Topic 4: The Early Republic Flashcards
(30 cards)
How did the Confederation work? [4]
- Each of the 13 states had one vote in a Congress where they met
- No national executive or judiciary
- 3 separate departments - War, finance, and foreign affairs
- Problematic because they had no way of coercing people into paying tax or following the rule of law.
- As such, the more important decisions for citizens at this point occurred at state level.
What were the strengths and weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation? [5W, 3S]
Weaknesses
- Important measures needed approval of 9 states
- Weak government in foreign affairs; could only REQUEST to tax states during war
- All states needed to approve a change to the AOC
- No President, national executive or single figurehead
- Different size states had the same say; unfair?
- No power to tax, regulate trade or enforce financial acquisitions; NO COERCIVE POWER.
Strengths
- Americans gained independence under those articles
- State governments were active and mobilised
- A stronger central government may replicate the British, which they didn’t want as it would undermine the cause of Revolution
- Self government of states was a degree of personal liberty
What 2 states in the West were growing so quickly that the government felt compelled to make them states before they became independent?
Kentucky and Tennessee.
What 2 acts were passed concerning territorial expansion in the 1780s? What was in them?
- 1785 Land Ordinance: Divided land into 6mile^2 townships, which were split into 1mile^2 sections. 4 sections left aside for veterans to avoid paying them, and other land sold at $640 an acre.
- 1787 Northwest Ordinance: Once a territory had more than 5,000 inhabitants, it could elect a legislature and elect non-voting representatives to Congress. Once passed 60,000, they could form a constitutional convention and apply to be a state.
What was the US relationship with the British at this point? [3]
- British were still present South of the Great Lakes to maintain fur trade with Natives, despite saying they’d leave with ‘all convenient speed’
- They remained using the excuse that the Loyalists hadn’t been repaid or returned their property, so John Adams was hasty to give it to them.
- The individual states refused to hand over the property so Adams’ 1785 negotiations were useless and made Congress look weak over their states.
What was the US relationship with the Spanish at this point? [3]
- The Spanish were still in the South, and planned to create a Native buffer state to protect themselves
- To this end they seized Natchez in 1784 and wanted the Mississippi River
- In 1786 Foreign Secretary John Jay drew up a treaty with Spain where if the US gave up the Mississippi River for 25 years, they would get limited access to Spanish markets
- This failed as it only got 5 of the 9 required votes to ratify it; was a foreign policy humiliation
What was the economic/financial situation of the US during this period? [5]
- In 1783 there was $41m of national debt
- The debt to Spain, France and the Netherlands was a further $8m
- This was compounded by a $2.4m interest annually
- The USA was selling less than 1/3rd of what they were buying from (£7.5m bought) Britain
- There was a huge depression and chaotic trade regulation as states had different opinions on tariffs (New England wanted free trade, South wanted tariffs)
- Government could not pay soldiers; Newsburgh, NY Winter 1782-3 soldiers demanded their pay
Who was Robert Morris? What did he do? Did it work in helping the US’ economic situation? [1, 2 and 2]
- Robert Morris was appointed Superintendent of Finance in 1781
- He established a National Bank to try and service the loans, but it failed and govt severed connection in 1784
- Tried to bring the debt under government control so he would have right to tax, but most states paid their debts individually, so Congress could not justify enlarged financial powers
The results:
- Morris resigned in 1784
- By 1787 Congress had LEVIED over £15m in requisitions, but collected only $2.5m
- The land sales from the 1787 Ordinance was only making $760,000 a year
So no. It was a GIGANTIC FAILURE.
What was the conflict between Debtors and Creditors? [4]
- By 1783 the continental paper currency stopped working and some states stopped using paper currency.
- So debtors couldn’t pay their debts, so asked for more paper money but creditors believed this would cause inflation and thus denied.
- By 1787 7 states were doing this; Rhode Island compelled their creditors to use this so debtors were winning
- This sharply depreciated the value of money and many creditors fled the state to avoid using it.
What happened in Shay’s Rebellion? [3]
- State legislature rejected the demand for paper money, insisted on specie, many farmers couldn’t pay and thus lost land
- Left many in Massachusetts fuming and riots broke out led by Daniel Shays
- January 1787 led several hundred men, but easily dispered by 1,000 militiamen. Very alarming for government and for conservatives though.
What happened between Virginia and Maryland in 1785-6? [2]
- Virginia and Maryland over navigation in the Potomac River: In 1785 delegates from the two states + government meet, found a solution and ended amicably.
- This worked so the Annapolis Agreement was drawn up where NY, NJ, PA, VA, DE agreed to discuss reforms in 1786
- From here they realised constitutional change regarding commerce was needed, prompting Madison to set up the Philadelphia Convention as they new Congress was too powerless to do anything.
Give me some statistics on the participants of the Philadelphia Convention. [4]
1 mandatory fact in footnotes. Doesn’t count as one of the 4.
- Convention met in May 1787
- Madison + Washington VA representatives (former MUCH more influential)
- Madison had written “The Vices of the US Political System” in April 1787 calling for a stronger centralised government
- 29 delegates from 7 states
- Rhode Island abstained
- All delegates had held public office
- 42 had served in the Continental or Confederation Congress
All delegates agreed that there needed to be change to the AoC, they just disagreed on how powerful the government should be, whether it should be unicameral or bicameral legislature, and if states should be equally represented or done so by size.
