Tip: If you want to know more about the men in the Shays’s Rebellion,
here is a brief explanation:
·
The men are
farmers and veterans of the American Revolution. They were not paid and
have only certificates promising payment from the Articles of Confederation government.
·
They have
only their farms as a way to feed their families and pay their state taxes
(levied by the legislature made up predominantly of merchants).
·
They are
dealing with issues they did not cause and that are beyond their powers.
Nonetheless
what they did no nation could afford to let happen. They blocked the courts
with armed force to stop foreclosures on their land. They are put down, but
eventually others will try to help them.
Date |
Major Issues |
Details |
1787-05
-09 |
Philadelphia
Convention -
Why change government rules |
Shays’s
Rebellion (see above) has terrified leaders in this country enough that they
were willing to change the rules for how the national government works. |
- Why a
convention (a meeting of delegates elected for specific purpose)? |
In the
period after 1776, the former colonies and now new states had experimented
with using a convention to create new state constitutions. The states
had experimented with conventions for this reason: 1.
Think for a minute about how legislatures work when they create
laws. If the Ohio legislature in 2019 passed a law saying people can raise
pigs in cities, but in the next legislative session in 2020 they pass a law
saying people cannot raise pigs, which law is true? The last law wins. If it was not the
last law that won, people would not have a reason to vote differently in the
next election—and this time for candidates who promised no more pig farms. 2.
On the other hand, having a convention of elected delegates
write a Constitution moves the process away from the changeable legislature.
(The Constitution does contain a section on how it can be amended.) The solution: Write the national
Constitution in a convention. |
|
- Who are
the factions there? - Big state/small state |
The solution: Like most arrangements in the
Constitution, this splits the difference:
House of
Representatives and representation based on the number of people in the state
pleased big states (PA, NY, VA)
Senate with 2 votes per
state pleased small states (NJ, MA) |
|
- Slave owners |
Slave owners
got:
3/5 of slaves counted toward their representation in the House
of Representatives (and taxation)
Fugitive slave return
No ending of the slave trade until 1808 |
|
|
⁻
Creditors |
“No state
shall … coin money; … make anything but gold and silver a tender in payment
of debts.” |
|
-
What about….? |
Not women Not
Africans or African Americans in the prior English colonies Not Native
Americans as citizens (as nations within the nation) |
|
-
What major structures beyond the legislature |
President -
Election every 4 years but by the electoral college (and how the South benefited) o
Not by the vote of
Congress o
Not by the vote of
citizens Note:
Congress can impeach the President -
Executes the laws -
Foreign policy -
Commander and chief Supreme
Court and its Chief Justice -
Interprets the Constitution -
Has some appellate responsibilities Note: Congress set up the federal judicial system, including the
number of justices. |
The right columns say what article, section, and paragraph the clauses
are from. The links to definitions in these rows only work within the online
Constitution
republican
government |
Section 4.
The United States shall guarantee to every state in this union a republican
form of government, |
IV |
04 |
- a |
Sections from the Constitution also provided in many sections of
the course.
Issue |
Text of
the Constitution |
A r t i c l e |
S e c t i o n |
P a r a g r a p h |
A m e n d m e n t |
Amendment
process |
Article V The
Congress, whenever two thirds of both
houses shall deem it necessary, [So, what is the only way the
South can stop an amendment?] shall propose amendments
to this Constitution, or, on the application of the legislatures of two
thirds of the several states, shall call a convention for proposing
amendments, which, in either case, shall be valid to all intents and
purposes, as part of this Constitution, when ratified by the legislatures of
three fourths of the several states {After
the Missouri Compromise, where will the South get more states? The North?] , or by
conventions in three fourths thereof, as the one or the other mode of
ratification may be proposed by the Congress; provided [Bullets and bold added and highlight
to show the clause below] ·
that no amendment
which may be made prior to the year one thousand eight hundred and eight
shall in any manner affect the first
and fourth clauses in the ninth section of the first article; ·
and that no state, without its consent, shall be deprived of its
equal suffrage in the Senate. |
V |
- |
- a |
|
Slavery
and the number of representatives that
Southern white male voters could vote for |
Representatives
and direct taxes shall be apportioned among the several states which may be
included within this union, according to their respective numbers, which
shall be determined by adding to the whole number of free persons, including
those bound to service for a term of years, and excluding Indians not taxed,
three fifths of all other Persons[1]. Caution: Do not assume. The number of slaves
increases the number of representatives in the House that white men in the South can elect. Tip:. Could this clause go away
with an Amendment? Yes. |
I |
02 |
03a |
|
Slavery
and purchase of slaves from slave traders sailing to the United States |
Section 9. The migration or importation of such persons as any of the states
now existing shall think proper to admit, shall not be prohibited by the
Congress prior to the year one thousand eight hundred and eight [1808}, but a tax or duty may be
imposed on such importation, not exceeding ten dollars for each person. Caution: Congress passed a law during Jefferson’s presidency to end the
slave trade in the 1st year it could be ended. |
I |
09 |
01 |
|
Slaves
escaping to free states |
No person held
to service or labor in one state, under the laws thereof, escaping into
another, shall, in consequence of any law or regulation therein, be
discharged from such service or labor, but shall be delivered up on claim of
the party to whom such service or labor may be due. Caution: Do not assume. What did the Northerners agree to at the
writing of the Constitution? Tip: Could this clause go away with an Amendment? Yes. |
IV |
02 |
03 |
|
Copyright
C. J. Bibus, Ed.D. 2003-2020 |
WCJC Department: |
History – Dr. Bibus |
Contact Information: |
281.239.1577 or bibusc@wcjc.edu
|
Last Updated: |
2020 |
WCJC Home: |
http://www.wcjc.edu/ |