim at Findley's humble origins as a weaver: "It willbe more honourable for suchmen to stay at their looms andknot threads, than to come forward ina legislative capacity."
The post-revolutionary debate over the meaning of virtue and democracy shapedpolitics. When William Smith, a prosperous Baltimore flour merchant, ran for office in1789, his enemies
attackedhimby claiming that "Mr. Smithhas distilledRICHES from the tears of the POOR;
and grownFAT upon their curses." Smith's
supporters viewedhis independence as one of his main qualifications for office.In their view he was "aMan of great commercialKnowledge, of knownintegrity, andpossessed of a Character and independent Fortune whichplace him above Temptation." When Smithcommissioned a painting of himself, the artist Charles Wilson
Peale posedhim as a country gentleman,not a wealthy merchant. DanielBoardman, a prosperous Connecticut merchant, also chose tobe represented as a landed gentleman. Boardman stands ina group of trees, which frame a scene of a prosperous Connecticut town set in the midst of a rich and
lushlandscape. Boardman's pose testifies to his gentility and leisured affluence. The image portrays Boardman as first and foremost a country gentleman. Visual references to the family's role as prosperous merchants are largely absent (5.5).
The debate over what made a good representative inpart reflected aprocess of democratizationinAmericanculture. The
Revolutiongreatly expanded thenumber of white male voters eligible to participate in the political process.Most states loweredproperty requirements for voting, andPennsylvania abandoned such
requirements entirely. Taken together, the expansion of democratic ideas and changes insuffrage requirements changed the character of politics in America. As this graphreveals, the impact on the
composition of state legislatures was profound. After theRevolution thepercentage of wealthy citizens elected to the legislature dropped,and the numbers of those of the "middlingsort," or middlingclasses,
5.1.3 Democracy Triumphant? According to traditionalrepublican theory, citizens were expected to defer to their betters, who were assumed to be the most virtuous members of
society. Before the AmericanRevolution, the state
legislatures were dominatedby men of wealth. As one legislator noted, "it is right that men of birth and fortune, inevery government that is
free, shouldbe invested withpower, and enjoy higher honours than the people." Virtue, according to this view, required one tohave the wealth supposedly necessary to cultivate wisdom and knowledge. One newspaper writer captured this traditional conception of virtue whenhe wrote that
representatives "shouldbe ABLE inESTATE, ABLE
inKNOWLEDGE AND LEARNING."
The Revolution,however, challenged this ideal,
substituting a more democratic theory of virtue. A writer callinghimself "Democritus" captured the essence of this new theory whenhe urged that citizens vote only for "a man of middling circumstances" and "common understanding," not members of a wealthy or educated elite.In
5.5 Portrait
of Daniel Boardman
Byplacing Boardmanina
country setting and
relegating the town to thebackground, the artist is able to
effectively evoke the ideal of the
virtuous country
gentleman. The
artist communicates
Boardman's wealth and sotial status
by clearly featuring the opulence ofhis clothing, including such obvious signs
of wealth as the
gildedmetalbuttons onhis jacket and
the oversizemetal
buckles onhis shoes.
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140 CHAPTER 5 A VIRTUOUS REPUBLIC: CREATING A WORKABLE GOVERNMENT, 1783-1789
5.6 The Democratization of the State Legislatures
The number of wealthy legislators decreased and the number of men of moderate wealthincreased. These
changes werepronouncedinparts of the mid-Atlantic andNew England, and are
reflectedinthe data regardingproperty holdings of legislators electedinNew York, New Jersey, andNew Hampshire.
SOURCE: Adapted from Jackson Turner Main, “Government By the People: The American Revolution and the Democratization of the Legislatures” (William andMary Quarterly 1966)
Economic Status of Legislators in New Hampshire, New York, and New Jersey
Prewar Postwar
Moderate
17%
Wealthy Moderate 62%
Wealthy
36% 12%•< 7Well-to-do Well-to-do26%47%increased. (5.6) One Bostonnewspaper writercomplained that "since the war,blusteringignorantmen" hadunfortunately pushed "themselvesinto office."Not everyone saw the rise of thesenew politicians innegative terms.For those who believedindemocracy, these trends were apositive development.Now government included "a class of citizens whohither tohave thought itmore for their interest tobe contented with a humbler walk inlife."
The new democratic politicians favored policies designed to enable ordinary citizens to participate in government. They introduced, for
example,higher salaries for elected representatives, encouraging ordinary people to serve in government. They also made efforts to relocate state capitals inland, so that travel to themwould be easier for backcountry farmers.
How did the composition of the state legislatures
change after the American Revolution?
expanding the money supply andprintingmore paper currency, the government encouragedinflation. Increasing the amount of moneyincirculation facilitated commerce. When done cautiously, this type of inflationarypolicyprovided a means ofpumping up the economy. As long as the government didnot flood themarket withpaper, drivingdownits value, debtors andcreditors could adjust their behavior to take into account the effects of modest inflation inprices for various commodities.By encouraging economic activity,paper money couldprovide an important tool for economic growth.Farmers were
especially fond of this systembecause they could repay their debts withdepreciated currency—money that was worthless than the amount of the original debt. This system,however,could functiononly if merchants didnot dramatically raiseprices to compensate for the decliningvalue of paper money. Arapidrise inprices couldleadinflation to spiral out of control.Mostmerchants,however, viewedpaper money as abadpolicy thathurt their interests.
No state was more aggressive inusingpaper
money to solve its financialproblems thanRhode Island.Unfortunately,however, the decision to
print large amounts of paper money never won the
support of merchants inProvidence andNewport. Whenpresented withpaper money,merchants increasedprices and eventually refused to accept depreciatedpaper currency.Inresponse, the state
legislature imposed a steep fine on any merchant who refused to accept paper currency. One writer f
lampooned the situation of "RogueIsland" in
verse: "Hail! realm ofrogues, renow'dforfraudand guile, Allhail, ye knav'ries ofyon little isle." Why didRhode Islandearn the name “Rogue Island”?
5.1 Debtors versus Creditors Economic issuesprovedparticularly contentious inpost-revolutionary America. Spokesmen for thesenewpoliticians favoredpolicies to ease the burdens of farmers and artisans. "Stay laws" created
generous graceperiods for the recovery of debts and protected farmers fromhaving their farms seized for nonpayment of debts. "Tender laws" allowed farmers
topay debts withgoods rather thanhard currency. Merchants generally opposed these policies.
The lack of specie, silver andgoldcurrency, hinderedeconomic exchange. Spokesmen for debtors
argued that government had an obligation touse
paper money to ease the shortage of currency. By
-
5.2 LIFE UNDER THE ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION 141
-5.2 Life under the Articles of Confederation
From the outset, the Articles of Confederation, America's first federal
constitution, was plaguedby problems. Without the power to tax or coerce \ H| states to follow the treaties it hadnegotiated, the Confederation Congress 'M couldnot resolve the nation's economic problems and diplomatic issues. -
! Leaders also worried that the Confederation lacked the military power to
deal withrebellions or foreign foes.
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the loss of the lucrative trade with the British West Indies was a severeblow to the Americaneconomy. America's trade deficit withBritain drained what little gold and silver reserves were available to the nation. Americanbanks had to curtail loans. When
merchants were forced to call indebts to satisfy their British suppliers, they collected the debts individuals owed them. This constriction of credit sent the economy into a tailspin. The combination of restricted access to trade withBritain andits
empire, falling agriculturalprices, and mounting debt produced the new nation's first economic depression.
Why did the Articles of Confederation fail to give the Confederation Congress power to tax?
