1、The REPUBLICAN EXPERIMENT,America: Past and Present Chapter 6,Defining a New Political Culture,Post-Revolutionary Divisions Balancing individual liberty with social order Balancing property rights with equality Varying answers result in varying Revolutionary governments,Living in a Revolutionary Soc
2、iety,Revolution introduced unintended changes into American society Hierarchical social relations challenged Fundamental questions raised about the meaning of equality,Social and Political Reform,Changes in laws of inheritance More liberal voting qualifications Better representation for frontier set
3、tlers Separation of church and state,African-Americans in the New Republic,African-Americans embrace Declarations stress on natural rights Demand right to freedom in petitions, suits Northern states gradually abolish slavery Southerners debate abolition Some privately free slaves Economic motives ov
4、ercome republican ideals,Limiting Womens Rights,Women demand the natural right of equality Contribute to new society through “Republican Motherhood” Women more assertive in divorce, economic life Denied political and legal rights,Postponing Full Liberty,Revolution limited in extension of rights Intr
5、oduced ideal of freedom and equality,The States: the Lessons of Republicanism,The people demand written constitutions provide clear definition of rights describe clear limits of government Revolutionary state constitutions serve as experiments in republican government Insights gleaned from state exp
6、eriences later applied to constructing central government,Blueprints for State Government,State constitution writers insist on preparing written documents Precedents in colonial charters, church covenants Major break with Englands unwritten constitution,Natural Rights and the State Constitutions,Sta
7、te constitutions guarantee cardinal rights freedom of religion freedom of speech freedom of the press private property Governors weakened Elected assemblies given most power,Power to the People,Procedure for adoption of Constitution pioneered by Massachusetts Constitution written by a special conven
8、tion Ratification by referendum of the people State constitutions seen as flawed experiments Growing sentiment for stronger central government,Stumbling toward a New National Government,War for independence requires coordination among states Central government first created to meet wartime need for
9、coordination,Articles of Confederation,John Dickinsons plan for central government proposed cession of West to Congress opposed proposed equality in state representation opposed Articles of Confederation severely limit central governments authority over states States suspicious of Articles,Western L
10、and: Key to the First Constitution,Maryland ratification of Articles delayed for Virginias renunciation of Western claims 1781-Virginia takes lead in ceding Western claims to Congress Other states cede claims to Congress Congress gains ownership of all land west of Appalachians,Northwest Ordinance:
11、The Confederations Major Achievement,Creates 3-5 new territories in Northwest Population of 5,000 may elect Assembly Population of 60,000 may petition for statehood Bill of Rights provided Slavery outlawed,Land Ordinance of 1785,Strengthening Federal Authority,Inadequate authority over interstate af
12、fairs Inadequate influence on national economy Weak foreign policy,The Nationalist Critique,Confederation treasury empty Congress unable to address inflation, debt Congress has no power to tax Failure to pay soldiers sparks “Newburgh Conspiracy” (squelched by Washington) Failure of reform prompts Na
13、tionalists to consider Articles hopelessly defective,Diplomatic Humiliation,England keep troops on U.S. soil after 1783 Spain closes New Orleans to American commerce in 1784 John Jay to negotiate reopening Mississippi Instead signs treaty favoring Northeast West and South denounce, Congress rejects
14、Jay-Gardoqui Treaty,Have We Fought for This?,By 1785 the country seemed adrift Washington: “Was it with these expectations that we launched into a sea of trouble?”,The Genius of James Madison,Recognition by 1780s of shortcomings in small state republics Stronger central government gains support Jame
15、s Madison persuades Americans that large republics could be free and democratic,Constitutional Reform,May 1786-Annapolis Convention agrees to meet again, write a new constitution Summer 1786-Shays Rebellion sparks fears of national dissolution Crisis strengthens support for new central government,Th
16、e Philadelphia Convention,Convenes May 1787 55 delegates from all states except Rhode Island Delegates possess wide practical experience,Inventing a Federal Republic: The Virginia Plan,Central government may veto all state acts Bicameral legislature of state representatives Larger states have more r
17、epresentatives Chief executive appointed by Congress Small states object to large-state dominance,Inventing a Federal Republic: The New Jersey Plan,Congress given greater taxing powers Articles of Confederation otherwise untouched,Compromise Saves Convention,House of Representatives based on populat
18、ion-a victory for the large states Each state given two delegates in the Senate-a victory for the small states,Compromising with Slavery,Issue of slavery threatens Conventions unity Northerners tend to be opposed Southerners threaten to bolt if slavery weakened Slave trade permitted to continue to 1
19、808“Great as the evil is, a dismemberment of the Union would be worse.” -James Madison,The Last Details,July 26Committee of Detail formed to prepare rough draft Revisions to Executive Electoral College ensures president will not be indebted to Congress Executive given a veto over legislation Executi
20、ve may appoint judges Decision that Bill of Rights unnecessary,We, the People,Convention seeks to bypass vested interests of state legislatures Power of ratification to special state conventions Constitution to go into effect on approval by nine state conventions Phrase “We the People” makes Constit
21、ution a government of the people, not the states,Whose Constitution? The Struggle for Ratification,Supporters recognized the Constitution went beyond the Conventions mandate Document referred to states with no recommendation,Federalists,Supported the Constitution Well-organized Supported by most of
22、the news media,Anti-Federalists,Opposed to the Constitution Distrusted any government removed from direct control of the people Suspected the new Constitution favored the rich and powerful,Progress of Ratification,Succeed in winning ratification in 11 states by June 1788 North Carolina ratifies November 1789 Rhode Island ratifies May 1790 Americans close ranks behind the Constitution,Adding the Bill of Rights,The fruit of Anti-Federalist activism Nationalists promise to add a bill of rights First ten amendments added by December 1791,Articles, Constitution Compared,
