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Forging a National Republic,

1776

1789



The United States in 1783





Forging a National Republic,

1776

1789• Agreed new nation should be a republic

(government based on consent of people)• But disagreed strongly and at times

violently on how to implement this republic

• Besides government structure, debated how

many Americans to include in republic

• Debated how to inculcate virtue required for

Republic’s survival



Creating a Virtuous Republic

• Three different definitions of republicanism1. classical theory asserts a republic requires

self-sacrifice, consensus, and an aristocracyof merit

2. using Smith’s ideas, stress that republic needs

individuals to pursue their rational self-

interest

3. last definition rejects deference w/ egalitarian

proposal to widen male political participation

• Elite advocate #1 and #2; not usually #3



The First Emancipation• During revolution, some slaves appealed

for release based on revolution’s ideals

• Most of north began to end slavery in

late 1700s (free children when become

adults)

• Some southern states relaxed

manumission laws, but not SC or GA

• Most African Americans still slaves

(89%, 1800), but free blacks increased in

number



Racist Theory

• To solve conflict w/ revolution’s ideals,slaveowners began to argue that people

of African descent are less than fullyhuman

• “White” and “black” gained definitionand transform earlier free / slave

division• Influenced by revolution, whites see

themselves as a distinct group• African Americans for ed new identit



Republic for White Men Only

• Blacks challenged claims of inferiority, but whites cling to racist notions

• Women and people of color (blacksand Indians) excluded from political

activity• May be that expanding suffrage for

white males linked w/ exclusion—forelite, better to widen participation to

some than risk poorer white malesallying w/ blacks, etc.



State Constitutions & State Governments

• After 1776, drafting state constitutions took

priority over national government structure

• Developed documents specifying structure

in special conventions and ratified by

electorate

• Fears of tyranny shaped new state

structures: restricted governors;

strengthened legislatures

• Lowered property qualification for voting;

reapportioned districts; enumerated rights



Articles of Confederation (Ratified, 1781)

• At state level, early governments weak, butrevised (1780s) to strengthen governor and

incorporate checks and balances

• At national level, similar process

• Articles reflected how Continental Congress

evolved as national government by default

• A unicameral legislature; each state had one

vote, 9 vote ‘supermajority’ required formost important laws, and unanimity among

states required for amendments



Articles of Confederation• Articles govt. had the powers to:

– wage war, send diplomats to other

nations, make treaties, borrow money.

• Articles govt. lacked the powers to: – regulate commerce, impose taxes,

enforce its own laws (no executive branch).



Articles of Confederation

Successes under the Articles:• Winning the Revolutionary War

• Land Ordinance of 1785: Congressestablished a policy of setting aside land

in western territories for education.• Northwest Ordinance of 1787: Set rules

for creating new states in Great Lakesregion. Granted limited self-govt. to

developing territories and prohibited

slavery in the region.



Northwest Territory



Trials of Confederation• Lacking taxation powers, Congress

incurred debt and its currency depreciated

• European powers had no respect for new

nation, and US lacked ability to gain

respect by paying debts, for example.

• To guard their sovereignty, states blocked

enforcement of uniform commercial

policy and foreign treaties (prewar debts,loyalists)

– Result: Europeans discriminated against USexports, and English kept troops on frontier



From Crisis to the Constitution• Americans who were active in finance, foreign

trade, and foreign affairs see problems w/Articles

• Revolution shifted trade to West Indies(limited by British) and stimulated domestic

manufacturing• Reformers at Annapolis (1786) called for

special meeting in 1787 at Philadelphia• Shay’s Rebellion (1786–7) scared elite; Shay

linked uprising by poor farmers w/ Revolution



•The ConstitutionalConvention was a largemeeting held inPhiladelphia, Pennsylvaniaat Independence Hall from

May of 1787 to Sept. to1787 where 55 delegatesrepresenting their states.

•They came to revise,change or throw out the

A-O-C and write a newConstitution.

http://emily.gallery.whitelands.com/photos/travel/philly/photo218



“Framers”

Representatives

who wrote the

Constitution•President of the

Convention

GeorgeWashington

•Father of the

ConstitutionJames Madison

•Father Figure

Ben Franklin



Constitutional Convention (1787)

• Madison was a central figure, very preparedfor meeting, and Virginia Plan embodied his

ideas

• Strengthened US government; prevented

tyranny w/ checks and balances, and large

republic

• VA Plan upset small states because new

government was so strong and large states

favored

• NJ Plan called for revising Articles differently.



