Chapter 9: The Confederation and the Constitution

1776-1790
Chronology:
1774: First Continental Congress calls for abolition of slave trade
1775: Philadelphia Quakers found world’s first antislavery society
1776: New Jersey constitution temporarily gives women the vote
1777: Articles of Confederation adopted by Second Continental Congress
1780: Massachusetts adopts first constitution drafted in convention and ratified by popular vote
1781: Articles of Confederation put into effect
1783: Military officers from society of the Cincinnati
1785: Land Ordinance of 1785
1786: Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom Shays’s Rebellion
Meeting of five states to discuss revision of the Articles of Confederation
1787: Northwest Ordinance
Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia
1788: Ratification by nine states guarantees a new government under the Constitution

The Pursuit of Equality:

Social democracy
• Most states reduced property-holding requirements for voting
• Stimulated by growth of trade organizations for artisans and laborers
Separation of church and state
• Congregational Church was still established in New England states
• Struggle for divorce, especially in Virginia, between religion and government
1. Thomas Jefferson and co-reformers, including Baptists, win with Virginia
Statute for Religious Freedom
1775 Philadelphia Quakers found first antislavery society
1774 Continental Congress called for abolition of slave trade
1. Discrimination of blacks
2. Laws against interracial marriage
Equality to women
• New Jersey’s new constitution in 1776 enabled women to vote
• Moral education entrusted in women during Revolutionary era

Constitution Making in the States

• 1776: Continental Congress has colonies draft new constitutions, summoning them as a
new state
1. Sovereignty of the new states would be up to the people, according to the theory
of Republicanism
• Massachusetts constitution once ratified could only be changed by another specially
called constitutional convention. This process was used to draft and ratify the federal
constitution.
• Many state constitutions were similar, which made drafting the federal charter easier.
 • Britain’s “constitution” was not a written document but an accumulation of laws,
customs, and precedents
• America’s constitution was a contract that defined the power of the government
1. written documents represent a fundamental law, like the bill of rights
• Legislatures are the most democratic branch of government
• In the Revolutionary era the capitals of New Hampshire, New York, Virginia, North
Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia were moves westward, which created shifts in
political aspects

Economic Crosscurrents
• Estates and large holdings of land cut into small pieces
• Increase of manufacturing by prewar nonimportation agreements and war
o Goods from Britain were cut off
• American ships banned from British and British West Indies harbors
• Trade with Asia and importation of ginseng led way to East Asia makets
• Distaste for taxes and disrespect for the majesty of the law grew

A Shaky Start Toward Union

• The Revolution made Americans responsible for creating and operating a new central
government
• Leaders preached “natural rights” and didn’t like authority
• America was not unified rather just a nation
• Many American industries suffered because the British manufactures had lots of war
surplus and they came to the American market with cut-rate goods.
• The 13 sovereign states were alike in governmental structure and functioned under
similar constitutions

Creating a Confederation
• Second Continental Congress of Revolutionary days were made up for 13 states
o States were sovereign
o Virginia ratified the Treaty of Alliance of 1778 with France
• Article of Confederation
o Adopted in 1777 among 13 states
o Maryland held out till1781
• Northwestern Ordinance of 1787
o Commitment that reflected anticolonial spirit

The Articles of Confederation: America’s First Constitution

• The Articles of Confederations provided for a loose confederation
1. 13 independent states were linked together for joint action when dealing with foreign
affairs
• A clumsy Congress was the chief agency of government and there was no executive
branch
• Because the amending process was unworkable the Articles of Confederation were
replaced with an effective Constitution
 • Many states had no desire to yield their newly acquired privileges to an American
parliament
• Congress was unable to regulate commerce nor enforce its tax-collection program
• The government could advise and advocate and appeal but it could not command, or
coerce or control independent states
• The new Congress had paper powers but was less effective than the old Continental
Congress
• Articles of Confederation was a landmark in government
• Americans did not need a loosely woven confederation but a tightly knit federation
• The Articles of Confederation was a stepping-stone. It clearly outlined general powers,
keeping alive the ideal of a union.

