Ch 9: The Confederation and the Constitution
From a Loose Confederation of States to a Union of People
A) Aftereffects of Independence
1. Pursuit of Equality:
-Econ: growth of trade organizations for artisans and laborers
-Laws: primogeniture repealed
-Religion: separation of church & state→ weakening of Anglican church
-Women’s rights: Though republicanism put great emphasis on the mother in cultivating “civic virtue”, they could still only play a traditional role.
2. Democracy in State Legislatures:
-Bill of rights guaranteed liberties against later legislative encroachment
-Constitutions superior to ordinary legislation
-Weak executive & judicial branches; legislatures given most power
-Presence of members from recently enfranchised poorer western districts
-State capitals relocated from haughty eastern ports into less pretentious interior
3. Economy-wise:
-Sharp stimulus given to manufacturing (caused by nonimportation, war, etc)
-No mercantilism: Ams could trade freely w. foreign nations
→Fisheries & shipbuilding disrupted
-Debt: state govs borrowed more than they could ever repay
-Paper money issued became “not worth a continental” → runaway inflation
-Avg citizen was worse off financially at end of war than at start
B) Background on the Articles of Confederation (adopted by cong in 1777)
1. Historical Context
-Ams suspicious of any form of authority
-Disunited patriots had pledged allegiance to common cause now gone
-Hard economic times
-Political leaders of high order (GWash, JMad, JAdams, TJeff, AHam)
2. History of the Articles of Confederation
4. Nevertheless, extremely farsighted pieces of legislation were passed
-Pioneers purchased land from fed gov→ weakening of state power
C) Factors Leading to the Constitutional/Philadelphia Convention
1. British & Spanish hostility
D) Philadelphia Convention (1787)
1. Precursor: Annapolis Convention 1786
-Pres (comm-in-chief) could wage war, but Cong retained right to declare war
-Small states want NJ Plan: equal rep in unicameral Cong, as under AoC
-Verdict: House of Reps (rep based on size) + Senate (equal rep)
-Hwvr, every tax bill must originate in House, where pop’n counts more heavily
-If no candidate gets majority, then election referred to the House
-North objects, stating that slaves were not citizens
“Sectional Compromise”
-New Eng agreed to back extension of slave trade for 20 years in exchange for…
-votes from South to make federal regulation of commerce a mere majority
E) Ratification of the Constitution by the States
1. Stage I: Submitting it to Congress
-States’ rights devotees: distrusted any form of central gov
-Poor backcountry ppl/debtors: Const=plot by elite to lord over common folk
-Creation of standing army: despotism
-2/3 states ratification= questionable procedure
-Quality: Affluent, educated, better organized ppl who lived along seaboard
-Controlled the press: 90% Am newspapers were Fed
3. Stage II: A 5-0 Victory for the Federalists (Fall 1787)
→“Ratify now, amend later” became tiebreaking method in later states
Summary: A Conservative Triumph
1. Pursuit of Equality:
- What Changed:
-Econ: growth of trade organizations for artisans and laborers
-Laws: primogeniture repealed
-Religion: separation of church & state→ weakening of Anglican church
- What stayed the same:
-Women’s rights: Though republicanism put great emphasis on the mother in cultivating “civic virtue”, they could still only play a traditional role.
2. Democracy in State Legislatures:
- State Constitutions:
-Bill of rights guaranteed liberties against later legislative encroachment
-Constitutions superior to ordinary legislation
-Weak executive & judicial branches; legislatures given most power
- State legislatures:
-Presence of members from recently enfranchised poorer western districts
-State capitals relocated from haughty eastern ports into less pretentious interior
3. Economy-wise:
- Positive:
-Sharp stimulus given to manufacturing (caused by nonimportation, war, etc)
-No mercantilism: Ams could trade freely w. foreign nations
- Negative:
→Fisheries & shipbuilding disrupted
-Debt: state govs borrowed more than they could ever repay
-Paper money issued became “not worth a continental” → runaway inflation
-Avg citizen was worse off financially at end of war than at start
B) Background on the Articles of Confederation (adopted by cong in 1777)
1. Historical Context
- Why it was hard to unite
-Ams suspicious of any form of authority
-Disunited patriots had pledged allegiance to common cause now gone
-Hard economic times
- On the good side…
-Political leaders of high order (GWash, JMad, JAdams, TJeff, AHam)
2. History of the Articles of Confederation
- Written by 2nd Cont Cong bf declaring indep to serve as const for new nation
- Translated into Fr after Saratoga to convince Fr that Am had genuine gov
- However, was not ratified by all 13 states until 1781 (8 mo bf Yorktown)
- Why? Western lands: Some states had large claims while others had none
- However, unanimous ratification required to become effective
- MD at last gave in when NY & VA ceded lands in OH River valley
- Govt: weak congress w. no exec branch or judicial branch
- Voting: 1 vote/state; bills required 9 votes; amendments required 13
- Minuses: No power to regulate commerce or enforce tax-collection program
- Despite this, AoC was significant steppingstone toward present Const
4. Nevertheless, extremely farsighted pieces of legislation were passed
- To persuade states to ratify AoC, Cong pledged to use western land for “common benefit” & agreed to carve from new public domain republican states (aot colonies)
- Land Ordinance 1785: Old NW to be surveyed, divided, and sold to pay off nat’l debt (since gov couldn’t levy taxes); 1/36 township sold to support schools. -Sig: Orderly settlemt averted chaos & set foundation for land policy in US
- Northwest Ordinance 1787: At first, area would be subordinate to fed gov, then when it reached pop’n 60000, it could be admitted by Cong as a state -Sig: Set precedent for expansion (creation of new states rather than expansion of old ones) & forestalled rebellion by inhabitants of new territory
