Chapter 5: The Constitution and the Early Republic
British forts
- Under the Treaty of Paris of 1783, the British agreed to remove their soldiers from the 13
colonies. However, they never said anything about removing soldiers from the territories west of
the United States. They built military forts that they refused to surrender.
Natchez and New Orleans
- Spanish troops captured Natchez during the war and refused to turn it over to the United States.
- The Spanish closed the lower Mississippi River to American trade, an area that Western settlers
depended on for tobacco and corn crops. Eventually the area was opened back up to American
commerce with a tariff that the Americans had to pay.
Foreign trade problems
- While the Americans could now trade with whomever they wanted, the loss of imperial trade with
Britain had worse consequences than there were advantages to new foreign trade. Along with this,
British merchants were eager to export goods to the United States. The US ended up importing
way more than they were exporting, which proved detrimental to the economy.
“Not worth a Continental”
- Meaning worthless, lacking in value, especially in terms of the economy and inflation.
Annapolis Convention
- In 1786, Congress's inability to control commerce was causing issues. Interstate squabbling was
becoming more and more frequent, and so Virginia called for a convention at Annapolis, MD.
Unfortunately, while 9 states appointed delegates, only 5 were actually represented. Alexander
Hamilton saved the convention from total failure by drafting a report that called upon Congress to
summon a convention to meet in Philadelphia the following year.
Shay’s Rebellion
- Massachusetts legislature heavily taxed the middle class in order to begin paying off their war
debt (about ⅓ of their income began going to taxes)
- Revolution veterans were not being paid for their services
- Daniel Shays started a rebellion to protest these taxes
- People began marching on the courts and the rebellion spread throughout Mass.
- Massachusetts hired a private militia to stop the rebellion (which angered people more)
Alexander Hamilton
- Born in the Caribbean. Moved to New York and attended King’s College. Joined the Continental
Army and became Washington’s right hand man. Attended the Constitutional Convention.
Became Secretary of the Treasury and was tasked to create a financial plan to deal with
America's immense debt.
James Madison
- The author of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, Madison was also the father of the
Federalist party and the fourth President of the United States. He was President during the
war of 1812 and was also Vice-President under Jefferson. He was a great statesman but was not a
strong president
Constitutional Convention
- A convention in 1787 made up of delegates from every state. At this convention the delegates
debated whether or not the Articles of Confederation should be upheld, or if a new basis of
, government was needed in America. Ultimately, the delegates of the convention voted on
various matters such as size and relative strength of the government, the branches of
government, slavery, and the balance of powers between the state and federal governments.
The outcome of these conventions was the new U.S. Constitution.
Virginia Plan
- Plan proposed by Edmund Randolph that outlined a three branch form of government with a
strong central government. The three branches consisted of a legislature, a judiciary, and an
executive branch, the legislative having two branches: the House of Representatives and the
Senate.
New Jersey Plan
- Plan that was prepared and presented by William Paterson that wanted representation in the
legislature to be equal, regardless of individual state population.
- Opposite of the Virginia Plan, it proposed a single-chamber congress in which each state
had one vote. This created a conflict with representation between bigger states, who wanted
control befitting their population, and smaller states, who didn't want to be bullied by larger
states.
⅗ Compromise
- This compromise was made because the northern states did not want to count slaves as part of the
population for considering representation in the legislature, but the southern states did (even
though slaves still would not be able to vote).
- Slaves were determined to count as ⅗ of a person in terms of counting population, and were
not given the right to vote.
- This compromise was a victory for southerners because direct taxes were only rarely levied by
Congress before the Civil War
Slave Compromise
- The compromise that stated that there would be no interference with the slave trade for at least
twenty years.
Commerce Compromise
- A compromise that described how Congress could regulate trade. There would be no taxes on
exports, but there were taxes on imports.
Great Compromise/Connecticut Plan
- A compromise that laid out the plan for legislative representation. It says that in the lower branch
(House of Representatives), representation would be based on population and seats would
be filled based on popular vote. However, in the upper branch (Senate), each state would
have two representatives (equal representation) that are elected by its legislature. This
compromise combined the ideals of equal and population based representation to satisfy both
sides of the argument within the Constitutional Convention.
Bicameral legislature
- The concept of having a two branch legislature made up of the House of Representatives and
the Senate.
Article 1, Section 8, Clause 18
- “To make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing
Powers, and all other Powers vested by this Constitution in the Government of the United States,
or in any Department or Officer thereof.”
