mcgraw hill, chapter 6 summery

CHAPTER 6
The Constitution and the New Republic

CHAPTER SUMMARY
The period between 1783 and 1800 saw the country not just move toward and adopt a new
constitution, but also greatly expand the power of the national government. During these years,
the nation was guided by some of the most talented men in its history. But following the defeat
of their common enemy, England, the founders quickly lost their unity of purpose and direction.
Some of them became members of a political party that called itself Federalist, which was
essentially “nationalist” in scope and emphasis. Led by President Washington’s Treasury
secretary, Alexander Hamilton, these Federalists believed in the virtues of strong central
authority, a national bank, and even in the creation of national debt. The Federalists also argued
that the United States ought to follow the lead of Great Britain in the world at large. Toward that
end the Federalists negotiated the controversial Jay’s Treaty in 1794.
Those who opposed the Federalist agenda, whether domestic or foreign, came to call
themselves Republicans. Led by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, they were skeptical of
the Federalists’ commitment to a more powerful national government. Republicans also tended to
be more suspicious of Great Britain and more sympathetic to France, especially to the principles
of the French Revolution. These differences came to a head during the presidency of John
Adams. The Federalists waged an undeclared war against France—and waged a domestic war
against Republican supporters of France. The passage of the Alien and Sedition Acts was
directed at Republicans and constituted one of the earliest and most serious assaults on individual
civil liberties by an American government. The reaction against these Federalist excesses was
both swift and political. By 1800 the Federalist Party had lost the presidency to the Republican
Jefferson. As a new century dawned, the United States was as divided as the country had been
when delegates gathered at Philadelphia to draft a new constitution in 1787. If the new wounds
were to heal, the man now in charge of the healing process was someone many believed to be the
personification of all that divided the two sides—Thomas Jefferson.

OBJECTIVES
A thorough study of Chapter 6 should enable the student to understand:

1. How those who advocated a stronger national government were able to achieve their
objective, even though they probably were in the minority

2. The background to the Constitutional Convention, who the delegates were, and how they
went about achieving a consensus through compromise to draft an entirely new constitution
that made possible a significantly stronger national government

3. The historical debate concerning the motives and ideas of the delegates to the Constitutional
Convention

4. Federalism and how the Constitution is designed to make it work

25

5. The importance of The Federalist Papers in the ratification struggle, and their significance as
a piece of American political philosophy

6. George Washington’s conception of the office of the president and the effectiveness of his
solutions to the problems of the presidency 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, especially war
between Britain and France

9. The emergence of deep political disagreements in government and the issues that contributed
to those divisions

10. The emergence of political parties, their respective 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 and first two-party system

3. How the new United States established itself as a nation in the eyes of foreign powers and in
the eyes of its own people

4. How the Federalists rose to—and fell from—power

POINTS FOR DISCUSSION
1. Why did Americans decide to draft a new Constitution in 1787? How were questions
concerning the extent, division, and control of governmental powers resolved?

2. Discuss the debate among historians concerning the background of the Constitution and the
possible motives of the delegates.

3. What were Hamilton’s plans for taxation, assumption, and currency regulation? What were
his motives? Why did his plans upset Jefferson and Madison?

4. Compare and contrast the political, economic, and social philosophies of Jefferson and
Hamilton. What sort of nation did each hope to build? How do you suppose the two men
might react to current American political and economic issues of your choosing?

5. Did the original Constitution protect individual American citizens from violations of their
rights? What safeguards did the Bill of Rights add? The Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions?
In what later federal authority versus states’ rights conflicts were the Virginia and Kentucky
Resolutions later applied?

6. What were the most critical international problems facing the new nation in the 1790s? How
did the Federalists handle these problems? How well did they handle them?

26

7. How did the organization, election, and powers of the House and Senate reflect political and
social attitudes of the time? How were they, if at all, a violation of revolutionary ideology?
How did the office of the president reflect those same political and social attitudes? Was it a
greater violation of revolutionary ideology? Why or why not?

