American Democracy: From Confederation to Industrialization

The Articles of Confederation

Unit 4: US Constitution: The Articles of Confederation. Context for the Civil War Timeline:

• Revolutionary War: 1775-1783
• Articles of Confederation in Effect: 1781-1789
• Declaration of Independence: 1776
• Constitutional Convention: 1787
• Ratification of the US Constitution: 1789

The Articles of Confederation: Pros

• Created during the Revolutionary War, the Articles of Confederation served as the first USA Constitution.
• They attempted to address the balance of power between federal and state governments. This involved the tension between one entity dictating powers versus the capacity of each individual state to decide its own path. It was determined that powers should be divided.
• They aimed to equally represent all states. For the first time, all 13 states experienced unity under one government.

Shays’s Rebellion

• In August 1786, Revolutionary War veteran Daniel Shays led an armed rebellion in Springfield, Massachusetts. He protested perceived unjust economic policies and political corruption within the Massachusetts state legislature. The rebels consisted of farmers and ex-members of the Continental Army (the militia) who had been promised a pension for life. However, the Congress had no money and no way to collect it.
• Shays’s Rebellion exposed the weakness of the government under the Articles of Confederation. This led many—including George Washington—to call for strengthening the federal government to suppress future uprisings.
• Under the new proposal, states would not hold 100% of the power; instead, powers were divided into three branches for mutual regulation. A central authority would manage laws, taxes, and other federal duties.
• Small states were initially hesitant to sign the Constitution, fearing they would possess too little power compared to larger states.

The Articles of Confederation: Cons

Emerging from the War of Independence, the nation faced citizens who had voted and were promised financial compensation that the government could not provide.

The Constitutional Convention

Between May and September 1787, delegates from 12 states convened in Philadelphia to revise the Articles of Confederation, which had proven insufficient for the challenges facing the young nation. The convention was the site of spirited debate over the size, scope, and structure of the federal government, resulting in the United States Constitution.

The notorious Three-Fifths Compromise apportioned representation to the southern slaveholding states by counting five enslaved individuals as three people for population purposes.

Creating a New Government

Seeking to bolster federal authority, delegates gathered at Independence Hall and elected George Washington to preside over the convention. A major debate regarded the legislative branch: should it be unicameral (one house) or bicameral (two houses)? Furthermore, they debated how representation should be apportioned.

Drafting the Constitution

The delegates combined elements of various plans into the Connecticut Compromise. The legislative branch became bicameral, consisting of an upper house (the Senate) and a lower house (the House of Representatives). Representation in the House is based on population, while each state is allotted two seats in the Senate. The executive authority is held by the President, chosen by the Electoral College.

The government structure is federalist, consisting of three independent branches: the legislature (Congress), the executive (the President), and the judicial (the Supreme Court). The Supreme Court adjudicates disputes between states, while Congress is authorized to levy taxes, declare war, raise an army, regulate interstate commerce, and draft necessary laws.

The Road to the Civil War: The 3/5 Compromise

The Three-Fifths Compromise was a controversial provision. Northern delegates, many of whom morally opposed slavery, viewed it as a necessary evil to secure ratification, as southern states threatened to refuse the document otherwise. This 1787 agreement determined that three out of every five slaves were counted for a state's total population regarding representation and taxation.

The Bill of Rights

The Bill of Rights consists of the first 10 amendments (this number would increase to 13 following the Civil War).

• First Amendment: Protects freedoms of speech, peaceable assembly, and the exercise of religion.
• Second Amendment: Declares that properly constituted militias safeguard liberty and protects the right to bear arms.
• Third Amendment: Restricts the quartering of soldiers in private homes.
• Fourth Amendment: Protects citizens against unreasonable searches and seizures.
• Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, and Eighth Amendments: Establish legal guarantees including trial by jury, protection against self-incrimination and double jeopardy, the right to due process, prohibition of cruel and unusual punishment, and the right to legal counsel.
• Ninth Amendment: Acknowledges that the listed rights are not exhaustive.
• Tenth Amendment: Declares that powers not delegated to the federal government are reserved for the states, reinforcing federalism.

The Bill of Rights codified the theory of natural rights, holding that humans are granted certain freedoms by God that the state should not infringe upon.

Societal Changes in This Period

1. A revolution of ideas affecting everyone.
2. The belief that Natural Rights are divinely given.
3. Expansion of political democracy; all states adopted new constitutions, though property remained important for voting.
4. The emergence of the abolitionist movement.
5. Growing separation between Northern and Southern states; slaves became gradually free in the North.
6. Women served as instructors of republican motherhood.

The First US Presidencies

Under George Washington, John Adams, and Thomas Jefferson, the nation saw significant growth. The Louisiana Purchase (1803) involved the US buying the western half of the Mississippi River basin from France. At less than three cents per acre for 828,000 square miles, it was the greatest land bargain in U.S. history. It doubled the size of the country, strengthened it strategically, and confirmed the doctrine of implied powers.

Causes of the American Civil War

• Economy: The Southern economy depended on cotton and slave labor.
• States' Rights vs. Federal Rights: Southern states wanted the power to nullify federal acts.
• Slavery: Tensions between slave and non-slave states and the rise of the Northern abolitionist movement.
• Election of Abraham Lincoln: Lincoln won the North while his opponent won the South, highlighting a divided country.

