Founding Era: Interests, Conflicts, and Foundational Documents

Overview

• The founding era combines enduring ideals with difficult, often contradictory practices. Key ideas emphasized in American politics include individual liberty, democracy, equality, justice, and the pursuit of happiness, as articulated by the founders (e.g., James Madison, Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton). Yet, the period also involved two major processes that shaped conflicts and outcomes: land removal from Native nations and the enslavement of Africans. These practices are directly linked to the push for a stronger central government and to the colonial economy that helped finance independence.

• Recent scholarship urges us to include these two processes to understand why the colonies pursued independence and what kind of nation they imagined.

• The result was a paradox: a movement for self-government and universal rights coexisting with dispossession and slavery.

Native nations, land dispossession, and settler colonialism

• Before European colonization, hundreds of independent Native nations and millions of Native people inhabited the land that would become the United States.

• Jamestown was established in $1607$; Plymouth followed in $1620$.

• In New England, Native nations such as the Pequot, Narragansett, and Algonquin practiced forms of democratic self-governance and had well-developed political, linguistic, and farming systems.

• Population and impact:

  • In the New England region, about $60{,}000$ Native Americans lived before large-scale English settlement.

  • Jamestown settlers inhabited land with an existing Native presence; the contact period brought devastating disease and demographic collapse.

  • At Jamestown, an estimated $12{,}000$ Native Americans were present; by $1700$ roughly $1{,}000$ remained due to disease and conflict.

• Settler colonialism and land dispossession:

  • Over time, English and other colonial settlers rejected Native land ownership and forcibly confiscated lands, enabling colonization as the primary driver of growth.

  • Land became the most valuable commodity in early America, fueling the expansion of merchant towns in the Northeast and plantation agriculture in the Southeast.

  • Native land dispossession displaced nations and reshaped political and economic dynamics, contributing to tensions with colonial authorities and influencing the push for a stronger central government.

• The presence of Native nations influenced the development of the United States and the Constitution, even as settlers expanded land claims and encroached on Indigenous sovereignty (Figure 2.1, Native Americans in North America, CA 1,500).

British policy, taxation, and colonial responses (1600s–1760s)

• Early colonial policy was relatively lax; British rule was light in many areas, allowing colonists to evade taxes.

• By the $1760s$, mounting debt and financial pressures led Britain to seek revenue from the colonies, prompting a shift toward tariffs, duties, and new taxes.

• Taxation and the colonial divide:

  • Radicals: small farmers, shopkeepers, artisans; tended to distrust Britain and favored stronger colonial autonomy.

  • Elite colonists: merchants, planters, royalists; benefited from British rule and often supported the Crown.

  • The tax policy split elites and radicalized politics, helping to catalyze revolutionary sentiment.

• Key revenue measures:

  • Sugar Act of $1764$ taxed sugar, molasses, and other commodities.

  • Stamp Act of $1765$ imposed taxes on printed items (newspapers, legal documents, licenses, etc.).

  • The rallying cry: “no taxation without representation.”

• Colonial responses:

  • Protests, demonstrations, and boycotts of British goods against new taxes.

  • A key outcome was the Crown’s partial repeal of some taxes, but tensions persisted.

• Political escalation and the Tea Act:

  • The Tea Act of $1773$ granted the East India Company a monopoly on tea and allowed direct sale in the colonies, bypassing colonial merchants.

  • Tea remained a critical commodity in the 1770s, and these measures threatened colonial merchants’ livelihoods and the principle of local governance.

  • The radicals and elites united in opposition to what they perceived as an attack on economic autonomy.

• Boston Tea Party:

  • On December $16, 1773$, protesters (some disguised as Native Americans) boarded ships in Boston Harbor and dumped $342$ chests of tea into the harbor.

  • In response, Parliament imposed punitive measures: closing Boston Harbor, altering Massachusetts’ colonial government, and restricting colonial movement westward.

  • These acts radicalized colonists and helped trigger the First Continental Congress in 1774.

The path to independence: economic pressures, war, and political transformation

• Economic incentives and the war scaffolding:

  • Enslavement and the colonial economy: enslaved Africans provided critical labor and profits that underpinned the colonial economy and financed future independence.

  • Introduction and expansion of slavery: The transatlantic slave trade began with the arrival of a small group of enslaved Africans in $1619$ at Jamestown, marking the start of a system that would grow across North America.

  • Slavery's role varied by region and economy, but enslaved labor was central to major exports (e.g., tobacco, rice, sugar, coffee) and to the operation of plantations in the South and urban economies in the North (e.g., New York, a large slave-owning colony).

• Slavery and ideology:

  • Slavery persisted even as the revolutionaries argued for universal rights; enslaved people had no legal rights and were treated as property.

  • Many signers of the Declaration themselves owned enslaved people, highlighting the tension between proclaimed ideals and practice.

• The revolution intensifies:

  • The conflict with Britain escalated into the Revolutionary War after Lexington and Concord (1775), with a broader declaration of independence taking root as military success and political theory converged.

