Course Notes: The Skeptic’s Guide to American History

The writers of the Constitution did not or could not for see the government we have today—a democratic republic based on two national political parties. Nor could the writers anticipate our economic system or cultural values. However, they did realize it was likely to change and thus introduced an amendment process—a major reason the document has survived so long.

The newly formed United States was originally governed by the 2nd Continental Congress and the articles of the confederation.

The colonists rejected the British concept of balanced government in favor of legislative power. This reflected colonial experiences. Colonial Governors we’re royal appointees that were percieved as tyrannical.

At this written Constitutions appeared in each state primarily because Americans saw that Britain’s unwritten Constitution failed to protect liberty.

The U.S. central government was initially the Continental Congress, but that was a makeshift solution. It would be replaced by the Articles of the Confederation, which we’re presented to the states in 1777, but not ratified by all states until 1781. The states did not trust any centralized power. The states did not even trust one another. Smaller states were in constant fear of larger states.

Under the Articles of the Confederation each state operated as its own independent republic joined loosely in a confederation. This structure could not be changed without a unanimous agreement. and more resembled the modern United Nations than the current United States. One thing to note is unanimous agreement gave every state veto power.

Despite is unpopularity, much was achieved under the Articles of the Confederation—there was the lowering of property requirements for voting, expansion of education and literacy. Each state adopted a Bill of Rights. The abolition of slavery began in northern states.

There was expansion from the northwest ordinances of 1784, 1785 and 1787. In these ordinances land was given up by the states to the federal government. This land was to be surveyed, divided and sold for $1 an acre. There would initially be self rule and admission to the union when the population reached 60,000. There were guarantees of freedom of worship and trial by jury. Slavery would not be allowed in this territory.

However, problems under the Articles of Confederation were apparent by 1787. The Confederation had no power to tax. This meant there was no way to maintain an armed force and no way to pay off debts.

The inability to maintain an armed force hurt it’s ability to negotiate in international affairs. At one point the national army was down to 80 men. Reliance was placed on untrained and unreliable state militias.

The British did not honor the peace treaty. Britain locked the Americans out of it’s trading empire, while British soldiers refused to leave their northern posts. Furthermore, those soldiers incited Indian violence from those posts against American settlers.

Spain refused to agree to the southern American southern boundary and blocked access to the Mississippi River.

Further a post-war recession drove unhappiness. People demanded relief. The easiest thing was to print paper money, which caused inflation, but make the repayment of debt easier. At the time this was easy to do because there are little or no checks in place.

Creditors and property owners complained that state governments was breaking the social contract. This was democracy run amuck.

By 1786 there is fear of anarchy with Shay’s rebellion in Massachusetts. There was only the state militia to stop them.

Liberty was under attack from the tyranny above—European powers as well as from below—mobs of citizens. These events illustrate a weakness at both the state and national level and a need for centralized power.

In 1787 the Constitutional Convention takes place in Philadelphia. 55 men from 12 states attend. Revolutionary radicals such as Patrick Henry, Sam Adams and Thomas Jefferson are notably not present. Franklin and Washington attend.

With the exception of Franklin and Washington the men at this convention are mostly young. They are property owners—mostly elitist, conservative Republicans, who fear democracy and mob rule as destructive of liberty.

Their goal is to create a large republic with centralized power that preserves liberty rather than destroys it—this is a serious departure from  political thought of the day. It is widely believed that republics can only work in small areas. Large centralized areas has thus far only been ruled by absolute monarchy.

The basic dilemma? How do you create a government strong enough to preserve liberty from tyranny of the mob or the European monarchs without giving it enough power to be tyrannical itself.

The Constitution begins “We the people…” Sovereignty lies with the people, but separates sovereignty from rule through a series of intermediaries—checks and balances. Then further through existing state governments.

The new national government has power, but it does not have a monopoly on power. The states should be capable of checking the power of the national government and vice versa.

The feared outcome of democracy was that people would divide into factions. The theory was that with a republic so large no one faction could take over. No one mob would be able to force their tyranny on the whole of the republic.

The convention was almost wrecked by disputes among the delegates. Large vs small and north vs south. Madison’s Virginia plan called for representation both houses of Congress to be based on population. States like new Jersey would not have it. This led to the great compromise—the House of Representatives would be based on population, while all states would have equal representation in the Senate.

