US history

Id 1 articles of confederation 

what? (1781)

• league of friendship (amongst states)

• didn’t want powerful central government/federal army, and they distrusted executive power

  • government didn’t have power to tax/regulate economy

  • one-house legislature

• put power in the people

signifies?

• thought this would protect liberty, protect from tyrannical govt.

• leads to new ideas of liberty

• madison: too much liberty is tyrannical

• jefferson: “tree of liberty must be refreshed with blood of patriots and tyrnats”

• this led shays rebellion → constitution → americans to have to accept a farm more centralized & powerful govt. than previously imagined in order to protect liberty

Id 2 the jeffersonians

• The jeffersonian republicans (1793) 

• a faction that advocated for agrarian interests and strict interpretation of the Constitution, emphasizing states' rights.)

• Jefferson and Madison

  • Madison thinks Hamilton’s plan is such a threat to liberty he joins an opposition faction that he once criticized

• Wanted smaller limited federal govt. with a large republic. Said Hamiltons plan looked like govt. Favoritism -> destroy liberty

• Signified people rejecting the idea of a federal government with too much power and the divide of federalist

Id 3. Bingham, Stump Speaking (1854)

• mix of ordinary and elites (top hats signify elites), outside and rural

• dynamic of politician: speaking to the people, more types of people (not a consensus)

• signifies politics changing 

  • due to second great awakening and market revolution

• compared to Trumbull, declaration of independence painting (1819)

  • all white men (powdered wigs), politics by consensus, inside and locked way

Id 4: republican motherhood

what?

• mothers nurture virtue in their children

signifies?

• more egalitarian idea that politics should be open to more participants 

• challenge to social deference

• protecting ideas of liberty → more deliberation is better (Mannings key)

Id 5. establish churches 

what?

• puritans freeing religious persecution from britain set up religious freedom (for themselves only) in Massachusetts

• similarly, there were established churches in 12 of the 13 colonies

• church has political influence

signifies?

• inventing religious freedom

• after American revolution, Americans realized this is tyrannical

  • also market revolution leads to networks and mixing of people and ideas

• remove religion from politics to protects liberty (anglican church was British tyranny)

• Madison and Jefferson want religious freedom → liberation & balance

Id 6 farm households in the market revolution

what?

• isolated communities that produces for self-sufficiency, barter system, place of trust

• farm economies transforms with arrival of merchants and “cash crops”

• merchants deliver goods that isolated families buy off them

signifies?

• feelings of independence → liberty

• family and labor dissociate 

  • girls move to textiles, enough privilege your wife doesn’t work

• market moves from self-sufficiency to inter-dependence and contact with strangers

• politics moving from what you own to “who you are”

Id 7: federal constitution (1787)

what?

• new extensive powers,

  • supremacy clause, taxes, military, interstate relations

• checks and balances

  • branches of govt., representatives in congress - senate + house

signifies?

• antifederalists didn’t like, too much power to the governmetn

• Americans have to accept more centralized and powerful government

Id 8: “Key of liberty”

what? (1798)

• the few (upper class) vs the many (working class; laborers)

• the few created policies to keep the many in a state of financial dependency and social deference

• william manning identified as one of “the many”

• advocated for an educated populace as it is necessary for a functioning democracy

signifies?

• post shays rebellion

• wanted smaller government to ensure representation for working class

• provides insight to thinking of ordinary citizens and that sophisticated thinking was not limited to the elite class

• education = liberty

Id 9. elastic clause

what?

• article 1 section 8 → necessary and proper clause

  • where does the wiggle room of implied powers stop?

• Hamilton believed the national bank was essential

  • to collect taxes, regulate trade, and manage national debt

• washington believed in hamiltons interpretation of elastic clause and bank was signed into law 

signifies:

• government taking more control then previously thought

• action without representation

• critics (jefferson/madison etc.):

  • believed in strict interpretation of Constitution

  • fear of federal overreach similar to British tyranny

id 10: market revolution

what? (1790s-1830s)

• Netwrosk emerged and began to connect geography → people, ideas, and capital circulate

• steamboat invented for easy travel, major roads, canals, railroads too

• postal services (part of fed govt.)

• travel times get exponentially smaller → information gets around much faster

• supply and demand connected over long distance

signifies?

• americans move towards self-interest and factions/partisianship)

• competition heats up

• overall rise of capitalism

• changing nature of labor: from self-sufficent farmers to factories and wage labor → new idea of material success: profit over virtue

id 11: pre-capitalism

what?

• the point of economy was virtue (profit → economic independecne → virtue → less self interested → contribute to public → collective good)

• less self-interest, didn’t get rich at expense of others (think of farm economies before networks)

signifies?