British forts
- Under the Treaty of Paris of 1783, the British agreed to remove their soldiers from the 13
colonies. However, they never said anything about removing soldiers from the territories west of
the United States. They built military forts that they refused to surrender.
Natchez and New Orleans
- Spanish troops captured Natchez during the war and refused to turn it over to the United States.
- The Spanish closed the lower Mississippi River to American trade, an area that Western settlers
depended on for tobacco and corn crops. Eventually the area was opened back up to American
commerce with a tariff that the Americans had to pay.
Foreign trade problems
- While the Americans could now trade with whomever they wanted, the loss of imperial trade with
Britain had worse consequences than there were advantages to new foreign trade. Along with this,
British merchants were eager to export goods to the United States. The US ended up importing
way more than they were exporting, which proved detrimental to the economy.
“Not worth a Continental”
- Meaning worthless, lacking in value, especially in terms of the economy and inflation.
Annapolis Convention
- In 1786, Congress's inability to control commerce was causing issues. Interstate squabbling was
becoming more and more frequent, and so Virginia called for a convention at Annapolis, MD.
Unfortunately, while 9 states appointed delegates, only 5 were actually represented. Alexander
Hamilton saved the convention from total failure by drafting a report that called upon Congress to
summon a convention to meet in Philadelphia the following year.
Shay’s Rebellion
- Massachusetts legislature heavily taxed the middle class in order to begin paying off their war
debt (about ⅓ of their income began going to taxes)
- Revolution veterans were not being paid for their services
- Daniel Shays started a rebellion to protest these taxes
- People began marching on the courts and the rebellion spread throughout Mass.
- Massachusetts hired a private militia to stop the rebellion (which angered people more)
Alexander Hamilton
- Born in the Caribbean. Moved to New York and attended King’s College. Joined the Continental
Army and became Washington’s right hand man. Attended the Constitutional Convention.
Became Secretary of the Treasury and was tasked to create a financial plan to deal with
America's immense debt.
James Madison
- The author of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, Madison was also the father of the
Federalist party and the fourth President of the United States. He was President during the
war of 1812 and was also Vice-President under Jefferson. He was a great statesman but was not a
strong president
Constitutional Convention
- A convention in 1787 made up of delegates from every state. At this convention the delegates
debated whether or not the Articles of Confederation should be upheld, or if a new basis of
, government was needed in America. Ultimately, the delegates of the convention voted on
various matters such as size and relative strength of the government, the branches of
government, slavery, and the balance of powers between the state and federal governments.
The outcome of these conventions was the new U.S. Constitution.
Virginia Plan
- Plan proposed by Edmund Randolph that outlined a three branch form of government with a
strong central government. The three branches consisted of a legislature, a judiciary, and an
executive branch, the legislative having two branches: the House of Representatives and the
Senate.
New Jersey Plan
- Plan that was prepared and presented by William Paterson that wanted representation in the
legislature to be equal, regardless of individual state population.
- Opposite of the Virginia Plan, it proposed a single-chamber congress in which each state
had one vote. This created a conflict with representation between bigger states, who wanted
control befitting their population, and smaller states, who didn't want to be bullied by larger
states.
⅗ Compromise
- This compromise was made because the northern states did not want to count slaves as part of the
population for considering representation in the legislature, but the southern states did (even
though slaves still would not be able to vote).
- Slaves were determined to count as ⅗ of a person in terms of counting population, and were
not given the right to vote.
- This compromise was a victory for southerners because direct taxes were only rarely levied by
Congress before the Civil War
Slave Compromise
- The compromise that stated that there would be no interference with the slave trade for at least
twenty years.
Commerce Compromise
- A compromise that described how Congress could regulate trade. There would be no taxes on
exports, but there were taxes on imports.
Great Compromise/Connecticut Plan
- A compromise that laid out the plan for legislative representation. It says that in the lower branch
(House of Representatives), representation would be based on population and seats would
be filled based on popular vote. However, in the upper branch (Senate), each state would
have two representatives (equal representation) that are elected by its legislature. This
compromise combined the ideals of equal and population based representation to satisfy both
sides of the argument within the Constitutional Convention.
Bicameral legislature
- The concept of having a two branch legislature made up of the House of Representatives and
the Senate.
Article 1, Section 8, Clause 18
- “To make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing
Powers, and all other Powers vested by this Constitution in the Government of the United States,
or in any Department or Officer thereof.”
