American Pageant Theme Notes Ch. 9

FYI: These aren't as good as the other ones. I didn't have enough time.

Themes in U.S. History
Chapter 9

American Diversity

American Identity
Ordinary people demanded to be addressed as “Mr.” or “Mrs.”

Culture
Removed primogeniture

Demographic Changes
Movement of State capitals from the haughty seaports into the less pretentious interior

Economic Transformations
The Brandywine Creek was turning the water wheels of mills along an 8m. stretch (1786)
American ships were barred from British and British West Indies harbors
Inflation
Spain was openly unfriendly to the Americans. It closed off the Mississippi river to commerce in 1784.

Environment
Land Ordinance of 1785- stated that the acreage of the Old Northwest should be sold and the proceeds should be used to help pay off the national debt.
Northwest Ordinance of 1787- a uniform national land policy; created the Northwest Territories and gave the land to the government, the land could then be purchased by individuals; when a territory had 60,000 people, it might be admitted by Congress as a state, with all the privileges of the 13 other states.

Globalization

Politics and Citizenship
Most states reduced property-holding requirements for voting
New Jersey’s new constitution in 1776 allowed women to vote (small time)
State constitutions created weak executive and judicial branches
Articles of Confederation adopted by Congress in 1777
Articles weren’t ratified by all 13 states until 1781
Congress had 2 major handicaps: It had no power to regulate commerce, and this loophole left the states free to establish conflictingly laws regarding tariffs and navigation. Congress couldn't enforce its tax collection program. The states were NOT required to pay the government taxes, they were merely asked.
In 1786, Virginia called for a convention at Annapolis, Maryland. There, James Madison (father of the Constitution) saved the convention from collapsing - delegates from only 5 states showed up. He called upon Congress to summon a convention to meet in Philadelphia the next year, not to deal with just commerce, but to fix then entire fabric of the Articles of Confederation.
On May 25, 1787, 55 representatives from all of the states except for Rhode Island were sent to Philadelphia to talk of the government in the future of the country. (Constitutional Convention) George Washington was elected as the leader.
The "large-state plan" was proposed by Virginia and was first pushed forward as the framework of the Constitution. It said that the arrangement in Congress should be based upon a state's population.
New Jersey presented the "small-state plan." It centered on equal representation in Congress without regards to a state's size or population.
The "Great Compromise" of the convention was hammered out and finally agreed upon. It called for representation by population in the House of Representatives, and equal representation in the Senate. Each state would have 2 senators. The new Constitution also called for a President. Because of arguments over if the slaves would count towards the general population of the state, the "three-fifths compromise" was created. The new Constitution also called for the end of the slave trade by the end of 1807. All new state constitutions except Georgia's forbade overseas slave trade.
Rhode Island was not present at the Constitutional Convention.
The Anti-federalists were led by Samuel Adams, Patrick Henry, and Richard Henry Lee. The followers consisted of states' rights devotees, back country dwellers, and one-horse farmers - in general, the poorest class.
Federalists were led by George Washington and Benjamin Franklin. Most of the Federalists lived in the settled areas along the seaboard. Overall, they were wealthier than the Anti-federalists, more educated, and better organized. They also controlled the press.

Reform
Educational opportunities for women expanded
Shay's Rebellion- in western Massachusetts in 1786; when impoverished back-country farmers, who were losing their farms through mortgage foreclosures and tax delinquencies, attempted to enforce their demands of cheap paper money, lighter taxes, and a suspension of property takeovers; led by Captain Daniel Shays. The uprising was crushed but it left fear in the propertied class of mobs.

Religion
Anglican Church was reformed into the Protestant Episcopal Church
Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom

Slavery and Its Legacies in North America
1775: Philadelphia Quakers founded the world’s first antislavery society

War and Diplomacy
Women served in the military disguised as men