Landmarks in Land Laws

• Land Ordinance o 1778
o Old Northwest land should be sold
o The money would be used to pay off national debt
o Land:
Divided into townships 6 square miles
Each township be divided into 36 sections at 1 square mile
The 16th section would be set aside for the public schools
• Northwest Ordinance of 1787 – governing of the Old Northwest
o Land would start off as a territory
o Once the territory reaches a population of 60,000 people, it would be admitted to
Congress as a state
o It forbade slavery

The World’s Ugly Duckling

• Foreign relations with London were not good
• Britain resented America and would not send a minister to America’s Capital
• The British shut off the West Indies trade from the United States. The Yankees illegally
partook nonetheless.
• British agents were active on the northern frontier. Also along the northern border
redcoats continued to hold a chain of trading posts on U.S. soil maintaining their fur trade
with the Indians
• Britain hung on to America to stay in favor of the Indians, preventing America from
attacking Canada.
• Spain was also un-friendly and controlled the mouth of all-important Mississippi.
1. In 1784 Spain closed the river to American commerce
2. Spain claimed a large area north of the Gulf of Mexico, including Florida
• Spain and Britain influenced Indian tribes to prevent America from exercising effective
control over half of its total territory
• France demanded repayment of money that they loaned the United States during the war
• North African pirates ravaged Americas Mediterranean commerce
The Horrid Specter of Anarchy
• Shays’s Rebellion – Massachusetts, 1786
o Revolutionary War veterans were losing farms through mortgage foreclosures
o Demand for cheap paper money, and lighter taxes
• Conservatives wanted to amend the Articles of Confederation in favor of a muscular
central government
• By 1787, overseas shipping had regained place in the commercial world

A Convention of “Demigods”
• Control of commerce touched off the chain reaction that led to a constitutional
convention
• 1786 Virginia called for a convention at Annapolis, Maryland
1. 9 states appointed delegates, 5 were represented
• A convention in Philadelphia was held a year later and all states chose representatives but
Rhode Island
• May 25, 1787 55 emissaries from 12 states met in Philadelphia
1. Session help in secrecy and with armed sentinels posted at the doors
2. The men had to drop personal pursuits and come to the aid of their country
3. Most members were lawyers
4. George Washington was unanimously elected chairman
5. James Madison has been dubbed “Father of the Constitution”

Patriots in Philadelphia
• 55 delegates were experienced statesmen and nationalists
o They wanted to save revolutionary idealism into political structure
o They wanted to control tariff’s so the United States could have satisfactory
commercial treaties with foreign nations
• Delegates sought to curb unrestrained democracy rampant in various states
• The Founding Fathers arose from the delegation

Hammering Out a Bundle of Compromises

• A scheme proposed by Virginia called for representation in both houses of a bicameral
congress that would be based on population
• New Jersey proposed “the small-state plan” which called for equal representation in a
unicameral Congress, regardless of size and population, as under the existing Articles of
Confederation
• Larger states conceded representation by population in the House of Representatives and
the smaller states were appeased by equal representation in the Senate.
• Every tax bill or revenue measure must originate in the House.
• The president would by commander in chief, have power to appoint domestic offices-
including judgeship, and have veto power over legislation. They would also be elected
by the Electoral College, rather than by direct means.
• A slave would count as 3/5 of a person (Three-fifths Compromise)
1. As a compromise the convention let slave trade continue until the end of 1807.
Safegaurds for Conservatism
• Members of the Constitutional Convention demanded sound money and protection of
private property
• Constitutional Convention members agreed on a stronger government with 3 branches
and with checks and balances
• Federal judges were appointed for life
• The president would be elected indirectly by the Electoral College
• Senators would be indirectly appointed by states legislature
• Principles of republicanism: any legitimate government was based on consent of the
governed, and the powers of government should be limited
• Only 42 of the original 55 members signed the Constitution

The Clash of Federalists and Antifederalists

• A formidable barrier was unanimously ratified by 13 states
o It required for amendment by the Articles of Confederation, which was still being
used
• Rhode Island would veto the constitution no matter what
• When 9 states registered their approval through specially elected conventions, the
Constitution would become supreme law of the land
• Anti-federalists, who opposed the stronger federal government, were arrayed against the
federalists, who favored it
• Anti-federalists: Samuel Adams, Patrick Henry, and Richard Henry Lee:
o Their followers were the poorest classes, paper-moneyites and debtors
• Federalists were supported by George Washington and Benjamin Franklin
o Overall wealthier than anti-federalists, more educated, and better organized
o Controlled by press