What was the Virginia Plan? [3]
Whose plan was it?
- Bicameral legislature (one elected by people, the other elected by those from the first house)
- Legislature would elect both the executive and the judiciary
- States reduced to administrative units and federal government could veto state legislatures.
Note that most other plans stemmed from this template.
James Madison’s.
What was the New Jersey Plan? [3]
Whose plan was this?
- Unicameral legislature where each state gets 1 vote
- Congress could regulate commerce and tax, but states would retain a lot of sovereignty
- Rejected by the convention
William Patterson’s,
What was the Great Compromise? [3]
- All states, regardless of population, would have equal representation in the upper house (the Senate)
- The lower house (House of Representatives) would have proportional representation; larger states would have more representatives.
- Representation and direct taxation would be distributed according to the results of regular censuses
This was accepted on the 6th July 1787.
What conflicts and issues were there at the Convention? [2]
- Southern states wanted slaves to count for the population total when counting state size, but left out when determining taxability while Northern states wanted the exact opposite, leading to the 3/5ths rule
- Slavery as a whole emerged as an issue: The proposed Constitution banned the Congress from forbidding the slave trade, and GA and NC said they would never accept the Constitution if it hampered slave imports.
State the powers of the new Federal governments, and what states gained and lost. [4,2,2]
The federal government now could:
1. Maintain an army and navy
2. Mint and borrow money
3. Make treaties with foreign powers
4. Levy and regulate commerce
5. Have their law be Supreme over State Law.
States gained:
1. Freedom to choose if they were a slave state
2. Freedom to choose who voted in their states
3. Freedom to regulate their own interstate commerce
States lost:
1. Diplomacy and the ability to wage war
2. The ability to lay duties on imports
3. The ability to issue money
4. The ability to make treaties
What are the criticisms and benefits of the Constitution? [4 and 4]
Criticisms:
- Seen by many as a curbing of a growing democracy
- Electoral college meant you did not need to win the people, just the bigger states
- Senators would owe their office to the state govts, not the people
- Six-year terms gave senators considerable immunity
- It did nothing to attack slavery and even in some cases condoned it to promote North-South unity
- People believed the checks and balances would hamper effective action
Benefits:
- Far more structured political
- Rigorous system of checks and balances
- Balanced the interest of small and large states to near the best of its ability
- Created image of a strong national government
- Split power between numerous branches to avoid concentrating it with a small group of people
- Accepted the will of the people as the sole reason for the Constitution (hence “We, the people”)
Outline the federalist and anti-federalist arguments and support. [3 and 4]
Federalists wanted the Constitution ratified (9 out of 13 states needed) as they supported more centralised and less state power.
- Their plans proved that they had a specific set of solutions, unlike the anti-federalists
- Washington and Franklin were federalists and thus it gathered huge support
- Owned around 95% of newspapers
Anti-federalists wanted more state power and favoured a less centralised government
- They claimed that the Convention had exceeded its mandate by proposing a whole new government
- They claimed it would destroy state sovereignty.
- They believed a state legislature would be more representative of the people and thus more democratics
- They wanted a Bill of Rights to guarantee certain things were out of government power.
Which states were the first and last to ratify before the national elections? [2]
Bonus: Which two states didn’t ratify until after national elections?
Delaware: 7th December 1787
New York: 26th July 1788
Rhode Island and North Carolina.
When were the first elections and what was the outcome? What problems did the new government now face? [5]
First elections were held in 1789. Washington won with no opponents and the next popular candidate, John Adams, became VP. Federalists had a majority in Congress. As for problems:
- Rhode Island and North Carolina still hadn’t joined the union as they hadn’t ratified the Constitution
- The new nation had an untried constitution
- The new government had a huge debt and no current means of collecting money
- There was still no judiciary
- They had no navy and only 672 officers
- Their western borders were still vulnerable and they still faced British and Spanish presence
What actions did the first Congress take? [4]
- 1789 Judiciary Act: Established SCOTUS with 1 Chief Justice and 5 Associate Justice and established district courts in each state, gave SCOTUS the power to nullify state law, and 3 Northern 3 Southern to be elected
- 1791 Bill of Rights: Done to reassure anti-federalists, 10 amendments of which 9 guaranteed individual rights such as religion, speech, bear arms, assembly, press, and reserved all powers to states except those delegated to the federal government
- Trade duties: 5% duty on most items, 7.5% on certain listed items, and as high as 50% on 30 items such as steel, molasses and indigo
- 1789 Tonnage Act: 6c/ton duty for American ships, 30c/ton for American-built overseas-owned ships, and 50c/ton for overseas built and owned ships
What action did Washington take and who were the first Cabinet members? [4]
Established the State, Treasury and War departments as well as an Attorney General and Postmaster General
- Alexander Hamilton as Secretary of the Treasury
- Thomas Jefferson as Secretary of State
- General Henry Knox as Secretary of War
- Edmund Randolph as Attorney General
