Wednesday, November 14, 2012

AP US History New Government under the Constitution (early 1800s) Notes

I.               The US under the Constitution
A.             Problems
1.             Many of our major problems under the Articles still did not go away
B.             We elected a president, George Washington, and John Adams became vice president
C.            Bill of Rights was passed
D.            Needed to establish a court system
1.             Supreme Court with 6 justices to determine the constitutionality of laws
2.             District courts were also set up
E.             Secretaries were chosen
1.             Jefferson- Secretary of State
2.             Hamilton- Secretary of Treasury
a)             Financial program- 2 parts
(1)           Report on Public Credit
(a)           Proposed the funding of the national debt at face value (Hamilton wanted bonds paid off to the bond holder at face value.  But it was the rich white men who held the bonds)
(b)           Federal assumption of state debt (the federal government would pay off all the states’ debts).  This had opposition because some states had more debt than others
(c)           Establish a national bank, which Jefferson was completely opposed to (he thought it was unconstitutional, but Hamilton responded that that’s what the elastic clause is for.  Jefferson also felt that the bank would be controlled by and only benefit the upper class).  The bank was chartered for 10 years
(2)           Report of Manufacturers
(a)           A program paid for by the federal government to stimulate business and industry
(b)           The money would come from an excise tax on the distillers, and on tariffs on imports
b)             Hamilton v. Jefferson sheet (p18)
(1)           Upper class generally supported Hamilton- merchants, planters, etc.
(2)           Lower class supported Jefferson
3.             Knox- Secretary of War
4.             Edmond Randolph- Attorney General
5.             This is now the president’s cabinet- part of the unwritten Constitution (based on custom and tradition)
II.              Foreign Affairs under the new government
A.             Other countries weren’t taking us seriously
1.             Even though we defeated the greatest nation, Britain, many countries thought it was just a fluke
2.             We needed to show that we could fare well in foreign affairs
B.             Proclamation of Neutrality 1792
1.             Issued by George Washington
2.             Urged US not to get involved in other countries’ issues
3.             Neutral means not taking a side.  If you want to be neutral, you cannot be involved whatsoever.  We wanted to be neutral, but we were trading with England and France
a)             Most lucrative trade was with French West Indies, so British were seizing our ships and impressing our sailors (forcing them to serve in British navy)
C.            French Revolution 1789
1.             French asked us for help
a)             The French helped us during our revolution, but it was the French king who helped us then, and now he was overthrown
b)             If we helped the French, we would be going against the king who helped us by supporting those who overthrow him
2.             Citizen Genet came to the US, and instead of greeting the president, he went to Charlestown, SC, and tried to stir up support for the revolution there
a)             This embarrassed the president à anti-French feeling
D.            John Jay was sent to negotiate a treaty with Britain
1.             Goals
a)             Get the British to leave our ships alone
b)             Get the British to stop stirring up the Native Americans
2.             Britain sort of agreed to the treaty
3.             The American public were pissed at Jay, so they hanged him in effigy
E.             Treaty with Spain
1.             Thomas Pinckney was sent
2.             When Jay negotiated with Spain, Spain wanted to close the Mississippi
3.             Now, Spain opened the Mississippi to American traffic, including the right of deposit at New Orleans
4.             Spain recognized the northern boundary of Florida at the 31st parallel.
5.             Spain got peace from the US
III.            Whisky Rebellion
A.             A group of Pennsylvania farmers decided not to pay the excise task, and began to terrorize the tax collectors
B.             Washington sent in federal troops
1.             Did this to set an example
2.             The government must be obeyed
