The American Revolution Flashcards
Elitists vs democrats
Elitists tended to be those who had previously dominated the colonial assemblies. They believed in popular sovereignty, but wanted the elites to govern. This would be achieved through a restricted franchise, high property qualifications for office holders, infrequent elections, and a bicameral legislature with an upper house.
Democrats tended to be men from more humble backgrounds and wanted a more radical form of government, arguing for the opposite of that which the elitists called for.
State constitutions
Between 1776 and 1780 all but two states adopted new constitutions Rhode Island and Connecticut). The new constitutions sought to embody the principles of republicanism, but also to strike a balance between providing effective government, while avoiding the dangers of excessive authority.
All asserted the principle of popular sovereignty.
All established the separation of powers (executive, legislature, judiciary).
Most established a bicameral legislature (with the exceptions of Pennsylvania and Georgia which adopted unicameral legislatures).
All required voters to meet a relatively low property qualification, resulting in 2/3 of men aged over 21 being enfranchised.
Property qualifications for holding office remained high.
Every state had a governor (except Pennsylvania which had an executive council) - usually chosen by the legislature, with one year terms of office.
Power was concentrated in the legislatures, although this power was limited by annual elections. Most state constitutions also included a bill of rights.
Causes for tension: elitists vs new men
The new constitutions established nothing like democracy. In many states property qualifications for holding office were so high they excluded all but elitists. In some states, such as South Carolina and Virginia, the old elites’ domination continued.
However, the franchise was significantly broadened in most states as property qualifications were reduced, and as a result most state governments became more responsive to popular opinion. The removal of loyalist office holders created vacancies for many ‘new men’ from humble backgrounds. The enlargement of the legislatures, and the better representation of frontier districts, created further opportunities for so-called ‘new men’ to become office holders.
In 1775 46% of representatives in the colonial legislatures had been drawn from the elite. By 1783 only 22% of representatives in the state legislatures were drawn from the elite. Small farmers and artisans formed the majority in the northern legislatures, and a sizeable minority in the southern legislatures. The wealthy continued to dominate, but ordinary Americans had a far greater voice than they had had prior to the revolution.
Causes for tension: cosmopolitans vs localists
Cosmopolitans: In the North they lived in the commercial areas. In the South they were the large property owners. They had strong connections with the towns and large-scale commerce. They had a cosmopolitan outlook. They supported active government which supported the growth of commerce.
Localists: Predominantly rural. Owned small properties. Lived in remote interior areas. Narrow minded. Suspicious of government, banking and the towns.
Articles of Confederation
In June 1776 Congress appointed a committee to draft a constitution. John Dickinson was the principal author of the USA’s first constitution: the Articles of Confederation. Dickinson described the Confederation as little more than a ‘firm league of friendship’.
Problems faced by state governments
Between 1775 and 1787 the states largely conducted their own affairs, with the power of Congress limited to the direction of the war. The state governments grappled with a number of problems:
Territorial disputes. In 1777 two NY counties, Gloucester and Cumberland, formed themselves into Vermont.
British occupations in NY, Philadelphia and South Carolina.
Severe financial problems; rampant inflation.
Loyalist opposition.
Debates over religious establishment.
AoC organisation
Congress would act as the central government. Each state had 1 vote, regardless of population. State delegations consisted of 2 to 7 people. Congressmen were appointed annually and limited to 3 terms in 6 years. No executive or judicial branch.
AoC powers
Declare war. Raise an army and navy. Requisition states for money and men in times of war. Borrow/issue money. Agree treaties/alliances. Apportion common expenses among the states. Settle boundary disputes. Regulate Native American affairs. Set weights/measures. Establish/regulate post offices.
AoC limits
Important measures like treaties needed the approval of at least 9 states. The Articles could not be amended without the approval of all 13 states. All powers not specifically granted to the Confederation were reserved to the states. Congress had no power to levy taxes, regulate trade, or enforce financial requisitions.
Problems with the confederation
*Congress met intermittently, and had no fixed location. Members of Congress attended sporadically and were often not present. Congress only just managed to get a quorum to ratify the Treaty of Paris in 1783.
*Congress had no authority to impose taxes, and so it tried to pay for the war by issuing paper money (which caused huge inflation) and pressuring the states to raise and give money (this was not successful as the states themselves were facing financial ruin). By 1780 Congress was virtually bankrupt. It asked the states to guarantee a new federal currency, but the plan failed, and by 1781 there was no effective national currency.
