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Articles of Confederation: powers, weaknesses, successes
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The Articles of Confederation delegated most of the powers (the power to tax, to regulate trade, and to draft troops) to the individual states. but left the federal governrfient power over war. foreign policy, and issuing money The Articles’ weakness was that they gave the federal government so little power that it couldn’t keep the country united. The Articles only major success was that they settled western land claims with the Northwest Ordinance. The Articles were abandoned for the Constitution
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A major success of the Articles of Confederation. Provided for the orderly surveying ana distribution of land belonging to the U.S.
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Northwest Ordinance, 1787
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A major success of the Articles of Confederation. Set up the framework of a oovernment for the Northwest Territory. The Ordinance provided that the Territory would be divided into 3 :c 5 states and set 60.000 as the minimum population for statehood. Outlawed slavery in the Territory, symco cal’y important but practically of little immediate effect.
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Occurred in the winter of 1786-87 under the Articles of Confederation. Poor, indebted landowners in Massachusetts blocked access to courts and prevented the government from arresting or repossessing the property of those in debt. The federal government was too weak to help Boston remove the rebels, a sign that the Articles of Confederation weren’t working effectively.
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At the Constitutional Convention, larger states wanted to follow the Virginia Plan, which based each state’s representation in Congress on state population. Smaller states wanted to follow the New Jersey Plan, which gave every state the same number of representatives. The convention compromised by creating the House and the Senate, and using both of the two separate plans as the method for electing members of each.
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Slavery and the Constitution: slave trade, 3/5 Clause
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The South’s slave trade was guaranteed for at least 20 years after the ratification of the Constitution. Slaves were considered 3/5 of a person when determining the state population for purposes of congressional representation.
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They opposed the ratification of the Constitution because it gave more power to the federal government and less to the States, and because it did not ensure individual rights. Many wanted to keep the Articles of Confederation. The Antifederalists were instrumental in obtaining passage of the Bill of Rights as a prerequisite to ratification of the Constitution in several States.
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The Federalist Papers, Jay, Hamilton, Madison
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This collection of essays by John Jay, Alexander Hamilton, and James Madison, explained the importance of a strong central government. It was published to convince New York to ratify the Constitution.
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Created the federal court system, allowed the president to create federal courts and to appoint judges.
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Alexander Hamilton’s Program: ideas, proposals, reasons for it
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Designed to pay off the U.S.’s war debts and stabilize the economy, he believed that the United States should become a leading international commercial power. His programs included the creation of the National Bank, the establishment of the U.S.’s credit rate, increased tariffs, and an excise tax on whiskey. Also, he insisted that the federal government assume debts incurred by the States during the war.
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Washington’s Neutrality Proclamation, 1793
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Washington’s declaration that the U.S. would not take sides after the French Revolution touched off a war between France and a coalition consisting primarily of England, Austria and Prussia. Washington’s Proclamation was technically a violation of the Franco-American Treaty of 1778.
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A French diplomat who came to the U.S. 1793 to ask the American government to send money and troops to aid the revolutionaries in the French Revolution. President Washington asked France to recall Genét after Genêt began recruiting men and arming ships in U.S. ports. However, Washington later relented and allowed Genét U.S. citizenship upon learning that the new French government planned to arrest Genêt.
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Farmers in Pennsylvania rebelled against Hamilton’s excise tax on whiskey, and several federal officers were killed in the riots caused by their attempts to serve arrest warrants on the offenders. In October, 1794, the army, led by Washington, put down the rebellion. The incident showed that the new government under the Constitution could react swiftly and effectively to such a problem, in contrast to the inability of the government under the Articles of Confederation to deal with Shay’s Rebellion.
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It was signed in the hopes of settling the growing conflicts between the U.S. and Britain. It dealt with the
- Northwest posts and trade on the Mississippi River. It was unpopular with most Americans because it did not
- punish Britain for the attacks on neutral American ships. It was particularly unpopular with France, because the
- U.S. also accepted the British restrictions on the rights of neutrals.
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This treaty between the U.S. and Spain which gave the U.S. the right to transport goods on the Mississippi River and to store goods in the Spanish port of New Orleans
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Washington’s Farewell Address
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He warned against the dangers of political parties and foreign alliances. He stated the nation’s intention was to extend commercial relations but restrict political alliances as much as possible since Europe’s interests were not those of the United States.