3.             You must follow the laws
C.            The rebellion eventually died down
IV.            Election of 1796 and Adams presidency
A.             The candidates
1.             John Adams- Federalist
2.             Thomas Jefferson- Republican
B.             Adams became president and Jefferson became VP
1.             Political enemies- they did not agree on anything
2.             Adams was one of our brighter presidents- he was very learned, but he was uncompromising and did not have the personality to be an effective president
C.            Adams sent a delegation to France to try to get them to leave our ships alone (they were harassing our ships like the British)
1.             XYZ Affair
a)             To get to the king, they had to go through to Flunkies to get to Talleyrand and then through Talleyrand to the king
b)             To get through the Flunkies they had to pay a bribe
c)             Adams did not want to pay the bribe.  He was incensed, and called the Flunkies X, Y, and Z to insult them.
2.             From 1789-99, we fought a quasi-war with France
3.             When Napoleon took over France, we signed a treaty with them and the quasi-war was over
D.            Alien and Sedition Acts
1.             Issues that led to the acts
a)             Adams was afraid of immigrants because they traditionally support liberals
(1)           Most immigrants come for freedom that they did not have in their native country
(2)           Immigrants came for jobs
(3)           Perceive the liberals as more democratic (because the immigrants feared monarchy, and liberals supported looser central government)
(4)           No bloodline aristocracy- federalists seemed more elitist and upper-class
b)             Liberal view of speaking out against the government
(1)           Zenger established that it was ok to criticize the government if it is factual and reasonable
(2)           Adams feared this, because people were speaking out against him
2.             Alien and Sedition Acts were passed
a)             Extended time period you had to be in the US to become a citizen to 14 years (would cut down on immigrant voting)
b)             President had the power to deport aliens
c)             Allowed for the removal of aliens from a country we are at war with
d)             Prohibited speaking out against the government
3.             Jefferson and Madison wrote the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions
a)             Jefferson was convinced that the Alien and Sedition Acts were unconstitutional
b)             Jefferson and Madison decided that the state legislatures should have the power to decide the constitutionality of laws.  They drew a series of resolutions that were presented to the Kentucky and Virginia legislatures
(1)           Proposed John Locke’s compact theory be applied, which would empower the state bodies to nullify federal laws within the states
(2)           If the states think a law is unconstitutional, they can do away with that law
c)             Passed in Kentucky and Virginia and the issue died
V.             Election of 1800
A.             Jefferson and Burr ran on the republican ticket, and Adams and Pinckney ran on the federalist ticket
1.             Jefferson and Burr received the same number of electoral votes, so the election went to the House
2.             It took the house 36 ballots to break the tie
B.             This is referred to as the revolution of 1800
1.             The minority party won
2.             The loser walked away
C.            Midnight Justices
1.             Adams’ effort to maintain Federalist power in the government by appointing Federalist judges last minute
2.             Marbury, an appointed justice, did not get his commission.  When Jefferson became president and Madison was Secretary of State, they said too bad and would not give Marbury his paperwork
3.             Marbury v. Madison, Supreme Court
a)             John Marshall was chief justice
b)             Marshall had no power to force Madison to give the commission to Marbury, and he did not want the Supreme Court to come out looking weak à he decided the Supreme Court could not hear the case because the SC is not a court of original jurisdiction, it is an appellate court, and this was an original case.
c)             This case reaffirmed judicial review and set the guidelines for what the SC could and could not do
4.              
D.             
VI.             

