AOC-Washington Administration

Describe the Articles of Confederation.

• Congress was the chief agency of the government (unicameral)

• No executive branch

• No judicial branch (legal matters are left to the states)

What were some of the powers of the Articles of Confederation?

• Make war

• Create treaties

• Send diplomatic representatives

• Borrow money

• Created the Northwest Ordinance which allowed the United States to claim territories and turn them into states

• Funded and oversaw the war

• Negotiated the Treaty of Parris

What were the limitations of the Articles of Confederation?

• Intentionally weak

• No power to regulate commerce (resulted in conflict between states)

• Could not enforce its tax collection program

• States had all the power

• No common currency

• States each get 1 vote (unequal to population size)

Describe the events of Shay’s Rebellion and its after effects.

• Farmers from Western Massachusetts were losing their farms to mortgage

• Shays organized farmers to march on several cities. This closed courthouses and prevented them from seizing anymore farms

• Four farmers died, the rest scattered, and the rebellion ended

• Shays was arrested, but later pardoned

• Rebellion created a class divide and showed that the Articles of Confederation was too weak to continue running the country

What was the Annapolis convention?

• Convention aimed at improving interstate commerce

• Only 5 states showed up

• Alexander Hamilton gained a commitment for the Constitutional Convention the following year in Philadelphia

• The purpose of the Constitutional Convention was to overhaul the Articles of Confederation

Describe what happens at the Constitutional Convention.

• Held in Philadelphia in Independence Hall

• 55 delegates

• Secret convention intended to overthrow the Articles, and create an entirely new American government

• Each state sent representatives (except Rhode Island)

• Strong anti-nationalists did not attend (Patrick Henry, Sam Adam’s, etc.)

Who was at the Constitutional Convention and what was there impact?

• Washington- elected chairman of the convention and essentially oversaw it

• James Madison- Most influential and kept very good notes. Wrote the Constitution and the Virginia Bill of Rights

• Benjamin Franklin- Well respected, but ill. Contributed at many crucial points in the convention

• George Mason- Authored Virginia Bill of Rights. Believed in the rights of people in a state and disagreed with a strong national government. Did not sign the Constitution

• Alexander Hamilton- Believed in a strong national government. He was frustrated because he believed only a few should govern

What were the main issues discussed about the Constitution?

• Representation

• States rights vs. national rights

• Slavery

• Economy

Describe the structure of the Constitution.

• 3 co-equal branches: legislative, executive, and judicial

• Legislative is bicameral: upper and lower house. The upper house has 2 representatives per state, and the lower house has representatives based on population. They have the power to tax and regulate commerce

What is federalism?

Idea of power being distributed between the state government and national government. Delegated, reserved, or concurrent.

Describe the Virginia Plan.

• Written by James Madison and introduced by Edmund Randolph

• Bicameral legislature with lower house elected, and appointing the upper house

• Would require state representation to be based on population (larger states get more of a say)

• Weaker states feared that the stronger states would join together to dominate the rest under this plan

Describe the New Jersey plan.

• Written by William Patterson

• “Equal representation” in a unicameral Congress by state, regardless of size and population

• VERY similar to the Articles of Confederations

What is the “Great Compromise”

• States agreed to have representation based on population in the House of Representative, and equal representation in the Senate

• Each state has 2 senators

• Every tax bill originates in the House

• Large states (the north) benefited the most from this compromise

What are some powers of the Senate?

• Ratify treaties

• Approve presidential appointments

• Cooling body that’s supposed to calm arguments

What are some presidential powers?

• Military commander in chief

• Power to make appointments

• Veto over legislation

What is the Electoral College?

Electors chosen by the states vote for the president individually to control the will of the people

What is a delegated power?

A power that is reserved to the state government

What is a reserved power?

Powers the states hold

What is a concurrent power?

Power that is shared at both the state and federal level

What does the Supremacy Clause (Linchpin Clause) state?

When there is a collision in state and federal law, the constitution is supreme

What was the Elastic Clause?

Clause that states that Congress has the power to implement any laws deemed “necessary and proper”

What was the 3/5 compromise?

Compromise stating slaves count as 3/5 if a person to determine there representative status

What was the slave trade compromise?

Compromise stating the north got a $10 tax per head on each slave, and the south was able to keep the slave trade as well as there not being a vote on it for another 20 years

Why was a Bill of Rights not included in the original draft of the Constitution?

1. Southern states believed it would be hypocritical to include “all men are by nature born free” if they still had slaves

2. States already has their own individual bill of rights, so many states rights activists believed these should remain present and binding

3. Some delayed feared the future governments might think they can take away any rights not specifically state sin the hill of rights

4. The agreement over the Constitution was very fragile, and the creators did not want any more disputes that would collapse their decisions

What is the ratification procedure for the Constitution?

• Ratification is to occur in “special state conventions”

• Nine of thirteen states need to ratify in order for it to go into practice

Who were the Federalists?

• People who supported ratification of the Constitution

• Supported a strong central government

Who were the Anti-Federalists?

• People who opposed ratification

• Tended to be middle class and farmers who preferred states to be in control

• Included George Mason and Patrick Henry

Where was Thomas Jefferson during the creation of the Constitution?

France. He only writes to Madison.

Who is the ninth state to ratify?

New Hampshire

What documents influenced the creation of the Bill of Rights?

