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New Start People want to do something about the National Government, so all the states want to get together and do something. The Constitutional Convention meets for the first time and only 5 states send representatives--> so they cancel and reschedule. They meet again and 12 states show up..Rhode Island does not.. The VA Plan-Edmond Randolph and James Madison create a federal gov't with different branches. "Each of the power unto itself..." Checks and Balances. They wanted to have a strong chief executive---> something that the articles of confederation did not have. They have a supreme court with justices that have a life time appointment It also lays out a proposal for legislation with 2 houses---> the upper house is elected by the lower. The # of reps is unspecified at this point. This causes a lot of controversy because it was written by a big state (VA) so the smaller states feel like they will not get equal power and representation. William Patterson- submits the New Jersey plan: Same Judicial plan as VA plan Strong chief exec BUT legislation gives = opportunities to big and small states. It was submitted in June and REJECTED almost immediately... The RESULT: they decide that each state in the upper house will have only 2 reps, so basically they combine the 2 plans (VA & NJ) One thing that was debated about was slavery; some northern states are already trying to get rid of it. The south on the other hand doesn't want to get rid of it (b/c their economy depends on slave labor) they actually want the gov't to count slaves in the population count of the state so that they can have more reps This is when they come up with the 3/5th compromise: each slave would count as 3/5th of a white person so that they can be added to the population. They lay a deadline to get out of Int Slave Trade by 1808. Now they are disputing about how long reps and senators and the executives should be in office for: House of Reps- 2 years President-4 years Senators-6 years They decide that the president will have mediocre power, not too strong but not weak either. They decide to have amendments so that controversial topics could be fixed in the written constitution. They needed to get this new constitution ratified by the states---> meaning it needs to be sold and advertised and promoted to get states to go for it. Federalist Papers- James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay They try to convince people to get support for the constitution; so they break it down for the ppl. They set up the Electoral College---> just to make sure that ppl don't elect some goof ball!! Anti-Federalist papers- Patrick Henry. Constitution is ratified finally by 1807---> RI is the last state.
1st President- George Washington has to deal with taxes and other stuff. He puts Hamilton to work on taxes and he comes up with the Funding and Assumption Plan. Assumption-pays off state debts Funding- a tax plan that everyone has to pay---> so MA who has already paid off its debts has to pay for everyone else's debts too?! Tariffs- taxes on products imported from other countries; state tax on distilled spirits- Whiskey Tax ---> Farmers are a majority and so they make spirits from scratch to make some extra money. "Soldiers" with sold land grants are now being forced to pay for their own bonus. They begin to protest about these taxes---> these are organized protests w/ discussions on what to do. Protestors are known as Whiskey Boys. The Whiskey Boys robbed the mail, rallied, disrupted court proceedings, attack tax collectors (tarred & feathered) This happens in places like: Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Jamestown, and Charleston. Washington and his buddies want to solve and test the US gov't with the situation of the Whiskey Rebellion. Washington wants to prove that the new gov't actually works. So they target Pennsylvania and they find nothing; they arrested a simpleton and insane person but later let them go. The Whiskey Rebellion was a good test for the new US gov't The US not only has internal problems but they had external as well such as: The war didn't really end even though the Treaty of Paris had been signed. The Brits and Americans were still attacking each other. They US doesn't initially respond to these attacks but they negotiate with the British in 1794 and they send John Jay to London and he comes back with: Jay's Treaty---> The Brits and US will stop fighting. The US and Brits will also negotiate the debts. This treaty re-established trade between the US and Britain. ---> However there is the small problem: the US had to get consent from the French before they did this because of the Treaty of Paris. But they didn't! So now France wants to declare war on the US! The US needs a Navy... so they build one with the aid of Britain. The Quazai War wasn't really an end but the US, Britain, and French still keep fighting. Britain opposes France and Napoleon, so the US is trading with both of them and they don't like that. Thomas Jefferson brings up the idea of an embargo act saying that the US can trade with themselves. Jefferson's Embargo Act doesn't work and is disastrous to the US economy. Aka "Damn-bargos" So the US wants to declare war on the British because of this tax drama. The War of 1812 is like the 2nd war for independence. Congress declares war on Britain in 1812? The 1st few battles go to the US and so now the British blockade the US great lakes and try to invade the US---> they attack the new capital of Washington, D.C. The British can't win the war by invading the US. So it ends up being a stale mate---> they end it in 1815 with the Treaty of Gint (which restores everything to where it was before) The War of 1812 is important because after that the US is known as a new nation. Britain and the US later become allies.
