Notes on Post-Revolutionary America

Post-Revolutionary America: Hopes and Conflicts

  • April 1789: George Washington takes the presidential oath of office.
  • Goals for America: Diverse, prosperous, and cohesive nation.
  • Reality: These hopes were not fully realized, leading to the Civil War less than a century later.
  • The Constitution aimed to manage internal conflict but was met with much debate.
  • Rugged individualism, while valued, contributed to societal problems.

Shays' Rebellion (1786-1787)

  • Revealed weaknesses in the concept of central government.
  • Context: Debt crisis in Massachusetts after the American Revolution.
  • Weak national and local economies; the federal government lacked the power to raise revenue.
  • Many farmers faced foreclosure due to debt, while the state supported lenders.
  • Farmers, including Revolutionary War veterans, took up arms against the government.
  • Leader: Daniel Shays.
  • Approach: Blockading courthouses to prevent legal foreclosures.
  • Similar to colonial response to the Stamp Act: neutralizing those enforcing policies.
  • Two Incompatible viewpoints:
    • Shaysites: Protecting rights and demanding recourse from the government post-revolution.
    • Government: Viewed the rebellion as mob violence.
  • January 1787: Courts reopened, and approximately one thousand Shaysites were arrested and indicted for treason.
  • Most were pardoned, but the rebellion sparked national debate.
  • Highlighted the need for government support for small farmers.
  • Raised questions about the ideal type of government for America.
  • Nationalists (e.g., James Madison) argued for a strong central government to maintain control, while others (e.g., Thomas Jefferson) believed rebellion was necessary for liberty.

Revamping the Constitution

  • Delegates (except from Rhode Island) met in Philadelphia in 1787 to revise the Articles of Confederation.
  • Articles of Confederation:
    • Ratified in 1781.
    • Established sovereignty, regulated war, and administered public services (e.g., postal service).
    • Addressed banking concerns (e.g., establishing the value of money).
  • Main issue: The federal government could not levy taxes.
  • States had to repay debts from the Revolutionary War, leading to states being beholden to individual lenders.
  • James Madison advocated for a new constitution.
  • Virginia Plan:
    • Proposed by James Madison based on his research of governments worldwide.
    • Creation of an extended republic favoring larger states.
    • Bicameral legislature based on representation.
    • Strong central government with three branches: judicial, legislative, and executive.
    • The national judiciary was appointed and swore an oath of allegiance.

Legislative Branch and Representation

  • Bicameral: House of Representatives and Senate.
  • House of Representatives:
    • Representation proportional to state population.
    • Three-fifths compromise: Slaves counted as three-fifths of a person for population purposes, boosting representation for states with large slave populations.
    • Ethical issues: Representatives representing people who have no involvement/rights.
  • Senate: Each state gets two votes, ensuring equal representation.

Executive Branch

  • Debate over whether power should reside in a single individual or a committee.
  • James Wilson argued for a single person, leading to the creation of the office of the President.
  • Compromise via the Electoral College: A committee of individuals selects the president.

Ratification and the Bill of Rights

  • State-level approvals needed to ratify the Constitution.
  • George Mason proposed a national bill of rights, but it was rejected.
  • Anti-Federalist argument: A bill of rights is necessary to explicitly grant citizen rights to avoid loss of liberty to the federal government.
  • Federalist Argument: Creating a bill of rights risks limiting future rights.
  • Public debates, most famously the Federalist Papers: A series of 85 essays written under the pseudonym "Publius" by Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison, advocating for the Constitution's adoption.
  • Public concerns: Loss of states’ rights, problems of a large federal government, and the lack of a bill of rights.
  • July 2, 1788: The Constitution was approved by the majority of states and went into effect, gaining authority from Washington's inauguration.
  • Amendments were later added, and initial approval was narrow.

Rights and Compromises

  • The Bill of Rights was added in 1791 as the first 10 amendments.
    • Did not cover women's rights, voting rights, or the rights of slaves, other than to protect slavery.
  • Compromises related to the slave trade:
    • The violence and immorality associated with the Transatlantic slave trade were recognized.
    • Northerners morally opposed slavery but knew Southern representation in the House could suffer without it.
    • Compromise of 1787: New England agreed to protect the slave trade for 20 years, after which it would be outlawed; South Carolina and Georgia agreed to support a constitutional clause that facilitates trade (interstate commerce).
    • The slave trade resumed until 1808, when it was outlawed (though enforcement was limited).
  • Britain outlawed slavery in 1807.
  • The Haitian Revolution (1791-1804) ended French rule in colonial Haiti, providing a model for American slave revolutions.
  • The Louisiana Purchase of 1803 doubled the size of the U.S. because France realized it wasn't as committed to staying in the Americas.