No Taxation with Representation
Americans resentedBritish efforts to tax them
prior to the Revolution. Given their fears of strong government andhostility to taxation, the Articles of Confederation, the weak constitution created
by the Confederation Congress, didnot empower the new central government to tax Americans.
Instead, the Articles relied on requisitions made to
the states to fund government business. Few states
bothered to comply with these requisitions in a
Timely manner, and the new government of the Jnited States was plaguedby shortages of funds.
Althoughit lacked thepower to tax,Congress had to fund the war. To help pay for the war effort,
Congressprinted almost $250millioninpaper currency that wasnotbackedby gold or silver which led to staggering inflation.By 1781,it took more than150 Continental dollars to purchase whathad cost one dollar in1777. This dramatic drop in the value of Continental currency led to the phrase "As worthless as a Continental" to describe something withno value.As 5.7 illustrates,it would take apile of Continentals to purchase what a single dollar might havepaid for less than five yearsbefore.
The Treaty of Paris (1783) formally ended hostilitiesbetweenBritain and the new United
States of America. Peace didnot,however, solve
the economic problems that the new nation faced. Indeed, the end of the war ushered innew
economic problems. Boycotts of British goods and the disruption of trade during wartime meant that consumers hadbeen denied access to luxury items,
including china, textiles, and wine. Demand for British goods surged after the war, and the new Aation was flooded withimports.Britishmerchants
encouraged Americans tobuy goods on credit. By contrast, Americanmerchants now faced a host of
new obstacles to trade withBritain. Inparticular,
5.7 Continental Paper Currency
The value of
Continentalpaper
currency dropped precipitously as
Congressprinted more money, and
faithin the value of the currency dwindled.
5.2.2 Diplomacy:Frustration and Stalemate
Thenew nationalso facedmilitary challenges. British troops were still garrisonedinparts of the
Ohio Valley. Relations with theIndian tribes along the frontier remained tense. Farther from thenation's
borders,Americans faced differentproblems. Without a powerfulnavy to protect American commerce, ships were easy prey for pirates.Piracy wasparticularly rampant in theMediterranean where
theNorthAfrican states of Morocco,
Algiers,Tunis, and Tripoli,known as the Barbary States, sanctioned it. The
Barbary pirates extortedmoney from merchant vessels inexchange for safe
passage. Failure topay resultedinthe
seizure of ships and imprisonment of sailors. American sailors taken as
captivesby Barbary pirates languished inNorthAfricanprisons or were sold into slavery.InJuly 1785, whenpirates captured two American ships,Algiers
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142 CHAPTER 5 A VIRTUOUS REPUBLIC: CREATING A WORKABLE GOVERNMENT, 1783-1789
Frustration with the inability to defend its interests on the high seas
grew,but America faced even more
serious problems closer to its borders. Defending the nation's interests in the Mediterranean would have to wait while
America dealt with the threats
posedby Indians, British and Spanish inNorth America. The map (5.8)
shows the British and Spanish
presence along America's borders, a fact that increased American anxiety.
Congress had little power to compel the states to live up
to the nation's treaty obligations,
including provisions requiring Americans to pay prewar debts and
compensate Loyalists for property confiscated during the war. Britain used America's failure to comply with these
provisions as a pretext for retaining control of its forts in the Old
Northwest, the region of the new
nationbordering the Great Lakes (5.8). These outposts allowed the
British to continue their lucrative fur trade with the Indians.
The war against Britainhad
strained relationsbetween
America and its Indian
neighbors. Many Indian
peoples, such as the Iroquois inNew York and the Creeks
inGeorgia,had sided with the British. While British
peace negotiators had sought to protect the interests of
Loyalists, they didnothing to
secure a just peace for their Indian allies. The leader of
the Mohawks, another Indian
nation that had sided with the
British,pointed out that the government of George IIIhad "no right whatever to grant away to the States of America their rights or properties without a manifest breach of all justice and equity."
Given the absence of Indian representation
in the treaty that ended hostilities between the
United States and Britain, it is hardly surprising that the interests of Indianpeoples were not
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The British refused to abandon their forts in the Old Northwest until
Congress complied with all the provisions of the Treaty of Paris. In
the Old Southwest, Spain frustrated America's efforts to secure the
rights to navigate the Mississippi River.
demandednearly $60,000 inransom to release the vessels and their crews. The Americannavy was too weak to challenge these pirate fleets. While the loss
of trade burdened thenation's fledgling economy, the sad fate of American captives became a source of nationalhumiliation.
5.2 LIFE UNDER THE ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION 143
reflectedin the final terms. The Treaty of Paris
’eded the entire Old Northwest territory to the
Jnited States. American diplomats were not sympathetic to the claims of Indians. Operating under a theory of conquest inwhichIndians were "a subduedpeople," Americannegotiators assumed that defeated tribes had to relinquish all claims to Western lands.Rejecting this view,
Indians organized to resist incursions. Rather thanmark the start of an era of peace, the period after the Revolution was one of continued conflict betweenIndians and Americans. Those tribes that were best organizedpolitically andmilitarily were better able to defend their interests against American expansionism.
The Indianpopulation east of the Mississippi numbered between 150,000 and 200,000 and was divided into 85 different
nations. The white population of the new United States was approximately 2.4 million. Pressure to openup Indian lands for white
settlement created conflict. Indians had no illusions about the goal of Americanpolicy. The insatiable desire for Indian land led the Creeks to bestow the name "Ecunnaunuxulgee" on Georgians: "people greedily grasping after the
lands of redpeople." When confronted with the
determination of Indians to
defend their lands, Americans
were forced to negotiate more
fairly. Americanleaders soon realized that missionary work and trade were more likely to
secure harmonious relations
than conquest andmilitary confrontation. By 1787, Congress had shiftedbothits tone and
strategy for dealing with Indianpolicy.Inplace of the theory of conquest,Congress recommended "the utmost good faith" in dealing with the Indians.
The Spanish presence in the Old Southwest was another
threat. Navigation of the
MississippiRiver was crucial
for the economic development *~nf this region. Goods traveling
down the Mississippi needed to be unloaded at New Orleans
and placed on ocean-bound
vessels. Spain denied Americans free access to the Mississippi and New Orleans. Congress authorized Secretary of Foreign Affairs John Jay to negotiate with the Spanish. Spainproposed opening its empire to trade with America if the United States renounced its claim to navigate the Mississippi. The terms wouldhavebeen a boon to New England merchants, who would have benefited from new trade opportunities with Spanish America,but alienated Southerners, particularly those in the Southwest, who viewed the Mississippi as their pipeline to worldmarkets.
Who were the Barbarypirates?
5.9 Jefferson’s Plan for the West
Jefferson's grid¬ like map for the
settlement of
the West was
influencedby the ideas of
Enlightenment thinkers. The names that Jefferson proposed for these territories were
inspiredby classical antiquity. Thus, one
potential state was named Sylvania, "a forested region."
5.2.3 Settling the Old Northwest
The most important achievement of the Confederationperiod was the plan Congress devised for Western settlement. A committee chairedby Thomas Jefferson devised the initial plan for settling the West (5.9). This proposal imagined a rationalmathematical scheme for carving out as many as 16 new states from the Northwest Territory. Jefferson's plan combined
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144 CHAPTER 5 A VIRTUOUS REPUBLIC: CREATING A WORKABLE GOVERNMENT, 1783-1789
republican theories of self-government with Enlightenment ideas about geography. Boundaries wouldbe drawn along an orderly grid after being surveyed. Reflectinghis debt to classical republicanism,Jefferson chose names for thenew territories such as Polypotamia, "land of many rivers." Republicanism guided this planin other
When the population reached 60,000 free inhabitants, including women, the territories could seek admission to the Confederation. The
language of the Northwest Ordinance echoed the republican ideals of the Revolution. Congress proclaimed that "fundamentalprinciples of civil and religious liberty" were the foundation for the new states to be created from the territories.
