09. The Critical Period

1. 09. The Critical Period • Purpose: to gain an understanding of the highly volatile period between the end of the revolutionary war and the creation of the Constitution, specifically • state constitutions • The Articles of Confederation • the Western territories • political and financial crises • early efforts to bring about constitutional reform • Timeframe: 1783-1787 09. The Critical Period

2. 1.1 The Development of State Constitutions • After 1776, all the former colonies had to establish state governments. They chose to do so through written constitutions and adopted written bills of rights in the 1780s • Most new states relied heavily on their colonial traditions. • Finally, all states retained some sort of property requirements for voting. • The new Constitutions vested most power in the elected legislature, at the expense of governors. • All states except New England abolished state-established churches and tithes. • Many states changed their constitutions to give the governors more power and make the upper chambers the preserve of wealthy elites. The Maryland State House in Annapolis, built in 1779 09. The Critical Period

3. 1.2 The Articles of Confederation • The Second Continental Congress had assumed the governance of the US without formal authorization. • In 1777, John Dickinson wrote the Articles of Confederation, the first constitution of the United States. It was ratified by all the states in 1781. • The States remained sovereign. Each state sent one delegate to the single-chamber Congress. • No executive or judicial branch. • No powers of taxation, no powers of trade regulation. • Power over foreign policy, Indian affairs and western lands. • Amendment only by unanimous consent. 09. The Critical Period

5. 2.1 Western Lands and Land Ordinances • A great challenge to the Confederation was the question of lands in the trans-Appalachian West, Settlers wished to claim beyond the Proclamation Line of 1763. • The trans-Appalachian West and the Northwest territory came under federal control. • In a series of land ordinances in 1784, 1785 and 1787 (Northwest Ordinance), Congress provided for the uniform surveying and parceling of land in the Northwest territory. • The Northwest Ordinance of 1787 guaranteed the settler freedom of religion, other rights and forbade slavery. • It provided for an orderly succession from territorial status to full-fledged statehood. • This system became the general pattern for all new states in the West. The land ordinances plan for surveying and parceling the Northwest territory 09. The Critical Period

6. 2.2 Westward Expansion and Foreign Threats • Westward expansion in the piedmont and across the mountains was in full swing in the 1780s. • White settlers came to Kentucky as early as 1775. Kentucky was admitted to the Union in 1792, one of the earliest new states. • Indian resistance in the Northwest territory, by Shawnee and Miami, was strong. They won several battles until they were defeated at Fallen Timbers in 1794. • British and Spanish influence threatened the territorial sovereignty of the United States: • The British supported local Indians and blocked US trade with the Caribbean. • The Spanish disputed part of US territory and also supported local Creeks. Spain denied Americans the use of New Orleans harbor. British and Spanish influence in the 1780s 09. The Critical Period

7. 2.3 Trade Deficit, Federal and State Debt • While England blocked American exports to the West Indies, Americans bought many goods long denied them after the war. • The result was an unfavorable trade balance and massive specie drain on the United States. • With hard money in short supply, prices and wages fell, and unemployment rose in the cities. • Farmers frequently had problems paying their property taxes, resulting in foreclosure sales and much human misery. • Congress and the states were deeply in debt. • Congress owed back pay to the military, pensions to the officers, and outstanding bills to suppliers. • Congressional paper currency “Continental” had collapsed in 1780 due to massive depreciation. • Congress could not tax; states often did not pay the requisition. Continental bill worthless after 1780 09. The Critical Period

8. 2.4 State Measures and Imposts • The states attempted to combat the miserable economic situation on their own. • Several states, esp. Rhode Island, adopted paper money schemes and debtor relief measures. • Other states, esp. New York, raised import duties on their own. This led to trade wars between the states. • Many influential politicians, esp. Robert Morris, believed that a 5 percent tax on all imports (impost) would • give Congress independent income • reduce the trade deficit • provide uniform trade regulation • Congress in 1781 and in 1783 asked the states to grant it the power to raise an impost. The measure failed due to resistance of the states. Rhode Island paper money, 1786 09. The Critical Period

9. 3.1 The Continental Army and the Confederation • The Continental Army knew it would be disbanded. Officers feared that they would never receive back pay or pensions. • Two documents circulated at the encampment at Newburgh arguing that the army should refuse to disband until their demands were met (“Newburgh Conspiracy”) • George Washington put a stop to the affair with his “spectacles speech”. • In 1783, Congress decided to disband the Continental Army and settle back pay later. • Troops from the Pennsylvania line were outraged and surrounded the State House. • Congress demanded that Pennsylvania governor John Dickinson call out the militia to disperse the mutineers, but he refused. Congress left Philadelphia until 1790. The “Philadelphia Mutiny” collapsed Horatio Gates (1728-1806), revolutionary general and possible Newburgh conspirator. 09. The Critical Period

10. 3.2 The Annapolis Convention • By 1786, congressional authority was collapsing and the impost reforms were clearly moribund. • Delegates from New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Virginia convened to discuss uniform trade regulations. • Because only five states were present, the delegates issued a call for another convention to meet in Philadelphia in May 1787. • Congress reluctantly endorsed the new convention “for the sole and express purpose of revising the Articles of Confederation.” Alexander Hamilton (1755-1804),one of the driving forces at Annapolis 09. The Critical Period

11. 3.3 Shays’ Rebellion • The merchant-dominated government in New England raised taxes to pay off state debt quickly. • Many backcountry farmers disrupted courts to prevent foreclosures. • In winter 1786/87 protest coalesced into rebellion under leadership of former officers Daniel Shays and Luke Day. • Congress refused to raise money to finance federal troops to quell the rebellion. • Massachusetts government then raised an army to put down the revolt, which it did successfully. James Bowdoin (1752-1811),governor of Massachusetts as the time of Shays’ Rebellion 09. The Critical Period

12. Conclusion • The period after the Revolutionary War was characterized by economic depression and political crisis. • The states and Congress organized themselves through written Constitutions. • Congress proved largely ineffectual due to lack of authority and a massive mistrust of centralized power. • Nevertheless, Congress set an important pattern for Western expansion (Northwest Ordinance). • Over the course of the 1780s, a series of crises and fears prompted many revolutionary leaders to seek a fundamental reform of the federal government. 09. The Critical Period

13. Articles of Confederation First constitution of the United States, written in 1777 by John Dickinson and ratified in 1781. Each state remained sovereign. The only branch of federal government was a single-chamber Congress, where each state had one vote. Congress had no power to tax or to regulate trade; its primary functions were foreign relations, Indian affairs, and Western lands. Unanimous consent was needed for amendment, which made reforms almost impossible. Sample Keyword 09. The Critical Period