APUSH Unit 3
Anaya Benzan
John Green’s Crash Course Eight
The Constitution, the Articles, and Federalism
● The first government was the Articles of Confederation
○ It was not a good one
○ It only existed for 10 years
● The government was not a real government
○ It had no real president
○ It also needed 9 of the 13 votes for anything to happen
■ Which means things would rarely go through
■ Even when they did the Congress really did not have that much power to
make a drastic difference in society
● They had to ask the states for money to go into war
● They could not tax, they just had power to handle money
● The government did win war, and handled the new problems for the nation
● To gain land they had to take it from the Indians
○ Treaties were to be created
○ They got it in the Northwest Ordinance of 1787
■ 5 more states were theirs
● Slavery became illegal
● Trade downgraded…
○ The Articles government could not impose taxes so they states had to pay for war
○ Debt was the biggest problem
○ British was unhappy about America winning the war and declined trade
opportunities with them
● 1786-1787 Shays’ Rebellion
○ In MA
○ Closed to prevent foreclosures on their farms
■ Wealthy people didn’t like that the underclasses had the power to do this
and it would somehow affect them
● Annapolis 1786 a meeting to better trade with other nations
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○ 6 states there… but they planned another meeting for the next year
The second meeting is where they created the Constitution (which was supposed to be
their revised version of the original document)
○ 55 men
○ Wealthy
○ Educated
○ Some veterans
■ All wanted a more stronger government
■ They agreed on…
Executive, legislative, and judicial branch
○ With Republican representatives
○ They could check each other’s powers^
AH made the rule of lifetime occupations
A balance of government and democracy results in the Electoral College of 538 members
The large and small states had different opinions on how the government should look and
they debated about this
○ Compromised
■ House of Representatives
■ Senate
Population?
○ Slaves?
■ Became ⅗ a person
■ Slaves had to return to their masters… there was no escape
An Electoral College was created
9/13 states needed to agree before anything happened
AH, JM, JJ wrote and 85 essays to influence people that a strong national government is a
necessity
Antifederalists were majority people like small farmers
○ They were scared of the wealthy people with power
○ They rather state governments
■ It would be more certain of their rights being protected
Federalists
○ Won…
The Constitution was only the beginning!
The End.
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Chapter 6
The Constitution and the New Republic
Deficiencies of the Confederation Government
● 1780s people were unsatisfied with the way the government was unable to handle the
problems in society
○ Economics
● 1787 created a new government
○ It is now one of the top gov’t in the world
○ Americans took the Constitution as a holy matter
FRAMING A NEW GOVERNMENT
A Weak Central Government
● Lack of power to tax
● Hamilton’s draft passed
Advocates of Centralization
Supporters if A Strong National Government
● 55 “Founding Fathers”
● 1 vote/state → Majority wins
● Democracy created
● James Madison; VA leader
○ Created a new government plan
● Edmund Randolph; VA leader
○ Helped JM
○ Came up with the ideas of the three branches
○ Approved
Alexander Hamilton
● Political leader
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● Represented New York
● Worked closely with George Washington
A Divided Convention
The Founding Fathers
● 55 men
The Virginia Plan
● 2 houses of legislature
● Representation based on population
● Lower house elects the upper house
○ Small states disagreed
■ William Paterson created the new “federal” plan
● (NJ) 1 legislature house, equal rep, taxation power → didn’t use it,
but taken into consideration
● VA plan > NJ plan
Small States versus Large States
● To reach general agreement the larger states would need to take into consideration the
smaller states want.
○ Therefore state legislators voted on the upper house.
■ Ensured that each state would have at least one member
● But what was the ratio?
○ Did slaves count in the population?
○ TAXATION, BUT NO REPRESENTATION
Compromise
● Benjamin Franklin convinced persuasion
○ He became the chairman of the “Grand Committee”
■ 1 delegate per state
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■ They would resolve disagreements
The Great Compromise
● 1787 → the upper house had two members each
● New legislature agreed…
○ To not tax exports
○ $10 ≥ per slave
○ Couldn’t stop slave trade for twenty years
■ Feared a failed Constitution^
The Constitution of 1787
James Madison
● JM was the most important signature on the Constitution!
