Chapter 7: The New Political Order, 1776-1800 Expanded

Timeline
1776

Pennsylvanias democratic
Although popular sovereignty was established in the Declaration of
Independence and everyone assumed that the national government of the
new
United States would be republican, it was up to the states to decide how
their
own governments would be organized. Radicals in Pennsylvania offered the
most
democratic plan, creating a unicameral assembly that ruled without a
council or
governor.
John Adams, Thoughts on Government
John Adams offered a more conservative system, which was still republican
but
less democratic. He wanted to emulate the mixed system of the British by
establishing three separate branches of government, each with a single
function; these branches would use checks and balances to restrain each
other
and maintain liberty. This system was instituted in Massachusetts and
some
other states because it was similar to the government the people were
used to
and limited the excesses of direct democracy.
Propertied women vote in New Jersey (until 1807)
The New Jersey constitution of 1776 granted the vote to all property
holders.
When free black men and unmarried women began to exercise the vote,
the
state closed the loophole in 1807 by abolishing property as the basis for
suffrage
and limiting the vote to white men only.

1777

Articles of Confederation (ratified 1781)

The Articles of Confederation created a national government centered in
Congress. The Articles did not grant to the federal government the right to
tax,
form a judiciary, control interstate commerce, or compel the states in any
way.
However, they were effective in terms of diplomacy and in organizing the
acquisition, surveying, and sale of western lands.

1779

Judith Sargent Murray, "On the Equality of the Sexes"

Judith Sargent Murray challenged contemporary assumptions about the
inferiority of women. She argued that women were intellectually equal to
men
but that their training was less rigorous, resulting in apparent inequality.

Womens equality made them fit to assume an equal position in society.

1780s

Postwar commercial recession

Creditor-debtor conflicts in states

The loss of trade monopolies established by the British Navigation Acts left
Americans with few markets after the war. In addition, state governments
were
caught in the middle between creditors and debtors over debts
accumulated
during the war years. Debt compelled states to raise taxes and limit paper
money, putting the squeeze on debtors. As creditors pressured debtors for
payment, the debtors also appealed to state governments for economic
relief
and legal protection.
1781

Bank of North America chartered by Congress

Robert Morris became superintendent of the finances of the Articles of
Confederation and, shocked at the national governments financial
weakness,
sought to undertake a program to improve its financial stability and
authority.
His plan was to establish a national bank to issue notes to stabilize the
currency, and then create a national debt by spreading war debts among
states, controlling the foreign debt, and imposing national import duties.
Congress chartered the bank, but resisted Morris efforts to establish a
national
debt. As a result, the Articles of Confederation lacked a financial
foundation
upon which to establish authority.

1784-1785

Political and Land Ordinances outline policy for new states

In its search for funds, the Articles of Confederation government turned to

western lands. After considerable efforts, it gained control of western lands
from
individual states, initiated a policy to acquire lands from the native
Americans,
established the grid system for surveying and selling western lands to
generate
revenue, and provided for the orderly organization of western territories
and
their admission as equal states into the Union.
1785

Thomas Jefferson, Notes on the State of Virginia

Thomas Jefferson articulated his vision for a democratic republic of yeoman
farmers in a book he wrote on the economic, social, political, and
institutional
organization of his home state of Virginia. Strong foreign markets for
American
farm produce and an expansive western land policy which Jefferson helped
establish moved his vision closer to reality in the 1790s.

1786

Annapolis commercial convention

Shayss Rebellion in Massachusetts

Organized resistance to pro-creditor policies arose in Massachusetts, where
the
government did not pass pro-debtor legislation. Farmers and artisans,
unable to
pay their debts, refused to let creditors foreclose and organized meetings
and
an army to resist efforts by the state to enforce pro-creditor laws. Shayss
rebellion, under the leadership of Daniel Shays, ultimately succumbed to
cold
weather and political pressure. It did, however, convince some nationalist
observers that chaos could result from a weak central government. To
amend
the Articles of Confederation, they convened a meeting to discuss tariff
and
taxation issues at Annapolis, Maryland, and then called for a constitutional
convention in Philadelphia the following summer.
1787

Northwest Ordinance
Following on the Land Ordinance of 1784, the Northwest Ordinance
provided for
the sale of lands, the establishment of territories, and admission of three to
five
free states north of the Ohio River.
Philadelphia Constitutional convention
At this meeting to reform the Articles of Confederation, James Madison
offered a
comprehensive restructuring of the government in a proposal known as the
Virginia Plan. The Virginia Plan established the supremacy of the national
government over the states, and checked its power by creating three
functional
branches of government that would check and balance each other. This
conservative revision was reshaped through a series of compromises on
issues of
concern to various interest groups.