The Great Debate in the States

• Special elections were held in the various states for members of the ratifying convention
• Candidates – federalist or anti-federalists – were elected on basis of their pledges for or
against the constitution
• 4 states quickly accepted the constitution
• The Boston ratifying convention first had an anti-federalist majority
o It included Shaysites and Samuel Adams
• They had a choice between the Constitution and the Articles of Confederation
• Anti-federalists wanted a bill of rights
• The document was officially adopted on June 21, 1788

The Four Laggard States

• Virginia was reluctant to be apart of the new Union
• George Washington, James Madison, and John Marshall held an influential support to get
Virginia in the Union
• New York had a strong majority of anti-federalists
• Alexander Hill, at the New York state convention, favored a stronger central government
o He gave his support to the federalists
• Alexander Hill, James Madison, and John Jay put series of articles in the New York
newspapers that were used as propaganda
• New York ratified the document
o At the same time, they approved 32 proposed amendments
• Rhode Island did not summon a ratifying convention, and rejected the Constitution by
popular referendum
• North Carolina adjourned their state convention without ever taking a vote
 Chapter 10: Launching the New Ship of State
1789-1800

Chronology:
1789: Constitution formally put into effect
Judiciary Act of 1789
Washington elected president
French Revolution begins
1790: First official census
1791: Bill of Rights adopted
Vermont becomes fourteenth state
Bank of the United States created
Excise tax passed
1792: Washington reelected president
1792~1793: Federalist and Democratic- Republican parties formed
1793: Louis XVI beheaded; radical phase of French Revolution
France declares war of Britain and Spain
Washington’s Neutrality Proclamation
Citizen Genet affair
1794: Whiskey Rebellion
Battle of Fallen Timbers
Jay’s Treaty with Britain
1795: Treaty of Greenville: Indian cede Ohio
Pinckney’s Treaty with Spain
1796: Washington’s Farewell Address
1797: Adams becomes president
XYZ Affair
1798: Alien and Sedition Acts
1798~1799: Virginia and Kentucky resolutions
1798~1800: Undeclared war with France
1800: Convention of 1800: peace with France

Growing Pains:
• Population was doubling every twenty- five years
• First census of 1790 showed almost 4 million people
• Vermont becomes the fourteenth state

Washington for President:

• Washington was probably the only president who didn’t try to become elected
o Only president who was unanimously elected by Electoral College
• First to establish the cabinet
o Wasn’t mentioned in the Constitution
o Only 3 full departments
Secretary of State- Thomas Jefferson
Secretary of Treasury- Alexander Hamilton
Secretary of War- Henry Knox
The Bill of Rights:
• A new constitutional convention requested by either two-thirds of the states or of both
houses of Congress
• James Madison decided to draft the amendments himself
• First ten amendments of Constitution become the Bill of Rights

Hamilton Revives the Corpse of Pubic Credit:

• First objective was to bolster the national credit
• Started “Funding at par”
o Government would pay off debts at face value plus accumulated interest
o Total of over $54 million

Customs Duties and Excise Taxes:

• National debt increased to $75 million because of Hamilton
o “Father of the National Debt”
• First tariff law at 8% on value of dutiable imports passed in 1789
• Whiskey tax at 7 cents per gallon in 1791

Hamilton Battles Jefferson for a Back:

• Hamilton proposes a Bank of the United States
o Bank would print currency
• Jefferson was against bank
• Created in 1791 and was chartered for twenty years
o Located in Philadelphia

Mutinous Moonshiners in Pennsylvania:

• Started by Whiskey Rebellion
o Pennsylvania in 1794
o “Liberty and No Excise”
• Washington summoned the militia
• 13 thousand rallied and marched
o Stopped at the hills of western Pennsylvania
o Total of three rebels were killed

The Emergence of Political Parties:

