During the
struggle for independence the American states were united in their opposition
to Great Britain.
However, after the war many disagreements arose. The most important was how to
govern the new country. How united should the new states be?
Some people
wanted the nation to be a loose organization of states. They believed that
citizens in each state should govern themselves. These people feared a strong
national government – the memory of the British rule was fresh.
Others wanted
a powerful national government to solve the problems of the new country. Each
state had to give up some of its power so that the nation could be stronger.
The first
national government was created during the Revolutionary war. The rules for the
government were listed in the Articles of Confederation. For seven years
(1781-1788) the US
was governed according to this document. The Articles of Confederation
established a national Congress – a lawmaking body, consisting of the Senate
and the House of Representatives. There was no president. They feared having
another very powerful leader like the British king. Congress was given
authority to declare war, to establish an army and navy, to issue and borrow
money. But the Articles gave most power to the states. Each one could cast one
vote in Congress. A law could be passed only if nine of the thirteen states
voted for it. However, Congress had no ways to enforce its laws if the states
refused to obey.
This type
of government sounded fair, but it did not work well in practice. Firstly, the
states had too much power. They often acted like separate nations. Each state
could coin its own money, arm its own soldiers and build its own navy. Each
could, and sometimes did, make laws to hurt neighboring states (New York and Connecticut
merchants). Secondly, there was confusion about currency. Some used coins
minted by the states, others used foreign coins, still others traded with goods
like salt or pork. But one of the biggest problems concerned foreign policy. Like
any nation, the US
needed to make treaties with foreign countries, but in 1785 most European
nations did not respect American power. They knew how weak Congress was. It
could not even collect enough taxes to equip a strong army.
The only
successful act of Congress under the Articles of Confederation was the
Northwest Ordinance, which concerned western lands north of the Ohio River. It allowed settlers in this area to form new
states. An area could become a self-governed state if it had 5,000 voters or
60,000 settlers.
In spring 1787 the states sent their 55
representatives to Philadelphia
in order to take part in the Constitutional Convention and to write a new plan
of government. This group included some of the most important leaders in America: George
Washington, Benjamin Franklin, James Madison. The men who gathered at the
Convention argued and debated. Delegates from Virginia,
New Jersey, Connecticut and other states put forward
their suggestions. Many compromises were made before they all agreed upon a plan.
They drew upon many sources for creating the new constitution. They studied
ancient Greek and Roman history. They also looked at the Iroquois League of
Nations and read political theories by John Locke and Jean Jacques Rousseau.
The project
of the constitution was composed by James Madison. It included Locke’s idea
that the purpose of government is to protect natural rights of people to life,
liberty and property. If a government fails to do so, the people have the right
to rebel against it. Locke also rejected the belief that the power of kings
came directly from God. He was convinced that political power came from the
people. The idea that a government could only exist with the consent of the
governed was also used by Madison.
The latter included Rousseau’s statement
that all citizens must take part in their government all the time and the
principle from the Magna Carta that those who govern are subject to the law of
the land as well as those who are governed, too. James Madison added the idea
that private property should be the backbone of liberty.
On July 16,
1787 the plan of the new American government was completed. It created the
House of Representatives and the Senate and divided the political power among
the three branches of government. Congress would have the power to veto any
state laws that did not go along with the national constitution.
The problem
of slaves was very difficult, for southern states especially. Finally, it was
decided to count each slave as three-fifth of a person. By compromising the
question of slavery, they set the stage for religious conflicts which would
result in the Civil War.
Not all
Americans approved of the constitution. It took almost a year before nine out
of thirteen states ratified it as there was a strong opposition to the project.
People feared that under the constitution the president would become as
powerful as a king. They thought that states were the best defenders of the
people’s liberties because state constitutions guaranteed personal freedoms,
while the US
constitution did not have a bill of rights. In Virginia the best known opponent of the
constitution was Patrick Henry, who said "I would rather have a king, lords and
commons than a government filled with such insupportable evils”. Washington and
Madison helped ratify the constitution in Virginia.
In 1787,
Thomas Jefferson was an American
diplomat in France.
Still he remained interested in what was going on back home. He was surprised
to learn that the constitution had no bill of rights. "A bill of rights”, wrote
Jefferson from France,
"is what the people are entitled to … and what no just government should
refuse”.
To get more
support for the constitution Madison
helped to write 12 amendments, concerning the rights of the people. In December
1791, 10 of them became part of the constitution.
The
constitution created in 1787 told the US government what it could do. The
first 10 amendments said what the government could not do. Under the new
constitution the American nation would grow strong and united. George
Washington was easily elected as the first US president. He chose able people
to help him run the government. His Cabinet of advisers consisted of 4 members.
Thomas Jefferson took charge of foreign affairs as Secretary of State.
Alexander Hamilton raised and spent government money as Secretary of Treasury.
Henry Knox became the first Secretary of War. Edmund Randolph enforced federal
laws as Attorney General. Washington
told Congress what laws he thought were necessary ( to create a national bank,
to pay off all the debts, to impose tariffs, etc.). He also had the courage to
make hard decisions. Thus in 1794, Washington himself led the army to crush the
whiskey rebellion in Pennsylvania.
Washington retired in 1796, after two terms of
service. This decision set an example for future presidents. In his farewell
address Washington
asked that people forgive his mistakes and remember the good he had tried to
do. Washington
wanted Americans to support the union. He was against the growth of political
parties which would divide the nation, against permanent alliances with foreign
powers which could keep the nation from acting in its own best interests. Many
Americans still consider that their first president was the best one.