Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Longman 2006 THE AMERICAN PEOPLE CREATING A NATION AND A SOCIETY NASH JEFFREY HOWE FREDERICK DAVIS WINKLER MIRES PESTANA Chapter 7: Consolidating the Revolution 7th Edition STRUGGLING WITH THE PEACETIME AGENDA With the end of the war, Americans faced daunting problems of demobilization and adjustment to conditions of independence DEMOBILIZING THE ARMY After the war, many of the troops refused to go home until the government acted upon their grievances regarding back pay and other benefits Some officers in early 1783 began to hint at a military coup if demands were not met Washington moved quickly to defuse the situation, asking for patience and giving assurances that pay would be rendered, as it eventually was DEMOBILIZING THE ARMY In June, several hundred disgruntled continental soldiers and Pennsylvania militiamen gathered at Independence Hall in Philadelphia Congress fled to Princeton There, Congress issued the soldiers three months pay and furloughed them until formal discharge Congressional authority had been severely damaged Congress continuously moved over the next several years and its authority increasingly eroded OPENING THE WEST The most notable accomplishments of Congress during this period were: The Land Ordinance of 1785 Provided for the systematic survey and sale of the lands west of Pennsylvania and north of the Ohio River The Northwest Ordinance of 1787 Provided for the political organization and terms of eventual statehood for the same region and prohibited slavery These represented a dramatic change from English policy and enjoyed broad political support, in part because land sales promised to reduce the national debt Old Northwest Survey Patterns OPENING THE WEST Congress operated as if the Native Americans were a conquered people who had given up their land by virtue of their alliance with Britain Claims were grounded in notions of Native American social and cultural inferiority Even the most sympathetic whites believed that Indians must forgo their tribal ways while those that were less sympathetic suggested they must be removed OPENING THE WEST Treaty of Fort Stanwix 1784: Iroquois, their numbers reduced by war, disease and flight into Canada, ceded most of their lands to the United States and retreated to small reservations January 1785: Wyandotte, Chippewa, Delaware, and Ottawa relinquished claims to most of present-day Ohio Such treaties, often exacted under threat of force, generated widespread resentment and by the mid- 1780s, tribes were resisting white expansion OPENING THE WEST Congresss inability to open interior to white settlers alarmed many people Speculators feared the loss of their investment Farmers wanted new lands Revolutionary soldiers wanted a place to start over and had been promised land Leaders, like Jefferson, believed liberty depended on an expanding nation of yeomen farmers Problems in west worsened when Spain closed the mouth of the Mississippi to U.S. shipping and Congress could do nothing WRESTLING WITH THE NATIONAL DEBT Evidence of the Confederations inadequacy rested in its inability to deal effectively with the nations war debt The debt has been recently estimated at $35 million, owed largely to Dutch and French bankers Congress had to borrow money just to pay the interest In 1781, Congress appointed Robert Morris as superintendent of finance Urged states to stop printing paper money Persuaded Congress to request that states pay their requisitions in specie Got Congress to Charter the Bank of North America Took steps to make government bonds attractive to investors WRESTLING WITH THE NATIONAL DEBT Lacking the authority to tax, Congress was dependent on the states willingness to meet their financial obligations Congress requested $8 million in 1781 and two and a half years later had only received $1.5 million In 1784 Morris resigned Federal revenue in 1786 totaled $370,000 SURVIVING IN A HOSTILE ATLANTIC WORLD Even after the United States had won its independence, England, France, and Spain continued to be an aggressive presence on the continent England had become the enemy France had proven an uncertain friend with its distrust of rebellions and attempts to manipulate the peace process to its own advantage U.S. was new, weak and republican in an Atlantic world of strong monarchies North America After the Treaty of Paris, 1783 SURVIVING IN A HOSTILE ATLANTIC WORLD After the war, England resumed exports to the United States but did not readily accept imports The French and Spanish returned to maritime restrictions against American commerce Each state tried to control its own trade for its own advantage By the late 1780s, the per capita value of American exports had fallen 30% from the 1760s SOURCES OF POLITICAL CONFLICT The form of revolutionary politics in the individual states depended on: Impact of the war Extent of Loyalism Patterns of social conflict Disruptions to economic life SEPARATING CHURCH AND STATE Prior to 1776, only Rhode Island, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware promoted full religious freedom Other states supported a central church to which they gave government funds for operation The rhetoric of the Revolution inferred that freedom of choice was the only safe basis for church/state relations In Massachusetts, the 1780 constitution guaranteed everyone the right to worship however they wanted but also empowered the legislature to tax residents to support local ministersonly in 1833 were such laws linking church and state repealed SEPARATING CHURCH AND STATE Virginia 1786: Adopted Bill for Establishing Religious Freedom which rejected all church and state connections Served as model for first amendment No one was prepared to universally extend religious freedom Anti-Catholic biases remained strong SLAVERY UNDER ATTACK Revolutionary principles, a reduced need for field hands in the depressed Chesapeake tobacco economy, natural increase