• The treasury could now borrow needed funds in the Netherlands
• Political Parties
o Whigs and Tories were considered factions
o First formal party came as opposing to the Hamiltonian program (Federalists)
Organized by Jefferson and Madison
Democratic- Republican Party

The Impact of the French Revolution:

• Washington’s administration ended early in 1793
 • French Revolution started shortly after Washington’s inauguration
o Lasted for twenty- six years
o 1792 France declared war on Austria

Washington’s Neutrality Proclamation:

• Franco- American Alliance of 1778 was still intact
• Nation was militarily weak in 1793
• Washington issued Neutrality Proclamation in 1793
o Government was officially neutral to widening conflicts

Embroilments with Britain:

• Britain had a chain of northern frontier post on U.S. soil
o Defied the peace treaty of 1783
• Battle of Fallen Timbers
o 1794- led by General “Mad Anthony” Wayne
o Indians fleeing from the battle
o Led to the Treaty of Greenville- signed August 1795
Gave up present Indiana and Ohio for $20,000 and annual $9,000

Jay’s Treaty and Washington’s Farewell:

• John Jay was the Chief Justice
o Washington sends him to London in 1794
o Negotiated Jay’s Treaty (unpopular)
• Jay’s Treaty Led to Pinckney’s Treaty of 1795
o Spain feared that an Anglo- American Alliance was rising
o American got free navigation of the Mississippi territory and north Florida
territory
• Washington’s farewell speech was never orally given but rather printed in newspapers
o Said to avoid permanent alliance like the Franco- American Treaty in1778

John Adams Becomes President:

• John Adams (Federalist) won 71 to 68 electoral votes
o Jefferson (Democratic- Republican) became vice president
• Hamilton resigned from the treasury in 1795

Unofficial Fighting with France:

• French were angered by Jay’s Treaty
o Began to seize American merchant vessels (about 300)
• John Marshall negotiated the XYZ treaty
• America made a new army of 10 thousand men
• War lasted for two and a half years

Adams Put Patriotism above Party:

• Talleyrand wanted a new American minister to negotiate
• In early 1799 a new minister was submitted to Senate
 • Napoleon Bonaparte was now a dictator in Paris
o Convention of 1800- got rid of alliance to France

The Federalist Witch Hunt:

• Laws to minimize Jeffersonian foes
o 1st law- aimed at pro- Jeffersonian “aliens”
Most were European immigrants who were poor
nd
o 2 law- aimed at undesirable immigrants
President had the right to deport dangerous foreigners in times of peace
and imprison them in hostile times
o “lockjaw” Sedition Act
Stopped freedom of speech and press
o Wrote to expire in 1801 so it could not be used against federalist party

The Virginia (Madison) and Kentucky (Jefferson) Resolutions:

• In fear of persecution Jefferson wrote a series or resolutions
o Approved by Kentucky legislature in 1798
o Less extreme statement written by Madison
Adopted in 1798 by Virginia legislature
• Stressed the compact theory
o 13 states had entered a contract regarding its jurisdiction

Federalists Versus Democratic- Republicans

• Federalist were considered the “best people”
o Only well to do people were considered
o Strong central government that should support private enterprises
o Pro-British in foreign affairs
• Anti- Federalists
o A weak central regime and strong state governments
o No special privileges for special classes
o A government for the people and governed by though literate enough
o Pro- French
 Ch.11
The Triumphs and Travails of the Jeffersonian Republic
1800-1812
Timeline
1800 Jefferson defeats Adam for presidency
1801 Judiciary Act of 1801
1801-1805 Naval war with Tripoli
1802 Revised naturalization law
Judiciary Act of 1801 repealed
1803 Marbury vs. Madison
Louisiana Purchase
1804 Jefferson reelected president
Impeachment of Justice Chase
1804-1806 Lewis and Clark expedition
1805 Peace treaty with Tripoli
1805-1807 Pike’s explorations
1806 Burr treason trial
1807 Chesapeake affair
Embargo Act
1808 Madison elected president
1809 Non-Intercourse Act replaces Embargo Act
1810 Macon’s Bill No. 2
Napoleon announces (falsely) repeal of blockade degrees
Madison reestablishes nonimportation against Britain
1811 Battle of Tippecanoe
1812 United States declares war on Britain