Friday, November 9, 2012

AP US History Articles and Constitution Notes

I.               Articles of Confederation
A.             We had no government before because there were 13 separate colonies
1.             Most of the individual colonies had state constitutions, and most of them kept them and just got rid of anything referring to British sovereignty
2.             These constitutions ranged from extremely democratic (Pennsylvania) to more reasonable (Maryland and Virginia) which had safeguards against excesses (basically a Bill of Rights)
B.             The Articles of Confederation
1.             Components of the government
a)             Consisted of a weak, unicameral Congress in which each state had 1 vote
b)             The executive department was a committee of 13 (1 member from each state)
c)             To amend the articles required a unanimous vote
d)             The national government could declare war, make treaties, and borrow money
2.             Restrictions
a)             Could not raise a money, but could tell each state the number of troops each should contribute, but had no influential power
b)             Could not levy taxes
c)             Could not regulate commerce
3.             Ratification of the articles was delayed
a)             The smaller states felt that the larger states were claiming land that was not rightfully theirs
b)             Description: Macintosh HD:Users:SamanthaWeissman:Desktop:western-possessions-map.jpg
c)             The Articles convinced the states that claimed these lands to give them up, which was a tremendous accomplishment for a weak central government
4.             Land Ordinances
a)             Set up how new territories would become states
b)             Set up how the states would be organized once they became states (education,
c)             We still use this blueprint today when admitting new states
d)             A Bill of Rights was set up for the people in these new areas
11/6/12
II.              Troubles and Controversy
A.             Financial Trouble
1.             Tried printing paper money called continentals, but they were worthless because there was nothing backing them up
2.             The army was owed money from the government and was not paid
B.             Jay-Gardoqui Treaty
1.             John Jay, secretary of foreign affairs, went to Spain to negotiate a treaty with Spain.  He was able to negotiate a very lucrative trade agreement for the northeast part of the US in exchange for allowing Spain to close the Mississippi to American trade
a)             This treaty was good for the coastal states, but harmed states like Kentucky and Tennessee (west and south) because they needed the Mississippi to trade
b)             Friction between the north and the south
2.             The deal never went through because people in the US were so angry about it
C.            Indian Raids
1.             Native Americans would raid American states then go back to Spanish Florida for safety
D.            Shays Rebellion- the last straw
1.             In Massachusetts, the taxes were very high
2.             Daniel Shays led a rebellion to shut down the prisons to prevent the judges from condemning people to debtors prison (if there were no jails, the judges would not be able to send debtors to jail)
3.             In Boston, the citizens raised an army to combat the rebellion
4.             The government lowered the taxes, and the whole thing went away
5.             This showed we needed a national government that could deal with these issues
III.            Constitutional Convention, 1787 Philadelphia
A.             Issue at hand- what kind of government?
1.             Agreed to toss the articles and write a new Constitution
B.             Most of the delegates were lawyers, merchants, and planters (rich white men)
C.            George Washington was elected to preside- the force of his personality got things going
D.            The Delegates
1.             Most of the delegates were lawyers, merchants, and planters (rich white men)
2.             Many delegates thought it should be a secret so people wouldn’t hear things the wrong way and take them out of hand
3.             The delegates believed in the innate selfishness of man
E.             Issues
1.             Representation
a)             Virginia Plan- two houses based on population
b)             New Jersey Plan- unicameral legislature with equal representation
c)             There was so much fighting, and Benjamin Franklin (a deist) decided to start each session with a prayer to calm everyone
d)             Great Compromise- two houses, one based on population and one with 2 representatives from each state
2.             Slavery
a)             Southerners wanted the slaves to be counted for representation but not for taxation, the north disagreed
b)             The 3/5 Compromise- every 5 slaves counted as 3 people for taxation and representation
3.             Tariffs/taxing
a)             South wanted low taxes (because they had to import and export)
b)             North wanted high taxes to protect their fledgling industries
c)             Compromise- there is a tariff on imports only
4.             The President- what kind?
a)             They knew George Washington was going to be president
b)             One 4 year term to be reelected without limit (that has been changed, now you can only be president for 2 terms)
c)             President can control foreign policy
d)             President can veto legislation
e)             President can be impeached
f)               Electoral college was established to choose the president (however electors are not legally bound to vote for the candidate who wins the state, they are only morally bound)
g)             If no candidate gained a majority in the electoral college, the election would go to the House
F.             Ratification
1.             They needed 9/13 states to ratify the Constitution
2.             Five states ratified immediately,
3.             The Federalist papers were written to persuade everybody else
4.             By June, 1978, they had 9 states ratified, but New York and Virginia (two of the biggest states) did not ratify yet, so the Federalist papers were pushed in NY and Washington pushed in Virginia.  Once these two states ratified, all the other states who had not ratified yet did
G.            Amendments that would appear on the AP
1.             12- separate ballots for president and vp
2.             13, 14, 15- civil rights amendments
3.             18- prohibition
4.             19- women’s rights
5.             21- repealed prohibition