Virginia Plan proposed bythe larger states

• Establish a nationalgovernment with 3branches.

• Establish a bicameralCongress.

– People elect 1 house

– That house elects 2nd

house

• Representation in bothhouses based on statepopulation

New Jersey plan proposed bysmall states

• Establish a unicameralCongress

– Each state to have 1 vote

– Equal representation

• States equally represented

similar to the Articles ofConfederation

Issues of representative government would be argued at

Constitutional Convention




• Compromise between two plans• 2-house legislature: House directly

elected and w/ proportionalrepresentation; Senate elected by state

legislatures—2 per state• Slavery linked to new government:

3/5ths clause affects representation inHouse and Constitution protects

slavery




• Enumerate new powers for US Government(tax, commerce) and Supremacy Clause

• Charge president w/ foreign affairs, C-in-C• Delegates do not want the “people” to elect

directly either president or senators• Separation of powers within US

Government and between USG and states prevents tyranny



THE CONSTITUTION: A LESSON IN

COMPROMISE• Whenever people must decide important

issues- especially if they are in large

groups and have diverse interests-

compromise must be reached if agreement

is to occur. Need for compromise was clear

in the case of the Constitution with

delegates from all across the nation bringing with them different needs and

beliefs.



THE CONSTITUTION: A LESSON IN COMPROMISE

ISSUE 1: POWER FOR THE NATIONALGOVERNMENT

The amount of power for the national

government was a point of contention at

the convention. Many feared a national

government as a threat to liberty, but most

wanted a more powerful government than

had existed under the Articles.




COMPROMISE

THE COMPROMISE

Federalism: Some powers under the

Constitution were given to the national

government, while some were reservedfor the states, and others were shared.

Power shared is power limited.




ISSUE 2: REPRESENTATION OF THE STATES

IN THE LEGISLATURE

Large states wanted representation based on

population- because this would give themmore representatives and would allow them tocontrol votes in the legislature. Small stateswanted representation to be the same for allstates- which would help them defend

themselves against the big states in theCongress.




COMPROMISE

THE COMPROMISE

The Great Compromise: Congress wasmade bicameral (having two houses) by the

convention, and in one house (the House ofRepresentatives) representation was based on

population, while in the other (the Senate)each state had two representatives.




ISSUE 3: SLAVERY

Some Northern states were moving in the

direction of abolition by 1787 since they did

not need slavery economically. Southern

states still very dependent upon the institution.

The South was less populated than the North,and Southerners wanted to count slaves in

their population when determining therepresentation. Northerners objected to this.




COMPROMISE

THE COMPROMISE

The Three-Fifths Compromise: Under thisagreement, 3/5 of the slaves would count for

determining representation. Also, as a partof the general compromise on the slaveryissue, Congress could not forbid importation

of slaves until 1808, but after that the slavetrade could be ended.




ISSUE 4: DEMOCRACY

Democracy was not yet a positive term in

America in 1787. Many considered

democracy to mean “mob rule.” There was

growing sentiment, however, especially in

the South, that the common man shouldhave a powerful voice in government.




COMPROMISE

THE COMPROMISE

The creation of a Constitutional Republic: Underthe Constitution (as written in 1787), the peopleelected their Representatives to the House directly,

but elected their Senators and President indirectly.All of these individuals, however, no matter howelected, could not enforce the will of the people if itviolated the Constitution. The Constitution wasestablished as a mechanism to defend minorities

against the majority.



THE CONSTITUTION: IMPORTANT ASPECTS

EXPRESSED POWERSThe national government has definite

powers and these are listed in theConstitution. The Framers intended this

to be a double-edged sword: thegovernment was to have those powers

listed, but not powers not listed. Thisstructure provides the national

government with both strength and

limitation.



CONSENT OF THE GOVERNEDVarious mechanisms were set up in the

Constitution which gave the people of America

a voice in their government.

