Objectives
A thorough study of Chapter Six should enable the student to understand:
1. The groups that advocated a stronger national government and how they, probably a minority, were able to achieve their objective.
2. The origin of the Constitutional Convention, who the delegates were, how well they represented the people, and how they were able to achieve a consensus.
3. The historical debate concerning the motives of the delegates to the Constitutional Convention.
4. Federalism and how the Constitution is designed to make it work.
5. The importance of The Federal Papers in the ratification struggle, and their significance in the years since.
6. The effectiveness of George Washington's solutions to the problems of the presidency, and how Washington, as its first occupant, affected the office and the nation.
7. The financial program of Alexander Hamilton, and its contribution to the success of the new government.
8. The ways in which the weak new nation coped with international problems, and the importance of such events as Washington's decision for neutrality and the "quasi-war" with France.
9. The emergence of political parties, their political philosophies, and their influence through the election of 1800.
Main Themes
1. How and why the Constitution replaced the Articles of Confederation.
2. How differing views of what the nation should become led to the rise of America's first political parties.
3. The way in which the new United States was able to establish itself as a nation in the eyes of foreign powers and of its own people.
4. The rise and fall of the Federalist Party.
Glossary
1. federalism: A system of government in which powers are divided between a central government and local governments, giving each authority in its own sphere. The extent of and the limitations on this authority are defined in a constitution, which in the United States, also reserves certain powers to the people. It was such a system that many argued existed under the British Empire, whereas others insisted that a true "federal" system existed under the Articles. This latter group further argued that the Constitution of 1787 put too much power in the hands of the central government and hence created a national rather than a federal government.
2. implied powers: Powers that are not clearly defined in the Constitution, but, by implication, are granted to the government. Those who believe in the existence of such powers favor a "loose" interpretation of the Constitution, whereas those who hold that the Constitution authorizes nothing that is not spelled out specifically follow a "strict" interpretation.
3. implied powers doctrine: The idea put forth by Hamilton in his argument in favor of the Bank, which held that the government has powers other than those enumerated in the Constitution. These "implied powers" rise from the government's right to select the means to exercise the powers given it and from the "necessary and proper" clause of the Constitution. Later this was stated even more directly by Chief Justice John Marshall: "Let the end . . . be within the scope of the constitution and all means which [are] appropriate . . . which are not prohibited . . . are constitutional."
4. national bank: A private (as opposed to government) institution into which government revenue is deposited. This bank issues currency, grants loans, and generally encourages commercial activity while stabilizing the economy.
5. national system: A system of government (as opposed to a federal system) in which the central government is supreme and the local units (states) surrender most of their sovereignty to it.
6. protective tariff: A tax on goods that are brought into the country and compete with that country's own products. It is designed to drive up the cost of foreign goods and protect native manufacturers from disruptive competition.
7. separation of powers: The division of governmental power among the various branches (legislative, executive, judicial) to prevent one branch from dominating the government.
8. tariff: A tax on goods imported or exported by a country; in the United States, a tax on imported goods.
Summary
The period between 1785 and 1800 was one of the most politically productive in American history. During these fifteen years, the nation, guided by some of the most talented men in history, reorganized itself under a new framework of government and then struggled to define (for itself as well as for others) just what had been created. It was a period marked by the rise of a party that called itself Federalist, although the philosophy it espoused was, as its opponents were quick to point out, more "nationalist" in emphasis. Arguing that to prosper, the United States had best follow the economic and political example of Great Britain, these Federalists, led by Hamilton, interjected foreign policy into domestic differences and set the stage for one of the earliest and most serious government assaults on individual civil liberties. Seeing their less elitist, pro-agriculture, Republican opponents as supporters of France in an undeclared conflict between that nation and the United States, the Federalists set out to suppress dissent and those who promoted it. This assault brought a swift response and so heightened tensions that many feared that the nation could not survive. It was against this background that a shift of power occurred, and by the end of the decade, the Federalists, who had been the moving force for so many years, were clearly losing ground to the Republicans. This meant that if wounds were to be healed and divisions mended, it would have to be done by the man many believed to be the personification of all that separated the two groups--Thomas Jefferson.