Outline
First time two political parties function as the Federalist and Democratic-Republicans. Two
candidates were John Adams and Thomas Jefferson.
Adam
-Federalist
- Strong central government
- Public Order
Jefferson
-Democratic-Republican
-guardian of agrarian purity, poverty, liberty and states’ rights
Next 12 years in the 1800 is put into a harsh reality when the Jeffersonians come to power and
faced with opportunities and crises.
Federalist and Republican Mudslinger
Federalists
Lost respect from the people
Alien and Sedition Act—enemies
Hamilton wing
Lost glory of war with France
 Split with Adams
Victim of Arrogance
Indiscreet as to attack the pres in a privately printed pamphlet
Jeffersonians got a hold of it—published it
Most damaging thing
Refusal by Adams to give them a fight with France
People feverish with war prep caused public debt and taxes
War preparations---extravagant
“new navy”-----“John Adams’s Jackasses”
Adams----“the Father of the American Navy”
Adams
Victim of 1st “whispering campaign”
Accused of robbing a widow and children of trust fund
Fathering numerous mulattos
Went through wrath of orthodox clergy earlier
Separated church and state
The Jeffersonian “Revolution of 1800”
Jefferson won
Majority- 73 electoral to 65
Adams
Last federalist president of the US
Ultimately disappear in era of Jackson
Jefferson
1800 election---declared revolution
Not really a revolution- narrowly got the win
Mission- to restore the republican experiment, check the growth of government
power, and halt the decay of virtue that had set in under Federalist rule
No revolution
Peaceful and orderly transfer of power based on the election
Responsibility Breeds Moderation
“Long Tom” Jefferson
Inaugurated March 4, 1801
“Red Fox”
Inaugurated Address
“The will of the majority is in all cases to prevail …that will to be rightful
must be reasonable; the minority possess their equal rights, which equal law must protect,
and to violate would be oppression.”
Established rule of pell-mell
Seating without ranking
Unconventional
Sloppy-dress
Conscience of his voice
Did not dismiss public servants and officials
Jeffersonian Restraint
Jefferson
Undo Federalists
 Hated Alien and Sedition Acts
Kicked away only one substantial prop of the Hamilton system
Hated excise tax
Cost federal government S1 million a year
Needed revenue
Absorbed Federalists Programs
The “Dead Clutch” of the Judiciary
“Deathbed” Judiciary Act of 1801
Passed by expiring Federalist Congress
Sixteen new federal judgeships and other judicial offices
Adams
Last day of commission---“midnight judges”
Sat at his desk till 9 in the evening last day in office
Assigning federalists judge positions
Republicans repeal this act
Took out all assigned Jeffersonians
Not Marshall-Jefferson’s cousin- shaped American legal tradition
Marshall
Served in Valley Forge
Experience made him a federalist
Federalist’s party died out
Marshall lived on
Marbury
Assigned job by Adams---midnight judge---not given to him---sued
Marshall dismissed---Judiciary Act of 1789-unconstitutional
Marbury vs. Madison
1803-final authority over constitution????
Marshall put keystone powers in the Supreme Court
Jeffersonians
Not happy with ruling- sent “vicious dogs” after Samuel Chase
Chase- put up for impeachment—high crimes-unsuccessful
Chase-unpopular with Republicans
Jefferson, A Reluctant Warrior
Jefferson
First action-establish military to a mere police force of 2500 officers and men
“Penny-pitching”-critics
“Peaceful coercion”- with other countries
Reality change this- Pirates of North African Barbary States
Blackmailed and plundered in Mediterranean
Showdown in 1801-“shores of Tripoli”
Jefferson sent the navy-4 years-success-$60,000
Created 200 tiny gunboats constructed for later
The Louisiana Godsend
Secret pact signed 1800
France and Spain
Napoleon has Louisiana
Jefferson sent Monroe to negotiations
$10 million for New Orleans max
FAILED
If France came to get New Orleans there would be war
Napoleon decides to sell Louisiana
1. troops have been wiped out- yellow fever
2. end the 22 month lull with Britain
Negotiated by Robert Livingston, American minister, with French foreign minister
After a week of haggling- settled- April, 30 1803----$15 million
828,000 sq miles at 3 cents an acre
 Chapter 12 Outline Part I

I) War of 1812—vs. Canada and Brit.

