Questions to Focus Inquiry: Are We to Be a Nation?

The questions below will focus your attention during the video. They will help you understand the colonies' struggle to unite during the post-war period. They also focus on other issues that were important at this time.

1. In the context of the political conditions in America immediately after the war, what were some of the problems of having thirteen little republics rather than one republic under a strong central government?

2. What is the definition of the term national vision?

3. What made Alexander Hamilton's ideas for the future of the states an example of a national vision?

4. What were at least four problems that the government under the Articles of Confederation had in trying to govern the confederation?

5. What was the original reason for the May 1787 Philadelphia convention?

6. How was the actual focus different from the original reason for this convention?

7. What were James Madison's major concern about a government that did not control the will of the majority?

8. What were the immediate reactions of the majority of people to the proposals which came out of the convention?

9. Why did people support the newly proposed Constitution over the government under the Articles of Confederation?

10. What was the one issue that eventually made it possible for a number of critics to support the proposed Constitution?

Student Resource 6-B

Context and Overview: Are We to Be a Nation?

The description below is an overview of the video entitled "Are We to Be a Nation?" It follows the story in the video, but expands the context and focuses of the general moods and attitudes of the men and women involved in these events.

The video opens with each of the thirteen former colonies protecting their interests as independent nations. While they worked together in a loose alliance during the war, after the war they wanted to go more on their own way. In fact, after the war there were few reasons for the alliance to continue much longer. While they all belonged to the United States of America under the Articles of Confederation, they could decide to secede from the confederation. Many colonists seemed to like the existing arrangement of the states with a very weak central government. In this system, each state retained its own sovereignty. It had complete power to do what it wanted to do within its own borders. It could contribute to the national government only what it wanted and only when it wanted. It acted as independent nations. The colonists had fought a war so that each colony would retain its rights to do as it pleased, especially in the area of taxation. They certainly were not looking for much change in their present government. They were not looking to have a stronger national government that could interfere directly with what went on inside each state. They also did not want a government outside the borders of their state to interfere directly in the lives of each individual.

Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of Loyalists had to make the transition to adjusting to life after the war. For various reasons, over 100,000 Loyalists left America. Nearly one-third moved to Canada. Over 100,000 blacks also left with the British ships. These people had to find new homes and start their lives anew. Many never could shake away their memories of what had been and what might have been. Many also found that they were not accepted in the new communities where they settled. Even those who moved to England were often not welcomed. They were people without a home. These people spent much of the rest of their lives in misery and isolation. Hundreds of thousands of other Loyalists did not leave. They stayed put or moved to other communities. They had to adjust to life without a Parliament, a king and being subjects of the king. They were quite concerned about what would occur to bring order in the states.

While on paper the confederation seemed to be working, in reality there were many troubles. There were disputes between the states on border boundaries. States used different money systems, and this practice made business among them difficult. States did not accept each others' laws or regulations. They refused to collect enough taxes to pay for the operation of the central government, which was bankrupt. It could not pay its war debts and expenses of its leaders. Nor could it raise money for an army or navy to defend itself. It also had a difficult time helping states settle the problems among them. There was great danger that the confederation would end. If this had happened, American would have been a territory with at least thirteen independent nations similar to Europe. If something was not done immediately, the United States as one nation would have existed only in memory.

During these times, a few people had a strong national vision. This vision was of a single nation with its own culture and of a united people who would take charge of the resources of the land to make America a great nation. Noah Webster, for instance, proposed an American English dictionary so that words were defined as in Americans' terms. Others saw the elimination of a social hierarchy and aristocratic class. To them, the potential for America could only happen if the states worked together under a strong national government.

There were a growing number of events that increased the problems within states, between states and between the states and the central government. Many people began feeling uncomfortable because the future was more uncertain than ever before. Although they had won the war and liked some of the benefits of independence, they were just beginning to deal with many of the problems of independence. Some were as scared about the future after the war as they had been about the future before the war. Shay's Rebellion helped many to see that something had to be done soon.

The legislatures of the states decided to send representatives to a meeting in Philadelphia to revise the Articles of Confederation. They wanted to make changes in the national government without giving up much of their sovereignty. This meeting, the Philadelphia Convention is also known as the Constitutional Convention. The delegates decided that everything they did would be done in secret. No one outside the delegates were to be told what was occurring. They then decided that what was needed was an entirely new form of government. They did not think a confederation was strong enough to allow the nation to continue and prosper. From that moment on, they spent their time inventing the government they thought Americans needed. They developed a federal-republic form of government, a government unlike any that had ever existed. They then wrote a constitution which described this new government. If accepted, this new Constitution would dramatically change the way most Americans thought the nation should be governed. They knew it would be difficult to convince Americans to accept the government they wanted.

People were shocked when the delegates to the convention announced the results of their meeting. They were told that the confederation should be replaced by a strong central government. They were told that the United States needed to be a single nation rather than a confederation of separate nations and that the new government would have the right to tax people in every state without the consent of the state legislatures. In fact many of the concepts they were asked to accept were what many people fought the war against.

Over the next several months, the decision to approve the new Constitution took place in each state. The debates were long and intense. A larger portion of the population was involved in direct discussion about government and political ideas than at any time in our nation's history. Arguments for and against the new government were heard everywhere. Supporters of the Constitution were called Federalists.