The Declaration of Independence (1776): content, principles, and tensions

• Drafting and adoption:

  • In 1776, the Second Continental Congress appointed a committee to draft a statement of independence; Thomas Jefferson of Virginia drafted the core text.

  • After revisions by other delegates, the document was adopted on $July\, 04,$1776$.</p></li></ul></li><li><p>Structure of the declaration:</p><ul><li><p>Preamble and principles: a statement of universal rights and the purpose of government.</p></li><li><p>Right to self-government: governments derive “their just powers from the consent of the governed.” When governments infringe on rights, the people have the right to alter or abolish them.</p></li><li><p>Grievances against King George III: a long list detailing grievances that justified independence (e.g., obstruction of the law, maintenance of standing armies without consent, denial of fair representation).</p></li><li><p>Declaration of independence: the colonies profess their status as free and independent states.</p></li></ul></li><li><p>Core ideals in the declaration:</p><ul><li><p>The opening phrase asserts universal human rights:$"We\, hold\ these\ truths\ to\ be\ selfevident\, that\ all\ men\ are\ created\ equal,\ that\ they\ are\ endowed\ by\ their\ Creator\ with\ certain\ unalienable\ rights,\ that\ among\ these\ are\ life,\ liberty,\ and\ the\ pursuit\ of\ happiness."$</p></li><li><p>The document seeks to unify diverse colonial regions around shared principles, even as it excludes or limits sovereignty for Native nations and excludes enslaved Black people from the franchise of equality.</p></li></ul></li><li><p>Ambiguities and contradictions:</p><ul><li><p>The declaration proclaims universal rights while Native nations faced dispossession and enslaved Africans remained enslaved.</p></li><li><p>The language of equality coexisted with ongoing practices of white supremacy and land seizure from Indigenous peoples.</p></li></ul></li><li><p>Global significance:</p><ul><li><p>The declaration became a foundational symbol of American national identity and a model for liberal-democratic thought worldwide.</p></li></ul></li></ul><h3 collapsed="false" seolevelmigrated="true">Enlightenment influences on the Founders</h3><ul><li><p>Key philosophical sources:</p><ul><li><p>John Locke ($1632-1704$) argued for limited government, natural rights (life, liberty, property), and the social contract: government exists by the consent of the governed and can be overthrown if it fails to protect rights.</p></li><li><p>Thomas Hobbes ($1588-1679$) emphasized the need for a strong centralized authority to avoid anarchy and described the social contract as a pledge to establish order; government legitimacy rests on authority and order, not divine right alone.</p></li><li><p>Baron de Montesquieu (1689-1755) advocated separation of powers and checks and balances to prevent tyranny; his ideas about dividing governmental functions informed the later three-branch structure.</p></li></ul></li><li><p>How these ideas shaped the founding:</p><ul><li><p>The declaration’s emphasis on natural rights and consent echoes Locke’s ideas of limited government and the right to revolt.</p></li><li><p>The push for a balance of power and a limited central authority reflects Montesquieu’s influence, and the early discussions foreshadowed the three-branch framework in the 1787 Constitution.</p></li></ul></li><li><p>Practical influence vs. political reality:</p><ul><li><p>The founders read Enlightenment philosophy alongside real-world political experience under British rule, drawing on both ideas and pragmatic governance to design institutions that balanced liberty with order.</p></li></ul></li></ul><h3 collapsed="false" seolevelmigrated="true">The Articles of Confederation (1777–1781 and beyond): structure, powers, and limitations</h3><ul><li><p>Adoption and ratification:</p><ul><li><p>The Continental Congress adopted the Articles of Confederation in$1777$; they were ratified by all states by$1781$, and served as the first national constitution until the late 1780s.</p></li></ul></li><li><p>Core design goals:</p><ul><li><p>To avoid a powerful central government like Britain’s, the Articles deliberately limited national authority and protected state sovereignty.</p></li><li><p>The central government was a loose confederation of states, not a unitary republic.</p></li></ul></li><li><p>Structure of the national government:</p><ul><li><p>The national government consisted of a single Congress with very limited powers and no separate executive or judicial branch.</p></li><li><p>There was no national president; there was no national court system; the government relied on state governments for enforcement.</p></li><li><p>Each state had exactly one vote in Congress, regardless of population.</p></li><li><p>There was no national army; military force depended on state militias.</p></li></ul></li><li><p>Powers granted to Congress:</p><ul><li><p>Declare war and make peace; negotiate treaties and alliances; issue currency or borrow money; regulate trade with Native nations.</p></li><li><p>Congress could appoint senior military officers, but there was no standing national army.</p></li></ul></li><li><p>Limitation and weaknesses:</p><ul><li><p>All amendments required the unanimous consent of all 13 states, making change nearly impossible.</p></li><li><p>Congress lacked the power to tax; it could request funds but had no reliable revenue source.</p></li><li><p>Laws needed to be carried out by state governments, undermining national authority and coherence.</p></li></ul></li><li><p>Consequences and practical reality:</p><ul><li><p>The extreme limits on central authority made the Articles practically ineffective for governing a growing and interconnected nation.</p></li><li><p>The experience highlighted the need for a stronger, more capable national government to manage defense, currency, and interstate commerce.</p></li></ul></li></ul><h3 collapsed="false" seolevelmigrated="true">Connections, implications, and legacy</h3><ul><li><p>Complex legacy of the founding era:</p><ul><li><p>The period fused enduring democratic ideals with practices of land dispossession and slavery.</p></li><li><p>The tension between liberty and equality on one hand, and dispossession and enslaved labor on the other, shaped political debates for generations.</p></li></ul></li><li><p>Foundational questions for the United States:</p><ul><li><p>How strong should the central government be, and how should it balance power between national and state authorities?</p></li><li><p>How can a nation uphold universal rights while acknowledging historical inequities and power imbalances?</p></li></ul></li><li><p>Relevance to later developments:</p><ul><li><p>The tensions observed in the Articles of Confederation contributed to the drafting of the U.S. Constitution in 1787 and the establishment of a three-branch system with a stronger federal government.</p></li><li><p>The groundwork for a constitutional framework involved reconciling Enlightenment principles with practical governance challenges and unresolved issues of liberty, sovereignty, and human rights.</p></li></ul></li></ul><h3 collapsed="false" seolevelmigrated="true">Key terms and figures to review</h3><ul><li><p>Settler colonialism: the process by which settlers dispossess Indigenous peoples of their lands and establish new political orders.</p></li><li><p>Mercantilism: economic policy prioritizing national wealth via trade surpluses and colonial exploitation.</p></li><li><p>Stamp Act ($1765$), Sugar Act ($1764$), Tea Act ($1773$), Boston Tea Party ($Dec\, 16, $1773$ ).

