Chapter 6 Origins and Debates surrounding U.S Constitution y Large states VS.

Small states o James Madison s Virginia Plan: Two-house national government (lower house represented in proportion to populations, upper house elected by lower house under no rigid system of representation) o William Paterson s New Jersey Plan: One-house legislature in which each state had equal representation; expanded Congress s rights to tax and regulate commerce o Permit members of upper house to be elected by state legislature not lower house o Great Compromise: Legislature in which states would be represented in lower house in basis of population; Upper house, states represented equally with two members each (accepted July 16, 1787) y Slaves VS. No Slaves o Slave owning states: wanted slaves to count in representation, but not taxation o Non-slave owning states: wanted slaves to count in taxation, but not in representation o Didn t argue for slaves citizenship or suffrage o Great Compromise: Slaves count as 3/5ths of a person for both representation and taxation (3/5ths as productive and contribute 3/5ths as much wealth to state) o Representatives of south: feared power to regulate trade might interfere with agrarian economy (relied heavily on sales abroad and slavery); Congress can t impose a duty of more than $10 on a head on imported slaves, can t tax exports, no authority to stop slave trade for twenty years o Delegates who viewed slavery as an affront to principles of new nation: agreed because they feared that without it the Constitution would fail y Strong national government VS. Strong state government o Individual states must remain sovereign and strong national gov would be dangerous  Nation breed corruption and despotism because rulers distant from people o Madison: Separation of powers (checks and balances) between legislative, executive, judicial branches; Two chambers: Senate and House of Representatives  Fed courts: protection from exec and leg because serve for life  HOR and Senate have to agree before law could be passed o Fear of mob (Shays s Rebellion) Differing Views of What the Nation Should Become (First Party System) y 9/13 of states must ratify the document in order for the new government to exist y Federalists o Supporters of the Constitution, strong central government needed to maintain order and preserve the Union o Emphasized weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation; opponents had no solutions o Constitution was new and untried; lacked bill of rights o Franklin, Washington, Alexander Hamilton, John Jay o Federalist Papers: Explains meanings and virtues of Constitution y Antifederalists o Nothing to offer except opposition and chaos ; Defenders of true principles of Rev o Stronger central government would destroy the work of the Revolution, limit democracy, restrict state s rights; establish strong, tyrannical, center of power

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Proposed Constitution contained no protection of individual rights, more power than B. Distrust of government based on colonial experienced Thomas Jefferson, George Clinton, James Winthrop, John Hancock Increase taxes, obliterate states, favor well born over common people, end individual liberty, no bill of rights o Minority; remain rural and agrarian Bill of Rights o Federalists: Better to assume that all rights were protected than to create a limited list of rights since unscrupulous officials could assert that unlisted rights could be violated at will o Antifederalists: Bill of Rights will stop government from acting in a tyrannical manner o Promised to add Bill of Rights in order to ratify Constitution Republicans believed Federalists were just an interested and overbearing majority; banding together to influence state and local elections; represented true interests of nation Fed and Rep refused to admit that they were acting as parties; first party system o o o o

Hamilton s Financial Plan y Assuming the debt o Stable and effective government required an enlightened ruling class; Support wealthy and powerful, need to give elites a stake in its success o New government take responsibility for existing public debt (miscellaneous, uncertain, depreciated certificates old Congress issued now in hands of wealthy speculators) o Call them in and exchange for uniform, interest-bearing bonds, payable at definite dates (funding the debt) o Federal government assume (take over) debts the states accumulated (encourage state and federal bondholders to look at central government for eventual payment) o Wanted large and permanent national debt (new bonds as old ones are paid off) o Creditors (wealthy classes likely to lend money to government) would have stake in seeing government survive y National Bank o Fill void that absence of well-developed banking system had created o Provide loans and currency to businesses o Give government a safe place to deposit federal funds o Collect taxes and disburse government s expenditures o Keep up price of government bonds through judicious bond purchases o Monopoly of government s own banking business; controlled by directors whom 1/5th appointed by government o Stable center to nation s small and feeble banking system o Two kinds of taxes: excise paid by distillers of alcoholic liquors (small farmers in back country); tariff on imports (protect American manufacturing from foreign competition) y Enacting Financial Program o Bonds: Original holders of old certificates issued to merchants and farmers in payment for war supplies sold their bonds in 1780s to speculators at fraction of face value; should return to original purchasers; ended up paying bondholders not original lenders o State debts: people of states will have to pay taxes to service larger debts of other states; struck bargain with Virginians in order to pass the bill (location of capital; wanted capital near them in the south on banks of Potomac River)

