America in the World: Chapter 5, The American Revolution

The Search for a National Government At first, most wanted a weak central government with virtually sovereign states The Confederation 1777 the Continental Congress adopted the Articles of Confederation that kept Congress the central and only institution of national authority, expanded its power to an extent, gave some power to the legislative branch, no separate position of President, each state got one vote in the Congress, and all thirteen state legislatures had to approve of an amendment to the Articles During the ratification of the Articles, the small states wanted equal representation and got what they wanted, while the large states wanted representation by population; also, states with western lands wanted to keep them, but were forced to turn them over to the national government The Confederation, in effect from 1781-1789, did not have enough power to deal with interstate issues or to command the states, and was not highly regarded by the world Britain was not following the terms of the Peace of Paris; still had British troops in the frontier, did not compensate slave owners whose slaves had joined the British army and gained their freedom, disputes over America's northeastern and Floridian boundary, and restricted American access to non-British markets 1784 Congress sent John Adams to try to negotiate, but he failed; the English were not sure if he represented one country or thirteen countries 1786 America agreed to a treaty with Spain that settled the Florida boundary dispute and recognized Spanish possessions in North America, but limited American usage of the Mississippi River, so Southern states blocked the treaty's ratification

Diplomatic Failures

The Confederation resolved the problem of including the new western settlements into the The Confederation country and the Ordinance of 1784 divided western territory into self-governing districts that could become Northwest full-fledged states once they grew populous enough, because did not want to creating secondclass citizens in subordinate territories Ordinance of 1785 created a system for surveying and selling western lands that divided and subdivided super-Ohio River lands into neat townships and subsections, with revenue from the auction of some of the subsections to go towards public education in the subsections set aside for the United States Effect: established pattern of dividing up land for human use, inspired by Enlightenment idea that land allocation should be orderly and mathematical Ordinances of 1784 and 84 favored land speculators over ordinary settlers, and Congress sold to speculators first, so 1787 the Northwest Ordinance replaced the districts with a single Northwest Territory that could become a state once it was populated enough, and guaranteed it freedom of religion and trial by jury and prohibited slavery The sub-Ohio western lands were paid less attention by Congress and grew in a more disorderly manner, ex. 1770s and 80s Kentucky and Tennessee developed rapidly, set up their own governments, and wanted statehood

Indians and the Western Lands

Much of the subdivided, for-sale land belonged to the Indians So 1784, 85, and 86 Congress tried to sign treaties with Iroquois, Choctaw, Chickasaw, and Cherokee leaders for them to cede much of their land to the US, but 1786 the Iroquois repudiated the treaty and threatened attack, and other tribes continued resistance Early 1790s settler-Indian violence peaked; 1790 and 91 Miami warrior Little Turtle led a group of tribes in battles near the western border of Ohio, refused peace unless white settlement past the Ohio River was forbidden, and 1794 were defeated by General Anthony Wayne at the Battle of Fallen Timbers 1795 the Miami signed the Treaty of Grenville and ceded much of their land to the US and received a formal acknowledgement of their remaining land; affirmed with limited success that only the tribes themselves could cede their lands

Debts, Taxes, 1784-87 post-war depression exacerbated the shortage of money and Daniel The Confederation had a substantial debt from the war and could only requisition Shays unsuccessfully, not tax, for money, so were faced with the possibility of defaulting So a group of nationalists arose who wanted to increase the power of the central government in order for it to meet its obligations; 1781 and 83 Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, head of treasury Robert Morris, and others tried to pass a continental impost that would impose a duty on imported goods, but many feared that the nationalists would gain too much power from it, so was disapproved both times, and the nationalists receded Individual states also had war debts and tried to pay them through increased taxation, but poor, indebted farmers did not like because thought was unfair and enriching wealthy bondholder, and wanted instead for more paper money to be issued So late 1780s were periodic farmer riots in New England Some Massachusetts farmers organized under veteran Daniel Shays and demanded paper money, tax relief, temporary relief of debts, relocation of state capital from Boston to the interior, and the abolition of imprisonment for debt Summer of 1786 Shays' Rebellion occurred in which they forcefully prevented courts from sitting and sheriffs from selling confiscated property; were denounced by members of legislature and January 1787 were scattered by an army of state militiamen Was a military failure, but still pardoned leaders from the death sentence, gave some tax relief and postponement of debt repayment, and added urgency to the movement to produce a new constitution