Articles of Confederation (1780s) State Governments

1776 Continental Congress called upon colonies to draft new state constitutions Republicanism sovereignty rests on the authority of the people Characteristics Problems st Strong legislature (usually 2 houses) Weak executive action slow, legislature had to act 1 Weak governor (usually annually elected by the legislature) Governors power gradually increased (found original with few powers constitution didnt work) Independent judiciary More faith in checks and balances Property qualifications lowered more people Most power still rested in legislature enfranchised Limits on government authority o Freedom of press, speech, religion o Fair trail and protection against general searches o Consent required for taxation

Economic Background
America suffered a depression during the 1780s Huge national and state debts from American Revolution Excessive use of credit to purchase consumer goods after the war Lack of currency Farmers demand laws to help their plight sometimes acted violently (Shays Rebellion) Speculation and profiteering during the war runaway inflation (Congress cant control) British flood American ports with cut-rate goods Official commerce with Britain halts after war Economic causes of war left distaste for taxes Seizure of Loyalist holdings are moderately significant Many estates confiscated and cut up into small farms Helped accelerate economic democracy New rich class of conspicuous profiteers emerged Economic democracy proceeded political democracy land readily available and inexpensive Manufacturing bolstered by nonimportation agreements (remained mostly agricultural though) Americans lost markets in the British empire (British refused to repeal Navigation Acts) New commercial outlets compensated for the lost ones (Baltic region, Asia)

Challenges to Foreign Policy

After American Revolution, French and Spanish (allies, but also monarchies and colonial powers) wanted US democracy to fail Might tempt their own citizens to revolt Might be able to regain territory

Britain: After the war, US expected a return to normalcy Britain refused to make a commercial treaty or repeal its Navigation Acts st o 1785 - John Adams is 1 ambassador received by the king there 3 years but excluded diplomatically o British didnt send ambassador to US no trade agreement Us citizens bought British goods due to habit and credit 1785 value for Britain greater than before Americans back to smuggling West Indies Conflict created by Treaty of Paris 1783 British gripes: o Americans supposed to pay debt to British merchants VA enacted law to prevent collection of debts o Loyalists no longer to be prosecuted discriminatory laws and physical abuse still occurred Britain remained active along the reaches of the American frontier o Maintain an alliance with the Indians and form a barrier to prevent America from attacking Canada o Supplied Indians and encouraged them to raid frontier settlements o String of British trading posts on American soil remained Some Americans urged economic action against the British, but Congress didnt have the power to control commerce Spain: Hostile to the US wanted area between Appalachia and Mississippi River Southern US boundary dispute: st o Treaty of Paris 31 parallel as stated by Britain boundary in colonial period had been 100 miles south o Spain claimed further land to the North because of a successful campaign against Britain o Wanted the Gulf of Mexico and Florida, which was given to the US by Britain in 1783 1784 closed Mississippi River at the mouth hurt pioneers in TN and KY, who used New Orleans as port for their goods Conspired with Indians to keep GA and SC hemmed in east of the Alleghenies o Land-hungry Americans expanded at expense of Indians o Like Britain, Spain supplied Indians in southwest (GA in particular danger of being over-run by Creeks)

French: Wanted to keep US weak Allowed restricted trade with the West Indies French Consuls to try French citizens in cases involving Frenchmen (not US courts) Thomas Jefferson followed Ben Franklin as ambassador Demanded repayment of Revolutionary War loan spoke of taking part of RI as payment Mediterranean North African Pirates (Barbary Pirates): Americas Mediterranean commerce was ravaged by pirates from Algiers, Tunis, Tripoli and Morocco o Yankee sailors were enslaved or held for ransom paying seen as easy way out o Bey of Algiers was particularly hash to American shipping Favored Britain, whom US had previously enjoyed protection under (British paid for subjects protection) o With no protection and no money to pay, US was left vulnerable

o Together with Britain, Spain prevented US from exercising control over about half of its total territory Encouraged creation of an independent state in the southwest out of American land o Many frightened western settlers ready to go to Spain to stop raids and have access to the Mississippi River o James Wilkinson young American officer from KY took an oath of loyalty to the Spanish King in exchange for trade concessions Urged people of KY to create an independent state that could have lucrative trade agreements with the Spanish Plot collapse when Spain reopened the river in 1788 Proposed Jay Gardoqui treaty (1787) never ratified o Separate peace treaty after the war that secured trading rights with the Spanish for northeast merchants while recognizing Spains supremacy on the Mississippi River o During the American Revolution, US was allowed to trade with Spain US needed specie (gold and silver) o Negotiations in NY: Gardoqui Lavish entertainment Loaned members of Congress $5000 Washington was given a Spanish donkey to use to breed mules for Mount Vernon (Royal Gift) o Jays goal was to get trade treaty and use of Mississippi River Gardoqui insisted on no Mississippi River Jay relented and took deal to Continental Congress (Atlantic trade but no Mississippi River use for 25-30 years) Vote 7-5 for, but 9 was required so deal did not go through o Northerners feared that opening the West would draw away population (and thus influence) from the East Real-estate values and markets in east would be diminished Closing off Mississippi River would slow movement west and open markets for US in Caribbean o Vehemently opposed by southern colonies and western territories (KY, TN) who thought New England was gaining at their expense Created an impulse among some to break away from US Opposition led some to view strong central government as the only way to hold the US together o Basically, west distrusts east more now 1788 Spanish reopen Mississippi River but Americans had to pay to use it