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Consequences of the Revolution and Shays
RebellionIndependence… What Next?
What Next?
Americans had been imbued with the ideology of the revolution now how to quell these passions for liberty before eroding society into anarchy
What about Tories (Loyalists) after the war?
What would happen to slaves who fought for the country?
What Next?
What would be the place of women at the table of democracy?
What to do about the Native Americans?
Writing State Constitutions
The experiment in Republicanism
Civic Virtue
“Equality” in the face of inequality- Slavery
General model of strong legislatures
Economic Problems
States deeply in debt
Inefficiency of the national government in dealing with international trade
Problems with lack of specie and inflated Continental Script
National embarrassments caused by the British and the Spanish
Causes of Shays’ Rebellion
1st The lack of a strong national government that garners the respect of the people
2nd The issue of large amounts of worthless paper money issued by both states and the national governments
3rd Poverty of the people, lack of manufacturing, downfall of international trade, large public and private debt
State Economies
States issued large amounts of paper currency because of the lack of specie after the war.
Some forced to live by exchange of goods
Required state taxes to be paid in hard currency
Failure to pay resulted in foreclosure and public auction
Business & Commerce
Manufacturing was ruined
Mining halted
Fisheries abandoned
The Nation, State, and people deeply in debt
Creditors and Debtors
Creditors sued debtors for nonpayment and debtors in turn sued their debtors
No property was exempt from seizure as the debtor could only look on as his property was sold
Newburgh Conspiracy
March 1783, General Horatio Gates and five hundred officers under Washington’s command met at Newburgh to discuss resigning their commissions and redressing grievances to the Confederation Congress.
Washington met with the officers and gave one of his greatest speeches
The conspirators, humbled by Washington’s reproach, voted against a plan that would have ended the Confederation government
Citizen Washington
Washington resigned his commission from the Continental Army and assumed the posture of a retired gentleman planter
His retirement was short lived
Massachusetts’ Troubles
In order to cover state debts, Massachusetts imposed high taxes on its citizens
Cash poor farmers could not afford to pay such exorbitant taxes and subsequently lost their property
In an effort to stop the foreclosure and loss of property the farmers resorted to previously successful methods of resistance
Who Were These Men?
Some were officers in the Continental Army, served under Gen. Gates at Saratoga and Washington at Valley Forge
Most of the “rebels” served in the Continental Army during the revolution
Several men had served during the Seven Years War as well as the American Revolution
Their Grievances
Many of their debts had been caused by their absences from home in service to the country
Mass. owed money to the men for their service and paid them in part with state certificates which the men sold to speculators
The state then taxed the soldiers the same as the rest of the population
Rebels saw it as a protest against an intolerable government
Daniel Shays
Served as a Captain in the Continental Army and fought at Lexington, Bunker Hill, Ticonderoga, and Saratoga
He was presented with “an elegant sword” from the Marquee de Lafayette
He was poor with debt and seems to have been drawn into the rebellion which bears his name
The Shaysites
Numbered from several hundred men to fifteen thousand
Turned to vigilante action and banned together to close courthouses throughout western Mass.
The Shaysites tried to take an arsenal in Springfield and scared to state legislature in Boston
Wealthy landowners in Mass pressed the state government to act
Ending the Rebellion
Governor James Bowdoin raised $20,000 from private donors to pay for an army to stop the rebellion
General Benjamin Lincoln led a force of 4,4oo to Springfield
Lincoln’s men fired on the rebels killing 5 and wounding several others
Shays and the rest of the rebels fled to other counties and states
Effects of Shays’ Rebellion
The Annapolis Convention
Called by the Continental Congress, it lacked enough delegates to form a quorum
Only twelve delegates from five states showed up in Maryland
Prominent delegates were John Dickinson, Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and Edmund Randolph
These men, convinced of the need for a stronger central government, called for a meeting of delegates in Philadelphia
A Convention of Compromises
A Gathering of Demigods
The delegates shared much in common
They were all landowning white men of wealth and comfort
Almost all were very well educated for the time
Their professions ranged from landowner, slaveholder and lawyer to merchant. As well as doctor and clergyman
Most all had served in their state legislatures or the Continental or Confederation Congress
The average age was relatively young- early 40’s
The Secrecy Rule
Put in place to ensure foreign diplomats and observers would not be privy to the frank discussions of the nations economic and social problems
Did not want to further erode public morale and trust for the Confederation government
Most importantly to allow delegates to compromise and save face with their home states
The First Salvo
Edmund Randolph of the Virginia delegation made the first recommendation as to correct and enlarge the Articles of Confederation
It became known as the Virginia Plan
Developed by James Madison
15 resolutions that would fundamentally change the government
It increased and concentrated the powers of the new Congress
Virginia’s Plan
Called for a three branch government
Bicameral Congress
One house popularly elected by voters
Upper house chosen by the lower house from slates of nominees given by State Legislatures
Both Houses would have membership based on proportional representation
The plan was preferred by larger, more populous states
The New Jersey Plan
Presented by William Patterson of New Jersey
The plan kept the basic structure of the Confederation
Unicameral Congress with one vote per state
Created an executive board, elected by the legislature but removable by a majority of state governors
National legislature could impose duties on imports protecting smaller states from exploitation by larger ones
Tax the states based on population and be able to enforce it
Connecticut Compromise
Proposed by William Paterson of New Jersey and Roger Sherman of Connecticut
Representation in the lower house based on population
Representation in the upper house/Senate based each state would have one vote
MA, CT, PA, VA, NC, SC, GA voted in favor
NJ, DE, and NY voted against
Maryland delegation was split
Sectional Conflict
The issue of proportional representation was followed by a debate on the status of slaves and their value in calculating representation
John Rutledge-SC, proposed states ought to have weight in the government proportional to their wealth
James Wilson-PA and Charles Pinckney-SC proposed the three-fifths compromise
Number chosen as a rough approximation of the wealth an individual slave contributed to the economy of the state
Commerce Compromise
Gouverneur Morris and other northern delegates proposed a change to Article VII section 4 concerning non-taxation of exports
Southern delegates proposed an alternative change to include a prohibition on limiting the slave trade
Northern states wanted to impose a tariff to protect against foreign imports
Southern states feared this measure would hurt the trade of agricultural products
The compromise to Article VII was to allow tariffs on imports to the US and not exports
Slave Trade Compromise
An eleven person committee made up of delegates from each state present drew up a report to allow importation “of such persons as the several States… shall think proper to admit” should not be prohibited by Congress prior to 1800. It permitted “such persons” to be taxed at the same rate as all other imports
Charles Pinckney-SC, moved for the date to be moved to 1808 to give his state more time to trade in Africans
Debate Over Ratification
Federalists were in favor of a strong central government and the Constitution as written
Thought a Bill of Rights to be unnecessary as the Constitution would protect individual liberties as written
Anti-Federalists were in favor of a weaker central government and a strong legislature
Wanted individual rights to be expressly enumerated in a Bill of Rights
Enough votes were obtained for ratification based on the promise of an addition of a Bill of Rights