Founding a New Nation

1. Founding a New Nation Part One

2. Introduction • Once the war officially ended, Americans looked forward to a rapid recovery and commercial expansion into broader markets, especially in the new frontiers established for the United States as a result of the Treaty of Paris • Such dreams were soon dashed, as other issues pressed to the forefront.

3. The Continental Army and Demobilization • Some of these problems were foreshadowed as the Continental Army awaited the ending of the Revolutionary War between 1781 and 1783 • Restlessness of the Continental Army • By late 1783, furloughed soldiers began to go home, and the army soon became a shell of its former self

4. Return of Loyalists • At this same time, disputes arose over how to treat the loyalists • Large numbers of them returned to America with the intent of having their property restored • Some Americans, like Alexander Hamilton, called for a full restitution of their property • Eventually, thousands of loyalists quietly blended back into American society

5. Condition of Slavery • In other areas, the language of freedom challenged the legitimacy of slavery • Abolishment of slavery in the North • In the South, control over the slave population tightened as state governments passed laws making manumission more difficult • As a result, slavery became more entrenched in the South at a time when northerners were beginning to turn away from the institution

6. Economic Conditions • The situation steadily worsened as the anticipated economic expansion failed to materialize and the nation slipped into a prolonged economic depression • British Trade policies • New Trading Partners • State’s Response

7. Problems with Debt • Both of these alternatives adversely affected the economy, as the value of currency continued to depreciate and merchants became increasingly nervous about their future • Shays’s Rebellion • Debtors’ rebellions occurred in other states at this same time exacerbating the crisis at hand and causing many to doubt the continued viability of the Articles of Confederation.

8. Congress and the West • While individual state governments tried to address the growing problems within their own borders, Congress turned its attention to the orderly settlement of the West • Challenge to Congress • Native Americans • Squatters • Congress, Thomas Jefferson and his land ordinance • Other factors also intervened • Britain • Spain

9. Congress and the West • Yet, in spite of these difficulties and setbacks, Congress finally approved Jefferson’s plan to divide the national domain into parcels in 1785 • The Northwest Ordinance of 1787 • The plan was modified slightly as the area was divided into five territories, each having territorial governments; slavery was also prohibited from these new territories • Established principles for the orderly occupation of new lands as well as for the peaceful transfer of citizenship and government.

10. Need for a Stronger Central Government • In spite of this impressive achievement by Congress, growing economic and political crises soon eclipsed it • Aftermath of Shays’s Rebellion and the need for a stronger national government • “Nationalists” • By 1784, their rotation out of office forced many of them to seek ways of bringing about reforms outside of the halls of Congress

11. Need for a Stronger Central Government • One of the first attempts in this direction was when George Washington hosted a conference at Mount Vernon in 1785 to settle a dispute over the Potomac River • Annapolis Convention (September 1786) • Alexander Hamilton, another prominent nationalist, urged his colleagues to lobby Congress for a convention that would address these pressing problems.

12. Convention at Philadelphia • In the wake of Shays’s Rebellion, in February 1787, Congress agreed to organize a convention slated to be held in Philadelphia beginning in May • All told, fifty-five men attended the convention that lasted from mid-May to mid-September 1787 • Delegates as a reflection of society

13. Convention at Philadelphia • A strong coterie of nationalists (who by now called themselves “Federalists”), led by Washington, Madison, Hamilton, Benjamin Franklin, and Robert Morris, was present • Interestingly enough, the radical firebrands of the revolution were absent from the gathering at Philadelphia • Thomas Jefferson was in France, John Adams was in England, and Patrick Henry refused to participate suspecting a plan to lessen the powers of the state governments

14. Convention at Philadelphia • The delegates arrived with the intention of revising the Articles of Confederation, but it soon became clear that the more outspoken Federalists had other plans • A series of debates followed that, in effect, scrapped the Articles in favor of a new plan for a much stronger national government, but one that nonetheless provided the best alternative to the crisis of the 1780s

15. Convention at Philadelphia:The Plans • The Virginia Plan • The New Jersey Plan • The Great Compromise • The Three-Fifths compromise • The “Elastic Clause” • Overall concept of Federalism

16. The Public Debate • Once the states received copies of the proposed constitution, an intense public debate ensued • Two opposing camps soon formed • Federalists advocated the new plan, while “Antifederalists” opposed it

17. The Federalists • Main figures were Hamilton and John Jay of New York and James Madison of Virginia • Believed government should have “majesty” and a significant degree of power of the lives of Americans • The Federalist Papers • Support came from the coastal and urban areas

18. The Anti-Federalists • Prominent figures included George Clinton of New York and Patrick Henry of Virginia • Both of argued that the government under the Constitution was too powerful and would strip away many of the powers and functions of state governments • Other Anti-Federalists voiced more democratic principles and warned of the dangers of concentrating too much political power in the hands of a wealthy few

19. Ratification • There was a contentious debate, but slowly the states began to ratify the constitution • By the end of June 1788, the required nine states had ratified the Constitution, many with razor-thin majorities • But, the new government into effect and the next step in the “American Experiment” was underway