The split between the agrarian south and the commercial north also led to other compromises. There would never be an export tax, there would be no ban on the slave trade for at least 20 years, a 2/3 vote was needed in the Senate for all treaties and for purposes of taxation and representation a slave was to count as 3/5 of a person.

Some delegates feared that the national government had been given too much power. Only 39 of the 55 delegates signed the final document. However thee majority believed that they had formed a large republic capable of protecting liberty. But would their constituents agree?

The document called for state radifying conventions with 9 states required to agree. Intense opposition emerged in every state—mainly from established groups who were afraid of loosing power.

However, the Federalists were better organized and marketed the idea better. The Federalist Papers were written to convince New Yorkers of the benefits of this large republic. Further, the individual state conventions bypassed current state legislators, who had a vested interest in maintaining power.

North Carolina and Rhode island did not agree until 1790 and 1791. However, enough states ratified to grant federal powers in 1789.

The final document in the Federalist papers show the founders as Hobbsian realists who distrusted human nature and sought to stop the excesses of the revolution. They are willing to undertake a radical and unprecedented experiment to protect Lockean liberty.

At this point America is left with more questions. Is this a union of people or states? What is the right balance of state vs national power? How can you have an empire of liberty when that liberty is based on the enslavement of others? Can you maintain liberty while having a nation large enough to maintain order from the tyranny of the mob as well as foriegn powers? Within a few years the writers of this document will split on answers to those questions.

Lecture 4: George Washington, Failures and Accomplishments

George Washington has countless memorials to his name: Washington D.C., the state of Washington, numerous counties and even the portrait on the $1 bill.

Everyone knows the cherry tree myth. Washington was a man so honest that as a boy he could not lie about chopping down a cherry tree. The cherry tree myth was created by Parson Weems in his 18th century biography. This was part of a trend to create an American national identity. Even though it is completely fabricated this myth, along with others, are still partially accepted as fact.

The truth is Washington was not perceived as a great military or political leader by many of his peers.

He had many failures in the War for American Independence. As president he failed in his efforts to prevent national political parties—even becoming a defacto party member himself.

On the other hand Washington’s most important contributions are not particularly well known.

Washington was not a professional soldier. He was a Virginia planter, slave owner and aristocrat selected by the Continental Congress to lead its militia because he was a well-established Virginia figure.

Washington was involved in an incident that lead to a massacre of French soldiers and Indian scouts on a diplomatic mission in modern-day Western Pennsylvania. It was 1754 and the French were building fortifications in the Ohio Valley. Washington was dispatched to defend the Virginian fort at the forks. Washington discovered a French scouting parting and attacked them, thinking they were planning a larger assault.[1]

French ensign Joseph Coulon de Jumonville, who lead that scouting party, would be captured and murdered in captivity by one of Washington’s Indian allies. This infuriated the French and lead to a strong armed response, which lead to Washington’s surrender and the start of the French an Indian War. [1]

In the Revolutionary War much of the fighting took place in Boston. At the time it was unclear if in 1775 Southern colonies would fight on behalf of the Massachusetts. Washington showed up at the 2nd Continental Congress in his Virginia militia uniform said that they would.

Virginia was the most populous and important colony at this time, which included present day Virginia, west Virginia and Kentucky.

Washington did succeed in managing the siege of Boston for the remainder of 1775. It was his order to Henry Knox to bring cannons from Fort Ticonderoga to Boston—300 miles over land in the winter—that made an incredible difference. Because of that order Washington was able to force a British withdrawal in 1776.

Washington suffered several terrible defeats following the British invasion of New York City in the summer of 1776. He lost the battle of Brooklyn Heights, which forced Washington to abandon the entire city. It would become British headquarters for the remainder of the war. Washington would loose subsequent battles at Brooklyn heights and fort Lee in new Jersey. He would be chased all the way across the Delaware River into Pennsylvania. By that time Washington’s forces we’re down to about 300 men.

The only thing preventing complete failure was desperate Christmas Day Raid on the Hessian Garrison at Trenton. This was followed by a successful raid on the British Garrison at Princeton.

From 1778 to 1780 Washington lost several key battles in Georgia and the Carolinas including the loss of the key port cities of Savannah and Charleston.