Inkeeping with the republican ideas about virtue and the need for an educated citizenry, the Ordinance declared: "Religion,morality, and knowledge,being necessary to good government and the happiness of mankind, schools and the means of education shall forever be encouraged." Most important, the Ordinance rejected slavery in the new states to be carved out of the Northwest Territories.
What republican features distinguish the Northwest Ordinance?
ways. Inhis Ordinance of 1784, Jeffersonproposed
that new territories be incorporated into the union as states on an equal footing with the original thirteen. Jefferson also sought local self- government for settlers almost immediately. When the free population reached 20,000, a constitutional convention would set up a
permanent state government. The planbanned slavery after the year 1800 and recommended that landbe made available inparcels small enough for average Americans to purchase. Jefferson envisioned the Northwest Territory populatedby white yeoman farmers.
The Land Ordinance of 1785 adoptedby Congress departed from Jefferson's original proposal. It called for the creation of townships of 36 square miles. Land was to be sold for no
less than one dollar an acre inhard currency. Ordinary citizens would have had trouble
raising this amount of cash and therefore had
little chance to purchase land directly from the government. Jefferson's hope that Western land couldbe sold directly to citizens and create a republic of small independent farmers was jettisonedin favor of a plan that favored speculators.
The Northwest Ordinance of 1787 was
5.2.4 Shays's Rebellion The postwar economic downturnhit farmers
inMassachusetts particularly hard. As farm foreclosures increased, and families saw their
farms seizedby their creditors, frustration mounted. Revolutionary War veterans marched on the town of Northampton to shut down the local courts andprevent further foreclosures. The armed crowdprevented the judges, dressedin formal judicial attire, longblack robes and gray wigs, from entering the courthouse. The protestors, dubbed Shaysites, after their leader,Daniel Shays, believed they were protecting the "good of the
commonwealth" and opposing the "tyrannical government in the Massachusetts State." Governor
James Bowdoin condemned the court closings as "fraught with the most fatal andpernicious consequences" that "must tend to subvert all law
and government." Shays's Rebellionhadbegun.
The protest inwesternMassachusetts shared some
features with theNorthCarolina Regulators. Both movements were aimed at a legal system which
the finalplan for the governance of the new territories. This act was considerably less
democratic than Jefferson's originalproposalbut maintainedhis orderly model for dividingup the territory. Governors appointedby Congress wouldrule the Northwest Territories. When the
population reached 5,000 adult males, settlers could elect their own territorial legislatures.
"There shallbeneither slaverynor involuntary servitude in the said territory, otherwise thanin the punishment of crimes
whereof the party shallhave been duly convicted."
Northwest Ordinance of 1787
5.2 LIFE UNDER THE ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION 145
VERMONT NEW HAMPSHIRE
Petersham (February 4, 1787)
Concord Massachusetts
Northampton BayBoston
Worcester
Great Barrington MASSACHUSETTS
Springfield (January 25, 1787)I
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Movement of state’s army
5.10 Court Closings and Major Battles in Shays’s Rebellion
Shays and his supporters closed courts in central and westernMassachusetts. Forces loyal to the
state routed the Shaysites in a decisivebattle at the Springfield state armory.
was perceived to be unfair andboth sought to restore a popular notion of justice.
The protest spread to other western towns. When angry farmers in Great Barrington, another
townin westernMassachusetts, closed their local
court, the governor dispatched the state militia. One member of the crowd sympathetic to the
Shaysites suggested putting the matter to a vote
among the militiamen: Supporters of opening the
court stood to one side of the road, while those
opposed crossed the highway. Nearly 800 of 1,000 members of the militia who hadbeen sent to
protect the courts voted with their feet to join the
rebels and keep the courts closed.
The towns affectedby the court closing are hownin the map (5.10), which also shows the
location of the armed confrontations between
the Shaysites and government forces. Shays and his followers were defeated in a battle near
the state arsenal inSpringfield. The failure of
Shays's Rebellion, the most serious challenge to
government authority in the new nation, gave additional impetus to those eager to reform the
structure of the Articles of Confederation and
create a more powerful central government. George Washington was among the most alarmed
by events inMassachusetts. The one figure among the nation's Patriot elite who seemed relatively unfazedby the rebellion in westernMassachusetts was Thomas Jefferson, who learned of the rebellion while livinginParis and serving America as a diplomat.
What was Shays’s Rebellion?
146 CHAPTER 5 A VIRTUOUS REPUBLIC: CREATING A WORKABLE GOVERNMENT, 1783-1789
s.: The Movement for ConstitutionalReform
The economic, political, and diplomatic problems facedby the ' i- H ? Confederation government, including Shays's Rebellion, inspired
a smallbut talented group of politicians to advocate reform of the i Articles of Confederation. As nationalists—men who believed in the
need for a stronger national government—they regarded constitutional reform as imperative.Rather than continue to put their faith invirtue,nationalists sought to create a powerful central government to protect American interests abroad and deal with internal threats, such as Shays's Rebellion. (See Competing Visions: Reactions to Shays's Rebellion, page 148.) For the nationalists the postwar era was a time of crisis that demanded decisive actionif America were to survive. Nationalists proposed a new model of government to protect individual liberty andpromote the common good. The Federal Constitution created by this group relied on a system of checks andbalances,not virtue, to protect liberty.
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The Road to Philadelphia seemed like the mythical heroes of antiquity, part human and part divine. Some contemporaries, however, were suspicious of the convention's
secrecy. One Pennsylvania newspaper warned of the "monster" being fashionedbehind a "thick veil of secrecy." Later generations of Americans have tended to echo Jefferson's observations: that the convention was composed of extraordinarily talentedpoliticians, a view illustratedby this mid-nineteenth-century paintingby Thomas Rossiter (5.11) inwhich the Founders are bathed
inlight,not shrouded insecrecy.
What was the rule of secrecy?
5.3.1
Delegates fromMaryland and Virginia gathered at George Washington's home inMount Vernon (1785) to discuss economic matters. A year later inAnnapolis,Maryland (1786) delegates from five states discussed the problems of the Confederation. Finally, in1787, delegates from 12 of the 13 states gathered inPhiladelphia to reform the Articles of Confederation. The 55 delegates inPhiladelphia included an impressive cast of characters. Virginia sent James Madison and George Mason, two of its most esteemed political figures. Pennsylvania's representatives included the oldest delegate, Benjamin Franklin, then aged 81, and James Wilson, the nation's premier legalmind.New York's delegationboasted the brilliant,but brash, Alexander Hamilton. The delegates chose George Washington to preside over the meeting. Lawyers dominated the
convention, andnearly all the delegates were wealthy men.
A strict rule of secrecy was imposed on the proceedings, a decision that facilitated a more frank debate among the delegates,but only intensified rumors about their activities. The rule of
secrecy was stringently enforced: The windows of the Pennsylvania State House were nailed shut and a guardposted at the door.
Writing fromFrance, where he was serving as American minister, Jefferson described the assembly as a meeting of "demigods"—men of such impressive accomplishments that they
.2 Large States versus Small States
Instead of arguing over reforming the Articles of Confederation, as originally intended, the Philadelphia Convention took up abold
proposal offeredby the Virginia delegation. The
Virginia Plan, draftedmainly by James Madison, abandoned the federal system createdby the
Articles, in favor of a new model of government
"We have probably had too good an opinion of humannature in
forming our confederation."