• Virginia Declaration of Rights- Written by George Mason. States that the government should not be able to violate anyone’s basic human rights

• Virginia Statue for Religious Freedom- Written by Thomas Jefferson. Outlawed an “established”

• church and believe in the idea of separation of church and state

What is the 1st amendment?

Freedom of speech, press, religion, and peition

What are the precedents that George Washington sets during his administration?

1. Makes a cabinet (secretaries that help run the executive branch)

2. Establishes the Judiciary Acts: sets up lower courts that expands the judicial branches power

Who does Washington appoint to be part of his cabinet, and what conflict arises because of this?

• Secretary of state: Thomas Jefferson

• Secretary of treasury: Alexander Hamilton

• Secretary of war: Henry Knox

• Attorney General: Edmund Randolph

Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton disagree HEAVILY on many things, which leads to the creation of parties

What parties originate during/after Washington’s administration and what were they like?

Hamiltonian Federalists

• City-folk and wealthy class

• Distrusted by the common people

• Supported a strong central government

• Pro-British in foreign policy

Jeffersonian Republicans (Democratic Republicans)

• Middle class and farmers

• National debt is a curse and should be paid off ASAP

• Pro-French

What conflict arises between Britain and the US?

Britain is not honoring the Treaty of Parris. They maintain forts on US territory, continue to trade firearms with the natives, and impress our sailors into joining the British navy.

What is stated in Washington’s Farewell Address?

He asks America to stay away from political parties, and not get involved in foreign entanglement.

Who is contending for the second election for president and who wins?

Adams vs. Jefferson. Adams wins, and Jefferson becomes VP.

Why is the election of 1800 considered a revolution?

It marks the first peaceful transfer of power from one political party to another in US history

What were the Virginia and Kentucky resolutions?

Resolutions create secretly by Jefferson and Madison since the Democratic Republicans believed the Alien and Sedition Acts were unconstitutional. It argued that the states had the right to nullify laws that were deemed unconstitutional. This planted the seed for states not listening to the national government, and then later suceeding.

What ultimately leads to Jefferson winning the third presidential election?

Hamilton endorsed him instead of Burr, which angers Burr greatly. He eventually challenged Hamilton to a duel, and shoots him in the chest, killing him.

Who was John Marshall?

• Washington’s aid in the Revolutionary war

• Secretary of State under John Adams

• Appointed as chief justice of the supreme court under Adams

• Federalist

• Developed Judicial Review (if the supreme court declares a law unconstitutional, it will be removed)

Explain the Louisiana Purchase.

Napoleon buys the land in the Louisiana Purchase to create a “sugar empire”, but he loses interest. The US wants to buy a small sliver of land from Florida to New Orleans, so we offer $10 million or that specifically. The French counter with $15 million for the entire thing. This doubled the size of the United States, removed foreign presence from our borders, and guaranteed land on either side of the Mississippi river.

What occurred because of the Louisiana Purchase, and how did it contribute to the origin of the Civil War?

The purchase reopened the issue of slavery and whether or not it would be present in this new land, which ultimately created the Civil War.

Who were Lewis, Clark, and Sacagawea, and what did they do?

Explorers sent by Jefferson to “discover” the Midwest.

Merriwether Lewis

• Science guy

• Helped put down the Whiskey Rebellion

• Aide to Jefferson

William Clark

• Map maker with a military background

• Brought a slave, York, with him who proved to be incredibly helpful

Sacagawea

• 16 at the time and carrying an infant

• Her presence (and child) let others know that they came in peace and meant no harm

• She knew many languages and served as an interpreter and mediator

What did Jefferson want from the Midwest exploration?

• Direct waterway to the West Coast (not a thing)

• Chart land routes to the West

• Gather information about the indigenous plants and animal

• Strengthen American claims to Oregon territory

  • The land had an undecided owner, so we pushed to expand there

• Let people know that the land has changed hands

What event proved that the constitution (& president) was strong enough to handle a crisis in the nation?

The Whiskey Rebellion, a response to a tax on whiskey, occurred and “President Jefferson was easily able to put it down by sending the military. This was a great contrast to the power of the Articles of Confederation.

Describe the differences between the Federalists and the Democratic Republicans.

Federalists

• Led by Hamilton

• Wanted to be allied with Britain

• Mostly city people

• Supported a strong national government

Democratic Republicans

• Led by Jefferson

• Disliked Britain

• Rural supporters

• Wanted state sovereignty

Explain the Marbury vs. Madison case.

Adams appointed Marbury and many other judges to the Federal court in D.C. right before the end of his presidency. Jefferson and Madison withhold Marbury’s commission, and he argues that they are not allowed to do that. The supreme court rules that the Judiciary Act (the act that gave Marbury his job) is unconstitutional, which implements Judicial Review.

Explain the Mulloch vs. Maryland case.

The federal government wants a branch of the national bank in Maryland, and Maryland says they will tax the bank if it is implemented. Marshall says “the power to tax is the power to destroy” and says that taxes on federal institutions are unconstitutional. He argues this using the elastic and supremacy clause.

Explain the Gibbons vs. Ogden case.

Ogden has a monopoly on steamboat transport between New York and New Jersey given to him by the state, while Gibbons has the same given to him by the government. Marshall uses the supremacy clause to argue that Gibbons has the true monopoly, and Ogden is not in the right. This implements the fact that the federal government can control interstate commerce.

Explain the Worcester vs. Georgia case.

The federal government ruled the Cherokee a sovereign nation, but Georgians are trying to enter the territory. The supreme court decides that the states do not have control over states that are not theirs.