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Thus I consent, sir, to this new constitution,
because I expect no better and I am not sure that
it is not the best

• The Constitution and New Republic
• 1781-1800

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The Articles of Confederation

• The first official government of the United
  States.
• It established a limited federal government.
• Single branch-legislative
• One state-One vote
• Super Majority needed for laws
• No power to tax or regulate commerce
• It gave significant power to the states.
• Remember, the key was to avoid the power of the
  monarch we had just left

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The Articles of Confederation

• Accomplishments
• Actually transitioned the colonies into an
  independent group, separate from England
• Land Ordinance of 1785 promoted public education
• Northwest Ordinance of 1787 set rules for
  creating new states and also prohibited slavery
  in the new states
• States can enter the Union upon reaching 60,000
  people and an approved state Constitution

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Weaknesses of the Articles

• One vote for each state, regardless of size.
• Congress cannot collect taxes.
• This led to the government to issue worthless
  paper money that caused inflation
• Congress powerless to regulate foreign and
  interstate commerce.
• This restricted growth of interstate commerce and
  trade
• No separate executive branch to enforce acts of
  Congress.
• No national court system to interpret laws.
• Amendment only with consent of all the states.
• A 9/13 majority required to pass laws.
• Articles only a firm league of friendship
• These weaknesses were demonstrated by Shays
  Rebellion

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Social Changes of the Revolution

• Aristocratic Titles
• State constitutions abolish titles to limit class
  distinctions
• Separation of Church and State
• No tax dollar support of churches is allowed in
  most states
• Women
• Mostly women remained in second class status,
  although they did fulfill their role of
  Republican Motherhood
• Slavery
• There was a push to abolish the import of slaves
  following the war, but Southerners resisted and
  threatened the new Union

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The Constitutional Convention

• 55 Delegates meet in Philadelphia in 1787
• These are mostly wealthy, all white males
• George Washington was elected as the presiding
  officer
• Many of the more radical leaders if the
  revolution were not included in the convention
• Jefferson, Paine and John Adams were unavailable
  for the Convention as well
• The sole purpose of the convention was to amend
  the Articles of Confederation
• Hamilton and Madison quickly directed the
  convention toward drafting a new document

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The Issues of the Convention

• Virginia Plan
• It called for the creation of a bicameral
  national legislature where each state would send
  representatives in proportion to the population.
• At a minimum this plan made the federal
  government co-equal with the states
• It laid the groundwork for a more federally based
  system
• The new legislature would have the power to tax
  and to regulate foreign and interstate commerce.
• The national legislature would have the power to
  veto any act of a state legislature.
• In addition to the legislative branch, the
  proposed government would have an executive and
  judicial branch.
• This plan favored larger states

• New Jersey Plan
• It called for the creation of a unicameral
  national legislature where each state had an
  equal number of votes
• This plan kept the national government weak and
  the states powerful.
• Congress had the power to tax and to regulate
  foreign and interstate commerce.
• It would create executive and judicial branches.
• This plan favored smaller states significantly
• This was eventually resolved through the Great
  Compromise that created a bicameral legislature

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Slavery Issues

• Slaves as population
• Northerners do not want slaves counted, people
  votes
• Clearly, Southerners prefer to count slaves as
  population
• 3/5ths Compromise solves the issue
• Importation
• To woo Southern states slave import is guaranteed
  until 1808
• It is then to be regulated by Congress

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Trade and Powers

• Trade and Currency become the sole purview of the
  Federal government
• The powers of government were to be divided
  between the state and federal governments
• This is a system known as federalism
• The Presidential term was limited to 4 years,
  with no limit on the number of terms
• The following page discusses the separation of
  powers and the system of checks and Balances

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Division of Power
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Development of Political Parties

• The Constitution left open for debate some key
  issues
• Was the document to be strictly followed?
• Was there room for interpretation?
• Should the Federal (central, national) government
  or state governments have more power?
• These questions were the key issues to be decided
  in the new nation.

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The Federalists

• The Federalists were a group that advocated for
  increased power for the Federal government
• This group included Washington, Madison, Franklin
  and Hamilton
• They felt that central government would provide
  stability and order
• They were convinced that the Constitution would
  provide safeguards for the rights of the people

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The Anti-Federalists

• The Anti-Federalists were very leery of federal
  power
• They feared that the central government would
  trample the rights of the people
• They also felt that the federal power would usurp
  the power of states
• They insisted on a written guarantee of rights
  and liberties which became known as the bill of
  rights
• After the convention, Jefferson became the
  leading advocate for the Anti-Federalists

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The Bill of Rights

1. Speech, Assembly, Religion, Press, petition for
   redress of grievances, separate church and state
2. Right to bear arms
3. No quartering act
4. Privacy, search and seizure
5. Due process, double jeopardy, self incrimination
6. Speedy, public trial
7. Trial by jury
8. Prohibits cruel and unusual punishment
9. Rights not specifically mentioned are also
   protected
10. All powers not delegated to the Federal
    government are reserved for the states

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Washingtons Presidency

• He set many important precedents during his
  tenure of office
• These included
• Two-terms
• The Cabinet
• Proclamation of Neutrality
• The Federal Court system was also created in 1789
• This act created 13 circuit courts and 3 circuit
  courts of appeals

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Hamiltons Financial Plan

• Hamilton wanted to accomplish several things as
  he started as Sec. of the Treasury
• Bind the country together
• Increase Federal power and prestige
• Pay off debts
• Protect industry
• He tried to accomplish this through the
  following
• Funding state debts at par
• A tax on whiskey
• A protective tariff
• A national bank

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Jeffersons Response

• Jefferson opposed much of Hamiltons Plan
• He felt that it was too focused on the wealthy
  and ignored the concerns of the common man
• He also felt that the plan would give power to
  the Federal government at the expense of the
  states.

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Foreign Affairs

• The French Revolution
• Americans supported the idea of the Revolution,
  but were horrified by the mob violence
• Proclamation of Neutrality
• Washington believed that the US was not strong
  enough to be involved in foreign wars or
  alliances
• Jays Treaty
• This was an attempt to stop British impressments
  of sailors
• Pinckneys Treaty
• Jays Treaty was so bad that Spain thought the US
  and Britain were aligning. As a result they
  basically gave away rights to the Mississippi

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The Presidency of Adams

• The XYZ Affair
• France tried to bully the United States delegates
  into paying a bribe in order to enter
  negotiations
• Adams resisted the call for war
• The Alien and Sedition Acts
• These laws raised the time for citizenship from 5
  to 14 years
• The Sedition Act made it a crime to criticize the
  President or Congress
• The Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions
• These were responses written by Madison and
  Jefferson that railed against the expansion of
  power in the Sedition Act
• These resolutions stated that states should be
  able to NULLIFY federal laws that are
  unconstitutional

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The Revolution of 1800

• The election of 1800 represented the first time
  in history that a country had peacefully
  transferred power from one political group to its
  rival without bloodshed
• Jefferson changed as a leader, as he became more
  open to expanding powers of the Federal
  government as shown in the Louisiana Purchase
• Jefferson was saddled with a largely Federalist
  Court system
• The influence of the Federalists would carry on
  for several years past their electoral success