The Question of Sovereignty
● “We the people…”
● Runs by the people of the US
● The problem of concentrated authority; it is human nature to use your power as much as
you can…
○ Therefore having a bigger nation was better so that it could be divided into
smaller factions and one power could not dominate
Separation of Powers
● ...shaped structure
○ Congress → Senate & a House of Representatives
■ Both had to agree for a new law to come into place
○ Federal court jobs lasted a lifetime (once elected that was your job until death)
○ No state could defy the Constitution
○ Federal Government;
■ Could tax
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■ Pass laws
■ Control money and currency
■ Handled business and commerce
○ The states were in control of their own important issues
○ 1787; the Constitution was signed by 39 Delegates
Federalists and Antifederalists
● New rules compared to the Articles of Confederation
● 9/13 had to agree
● States vote on the document
● Changes could be made after 9/13 signed and then they would go through the process
The Federalist Papers
● A. Hamilton, J. Madison, J. Jay ++ wrote and published their writing to keep other states
intrigued and in agreement with their ideologies
● 1788 meetings began
● FEAR VERSUS FEAR
The Antifederalists
● Called the “critics”
● They mistrusted the human nature that came with power
● They believed that to ensure the people’s rights, a Bill of Rights was needed. Otherwise
there is no certainty of protection.
Debating the Constitution
● Federals versus the Antifederalists
○ The Federals feared disorder
○ The Antifederalists feared concentrated power
Completing the Structure (168-169)
● 1789; First Constitution elections
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● George Washington → the President
● John Adams → Vice President
The Bill of Rights
● They needed the Bill of Rights to legitimize the Constitution
● The Ten Amendments
● 1789 Judiciary Acts
The Cabinet
● Congress…
○ Secretary → A. Hamilton
○ War → General Henry Knox
○ General → Randolph
FEDERALISTS AND REPUBLICANS
Competing Visions
● There were two sides to the debate
○ The Republicans; believed in having a concentrated power and a strong economy
○ The Federalists; believed in giving power to the people
Hamilton and the Federalists
● Federalists ran the government for twelve years
○ Washington approved their motives
● A. Hamilton resigned in 1749
○ He handled the domestic and foreign policy
Assuming the Debt
● A. Hamilton wanted to keep the government in debt to get investors to pay
○ It would keep the government surviving
● He also wanted to create a national bank
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○ It would overall keep a secure and smart system to handle federal funds, taxes,
and financial loans business would take out
Hamilton’s Report on Manufacturing
● Government would have to pay interest on the loans they took
● Two types of taxes were created…
○ Alcohol
○ Imports
● 1791 Report on Manufactures
○ Explained the plan
● The Federalists knew how they envisioned America and what it should consist of as a
nation!
Enacting the Federalist Program (170)
Debating Hamilton’s Program
● On board for funding the national debt
● Disagreement with accepting debt
● Congress passed Hamilton’s ideas
○ Debt & Taxes;
■ More debt, rose taxes
■ Some states would be losing more because certain states owed more taxes,
but they would all be paying the same amount; therefore, to pass the bill
they had to make a deal with Virginia…
Location of the Capital
● The capital was in NY then it moved to PA in 1790, but the South wanted it
● Washington picked out the land between VA & MD to be the new capital
Bank of the United States
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● Was the national bank permitted by the Constitution or…?
○ JM, TJ, ER, ++ said that congress should not allow anything the Constitution did
not specifically permit
■ But they still passed Hamilton’s Bill
■ Bank operations began and had the right for twenty years
○ 1792 Taxes rose
■ Although Hamilton wanted the taxes to be even higher
○ People benefited…
■ Speculators and manufacturers profited
■ Merchants were pleased with the banking system
○ The majority of the population were the small farmers
■ They were being charged with an unreasonable amount of taxes
■ They opposed this new system…
The Republican Opposition
The majority of the people did not really gain much from the new systems put in place by
Hamilton; therefore, the society began to notice how the system was really set up to help out and
aid the smaller population of the wealthy. Yes, disagreements were inevitable and bound to occur
but George Washington did not see a reason to have permanent divisions in parties.
