Chapter 9 questions

The Pursuit of Equality

Know:    Leveling, Society of the Cincinnati, Virginia Statute for   Religious Freedom, Abigail Adams, Republican Motherhood, John Singleton Copley

1.         What social changes resulted from the American Revolution?  

Commoners requested tp be called "mr" and "mrs" (previously words reserved for upper class land owners) Trade organizations for artisans and laborers sprung up. Primogeniture was discouraged. Slavery was either abolished or gradually emancipated in the Northern states. Mothers were given an elevated status as the idea of "republican motherhood" spread. 

Constitution Making in the States

Know:    State Constitutions, Fundamental Law

2.         What was the importance of the state constitutions?

The state constitutions (such as Massachusetts) was imitated in the drafting and ratification of the federal Constitution. As written documents the state constitutions were intended to represent a fundamental law. All of them deliberately created weak executive and judicial branches, at least by present-day standards. 

Economic Crosscurrents

Know:    Navigation Laws, Empress of China, Speculation

3.         What were the positive and negative effects of the war on America?

 The economy was hit hard. After the colonists were no longer part of Britain British trade was cut off for loyal colonies. Fisheries were disrupted. However, the new Americans could now trade with the rest of the world very profitably. Many people had earned high profits off of the war (up to 300%) this new class was very rich. The controversy leading to the the REvolutionary War had bred a keen distaste for taxes and encouraged disrespect for the majesty of the law generally. 

A Shaky Start toward Union

Know:    Natural Rights

4.         Why was the end of the war difficult on the national government?

They had to figure out how to form the new government. It is always difficult to form a new government, but doubly so a new type of government. During the war the colonists were united against Britain, but now that was taken away from them. British goods flooded the American markets at very low prices. 

Creating a Confederation

Know:    Sovereignty, Articles of Confederation

5.             What forces served to unify the separate states during the war?

Public lands ceded to the central government proved to be an invaluable bond of union. Congress pledges to dispose of the area of land that NewYork gave up for the "common benefit". This appeased maryland and the other small states that did not have western claims. 

The Articles of Confederation: America's First Constitution

6.         What weaknesses plagued the Articles of Confederation? What was good about it?

The states had more power than the federal government. The Articles of Confederation had no power to regulate commerce or demand that it's request for taxes be met. The Articles of Confederation outlined what powers the central government could have such as making treaties and establishing a postal service. They kept alive the idea of union and held the states together. The article of Confederation provided a stepping stone to form the Constitution of the United States. 

Landmarks in Land Laws

Know:    Old Northwest, Land Ordinance of 1785, Northwest Ordinance of 1787

7.         Explain the importance of the Land Ordinance of 1785 and the Northwest Ordinance.

The land ordinance of 1785 provided that the acreage of the Old Northwest should be sold and that the proceeds should be used to help pay off the national debt.  To do this they sen surveyors to survey the old north west wich contrasted greatly with the settlement of the Ohio River area where uncertain ownership was  the normal.  Also it made it so that a parcel of land in each town would be reserved for a public school. The Northwest Ordinance of 1787 made it so that the new areas that the federal government was selling would have two stages, first it would be territories of the United States, and then once they had 60,000 people they would be considered states with the same privileges as the 13 original colonies.  It also forbade slaver (excluding the slaves already there) in the new territories. 

The World's Ugly Duckling

Know:    Natchez, Dey of Algiers

 8.        Using examples, explain the title of this section.

Foreign relations with other countries such as Britain, France and Spain were all strained. The new republic was government that no one had really seen before and it was shunned. 

The Horrid Specter of Anarchy

Know:    Shay's Rebellion, Mobocracy

 9.        Were the United States of America in danger of falling apart under the Articles of Confederation? Explain.

Yes, individual states were getting out of hand. Quarrels over boundaries erupted and states taxed good coming from other states in or out of their borders. Shay's REbellion is an example of this agitation. 