A) ill-trained army and old generals
B) America had 3 main attacks set out from
1) Detroit
All failed
2) Niagara
3) Lake Champlain
C) Brit and Canada were forceful and tactiful
1) got Michilimackinac
a) Am. Fort of Great Lakes
b) Brit leader = Isaac Brock
D) America went to navy for help
1) had batter ships (frigates) than Brit.
2) Am. General Oliver Perry got Lake Erie back
3) Gen, Harrison beat Reds at Bttle of Thames in 1813
4) Weak Am. fleat beat Brit in 1814 at L. Chaplain led by Macdonough
E) Capital On Fire!
1) Brit went to Chesapeake Bay and Bladensburg and burned down the capitol
and white house
2) Meanwhile, Am is at Fort Mc Henry holding strong.
3) Francis Scott Key was an Am. Captured on a Brit ship and wrote star-spangled
banner
F) Brit attacks New Orleans
1) Andrew Jackson was there to fight
2) Brit attacked on Jan 1815 on Am militia
a) worst defeat for Brit in entire war
b) a treaty at Ghent, Belgium really already had ended the war 2 weeks
prior
G) Treaty of Ghent
 1) it was Tsar Alex of Russia that proposed it b/c he didn’t want Brit ally to lose
power
2) armistice
a) both sides agreed to stop and regain conquered territory.
H) Hartford Convention
1) new England Federalists are angry
a) not able to trade w/ Canada
b) Brit has a blockade on sea trade
i) so Feds want to become part of Britain
I) Mass Called convention for N. Engl states
1) 26 men all met in secret from the us gov.
2) demanded $ from Wash due to the trade loss
3) demanded 2/3 votes in congress
4) were afraid west and southern states were getting too powerful
nd
J) 2 war for Amer. Independence
1) Proved am was ununited
2) Helped Am. economically
a) made Am. independ from Brit goods
K) New American Nationalism
1) Am came out of war as one.
2) Washington Irving and James Cooper
a) some of nations 1st internationally recognized writers in using Am. themes and
scenes
3) Bank of US
4) New Capitol
5) New Army
L) “The American System”
1) Factories
a) Brit tried to stop it
2) Henry Clay’s American System
a) banking sys.
 b) protective tariff
c) roads and canals
M) Era of Good Feeling
1) James Monroe-republican
a) in between founding fathers and New Nationalism generation
2) Trails
a) tariffs, bank, internal improvements, sectionalism
N) Panic of 1819
1) economic crisis
a) deflation, depression, unemployment,
2) causes of crisis
a) frontier banks
O) Pains of the West
1) Westward movement
a) more land
b) economic hardships

Chapter 12: Part II (pg. 245-255)

I. Slavery and the Sectional Balance
A. rivalry over Western frontier between slave South and free North
B. Missouri asked Congress for admission as a slave state in 1819
1. Congress passed Tallmadge amendment
a. stated that no more slaves should be brought into Missouri
b. provided for the gradual emancipation of children born to slave parents already there
2. slave-holding southerners were angry, along with depression-cursed pioneers and
diehard Federalists from the North
3. Tallmadge amendment was not passed through the Senate
a. Southerners saw it as a threat to sectional balance
C. Southerners were beginning to feel overwhelmed by the amount of power that the North
held in Congress.
1. every state got 2 Senate votes, regardless of size/population
2. when the Constitution was adopted in 1788, the North and South were pretty even in
wealth and population
3. but now, with every passing decade the North was becoming wealthier and more
populated, giving them more majority in the House of Representatives
 4. there were 11 slave states and 11 free states, so the South still held enough power to hold
off any northern effort to interfere with the expansion of slavery