8. Compare and contrast the two political parties of the 1790s in terms of their goals, methods,
and philosophies. If both parties believed that the new Constitution of 1787 created the best
form of government, what was the basis for their disagreements during the 1790s? Were
these disagreements fundamental or more procedural? Make a case one way or the other.

9. Considering the beliefs of the Federalists and anti-Federalists, which group was more
progressive? Which group was more tradition-bound? Which group asked for greater public
trust in government? Given the development of the United States to it present condition,
which group would you argue was more correct in its approach to government authority?

10. Most historians regard George Washington as a successful president. Is his reputation
deserved? Make a case for or against this assertion.

11. How and why did the Federalists seem to overreact to the emergence of the Republicans as
powerful contenders for national favor? How did the Republicans respond to that apparent
overreaction?

12. How did American relations with England, Spain, and France affect the two political parties
of the 1790s? How did the American political system respond to foreign interference?

INTERPRETATIVE QUESTIONS
1. Thomas Jefferson “believed that farmers were God’s chosen people and that an ideal republic
would consist of sturdy citizens, each tilling his own soil.” Furthermore, he advocated
policies designed to make this republican ideal a reality. Which groups would have been most
likely to support Jefferson because of this view? Where were they located?

2. Which groups were most likely to oppose Jefferson? Where were they located? Why were
members of this opposition less inclined to support the admission of new states?

3. Why did farmers in western Pennsylvania challenge federal authority in 1794? What does
their location, and the nature of their economy, have to do with this?

4. What Indian problems did the new nation experience? What role did the Spanish play in
creating these problems? How were these problems solved?

5. Identify the settlements and areas of the United States affected by Jay’s Treaty. Why did
some regions oppose this treaty?

6. Identify the areas of the United States affected by Pinckney’s Treaty. How did this treaty
solve (for the time being) one of the major problems facing western expansion?

27

ESSAY QUESTIONS
These questions are designed to test students’ knowledge of the geography of the area discussed
in this chapter and of its historical development. Careful reading of the text will help students
answer these questions.

1. How did westward movement affect the rise of the Jeffersonian Republicans and the decline
of the Federalists? What about the frontier experience made many westerners into
Jeffersonians? How did Jeffersonian policies appeal to those living in the West?

2. How did the Federalists convince many people in the West that they were hostile to western
interests?

3. How did the geography of the West influence western interests? What impact did foreign
occupation of land east of the Mississippi have on western ambitions?

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Richard Brookhiser, Founding Father: Rediscovering George Washington (1996)
Stanley Elkins and Eric McKitrick, The Age of Federalism (1993)
Joseph Ellis, American Sphinx: The Character of Thomas Jefferson (1997)
_____, Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation (2000)
Michael Kammen, A Machine That Would Go of Itself: The Constitution in American Culture
(1986)
Leonard Levy, Original Intent and the Framers’ Constitution (1988)
_____, Legacy of Suppression: Freedom of Speech and Press in Early American History, rev. ed.
(1985)
Drew McCoy, The Last of the Fathers: James Madison and the Republican Legacy (1989)
David McCullough, John Adams (2001)
William I. Miller, The First Liberty: Religion and the American Republic (1986)
Edmund S. Morgan, Inventing the People: The Rise of Popular Sovereignty in England and
America (1988)
Jack Rakove, Original Meanings: Politics and Ideas in the Making of the Constitution (1996)
Garry Wills, Explaining America (1981)
Ann Fairfax Withington, Toward a More Perfect Union: Virtue and the Formation of American
Republics (1991)
Gordon Wood, The Creation of the American Republic (1969)
Esmond Wright, Franklin of Philadelphia (1986)

For Internet resources, practice questions, references to additional books and films, and more,
see this book’s Online Learning Center at www.mhhe.com/unfinishednation4.