Pennsylvania followed, five days afterward, with a two-thirds vote in favor. The fight was hardest in Virginia and New York; but these States accepted the Constitution; in the latter, Alexander Hamilton, more than any other man, influenced the members. As State after State came into line, the movement gathered strength, but North Carolina and Rhode Island did not ratify until after the new government was in operation. The change from a confederation to a union was a great step forward. The Confederation had no way to compel the States to act as one body; it could ask for money to carry on the government, but it could lay no taxes for raising money. The Union was at once made strong by the first article of the Constitution, in which we may read: "Congress shall have. power to lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts, and excises, to pay the debts and provide for the common defense and general welfare of the United States." Moreover, as amplifying this power, the Union alone could make treaties with other nations; maintain an army and navy; build forts; make rules for the admission of foreigners and foreign goods into the country; coin and issue money; adopt standards of weight and measure; have supreme control over rivers and harbors, and govern directly the territory not occupied by States. QUESTIONS. What was the debt incurred in the war? What three means did Congress have for paying it? What was the trouble with the paper money? What great financier gave his services? What difficulties did the debt raise in the army? Who owned the public lands? What special meaning attached to the holding of the public lands by the whole country? What was the ordinance of 1787 ? When trade was resumed with England, what followed? What claim did England have on the United States ? What claim did Spain assert? How did the separate States treat one another? What was the Shays Rebellion? What effect did all this have on European opinion? What Western movement indicated a healthy condition? When and where did the Constitutional Convention meet? What was the process by which the Constitution was framed, discussed, and acted on? What is The Federalist? What was the main difference between the Confederation and the Union? SEARCH QUESTIONS. Give an analysis of the Ordinance of 1787. Describe the attempt to form the State of Franklin. What was the Kentucky experiment of the same sort? Name some of the powers possessed by the Union under the Constitution which the old Confederation did not have. What States have been formed out of the Northwest Territory? SUGGESTIONS FOR LITERARY TREATMENT. COMPOSITIONS : Continental money and what it would purchase during the Revolu tion. An account of Shays's Rebellion. An imaginary letter from a soldier who had been with Washington all through the Revolutionary War, written from his home at the close of the war. Story of a boy who cared for the farm while his father was in the war. Washington's farewell to the army. TOPICAL ANALYSIS FOR REVIEW. I. CONDITION OF THE ENGLISH COLONIES AT THE CLOSE OF THE FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR. 1. Their number and position, 1. 2. Character of the country occupied, 1. 3. Derivation of the inhabitants, 1. 4. Characteristics of the several colonies. a. Massachusetts. i. Its location and natural features, 2. ii. The occupations of its people, 2. iii. Domestic life in the country, 2. v. Centralization in towns, 2. vi. Political organization, 2. vii. Characteristics of town life, 2. b. The other New England colonies, 3. c. New York. i. Distribution of population, 4. ii. The influence of the Dutch in language and habits, 4. iii. The patroon class, 4. iv. Political and social condition, 4. d. New Jersey, 5. e. Pennsylvania. i. Influence of the Friends, 5. ii. The German element, 5. iii. Philadelphia, its location and character, 5. iv. The character and career of Franklin, 5. f. Delaware, 5. g. The Southern colonies. i. Industrial character, 6. ii. Slavery as seen in different portions, 6. iii. Social distinctions, 6. 5. The colonies considered as one country. a. Modes of intercommunication, 7. b. Newspapers, 7. c. Attempts at political union, 8. d. Difficulties in the way of union, 8. II. CAUSES OF THE SEPARATION OF THE COLONIES FROM GREAT BRITAIN. 1. The American training in self-government, 9. 2. The changes going on in Parliament, 10. 3. The English ignorance of America, 11. 4. The laws of Great Britain affecting American industry, 11. 5. The French and Indian War in its effect on the relation between England and the colonies, 12. 6. The attempted exercise of authority deemed in America unconstitutional. a. Writs of Assistance, 12. b. Taxation imposed by other than representatives of the people, 13. c. The Stamp Act, 14. d. Quartering of troops, 18. e. The Boston Massacre, 18. f. The tax on tea, 19. 7. The adoption of compulsory measures. a. The Boston Port Bill, 20. b. The withdrawal of the right of self-government. i. The restriction of legislative rights, 21. ii. The restriction of judicial rights, 21. 8. The stand taken by the colonies. a. The habit of evading revenue laws, 11. e. The removal of the regiments, 18. f. The destruction of the tea, 19. III. THE THIRTEEN UNITED COLONIES. 1. The Stamp Act Congress, 15. 2. The setting up of independent colonial government, 22. 4. The Second Continental Congress. a. Assumption of general authority, 24. b. Appointment of Washington, 24. c. Declaration of Independence, 32, 33. d. The Conway Cabal, 46. 5. The Confederation. a. Character of the articles, 35. b. Dealings with foreign countries, 36, 49. c. Dealings with the army, 58. d. Its debt, 58. e. Payment of the debt by sale of public lands, 59. f. Its weakness, 63. 6. The formation of a closer union. a. The Convention to form a Constitution, 64. b. The adoption of the Constitution, 66. c. Difference between the Union and the Confederation, 65. IV. FORMATION OF STATE GOVERNMENTS, 31. V. THE WAR FOR INDEPENDENCE. 1. British aggressions before there was open war. a. Lexington and Concord, 23. b. Burning of Falmouth, 26. c. Movement against the Southern colonies, 30. 2. Colonial attacks upon the British power. a. Attack at Concord and on the road to Boston, 23. b. The siege of Boston, 23, 26, 27. c. Bunker Hill, 25. d. Ticonderoga and Crown Point, 27. e. Movement on Canada, 27. 3. The formation of an army, 24. 4. The adoption of a flag, 29, 35. 5. Operations about New York, 30, 39, 40, 41. a. The British plan, 42. b. Burgoyne's movements, 42. d. The battle of Bennington, 43. 8. Operations about Philadelphia. b. Brandywine and Germantown, 43. d. Discipline of the army, 46. 9. The French alliance, 45, 47, 49. 10. Second campaign in New Jersey, 47. a. Action before New York, 48. b. Action at Newport, 48. c. Naval movements, 48. 12. British change of operations, 48. a. Wayne's exploit, 50. b. Privateering, 51. 15. The Southern campaign of 1780, 52. 17. Final campaign against Cornwallis. b. Washington's maneuvers, 54. VI. THE FOREIGN ELEMENT IN THE WAR. 1. On the British side. a. The Hessians, 38. 2. On the American side. a. Volunteer officers from Europe, 37. VII. CIVIL AND DIPLOMATIC AFFAIRS. 1. Friends of America in England, 17, 38, 45. 2. The loyalists, 34. 3. Diplomatic relations with Europe. |