II. The Uneasy Missouri Compromise

A. 1820 – Compromise
1. Henry Clay of Kentucky played a leading role
2. Congress agreed to admit Missouri as a slave state
3. at the same time, free-soil Maine, which until then was part of Massachusetts, was
admitted as a separate state
4. the balance in Congress was then retained: 12 slave states and 12 free states
5. although Missouri was permitted to retain slaves, all future bondage was prohibited in the
Louisiana Purchase area north of the line 36° 30’ (southern border of Missouri)
6. both sides were mostly content with compromise
B. The Missouri Compromise lasted 34 years
C. the conflict between slave states and free states still existed
D. President Monroe, the president of the “Era of Good Feelings,” was re-elected in 1820
1. he won every electoral vote except one

III. John Marshall and Judicial Nationalism

A. John Marshall – Chief Justice of Supreme Court
1. he expanded the power of the federal government at the expense of the states
B. Court Case: McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)
1. an attempt by the state of Maryland to destroy a branch of the Bank of the United States by
imposing a tax on its notes
2. John Marshall (on behalf of the Court) declared the bank constitutional by invoking the
Hamiltonian doctrine of implied powers (pg. 195)
3. Marshall also strengthened federal authority and slapped at state infringements when he
denied the right of Maryland to tax the bank
a. “the power to tax involves the power to destroy”
b. “the power to create implies a power to preserve”
4. the most famous formulation of the doctrine of “loose construction”
a. the Constitution, according to Marshall, derived from the consent of the people and
thus permitted the government to act for their benefit
b. he also argued that the Constitution was “intended to endure for ages to come, and
consequently, to be adapted to the various crises of human affairs”
c. “let the end be legitimate, let it be within the scope of the Constitution, and all means
which are appropriate, which are plainly adapted to that end, which are not prohibited,
but consist with the letter and spirit of the Constitution, are constitutional”
5. two years later (1821) - Cohens v. Virginia
a. gave Marshall one of his greatest opportunities to defend the federal power
b. the Cohens, found guilty by the Virginia courts of illegally selling lottery tickets,
appealed to the Supreme Court
c. Virginia “won,” in the sense that the conviction was upheld
i. in fact, Virginia and all the individual states lost, because Marshall resoundingly
asserted the right of the Supreme Court to review the decisions of the state supreme
courts in all questions involving powers of the federal government
 6. three years later (1824) – Gibbons v. Ogden
a. an attempt by the state of New York to grant to a private concern a monopoly of
waterborne commerce between New York and New Jersey
b. Marshall reminded New York that only Congress had control of interstate commerce

IV. Judicial Dikes Against Democratic Excesses

A. Fletcher v. Peck (1810)
1. a Georgia legislature, swayed by bribery, granted 35 million acres in the Yazoo River
country (Mississippi) to private speculators
2. next legislature, yielding to an angry public outcry, canceled the crooked transaction
3. But the Supreme Court (with Marshall as Chief Justice), decreed that the legislative grant
was a contract (even if fraudulently secured) and that the Constitution forbids state laws
“impairing” contracts
4. decision protected property rights against popular pressures
5. also was one of the earliest clear assertions of the right of the Supreme Court to invalidate
state laws conflicting with the federal Constitution
B. Dartmouth College v. Woodward (1819)
1. perhaps the best remembered of Marshall’s decisions
2. the college had been granted a charter by King George III in 1769, but the democratic New
Hampshire state legislature had seen fit to change it
3. Dartmouth appealed the case, employing as counsel its more distinguished graduates,
Daniel Webster
4. Marshall put the states firmly in their place when he ruled that the original charter must
stand
a. it was a contract, and the Constitution protected contracts against state encroachments
5. The decision safeguarded business enterprise from domination by states’ governments
6. but it also created a precedent that enabled chartered corporations, in later years, to escape
the handcuffs of needed public control
C. John Marshall was considered the Molding Father of the Constitution
1. defended federal rights over states’ rights
D. Daniel Webster was considered the Expounding Father of the Constitution
1. defended states’ rights over federal rights