• life before capitalism (self-interest and profit is end goal)

• adam smith’s invisible hand

• shifted during market revolution and Hamiltons economic plan

id 12. religous test clause

what?

• article VI: forbids government from requiring a religious test as a qualification for holding any public office

signifies?

• response to British/colonial tyranny pre-revolutionary era

• new american idea of liberty

• movement to de-establish churches from government

• shifting view of salvation (from calvinism to arminianism) second great awakening:

  • ordinary people can choose social/moral good

  • ability to achieve salvation through personal choice

id 13. “abuses of liberty as well as the abuses of power”

what?

• madison’s (founder) reaction to the shay’s rebellion

• liberty can be a danger to itself; people can become tyrannical in the sense of liberty

• liberty is harmful when being used for self interest

signifies?

• move toward a federal government 

• large republic with 

jacksonian democrats

what?

• first mass political party

  • leading to populist/partisan elections

• champions the interests of ordinary citizens (farmers)

  • greater democracy, limited government, and states’ rights

signifies?

• movement away from social deference → egalitarian politics

• shift to “who you are” politics, the right to vote is a right of citizenship not based on property ownership

• opposition to federal bank

  • specifically institutions that benefited the wealthy at the expense of the common people

• movement towards deliberation of all people by participation in government

id 15: the death of general wolf (1770)

what?

• painting of general wolfe

• painted by west, a colonist, after the seven years war

signifies?

• the idea that american independence seemed silly shortly after 7 years war

• represents martyrdom for british liberty

• coloinists felt connected to british liberty

• this changes soon

id 16: politics of social deference

what?

• virtuous citizens should lead and ordinary people should defer + respect these decisions

• assumes social hierarchy

signifies?

• ordinary people didnt like this

• people shift away from this to egalitarian politics → deliberaiton

• challeneges:

  • smaller property holders pressure states to expand right to vote, unruly laborers attack, republican motherhood (women contribute to virtue of mind)

id 17: arminianism

what?

• humans are spiritually sick but can choose faith and goodness over evil (free will)

• preachers inspire choice

signifies?

• social agency to choose good

• leads to more egalitarian politics

• mobilized masses

• the second great awakening comes from this

id 18. federalists. vs anti federalists

what?

• federalists: hamilton, madison

  • wealthier, educated, large property owners

  • wanted constitution

  • countries large size made direct democracy impractical

• antifederalists: samuel adams

  • small famrers, rural areas

  • wanted states rights, didn’t want large republic

  • comrpimised with bill of rights

  • representation could only happen in smaller, local governments

signifies?

• fears of tyrannical government

• americans have to accept more powerful governmnent

id 19": appeal of 40 thousand citzens

what?

• protest a the proposed idea to add the word “white” to those who can vote

• pamplet published by a black abolitionist

signifies?

• threat to votinf rights for citizens

• abolitionist activities

• dispite this pamplet, black suffrage was eliminated in pennsylvania

id 20. proclamaition line of 1763

what?

• takes away colonists virtue (land)

• settlers cannot move west (for free), its british land to sell to colonists

signifies?

• result of 7 years war: british debt form war which also leads to stmap act

• colonists told parliament they didnt want this, but they did it anyway → colonists not being represented

• stands in the way of liberty

• leads colonists away from idea of british = liberty

id 21: jackson’s bank veto

what?

• jackson vetos federal bank renewal

signifies?

• people didn’t like bank, felt like it overstepped the rights the constitution granted the federal goverment

  • only states had power to have banks

• also didnt like bank bc it felt like welathy were benefiting at cost of common man

• jackson felt like election was robbed from him by henry clay who was a strong person in office and behind bank

• felt like it was destroying liberty (government favoritism)

id 22: rochester in the makret revolution

what?

• erie canal allows rochester to grow from 100 (or 1000) to 30000 in a very short time

• rochester was a hotspot for religous activities → evangelical movment

• new people and ideas coming together

• economic disruption

signifies?

• market revolution 

• relgious freedom 

id 23: hamiltons econmic plan

what? (1790-1794)

• national bank

• tarrifs (taxes)

  • regulate commerce, foreign trade,

  • taxation without representaiton

• “funding system”

  • take on states debts

  • establish nations financial credibility

  • puts govt. in cycle of debt

signifies

• factions created

• self interest

• people critizied because it was taxation without representation

• destroying newfound americabn liberty?

early liberty: madison

wanted a large republic, power is held by the people and their elected representatives

was wary of direct democracy because he believed this would lead to mob mentality and was unstable

ensure that the people had a voice and to keep a system of checks and balances so the majority can infringe on the rights of the minority

liberty needs to be balanced