o o Results: o Restored public credit; bonds of US were selling at home and abroad at price above par value (speculators reaped large profits) o Won support of influential segments of the population o Manufacturers profited from tariffs; merchants benefited from BUS o Small farmers complain that they had to bear a disproportionate tax burden (taxes to state governments, excise tax on distilleries, and tariff) o Serve only small, wealthy elite

BUS: Congress shouldn t exercise powers that Constitution didn t assign it; HOR and Senate accepted it Excise: farmers forced revisions to reduce burden on smaller distillers Tariff: raised rates less than he wished

Domestic and Internal Problems y Whiskey Rebellion: Farmers in Penn refused to pay whiskey excise tax and terrorized tax collectors; Washington (at Hamilton s urging) called out militias of three states and led troops into Penn; won allegiance of whiskey rebels by intimidations, won loyalties of frontier people by accepting their territories as new states; use of force against the common people y Native Americans: British supplying Natives with arms and encouraging them to attack intruding Americans; General Anthony Wayne defeated Shawnee, Wyandot; agreed to Treaty of Greenville: surrendered claims to Ohio Territory y Western Lands: Public Land Act of 1796: orderly procedures for dividing and selling federal lands at reasonable prices y Quasi War: Cut off all trade with France and authorize American vessels to capture French armed ships on high seas; Department of the Navy; captured 85 ships; worked closely with British; peaceful end Jay s Treaty y Established undisputed American sovereignty over entire Northwest y Produced satisfactory commercial relationship with Britain (trade was important) y Prevented war between two nations y Republicans and a few Feds tried to defeat it in the Senate, but it was ratified Pinckney s Treaty y Spain recognized right of Americans to navigate Miss to mouth and deposit goods at New Orleans for reloading oceangoing ships y Fixed northern boundary of Florida along 31st parallel y Required Spanish authorities to prevent Indians in Florida from launching raids across boarder John Adams Presidency y XYZ Affair: US angered by seizure by French warships and privateers; Adams sent delegation to Paris to negotiate; certain French ministers requested bribes as the basis for entering into negotiations; avoided war and sent new ministers to Paris y Alien and Sedition Acts: Feds adopted Naturalization Act (increased from 5-14 number of years required for immigrations to quality for citizenship because most immigrants voted Dem-Rep); Alien Acts (authorized president to deport any aliens considered dangerous and to detain any enemy aliens in time of war; Sedition Act (illegal for newspapers to criticize president or

Congress and imposed heavy penalties; Rep pinned their hopes for a reversal of the AS Acts on the State Legislatures Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions: used ideas of John Locke to argue that federal government had been formed by a contract among states and possessed only certain delegated powers, acts were void if gov exercised undelegated powers; right to nullify appropriate laws; Rep succeeded in elevating dispute with Fed to national crisis

Election of 1800 y Feds lost popularity during Adam s presidency; Alien and Sedition Acts disliked; Taxes imposed by Feds to pay costs of preparing for war (to build up Navy) y HOR gave majority to Thomas Jefferson (vs. Aaron Burr) who was less dangerous and of higher character y Peaceful Revolution o Passing of power was accomplished without violence o Constitutional system would endure various strains that were placed upon it o Feds quietly accepted their government to Dem-Rep Etc y y y y y y The Virginia Plan proposed a new constitution with a bicameral legislature with larger influence for states with the most population The number of Supreme Court justices was originally set at six pursuant to the Judiciary Act of 1789. In order to protect against an "excess of democracy," the Constitution only allowed for the direct election of representatives. President Washington's putting down of the Whiskey Rebellion helped stabilize the western frontier. Jefferson and his followers didn t believe that commercial activity was a danger to the republic. The Quasi War with France helped the Feds increase their Congressional majorities