United States History Review

1. United States History Review Articles of Confederation-Civil War

2. Articles of Confederation • The Articles were the first document that governed the United States • It consisted of a single, legislative branch, no executive, no judicial branch • This set up a weak central government, and made states the more powerful • This was done on purpose, as we still feared the power of a King • This government had no ability to collect taxes and could not raise an army • States placed tariffs and trade restrictions upon one another and each had separate currency • Shay’s Rebellion was the final demonstration that a new government was needed The Articles did have some positives • Establishment of government • The Articles did establish a working government that ran the country until 1789 • Land Ordinance of 1785 • This developed a systematic way to distribute land in the old NW Territory • Northwest Ordinance of 1787 • This established the process to become a state and also set aside land for public schools

3. Constitutional Convention • The convention was held in Philadelphia in 1787 • The purpose was to amend and alter the Articles • The act of writing a new Constitution was actually illegal • The Convention came to realize that the Articles could never be amended to function as a quality government • James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, Gouvernuer Morris and John Dickinson carried the heavy load of the writing • George Washington sat as the chairperson of the convention

4. Constitutional Convention Issues • Representation • Smaller states wanted equal representation, larger states proportional • Slavery • Southern states wanted slaves to count for apportionment • Trade • Northern states wanted trade regulated by the Federal government, the South feared the taxes from such control • Power of the Executive • Delegates gave the President the veto, but limited the term • Also they created the electoral college

5. Ratification • Ratification was fiercely debated • Federalists supported the new Federal government, anti-Federalists opposed • James Madison, John Jay, and Alexander Hamilton wrote a series of Federalist Papers to convince states to ratify the Constitution • After promising a Bill of Rights the constitution was ratified • The Bill of Rights was a written guarantee of the what protections citizens could expect from their government

6. Washington’s Term of Office • Washington set up many historical precedents during his tenure as President • Those included: • Two term limit • The Cabinet • Neutrality Policy • The Federal Court system was also established at the time • This was done through the Judiciary Act of 1789 • It set up the Supreme Court, 13 district courts and 4 courts of appeal

7. Hamilton/Jefferson Debates • Alexander Hamilton devised a financial plan to help get the country on a good economic footing, and raise our profile on the international stage • Hamilton wanted the Federal government to be the main body dealing with foreign nations • The plan had 3 main tenets: • Pay off the national debt and have the government assume state debts • Protect new industry with a tariff • Create a national bank to deposit receipts from the tariff

8. Hamilton/Jefferson Debates • The plan met with stiff resistance from Thomas Jefferson and the Anti-Federalists • They felt it gave too much power to the federal government and also that it expanded the power of federal government outside the boundaries of the Constitution • This began a significant debate over the interpretation of the Constitution, loose or strict construction • Hamilton felt that the Constitution provided for flexibility through the elastic clause • Jefferson was a fan of reading the Constitution very strictly

9. Foreign Affairs of the Constitutional Era • Proclamation of Neutrality • Washington felt the US was not strong enough as a nation to have a military alliance with anyone • Jay’s Treaty • John Jay was sent to Britain to try to stop the practice of the British seizing American ships and impressing American soldiers. • Jay’s Treaty got the British to abandon forts on the Western frontier, but said nothing about the ships • Pickney’s Treaty • Spain saw Jay’s Treaty and thought we were becoming cozy with Britain again. • Spain granted the US the right to use New Orleans and settled the border of Florida

10. Early Domestic Issues • The Whiskey Rebellion • An uprising of farmers in western Penn. Due to the Whiskey excise placed by the Hamilton financial plan • Washington thwarted the rebellion with the federal army • Western Lands • Western lands were given to the federal government in the 1790’s • States were added as outlined in the Constitution beginning in 1791 (Vermont)

11. The Presidency of Adams • Washington left office after 2 terms and was succeeded in 1796 by John Adams, a Federalist • Anti-Federalist Thomas Jefferson was Vice-President • The major affairs of the Adams Presidency included • The XYZ Affair • The Alien and Sedition Acts • The Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions • The Alien and Sedition Acts harmed the cause of the Federalists and began to erode their popularity • The major problems of the V/K Resolutions were avoided because John Marshall led the Supreme Court and established it as the arbiter of the Constitution

12. The Revolution of 1800 • The election of 1800 represented the first time in history that a country had peacefully transferred power from one political group to its rival without bloodshed • Jefferson changed as a leader, as he became more open to expanding powers of the Federal government as shown in the Louisiana Purchase • Jefferson was saddled with a largely Federalist Court system • The influence of the Federalists would carry on for several years past their electoral success

13. John Marshall and the Supreme Court • He became the Chief Justice when appointed by Adams and served for 34 years • In 1803 the court decided the case of Marbury v. Madison that established Judicial Review • Other cases that solidified Federal Power: • Gibbons v. Ogden (1824) • McCullough v. Maryland (1819) • Charles River Bridge (1837) • Dartmouth College v. Woodward (1819) • Fletcher v. Peck (1810)