Slavery and Southern Life: Defending Slavery: Hamitic Theory Polygenesis From necessary evil to positive good Life on the Plantation: Master, Overseer, Breaker, Driver, Slave Slave Resistance White Southern Society: The Family; Black and White Paternalism Society in the North: Wage slavery The Lowell Mill Girls
Terms: Hamitic Theory Slavery Code Gabriel Prosser Paternalism Lowell Mills
By the early 1800's the institution of slavery was not practiced and pretty much outlawed in the North. They need to balance out the slave and Free states. Whites say that black people are enslavable because they are inferior and they justify it because they say that they are civilizing them. So when ppl start to convert to Christianity they use the excuse about their skin color... A lot of ppl began to fear that if slaves understood the central message of Christianity they would challenge the slave institution. Hamitic Theory- goes back to Noah and his 3 sons: Shem, Japheth, and Ham Noah passes out from being drunk and Ham laughs at him...when he wakes up Noah curses Ham & (Shem?) to be the slaves of Japheth because they laughed at him. He said that the seed of Ham will be black and ugly and damns then to Africa. So with this story in the Bible, the whites use this as justification for slavery saying that the slaves were the descendents of Ham under the curse of slavery. Pro-slavery ppl used this as an excuse saying that the Bible was also pro-slavery. The Theory of Polygenesis: Regarded as a religious theory mixed with science theoriesThe 3 Branches of man: -Caucasoid -Mongoloid -Negroid They say that God created each one separately (poly-genesis) they also say that god tried to create man with the Mongoloid and Negroid and failed until he created the Caucasoid. So the whites said that the mongoloid/negroids were less human than them and that they were failed races of man. Other concepts/theories: They say that slavery was a NECESSARY EVIL and that they can't end slavery.
But ppl oppose this because they say that blacks are benefiting from slavery and before it they were nothing. So slavery is actually "helping" them NOT A NECESSARY EVIL BUT A POSITIVE GOOD! Another way of justifying slavery was the US census which "disclosed" that amongst the slave population in the south there are NO cases of mental illness; however in the north (free blacks) there is a ratio of 6 crazy black people to 1 white person---> this just showed that people had the idea that slaves were better off being slaves than being crazy and free up North. So Slaves would tell the census ppl that they were happy to be slaves; they only say this because they are afraid of the whites. Slavery as an institution is maintained by VIOLENCE. The South was not made up of plantations...this was a misconception. The majority of southerners did not own slaves. Most people who did own slaves only had 2-3 Cotton in the South was a booming industry so people were growing cotton whether it was a big plantation of a small farm. Corn shucking party- the slaves main diet was ground corn (meal) and fat back (bacon)--->corn and bacon had protein and carbs, enough so that the slaves could work through the day (even thought it was bad for them in actuality) They usually worked from dawn till dusk... There was an economic and social make up: -Master: pays overseer and is seen as more benevolent or `kind' -Overseer: BIG PUNISHER -Breaker: another slave owner/farmer that is known to b violent toward his slaves; he `breaks them' -Driver: guy that does the whipping; is looked down upon in the black slave community. Cotton becomes the primary crop of the south... -cotton, like tobacco, strips the earth of its nutrients, so they need to find new lands to grow cotton or maintain the land that by irrigating and fertilizing. So if the farm/crops are far away from the main house, they usually build a small barn for the slaves close to the lands. The plantations become like little cities. Different slaves: House vs. Field They don't usually get along because the house slaves get it way better than the Field slaves --->misconception! The house slave don't actually have it better, they just have it different. House slaves: -b/c they are the in house they are under constant surveillance of the master -the smallest infractions can result in a violent reaction from the master -these slaves usually have more psychological damage like stress, stuttering, wetting pants/bed. -the women tend to get sexually abused. ---> Slaves are sexually exploited by their masters and their husbands don't have any power over it. -selling slaves becomes a form of punishment. Slave Codes: these customs/laws of slaves -Slaves are property and it is considered trespassing if someone rapes your slave -Slaves cannot testify in court; no contracts, no business -Cannot strike a person -cannot read -no visiting free blacks unless a white is present.