Financial System and Hamilton's Plan

  • Washington's administration reflected differing views on the size and scope of government.
  • Debate: Should prosperity be sought through industry or agriculture with a smaller government?
  • Hamilton (Secretary of the Treasury) believed self-interest could drive the economy.
  • Government should protect private property and serve the interests of wealthy Americans.
  • Inequality was seen as necessary for government solvency and stability.
  • Federal government should assume state debts.
  • Hamilton's Financial Plan: The federal government assumed state debts from the Revolutionary War.
  • Controversy: Taxpayers had to pay full value for notes of credit, even if they had depreciated. Some states had already paid off large portions of their debts.
  • Creation of the Bank of the United States in 1791:
    • Approved on a 20-year charter.
    • Questions arose about its constitutionality.
  • Benefits: Centralized banking, controlled inflation, and provided opportunities for the wealthy to invest in federal finance.
  • Drawbacks: Reinforced class boundaries and gave the rich power over the federal government.
  • The federal government needed its own tax revenue.

The Whiskey Rebellion

  • Hamilton proposed a federal tax on goods, including whiskey.
  • Burdened grain farmers, for whom distilling grain into whiskey was more profitable than selling grain directly.
  • Western Pennsylvania farmers assaulted a tax collector, leading to reduced tax collections.
  • The rebellion turned violent, with tax collectors and federal marshals attacked.
  • Washington responded by attempting reconciliation while gathering a federal army which resulted in an effective display of federal authority.
  • Highlighted the strength of the federal government but also its perception as an enemy of the poor.

Relationship with Britain and Jay's Treaty

  • Hamilton saw Britain as key to foreign trade.
  • The U.S. needed to keep both France and Britain happy, as conflicts between them interfered with American trade.
  • British policy of impressment: American sailors being forced into the British army.
  • The U.S. negotiated Jay’s Treaty (negotiated by John Jay on behalf of George Washington, who wished to remain publicly neutral).
  • Terms favorable to both France and Britain:
    • Britain had to abandon its northern forts in the U.S. and Canada and compensate U.S. merchants for losses.
    • The U.S. treated Britain as its most prized trade partner.
  • Pros: The U.S. had official neutrality but stayed prosperous, protecting trade interests with a long-standing partner.
  • Cons: The U.S. supported a monarchy (Britain) over a republic (France) and did not end the British policy of impressment of American sailors.
  • Implications: Different factions of belief turned into formal organized political parties due to disagreement over Jay's treaty.

Revolution and Religion

  • The French Revolution, overthrowing Louis XVI in 1789 due to unequal representation.
  • Early U.S. praised republican ideals of the revolution which federalists began to fear the revolution would lead to social instability.
  • The French Revolution was marked by violence (the terror). Federalists sought to distance themselves from France and create closer ties with Britain to regain stability and normalcy.
  • Republicans argued violence was the price of liberty.
  • Jay’s Treaty led to the attack of American ships by the French, creating a period of panic and Francophobia on the East Coast.
  • Implications:
    • John Adams elected peacefully in 1796, preventing anarchy.
    • Anxieties about foreign influence: Passage of the Alien Act (legalizing deportation of foreign nationals, though not enforced) and the Sedition Act (prosecution of rebellion against political authority).
    • Goal: To avoid a rebellion in the U.S. similar to that in France.
    • Limitations on the federal government’s authority: Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions argued that the federal government could only use powers expressly granted by the Constitution, and states had the right to declare federal law unconstitutional.
    • Questions about free speech: What does it mean?
    • Americans began to articulate more specifically what it means to be American.

Disestablishment

  • The separation of church and state occurred in the federal government before state governments.
  • 1776: Religion was compulsory in most state governments.
  • 50 years later: Most states did not support official religion any longer.
  • Political leaders favored disestablishment and saw religion as an individual choice rather than as something imposed from above.
  • The First Amendment in 1791 guaranteed religious liberty.
  • The enactment was unclear; Federal offices were still closed on Sundays.

Political Precedents

  • Presidential Elections:
    • The election of 1800 between Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and Aaron Burr was bitter and malicious.
    • The election resulted in a tie between Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr, requiring 35 votes in the House of Representatives to break the tie.
    • The precedent set was the acceptance of defeat and the peaceful transition of power.
  • Federal Judiciary:
    • Marbury versus Madison in 1803 addressed Adams's last-minute appointments before leaving office.
    • The precedent set was judicial review: the court's power to determine whether an act of Congress is constitutional.