Shay’s Rebellion

• Farmers in Massachusetts were struggling with debt that was being worsened by the local and national economies

• Armed men, led by Daniel Shay, rebelled

  • Demanded more flexible monetary policies

  • Stormed the federal arsenal and kept judges from foreclosing by surrounding courts

  • Panic ensued among the elites

    • Started the idea that maybe not all property owners should be able to vote

• The rebels were arrested for treason, but a strong central government was necessary

The Constitutional Convention

• Delegates met in Philadelphia in 1787 to revise the Articles of Confederation

  • The biggest problem of the AoC was the government’s inability to levy taxes

• James Madison wanted a whole new constitution, a proposal he called the Virginia Plan

  • Proposed that the country go against classical learnings that stated that republican governments should be small and homogenous (weak central governments) and create a strong federal government with three branches (legislative, executive, judicial)

• The compromise was the House of Representatives

Rights and Compromises

• 10 amendments to the Constitution became the Bill of Rights

• One major compromise was on the slave trade

  • It was common domestically

  • The “dirty compromise” between New England and the Deep South allowed the foreign trade of slaves

    • Eventually outlawed in 1808 because Britain was as well, the Haitian Revolution had scared Americans, and the Louisiana Proclamation had caused expansion

Hamilton’s Financial System

• Alexander Hamilton (bastard, orphan, son of a whore…) wanted to link federal power and the economy

• Proposed 5 things:

  • Bank of America: a national, federal bank

  • Excise tax: taxing people who sold certain things, notably whiskey

  • Funding at par: paying back bonds at the original price in order to look good credit-wise

  • Assumption of states’ debts: mostly debts from the Revolution

  • Tariffs: taxing imports to encourage buying domestically

• Went against Jefferson’s idea of a country of yeoman farmers, fully embracing manufacturing

The Whiskey Rebellion and Jay’s Treaty

• Hamilton’s whiskey tax placed a special burden on western farmers (they would sell grain to local distilleries), causing armed farmers to attack federal marshals and tax collectors in 1794 → The Whiskey Rebellion

  • Although the rebels were eventually stopped, it showed that no matter how much the government quelled unrest there would always be tension

• Jay’s Treaty, signed by John Jay, made Britain the US’ primary trade partner over France

  • Also ensured American neutrality in European conflicts, such as the French Revolution

  • Solidified Republican vs. Federalists

The French Revolution and the Limits of Liberty

• When the French Revolution began, all Americans were initially supportive, but after Jay’s Treaty that supports dwindled

• Two acts were passed due to the fear of French retribution: the Alien Act and the Sedition Act

  • The Alien Act allowed the federal government to deport foreign nationals, or “aliens,” who seemed to pose a national security threat

  • The Sedition Act allowed the government to prosecute anyone found to be speaking or publishing “false, scandalous, and malicious writing” against the government

Religious Freedom

• Disestablishment began, where states separated the Church from state and government affairs

• Initially, it was believed that religion was required to protect morality and the social order, but people started to believe that the relationship between church and state would lead to oppression

The Election of 1800

• Thomas Jefferson (Republican) won, and tensions were high

• Some wanted to increase the government’s influence, while others (Jefferson being one of them) wanted to decrease it

• The tension between federal power and the liberties of states and individuals would exist long into the nineteenth century