In the entire war Washington only had one major victory following Trenton and Princeton—Yorktown. And it was a decisive victory. American and French land forces combined with the French Navy trapped and forced the surrender of an entire British army under the command of general Cornwallis.

Washington did realize that he did not need to win many battles to be victorious. He needed to maintain the Continental Army he created and capture or destruction until the British tired from attrition.

By the time of Yorktown in 1781 the British were formally at war with France, Spain and Holland. They were unofficially at war with the remainder of Europe through the league of armed neutrals. The British were diplomatically isolated and at home Britain faced major dissent—the war was incredibly unpopular. It took the loss at Yorktown for British government to realize the war was too expensive economically, politically and militarily to continue.

Although Yorktown occurs in 1781, a formal peace treaty is not signed until 1783. This was a dire period for Washington and the future of America.

During this time Washington squelched one of the most dangerous and bizarre events in US history. The Newburgh Conspiracy was a planned militarily coup that fed off the anger of some American soldiers that had their pay or pensions delayed. The inciting document was a letter believed to be written by Major John Armstrong, aide to General Horatio Gates—perhaps, incited by the more extremist officers of Washington’s army.

At year’s end Washington would voluntarily relinquish his militarily power as commander of the army. This made him a hero and endeared him to his countryman. In this act he became the embodiment and defender of American liberty and Civic virtue.

He was invited to preside over the constitutional convention in Philadelphia to replace the articles of the confederation. Given his prestige it was obvious he would be elected as the first president.

Washington did have successes as president. The creation of a sound currency to pay off national debts, a crushed Whiskey Rebellion in Pennsylvania, and the expansion of the western frontier. He created a treaty with Britain that maintained neutrality, while in 1793 war broke out in Europe. This was despite the fact that America kept it’s war time alliance with France.

In one area Washington failed miserably—a split between his two key advisors, Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson. Hamilton was secretary of the treasury and Jefferson was secretary of state. Washington had appointed both men in hope to avoid a split.

Jefferson and Hamilton disagreed on a number of important topics. Jefferson opposed Hamilton’s national Bank and fiscal policy. Hamilton wanted neutrality favoring Britain, Jefferson wanted neutrality favoring France. When it came to the Constitution, Hamilton wanted to interpret it broadly, while Jefferson wanted to interpret it narrowly and respect to the power the federal government had compared to states.

Hamilton’s followers became Federalists while Jefferson’s followers became Democratic Republicans.

Gradually Washington would come to favor Hamilton’s positions.

Washington wrote that he would retire after two terms. This document is known as the Farewell Address. Contrary to popular belief it is not a call for isolationism, but a call to remove emotion from foreign affairs and against future wartime alliances. Further it was a warning against political parties based on geography. He thought European powers would exploit political divides to weaken the country.

This warning was geared strongly towards Jefferson and his Democratic Republican party for their affinity for France. Washington came to see Jefferson as a tool of France and felt that he was too emotionally invested.

The attack on Jefferson is probably unfair, but not unfounded. However, it overshadows the most important point in the Farewell Address—that Washington would leave the presidency voluntarily. This would establish a president for a two-term limit. In doing so he reinforced the Constitution’s emphasis on limiting the power of government offices as a way of preserving republicanism and liberty.

Washington had many failures as a general and a president, but his accomplishments we’re extraordinary. His reputation as the father of the United States is fully warranted, but not for the reasons we are taught.

He created a national army and with that a national conscience. He avoided defeat from the most powerful militarily on earth long enough to win by attrition. He crushed an attempted militarily coup that would have changed American history forever. Most importantly, he twice renounced absolute power when it could have been his—favoring liberty over power.

Lecture 5: Confusion about Jefferson and Hamilton

During the 1790s Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson held very different views about domestic and foreign policy. Today many see Hamilton as conservative and Jefferson as liberal. However the specific issues that they argued over are not relevant to modern political parties. Further, conservative and liberal mean very different things today—this is a classic example of anachronistic thinking.

Washington selected Hamilton and Jefferson for sectional, not ideological balance.

The split between Jefferson and Hamilton occurred over two primary differences—government fiscal policy and neutrality.

Hamilton as the treasury secretary believed the government’s largest issues were fiscal. And that the US needed to establish credit—both at home and abroad. He proposed consolidating all state war debts with national debts and fund both together via a new bond issue. He proposed taxes on imports and some domestically made products as well as an 80 percent private, 20 percent public national bank.