Ways slaves revolt: -Doing a sloppy job -deprive the owner of productivity -they would fake being sick -stealing from the master (ex: food...) -breaking tools (wasting master's money) -poison master All small scale forms of revolt or resistance. A more communal type of resistance: -Slave culture was a very African based, close knit community -it gave slaves a way to vent about the harshness of slavery ---> When they got together they would talk about things they usually couldn't normally ---> One favorite past time of slaves was gossiping about the master and the neighborhood. Slave Rebellions---> Gabriel's Revolt: Gabe Prosser; his revolt began in VA. They would discuss prob w/ slavery and they decided to do something about it. The gathered weapons and the wanted to attack the 2 arsenals...but 2 slaves informed others about the attack and Prosser and his 35 men are executed but they round up 100 more to send a message to the slaves. --->Denmark DeVesey: Wins the lottery and buys his freedom; becomes a carpenter and charges cheap rates; this brings him a lot of slave customers and they start to talk and end up gathering weapons and ppl just like Gabe's Revolt. Doesn't work out like Gabe's revolt because someone snitched. --->Nat Turner's Revolt: Nat Turner; a bright, gifted, young man; he is a preacher before he is 10 yrs old. They call him Preacher Nat; they also call him a prophet because he gets messages from God. So when he is 13-14 he is made to work in the fields like any other slave...he thought that his master would let him off the hook... He gets a message from god that he needs to form an insurrection and revolt against his white master. He learns from Gabe and Denmark's mistakes. His plan is to kill the master and his family 1st and then go to plantations one by one. They destroyed about 13 plantations until the gov't realizes what was happening and sends a militia and crushes them. He is trialed and executed along with 200300 slaves who were supposedly apart of it. They killed 57 white people. Slave's Quarters- Shabby shacks, in all really bad shelter! The whites are justifying slavery by saying that the slaves are a part of their families and that they really care about them. Paternalism: idea that they have to take care of their slave They do this to make slavery look good to the Northerners. They say that violence is not happening ---> BS!! But it makes them feel better about it!
Sectional differences- with southerner nationalism -Basically the North and the South see themselves as different from one another. -The North and the South are in actuality pretty much the same but with different economies and agriculture. -North becomes the more industrial <----> South stays the same -Putting-Out---The Piece Labor System- kind of like an assembly line to mass produce things like shoes. -After a while instead of sending out for all the pieces, they bring it all under one roof. ---> This is the beginning of the factory system (aka mills) Lowell Mills---> all factories in one location, an industrial corporate town. -1820-no Lowell; by 1840--->10 textile corporations, 32 different mills; 10 million dollars. -They had enough room for 8000 workers -Most were women from farms -They have to sell this idea to the farmer dads to get their daughters to work at the mills. -mill girls like their work at the mills--->very clean and whole some environment. --->production increases and the value of the product goes down; so they make more and more and lower wages to save money; So now they are working harder for less money. --->They are force to live in poverty and now they feel like slaves. ************************************************************************************* Andrew Jackson's America: -The Filthy Politics The Federalists and Democratic-Republicans -The Revolution of 1800 Thomas Jefferson The Hartford Convention -The Era of Good Feelings -Andrew Jackson War hero and Indian Killer The Expansion of Presidential Power -Early 15th century is known as the `Early Republican Period' -Politics had a very negative connotation -Jackson represents the culmination of evolution of political parties. -They get this fear of politics from the British: --->They don't want to be like them --->They say that party and politics are anti-democratic --->They fear that it could lead to civil war and disputes. -They called political parties-`factions' -So even though they are against parties, they have still been there since the beginning. - Washington is from the south and he owns slaves; he is a conservative and a social traditionalist. -Washington picks a diverse group of individuals for his cabinet; he puts those who are the best in the business, no matter where they are from; so he is anti-cronyism