Those against it were called Anti-federalists. Every reason the Anti-federalists gave against the new government was met with a counter reason by the Federalists. One issue that concerned the Anti-federalists was that there was no Bill of Rights which listed liberties and rights all citizens would be guaranteed under the new government. The Federalists finally agreed that this was needed. When this happened, the Anti-federalists grew more willing to accept the new Constitution. Eventually enough states approved the proposed Constitution so that it would be the blueprint for a national government. With its approval, the United States of America became a single nation. This nation was based on the notion that it was a government created by the people and for the people. This meant that the people, not the states, had accepted this government and that it was to operate for the benefit of them--not the states. With the Bill of Rights, the people were guaranteed certain liberty and rights.

There is some disagreement as to whether there was an American Revolution. Some compare the bloodshed and suddenness of the French and Russian Revolution with the American Revolution and say what happened in America was not a revolution. These people confuse the fighting with the revolution. Americans had to find a way to make sure that what they valued most--their liberty and rights--were protected.

Questions:

1. From 1783 to 1788 the United States consisted of thirteen independent nations. What are at least four problems that arose because the states acted as independent nations?

2. What is the definition of a national vision?

3. When the delegates to the Philadelphia convention announced the results of its meetings, what did the majority of people expect to hear?

4. When the delegates to the Philadelphia convention announced the results of its meetings, what were at least three of their objectives?

5. What were at least five strong arguments against approving the new government?

6. What were at least five strong arguments in favor of the new government?

7. What is the Bill of Rights?
8. How did the issue of including a Bill of Rights help ensure the passage of the new Constitution?

9. Imagine you had lived during 1788. Imagine you had heard the discussions about the formation of a new government. Imagine you had the chance to vote for or against this new Constitution. What would your vote have been? What reasons can you give to justify your decision?

10. For you, what was the American Revolution?

11. What role did the war against Britain play in the American Revolution?

Student Resource 6-C

Noteworthy Quotations: Are We to Be a Nation?

"I have the honor of surrendering into the hands of Congress the trust which you have given me. . . . Having completed the work assigned to me, I retire from the great theater of action. . . . I return my commission and take leave of public life."

-- George Washington upon his retirement as commander of the Continental army

"November in London, dark, heavy fog. No wonder British people hand themselves. I spend my days in a dream, thinking of the little cottage I left behind. . . . This is [my new] home, our Mother Country, yet we're aliens here."

-- Diary entry of one of the Loyalists who fled to England after the war

"The object now is to make our independence work. To do this, we must secure our union on solid foundations. It's a job for Hercules, for we must level mountains of prejudice."

-- Alexander Hamilton, member of the Continental Congress, on the work to be done by the congress, 1786

"We've been children long enough. We must unshackle our minds and begin to act like independent beings. Let's not waste our lives mimicking our parents from other nations. We now have our own empire to defend and a national character to develop."

-- Noah Webster, writer of first American dictionary, on what Americans needed to do, 1786

"We have a shadow of a federal government, where thirteen petty republics must agree on every point of every measure the Union wants to execute. The result? Nothing happens. The states have brought the wheels of national government to a standstill."

-- Alexander Hamilton in a letter to George Washington, 1786

"I was as strong a believer in popular government as any man in America, but it is rapidly becoming the last kind of government I should choose. I'd even prefer a limited monarchy at this time. Better the whims of one man than the ignorance and passions of the mob!"

-- Noah Webster after Shay's Rebellion of 1786

"The big problem will be the degree of authority which the federal government will have over the states."

-- James Madison's concern about the major problem he believed that the delegates had to resolve, 1787

"I smell a rat!"

-- Patrick Henry on the secrecy around the meetings of the Philadelphia Convention, 1787

"The biggest danger to our rights today is not from governments acting against the will of the majority, but from government which has become the mere instrument of this majority. Think about it. That's where the abuse of power comes from. Not the tyranny of the king, but the tyranny of the majority."

-- James Madison's concern about governments giving in too much to the decisions of the majority, 1787

"Everything now depends on the incalculable fluctuations of human passions. We'll know in several months whether it is yes or no."

-- Alexander Hamilton's remarks concerning the passage of the proposed Constitution after it was sent to the states for ratification, 1787

"The President can be re-elected every four years for life! Even if he loses an election, he still controls the army! So how will you get him off the throne?"

-- Thomas Jefferson's criticism of one feature of the government under the new Constitution, 1787

"Yes, this is new. Yes, it's never been tried before. Many things Americans have done, we've never tried before."

--James Madison's remarks to critics about the newness of the form of government proposed under the new Constitution

"This isn't something we should rush. This is very important. I came here to learn, and I find I'm learning more every day. We should continue this debate. We shouldn't simply have the vote."

-- Samuel Adams during the discussion of the new Constitution in Massachusetts to prevent the Anti-federalists from voting to reject it, 1787

"Why not have a bill of rights? Why not a short document saying our rights are preserved? Are you worried that it will use up too much paper?"

-- Patrick Henry on the matter of including the Bill of Rights with the Constitution, 1787