*By 1783 the Articles of Confederation faced a problematic future. The Confederation had been established by the states, not by the people. There was no element of direct popular election, and so the Confederation lacked legitimacy. The war had united the states; peace removed the most powerful incentive for union.
Did the revolution result in a more egalitarian society?: Yes
‘Levelling up’ thanks to loyalist emigration? By 1783 80,000 loyalists had been exiled to Britain / other parts of the empire. This had a levelling effect, providing ‘new men’ with land / opportunities.
Rejection of hereditary privilege. After 1776 most Americans opposed hereditary privilege. Two states explicitly forbade titles of nobility. Many states prohibited hereditary office holding.
Opportunities for ‘new men’. New men, of lower social status, now sat in state legislatures. This challenged the political and social supremacy of the old elite. ‘New men’ began to show less deference towards their ‘superiors’.
Promotion by merit in the Continental Army. Many ordinary Americans became officers in the army and militia units, not on the basis of social status but on merit.
Symbols of social hierarchy. Many symbols of social hierarchy were removed. In the courts judges stopped wearing wigs and scarlet robes in the English fashion.
Westward expansion: The acquisition of western territory created opportunities for landless Americans.
Women and slaves: Women gained some more equality. Some states abolished slavery.
Did the revolution result in a more egalitarian society?: No
‘Levelling up’ thanks to loyalist emigration? Recent research has established that loyalists came from all classes of society; they were not simply the elite. Properties and opportunities left by wealthy loyalists were quickly taken over by the already well-off. During the war state governments confiscated huge amounts of land from wealthy loyalists. They converted these lands into finance for the war by selling them quickly and cheaply, albeit at prices which were prohibitively expensive for ’new men’. As a result, great patriot landowning families significantly expanded their estates. So loyalist emigration actually deepened the social divide between wealthy and ordinary Americans.
Social hierarchy: Widespread acceptance of class distinctions as natural and inevitable persisted.
Economic change: There was no dramatic economic upheaval. America remained a land of self-sufficient farmers. There were no attempts to redistribute wealth or to promote equality.
Elitism: The old colonial elites survived the war, albeit with the loss of loyalists.
Women and slaves: The impact of the war on slaves and women was limited.
Impact of Revolution on African Americans
In November 1775: George Washington banned all blacks from service in the Continental Army; Lord Dunmore, Governor of Virginia, promised to free any slave who fled their rebel owner to serve the British.
In advance of the Southern Campaign in 1779 General Clinton issued a proclamation that any slaves who deserted the rebels and served Britain would be freed (this promise was not explicit but was interpreted as such by the slaves). One sixth of southern slaves fled to the British lines, who generally employed them as servants and labourers.
Blacks were permitted to serve in the rebel militias of the New England colonies, and from 1777 blacks were allowed to serve in the Continental Army due to manpower shortages.
Slavery in the north
The revolution, with its strong ideological principles, heightened pre-existing anti-slavery sentiment in the north. The abolition of slavery in the north was straightforward as there were relatively few slaves there. Only 3% of New England’s population were slaves, and only 6% of the middle colonies’ population were slaves. Between 1777 and 1804 slavery was gradually abolished in the north.
Slavery in the south
90% of slaves lived in the South and most southern whites were determined to maintain slavery.
After 1783 some southern planters, motivated by the ideology of the revolution, used existing manumission laws free their slaves. This resulted in a dramatic increase in the number of free southern blacks, particularly in Maryland and Virginia. Between 1782 and 1810 to number of free blacks in Virginia rose from 2,000 to 30,000. Despite this, there were still around 300,000 slaves in Virginia, and in most other southern states manumission remained very rare.
Virginia (1778) and Maryland (1783) banned the slave trade with Africa, but this was largely motivated by a desire to maintain the value of existing slaves by reducing supply.
From the 1790s cotton became a highly lucrative crop in the South, and demand for slaves massively increased. The period 1790-1807 was the busiest period of slave importation in the history of North America.
By 1790 there were 60,000 free blacks in the USA. Whether in the north or the south, free blacks faced racism, discrimination and segregation, and did the worst paid jobs. However, the very presence of a free black community was a challenge to the slave system.