1787-1788

Ratification conventions
The Federalist (John Jay, James Madison, Alexander Hamilton)

The nationalists, who called themselves Federalists, argued that a powerful

central government would strengthen the United States and restore public
credit
and property rights. Their opponents, who called themselves antiFederalists,
feared central power, the control of government by mercantile elites, and
the
weakening of state governments.
The Federalists focused on allaying the fears of Anti-Federalists in a
published
series of essays called The Federalist. Though James Madison supported
Federal

supremacy and the direct power of the central government over

individuals, he
argued that the system of checks and balances would restrain government
power and that the size and diversity of America would prevent any party
from
gaining domination. In a series of very close debates at ratification
conventions,
the Constitution passed and became law.
1789

George Washington inaugurated as first president

Washington established executive departments and appointed secretaries
of
foreign affairs, finance, and war to run them. He also set protocol on the
relationship between the President and Congress and how the President
would
present himself in public.
Judiciary Act establishes federal court system
Congress organized the judicial system by creating a national Supreme
Court
with three circuit courts that heard cases on appeal from thirteen federal
district courts, one for each state.
Outbreak of French Revolution
The French Revolution, inspired in part by the American Revolution,
overthrew
the monarchy in France, a development with which most Americans
sympathized.

1790

Alexander Hamiltons program: redemption and assumption

Alexander Hamilton, secretary of the treasury, offered a three-part
program to
restore public finances. The federal government would pay off, or redeem,
securities and bonds issued during the revolution, assume the debts of the
states, and establish a national bank with the power to tax and issue
currency.

1791

Bill of Rights ratified

The first ten amendments to the Constitution were passed to mollify
anti-Federalist fears that the central government would encroach on the
liberties and rights of the people. The passage of the Bills of Rights
increased
support for the Constitution and enhanced its legitimacy.

1792

Mary Wollstonecraft, A Vindication of the Rights of Woman

Women remained a marginal group, as men ignored the ideas of women
like
Judith Sargent Murray. A more radical critique, written by the British
republican
Mary Wollstonecraft, argued for the legal and political equality of women.

Though she gained a widespread hearing, many Americans were shocked

by
Wollstonecrafts sexually free lifestyle. Most men disregarded her
argument.
1793

First French Republic; Louis XVI executed

Democratic-Republican party founded
War between Britain and France; Washingtons Proclamation of Neutrality
In France, the change from a constitutional monarchy to a republican
Directory
that executed the king polarized American opinion. Federalists agreed with
the
British that the French had gone too far toward anarchy. Meanwhile,
Republicans under Madison and Jefferson remained sympathetic, though
concerned about the radical direction of the Revolution. When Britain went
to
war against France, Washington and the Federalists tried to remain neutral;
this
became difficult when the British began seizing American ships.

1794

Whiskey Rebellion
As national politics became polarized, some people in Pennsylvania
reacted to
the passing of a national tax on distilled spirits by forming an assembly
and
arming themselves. President Washington raised an army and put down
this
rebellion.

1795

Jays Treaty
To avert war with Britain, John Jay was sent to negotiate a treaty that
established American neutrality in exchange for allowing the British to
seize
French goods on American ships and compensating the British for losses
during
the Revolution. In return the British agreed to withdraw their troops from
forts in
the Northwest, stop supporting the Indians, and redress American
merchants
losses incurred through illegal British seizure of their goods.
Two organized parties offered slates of candidates in the 1796 election.
The
Federalist John Adams was elected president, but Thomas Jefferson, a
Republican, was elected vice-president, creating a divided administration.

1798

XYZ Affair (1797) prompts war against France

In response to Americas pro-British policy, the French began to attack
American
shipping. When John Adamss attempts to negotiate were rebuffed and
three

agents of the French foreign Minister asked for a loan and a bribe from
American
diplomats, an action Americans considered an insult to their honor,
Americans
prepared for war and joined the British in attacking French shipping.
Though
President Adams averted a full-scale war, the United States was involved in
a
quasi-war against France for two years.
Alien, Sedition, and Naturalization Acts
Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions
Adams sought to quell opposition by pushing through the Alien and
Sedition
Acts, which increased residency requirements for citizenship, threatened
foreigners with potential deportation, and prohibited criticism of the
administrations policies. The Republicans attacked these acts as
encroachments
on individual liberties and asserted the rights of the states to nullify
national
laws in the Kentucky and Virginia resolutions.
1800

Jefferson elected in "Revolution of 1800"

Taking advantage of the opposition to the Alien and Sedition Acts and
Federalist
war policies, the Republicans carried the election of 1800. However, Aaron
Burr
of New York and Thomas Jefferson of Virginia tied in the electoral college
vote
for president, throwing the election into Congress. After numerous votes
and a
growing threat of civil war, Alexander Hamilton convinced several
Federalists to
let Jefferson be elected. Constitutional procedures thus led the nation
through a
political stalemate and permitted the peaceful transfer of power. Jefferson
called
this "the Revolution of 1800" because the ascendancy of the Republicans
ensured a return to the initial principles of the Declaration of Independence
and
the Constitution.