Anglais cours premier semestre 2

Chapter-2 : A nation rises
1/ Problem of peace and changes in the States
a) The new State constitution
In May 1776, congress suggested that colonies formed a new constitution. In one year, every state has a new constitution. Connecticut and Rhode Island kept their colonial charter. When the states created a new constitution, they usually kept their old charters as a base. Massachusetts had no constitution until 1778. The constitution integrated new ideas but didn’t break from the past. They kept many things from their colonial experience, and also from their knowledge of English political practice. It started with a bill of Rights that listed the rights of people. The Virginia Bill served as models for others states. They did use the texts from the Habeas Corpus: trial by a jury and freedom of speeches. Habeas Corpus Act in 1679 in England, it said that no man should be detain without being in court before. He had to appear in front of the jury and had the rights of a defense. In every new state, the powers of the governor were weakened. Two states gave the governors the power to accept or refuse laws. Another democratic state, the judges had to be appointed by the lawmakers. In each of these states, the power was in the hand of the people who owned property.
b) Social Changes
There was a break up of the great lands holdings, lands who belong to the Tories, and lands also belonging to big owner: the Pen family in Pennsylvania. These big holding were taken by the state and parts of the land were sold to small farmers. The number of small farmers increases after the war. The Movement to separate churches and states get strength during the revolution. Thomas Jefferson was one of them. The status to religious liberty was passed in 1786 in Virginia. This law provided “ No man should be compelled to frequent and support any religious worship, place of ministry whatever”. Another social issue was slavery. Within 10 years every state except Georgia had either stopped or restricted the import of slave. In the North, the revolution, helped to put an end to slavery. But in the South it was different the slave were not freed, because southern plantation owners believed that slavery was a necessary evil. This ambiguity is going to remain all along in the 17th and 18th. People who used slave were not necessary for slavery. The revolution war will not bring an end to social life: no social classes loosed their place. It did give rights to democratic ideas and hopes; it developed the practice of representative government.

2/ A weak union
a) The articles of Confederation
They stood a greater change to win the war if the states had a union. More than just a firm league of Friendships, it was a true confederation. It held the USA in tennous nationhood for 8 years from 1781 to 1789. The congress presented a plan for a confederation union of all the states by 1779; all the states except Maryland accepted it. It came into effect after Maryland finally accepted it. The articles were in use during the crucial period of the revolutionary warm through the peace negation and in the year of the new independence. The articles didn’t take away power from the union, the confederation had the same structure that the congress. Each states was obliged to appoint between 2 to 7 delegates. However, each state had only one vote.
A majority of 9 states on 13 was needed for each important vote. The equality was to protect small states against large state. 9 states were needed to protect large state from a combination of the smaller states against them in voting feature. In theory, it was empowered to declare war, to raise a navy and an army and commercial treaties, borrow money, and control currency. However, it lacked to important powers: it could not tax in his own rights, nor enforce his powers against recalcitrant states (E.g.: If one state would not agree to give money to the congress to help them in the war, they could apply sanctions to that state). Not compelled to have found to continue the war. The rub was that the central government was very weak, and also that the congress had no power directly to tax people, and therefore not had money. So no means to carry on and enforce law made by the congress. It had no real executive power. The president elected for 1 year, but no power. Many interstates disputed (navigable waterways, interstates commerce) and the Articles had no powers against those disputes.

b) Economic difficulties
After the revolution, the commerce was not in good shape, because Britain no longer allows USA ships to go into his ports. They had put out the US of the East Indies. Trade suffered, and congress had no power to take strong measures against foreign government. They had to look at others markets. The farmers were also in difficulty. The markets were shrinking, and the taxes were rising. It was patent in Massachusetts, because they didn’t help their farmers to pay their debt, they paid a third of what they earned in taxes. The summers of 1776, Captain Daniel Shays lead a rebellion of 200 farmers against the Courthouse of Springfield. They tried to take the courthouse, because in the state court they decided that whether or not the farms were taken. Many peoples were very sorry for the farmers. Governor Hancock pardoned Shays and his followers. A new constitution was elected and they reduced those taxes. The people like Washington were shocked by this rebellion. For them, it was a sign of possible rising of anarchy and chaos in the various states. The conservative believed that law and order were broken down. At that time, people start thinking that the Articles of Confederation were too weak.

c) Training for Democracy and achievement of a new Constitution
In spite of the rebellion, the Americans were experiencing with democracy, and we should overlook the achievement of the Articles. They hold the union together during the revolution war; they provided a sort of national direction during the war. Congress passed 2 laws to solve the problems of providing a land policy and a suitable government for the Northwest Territory. The main law, in July 1787, guaranteed that the new territories would reach equal status with the original 13 states. This law stated that the Northwest Territory would be divided into 3 to 5 territories. As soon as any territory has 5000 males adults, it could choose a law making body and they could appoint the governors and the judges of the territory, as soon as they were 16 000 people in it, it could adopt a constitution and demanded to enter the union and became a full state. Slavery was not allowed in the Northwest Territories. It served as a model for the democratic treatment of territories. It makes law to enter the union.