George Washington,1786
5.3 THE MOVEMENT FOR CONSTITUTIONAL REFORM 147
that hadboth federal andnational features. The
states would retainpower,but the new national
government wouldbe supreme in those areas in
whichit was given authority. The Virginia Plan created a new
government composed of a single executive (the branch of government charged with,
among other things, the execution of laws), a two-house legislature (Congress, the lawmaking body), and a separate judiciary (courts). The lower house of Congress would be directly elected by the people, and the upper house would be elected by the lower house from a list provided by the state legislatures. Under the Articles of Confederation, small states such as
Maryland had the same vote as large states
such as Virginia. Rather than this one-state
one-vote principle, each state would have representation inproportion to its population, small and large states. In contrast to the Articles
of Confederation, the new national legislature wouldbe the supreme law of the land and would be binding on the states. The national legislature
United States maybe interruptedby the exercise of individual [state] legislation." Although this did not explicitly address nettlesome issues such as
the power to tax, suchpowers were clearly within the purview of thisbroad grant of authority. The authors of the Virginia Plan, especially James Madison, thought that a more general grant of authority, rather than a long list of enumerated
powers, wouldbe more politically acceptable to the delegates.
Representatives from the small states
opposed the Virginia Plan. Two weeks after the Virginia Plan was introduced, WilliamPatterson of New Jersey made a counterproposal, often dubbed the New Jersey Plan. It called for a
modified federal systembased on the existing Articles of Confederation. It proposed a single legislature in which each state wouldhave one vote, which wouldmaintain the parity between
The new Congress wouldhave the power "to
legislate inall cases to which the separate States are incompetent" or "inwhich the harmony of the
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Jefferson's observation that the Framers of theConstitution were an "assembly of demigods" is captured inThomas Rossiter's nineteenth-century painting of the Philadelphia Convention.Rather than appearingina dark conclave, the members of the
convention arebathedinlight.
148 CHAPTER 5 A VIRTUOUS REPUBLIC: CREATING A WORKABLE GOVERNMENT, 1783-1789
Competing Visions REACTIONS TO SHAYS’S REBELLION
Shays's Rebellion forced Americans to ponder the meaning of the Revolution.Those who opposed the rebellion saw init the danger of placing too much faith in virtue as a foundation for republican government.But for the farmers who took up arms against government, the rebellion demonstrated the continuing validity of the right of revolution. Shays and his supporters also couched their appeals in terms of republican ideas about the common good. Consider the different reactions of George Washington andThomas Jefferson to the rebellion.
In this letter to General Henry Knox dated December 26, 1786,
Washington expressed his alarm over the uprising in western
Massachusetts, lamenting that America's belief that virtue could
provide a solid foundation for government may have been
excessively naive.
From Paris, where he was serving as America's minister, Thomas
Jefferson wrote to James Madison onJanuary 30,1787, inquiring about his views of Shays's Rebellion. Jefferson offeredhis own preliminary assessment inwhichhe expressed guarded support
for the rebels. Moreover, the political process wouldbe more
likely to select leaders of skill and talents in a larger republic. I feel, my dear Genl. Knox, infinitely more than I can express to you,
for the disorders which have arisen in these States. Good God! who
besides a tory could have foreseen, or a Briton predicted them!
were these people wiser than others, or did they judge of us from
the corruption, and depravity of their own hearts? The latter I am
persuaded was the case, and that notwithstanding the boasted
virtue of America, we are far gone in every thing ignoble and bad.
I do assure you, that even at this moment, when I reflect on the
present posture of our affairs, it seems to me to be like the vision
of a dream. My mind does not know how to realize it, as a thing in
actual existence, so strange, so wonderful does it appear to me!
In this, as in most other matters, we are too slow. When this spirit
first dawned, probably it might easily have been checked; but it
is scarcely within the reach of human ken, at this moment, to say
when, where, or how it will end. There are combustibles in every
State, which a spark might set fire to.
I am impatient to learn your sentiments on the late troubles in the
Eastern states. So far as I have yet seen, they do not appear to
threaten serious consequences. ... I hold it that a little rebellion now and then is a good thing, and as necessary in the political
world as storms in the physical. Unsuccessful rebellions, indeed,
generally establish the encroachments on the rights of the people
which have produced them. An observation of this truth should
render honest republican governors so mild in their punishment
of rebellions as not to discourage them too much. It is a medicine
necessary for the sound health of government.
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5.3 THE MOVEMENT FOR CONSTITUTIONAL REFORM 149
New Jersey Plan
Virginia Plan
Articles of Confederation
i Structure of the
Legislature Single house, one state
one vote Two houses, both
determined by population Single house, one state
one vote
Taxation No power to tax Power to tax Power to tax
No judicial power apart from courts to hear
admiralty cases
Judicial Power Federal judiciary Federal judiciary
No permanent executive, a committee of the states
exercises executive functions when Congress
is not in session
Single executive chosen by national legislature
Single or plural executive elected by Congress
Executive Power
5.12 Comparison of the Articles of Confederation, Virginia, and New Jersey Plans
Although the Virginia andNew Jersey plans differed onrepresentation, each wouldhave given the new
government the vitalpower of taxation.
5.3.3 Conflict over Slaverywouldhave the power to tax and regulate interstate commerce. Although theNew Jersey Plan was defeated, it had revealed the difficulty of reaching a consensus without accommodating the concerns of the small states, which feared that the
mew system of representationbased onpopulation would give larger states inordinate influence over
the new government. The figure (5.12) shows the differences between
the Virginia andNew Jersey plans andhow each differed from the Articles of Confederation.
Althoughboth of these plans wouldhave given the new central governmentbroad new powers,
particularly over economic matters, representatives from the large and small states remained divided over how the legislature wouldbe structured. On
June 29, 1787, Oliver Ellsworth of Connecticut reintroduced an earlier compromise that he and
Roger Sherman (also of Connecticut) had devised.
The planprovided for equal representation for large and small states in the upper house and a lower house in whichrepresentation would
be apportioned on the basis of population. OnJuly 16,1787, the convention adopted the Great Compromise (sometimes known as the Connecticut Compromisebecause of Ellsworth
and Sherman's role in framingit). The Great
Compromise solved one of the most difficult issues facing the convention: the struggle over Representationbased onpopulation versus equal representation among the states.
Why didsmall states oppose the Virginia Plan?
Although the Connecticut Compromise solved one of the most difficult problems facedby the convention,it also focused attention on another
equally contentious issue: whether to count slaves in the apportionment of the new lower house. The Southern states, seeking sufficient representation in the new legislature to protect slavery, were determined that their slaves be counted. Opponents of slavery,by contrast, wished to see slaves taxed as property but didnot wish to count
them when calculating representation in the new lower house. The convention settled on a solution
in which slaves were counted as three-fifths of a
person for purposes of taxation and legislative apportionment. (The three-fifths ratio hadbeen worked out by the Confederation Congress earlier, whenit faced another issue pertaining to
slavery.) Conflict flared over the slave trade. One of
the most intense attacks on the slave trade was
voicedby Virginian George Mason, the largest slave owner in the convention, who warnedhis
fellow delegates of the threat to the republic of the institution of slavery: "Every master of slaves isborn a petty tyrant . . . slavery discourages arts & manufactures." Masonrecommended ending the slave trade as a first step toward eliminating slavery. Several delegates viewedMason's actions cynically. Virginia had an excess of slaves and wouldprofit enormously from aninternal slave trade if the external trade withAfrica were
150 CHAPTER 5 A VIRTUOUS REPUBLIC: CREATING A WORKABLE GOVERNMENT, 1783-1789
"The states were divided into different interests notby their difference of size butby other circumstances;
the most material of which resulted partly from climate,but principally from the effects of their
having or not having slaves/'
JAMES MADISON,1787
abolished. South Carolinian Charles Pinckney argued that all the great republics of the ancient worldhad accepted the necessity of slavery.His cousin, General Charles CotesworthPinckney, another delegate from South Carolina, told delegates that his state wouldnever accept the Constitutionif the slave trade was banned. Again compromise held the convention together. The new
Congress was denied the authority toban the slave trade until 1808.
