| Lecture 13: Confederation and Constitution — Creating a New Government, Creating a New Nation | |
| I. The fragility of freedom, and the creation of a national “American” culture | |
| II. Problems of money, and the invention of a new federal government | |
| III. Problems of authority, and the quest for “natural aristocracy” | |
| 1775-1836 | Inventing American Culture |
|---|---|
| 1775-1783 | war ending in peace treaty |
| 1787-1789 | debate over Constitution |
| 1776 | Edward Gibbon, “The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire” |
| 1785 | David Ramsay, “History of the Revolution of South Carolina” |
| 1789 | David Ramsay, “The History of the American Revolution” [first American history] |
| 1789 | David Ramsay, “The History of the American Revolution” [first American history] |
| 1789 | Jedidiah Morse, “American Geography, or a View of the Present Situation of the United States” [first American geography] |
| 1789 | William Hill Brown, “The Power of Sympathy; or, The Triumph of Nature” [first American novel] |
| 1796 | Amelia Simmons, “American Cookery” [first American cookbook] |
| 1816 | John Pickering, first dictionary of American slang |
| 1828 | Noah Webster, “An American Dictionary of the English Language” [first American dictionary] |
| 1836 | Thomas Cole, “The Course of Empire” |
| 1780s | Economic Crisis |
| 1786 | national debt: |
| 1786 | interest payments due 2.5 million |
| 1786 | government revenues 0.4 million |
| 1784 | national trade deficit: |
| 1786 | imports from England 3.7 million |
| 1786 | exports to England 0.75 million |
| state-level solution: paper currency; softer bankruptcy laws | |
| 1786-1787 | Shays Rebellion in western Massachusetts suppressed by federal army |
| 1786-1787 | John Jay treaty negotiations with Spain over access to Mississippi River — north favored commerce; south favored land |
| 1787 | several leaders of Shays Rebellion were elected to Massachusetts state legislature |
| 1787 | federal constitutional convention in Philadelphia |
| federal-level solution: central government; tax and tariff revenues | |
| 1787-1789 | constitutional debate: |
| federalists — restrict people, empower government leaders | |
| anti-federalists — restrict government, empower people | |
| 1776-1789 | Transformation of Political Mainstream |
| 1776 | states’ independence from centralized government actual representation at state level overthrow of strong central government (British empire) |
| 1789 | centralized government controlling states virtual representation at federal level return of strong central government (American empire) |
| 1776 | Declaration of Independence |
| 1781 | Articles of Confederation (interim government structure) |
| 1787 | Constitutional convention (May to September) |
| 1788 | New Hampshire ratified Constitution (9th state — Constitution in force) |
| 1788 | Virginia (10th state) ratified Constitution |
| 1789 | United States Congress convened — April 1 (House), April 6 (Senate) |
| 1789 | President sworn in (April 30) |
| 1789 | New York (11th state) ratified Constitution (July 26) |
| 1789 | Congress presents Bill of Rights to states (September 25) |
| 1789 | North Carolina (12th state) ratified Constitution (November 21) |
| 1790 | Rhode Island (13th state) ratified Constitution (May 29) |
| 1791 | Bill of Rights ratified (December 15) |
| 1782-1837 | National Iconography |
| 1782, 1786 | Great Seal of the United States |
| 1789 | Capitol in New York City |
| 1797 | Capitol plan for Washington DC |
| 1837 | Alexander Jackson Davis, “American House” |