The U.S under the articles of confederation (1781-1789) Flashcards
The articles of confederation
-supposed to govern this nascent kind of wartime alliance between these various states
-article 2 says that each state retains its sovereignty, it’s freedom, it’s independence and every power jurisdiction and right
-there was very little delegated to the confederation generally after
-every state had a single vote
-at least some thought about potential expansion
-government had no ability to generate revenue
a legal revolution?
-questions of what this new nation would be
-for many of the states there was virtually no change
-the legal system of civil law remained the same as well
-Sir Willliam Blackstone published one of the most important books regarding the common law
-common law remains in place. There is discussion about changing the system and Jefferson kind of brings this up. Some of those on Jefferson’s side create a whole new legal system
-decisions of courts have binding precedent (have force of law and particularly decisions of higher courts like the Supreme Court)
Western land claims and inter-state rivalries
-split begins now over what is this new country is going to be
-and that issue about law and kind of deeper changes to the legal, political, social systems gets to the core of that issue
-several of these former states had Western land claims
-only in 1781 that all the various colonies agree, ok we will cede our western claims
-so all of these various claims here become part of the Northwest territories becoming a federally administered territory
-already seeing a split between big states and small states that will continue to be an issue for the entirety of the Confederation period
National Land Ordinance (what was the national land ordinance of 1787?)
-confederation period oftentimes ignored when talking about American history
-laws that were passed that were important
-the National land ordinance of 1787 established a form of future territorial expansion, form of interior colonisation where it would regularize plots of land that would be divided out in the West
-old northwest: Michigan, Wisconsin, ohio, Indiana
-the national land ordinance also passed that all this kind of new territory that would be acquired would be acquired by the U.S
-this will be a federal issue when acquiring land from indigenous groups
-registration of title that a person held in property was not required, unlike in most of the northern states or where there was more encouragement of large sprawling rural states rather than dense towns
Northwest ordinance of 1787
-said that all this territory that was acquired for Britain would be centrally administered by the Confederation government, by the federal government as a territory
-so it establishes that model as the norm going forward
-so all new land acquired by the U.S would be administered not by one state or another, but by the confederation later federal government as national territories
-they would decide on the laws going forward
-banned slavery in the Northwest territories
-establishes this precedent that would later be contested that Congress can decide on the status of slavery in the national territories
Shay’s Rebellion: The Last Straw
-what was this new society going to be?
-after conflicts there would be economic depression
-western Massachusetts
-4000 rebels, mostly farmers who were heavily indebted
-many of them were veterans of the continental army
-attempt to try to overthrow the state government because of this poor economic condition
-revolutionary energy
-scholarly debate about whether this was an isolated incident or part of a wider movement (not just in western Massachusetts)
-they particularly start attacking court houses
-massachusetts state government alarmed goes to congress and says we need some help
-congress says we have no money
-so Massachusetts left on their own
-they largely have to rely on rich Bostonians to kind of raise private militias to try to put down Shay’s rebellion
-several bloody battles and eventually disperse Shay’s rebellion
-this rebellion in some ways was a bit of the last straw that proved that the Confederation Congress was not working
-state has to rely on rich citizens
Addressing Problems with the articles of confederation: Annapolis convention, 1786
-try to come up with some sort of solution
-are we staying together or splitting up?
-couldn’t regulate commerce internally
-only 5 of the states send delegates
-they decide next year in 1787 we’re going to meet again in Philadelphia
Meeting of the constitutional convention in Philadelphia, 1787
Meeting of the constitutional convention in Philadelphia, 1787
-generally do a better job
-big names like Washington and Franklin to come to the constitution
-this is legit
-heroes of the revolution
-all states send delegates except for rhode island
-most of them are lawyers
-begins with the objective of amending the articles of confederation
-how can we change these articles to make them a bit more stable
-becomes clear that the articles are not worth saving
-scrap the articles and come up with an entirely new constitution for this national gov.
-but not everybody was in agreement with that
-no clear plan on what this new gov was going to look like
Constitution debates: competing plans and compromises
*Few of the different plans
*Fear that they would repeat the history of Europe
*Most people want to create some kind of unified state going forward
*James Madison of Virginia emerges as a major intellectual player
*He puts forth his virginia plan which created a very strong central government (one that could override state laws)
*Debate around what form of government is best suited to protect individual liberty? What form of government is best suited to protect property? Is a central government best to do that?
*Alexander Hamilton thought that there was a greater risk that small governments could be captured by extremist elements
*There are already demands for states to pass laws abolishing debt obligations for example
*Major fear by many
*James Madison wants a government that can override laws that are passed by states
*Alexander Hamilton’s plan similar to Madison’s plan goes even further than that
*Based on a parliamentary system without a monarch
*In addition to the form of government that the federal government would take, it was also a question of how to apportion delegates in Congress
*Connecticut compromise: proposed by Rodger Sherman, who is one of the delegates from Connecticut, to create two houses modeled on the British model
*It would be a senate borrowing from Hamilton’s model
*The senators would be appointed by state legislatures. The senate would represent the interests of the states as sovereign entities before the national government
*Each state would have 2 senators regardless of pop. and a separate house of representatives
*They agree to ban the slave trade after 20 years (in 1808, Atlantic slave trade)
*Fugitive slave clause: the North has to agree to allow federal agents to apprehend enslaved people who have escaped from slave states and return them
Signing and ratification debates: a bill of rights?
*Very chaotic process to create this new constitution
*Of the 74 delegates chosen, only 55 in attendance at the time of the final vote
*Some parts were added late
*The convention approves the final document but then it has to go to the states for ratification
*So still 9 out of the 13 states have to agree for this new constitution to go into effect
*Debates at the local level in the various states over do we agree to ratify this document that has been sent to us
*A sticking point is whether this constitution should include a Bill of Rights
*Should it include a list of explicit limits on the powers of the federal government?
*Hamilton thought there should be no bill of rights (actually limits peoples’ rights)
*Madison and Hamilton are in favour of ratifying the constitution immediately
*John Hancock and Sam Adams propose a solution (we will get our faction on board to ratify the constitution if everybody agrees that when this new government meets, when congress meets for the first time, they will take up passing a set of amendments to form a Bill of Rights
*New York and Virginia adopt later
*Rhode island is the last in 1790
Emerging political factions: federalists vs. anti-federalists (what do federalists want and what do anti-federalists want?)
*Much of this is taking place in NY
*Federalists: what Hamilton, Madison, John Jay are arguing for is a strong central government and opposed to a bill of rights
*Wants the U.S to basically be a European country in American soil and they start to solidify during the Washington administration in a separate party
*After the ratification of the constitution they are no longer called the anti-federalists but rather they become a separate party called the democratic republican party with Thomas Jefferson as their leader
Constitutional points of interest: the commerce clause and the necessary and proper clause
*These two clauses give congress most of its power to act
*Federal government in the U.S does not have what in legal terms is called a general police power
*Congress has an implied power to create laws that can help effectuate its enumerated powers
*Does it absolutely have to be necessary or just kind of has to be useful?
*Much of this language is murky and unclear
the contracts clause
*Risk of factionalism (class and concentration of wealth)
*Very much fears class warfare and a mob within a democracy to take over the government
*One of the few provisions in the constitution that imposes limits on the states, on the state governments