Opposition to Hamilton’s plan initially came from James Madison, not Thomas Jefferson.

Jefferson opposed the idea of a national Bank citing that it was not a specifically enumerated power within the Constitution. Hamilton countered that it was constitutional via the Necessary and Proper Clause. Washington sided with Hamilton on this issue.

The split on foreign affairs did not occur until 1793 when the French revolution became radical. The revolution put the newly formed Republic of France at war with Britain, Spain and every major monarchy in Europe.

Washington agreed to the Jay Treaty with England, which avoided war. However, it granted the British neutral rights. This treaty lead to an uproar and was the catalyst for the formation of two political parties: The Federalists under Hamilton and the Democratic Republicans under Jefferson and Madison.

In the presidential election of 1796 the Federalist John Adams narrowly defeated Jefferson. At the time the person with the second most votes would become Vice President—in this case Jefferson. In 1804 the introduction of the 12th Amendment would change this.

During Adams’ Presidency, tensions between parties grew dramatically.

The Federalists in Congress passed the Alien and Sedition Acts, which violated civil liberties and was primarily directed against the Democratic Republicans. It more than doubled the residency length requirement for citizenship, allowed the president to imprison or deport anyone considered dangerous, and restricted speech critical of the government.

In retaliation Jefferson and Madison responded with the Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions which nullified these laws and others that would infringe upon civil rights.

The core of party disagreements come down to state vs national power—a disagreement that continues today. Interestingly the roles have reversed. The aristocrat Hamilton arguing for more national power within the Democratic Jefferson arguing for less. This changes in the 1930s.

To further complicate things, Jefferson would expand the power of the executive branch during his Presidency starting in 1801. As would many of his successors who would campaign against executive power.

Hamilton’s domestic vision relied on taxes from imports and available British credit for American economic development.

Jefferson did not believe the US needed British trade or credit to prosper. Moerso he feared dependency on Britain. Jefferson wanted to use the French position as a counter weight. And felt that was the only way to preserve American independence from both European powers.

Despite his reputation Jefferson was not a democrat that believed in majority rule—he was a republican that feared mob rule. Furthermore Jefferson was a property owner that believed in property qualifications for voting. A person must have a stake in society to participate in government. That is hardly a democratic by today’s standards.

Jefferson’s vision for America was decentralized—one of independent and self-sufficient land-owners voting in their own interests. Hamilton, on the other hand, believes centralized power was necessary to defend liberty from internal and external threats.

In the election of 1800 Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr receive an equal number of votes and are tied for the presidency. At that time a tie would go to the house where the Federalists are in the majority. There is a feeling among the Federalists that they can work with Burr. They have come to believe their own propaganda about Jefferson being the devil. Hamilton disagrees—he understands, although disagrees with Jefferson. Hamilton believes that Burr is a lying scoundrel and convinces the Federalists to vote for Jefferson.

Burr decides to alter his political career by running for New York State Governor after he realizes that he is going to be a one-term Vice President. There is no way Jefferson will run with him in the 1804 election. This plan to run for governor is ruined after Hamilton again denounces him. This leads to the famous Burr vs. Hamilton duel.

Aaron Burr, Vice President of the United States, kills Alexander Hamilton in a duel and is indicted for murder in New Jersey and New York.

Following the duel Burr, along with revolutionary war general James Wilkinson, attempts to carve out a new empire in the American Southwest.

This plot is discovered by then president Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson violates his civil liberties. He attempts to have Burr arrested and judged guilty before substantial evidence can be brought to court. This fails as Chief Justice John Marshall, steps in. Burr is set free.

The killing of Hamilton does not destroy the Federalist party, but it does leave them isolated and leaderless.

The Democratic Republicans begin to gain ground as Jefferson and James Madison attract moderate Federalists. They do this by agreeing with some Federalist concepts including protective tariffs and the chartering of a second national bank in 1816. They also agree to the expansion of executive power and national territory.

The remaining Federalists isolate themselves further by opposing the War of 1812. After years of pushing for centralized power, they hypocritically call for states rights and threaten succession from the Union. This eventually leads to the party’s disgrace and collapse.

In the election of 1820 Democratic Republican candidate James Monroe runs un-opposed. The nation enters an error of one-party rule.

