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The American JourneyA History of the United States, 7th Edition
By: Goldfield • Abbott • Anderson • Argersinger • Argersinger • Barney • Weir
Chapter
•The First Republic
•1776-1789
7
The First Republic
1776-1789
The New Order of Republicanism
Problems at Home
Diplomatic Weaknesses
Toward a New Union
Conclusion
Learning Objectives
What were the most significant weaknesses of the Articles
of Confederation?
How did economic problems lead to political conflict in the
1780s?
What steps did Britain and Spain take to block American
expansion?
Learning Objectives (cont'd)
Which groups in American society were most likely to
support the Constitution? Why?
The New Order of Republicanism
Defining the People
The central tenet of republicanism was the people were
sovereign.
Republicanism also suggested that political rights should be
limited to those who owned property because economic
self-sufficiency was considered necessary for informed
political judgment.
Defining the People (cont'd)
Republicanism limited political participation to propertied
adult white men, approximately 60–85 percent of all adult
white men.
Women and the Revolution
The traditional patriarchal assumptions that politics was a
male domain did not change. Women were considered a
dependent class.
Though some women protested their status, only New
Jersey extended the suffrage to women and that was
rescinded in 1807.
Women and the Revolution (cont’d)
Women did benefit from slightly less restrictive divorce
laws, somewhat greater access to education and
business, and a higher moral status.
Suffrage
The right to vote in a political election.
The Revolution and African Americans in the South
The Revolution stimulated the growth of free black
communities and the development of African American
culture.
One in ten African Americans in slavery gained their
freedom.
FIGURE 7–1 Growth of the Free Black
Population between 1750 and 1800
Northern Blacks and the Revolution
Most northern states gradually abolished slavery but African
Americans struggled against racial prejudice.
Natural rights
Political philosophy that maintains that individuals have an inherent right,
found in nature and preceding any government or written law, to life
and liberty.
The Revolution’s Impact on
Native Americans
Most Native Americans stayed neutral during the Revolution
but sought to free themselves from American domination.
Territorial demands on the Native Americans escalated.
To combat the growing pressure of white Americans, Native
Americans forged new alliances.
The Revolution’s Impact on
Native Americans (cont'd)
In the 1780s, imperial rivalries continued to allow Native
Americans to play the United States and European
colonial powers off against each other.
The State Constitutions
New state constitutions were in place by 1777 and were
written documents that curbed the power of governors
and strengthened legislatures.
The new state constitutions weakened the traditional ties
between church and state for the support of religion.
The State Constitutions (cont'd)
Radicals and conservatives held differing visions of
republicanism. Radicals wanted all male citizens to
participate in government. Conservatives wanted limited
government by substantial property holders.
Conservatives ruled in South Carolina and restricted
suffrage to approximately 10 percent of white males.
The State Constitutions (cont'd)
Radicals ruled in Pennsylvania where all free males who
paid taxes could vote.
Bill of Rights
A written summary of inalienable rights and liberties.
The Articles of Confederation
The Articles of Confederation delegated extremely limited
powers to the central government. It was predicated on
protecting the freedoms for which the Revolution was
fought from oppressive, centralized power.
Congress was the sole national authority but constitutional
safeguards made it impossible to to threaten state
interests.
The Articles of Confederation (cont'd)
Congress was primarily responsible for foreign policy and
national defense.
The issue of western lands hindered ratification of the
Articles until 1781.
Articles of Confederation
Written document setting up the loose confederation of states that
comprised the first national government of the United States from
1781 to 1788.
MAP 7–1 Cession of Western Lands by the
States
Problems at Home
The Fiscal Crisis
The United States and the states had incurred heavy debts
during the Revolution.
A group of nationalists wanted to strengthen the national
government and reduce state power. Robert Morris
organized a Bank of North America to hold government
funds, make loans to the government, and issue paper
money.
The Fiscal Crisis (cont'd)
Morris wanted Congress to assume payment of the national
debt but that required Congress gaining the power to tax.
He proposed a constitutional amendment for a national
impost or tariff but it failed.
Nationalists
Group of leaders in the 1780s who spearheaded the drive to replace the
Articles of Confederation with a stronger central government.
Economic Depression
After the war, Britain kept its markets closed to American
goods, hoping to keep the United States weak and
dependent.
British merchants flooded the American market with cheap
consumer goods but ultimately required payment in hard
currency.
Foreign loans were the United States’ only source of hard
money.
Economic Depression (cont'd)
Prevailing economic conditions led to an immense bubble of
credit that burst in 1784 triggering a depression that
lasted the remainder of the decade.
FIGURE 7–2 American Exports to and Imports
from Britain between 1783 and 1789
The Economic Policies of the States
Artisans, merchants, and workers pushed for tariffs against
British goods to encourage domestic manufacturing and
to protect jobs and wages.
Northern state legislatures passed tariffs, but the lack of a
uniform, national policy rendered them ineffective.
The Economic Policies of the States(cont'd)
Tariff policies raised sectional tensions between northern
and southern states. Southern agrarian states favored
free trade policies.
The most bitter divisions were between debtors and
creditors. Shays’ Rebellion in 1786 showed the
seriousness of this issue.
The Economic Policies of the States(cont'd)
Shays’s Rebellion
An armed movement of debt-ridden farmers in western Massachusetts in
the winter of 1786–1787. The rebellion shut down courts and created
a crisis atmosphere, strengthening the case of nationalists that a
stronger central government was needed to maintain civil order in the
states.
Congress and the West
Congress took several steps to establish jurisdiction in the
West, including negotiating a series of treaties with Native
Americans to gain their land, and passed several
ordinances to organize the settlement of western lands.