among the existing slave population and anxiety over black rebelliousness supported moves to end the slave trade By 1790, every state except South Carolina and Georgia had abolished the importation of new slaves within their borders As a result, a higher proportion of slaves were American born, speeding the process of cultural assimilation SLAVERY UNDER ATTACK Antislavery attacks intensified after the war In Georgia and South Carolina, where slaves outnumbered whites two to one and where their labor was essential, slavery went virtually unchallenged In Virginia and Maryland, whites argued whether slavery was compatible with republicanism and both passed laws making it easier for owners to free their slaves SLAVERY UNDER ATTACK By 1800, more than one in 10 blacks in the Chesapeake was free, though many were working as indentured servants Most lived in cities that served as centers of African American society and havens for escaped slaves In the North, slavery was abolished or put on an eventual path to abolition Blacks were a minority and slavery had neither economic nor social importance Northern blacks joined in attacks on slavery SLAVERY UNDER ATTACK In the North, civic participation by blacks was scattered and temporary but it was non- existent in the South Free blacks often could not vote nor enjoy protection of their life and property under the law Abolition of slavery in the North widened the sectional divergence There now existed a coherent, publicly proclaimed antislavery argument POLITICS AND THE ECONOMY Although the victors, Americas loss of trade with England sent the country into an economic depression for 20 years New Englands shipping based economy was hit hard Virginia tobacco planters suffered the loss of their British markets Farmers did well when armies were nearby but suffered when they left As always, certain artisans and people with the right political connections suffered little trouble POLITICS AND THE ECONOMY Americans suffered from price and wage inflation, skyrocketing taxation and mushrooming debt Question of whether war debts should be paid at face value People of modern means argued rising taxes should be payable in depreciated paper money or government securities while officials claimed this would deprive governments of needed revenue POLITICS AND THE ECONOMY Efforts to control prices were controversial Individuals not yet integrated into the market economy supported price controls Those accustomed to a market economymerchants, shopkeepers, etc. believed in supply and demand The issue of paper money also caused conflict Congress and the states printed paper money to deal with expenses leading to depreciation Speculators made things worse Poor suffered most severely POLITICAL TUMULT IN THE STATES Crises spurred demands for a new and more powerful national government THE LIMITS OF REPUBICAN EXPERIMENTATION The period following the Revolutionary War saw a backlash in the political spirit of the country as conservatism returned to the mainstream Political leadership began to fall to men who felt the republican experiment had gone too far Pennsylvania replaced its democratic constitution in 1790 with a more conservative one providing for a strong governor who could veto legislation and control the militia and a conservative senate designed to balance the democratic assembly Stopped issuing paper money and rechartered the Bank of North America SHAYS REBELLION Massachusetts citizens by the mid-1780s had to borrow money to simply pay their taxes or support their families Those who were better off borrowed to speculate in western land or government securities People usually borrowed from each other rather than from a traditional bank SHAYS REBELLION English goods flooded the market, forcing down prices Overcommitted English banks called in their American loans causing a credit crisis Hard hit farmers and laboring people turned to the government for stay laws suspending the collection of private debts Also demanded printing of paper money Creditors wanted repayment in hard money 1786: Massachusetts legislature ignored petitions from citizens demanding help Between 1784 and 1786, 29 towns defaulted on their tax obligations SHAYS REBELLION A Hampshire County convention of delegates from 50 towns condemned state senate, court fees, and tax system September 1786: armed men closed the court in Worcester and the governor dispatched 600 militiamen to protect the supreme court A group of 500 insurgents, led by Daniel Shays, gathered near the court The Continental Congress authorized 1300 troops, supposedly for use against Native Americans, but actually for use against Shays SHAYS REBELLION The insurrection collapsed in eastern Massachusetts in late November but continued in the west When insurgents refused the governors order to disperse, the governor called out 4400 men January 26, 1787: Shays led 1200 men on raid of federal arsenal at Springfield, where they were repulsed by defenders Over next several weeks militia chased the remnants Legislature pardoned all but Shays and three other leaders in March and by the following year even they were forgotten SHAYS REBELLION In Charles County, Maryland, angry citizens rushed the courthouse demanding paper money and suspension of debt collection In South Carolina, an incensed citizen forced the sheriff to eat the writ of foreclosure he was trying to serve Across the colonies, politics were in turmoil Some felt betrayed by Revolutions promise of equal rights Others were concerned over what they viewed as democratic excesses TOWARD A NEW NATIONAL GOVERNMENT THE RISE OF FEDERALISM Federalists: the supporters of a strong, central government Included Washington, Hamilton, Madison and Jay Believed nations survival was at stake, wanted protection for property rights and thought an aristocracy of talent should lead the country Anti-federalists: Concerned with supremacy of the states THE RISE OF FEDERALISM Federalist leaders feared