Although the word slavery never appears in the Constitution, a number of clauses in the document protected it. Article IV, Section 2,prevented fugitive slaves, defined as any "personheld to service or labour in one state," from fleeing to another state to seek asylum and freedom. ArticleI,Section 8,prohibited the national government from taxing the exports of
any state, a provision that prevented the products of slave labor, such as rice, indigo, tobacco, or sugar, frombeing singled out for sanctions by those hostile to slavery.InJames Madison's view, the greatest division in the convention was not the conflict between large states and small states,but slavery.
What features of the Constitutionprotected slavery?
Mason argued that the people lacked the wisdom to make such a decision. Roger Sherman's plan to have the national legislature pick the executive was challenged as a threat to the separation of powers.
Eventually the convention settled onan "electoral college" composed of men chosenby each state ina manner tobe determinedby the individual state legislatures. By giving the states some control over selection of the president, this
systemprovided another way of strengthening the power of the states within the new federal
system. The electoral college also reflected the ideals of republicanismheldby the delegates. By creating a filteringmechanism for the selection of
the president, the electoral college was designed to
help ensure that the men chosen were drawn from the ranks of the leading citizens,menrenowned for their knowledge and virtue.
Delegates also clashed over the term of office that the executive would serve. Alexander
Hamiltonproposed that the executivehave a life term,but this leaned too close to monarchy for most delegates. Some delegates favored a single term of as much as seven years, while others
argued that a shorter term with the possibility of reelection wouldprovide a greater check on the
president. The conventionultimately settled on a four-year term withno limits on the number of
terms a president might serve. The final structure of the executivebranch was detailedinArticleIIof
the Constitution. Throughout August the convention sketched
the barest outline for the thirdbranch of
government, the federal judiciary. A new Supreme Court was created, and Congress was authorized to create suchinferior courts as it deemed
necessary. The Supreme Court's authority extended "inallCases,inLaw andEquity, arisingunder the „
Constitution, the Laws of theUnited States, and
Treaties made under their authority." Although
a number of delegates assumed that the courts
5.3.4 FillingOut the ConstitutionalDesign
After sorting out the structure of the legislative branch of government, the convention struggled over the executivebranch. GeorgeMason argued for a three-man executive. Aplural executive, he argued, couldbetter represent the different
regional interests of the nation. Rejecting this
proposal, the convention settled on a unitary executive. There was also disagreement over how
to choose the executive. James Wilson wanted to see the executive electedby the people, whereas
5.3 THE MOVEMENT FOR CONSTITUTIONAL REFORM 151
Articles of Confederation Constitution
k Two houses, one determined by population, upper house equal
state representation
Single house, one state one vote
Structure of the Legislature.
Taxation No power to tax Power to tax
Judicial Power
No judicial power apart from courts to hear admiralty cases Federal judiciary
No permanent executive, a committee of the states exercises executive functions
when Congress is not in session
Executive chosen by electors chosen by state legislators
Executive Power
5.13 Comparison of the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution
As this chart shows, the new federal government createdby the Constitution was far more
powerful than the old government under the Articles of Confederation.
The new national legislature had two houses, a House of Representatives and a Senate. Each state had two senators. Representation in the House
of Representatives was based on population, with slaves counting as three-fifths of a person. Amendments to the Constitution would require the approval of three-quarters of the states, not the unanimous consent required under the Articles. Although executive power under the Articles of Confederation had been weak, the new
president could veto legislation, negotiate treaties, and issue pardons. The ill-defined powers of the new Supreme Court left some wondering if
the judiciary wouldbe the weakest of the three branches, not co-equal with the legislature and the executive.
The new federal Constitution also broke with
well-established precedents that had shaped the state constitutions drafted after the Revolution.
Unlike the typical state constitution, the federal Constitution didnot include a declaration of rights
stating the basic rights and liberties retainedby the people,nor didit reassert the basic republican principles upon which government rested. Most state constitutions created relatively weak executives, another marked contrast with the
new federal Constitution and its strong executive
branch.
How did the electoral college strengthen the powers of the states and further the ideals of republicanism?
would exercise the power of judicial review, the
power to declare acts of Congress unconstitutional, the Constitution failed to make such power
explicit. Two delegates fromNew York,Robert Yates
and JohnLansing, left before the document was ompleted and therefore didnot signit. Three other
delegates—EdmundRandolph, George Mason, and
Elbridge Gerry—refused to sign the Constitution
because of their reservations about its final
draft. Despite these protests, BenjaminFranklin
captured the feelings of many delegates when he wrote that despite its faults, it was doubtful "whether any other convention we can obtain
may be able to make a better Constitution... it therefore astonishes me, Sir, to find this system
approaching as near to perfection as it does." After the convention concluded its work and the text of
the Constitution was made public, a woman asked Franklin, "'WellDoctor what have we got a republic or a monarchy?' 'A republic,' replied the Doctor, 'if
you can keep it.'" The Constitution reflected the give-and-take
and the spirit of compromise that prevailed at the Convention. The new Constitution was a radical
departure from the Articles of Confederation (5.13). The powerfulnational legislature created by
the Constitution was given authority to enact
all laws "necessary and proper" to carrying out responsibilities delegated by the Constitution.
152 CHAPTER 5 A VIRTUOUS REPUBLIC: CREATING A WORKABLE GOVERNMENT, 1783-1789
The Great Debate5.4 H The publication of the Constitution inaugurated one of the most vigorous
political campaigns inAmericanhistory. In taverns and town squares, Americans argued over the new Constitution. As one contemporary remarked, "the plan of a Government proposed to usby the convention—
affords matter for conversation to every rank of beings from the Governor to the door keeper." Soon two sides emerged in the debate over ratification.
£
5.4 1 Federalists versus Anti-Federalists
spoke with a thick Scottish accent that his enemies mocked. The supporters of the Constitution also took to the streets to defend it and occasionally to intimidate their opponents. AFederalist crowd wrecked the printingpresses of Anti-Federalist
publishers inNew York City. These disturbances were the exception,however,not the rule.
The debate couldbe heated,but Americans typically confined their passions to the printed page. Hundreds of columns of newspaper text were devoted to the debate over the merits of the Constitution, and dozens of pamphlets were written for and against it. The Federalist,
for example, a sophisticated defense of the Constitution writtenby JohnJay, Alexander Hamilton, and James Madison, was first published as newspaper essays inNew York. It is now
regardedby many scholars as America's most important contribution to Westernpolitical philosophy. Writingunder the penname Publius, a hero of the RomanRepublic, the authors hoped to cloak themselves in the toga of Roman virtue.
This strategy was designed to focus the public's attention on the ideas,not the menresponsible for the essays. The Federalist not only responded to Anti-Federalist criticism,it also provided a
sophisticated analysis of republican government and a point-by-point discussion of the merits of the Constitution. Althoughits influence on the
outcome of ratification was modest, The Federalist
soonbecame the favorite text of judges, legislators, and others interested in interpreting the meaning of the Constitution.It continues tobe the text
most often citedby the Supreme Court when
trying to identify the originalunderstanding of the Constitution.
Anti-Federalists producedno single text
comparable to The Federalist. However, the writings
of Elbridge Gerry and George Mason,prominent 1
Anti-Federalists whohadparticipated in the
Philadelphia Conventionbut had refused to sign
The supporters of the Constitution described themselves as Federalists, thus saddling their opponents with the name Anti-Federalists.
