sayzjr
In what ways did the revolution and the Constitution leave some political and social issues unresolved, at least in the minds of Americans in the 1789-1800 period? was there "unfinished business" from the revolution or ways in which the revolution seemed to lack "closure"? Along the same lines, how did some of the people not directly represented by the constituional convention (poor whites, women, native americans, african, americans, etc.) shape the political and social history of the early republic?
250 - 350 words
1 Answer
Ed1530
Best answer!
1. "How did the constitution leave some political and social issues unresolved"
The new government's ability to protect the interests of property, were agreed upon with surprisingly little debate. On these issues, there were no poor farmers, artisans, indentured servants, or slaves attending the convention to proffer an opposing viewpoint. Ordinary working people could not take off four months to go to Philadelphia and write a constitution. The debate between haves and have-nots never occurred.
2.how did some of the people not directly represented by the constituional convention (poor whites, women, native americans, african, americans, etc.) shape the political and social history of the early republic?
Small farmers were burdened by heavy rents, ruinous taxes, and low incomes. To survive, they frequently had to borrow money at high interest rates. To meet their debts, they mortgaged their future crops and went still deeper into debt, caught in that cycle of rural indebtedness which today is still the common fate of agrarian peoples in this and other countries.9 Interest rates on debts ranged from 25 to 40 percent, and taxes fell most heavily on those of modest means. No property was exempt from seizure, save the clothes on a debtor's back.
Slavery—a major form of property—was afforded special accommodation in the Constitution. Three-fifths of the slave population in each state were to be counted when calculating the state's representation in the lower house, giving the slave states disproportionately more seats in the House beyond their actual voting population. The Constitution never abolished the slave trade. Indeed, the importation of slaves was explicitly guaranteed for another twenty years until 1808, after which there was the option but no requirement that it be abolished. Many slaveholders assumed they would have enough political clout to keep the trade going beyond that year. Slaves who escaped from one state to another had to be delivered up to the original owner upon claim, a provision that was unanimously adopted at the Convention.
http://www.iefd.org/articles/constitution_for_the_few.php
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