American History: Freedom Papers

Sawrey & Hercules

On July 12th, 1787, Price Posey escaped jail. He recruited two enslaved men, (Sawrey and Hercules), to burn down the county jail. This revolution created a political nation.

“Extend the sphere”

• James Madison believed to “extend the sphere” meant larger districts and more interest. He didn’t want to eliminate democracy but rather make it better. He believed the government made things like credit lines and investment possible.

Sally Hemings

• Jefferson said that people have to be protected by the Bill of Rights. Sally Hemings was the enslaved, half sister, of Jefferson’s first wife, Martha. Jefferson impregnated Sally and only frees some of his kids. This makes what he said about the Bill of Rights hypocritical to who is included to have rights.

Abigail Adams

• She was John Adams wife, and she was a great investor in the government during the war. The government used taxes to pay off investors like Abigail Adams. This made the question of who is the “productive citizen”?

Federalist No.54

• Federalist No.54 defends the 3/5 compromise regarding how enslaved people were counted for representation. This was included in congress and direct taxes. It answers the question, “who counts as a person?”, and it also reflects the political problem of slave representation.

Brutus

• Brutus was an anti-federalist who worried that the republic was way too large. He said that representatives will become disconnected and care less about the individual. He believes that they will become a tyrant that they fought against.

Federalist No.78

• Federalist No.78 was written by Hamilton. It focuses on the judiciary and is very relevant as of today. It describes the judicial as being the least threatening because it didn’t deal with money or taxes.

Faction

• A faction is a group of people with a shared interest that might cause political warfare. Madison worried about factions. His reason was because majority faction can become dangerous when they take away minority rights.

The Electoral College

• This is the way that we elect our president. The South argued over slavery. Therefore, it was designed to protect the institution of slavery.

Article 1, Section 2

• This article talks about the 3/5 compromise, where slaves are counted as 3/5 of a person. The South/Madison wanted the slaves to be accounted for while the North thought it was unfair, since they enslaved them. This created a huge contradiction.

Article IV: Section 2, Clause 3

• This article talked about the Fugitive Slave Clause. This clause stated that enslaved Americans who escaped up North for freedom, were legally required to return back to enslavement. While under the Constitution, slavery was a state law, however, the movement of slavery became a national problem.

Slave Trade Clause

• While making the Constitution, slavery became a main issue. During the slave trade debate, the question, “what exactly was being protected?”, came about. Therefore, they made the Slave Trade Clause, which prevented the government from limiting the importation of slaves, before 1808.