Never entirely happy with this name, opponents of the Constitution complained that they were the true supporters of federalism and attacked
pro-Constitutional forces as "consolidationists" who wished to consolidate the union into a
single national government and rob the states of their power. Lookingback on the bitter struggle over ratification, one Anti-Federalist quipped that because the issue before the nation was ratification of the Constitution, the two sides were
more aptly described as "rats and anti-rats." Citizens paraded, raised their glasses to
toast, or attacked thenew government. Some evenrioted to express their sentiments. Anti- Federalists inCarlisle,Pennsylvania,burned an
effigy of Federalist James Wilson to express their disapproval of the new Constitution. Wilson, a renowned lawyer and a recent immigrant from Scotland, was one of the most important
supporters of the ConstitutioninPennsylvania. He was also an easy target for ridicule, since he
"These lawyers, andmen of learning, and moneyedmen, that talk so finely,and gloss over matters so smoothly, to make us poor illiterate people swallow down thepill,
expect to get into Congress themselves... and then they will swallow up allus little
folks,like the great Leviathan."
Amos Singletary, 1788
5.4 THE GREAT DEBATE 153
'• A A' the Constitution, were widely reprinted. Authors
'who adopted the pennames Brutus andFederal
Farmer each framed sophisticated critiques of the Constitution. Brutus invoked the same ideal
of Roman virtue that Publius had appropriated for the supporters of the Constitution. The name
FederalFarmer traded on the association of
republican ideals of simplicity associated with the
ideal of the yeoman farmer. Both texts developed an alternative vision of republican government. Rather than accept the need for a powerful central government, Anti-Federalists clung to the idea of a systemin which thebulk of governmental functions would continue to reside in the states.
Although the struggle over ratificationproduced some of the most intellectually sophisticated writingsinAmericanhistory,inother respects it was a textbook example of negative campaigning. If Publius andBrutus provided anexample of dispassionate reason,metaphorically invoking Roman ideals of virtueby their pennames, other authors, onboth sides, werenot above slinging mud whenit served their interests.Federalists, for
example, denounced their opponents as Shaysites, a charge repeatedin the satiricalprint, The Looking jlassfor 1787 (5.14). In this cartoon, Connecticut
appears stuck in themud,a cart laden with debt is
dragged inopposite directionsby Federalists and
Anti-Federalists. The artist who created thispro- Federalist political cartoon stooped lower thanmost: One Anti-Federalist character hashis trouserspulled down aroundhis ankles andhisbottom exposed to his Federalist opponents. Anti-Federalists charged thatFederalists were part of anaristocratic elite who
wished to dominate common folk. Amos Singletary fromMassachusetts warnedhis fellow citizens that
the lawyers andrichmerchants whobacked the
Constitution favored the interests of the aristocratic
few over those of the democratic many.Inhis view,
the new Constitution wouldundo the democratic
reforms of the Revolution,returning control to
powerfuleconomic groups. AlthoughAnti-Federalism attracted supporters
of democracy such as Singletary,it also appealed to wealthy planters such as Virginia's George Mason, who was less concerned about the Constitution's anti-democratic features and
more worried about the centralization of power. Mason feared that liberty wouldbe annihilated /if a central government gained too muchpower. Although Anti-Federalists didnot agree about
everything, they shared important objections to
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5.14 The Looking Glass for 1787
This Federalist
political cartoon from Connecticut
portrays the state as
a cart stuck in the
mud and weighed downby paper money and debt.
WhileFederalists
proclaim "Comply withCongress" andpull the state toward abright sun, the Anti-Federalists
exclaim "Success
to Shays" and drag the cart toward a
the Constitution. The essential Anti-Federalist
critique emerged early in the debate. At the top was the fear of consolidation, the concern that the federal government would absorb allpower into its orbit. Anti-Federalists believed that there
wouldbe too few representatives inCongress to
represent the diverse interests of the American
people. Representatives would also live far from their constituents and lose touch with the concerns
of those they served. The extensive powers of the
president and the potentially vast jurisdiction of the Supreme Court also worriedAnti-Federalists, who feared that the federal government would become tyrannical.
The absence of abill of rights proved to be one of the Anti-Federalists' most effective criticisms.
In their view history demonstrated that once in
power even the most virtuous rulers were tempted symbolizedby the
to increase their powers at the expense of popular liberty. A written declaration stating clearly the rights andpowers retainedby the people was therefore an essential safeguard for liberty. Rather than accept that the omission of abill of rights was a serious flaw in the Constitution,Federalists
argued that it was unnecessary. James Wilson defended the absence of abill of rightsby noting that the new government was one of delegated
power only, andhence allpowersnot ceded to it were retainedby thepeople and the states. "It wouldhavebeen superfluous and absurd," he observed, to stipulate "that we should enjoy those
privileges, of which we are not divested either by the intention or the act thatbrought that body into existence." In The Federalist,Publius argued that the
shadowy future
dark clouds.
154 CHAPTER 5 A VIRTUOUS REPUBLIC: CREATING A WORKABLE GOVERNMENT, 1783-1789
5.15 Anti-
Federalist versus Federalist Ideas
Anti-Federalists and Federalists
eachbelieved inrepublican government,but
they disagreed over how to structure
such a government toprotect liberty.
5.4 Ratificationn ¥ )
Federalists realized that Anti-Federalists would
try to block unconditional ratification and seek prior amendments to the Constitution. Early and decisive Federalist successes in Delaware,New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Georgia, and Connecticut established a momentum that Federalists capitalized on to achieve their goal of unconditional ratification. Eventually in Massachusetts Federalists faced a powerful Anti- Federalist opposition and conceded the need for subsequent amendment once the Constitution was adopted. Federalists' willingness to compromise also won over moderates who might have opposed the Constitution inbattleground states such as Massachusetts. Had the Federalists maintained a hard line, sticking to James Wilson's argument that abill of rights was unnecessary, the Constitutionmight never havebeenratified. If states withpowerful, well-organized Anti- Federalist coalitions, such as Virginia,hadheld
| ratification conventions earlier, the Constitution might have been defeated or been radically alteredby amendments.New Hampshire's vote to ratify onJune 21, 1788 gave Federalists the nine states needed to ratify the Constitution. Although the Constitution was now the new law of the
&
Is
James Madison George Mason
Anti-FederalistsFederalists
Support strong central government
Oppose strong central government
Oppose bill of rights as unnecessary and
perhaps even harmful to liberty
Doubt effectiveness of militia and favor federal
standing army
Favor inclusion of a bill of rights as necessary
to protect liberty
Favor militia and oppose federal standing army
Republicanism can survive only in a large and diverse republic
Republicanism can survive only in a
small republic
Virtue is a weak foundation for republicanism; a system
of checks and balances is better suited to
preserving a republican government against corruption
Republicanism depends on a virtuous population to
prevent corruption
land, it was vital to persuade Anti-Federalists in Virginia andNew York to accept it.
Despite opposition from Anti-Federalists like Patrick Henry, Virginia ratified the Constitution
inclusion of abill of rights wouldbe dangerous. By listing exactly whichrights were protected, the new government wouldby implication exclude other rights that it didnot explicitly include among Carolina, and Rhode Island outside the new Union. those reserved to thepeople. Since it wouldbe
onJune 25. That left only New York,North
InNew York City Federalists staged a "grand federalprocession" to show that the Constitutionimpossible to create a list of all the rights enjoyed
by the people, it was better not to list any. For an overview of disagreement between Federalists and city's artisans, who saw a strong government as Anti-Federalists, see 5.15.
enjoyedbroad support,particularly among the
a way to protect their economic interests from
foreigncompetition. The parade drew membersWho was Publius?