– Direct vote (House of Representatives),

Indirect vote (Senators and the President),

Ratification of the Constitution was done

with the influence of the people.Through these the Constitution became a

document that was derived from the people, notthe states.




Through elections citizens choosewho will represent them in national,

state, and local governments.

CO S O O A AS C S



FEDERALISMFederalism is a system of sharing powers

between national and state governments.Some powers are held exclusively by the

national government, some exclusively bythe state governments, and some powers

are shared. This provides both nationaland state governments with some source

of strength, and also limits each.




THE CONSTITUTION IMPORTANT ASPECTS



CHECKS AND BALANCESThe national government has three

branches, and each branch has listed powers. Among those powers are

some that can be used as a restrainton the other branches. Again, both

power and limitation results.




and



Articles of Confederation Constitution

Levying taxesCongress could request states to pay

taxes

Congress has right to levy taxes on

individuals

Federal courts No system of federal courtsCourt system created to deal with

issues between citizens, states

Regulation of

trade

No provision to regulate interstate

trade

Congress has right to regulate trade

between states

Executive No executive with power. President of

U.S. merely presided over Congress

Executive branch headed by President

who chooses Cabinet and has checks

on power of judiciary and legislature

Amendingdocument

13/13 needed to amend Articles 2/3 of both houses of Congress plus3/4 of state legislatures or national

convention

Representation

of states

Each state received 1 vote regardless

of size

Upper house (Senate) with 2 votes;

lower house (House ofRepresentatives) based on population

Articles v. Constitution



Articles of Confederation Constitution

Raising an

army

Congress could not draft troops,

dependent on states to contribute forces

Congress can raise an army to deal

with military situations

Interstate

commerce No control of trade between states

Interstate commerce controlled by

Congress

Disputes

between

states

Complicated system of arbitrationFederal court system to handle

disputes

Sovereignty Sovereignty resides in statesConstitution the supreme law of the

land

Passing

laws 9/13 needed to approve legislation

50%+1 of both houses plus signature

of President

Articles v. Constitution



Opposition and Ratification (1788)

• Ratification required state conventions toattain legitimacy for Constitution and bypassstate legislatures (We the People)

• Extensive, heated debate; because many couldnot vote, public protest part of debate

• Federalists asserted new structure wouldensure republic w/ virtuous leaders of “better

sort”• Antifederalists stressed Real Whig fears of

centralized power; advocated strong states



•Blue: Federalist

•Tan: Anti-Federalist

•Yellow: Evenly

divided

•Green: Not

involved in

ratification

Federalist:

AlexanderHamilton

Anti-

Federalist:

PatrickHenry



The Federalist Papers

O G S A O CO O S



BILL OF RIGHTS: ANOTHER COMPROMISE

• Many people and state ratifying

conventions feared the power that was

given to the new government. They werealso afraid that it would attract even more

power to itself as time passed unlessspecific limitations were imposed. Some

states ratified under the condition that alist of rights would be added to the

Constitution after the new governmentwas formed.




BILL OF RIGHTS: ANOTHER COMPROMISESome Federalists oppose B. of R. Hamilton

and Madison both. Reasons:1.The Constitution contained protections for

key rights: habeas corpus, bills of attainder,ex post facto, etc.

2.Because the states would have more contact

with people, it was more important for themto safeguard rights in their constitutions.States would be able to make laws about

many things; the national government aboutonly a few.

3.The main reasons for past bills of rights wasto protect people from a king.





4. Structure will limit govt. and protectrights.

5. There was little reason to limit the powers of government if it did not have

powers. Expressed powers concept.6. Listing rights may be dangerous. If

rights are listed, the people and thegovernment may assume that anything

not listed is not a right of the people.





Politics of ratification demanded the addition of the

B. of R. Key states such as Virginia andMassachusetts would not ratify without a promiseof the addition of such safeguards of liberty.

James Madison drafted twelve amendments thatwere to be the Bill of Rights. Ten of these wereadopted by 1791. These 10 are what we now

know as the Bill of Rights.[1]

[1] One of the original 12 was recently ratified and added to

the Constitution. This amendment, which became part of theConstitution due to Michigan’s 1992 ratification, limits theability of members of Congress to raise their pay during theirterms of office.



It is the responsibility of government to protect

the individual rights of its citizens

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