A Convention of "Demigods"

Know:    George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, Patrick Henry

10.        What kind of men gathered in Philadelphia for the "sole and express purpose of revising" the old government?

The men gathered in Philadelphia were a select group of young propertied men. Most of them were lawyers and had experience in forming the constitutions in their own states. They were nationalists, interested in helping the country, not themselves. 

Patriots in Philadelphia

11.        How does George Washington's quote, "We have, probably, had too good an opinion of human nature in forming our confederation." help to explain the purposes of our founding fathers.           

  The quote implies that our perception of human nature was that it was good, and that perception led to too much freedom and independence. The purpose of the founding fathers was to form a confederation in which this clouded perception of human nature wouldn’t hinder the effectiveness of the new nation.

Hammering out a Bundle of Compromises

Know:    Virginia (large state) Plan, Bicameral Legislature, New Jersey (small state) Plan, Great Compromise, Electoral College, Three-fifths Compromise

12.        Describe the compromises that were achieved by the delegates to the Constitutional Convention.

The Great Compromise was a compromise between large and small states. The large states were given representation by population in the house and the small states made it so that everyone got equal representation in the senate (each state got 2 senators) They agreed that every tax bill or revenue measure must originate in the house. The method of electing the President through the Electoral college was a compromise as well. Also, the three fifths compromise provided that slaves counted as 3/5ths of a person (which is still in the constitution according to John Greene).

Safeguards for Conservatism

Know:    Checks and Balances, Separation of Powers

13.        How democratic was the Constitution as originally written?  

It supported the two main ideas of democracy: that it was for the people and that the power of the government should be limited. 

The Clash of Federalists and Antifederalists

Know:    Antifederalists, Federalists

14.        Who were the antifederalists and why did they oppose the Constitution?

Antifederalists were generally back country poor farmers they opposed the Constitution because they felt that the strong government would take away their rights and force them to pay off their debts that they had incurred. They also argued against the election of president through the electoral college and the nonuse of god in the papers. 

The Great Debate in the States

15.        Did most of the states approve of the Constitution?  Why?

Four of the smaller states quickly approved the Constitution, and Pennsylvania was the first of the larger states to approve it as well. In Massachusetts, there was conflict between the supporters and critics, and Massachusetts finally approved it after a bill of rights was guaranteed to be added later. Three more states approved, and on June 21, 1788, the Constitution was accepted after nine states (all but New York, Virginia, Rhode Island, and North Carolina) had ratified it.

The Four Laggard States

Know:    Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, James Madison, The Federalist

16.        Explain some of the opposition to ratification of the Constitution?

     New York was influenced by The Federalist Papers, written by John Jay, James Madison, and Alexander Hamilton, and finally gave in after realizing that it couldn’t flourish separately from the union. North Carolina and Rhode Island finally approved it after intensive insisting from the government.

A Conservative Triumph 

17.        What does your text mean when it says that the Constitution, "...elevated the ideals of the Revolution even while setting boundaries to them."?

Conservationism was successful, as safety measures had been created against mobocracy. Revolutionaries against Britain were overturned by rebels disobeying the Articles. It was like a form of counterrevolution. Federalists thought that the people were well represented by the different branches of the government, unlike Anti-federalists who thought that it was only the Legislative Branch of the Government that represented the people well

The Constitution: Revolutionary or Counterrevolutionary?

Know:    Nationalist School of Historians, Critical Period, Charles Beard, Gordon Wood

18.        Why have historians disagreed about the reason why our Founding Fathers wrote the Constitution?

To some scholars, the creation of the federal system was an effort to preserve the ideals of the Revolution by eliminating the disorder and contention that threatened the new nation; it was an effort to create a strong national government capable of exercising real authority. To others, the Constitution was an effort to protect the economic interests of existing elites, even at the cost of betraying the principles of the Revolution. And to still others, the Constitution was designed to protect individual freedom and to limit the power of the federal government.