Constitution

Reasons for adopting the Constitution

  1. Congress had no power to tax
  2. Weak federal government
  3. Unhealthy and unfair economic competition between states
  4. Threats to the right to property
  5. -Shay’s Rebellion in 1786 frightened property holders; they wanted a stronger government
  6. In sum, the failure of the Articles of Confederation

Facts about the Constitutional Convention

-Philadelphia (Constitutional) Convention held at Independence Hall

-55 delegates attended (average age 42, 75% had served in Congress)

-Famous framers include:

-George Washington

-James Madison

-George Mason

-Benjamin Franklin

-Alexander Hamilton

-James Wilson

-Edmund Randolph

-Elbridge Gerry

-Rhode Island refused to send a representative

-The convention was held behind closed doors so that delegates to speak freely

-For example, Alexander Hamilton proposed establishing a monarchy

Virginia Plan vs. New Jersey Plan

A. Virginia Plan proposed by James Madison

  1. -Due to Madison’s weak voice, Randolph outlined the plan to the convention.
  2. -Proposed a federal system with a strong national government
  3. -Three branches: executive, legislative, and judicial
  4. -Bicameral legislature: House of Representatives elected directly by the people and based on proportional representation, Senate elected by House of Representatives, choosing from nominations made by state legislatures.
  5. -Gave the legislative branch the following powers:
  6. -Could make any laws that state legislatures could not make (like regulating interstate trade)
  7. -Could veto state laws deemed unconstitutional
  8. -Could use armed forces to enforce laws in states
  9. -Could elect members of executive and judicial branches

B. New Jersey Plan proposed by William Paterson

  1. -Ideas about legislative branch:
  2. -One house
  3. -Increased ability to tax (e.g. import duties and stamp taxes)
  4. -Ability to regulate interstate trade
  5. -No state could contravene federal law
  6. -Executive branch would be comprised by several people appointed by Congress, and would enforce the law.
  7. -Supreme Court would be appointed by executive branch

C. Connecticut (Great) Compromise (proposed by Roger Sherman and Oliver Ellsworth)

  1. -Virginia Plan was favored due to its emphasis on strong central government.
  2. -Small states worried that larger states would dominant if proportional representation was accepted
  3. -According to Connecticut Plan:
  4. -House of Representatives would be elected with proportional representation
  5. -Senate would be elected by equal representation (equal number from each state)
  6. -House would have control over initiating tax legislation.

Powers of national government according to Constitution:

-supremacy clause: Constitution and acts approved by Congress are law of the land

-Article I, Section 8: right of Congress to organize militia

-Article IV, Section 3: Congress has power to create new states

-Article IV, Section 4 gives national government right to guarantee republican government in each state

-Article IV, Section 4: national government must protect states from invasion or domestic violence

  • Limitations of national government according to Constitution

-Article I, Section 9, national government cannot:

-Ban slave trade before 1808

-Suspend writ of habeas corpus except in crises

-Grant titles of nobility

-Take money from treasury without appropriation law

-Tax anything exported from a state

-Pass bills of attainder (declare a person guilty without a trial)

-Pass ex post facto laws (convicting someone of a crime for something he or she did before it was illegal)

-Article III: defines treason and prohibits government from punishing descendants of traitors

Article VI: national government cannot make any religion required.

  • Provisions for Executive Branch

-Single executive adopted to avoid conflicts between executives

-Term of office set at four years

-Powers:

-Enforcing laws passed by Congress

-Nominating people for federal offices (shared with Congress)

-Waging war (Congress must declare war)

-Negotiating treaties with other countries (must be approved by Congress)

-Pardoning convicted criminals

-Sending and receiving ambassadors

-Vetoing bills passed by Congress (unless 2/3 of Congress override veto)

-Congress can impeach president

-President elected by Electoral College

Provisions for Judicial Branch

-Created Supreme Court, which should be independent of politics

-Supreme Court justices nominated by president (ratified by Senate)

-Power to decide conflicts between states

-Power to decide conflicts concerning national government

-Supreme Court has original and appellate jurisdiction

-Original: cases that originate in Supreme Court

-Appellate: cases first heard in lower courts

-Question of judicial review was left unanswered by framers, but adopted by Supreme Court officially in 1803