Lecture 6: Andrew Jackson: An Odd Symbol of Democracy

The election of Andrew Jackson ushered in an age of the common man. It was during this time that property qualifications for voting disappeared.

Jackson was elected in 1828 and then reelected in 1832 by large majorities.

Andrew Jackson was a wealthy, slave-owning Tennessee planter and aristocrat. He opposed abolitionism, rights for women, black people and Native Americans.

Jackson was born into poverty. His father passed a few weeks before he was born. Then his mother and brothers died during the Revolutionary War. He was an orphan at 14.

Largely self-educated, Jackson would move west and find success as a slave-owning planter. He made his fortune, lost it and made it again. He was an aristocrat, but a self-made aristocrat.

During the war of 1812 he became a hero for his victory over the Creek Indians in the 1814 Battle of Horseshoe Bend.

Jackson created a rag tag army containing farmers, backwoods militia, French-speaking Louisiana militia, Mississippi dragoons, pirates, black regiments, Irish regiments and allies from Indian tribes. This group massacred the British army—still the finest army in the world—at the Battle for New Orleans. He inflicted 2,000 casualties on the British, while only suffering about 20.

In 1818 Jackson ignored diplomatic protocol and international law when he invaded Spanish Florida to pursuit escaped slaves and hostile Indians. In the process he took two Spanish forts, expected two British subjects and removed the Spanish governor in Pensacola.

In 1806 Jackson faced off with a marksman named Charles Dickenson in a duel. Jackson insisted that Dickenson shoot first. Dickenson shot Jackson in the chest, near his heart. He then pretended not to be shot—making Dickenson think he had missed. When returning fire Jackson fired a fatal shot and left the field without flenching. Dickenson died, thinking that he had missed.

Jackson emerged as a major political figure with his 1823 election to the Senate and in the 1824 presidential election.

The Federalists had disappeared and the US had a single party, the Democratic Republicans. That changed in the 1824 presidential election. In that election the party caucus nominated secretary of the Treasury, William Crawford of Georgia. However, many attacked the caucus as undemocratic. Three other candidates appeared: John Quincy Adams, Henry Clay and Andrew Jackson.

Jackson ran as a war hero and an alternative vote to Clay, as a voice of the new West.

When votes were counted, Jackson won both the electoral and popular vote. However, he did not have a majority. The election went to the house with each state casting one vote. The contest boiled down to Adams and Jackson.

Clay had the lowest number of votes, but urged his followers to vote for Adams. And sure enough Adams ended up winning the election. He appointed Henry Clay to be secretary of state. Of course this triggered cried of corruption, even though nothing of the sort was found. It did soon Adams presidency.

Following his loss in the presidential election, Jackson began campaigning for the 1828 race on the day following the election. In 1828 He would defeat Adams in both the electoral and popular vote.

Key events in Andrew Jackson’s Presidency:

The removal of Indians east of the Mississippi River—in 1830 Congress gave Jackson the authority and money to relocate Indians to Oklahoma.

The Cherokee Indians in Georgia refused to move. With the help of many white friends and supporters appealed to the supreme court as a domestic, dependent nation. Chief Justice John Marshall ruled that the Cherokee were entitled to federal protection.

Not only did Jackson refused to enforce the ruling. He provided Federal troops to encourage the state of Georgia to relocate the Cherokee. This would become known as the trail of tears.

The Maysville Road veto—Jackson vetoed a bill authorizing federal funds that would go to local improvements. Jackson saw this as a state issue.

Nullification Crisis—Jackson supported slavery, the gag rule being applied to abolitionists. He also supported the South Carolina postmaster who barred abolitionist literature from the mail. However, he was a nationalist and would not stand for South Carolina’s attempt to nullify a new teriff.

The destruction of the Second National Bank—Jackson destroyed the Second National Bank by vetoing a new charter and then removing federal funds. He would then move those funds to state-level banks.

Jackson forever transformed the office of the presidency. All previous presidents together had vetoed 9 bills. Jackson vetoed 12.

Other Sources

Sometimes my notes don’t entirely make sense. In that case, I’ll look for alternative sources that help piece together the story.

History.com Staff, 1754: Lieutenant Colonel George Washington begins the Seven Years’ War, 2009

Library of Congress Web Guides,  Alien and Sedition Acts, 2017