States’ Rights and Secession

States’ rights involve the balance of power between state and federal governments. Southern states felt the federal government was overstepping, particularly regarding taxes and the right to secede from the Union.

The Bill of Rights and Individual Liberties

The U.S. Constitution is the document that dictates how the federal government runs and lists basic rights. Initially, it did not list individual liberties—the basic freedoms to choose, think, and act without government interference. Only 39 of the 55 delegates signed the original document in 1787, as many felt it did not sufficiently secure these liberties.

The Amendment Process

An amendment is a change or addition to the Constitution. James Madison and others added the first ten amendments (the Bill of Rights) to limit government power. In over 200 years, only 17 more changes have been made, totaling 27 amendments today.

To add an amendment, two-thirds of both the Senate and House must approve it, followed by ratification by three-fourths of the states. The Supreme Court is responsible for interpreting and clarifying the meaning of these laws.

The Louisiana Purchase: A Detailed History

• 1682: French explorers claim the Mississippi River drainage for King Louis XIV.
• 1763: Treaty of Paris; Britain gains Louisiana east of the Mississippi; Spain gains New Orleans and land west of the river.
• 1783: Britain cedes its land east of the Mississippi to the US.
• 1800: Spain secretly returns Louisiana to France via the Treaty of San Ildefonso.

Napoleon’s Ambition and Failure

Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte envisioned a western empire but his plans collapsed in 1803. His army was defeated by yellow fever and a slave revolt in Haiti led by Toussaint L’Overture. Consequently, Napoleon decided to sell the entire territory to the United States to fund his European wars.

Jefferson’s Diplomatic Triumph

Though the Constitution did not explicitly provide for buying territory, Thomas Jefferson rushed the $15 million deal through Congress. Signed on April 30, 1803, the purchase ended the threat of war with France and opened the West for settlement without shedding a single drop of blood.

The American Civil War (1861-1865)

Sectionalism took hold as people identified more with their region than the nation. Differences in immigration, industrialization, and values led to conflict.

Slavery and the Abolitionist Movement

Slavery was the root of Southern wealth, especially after the invention of the cotton gin. In the North, abolitionists like John Brown, Frederick Douglass, and Harriet Tubman fought to end the practice. Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin (1852) highlighted the immorality of slavery, sparking a cultural battle. The Underground Railroad served as a secret network helping enslaved people escape to the North.

Expansion and "Bleeding Kansas"

Westward expansion caused power shifts. The Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 allowed residents to vote on slavery, leading to violent clashes known as "Bleeding Kansas."

The Election of 1860 and Secession

Abraham Lincoln’s victory was the final spark. South Carolina was the first of eleven states to secede and form the Confederate States of America. The war began when Confederates attacked Fort Sumter. Jefferson Davis was elected president of the Confederacy.

Women in the Abolitionist Movement

• Sarah and Angelina Grimké: South Carolinians who became Quakers and published works on gender equality.
• Lydia Maria Child: Author of An Appeal in Favor of that Class of Americans Called Africans, addressing racial prejudice.
• Elizabeth Cady Stanton: A chief philosopher of women’s rights who linked the struggle for suffrage to the anti-slavery movement.
• Lucy Stone: The first Massachusetts woman to earn a college degree; she was a popular abolitionist lecturer.
• Susan B. Anthony: A committed social reformer arrested for voting in 1872; she was a key agent for the Anti-Slavery Society.

The Industrialization Era (1870-1910)

The Second Industrial Revolution

• Transatlantic Telegraph (1866): Enabled communication with Britain.
• Transcontinental Railroad (1869): Connected the coasts.
• Telephone (1877): Invented by Alexander Graham Bell.
• Automobiles: Developed by Karl Benz (1885) and Henry Ford (Model T, 1910).
• Assembly Lines: Popularized by Ford to mass-produce goods cheaply.

The Gilded Age and Titans of Industry

The economy grew 400%, but while entrepreneurs became wealthy, many citizens remained poor. Key figures included:

• Andrew Carnegie: Led the steel industry and promoted the "Gospel of Wealth."
• J.P. Morgan: Financier who formed U.S. Steel and General Electric.
• John D. Rockefeller: Founder of Standard Oil.
• Cornelius Vanderbilt: Built wealth in railroads and shipping.

Immigration and Social Darwinism

The US became a "Melting Pot" as millions arrived through Ellis Island. During this time, Social Darwinism (the misapplication of "survival of the fittest" to society) was used to justify inequality, though it is completely discredited today.

The Progressive Era

This era focused on reform. Women pushed for Temperance (banning alcohol via the 18th Amendment) and Suffrage (the right to vote via the 19th Amendment). Efforts were also made to combat political corruption and "Political Machines."

Business Regulation and the Meat Scandal

Journalists known as muckrakers exposed corruption. Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle (1906) revealed horrific conditions in meatpacking plants, leading Theodore Roosevelt to pass the Pure Food and Drug Act and the Meat Inspection Act.

Key Terms

• Monopoly: Complete control of a supply or service.
• Philanthropy: Giving money to help others (e.g., Carnegie’s $350 million in donations).