- Result: UNITY bc…
-Pioneers purchased land from fed gov→ weakening of state power
C) Factors Leading to the Constitutional/Philadelphia Convention
1. British & Spanish hostility
- Brit refused to send minister to US, make commercial treaty, and repeal Nav Laws
- W Indies & MS River closed to Am commerce
- Schemed w. Indians to use them against US
- Showed weakness of AoC: Gov has no control over military or commerce
- Bf: Brit purchased protection for all subjects (including Ams)
- US too weak to fight & too poor to bribe→ can’t do anything
- States: issued & sanctioned worthless paper money→ inflation
- State v Gov: Gov had to provide for common defense, but couldn’t tax, so demanded requisitions, which states refused to pay after the Rev War
- States v St: quarreled over boundaries & levied duties on goods from neighbors
- Have v Have-nots: Shays Rebellion- armed uprising in which MA farmers (some Rev War veterans), plagued by debt & foreclosures, demanded that state issue paper money, lighten taxes, and suspend property takeovers
D) Philadelphia Convention (1787)
1. Precursor: Annapolis Convention 1786
- Purpose: to resolve interstate trading conflicts (since gov didn’t control commerce)
- Too little rep→ AHam called for const conv to not only deal w. trade, but also AoC
- Every state legislature, except RI’s, appted reps (55 in total aot 12 last time)
- Conservative, propertied men: lawyers, merchants, shippers, land speculators
- GWash (chairman), BFrank, JMad, AHam
- Fiery Rev leaders (e.g. Sam Adams, Hancock, TPaine) absent
- Many were lawyers who helped write state const
- Desired firm, dignified, respected gov with three branches + checks & balances
- Determined to preserve the union, forestall anarchy, and ensure security of life & property against dangerous uprisings by ‘mobocracy’
- Sought to completely scrap AoC (despite explicit instructions to revise) → secrecy
- Robust executive power
-Pres (comm-in-chief) could wage war, but Cong retained right to declare war
- Great/Connecticut Compromise
-Small states want NJ Plan: equal rep in unicameral Cong, as under AoC
-Verdict: House of Reps (rep based on size) + Senate (equal rep)
-Hwvr, every tax bill must originate in House, where pop’n counts more heavily
- Who votes for president?
-If no candidate gets majority, then election referred to the House
- Three-fifths Compromise
-North objects, stating that slaves were not citizens
“Sectional Compromise”
-New Eng agreed to back extension of slave trade for 20 years in exchange for…
-votes from South to make federal regulation of commerce a mere majority
E) Ratification of the Constitution by the States
1. Stage I: Submitting it to Congress
- Unanimous ratification required to amend AoC, so framers wrote in Art 7 that after 9 states registered their approval, Const→ supreme law of the land in those states
- JMad takes Const to Cong to placate possible opposition, calling for unanimous endorsement; Cong, wo recommendation submits it to states for action
- Special elections were held in states for members of ratifying conventions
- Antifederalists=barriers to ratification
-States’ rights devotees: distrusted any form of central gov
-Poor backcountry ppl/debtors: Const=plot by elite to lord over common folk
- Antifederalist arguments
-Creation of standing army: despotism
-2/3 states ratification= questionable procedure
- Federalist Advantages
-Quality: Affluent, educated, better organized ppl who lived along seaboard
-Controlled the press: 90% Am newspapers were Fed
3. Stage II: A 5-0 Victory for the Federalists (Fall 1787)
- Four small states + PA ratified promptly: DL*, PA, NJ*, GA*, CT (*Unanimous)
- In PA, to secure quorum, 2 Antis were coerced to attend convention
- Most crucial stage as Feds need 4 more states while Antis still need 4 to veto
- Country is in a crisis and MA & NH reps can’t agree on anything
- MA Compromise: Antis in MA (Sam Adams, John Hancock) agree to ratify if Feds agree to include Bill of Rights into Const
→“Ratify now, amend later” became tiebreaking method in later states
- Most NH reps Anti, so the Feds moved to postpone meeting until June to prevent what could be the start of a Fed defeat
- Antifed was strong in both states; why Antifeds didn’t put up much of a fight?
- Victories can be ascribed to undemocratic forces in both states.
- NH ratified Const thanks to sth similar to MA Compromise (9 states ratified so far)
- VA (largest pop’n) provided fierce Anti opposition- Pat Henry v. GWash, JMad; w. new union about to form, VA couldn’t continue comfortably as independent state
- Due to Antifed state convention, AHam & JMad write The Federalist, and NY reps finally yielded after realizing that the state can’t prosper apart from Union
- Before: NC adjourned w/o taking vote while RI didn’t even summon convention
- Bill of Rights appended as amendments
- NC summons 2nd convention which ratifies (Nov 1789)
- RI summons 1st convention which ratifies (May 1790)
Summary: A Conservative Triumph
- The minority triumphs twice: Whereas the successful Rev War was a product of a minority of Am radicals, the Const was a victory for the minority of Am conservatives
- Safeguards had been erected against mob-rule excesses while republican gains of the Revolution were conserved.
- Despite being conservative, the framers preserved the principle of republican govt through a redefinition of popular sovereignty. They embedded the doctrine of self-rule in a self-limiting system of checks and balances among three branches.
- Thus, the founding of our nation came about by a miraculous confluence of radicalism, which engineered the military Revolution, and conservatism, which engineered the peaceful revolution that overthrew the inadequate Articles of Confederation, changing America from a loose confederation of states to a firm union of people.
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