papers 1-3: what do you know, what don't you know, and what happened
papers 4-6: why did it happen?
process of thinking like a historian: what's your evidence, what's the limit of your evidence, and how do you put it together to clearly explain your argument
last week
American and British abandonment of allies
American (non)payment of pre-war debts and British right to trade in US
American money and credit worthless by 1780
fundamental tensions - who's in and who's out, how are we going to do this thing
outline for today
fundamental tensions over land, labor and identity
Solution 1: Articles of Confederation
Solution 2: Constitution
tensions over passage of the Constitution
unresolved tensions
who has political power
how will land and labor define political participation
how will political power be exercised - by the state or by the nation?
have we heard of the Articles of Confederation before this week?
A. I love the Articles of Confederation!
B. I've heard of the Articles before but I don't know what they are
C. I've never heard of this in my life
D. This is from the new Star Wars movie right
Articles of Confederation 1776 - 1789
state powers: levy taxes, appoint courts, issue currency, raise militia, pass all laws
federal powers: declare war and peace, negotiate with foreign countries including Indians, mediate (but not decide) disputes between states
differences with Constitution: no President, no federal or Supreme Court, state law paramount over all other laws
why would Congress want to make the Articles so weak?
(discuss with a neighbor, more than one right answer)
A. They feared instituting a powerful central government like the English Parliament, which they thought would take more and more power
B. Southern colonies believed New Englanders were too radical on women's rights and voting for lower class men
C. Travel and slow communication meant that a central government couldn't deal with every state's problems quickly
D. They admired the direct democracy of France after the French Revolution and wished to emulate it in America
E. Southern colonies feared that a central government lead by New Englanders would outlaw slavery
problems with the Articles:
Southern colonies financially solvent, Northern colonies bankrupt and uncreditable
US government can't pay veterans
US government can't pay loans or debts to France or England
American money even more worthless than it was in 1780
working class fear of elite power within the states, elite fear of working class protest
changes within the nation
increased urbanization
distinctions between upper classes and working classes are more visible and undercut rhetoric of equality
no understanding of germ theory or sanitation
disease causes distrust of cities and return to farms
concern over protection of individuals from states and unity as a nation
Why did adoption of the Constitution face resistance?
(more than one right answer)
A. Many in Congress believed ordinary voters couldn't be trusted to vote wisely
B. All previous republican or democratic governments had been very small
C. It too closely resembled the model of English government with its House of Commons, House of Lords, court system and monarchy
D. It did not include provision of rights for women or people of color
E. Southern colonies feared that a central government lead by New Englanders would outlaw slavery
Economic Solutions or Economic Problems?
American default on British and French debts ruined credit
our friend Alexander Hamilton vs. Thomas Jefferson
is American identity attached to land or labor?
Bank of the United States secures the credit of the nation but goes beyond Constitutional powers
southern colonies on the hook for northern debts
Freedom at the price of slavery
no federal laws regarding slavery could be passed until 1808
3/5ths compromise gives southern voters proportionately much more power at the federal level
northern gradual emancipation
NY 1799 - anyone born a slave in 1799 a slave for life, anyone born to a slave after 1800 indentured until age 30