  • First Continental Congress ( $1774$ ), Second Continental Congress ( $1775$ ), and the move toward independence.

  • Declaration of Independence ( adopted $July\, 04,$1776$).</p></li><li><p>Enlightenment thinkers: John Locke ($1632-1704$), Thomas Hobbes ($1588-1679$), Montesquieu ( Baron de Montesquieu,$1689-1755$).</p></li><li><p>Native nations and regions mentioned: Pequot, Narragansett, Algonquin (and the broader New England Native population).</p></li><li><p>Major colonial centers and figures: Jamestown ($1607$), Plymouth ($1620$), George Washington, James Madison.</p></li></ul><h3 collapsed="false" seolevelmigrated="true">Chronology snapshot (selected anchors)</h3><ul><li><p>$1607$: Jamestown founded.</p></li><li><p>$1620$: Plymouth colony established.</p></li><li><p>$1619$: arrival of a small group of enslaved Africans in Jamestown, marking the start of African slavery in English North America.</p></li><li><p>$60{,}000$: Native Americans in New England region before large-scale settler expansion.</p></li><li><p>$12{,}000$: Native population at Jamestown around its founding;$1{,}000$by$1700$.</p></li><li><p>$1764$: Sugar Act enacted.</p></li><li><p>$1765$: Stamp Act enacted.</p></li><li><p>$1763$: End of the French and Indian War; perceived increase in British debt.</p></li><li><p>$1773$: Tea Act; Boston Tea Party on$Dec\, 16, $1773$.

  • $1774$: First Continental Congress convenes.

  • $1775$: Lexington and Concord; start of Revolutionary War.

  • $1776$: Declaration of Independence adopted ( $July\, 04,$1776$).</p></li><li><p>$1777$: Continental Congress adopts the Articles of Confederation.</p></li><li><p>$1781$: Articles ratified by all states.</p></li><li><p>$1787$: U.S. Constitution drafted (not in transcript, but connected to the described ideas).</p></li><li><p>$1788$$: States still finalizing ratifications during the late 1780s (as noted in the transcript).

  Connections to real-world relevance

  • The founding era demonstrates the tension between universal principles and differential treatment (Indigenous sovereignty and slavery) that persists in U.S. political discourse and policy debates.

  • The fear of centralized tyranny and the preference for state sovereignty in the Articles foreshadow ongoing debates about federalism, executive power, taxation, and national authority in American governance.

  • Enlightenment ideas continue to shape modern debates about rights, governance, and the legitimacy of political authority.

  Quick reference: core ideas in one glance

  • Purpose of government: secure unalienable rights through the consent of the governed (Lockean influence).

  • Justification for independence: abuses by King George III listed as grievances; the colonies assert independence and self-rule.

  • National versus state power: tension between creating a capable national government and preserving state sovereignty that would drive the development of a stronger federal system later on.

  • Ethical tensions: the promise of equality contrasted with the realities of Native dispossession and slavery; a ongoing historical challenge that has influenced discussions about rights and inclusion through American history.