Establishing of the Federalist Party
● The Federalists worked the system to gain supporters
● They were participating in the same activities that the British government had done to
corrupt their nation and people
Formation of the Republican Party
● 1790s every state had a group of Republicans
○ They communicated with one another from state to state
● Republicans claims were that they represent the real things a nation should have
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● “Factionalism” → 1st power system
● Jefferson was the main spokesmen
○ He was a farmer himself and he believed in an agrarian society (being able to
farm on your own soil)
○ He said no to advancing the industrial economy because it’ll leave workers
propertyless
Differences over the French Revolution
● The Federalists tend to live in the Northeast region
● The Republicans tend to live in the South and in the West
● The Federalists and the Republicans reacted differently to the French Revolution 1790s
● 1792; was the second presidential election
○ TJ & AH told GW to run again
○ But, overall Hamilton was a huge person in the government
ESTABLISHING NATIONAL SOVEREIGNTY
● Federalists handled the two big problems…
○ The western lands
○ International position
Securing the Frontier
Problems with some sides
Whiskey Rebellion
● 1794;
○ The people in West PA would not pay the taxes they received from their Whiskey
■ AH & GW sent in 15,000 troopers and the people gave in by intimidation!
Native Americans and the New Nation
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● Confederation problems…
○ 1784-1787 made borders for the Indian tribes and the white settlers
○ The US overcame all the interferences they had with the Indians, but they were
unsure of who was in control of the land
Indians and the Constitution
● The Constitution was unclear of the legal position of Indians
○ No direct representation
○ Land was never specified upon
■ It took 200 years to figure this out through treaties, agreements, and
debates
Maintaining Neutrality
● 1791; Great Britain sent a representative to the US because they were threatened with
trade
○ The British were unable to recognize the new government for what it was
● 1793; America wanted to remain neutral, but they were tested
○ New French government fought with GB ++
■ ^ Edmond Genet
Citizen Genet
● He landed his people on Charleston rather than Philly
○ He wanted to use these ports
○ Recruited Americans to their side
■ ^ He was violating the Neutrality Act and Washington’s rules
● Washington demanded he be taken out of power, but it was too
late; he was already out
○ That was the first test
● Test Two; from GB
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○ 1794
■ Hundreds of American trading ships being taken from the Royal Navy
● If they went into war with them than they would lose their trading
system; which is the main source of profit
Jay’s Treaty and Pinckney’s Treaty
● Jefferson resigned 1793 from secretary of state
● E. Randolph was pro-french all the way
● John Jay became the chief of justice of US supreme court and NY Federalist
○ He had to come up with a new commercial treaty ++
Jay’s Treaty
● 1794; failed, but…
○ Prevented war
○ Got the US the Northwest
○ Made connects with Britain
○ James Monroe joined to help
Pinckney’s Treaty
● Settled conflict with Spain
● 1795 ^
○ Deposit goods
○ Could enter the port to deposit them
○ Fix the border
○ Authorities to stop Indians
THE DOWNFALL OF THE FEDERALISTS
● Success led to self defeat
● Federalist chose stability in 1790s
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The Election of 1796
Washington’s Farewell Address
● GW retired in 1797 after three terms
● Letter to Republicans
● Hamilton become the nominee for next president
● The Federalist dominated, but weakened with GW
● Adams won!
The “Revolution” of 1800
The Election of 1800
● The worst campaign
● The Republicans advertised the wrong things
○ Jefferson love with a enslaved women
■ Still elected
● Problems occurred with a tie
○ Overall Jefferson had won!
The Judiciary Act of 1801
● Balanced out numbers now
○ Federalists to the new jobs
○ “Midnight appointments” ^
● The new era began!
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CONCLUSION
The creation of the Constitution has been the most important thing in American history.
The three branches that were created had been a good idea that separated the control throughout
the entire new government. The time and effort that was put into the multiple drafts of the
document displays the care and passion that the people had for a strong and stable government.
One of the hardest things to compromise was slavery. The presidential election that Thomas
Jefferson won was the start of a new beginning, and it put on hold the troubles going on in the
political world that was in harm of the nation’s future.
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