14. Madison’s Presidency • Madison was elected in 1808 and jumped into a brewing problem with trade on the Atlantic • Britain and France continued to harass American ships • Madison signed the Non -Intercourse Act of 1809 that said the US would trade with all nations except Britain and France, attempting to maintain neutrality • Macon’s Bill #2 (1810) allowed that we would resume trade with the first nation to respect our trade rights on the Atlantic • Napoleon said he would, but then continued piracy of American ships

15. The War of 1812 • The continued harassment of US ships led the “war hawks” of the west to demand action • Ironically, they were the least impacted by the trade wars at sea • Eastern shippers were not inclined to war as their profits were aided by the trouble at sea • The War lasted 2 years and the was ended with the Treaty of Ghent • All boundaries remained exactly where they were before the war • This is often referred to as the “Second War for Independence”

16. Cultural Nationalism • James Monroe’s Presidency was termed the “Era of Good Feelings” • This is a bit of a misnomer as the era was marked by debate of tariffs, the bank, slavery and the direction of national policy • Patriotism reigned during this era as nationalism was on a rise after the victory over Britain • The Hudson River School of art developed as well as a national literature

17. Economic Nationalism • The Tariff of 1816 raised tariffs to protect business, this was America’s first protective tariff • Henry Clay’s American System • Designed to link the nation together economically, it was designed from this feeling of nationalism • National roadways, tariffs, and a national bank • Vetoed by Monroe • The Panic of 1819 • This brought an end to the “Era of Good Feelings” • Land speculation and tight money policy contributed to the failing economy

18. The Missouri Compromise • The slavery issue did not die with the end of slave importation • Balance in the Senate was a key goal of the Southern states • Maine is added as a free state, Missouri as a slave state • 36* 30’ is set as a boundary • N of line- no slavery • S of line- slavery ok

19. The Rise of Sectionalism • The North developed into an industrial society that favored high tariffs and trade policies • The West was a farming society that did not require slaves • Southern society continued to develop around the plantation and cash crops for export. They did not like tariffs • These three societies continued to move further apart as the years went on • The greatest debates continued to be over tariffs and slavery

20. Jacksonian Presidency • Jackson interpreted the Constitution narrowly, in the tradition of Jefferson • He was a famous hater of Indians and worked vigorously for their removal • The Nullification Crisis over the Tariff of 1828 was a significant issue • SC wanted to nullify the federal “tariff of abominations” • In 1832 SC held a convention to discuss secession and forbid the collection of tariffs • Jackson lowered the tariffs, but passed the Force Bill which gave the Feds power to collect the tariffs

21. Reform in the 1800’s • 2nd Great Awakening • Transcendentalism • Temperance • Mental Health • Public Education • Women’s Rights • Anti Slavery Movement

22. Jacksonian Democracy • Jackson rose to power as an advocate for the common man • The spirit of democracy was sweeping the nation as universal manhood suffrage had come to many western states • Nominating conventions were also used as a measure to bring more democracy to the process • Jackson was denied the presidency in 1824 through the ‘corrupt bargain’ of Adams and Clay • He won in 1828 in a rising swell of public support • Jackson’s Presidency was marked by controversy at home

23. Texas and Mexico • Texas and Mexico were added to the United States in a period of expansion between 1830 and 1860 • This expansion was fueled by the concept of Manifest Destiny the idea that the US should hold all land from Atlantic to Pacific • Texas first became independent in 1836, it was annexed into the US in 1846 • The Mexican Cession negotiated in the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo following the Mexican War added the Southwestern states in 1848 • The Wilmot Proviso inflamed N/S tensions as it tried to ban slavery in the newly added territory • The Gadsden Purchase added the final piece of the continental US in 1853

24. Road to the Civil War • Abolition movements were becoming strong in the North • The territories added fuel to this debate over slavery • The settling of new territories and applications for statehood complicated the issue • The Compromise of 1850 was one of the final steps before Civil War • It added Cal. as a free state, • Divided the Mexican Cession and relied on popular sovereignty, • Banned the slave trade in DC • Adopted a new, tougher fugitive slave law

25. Road to the Civil War • The last piece of compromise legislation passed was the Kansas-Nebraska Act • This law allowed for the residents of a state to vote on the issue of slavery • This “popular sovereignty” was supposed to quell the slavery issue • Instead it turned the previously ideological war into a violent one • John Brown led a group of followers that killed pro-slavery settlers in what was termed “Bleeding Kansas” • The caning of Charles Sumner and the raid on Harper’s Ferry also contribute to the growing divide

26. The Election of 1860 • This was the final straw in the division of the Union • Lincoln won the election without a single electoral vote from a Southern state • They knew that they would never have a chance to pass favorable legislation in a system so dominated by the North • South Carolina was the first to secede in 1860 • Seven other states followed in 1861