Michael Chiu

AP US History
Period 2
10/9/09

Outline of Chapter 6: The Constitution and the New Republic

-By the late 1780s, most Americans thought that the nation under the Articles of
Confederation was deficient – was unable to deal with instability
-could not handle economic problems effectively-powerlessness in Shays’s rebellion
-America created a new constitution in 1787
Framing a New Government
-the central government of the Confederation Congress was very weak
Advocates of Centralization
-Many powerful groups advocated for a more genuine and strong national government
Ex. American manufacturers, merchants, land speculators, and investors
-Alexander Hamilton, a New York lawyer, had been unhappy with the Articles of
Confederation and the weak central government – called for a national convention
-One of his important allies was James Madison of Virginia
-Only delegates from 5 states came to the conference in Annapolis, Maryland, but they
approved a proposal drafted by Hamilton recommending that Congress call a convention
of special delegates from all states to gather in Philadelphia the next year and consider
ways to “render the constitution of the Federal government adequate to the exigencies of
the union.”
-Won support of George Washington, who saw weakness of government in Shays’ rebellion
-the “founding fathers were the most educated of their time and were very young – only
Benjamin Franklin, 81, was of advanced age – 55 men
-convention chose George Washington to preside over its sessions
-Edmund Randolph began discussion by proposing formation of 3 branches of
government: legislative, executive, and judiciary –approved
-Madison’s plan, known as the Virginia Plan, involved national government with two
houses – the lower house would be represented in proportion to their population and
members of the upper house were to be elected by the lower house
-Virginia plan aroused opposition among delegates from small states such as New Jersey
-William Paterson offered an alternative that proposed a “federal” rather than “national”
government – New Jersey Plan-kept one-house congress where each state had equal
representation, but gave Congress right to tax and to regulate commerce
-Slavery a large issue – states with large slave populations such as SC argued that slaves
should be considered persons in determining representation but also considered property
Compromise
-Delegates eventually produced a proposal that formed basis of Great Compromise –
called for a legislature in which the states would be represented in the lower house on the
basis of population, with each slave counted as 3/5th of a free person in determining the
basis for both representation and direct taxation – in the upper house, the states would be
represented equally with two member apiece – in 1787, convention voted to accept it
The Constitution of 1787
-James Madison probably contributed most to the creation of the American Constitution
-the most creative political thinker of his generation
-helped to resolve two important philosophical questions that were obstacles to the
creation of an effective national government: sovereignty and of limiting power
-the question of sovereignty involved the question of how the national government and
the state governments could exercise sovereignty at the same time
-Madison said that sovereignty flowed from the people
-Madison argued for a large republic, saying that it would be less likely to produce
tyranny – idea of separation of powers helped shape the structure of government
-the “federal” structure of the government, dividing power between the states and the
nation, and the system of “checks and balances”, were designed to protect the United
States from the despotism Americans believed had emerged in England, but also the
despotism of the “mob”, of an “excess of democracy”
Federalists and Antifederalists
-Supporters of the new constitution were known as Federalists – had the support of the
two most eminent men in America; Franklin and Washington – also had support of some
of the ablest political philosophers of their time: Alexander Hamilton, James Madison,
and John Jay – joint pseudonym Publius
-Federalists called critics “antifederalists”- they believed that the constitution would
betray the principles of the revolution by establishing a strong central government
Completing the Structure
-first elections under the Constitution took place in 1789 – George Washington became
first president – inaugurated in New York in 1789
-one of the responsibilities of the first Congress was to draft a bill of rights – approved
twelve amendments in 1789; ten were ratified by states in 1791
-the Judiciary Act of 1789, Congress created a Supreme Court of six members – also
gave them the power to make the final decision in cases involving the constitutionality of
state laws
-the first Congress created three executive departments – state, treasury, and war – and
also established the offices of the attorney general and postmaster general – Washington
appointed Alexander Hamilton to secretary of treasury, Henry Knox as Secretary of War,
Edmund Randolph as attorney general, and Thomas Jefferson as secretary of state
Federalists and Republicans
-One group of Americans believed that America required a strong, national government
while another group believed in a more modest central government – the centralizers
became known as the Federalists and were led by Alexander Hamilton – opponents
known as the Republicans and were led by James Madison and Thomas Jefferson
Hamilton and the Federalists
-Hamilton believed that an effective government needed an enlightened ruling class
-New government needed to take responsibility for the existing public debt
-Hamilton also wanted to create a national bank
-Hamilton proposed two kinds of taxes: an excise to be paid by distillers of alcoholic
liquors and a tariff on imports
-In his “Report on Manufacturing”, he laid out a grand scheme for growth of industry
Enacting the Federalist Program
-Many in Congress agreed with Hamilton’s plan for funding the national debt, but many
