Ch 9 – The Confederation & The Constitution

I. The Pursuit of Equality  American Revolution was not a sudden radical change. Rather it was an accelerated evolution.  A. Social changes included:  States reduced property-based voting requirements  Common folk desired titles of “Mr.” & “Mrs.”  Employers called “boss” instead of “master”  Indentured servitude ended  Elitism is scorned (Society of Cincinnati = Continental Army officers’ exclusive club)  Primogeniture laws eliminated  Artisan/laborers trade organizations expand  Separation of Church & State pursued  Abolition of slavery movement begins (starting with Quakers in PA in 1775)

 B. Complete change lacking for African-Americans and women  No state south of PA ends slavery  Free blacks discriminated against  Laws against interracial marriage  Women not granted voting rights

 C. Women’s roles redefined  “Republican motherhood” (def)  New civic virtues would be cultivated by mothers’ devotion to her family  Education opportunities for women expand

II. Constitution-Making in the States  1776 – Continental Congress asks colonies to make new constitutions (thus changing their status to potential “states”)  Americans view constitutions as contracts that define powers of gov’t  Authority derived from the people, not the King  States’ constitutions were similar: -bill of rights -annual elected legislators -weak executive/judicial branches vs. strong legislative branch  Many state capitals relocated west away from seaports

III. Economic Crosscurrents  A. Land Distribution  Royal lands confiscated  Loyalist lands confiscated & broken into smaller parcels  French Revolution reaction avoided due to abundance of cheap land  B. Manufacturing  No longer dependent on British imports  Brandywine Creek (south of Philly) = waterwheels power mills

 C. Commerce  British ports closed to Americans  American merchants access new markets in Europe and Asia  D. Poor Economy  War profiteering and speculation had run rampant  State gov’ts in debt  High inflation  Citizens worse off than before the war

IV. Shaky Start towards Union  A. Lack of unity  Many suspicious of authority  Conservative Tory element departed/fled  Patriots’ common cause (freedom) achieved, so what next?  B. Bad Economy  1786 – recession caused by flood of cheap British manufactured goods  Young American industries damaged  British seek both opportunity for profit and revenge