Of the People

1. Of the People Chapter 7: Creating a New Nation 1775–1788

2. Common Threads >> Which political theories did the American colonists use to justify their revolution, and how did they adapt those theories over the course of the next decades in the light of their experiences? >> What does Britain’s failure to defeat the colonies tell us about the limits of empire? >> How did the doctrine of equality take on a life of its own? >> To what extent has the conflict between the Federalists and the Antifederalists continued to shape American history? >> In which ways was the American Revolution democratic? Not democratic?

3. Creating a New Nation1775–1788 • Overview • The War Begins • Winning the Revolution • The Challenge of the Revolution • A New Policy in the West • Creating a New National Government

4. Creating a New Nation1775–1788 • The War Begins • The First Battles • Congress Takes the Lead • Military Ardor • Declaring Independence • Creating a National Government • Creating State Governments

5. Creating a New Nation1775–1788 • Winning the Revolution • Competing Strategies • The British on the Offensive: 1776 • A Slow War: 1777–1781 • Securing a Place in the World

6. Creating a New Nation1775–1788 • The Challenge of the Revolution • The Departure of the Loyalists • The Challenge of the Economy • Contesting the New Economy • Can Women Be Citizens? • The Challenge of Slavery

7. Creating a New Nation1775–1788 • A New Policy in the West • The Indians’ Revolution • The End of the Middle Ground • Settling the West

8. Creating a New Nation1775–1788 • Creating a New National Government • A Crippled Congress • Writing a New Constitution • Ratifying the Constitution: Politics • Ratifying the Constitution: Ideas • Postscript: The Legacy of the Revolution

9. Creating a New Nation1775–1788 • Conclusion

10. AMERICAN PORTRAITJames Madison Helps Make a Nation • “James Madison committed himself to the principles of liberty and order, and he devoted his life to establishing a government that would ensure both. Perhaps more than any other leader at the time, Madison understood how difficult reconciling these two principles would be.” • What fundamental human rights did Madison recognize? • What were Madison’s assumptions about human nature as it relates to order? • What problems did Madison see in designing a government that guaranteed both liberty and order?

11. The War Begins “Despite… signs of impending conflict, no one anticipated eight years of warfare that would make the colonies a single nation under a centralized government.” • The First Battles • Concord and Lexington, 19 April 1775 • Congress Takes the Lead • What were range of attitudes—radical to conservative—among the delegates of the 2nd Continental Congress with regard to war against Britain? • What events pushed moderate delegates to adopt the radical position? • Military Ardor • The Continental Army and the Quebec campaign Summer 1775

12. The War Begins • Declaring Independence • What pivotal role did Thomas Paine’s Common Sense (January 1776) on the Declaration in July? • Why did Thomas Jefferson insist, years later, that there was nothing original about the Declaration? • What was original about it? • Creating a National Government • “Although both the public and the state governments acted as if Congress were a legitimate national government, it actually had no more authority over the states than they were willing to give it, and it had none whatsoever over the people.” • Articles of Confederation • Creating State Governments • “In 1776, all attention was focused on state governments, where the new ideas about liberty, equality, and government were put into practice.”

13. Winning the Revolution • The British entered the war with clear advantages in population, wealth, and power, but with a flawed premise about how the war could be won. • Competing Strategies • In what ways did both the British and the Americans misplace their faith in assuming their own side would win a quick and decisive victory? • What were the consequences of these overly confident assumptions? • What were the respective advantages and disadvantages of the Americans and the British? • The British on the Offensive: 1776 • British advance: New York City, New Jersey, and Philadelphia • Washington’s surprise victories: Trenton and Princeton • What was “small” and what was “large” about these two victories?

14. Winning the Revolution • “The war ultimately became a struggle for the support of this unpoliticized, local-minded population.” • A Slow War: 1777–1781 • How did the Battle of Saratoga (Oct. 1777) upset British strategy? • What major political victory did this battle secure for the Americans? • What were the qualities of warfare when it reached South Carolina? • Why did British strategy fail here? • The end of war: Cornwallis surrendered on October 19, 1781 • Securing a Place in the World • Treaty of Paris, 1783 • British and American gains • Allies’ losses

15. The Challenge of the Revolution “Radicals and moderates had compromised to begin and win the Revolution, yet there were significant disagreements between them that resurfaced once the fighting ended.” • The Departure of the Loyalists • Why did the departure of the Loyalists enhance the democratizing tendencies of the Revolution? • The Challenge of the Economy • “After the war, opportunities for profit and prosperity for some increased, while a postwar deflation pushed others to the brink of misery.” • Contesting the New Economy • In what ways was Shays’ Rebellion (1786-78) symptomatic of widespread economic discord in the United States?

16. The Challenge of the Revolution • Can Women Be Citizens? • How did women contribute to the American Revolution? • How did this contribution alter attitudes about a woman’s “place” in America? • The Challenge of Slavery • What opportunities did African American slaves seize in Revolutionary America? • What were the opposing trends in African American freedom that emerged in the aftermath of war in northern versus southern states?

17. A New Policy in the West • The new nation faced a major challenge in the West….There was at the time no useful model that would enable new territories and their citizens to become equal members of an expanding, democratic nation.” • The Indians’ Revolution • Most frontier Indians sided with the British during the war. • What was the consequence of this allegiance in the war’s aftermath? • The End of the Middle Ground • Settling the West • What were the competing white interests—settlers, speculators, state and federal officials—in Indian lands after the war?

18. Creating a New National Government “This split between moderate nationalists and radical localists culminated in the battle over the Constitution….” • A Crippled Congress • What problems did nationalists see with the federal government as authorized by the Articles of Confederation? • Writing a New Constitution • Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in 1787 • Who participated in the Convention? • How was it conducted? • Why was the issue of representation so difficult to resolve? • How was it resolved?

19. Creating a New National Government • Ratifying the Constitution: Politics • What odds did the Federalists face in gaining the ratification of the Constitution? • What political tactics did they employ to achieve ratification? • Ratifying the Constitution: Ideas • What were the respective profiles of the Federalists and the Antifederalists? • Accordingly, why did the Federalists supported the Constitution, and the Antifederalists oppose it? • What were their respective fears vis-à-vis the Constitution? • Postscript: The Legacy of the Revolution

20. Creating a New Nation1775–1788 • Revisiting the Common Threads >> Which political theories did the American colonists use to justify their revolution, and how did they adapt those theories over the course of the next decades in the light of their experiences? >> What does Britain’s failure to defeat the colonies tell us about the limits of empire? >> How did the doctrine of equality take on a life of its own? >> To what extent has the conflict between the Federalists and the Antifederalists continued to shape American history? >> In which ways was the American Revolution democratic? Not democratic?