V. Sharing Oregon and Acquiring Florida

A. Monroe administration, including Secretary of State John Quincy Adams, negotiated the
Treaty of 1818 with Britain
1. This pact permitted Americans to share the coveted Newfoundland fisheries with their
Canadian cousins
2. also fixed the vague northern limits of Louisiana along the 49th parallel from the Lake of
the Woods (Minnesota) to the Rocky Mountains
3. also provided for a 10 year joint occupation of the untamed Oregon Country, without a
surrender of the rights or claims of either America or Britain
B. Most of Florida was mostly in Spanish rule
1. many revolutions broke out in South America against Spanish rule
a. Argentina (1816)
b. Venezuela (1817)
 c. Chile (1818)
2. Consequently, Spain was forced to remove troops from Florida to fight the rebels
3. General Andrew Jackson saw the opportunity in the undefended territory
a. under the pretext that hostile Seminole Indians and fugitive slaves were using Florida
as a refuge, Jackson secured a commission to enter Spanish territory, punish the Indians,
and recapture the runaways
b. on the conditions that he had to respect all posts under the Spanish flag
4. in early 1818 Jackson swept through Florida
a. hung two Indian chiefs without ceremony
b. executed two British subjects for supposedly assisting the Indians
c. also seized the two most important Spanish posts in the area
i. St. Marks
ii. Pensacola
5. Monroe consulted his cabinet with what to do with Jackson, who had clearly exceeded his
instructions
a. everybody but John Quincy Adams felt that Jackson should be punished
i. an ardent patriot and nationalist, Adams took the offensive and demanded huge
concessions from Spain
6. In the mislabeled Florida Purchase Treaty of 1819, Spain ceded Florida, as well as
shadowy Spanish claims to Oregon, in exchange for America’s abandonment of equally
murky claims to Texas, soon to become part of independent Mexico

VI. The Menace of Monarchy In America

A. after Napoleonic nightmare, Europe decided to ban together, restore monarchy, and try to
make the world safe from democracy
1. with complete ruthlessness they smothered the embers of rebellion in Italy (1821) and in
Spain (1823)
a. it was also rumored that Russia, Austria, Prussia, and France, acting in partnership,
would presumably send powerful fleets and armies to the revolted colonies of Spanish
America and there restore the autocratic Spanish king to his ancestral domains
B. Americans were alarmed
1. they feared that if the European powers intervened in the New World, the cause of
republicanism would suffer irreparable harm
2. the physical security of the United States – the mother lode of democracy – would be
endangered by the proximity of powerful and unfriendly forces
C. Great Britain did not join hands with the continental European powers in crushing the newly
won liberties of the Spanish-Americans
1. in August 1823, George Canning, the British foreign secretary, approached the American
minister in London with a startling proposition
a. would not the United States combine with Britain in a joint declaration renouncing any
interest in acquiring Latin American territory, and specifically warning the European
despots to keep their harsh hands off the Latin American republics?
b. the American minister referred this scheme to his superiors in Washington

VII. Monroe and His Doctrine

A. Secretary of State – John Quincy Adams – was a tenacious nationalist
 1. he didn’t believe the British
a. why would the lordly British, with the mightiest navy afloat, need America as an ally –
an America that had neither naval nor military strength?
b. he argued that such a union was undignified
2. an alliance with Britain would not only hamper American expansion, but it was
unnecessary
3. Adams suspected – correctly – that the European powers had not hatched any definite
plans for invading the Americas
B. The Monroe Doctrine was born late in 1823
1. The president was persuaded by Adams’ reasoning
2. Monroe, in his annual message to Congress on December 2, 1823, incorporated a stern
warning to the European powers
a. two basic features:
i. non-colonization
ii. non-intervention
b. Monroe stated that the era of colonization in America had ended and that henceforth
the hunting season was permanently closed
c. Monroe also warned against foreign intervention
i. he bluntly commanded the European monarchy powers to stay out of this hemisphere

VIII. Monroe’s Doctrine Appraised

A. monarchs of Europe were angry about Monroe Doctrine
B. Monroe’s message did not have much contemporary significance
1. not until mid-century did it become an important national dogma
C. Russo-American Treaty of 1824
1. tsar (Russia) formally retreats back to Alaska
a. fixed his southernmost limits at the line of 54° 40’ – the present southern tip of the
Alaska panhandle
D. The Monroe Doctrine might more accurately be called the Self-Defense Doctrine
1. President Monroe was concerned basically with the security of his own country
2. however, the doctrine was just as big as the nation’s armed forces – and no bigger