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A commission had been sent to France in 1797 to discuss the disputes that had arisen out of the U.S’s refusal to honor the Franco-American Treaty of 1778. President Adams had also criticized the French Revolution, so France began to break off relations with the U.S. Adams sent delegates to meet with French foreign minister Talleyrand in the hopes of working things out. Talleyrand’s three agents told the American delegates that they could meet with Talleyrand only in exchange for a very large bribe. The Americans did not pay the bribe, and in 1798 Adams made the incident public, substituting the letters “X, Y and Z” for the names of the three French agents in his report to Congress. French behavior struck Americans as an insult to the nation’s sovereignty
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These consist of four laws passed by the Federalist Congress and signed by President Adams in 1798: the Naturalization Act, which increased the waiting period for an immigrant to become a citizen from 5 to 14 years; the Alien Act, which empowered the president to arrest and deport dangerous aliens; the Alien Enemy Act, which allowed for the arrest and deportation of citizens of countries at was with the US; and the Sedition Act, which made it illegal to publish defamatory statements about the federal government or its officials. The first 3 were enacted in response to the XYZ Affair, and were aimed at French and Irish immigrants, who were considered subversives. The Sedition Act was an attempt to stifle Democratic-Republican opposition, although only 25 people were ever arrested, and only 10 convicted, under the law. The Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions, which initiated the concept of “nullification” of federal laws were written in response to the Acts.
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Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions
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Written anonymously by Jefferson and Madison in response to the Alien and Sedition Acts, they put forth the doctrine of nullification declaring that states could nullify federal laws that they considered unconstitutional.
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Election of 1800, tie, Jefferson and Burr
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The two Democratic-Republicans Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr defeated Federalist John Adams, but tied with each other. The final decision went the House of Representatives, where there was another tie. After a long series of ties in the House, Jefferson was finally chosen as president. Burr became vice-president. This led to the 12th Amendment, which requires the president and vice-president of the same party to run on the same ticket.
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A Federalist judge appointed by Washington to the Supreme Court. Chase had been a Revolutionary War hero, and was a signer of the Declaration of Independence. Jefferson disagreed with his rulings and had him impeached for publicly criticizing the Jefferson administration to the Maryland grand jury. The Senate acquitted Chase, and the impeachment failed. (This is the only attempt in history to impeach a U.S. Supreme Court Justice.)
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The U.S. purchased the land from the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains from Napoleon for $15 million. Jefferson was interested in the territory because it would give the U.S. the Mississippi River and New Orleans (both were valuable for trade and shipping) and also room to expand. Napoleon wanted to sell because he needed money for his European campaigns and because a rebellion against the French in Haiti had soured him on the idea of New World colonies. The purchase removed France as a threat to the American economy. The Constitution did not give the federal government the power to buy land, so Jefferson used loose construction to justify the purchase.
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Lewis and Clark expedition
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1804-1806 - Jefferson commissioned Meriwether Lewis and William Clark to map and explore the Louisiana
- Purchase region. Beginning at St. Louis, Missouri, the expedition traveled up the Missouri River to the Great
- Divide, and then down the Columbia River to the Pacific Ocean. It produced extensive maps of the area and
- recorded many scientific discoveries, facilitating later settlement of the region and travel to the Pacific coast.
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After Burr lost to Jefferson as a Republican in the election of 1800, he switched to the Federalist party and ran for governor of New York. When he lost, he blamed Hamilton (a successful Federalist politician) of making defamatory remarks that cost him the election. Burr challenged Hamilton to a duel, in which Hamilton was killed on July 11, 1804. After the duel, Burr fled New York and joined a group of mercenaries in the southern Louisiana territory region. The U.S. arrested them as they moved towards Mexico. Burr claimed that they had intended to attack Mexico, but the U.S. believed that they were actually trying to get Mexican aid to start a secession movement in the territories. Burr was tried for treason, and although Jefferson advocated Burr’s punishment, the Supreme Court acquitted Burr.