3/ Forming a stronger government
a) Meeting in Philadelphia
Shays rebellion showed evidence that the congress was too weak (No money, no army and no power to stop quarrel between states). Originally the aim was to correct the Article of Confederation. In Philadelphia, all the states were represented (except Rhode Island). Up of the 74 men, only 38 were present.
They were educated people: lawyers mainly rich enough to leave their job for 5 months, merchants, and businessman. 42 years old was the middle age of the delegates. Among the famous people, there were Washington, Franklin (84 years old) Alexander Hamilton and Madison. Washington was chosen as president of the convention. The debates were supposed to be secret. Madison recopied all the debate, so that today students could read all the debates during the congress. It maintain very patriotic, aware of the importance of the meetings that the union was at stake in this convention.
b) Agreements and disagreements: the need to compromise
Some points were concurring by the entire delegates:
- More efficient to draw up a new constitution.
- The government should be strong enough to influence other nation.
- Don’t want to take away the liberty of people.
- Separation of powers between legislative voting the vote, and the executive executing the laws.
- Central government should have the power to collect taxes, to control into states, to coin and borrow money and finally to raise an army and a navy.
On many points, they didn’t concurred, because states of different seizes, and slave or not. Only a series a compromise allowed the forming of the new nation.
c) The different compromises

- The name of the great compromise that came out of the debate about how many members each state should have at the Congress. The Virginia plan (Edmund Randolph governor of Virginia) made by Madison. It called for a representation based on population. Of course, the smaller state, objected to this b/c they feared they would not be well represented. The Patterson Plan, which provided for equal representation for every state whatever the population of every state. It would not have been an acknowledgment for the greater state. The opposition was so strong, and there was a crisis would threaten to lead to rapture. It was worked out by Robert Sherman and Oliver : The Connecticut plan. They came up with an idea, a bi-cameral congress made up by two chambers: a popularly elected house of representatives where each state would be represented to his population, and the Senate were each state would be equally represented by 2 senators, and they would be elected by representative. On the one hand, the senate made a very equally represented chamber and on the other hand the House of representative took into account the population in which big states are going to have a bigger place in the economy problems. It secured the interest of the smaller states, and at the same times, it assuage the fear of the wealthy class, who were afraid of direct election of the representative.




-Out to count population to the purpose of taxation. Taxation should be proportional to the number of the people. The problem were the slaves, b/c the southern colonies had a lot of slaves and the north didn’t at the time. The southern wanted slaves to be counted as part of the population as purpose for representation in the House of Representative, but not for taxation. The northern wanted the inverse. The question was settled by the 3/5 Compromise. 5 slaves would be counted as 3 free people for both representation and taxation.
-The southern agreed that congress should have the power to control interstates and foreign trade. But also they were afraid that congress might taxes the exports of indigo, tobacco and rises. They also were afraid that congress might stop the trade slave. The northern wanted the congress to have full control over trade. A compromise was reached, the constitution ruled out all taxes on exports, and provided that the slave trade would not be stopped for another 20 years. By this compromise congress was given full control over trade as the North wanted.
The examples are to show that the compromises were really needed for the creation of the US. They had to make a lot of them.
d) Adopting the constitution

In September 1787, only 42 of the original 55 delegates till remains in attendants. The other hadn’t the possibility to stay for 5 months, financial or pessimistic reasons. Once it was signed, he had to be ratified by at least 9 states, before the government started to work. Ratification was held in every state, and the members of the convention would ratify the constitution. Meanwhile, the constitution went on very close scrutiny. Those who supported the constitution where called the federalist and those who were against the constitution: the Anti-federalist. A lot of peoples were afraid that the new government would have too much power, and the states not enough. The more economically fragile people were Anti-federalist. The Anti-federalist were lead by 3 people: George Clinton (New York), Elbridge Gerry (Massachusetts), Patrick Henry (Virginia). They propagandized that the constitution would be used to the detriment of the farmers, deters. They also objected that there was no Bill of right. It was very soon obviated by the 10 amendments: freedom of speech, trial by a jury, etc…. But the debate between state-writers and Federalist carried on in Virginia and New York: b/c they were great intellectual life. A number of men made a group to explain the meaning of the constitution to people: Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison. They published articles in various New York papers; they tried to explain the aim of the constitution and were written under the name of Publius. Hamilton wrote the main essays arguing in favor to a very strong executive, Madison 30 essays on political theory and John Jay on foreign affairs 5 essays. They were published in a book called: The Federalist. They were very efficient in convincing people to vote. The constitution was ratified by New York in July, and later in Virginia. Benjamin Franklin and George Washington held up the constitution. They had enormous prestige and help to made the constitution ratified. Some of the beliefs of the anti-federalist, to protect the right of the federals states, and they will later find their way in the Democratic-Republicans Party. It was lead by Thomas Jefferson.