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