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Chesapeake-Leopard Affair, 1807
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The American ship Chesapeake refused to allow the British on the Leopard to board to look for deserters. In response, the Leopard fired on the Chesapeake. As a result of the incident, the U.S. expelled all British ships from its waters until Britain issued an apology. Britain did not apologize and anti-British feeling increased.
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This act issued by Jefferson forbade American trading ships from leaving the U.S. It was meant to force Britain and France to change their policies towards neutral vessels by depriving them of American trade. It was difficult to enforce because merchants and everyone else opposed it whose livelihood depended upon international trade. It was disastrous to the national economy, so the Non-Intercourse Act replaced it.
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Non-Intercourse Act, 1809
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Replaced the Embargo of 1807. Unlike the Embargo, which forbade American trade with all foreign nations, this act only forbade trade with France and Britain. It did not succeed in changing British or French policy towards neutral ships, so Macon’s Bill No. 2 replaced it.
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The Non-Intercourse Act expired in 1810 and was replaced by Macons Bill No. 2, which reopened free commerical relations with Britain and France but authorized the president to prohibit commerce with either belligerent if it should continue violating neutral shipping after the other had stopped.
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A Shawnee chief who, along with his brother, Tenskwatawa, a religious leader known as The Prophet, worked to unite the Northwestern Indian tribes. An American army led by William Henry Harrison at the Battle of Tippecanoe in 1811 defeated the league of tribes. Tecumseh was killed fighting for the British during the War of 1812 at the Battle of the Thames in 1813.
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Hartford Convention, December, 1814
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A convention of New England merchants who opposed the Embargo and other trade restriction, and the War of 1812 They proposed some Amendments to the Constitution that would increase the voice of minorities in deciding critical issues such as war, embargoes, and the admission of new States. It also advocated the right of States to nullify federal laws. They also discussed the idea of seceding from the U.S. if their desires were ignored. The Convention turned public sentiment against the Federalists and led to the demise of the party.
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This protective tariff helped American industry by raising the prices of British manufactured goods, which were often cheaper and of higher quality than those produced in the U.S.
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Madison vetoed John C. Calhoun’s Bonus Bill, which would have used the bonus money paid to the government by the Second National Bank to build roads and canals. Madison believed in strict interpretation, and using federal money for internal improvements was not a power granted to the federal government in the Constitution.
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Proposed after the War of 1812, it included using federal money for internal improvements (roads, bridges, industrial improvements, etc.), enacting a protective tariff to foster the growth of American industries, and strengthening the national bank.
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Spain gave up Florida to the U.S. and the U.S/Mexico border was set so that Texas and the American Southwest would be part of Mexico.
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Declared that Europe should not interfere in the affairs of the Western Hemisphere and that any attempt at interference by a European power would be seen as a threat to the U.S. It also declared that a New World colony which has gained independence may not be recolonized by Europe. (It was written at a time when many South American nations were gaining independence). Only England, in particular George Canning, supported the Monroe Doctrine. Mostly just a show of nationalism, the doctrine had no major impact until later in the 1800s.
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Chief Justice John Marshall, Marburyv. Madison, 1803
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Justice Marshall was a Federalist whose decisions on the U.S. Supreme Court promoted federal power over State power and established the judiciary as a branch of government equal to the legislative and executive. In Marbury v. Madison he established the Supreme Court’s power of judicial review. One of President Adams’ “midnight appointments” to a federal judgeship sued for the delivery of his commission by James Madison, secretary of State; Marshall held that Marbury’s claim was valid but Section 13 (writ of mandamus) of the 1789 Judicial Act conflicted with the constitutional limitations on the Supreme Court’s area of original jurisdiction and was therefore invalid. The critical importance of Marbury is the assumption of several powers by the Supreme Court. One was the authority to declare acts of Congress, and by implication acts of the president, unconstitutional if they exceeded the powers granted by the Constitution. But even more important, the Court became the final authority on what the document meant. As such, the Supreme Court became in fact as well as in theory an equal partner in government, and it has played that role ever since.
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Admitted Missouri as a slave State arid at the same time admitted Maine as a free State. Declared that all territory north of the 36°30’ latitude in the Louisiana Purchase would become free states, and all territory south of that latitude would become slave States.
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