Thomas Jefferson wrote the Northwest Ordinance that
included an antislavery clause.
Congress and the West (cont'd)
Land Ordinance of 1785
Act passed by Congress under the Articles of Confederation that created
the grid system of surveys by which all subsequent public land was
made available for sale.
Northwest Ordinance of 1787
Legislation passed by Congress under the Articles of Confederation that
prohibited slavery in the Northwest Territories and provided the model
for the incorporation of future territories into the Union as coequal
states.
Congress and the West (cont'd)
Southwest Ordinance of 1790
Legislation passed by Congress that set up a government with no
prohibition on slavery in U.S. territory south of the Ohio River.
FIGURE 7–3 Land Ordinance of 1785
Diplomatic Weaknesses
Impasse with Britain
The Confederation Congress was unable to resolve major
differences with Great Britain.
Issues included prewar American debts and treatment by
the patriots of Loyalists that the British used to maintain
their hold on western forts.
Spain and the Mississippi River
Spain refused to recognize the southern and western
United States boundaries, denied United States free
navigation of the Mississippi River, and sought to exploit
the divided loyalties of westerners.
MAP 7–2 Disputed Territory in the West after
the Treaty of Paris
Toward a New Union
Nationalists saw that everywhere were unsolved problems
and portents of disaster—the republic’s survival was at
stake. Fundamental actions needed to be taken to
address the situation.
Toward a New Union (cont'd)
Annapolis Convention
Conference of state delegates at Annapolis, Maryland, that issued a call
in September 1786 for a convention to meet at Philadelphia in May
1787 to consider fundamental changes to the Articles of
Confederation.
Constitutional Convention
Convention that met in Philadelphia in 1787 and drafted the Constitution
of the United States.
Toward a New Union (cont'd)
Constitution of the United States
The written document providing for a new central government of the
United States, drawn up at the Constitutional Convention in 1787 and
ratified by the states in 1788.
The Road to Philadelphia
A meeting at George Washington’s Mount Vernon estate
began the movement for a new constitution.
The subsequent Annapolis Convention was attended by
nine states and called for a constitutional convention in
Philadelphia in May 1787.
All states except Rhode Island sent delegates to the
constitutional convention.
The Road to Philadelphia (cont'd)
The delegates were largely lawyers, most had served in the
Confederation Congress, over one-third had fought in the
Revolution, were extremely well-educated, and wealthier
than the average American.
The Convention at Work
Congress had authorized only a revision of the Articles of
Confederation, but the delegates quickly moved to
replace it.
Their first action was to elect George Washington
unanimously as the convention’s presiding officer.
The Convention at Work (cont'd)
The Virginia Plan called for a new national government with
a bicameral legislature, executive, and judiciary. It granted
Congress greater legislative powers and made
representation proportional to population. It favored large
states.
The Convention at Work (cont'd)
Small states responded with the New Jersey Plan that kept
the one state, one vote rule of the Articles but expanded
the powers of Congress and the national government.
The Convention at Work (cont'd)
Virginia Plan
Proposal of the Virginia delegation at the 1787 Constitution
Convention calling for a national legislature in which the states would
be represented according to population. The national legislature would
have the explicit power to veto or overrule laws passed by state
legislatures.
The Convention at Work (cont'd)
New Jersey Plan
Proposal of the New Jersey delegation at the 1787 Constitutional
Convention for a strengthened national government in which all states
would have equal representation in a unicameral legislature.
The Great Compromise
The issue of state representation in the national
government was solved by the Great Compromise. Equal
representation was provided in the Senate and
proportional in the House of Representatives. It also
settled the issue of counting slaves for representation in
the House.
The Great Compromise (cont'd)
Great Compromise
Plan proposed by Roger Sherman of Connecticut at the 1787
Constitutional Convention for creating a national bicameral legislature
in which all states would be equally represented in the Senate and
proportionally represented in the House.
Regulation of Commerce and
the Issue of Slavery
The issue of trade legislation was solved by compromise.
A simple majority of Congress could enact trade legislation
but Congress was barred from acting against the slave
trade for 20 years.
The Office of the Chief Executive
Because Washington was the likely first president, the
delegates provided the chief executive with broad
discretionary powers.
Overview of the Constitution
The Constitution provided for a strong executive, a
Supreme Court, and specifically delegated economic
powers to Congress.
The powers of the states were restrained but provided for
internal checks and balances on the national government.
Overview of the Constitution (cont'd)
The relationship between the state and national
governments were based on federalism.
Judicial review
A power implied in the Constitution that gives federal courts the right to
review and determine the constitutionality of acts passed by Congress
and state legislatures.
Overview of the Constitution (cont'd)
Federalism
The sharing of powers between the national government and the states.
The Articles of Confederation
and the Constitution Compared
The Struggle over Ratification
Federalists supported the Constitution and antifederalists
opposed it.
The Federalists skillfully built momentum for ratification and
used The Federalist, a series of essays, to allay fears the
national government would be too strong.
The Struggle over Ratification (cont'd)
The key to ratification was passage by Virginia and New
York. North Carolina joined the Union in 1789 and Rhode
Island joined in 1790.
Federalist
A supporter of the Constitution who favored its ratification.
The Struggle over Ratification (cont'd)
Antifederalist
An opponent of the Constitution in the debate over its ratification.
MAP 7–3 The Ratification Vote on the
Constitution
Conclusion
Conclusion
Between 1776 and 1789, Americans developed a unique
constitutional system.
Written constitutions were proclaimed supreme over
legislation and detailed the powers of government, and
protected freedom through the Bill of Rights.
Equally important, the nation’s constitution and government
were changed peacefully.
Federalists versus
Antifederalists