the loss of their own political and social power and the collapse of the orderly world they believed was essential to liberty Saw outbursts like Shays rebellion as threats to social and political order which helped persuade them of need for a stronger national government Congresss inability to handle the national debt, establish public credit and restore overseas trade led for calls for a new government Federalists shared a vision of an expanding commercial republic THE GRAND CONVENTION Delegates gathered at Independence Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1787 to construct the blueprint for a new and better form of government Rhode Island did not attend Nor did Thomas Jefferson, who was in Paris, or Patrick Henry, who distrusted the intent of the convention George Washington was chosen as the convention president and all deliberations were to be kept secret DRAFTING THE CONSTITUTION The Virginia Plan called for a bicameral system of legislature (lower house elected by the people, upper house chosen by the lower house from nominees proposed by the state legislatures) Had a president named by Congress, a national judiciary and a Council of Revision who would review the constitutionality of laws States would have proportional representation, which concerned small states The New Jersey Plan urged retention of the Articles of Confederation while conferring on Congress the power to tax and regulate foreign and interstate commerce After some debate, the Virginia Plan was voted as the most workable solution DRAFTING THE CONSTITUTION The Great Compromise: Representation in the lower house would be based on each states total white population plus three-fifths of its black population The same calculation would be used to apportion taxes States would have equal votes in the Senate An Electoral College of wise and experienced leaders, selected by state legislatures, would meet to choose the president Senators would also be named by state legislatures (only directly elected after 17th amendment in 1913) Slave trade would end in 20 years though the terms slavery or slave trade did not appear in the Constitution DRAFTING THE CONSTITUTION Included an article providing federal sanction for the capture and return of runaway slaves Congress now had the authority to levy and collect taxes, regulate commerce with foreign nations and between the states, devise uniform rules for naturalization, administer national patents and copyrights, and control the federal district in which it would be located The Constitution explicitly denied certain powers to the states without granting them any particular powers Thirty-nine of the 42 delegates left, signed the document FEDERALISTS VERSUS ANTI- FEDERALISTS Federalists realized it would be harder to convince the states so clause stated that only 9 of the 13 had to approve the Constitution for it to go into effect Ratification would be decided by specially elected conventions Anti-Federalists believed republican liberty could be preserved only in small, homogenous societies Were not convinced that separation of powers would prevent governmental abuses Generally believed, more than Federalists, that for government to be safe, it must be tied closely to the people FEDERALISTS VERSUS ANTI- FEDERALISTS Under the pseudonym Publius, James Madison, Alexander Hamilton and John Jay published a series of essays in New York defending the Constitution Argued power was the guarantor of liberty Explained that political divisions were the inevitable accompaniment of human liberty Belief that public virtue would guarantee liberty was naive so politics had to provide a way to compromise between conflicting interests Federalist and Anti-Federalist Areas, 17871788 THE STRUGGLE OVER RATIFICATION No national referendum or review was ever held on the content of the Constitution While the majority of people probably opposed the Constitution, Federalists only had to secure a majority in 9 of the state conventions It took less than a year to secure the nine states needed to win ratification, starting with Delaware, Pennsylvania and New Jersey in December 1787 January 1788: Georgia and Connecticut February 1788: Massachusetts ratified but only after Federalist leaders agreed to forward a bill of rights along with notice of ratification Maryland and South Carolina were next and New Hampshire put the count over the top THE STRUGGLE OVER RATIFICATION In Virginia, Madison gathered support by promising immediate consideration of a bill of rights Virginia ratified on June 25, 1788 New York convention had an Anti-Federalist majority but approval squeaked through on July 27 North Carolina ratified in November 1789 and Rhode Island finally joined the Union in May 1790 THE SOCIAL GEOGRAPHY OF RATIFICATION Federalist strength was concentrated along the coast and navigable rivers and in cities and towns Merchants and businessmen were strong supporters Enthusiasm ran high among urban laborers, artisans and shopkeepers who felt a stronger government could promote overseas trade while protecting them from foreign competition Outside coastal cities, Constitution found support among commercial farmers and southern planters Anti-Federalist feelings were strong in the interior among ordinary farmers living outside the market economy Federalists succeeded because of determination and political skill DISCOVERING U.S. HISTORY ONLINE : The Revolutionary War to the War of Indian Affairs: Laws and TreatiesColonial CurrencyEvolution of Territories and States from the Old Northwest Territory DISCOVERING U.S. HISTORY ONLINE Religion and the American RevolutionA Struggle from the StartShays RebellionWithin These WallsYou Be the HistorianThe Founders Constitution DISCOVERING U.S. HISTORY ONLINE A Procedural Guide to the Electoral Collegecollege/procedural_guide.html The Federalist Documents from the Continental Congress and the Constitutional Convention, tml Independence Hall National Historical Park