"If men were angels,no government wouldbe necessary.If angels were to governmen,neither externalnor internal controls on government wouldbe
necessary.In framing a government which is to be administeredbymen over men, the great difficulty lies in this: youmust first enable the government to
control the governed; andin the next place oblige it to control itself."
James Madison, The Federalist,1788
5.4 THE GREAT DEBATE 155
u5.16 Pewterers’ Banner Ina New York City parade celebrating the Constitution,
•ederalist artisans carried abanner that included the U.S. flag
and depicted artisans crafting objects of pewter. The verse at
the top proclaims the bright future for America under the new
Constitution.
i * [ vTiiA'm-: Tv;
w ':r\- :
Mlfrom virtually all of the city's crafts and includeddozens of floats. Printers, for example, marched alongside a printingpress mounted on a horse- drawn cart which churned out an ode that praised
the Constitution. A banner with the name Publius, the author of The Federalist, flew proudly above the
press, and the printers sported caps with "Liberty of Press" written in large letters. Another group of artisans carried this banner (5.16), which celebrated
their work withpewter, an alloy of tin and lead that was widely used to make tableware. Their banner carried the following verses:
T I si* Hi
AAA:, jj
’ r t mI m iA •
M
>if S;
f;: ;
mmm M
The Federal Plan Most Solid And Secure
Americans Their Freedom Will Ensure
All Arts ShallFlourish in Columbia's Land
And AllHer Sons Join as One Social Band
£f / (
*
* s-yyL i fNew York Anti-Federalists had a dilemma: Should they continue to oppose the Constitution )r work within the new system of government? To understand how they made their decision, see Choices and Consequences: To Ratify or Not, page 156.
New York's ratification dashed the last
hopes of opponents of the Constitution to secure
prior amendments. Federalists had secured
unconditional ratification of the new frame of
government. Most Americans probably opposed the Constitution when it was first proposed, and
the vote onratification was close inmany states.
Several factors helped account for the Federalists'
victory. Supporters of the Constitution organized themselves around a well-defined goal: ratification.
By contrast, Anti-Federalists couldnot provide a clear alternative. Some favored a new convention
to revise the Constitution. Others favored
amending the Constitution prior to ratification, and some were content to amend the new document
later. Finally, Federalists were more effective at
getting their message into print. Many newspaper editors refused to print Anti-Federalist materials.
The dynamics of ratification were complex. No
single theory accounts for why individuals and - regions supported the Constitution,but the map
shows severalpatterns invoting (5.17). Geography, economics, and individual experiences all shaped the vote on the Constitution.
/ MAINE T DISTRICT
. \ \ Sj
% TS> NEW HAMPSt
June 17/88$ % $ pntano§
MASSACHUSETTS February 1788
A/ YORK ily 1788
X»J \ RHODE ISLAND
May 1790 PENNSYLVANIA
A December 1787 CONNECTICUT January 1788
NEW JERSEY December 1787
DELAWARE December 1787.4 /
KENTUCKY DISTRICT
MARYLAND April 1788
VIRGINIA June 1788TENNE
DISTRICT
-— :
*SSEE \ \ w
_ NORTH CAROLINA
November 1789 ST ,
SOUTH CAROLINA May 1788
ATLANTIC
OCEAN -GEORGIA January 1788
.ST I l Majority support for a Federal system I l Anti-Federal majority
l I Evenly divided
c > Gulf of Mexico
* \
<
5.17 Geographical Distribution of the Vote on Ratification
Support for the Constitution was strongest along coastal regions and frontiers
exposed to threats from external enemies and among small states such as Delaware,
Maryland, andNew Jersey. Anti-Federalism was strongest in the backcountry of New England, the mid-Atlantic, and the South.
156 CHAPTER 5 A VIRTUOUS REPUBLIC: CREATING A WORKABLE GOVERNMENT, 1783-1789
Choices and Consequences TO RATIFY OR NOT
By the time NewYork's ratification convention met inPoughkeepsie, nine states had already ratified the Constitution,makingit the new law of the land. CouldAnti-Federalists continue to oppose the Constitution and thereby place NewYork outside the new nation? Many Anti-Federalists considered such a prospect unrealistic, so they turned to the question of amending the Constitution.The outcome of the convention depended on the decisions of moderate Anti-Federalists, ledby the merchant Melancton Smith.NewYork Anti-Federalists faced a momentous decision: continue to oppose the Constitution or work within the new system of government.
Choices
Support the Constitution un¬ conditionally with the promise that the Rrst Congress would amend it.
Support the Constitution con¬ ditionally, but consider seceding from the Union if amendments were not made.
Continue to oppose the Constitution.
T
Decision Smith opted for the first choice, making New York the elev¬ enth state to ratify the Constitution on July 25, 1787. In a powerful speech in the New York convention, he reiterated his hope for future amendments but recognized the need to work through the “mode prescribed by the Constitution."
Vol IXCENTIM E L.The
I REDEUNr SATURNlA REbNA. | « On the ereBion of the Eleventh PILLAR of the greo
* lionA DOME, -w, beZ iemve m,fifieutrel, to f,haute “ ou* BE** eou* r ,
Rife it SM
i Consequences
Th, FEDERAL EDIFICE.
If Smith and other swing Anti-Federalist delegates in the Convention had opposed ratification, New York would have remained outside the Union, and the new nation might have split into separate confederacies. If Smith and other moderates had insisted on amendments before ratification, Federalists would likely have stood their ground and the
convention might have failed to ratify the Constitution. As it was, Smith's decision put more pressure on Rhode Island and North Carolina to accept the new Constitution. It also gave impetus to the move to amend the Constitution after ratification, Federalist newspapers seized on the visual image of a Roman-style temple to represent the nation and added a new column for each state that voted to ratify the Constitution. The pillars and temple metaphor, like Jefferson's model for the Virginia State Capitol, evoked Roman ideals of virtue and liberty.
Massachusetts newspaper celebrates New York as “the eleventh pillar.”
Continuing Controversies Why didNew York Anti-Federalists accept the Constitution and wait for amendments?
Although the Anti-Federalists were defeated in 1788, many of their fears and ideals about government still resonate in American politics. Were the Anti-Federalists backward-looking politicians who failed to grasp the genius of the new Constitution, or visionaries who predicted that the growth and centralization of American government might pose a threat
to liberty? Americans still argue over the legacy of Anti-Federalism.
5.4 THE GREAT DEBATE 157
Predicted Probabilities of the Ratification Vote for Delegates with Different Economic Interests and Characteristics
Predicted Probability of Voting in Favor of the Constitution
Economic Interest or Characteristic of Individual Delegates to State Ratification Conventions
Merchant .819
Twenty miles from a navigable river .771
.422One hundred miles from a navigable river
5.18 Economic Interests and Characteristics and the Probability of Voting Federalist
As this table shows, economic interests didplay a role ininfluencing votingbehavior. Delegates who lived close to navigable rivers were nearly twice as likely to vote Federalist as those who lived far away fromrivers, which were vital to commerce and trade. Note that a score of .999 would mean an almost 100 percent likelihood of voting in favor of the Constitution.
SOURCE: Based on data presented in Robert A. McGuire, To Form a More Perfect Union: A New Economic Interpretation of the Unites States Constitution (2003) 144-45.
Merchants and artisans inregions tied to commerce, such as seacoasts and inland areas close
tonavigable rivers, looked to a stronger union to protect their economic interests andbecame Federalists. Inhabitants of frontier regions that faced
Indian threats also supported a stronger central
governmentbecause of these security concerns.