disagreed with his proposal to accept the debt at face value
-Hamilton’s proposal to let federal government assume the state debts also met great
difficulty – opponents argued that if this happened, the people of states with few debts
would have to pay taxes to service the larger debts of other states – for example,
Massachusetts owed far more money than did Virginia
-Hamilton arranged a deal with the Virginians to win passage of the bill – Hamilton met
with Jefferson and agreed to provide northern support by moving the capital to the South
in exchange for Virginia’s votes for the assumption bill
-Hamilton argued that a national bank was compatible with the intent of the Constitution,
but Madison and others argued Congress should exercise no powers that the Constitution
had not clearly assigned it – however, both House and Senate agreed to Hamilton’s bill
The Republican Opposition
-Although the Constitution did not make reference to political parties, Madison and
others became convinced that Hamilton had worked to establish a national network of
influence that embodied all the worst features of a party Ex. The Federalists had used
their control over appointments and the awarding of government franchises to reward
their supporters and win additional allies
-Critics of Federalist party felt that their only option was to organize a vigorous
opposition – result was emergence of the Republican Party – calimed they represented
the true interests of the nation
-Neither party was willing to admit that it was acting as a party and neither would
concede the right of the other to exist – known as the “first party system”
-main representative of the Republican Party was Thomas Jefferson
-the Federalists reacted to the radical French Revolution with horror while the
Republicans generally applauded the anti-aristocratic spirit of the Revolution
Establishing National Sovereignty
-The Federalists received public support for stabilizing western lands and strengthening
America’s international position
Securing the Frontier
-In 1794, farmers in western Pennsylvania challenged federal authority when they refused
to pay a whiskey excise tax and began terrorizing tax collectors
-Washington called out militias of three states and crushed Whiskey Rebellion
Native Americans and the New Nation
-the Constitution had done little to resolve the place of the Indian nations within the new
federal structure – barely mentioned native Americans
Maintaining Neutrality
-When France went to war with Great Britain in 1789, America tried to remain neutral
-first test to American to neutrality was the arrival of the first French diplomatic
representative, Edmond Genet, who ignored Washington’s policies and violated the
neutrality act
-Genet’s party lost power in France and he became a U.S. citizen
-Anti-British feeling rose in U.S. when the Royal Navy began seizing U.S. trade ships
Jay’s Treaty and Pinckney’s Treaty
-Established by John Jay, a staunch Federalist from New York – treaty settled conflict
with Britain, established American sovereignty over the Northwest, and it produced a
reasonably satisfactory commercial relationship with Britain
-Under Thomas Pinckney’s Treaty, Spain recognized the right of Americans to navigate
the Mississippi to its mouth and to deposit goods at New Orleans for reloading on
oceangoing ships; agreed to fix the northern boundary of Florida along the 31st parallel
The Downfall of the Federalists
-After 1796, the Federalists never won another election and the Federalists gradually
vanished as an effective political force
The Election of 1796
-George Washington insisted on not running for a third term in 1979
-In his “farewell address” (composed in party by Hamilton), he denounced the
Republicans and warned against international entanglements
-the Republicans chose Jefferson as their candidate while the Federalists chose Vice
President John Adams as their nominee for president
-Adams won by three votes and Jefferson became his vice president
-Adams faced a divided party and had few skills as a politician
The Quasi War with France
-In an effort to stabilize relations between the U.S. and France, Adams sent a bipartisan
commission, consisting of Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, John Marshall, and Elbridge
Gerry to negotiate with France – when they arrived, three agents for Prince Talleyrand,
the French foreign minister, demanded a loan for France and a bribe for French officials
before any negotiations could begin – known as the XYZ Affair
-when Adams heard, he urged preparations for war with France – persuaded Congress to
cut off all trade with France and to authorize American vessels to capture French armed
ships – Congress created a Department of the Navy in 1798 – known as the Quasi War
Repression and Protest
-Conflict with France helped Federalists increase majorities in Congress – began to
consider ways to silence the Republican opposition – Alien and Sedition Acts
-Alien Act made it harder for foreigners to become U.S. citizens and gave president more
power in dealing with aliens; Sedition Act allowed government to prosecute those who
engaged in “sedition” against government – led to the arrest of ten men
-The Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions were two sets of resolutions, one written
anonymously by Jefferson and the other drafted by Madison, used ideas of John Locke to
argue that the federal government possessed only certain delegated powers
-Kentucky resolution stated that the states had the right to “nullify” certain laws
-Republicans did not win wide support for nullification
The “Revolution” of 1800
-In the Election of 1800, the candidates were identical as the previous one – very ugly
campaign – ended up as a tie between Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr
-After election, only branch of the government left in Federalist hands was the judiciary
-the Judiciary Act of 1801 reduced the number of Supreme Court justices from six to five
but greatly increased number of federal justices as a whole – “midnight appointments”