The early National United States
Market Revolution and Political Democratization challenges facing the republican ideological assumptions of the nation’s founders between 1790 and 1860
According to the history of Americans in the late 18th century, republicanism had diverse ideologies that called for change on rights of the states, local concerns, welfare of the people, and introducing democracy economically and politically. According to professor Appleby, Republicans were hoping for a different future (Ashworth, 85). They had several ideologies that challenged the federal government, especially politically, considering the government was centralized at the time. The government was aristocratic, putting all the powers to the central government, and their policies benefited a few elite as to the common man. They opposed the constitution since it endangered the rights of people and gave all powers to the government. This is one of the challenges that the republicans faced advocating their ideologies.
In 1787 a Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia was held where political leaders were proposing their constitutional agendas for implementation. The convention was comprised of the elite; merchants, slaveholding planters, and wealthy men who loaned money at interest. Among them were lawyers and college graduates in a country where very few people got formal education. The rest four million Americans across the country who were farmers, fishermen, laborers, or servants, half of whom were women and slaves from Africa, did not get involved (Young, 53). The convention was led by leaders of the coercion and accommodation sides on the rule of law. Hamilton and Morris led the federalists on the ideology of coercion, which suffocated ordinary citizens and gave power to the federal government. The republicans, who supported accommodation, led by James Madison and James Wilson, campaigned on equal rights and challenged the government to adapt to democracy where everyday citizens were given the power of rule. Implementing their ideological assumptions will prove difficult if only a few elite groups make all the decisions.
The idea of the federal judiciary being introduced in the states brought up a lot of controversies to the nation founders, and the federalists opposed it. According to Pierce Butler, a California planter said the “people will not bear such innovations. The states will revolt at such encroachments” He said that the country should embrace the Kind Solomon way rule where he did not provide the best government but the best way to deliver it (Young, 55). The Republicans challenged the government to give justice to the common man by introducing the state judiciary.
The debate of suffrage introduced by Morris, supported Hamilton’s idea for voting to be limited to men who owned lands or its equivalents (Young, 57). He argued that when the right to vote is given to the ordinary citizens and laborers, they would subsequently sell their votes to the rich and elite, which was the same as limiting them to vote. The principle of suffrage was adopted in several states where they saw it fit. On the other hand, James Wilson said that there was no need for a man to vote for the state legislature, and the same man denied voting for the national parliament. They campaigned against the rights of suffrage and challenged the government to allow citizens to participate in the voting community. In the end run, the suffrage debate was rejected, and it was decided that whoever the state permitted to vote for their assembly would also be allowed to vote in the house. They were too faced with the challenge of the Democratic majorities in the states.
There was the challenge of slavery, which the federalists and republicans did not see eye to eye. Republicans opposed slavery, whereas the federalists supported it. According to the book American slavery, American freedom, Edmund Morgan says that slavery in America was a significant influence on citizens to want and adopt republicanism (Ashworth, 87). To the whites, slavery created a “sense of common identity” and separated them as the elites from the everyday citizens (Ashworth, 88). Eradication of slavery as a challenge republicans present to the government brought up a lot of fears to the federalists that would make the level with the poorer. Slavery propelled citizens to fight for republicanism, especially in Virginia, where the campaigns started against slavery.
Between 1793 and 1909, there were challenges that the republicans had in the manual-labor system to bring about market revolution (Limerick, 75). They mobilized the federal government to improve commerce in communication, industry, and transportation. Growth in this sector in terms of trade, foreign exchange, and large scale manufacturing was high; hence the more need to improve commerce. The main challenge was a great need to increase wages on labor. They advocated for just payment of the laborers who were highly underpaid by the wealthy few, mostly the whites.
How Americans adopted the republican ideology to address Market Revolution and Political Democratization
After the republicans formed a government led by Jefferson, there were changes made to adopt political democratization and market revolution. Madison and Wilson combined coercion and accommodation to come up with three ways to solve these problems in the states. Their first solution was combining Hamilton’s and Madison’s ideologies of letting the states have the power to vote for the state legislature (Young, 58). By doing this, they would control corruption to curb the elite from buying votes from the servants. This would also ensure citizens have direct impacts on making laws that would enable equality and eradicate issues like slavery. The solution was not sufficient since most powers belonged to the federal government, which is the only one that can fight this challenge.
Secondly, they suggested the involvement of the ground people to be elected in the house (Taylor, 113). They wanted the state legislatures who elected members of Congress in the house, to be selected by citizens helping ordinary people to have power in the government. When they were part of elections of house representatives, they would have the platform to present their challenges. This would ensure that the common man would be hard to improve their living standards, such as getting better wages.
The third solution based on Madison of preventing the law from being controlled by the elite was what he termed as “extending the sphere of the government” (Kerber, 97). He argued that for the majority factions to break, there needs to be a multiplication of interest in the republic’s citizens. He generally advocated for the public at large to control the laws with the help of government, and separation of power.
References
Young, Alfred F. “THE FRAMERS OF THE CONSTITUTION AND THE GENIUS OF THE PEOPLE (REPRINTED FROM IN-THESE-TIMES, SEPTEMBER 9-15, 1987).” Radical History Review 42 (1988): 8-18.
Ashworth, John. “The Jeffersonians: Classical Republicans or Liberal Capitalists?.” Journal of American Studies 18, no. 3 (1984): 425-435.
Kerber, Linda K., Nancy F. Cott, Robert Gross, Lynn Hunt, Carroll Smith-Rosenberg, and Christine M. Stansell. “Beyond roles, beyond spheres: Thinking about gender in the early Republic.” The William and Mary Quarterly: A Magazine of Early American History and (1989): 565-585.
Limerick, Patricia Nelson. The legacy of conquest: The unbroken past of the American West. WW Norton & Company, 1988.
Taylor, Alan. The Civil War of 1812: American Citizens, British Subjects, Irish Rebels, & Indian Allies. Vintage, 2010.