Terms: Alien & Sedation Act Louisiana Purchase Jacksonian Democracy Removal Trail of Tears Bank War
-Federalist-Alexander Hamilton; supports his banking and funding ideas; Fed gov't should be strong and central. -Anti-federalist: democratic-republicans formed by Jefferson and _____________ . They prefer strong state gov't over federal. They believe that farmers should run the country. -They have another election and John Adams (a federalist) wins...he was very popular but after he is in office he becomes unpopular for different things: -Alien Act: gives president power to arrest, or deport any foreigner who is deemed dangerous -Sedation Act: makes it a crime to attack the gov't or make malicious statements about them. Makes it possible to piss off anti-federalists and it is unconstitutional. -After Adams, Jefferson (an Anti-federalist), wins the presidential seat. -Revolution of 1808Jefferson dislikes politics, is a lot like Washington...wants to make an imprint on the white house --->wants a more simpler office --->believes that states gov't should be stronger --->he cuts the federal debt and eliminates internal taxes. -Louisiana Purchase: acquired under his office; for only $15 million by Monroe --->was very politically controversial -A lot of ppl think that Jefferson was being biased w/ the Louisiana Purchase, because they thought that he did it to benefit the south (where he was from) -Federalist Wishes: -Trade Embargo: 60 days -3/5th Compromise eliminated -They want a set term for the President -They want the succeeding president to come from a different state than the previous. -They also want to win the next election, and if they don't then they want to succeed from the US--> This makes them look like traitors and the party eventually dies out and disappears. -For the next 30 years, all the presidents came from 1 party, 1 state... --->Things were not going well in party politics -Problems within the democratic-republicans: -They are old, founding fathers and ppl want change! -1824, they nominate John Q Adams and he goes against Andrew Jackson -There is economic regression during the election -voting... -Andre Jackson- self made man; from South Carolina; actually born in a log cabin! Raised poor, at the age of 13 fought in the American Revolution. Was caught by Brits and put in a POW camp. -moves to Tennessee after and is elected their first congressmen in 1795. -He was a TN senator and then a justice on the TN supreme court. -Does 2 major things that sets him up for presidency: -Battle of New Orleans -Fights 2 wars w/ Indians against the creek and seminal Indians; wins some land. The Battle of New Orleans: - Gen Jackson goes to New Orleans to protect it from a Brit attack. - They barricade the city against 10000 Brit soldiers. - Jackson had only Jackson had only 4000 and loses only 8 men.
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He is considered the preeminent contender in the presidential race but he isn't very seasoned. He is an outsider, ppl see him as the average joe. Ppl see JQ Adams as the old VA, from the presidential dynasty guy. The voters voted for Jackson (he wins the pop vote) but JQ Adams becomes president which made Jackson very mad Corruptive bargain---> between JQ Adams and the sec of state Henry Clay... Jackson sets up the Democratic Party, he uses it in a way that goes state by state. Like campaigning... Jackson vs. Clay in 1820's and Jackson wins this time! He does things his own way (Jacksonian Democracy) o He is against business and banking o He supports farmers and slavery o He supports state's rights o Wants to clear Native Americans out so that whites can settle the land. He takes on a `Removal' Policy against Indians o The Cherokee and other Indian groups don't want this because they have already became assimilated to American culture. 1829-Gold discovered on Cherokee land and white prospectors move in... o The Cherokee sue the prospectors and take it to the Supreme court... o Jackson pretty much says HELL NO! and makes the Indians move to Oklahoma. So they march from GA to OK for months and 3000-4000 die because of this death march known as the trail of tears. In 1830's he eliminates banks and the economy goes down. 1832 he re-charters banks Roger B Toney: the guy who takes the money out of the federal fund. Jackson's Pet Banks--->banks hand-picked by him. President of the Bank, Joseph Biddel , fights back o He calls in the loans Jackson issued the species circular... o Made the rule that u can only buy fed land with species but this just precipitates the economic depression. Jackson is important because of the way he extended the presidential power.