US History Exam #3 Part 1 (Critical Period)

Democratic despotism

Term used by elites to describe the fear that excessive democracy could lead to mob rule or tyranny of the majority. Significance: Reflects elite anxiety after the Revolution that too much popular power would destroy order and property rights, shaping conservative calls for the Constitution.

Debtor farmers

Rural farmers in the 1780s burdened by postwar taxes and private debts, often facing foreclosure. Significance: Became a driving force behind uprisings like Shays’ Rebellion, symbolizing the class tensions between agrarian populists and urban creditors.

Creditors

Wealthier merchants or lenders who demanded repayment in hard currency (specie) rather than paper money. Significance: Represented the conservative economic elite whose defense of property rights clashed with populist demands for debt relief.

Paper money

State-issued currency meant to ease shortages of gold and silver and help debtors pay off loans. Significance: Sparked intense political conflict between “easy-money” populists and “hard-money” conservatives, illustrating deep divisions in postwar economic policy.

Legal tender laws

State laws that determined what form of currency (specie or paper) must be accepted in payment of debts. Significance: Critical in the 1780s monetary crises, as restrictive laws caused deflation and farmer unrest while lenient ones led to inflation and elite backlash.

Fundamental v. ordinary law

The distinction between constitutions (fundamental, higher law) and regular statutes (ordinary law). Significance: Debate over this concept pushed Americans to see constitutions as supreme and unchangeable except by special conventions, laying groundwork for judicial review.

The convention (1787)

The Philadelphia meeting originally intended to revise the Articles of Confederation but that instead drafted the U.S. Constitution. Significance: Responded directly to the instability of the 1780s—especially debtor uprisings and weak federal power—by creating a stronger, balanced national government.

Judicial review

The power of courts to declare laws unconstitutional. Significance: Emerged from state-level debates during the Critical Period and became a defining feature of American constitutionalism, ensuring checks on both legislatures and populist majorities.

Nationalists

Political leaders like James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and Robert Morris who favored stronger central authority. Significance: They viewed the economic chaos and populist uprisings of the 1780s as proof that only a powerful national government could preserve liberty and stability.

Inflation/depreciation

The decline in value of paper money due to overprinting by states during the 1780s. Significance: Wiped out savings, fueled class resentment, and intensified the call for hard-money policies and a more disciplined federal financial system.

Robert Morris

Wealthy financier and Superintendent of Finance (1781-1784) who sought to stabilize the national economy through taxation and the Bank of North America. Significance: His failed reforms demonstrated the weakness of the Articles and inspired later Federalist arguments for fiscal centralization.

Rogue Island (Rhode Island)

Nickname for Rhode Island after its government flooded the economy with paper money and forced its use through harsh legal tender laws. Significance: Became the symbol of democratic excess and economic anarchy that alarmed conservatives and spurred the Constitutional movement.

Gov. Collins (Rhode Island)

Governor during the paper money controversy of the mid-1780s who supported debtor relief and easy-money policies. Significance: His leadership highlighted the populist turn in Rhode Island politics and the growing rift between state and national visions of governance.

Specie

Hard currency, usually gold or silver coins, used for payment and debt settlement. Significance: Its scarcity after the Revolution caused deflation and fueled class conflict, as creditors demanded specie while debtors pushed for paper alternatives.

Easy-money advocates

Supporters of policies issuing paper currency to stimulate the economy and relieve debtors. Significance: Represented grassroots democratic politics, challenging elite notions of fiscal morality and contributing to uprisings like Shays’ Rebellion.

Land bank

Financial institution issuing loans secured by land rather than specie. Significance: Seen as a tool to democratize credit and help debtors, but criticized by conservatives as economically reckless and destabilizing.

Daniel Shays

Former Revolutionary War captain who led a rebellion of indebted farmers in western Massachusetts (1786-1787). Significance: Became a symbol of resistance to elite oppression and prompted the elite push for a stronger national government at the Philadelphia Convention.

Post-Revolutionary depression (1780s)

Period of severe economic downturn following the Revolutionary War, marked by trade disruptions, debt, and deflation. Significance: Exposed weaknesses in the Articles of Confederation and created the social unrest that drove the movement for a new Constitution.

Shaysites

Followers of Daniel Shays who protested taxes, foreclosures, and lack of debt relief in Massachusetts. Significance: Represented the broader populist resistance of the 1780s, forcing national leaders to confront the instability of state governments.

Gov. Hancock (Massachusetts)

Initially avoided harsh enforcement of tax collection and debt laws, attempting to appease both sides. Significance: His inaction allowed tensions to build toward rebellion, showing the limits of moderate leadership in the face of class-based conflict.

Paper Money Riot (New Hampshire, 1786)

Armed uprising by farmers demanding issuance of paper currency and debt relief. Significance: Early warning sign of rural economic distress that foreshadowed Shays’ Rebellion and demonstrated the fragility of state authority.

Major General John Sullivan (Massachusetts)

Commanded the state militia that suppressed Shays’ Rebellion in 1787. Significance: His victory restored order but confirmed elite fears of anarchy, pushing many toward Federalism and constitutional reform.

Philadelphia Convention (1787)

Gathering of delegates that replaced the Articles of Confederation with the U.S. Constitution. Significance: Direct response to the failures of the Critical Period—especially economic disarray and populist uprisings—aimed to balance liberty with strong governance.

Debtor relief legislation

Laws proposed or enacted to reduce the burden on debtors through payment delays, paper money, or debt cancellation. Significance: Embodied the populist spirit of the 1780s and provoked elite backlash, shaping the ideological battle between democracy and order that defined the Constitution’s creation.