Except for Rhode Island, small states supported the Constitution. Officers of the ContinentalArmy who aad dealt with a weak Congress under the Articles also supported the Constitution.
Anti-Federalists drew together an equally diverse coalition that opposed any effort to centralize authority and lessen the power of the states. Backcountry farmers,particularly those less closely connected to major commercialmarkets,
opposed the Constitution. State politicians, especially the newly empowered men of moderate wealth and more humble origins who dominated
politics instates such as Pennsylvania andNew York, were strongly Anti-Federalist. Finally,
wealthy planters inparts of the South who feared that a distant andpowerful government wouldnot
represent their interests became Anti-Federalists.
One of the most ambitious and controversial
attempts to explain the origins of the Constitution was formulatedby the historian Charles Beard
inhis 1913 book An Economic Interpretation of the Constitution of the United States. Beard argued that the Founders sought to replace the Articles of Confederation with a stronger government to
further their economic interests. Historians debated
.the merits of this theory of the origins of the Constitution for the next fifty years. Most scholars now agree that the strong version of Beard's
argument, that the Founders were motivatedby
crass self-interest was far too simplistic. The weak version of Beard's argument, that socio-economic
interest played animportant part in shaping how the delegates votedin the state ratification conventions,has more support amonghistorians.
As figure 5.18 suggests, there does appear to be a strong correlationbetween some economic
interests and votingFederalist. Merchants were
very likely to vote Federalist, and distance to navigable rivers also appeared to correlate with voting in favor of the Constitution.
Despite the intensity of the struggle over ratification, Anti-Federalists didnot continue their
opposition to the Constitution once the nine states needed to ratify adoptedit. Indeed, rather than choose to become an anti-Constitutionalparty, Anti-Federalists accepted having to work within the framework providedby the Constitution. Continued opposition to the Constitution would
only have led to anarchy, whichmost Anti- Federalists wished to avoid as much as did their
Federalist opponents. Anti-Federalists turned
their attentions to campaigning for election to the First Congress and to securing amendments. The same popular frustrations that led to the Regulator movement and Shays's Rebellion did linger insome parts of the new nation.In the decade
following the adoption of the Constitution the new federal government wouldbe tested onmultiple occasions. Nor did agreement on the text of the
Constitution end all disagreement over how this new constitutional text wouldbe interpreted. The first decade of government under the Constitution
wouldprove tobe extremely contentious.
Why didmerchants andmany artisans support the Federalists?
Chapter Review
TIMELINE
*******§****** 1782 4* America adopts a new
national symbol Six years after being proposed.
America adopts a new symbol for the nation, the Great Seal of the
United States, a design intended to embody the republican ideals of
the nation
1
„ ? fistic !
* 17830; Newburgh Conspiracy Washington prevents coup by Continental army officers
Treaty of Paris Hostilities between United States and Britain conclude and Britain recognizes American independence
/ - «X 1 t
\
r'i v-j : /1784
Land Ordinance of 1784ii\rz -4- Thomas Jefferson proposes a
model for settling the Old North¬ west Territory
f
zikx> £
• 1785Thomas Jefferson appointed ambassador to France Jefferson appointment as French ambassador insulates him from the hysteria surrounding Shays's Rebellion
ms, f " >*1*1 / •
* ti
1786 Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom
tvladison and Jefferson win approval of bill promoting religious
freedom
Peter*ham ternary* in>)
Concord
Boat
Worooator
treat larrtngton MASSACHU5
1787.'»-wr, 2S.ITt7. Shays's Rebellionbegins
Farmers in western Massachusetts close courts
SiPhiladelphia Convention drafts Constitution - ' I?''"
wary 2/, fWJ
#...4 Tti. tRHODECONNECTICUT Delegates assemble in Philadelphia to revise Articles of Confederation
Hamilton,Madison, andJay publish the first installment of The Federalist The most sophisticated defense of the Constitution appears in the New York press
mShhi- . :r«u 1788C&NT1NEU
OH the ercAion of the Eleventh PILLAR of the '« lit.ADOM,awr A-* Irrvr mt*fimtn.l, I, /<.'«ÿ"" " «>«»•>*“«
mm:
OC r
New Hampshire becomes ninth state
to ratify Constitution | Constitution becomes new law of g the land
«£*
i £ DERAL EDIFICE,
sg5««es=r£ÿr 1789 University of North Carolina chartered Although the University of Georgia was the first public university chartered in the United States (1785), the University of North Carolina (1789) was the first public institution of higher education to admit students and offer classes
sysiss.
%
158
J
_
Why It Matters
This period inAmericanhistory matters because . . .
•During thisbrief period, America abandoned one form of government, the Articles of Confederation, and replaced it with another, the U.S. Constitution. This change was accomplished without significant amounts of violence, a remarkable achievement.
•The U.S. Constitution is the second oldest continuously functioning written constitutionin the world (Massachusetts Constitution is eight years older [1780]).
•The Federalist, the series of essays written to defend the Constitution, continues to be read around the world and is widely acknowledged to be America's most important contribution to law andpolitical philosophy.
Learning Outcomes
Choices and Consequences Explore human agency through the choices made by Americans to frame and adopt new forms of constitutional government.
Historical Argument Formulatehistorical arguments about the achievements and failures of the Confederation government.
Images as History Contextualize and evaluate the historical
meaning and significance of a wide range of visual images of political life during the Confederation era.
Competing Visions Use primary sources to recognize the essential competing visions that shaped political, social, economic, and cultural life of America in the era of the Constitution.
Historical Literacy Demonstrate knowledge of the key events,people, institutions, and chronology that led to the adoption of the Constitution.
Review Questions
3. What were the most divisive issues the Constitutional Convention faced and what compromises did the delegates reach to solve them?
1. Americans in the post-revolutionary era looked to Rome for inspiration inbuilding a virtuous republic.How were these ideas reflectedinAmerican art and architecture in thisperiod?
2. What diplomatic frustrations hampered the new American nation?
4. Which groups in society tended to support or oppose the Constitution?
Key Terms Great Compromise Compromise plan proposedby Roger Sherman and Oliver Ellsworth of Connecticut that called for
equal representation of each state in the upper house and a lower house based on population. 149
Federalists The name adoptedby the supporters of the Constitution who favored a stronger centralized government. 152
Anti-Federalists The name applied to opponents of the Constitution who insisted that they,not their opponents, were the true supporters of the ideal of federalism. Anti- Federalists opposed weakening the power of the states and feared that the Constitution yielded too much power to the new central government. 152
Articles of Confederation America's first
constitutional government in effect from 1781-1788. The articles created a weak decentralized form of government that lacked the power to tax and compel state obedience to treaties it negotiated. 141
Old Northwest The region of the new nation
bordering on the Great Lakes. 142
Northwest Ordinance of 1787 One of several laws adopted by the Confederation Congress designed to provide a plan for the orderly settlement of the Northwest Territory (the area north of the Ohio River and west of
Pennsylvania). Inaddition to providing for a plan for self-governance, the Ordinance also prohibited slavery in the Northwest
Territory. 144
Shays's Rebellion Uprising in western Massachusetts in which farmers organized themselves as localmilitia units and closed down courts to prevent their farms from being seizedby creditors. 144
Virginia Plan A plan framedby James Madison and introduced in the Constitutional Conventionby Edmund Randolph that called on delegations to abandon the government of the Articles and create a new, strong national
government. 146
New Jersey Plan Proposalmade by William Patterson of New Jersey as an alternative to the more nationalistic VirginiaPlan that wouldhave retained the principle of state equality in the legislature embodied in the Articles of Confederation. 147
159
