History Notes February 27 2015 Consolidation vs Confederation Federal Government o Congress o States o People National Government o President Congress Supreme Court o States o People Alexander Hamilton very committed to strong central government and use of power o Most founding fathers believed that political power was dangerous and went against liberty So many were surprised by Hamilton s views o Country knows that the American people will not stand for an American King o Ignore Hamilton s proposal lol he actually walked out of it Conflict over representation between small and large states o Solution was bicameral congress House is based on population Senate is based on 2 people per state o Now the question was over choosing a president Nearly everybody wanted George Washington to be president But what would they do once he died Argument over big v small states started again This started the Electoral College the ones who actually elect the president Ratification of the Constitution o Constitutions are in theory supposed to be representative of the people o Constitutional conventions are made so that 9 of the states would approve the constitution o Ratification before made it so that it had to be accepted unanimously but with the C they chose o Consolidation expressed fear and alarm that C is going to recreate English style government in it to be 9 out of 15 states the States Many people were afraid of constitution at first Special conventions of the people o Elections to choose individuals who attend the ratifying convention o Federalists v Antifederalists Federalists end up winning even though half of the country was against the constitution Willful minority was imposing its will on the majority Federalists controlled 90 of the newspapers because they controlled most of the urban areas Very good at the blame game Understood that the average antifederalist was a small time farmer o Ratification from December of 1877 Feds win 5 quick victories in the 1st month Cherry picked the states that they were sure they could win History Notes March 2 2015 Didn t go to VA because it was the home of Madison Washington and Jefferson Federalists feared going against Patrick Henry because he is the leading man AGAINST the constitution Majority of the people were actually against constitution o Skillful and willful minority that works hard to ratify the constitution Consolidation What anti federalists called in choosing a truly national government o Americans fear this because it reminds them of King George III Confederation Compound Republic o Americans fear this because of the AoC s failure The way that Madison sold the constitution for the public was to say that the constitution is a o Broke up the power between national and state government o Madison was most important political figure in this era because if it wasn t for him we may not have had this compound republic that we have today Bill of Rights o Was added because of the anti federalists who wouldn t concede this without a bill of rights o Washington was unanimously elected POTUS o James Madison was the 1st chairman of the house and put his foot down in passing the first 10 amendments to keep with the Antifederalists promise Must first propose amendment by a 2 3 vote in both houses of Congress Judiciary Act 1789 system o Was enacted because the 3rd amendment in Constitution was too vague on national judicial o Set up the Supreme Court then 3 Circuit Courts Courts of Appeal and 13 District Courts o Takes 1st step towards Judicial Review courts power to interpret the constitution o Section 25 gives the courts to review state laws and decisions March 4th 2015 History 105 Lecture Notes Hamilton is actually the one to give shape to Washington s presidency o He was a great man but not a great American Jefferson tried talking to Hamilton but was turned off when Hamilton replied that Julius Caesar is someone who is very admirable Shocked Jefferson quite a bit o Used the power and trust that Washington gave him and used it aggressively Used the fact that the country was in national debt for his own purposes strengthening the central and national government Believes he can refinance the debt that ties allegiance from the money classes to new national government After the war many soldiers received IOUs then they would give them up to merchants 3 part money plan Fund National debt Assume the state debts Create a national bank 80 private 20 public Implied powers Necessary and proper o Implies that Congress has the power to make laws for the greater public March 6th 2015 History 105 Lecture Notes Hamilton sparks an argument over the Necessary and Proper clause o Hamiltonian and Jeffersonian political stances over interpretation of the constitution o Madison believes that Hamilton is now out of control Leads to him associating with Jefferson again Hamilton Whiskey Rebellion of 1794 Hamilton is the Darth Vader of the 1790s Comes up with Excise tax on whiskey Many people were making moonshine because everything else was too expensive Became an important product to the American backcountry farmers Popular resistance to this tax Hamilton goes to president and tries to persuade him that the uprising was a serious challenge to the constitution Army led by Hamilton Farmers saw it as a Regulation ordinary folks had a right to challenge actions of their government When government was making policies to favor the upper few and not the overall majority it was the people s duty to remind the government of what theyre supposed to be doing Jefferson believed that if the union can only be held by at the end of a bayonet then it s not worth having Madison didn t like idea of payment of the debt going to the debtors Jay Treaty 1795 o Britain was to pay for American ships that were seized 2 years earlier In exchange America had to pay any debt that was owed to British merchants Also Britain agreed to their troops from the Ohio Valley Pinckney Treaty 1796 o Between the U S and Spain Gave America the right to transport good on Miss River Also to store goods in the Spanish port of New Orleans United States is trying to remain neutral with European powers o XYZ Affair France asking US for money for a treaty between them o John Adams succeeded in taking over Washington Washington set precedent of a president not taking more than 2 terms President Adams and administration try to push for Alien and Sedition Acts Anti immigration legislation in US history Also passed a