  • Contemporary Criticism of Constitution

-Howard Zinn in A People’s History of the United States echoes Charles Beard in his Economic Interpretation of the Constitution (Important historiography—especially Beard. Zinn is more pop culture. Other more respected (?) historians also hold his view: Sean Wilentz, Gary Willis, and Joyce Applebee, to name a few. You will encounter many views)

-Constitution was designed to maintain the wealth of the upper class. It did not eliminate slavery, it was a "representative government" but in reality, only wealthy white males were allowed to vote (a minority). Zinn points to aspects of the Constitution such as the Senate as a plot to prevent any sort of radical reform that would benefit the lower classes. Alexander Hamilton is a favorite target of Zinn because he did not trust the people and wanted to set up a system that would favor banks and big business rather than the people.

  • Alexander Hamilton's National Financial Plan
  1. Hamilton wants nation of commerce, manufacturing and trade: Represents interests of merchants/creditors of the north
  2. Madison and Jefferson want nation of agriculture: Represent farmers/planters of the south
  3. In 1789, the United States is over $54 (79 according to Wood) million in debt; includes foreign debt to other countries, domestic debt in form of certificates of pay to revolutionary soldiers, bonds (which had devalued during the war)
  4. Congress establishes customs duties on imports to help pay this off
  5. Hamilton’s Report on Public Credit on Jan. 14, 1790 recommends payment of all debt at once
  6. Controversy (funding)
  7. Hamilton to pay certificate holders face value
  8. His friends knew about this, quickly bought up certificates
  9. Madison proposes to pay face value to original holders of certificates, market value to speculators, and the difference to soldiers and citizens who had sold the certificates to others during the war.
    Also, disagreement over state debts of should the national government assume state debts?
  10. Some states (VA) had already paid a large proportion of their debt, others (MA) hadn’t

Taxing citizens of one state again to help pay another state’s debt would be unfair.

-Compromise reached: funding/assumption bill would be supported in Congress in return for a reduction in federal taxes for those states that had already paid some of their debt & for the residency question to be solved; the nation’s capitol would be in the South—by the Potomac. Restores credit to national government*, strengthens central govt.

Hamilton wants to establish national bank

  • Private investors fund 80% of bank
  • Government funds 20% of bank
  • Will serve as government’s fiscal agent
  • Will issue notes backed by (some) specie (actual specie is scarce)
  • Opposed by strict constructionists; they are afraid of the national government becoming too powerful and too closely aligned with private investors, which could end up endangering the individual liberties of everyone else.
  • What is a strict constructionist?
  • 1st debate between strict and loose interpretation of Constitution over elastic clause Bill for national bank is passed and signed by Washington on Feb. 25, 1791.
  • Excise Tax on various commodities, especially distilled liquors leads to Whiskey Rebellion in western Pennsylvania. Federal Government is able to successfully stop rebels.
  • Compare to its ineffectiveness in Shays’ Rebellion
  • Protective Tariff of tax on imports (Hamilton wanted at this stage to raise federal revenue in order to pay off the accumulating interests) at a level that would discourage foreign imports and/or make their prices too high for U.S. consumers.
  • Rejected (because some feared it would discourage importing altogether, the main source of outside income for the U.S.), although customs rates were raised. Land was also sold in the West (Michigan Territory) to raise national revenues.
  • Hamilton and other Federalists start feeling uneasy about the Western territories. They are afraid they may lose them—or that they may secede or make their own alliances, especially with the still present British and Spanish interests.

George Washington's Presidency (1789-1797)

I. First Term (March 4, 1789-March 3, 1793)

-Vice President: John Adams (1789-1797)

-Secretary of State: Thomas Jefferson (1790-1794)

-Secretary of Treasury: Alexander Hamilton (1789-1795)

-Secretary of War: Henry Knox (1789-1795)

-Postmaster General: Samuel Osgood (1789-1791)

-Timothy Pickering (1791-1795)

-Attorney General: Edmund Randolph (1789-1794) a

Second Term (March 4, 1793-March 3, 1797)

-Vice President: John Adams (1789-1797)

-Secretary of State: Thomas Jefferson (1790-1794)

-Edmund Randolph (1794-1795)

-Timothy Pickering (1795-1797)

-Secretary of Treasury: Alexander Hamilton (1789-1795)

-Oliver Wolcott (1795-1797)

-Secretary of War: Henry Knox (1789-1795)

-Timothy Pickering (1795-1796)

-James McHenry (1796-1797)

-Postmaster General: Timothy Pickering (1791-1795)

-Joseph Haversham (1795-1797)

-Attorney General: Edmund Randolph (1789-1794)

-William Bradford (1794-1795)

-Charles Lee (1795-1797) a

Major Events—Besides being the first President of the United States— “a Republic, if it lasts, Madame.” The president with the Precedents . . .. Monarchy? Plebian homespun? Democratic Rabble and Babble? What is Georgie to do?

  1. July 4, 1789-First tariff act, placing duties on imports
  2. July 20, 1789-First federal navigation act, imposing duty on tonnage of vessels
  3. July 27, 1789-Department of Foreign Affairs created
  4. August 7, 1789-Department of War created
  5. September 2, 1789-Treasury Department established
  6. September 13, 1789-First loan to the U.S. Government by New York bank
  7. September 22, 1789-Post Office Department created
  8. September 24, 1789-Office of Attorney General established
  9. September 25, 1791-First ten amendments to the Constitution enacted
  10. December 17, 1791-Bill of Rights ratified
  11. April 2, 1792-U.S. Mint established
  12. July-November, 1794-Whisky Rebellion
  13. November 19, 1794-Jay Treaty
  14. February 7, 1795-Eleventh Amendment ratified
  15. September 17, 1796-Farewell Address

Bill of Rights

Madison drafted the Bill of Rights although he was opposed to the idea. He did it because he felt that the American people wanted the Bill of Rights. The Bill of Rights was ratified in 1791 and appeased the Anti-federalists. They protected various rights of the people, such as the freedom of religion, of speech, of the press, to assemble, to petition the government, to bear arms, to a trial by jury and the guarantee of procedural safeguards of the law.

Jay’s Treaty

Jay consulted with Russia, Sweden and Denmark about armed-neutrality agreements to bring pressure to England to stop the seizures of neutral ships. The Jay Treaty resulted with the British Foreign Minister. The British surrendered the Northwest Posts, provided that the Americans would permit the continuation of English fur trade in the area. They agreed to recompense for the American ships seized in the Caribbean in exchange for the Americans’ compensation of British creditors of pre-Revolutionary debts. The British refused to give any guarantee against stopping American vessels to impress alleged British seamen. They did agree that trading rights between them would be reciprocal and that both the British and the Americans should have the right to navigate the Mississippi.

Learn the phrase “hung in effigy”

Pinckney Treaty

The Pinckney Treaty was with Spain and it agreed to free navigation of the Mississippi. It gave the American traders permission to deposit goods for shipment at the mouth of the Mississippi River. It also acknowledged the American southern boundary as being at the 31st parallel and the western boundary at the Mississippi. Both agreed to prevent the Indians in their territories from making incursions into the other’s territory.

Farewell Address

George Washington opposed foreign involvement, sectionalism, and political factions. He promoted religion, morality and education. This is often considered his greatest achievement for the young United States. He proved to the world, that indeed, the U.S. was a republic, with elected representatives. If ever a monarchy could have existed in North America, it could have been G. Washington, His Excellency. However, acting on his greatness, he handed the reigns of the new nation to his elected (somewhat) predecessor, J. Adams.

John Adam's Presidency (1796-1800)

Important Events

  1. XYZ affair- 1797 -Diplomatic incident that, when made public in 1798, nearly involved the United States and France in war.
  2. President John Adams dispatched three ministers to France in 1797 to negotiate a commercial agreement to protect U.S. shipping
  3. In Paris the ministers were approached by three French agents who suggested a bribe of $250,000 to Talleyrand, the French foreign minister, and a loan of $10,000,000 to France as a prelude to negotiations.
  4. In April 1798 the machinations of the three French agents (called X, Y, and Z in the diplomatic correspondence) were made public in the United States.
  5. There was a great outcry over the bribe solicitation, followed by preparations for war.
  6. During his administration, the Alien and Sedition Acts--designed to suppress political opposition were passed. This started to lead to the Federalists’ decline in favor with the people. Please look up the provisions of this act. Attacked immigrants, especially French, who were with the Jeffersonians and publicly printing in newspapers damaging attacks on Adams. Abigail had much to do with this legislation. John was wary. It also targeted Jefferson’s buddy, Swiss immigrant and future Secretary of Treasury, Albert Gallatin.
  7. Adam’s greatest feat was not going to war with France or Britain. He supported Jay’s Treaty, which killed his political chances for the future. He also did all he could do stop a war that was looming with France.
  1. Midnight Appointments---In an attempt to leave his mark on the next administration, Adams spent his final hours in office appointing judges and lesser court officials.
  1. Service as President:
  2. Dates of Presidency: 3/4/1797 - 3/3/1801
  3. Why Presidency Ended: Defeated
  4. Party: Federalist
  5. His Vice President(s): Thomas Jefferson
  6. Vice President For: George Washington (1789-1797)
  7. Colonial Government: Mass. Legislature (1768-1774), Continental Congress (1774-1777)
  8. Other Offices: Diplomat to France; Diplomat to the Netherlands; Diplomat to Great Britain
  9. Interesting Facts:
  10. John Adams is the first president whose son became president.
  11. He was the first president to live in the White House--then referred to as the Executive Mansion.
  12. He died on July 4, 1826, the same day as his friend and political rival Thomas Jefferson.
  13. During his administration, the Alien and Sedition Acts--designed to suppress political opposition--were passed.

Political Parties of the Time

-Federalist Party

  1. Leaders: Alexander Hamilton, John Adams, Thomas Pinckney, John Jay, Dewitt Clinton, and Rufus King. Please realize that these members changed Party alliances to suit their interests. You will be held accountable for the biggies
  2. Populous party members: Strongest support was in New England where there was a greater standard of living. Support was also strong along the coast or navigable rivers, where there was strong business and trading. The greatest portion of the party was merchants, manufacturers and commercial farmers. They were elitist and distrustful of the masses.
  3. How it developed: It was born out of controversy regarding the proposed Federal Constitution of 1787-88. Since the Constitution became law, the presiding Federalists continued on. They then put forth proposals by Secretary of Treasury Alexander Hamilton that the national government should assume state debt, fund the national debt at par value and charter a national bank were the basis for several of the ideas.
  4. Beliefs: First of all, party members supported Hamilton and his ideas. They refused to align with the French, which later sparked debate. They believed in government by and for the wealthy, wellborn and able, considering that they would be able to provide better. They further distrusted the common people and feared excesses of democracy because they felt that the commoners would not be able to make the best decisions. Finally, they favored a strong central government that they could control and a loose interpretation of the Constitution with which to control it.
  5. Important actions taken: Hamilton helped push ideas for paying foreign debt, restoring national credit and assuming state debt. A Federal Bank was created, as well as a U.S. Postal Service. The Protective Tariff was implemented, and bounty systems were created to develop manufacturing and agriculture.

Key Dates:

-1794-Debate over Jay’s Treaty (supporting the English) helps define the party

-1796-Washington’s Farewell Address supports Federalism

-1799-Adams opens negotiations with France, begins to split with party; as a result, the Federalists begin to lose power

-1805-After opposition to Jefferson’s Embargo Act, the Federalists get a resurgence of power, and carry many states

-1812-The War of 1812 further helps the Federalists to carry more northern states

-1820-After the war settles they fail to get a national candidate and basically fall out of the scene quietly . . . However . . . ALL OF THEIR IDEALS ARE CARRIED OVER TO THE NEW NATIONAL REPUBLICANS AFTER THE WAR OF 1812—IN 1816 BY PRESIDENT MONROE

Democratic-Republican Party (which we will be calling the Republicans from now on . . .)

(However, they are neither the Republican of the Civil War Era nor the Republicans of today.)

  1. Leaders of the party: Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, Aaron Burr, George Clinton, James Monroe, Andrew Jackson (not really—maybe for a minute)
  1. Populous party members: Most of the party members were basically non-Federalist. They included subsistence farmers, urban workers and artisans as they represented the lower economic classes of the United States. They favored a strict interpretation of the Constitution for fear of manipulation for their disadvantage. They were wary of supporters of proactive national government. (Think England)
  1. How it developed: Basically, in response to Alexander Hamilton’s proposals and John Jay’s treaty; they opposed the ideas. They simply did not believe in a very loose interpretation of the Constitution, which was one of their main beliefs.
  1. Beliefs: Opposing Hamilton, they demanded that the government be more responsible to the popular majorities. Agrarian v Commercial cannot be overlooked!

-Southern!