The size and complexity of communities varied widely in the 1780s, producing tension
between citizens working in the old economy and those hoping to work in the new
economy. The transition between the loose federation of sovereign state governments
operating together under the Articles of Confederation to the partially decentralized and
partially highly centralized government described in the U.S. Constitution advantaged
many citi
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John P Roche, 1961, “The Founding Fathers: A Reform Caucus in Action,”
American Political Science Review, pp 799-816. This classic article is
available through JSTOR on the Henderson Library webpages.
Background:
In his 1961 article, Roche makes an argument for the economy being the most
compelling variable in understanding the political actions of the Founding Generation.
The basic explanation is that delegates voted in the Convention for proposals that they
believed would improve their own economic conditions. This older research has been
supplemented recently with additional data. Webb proposes that the waves of ScotchIrish
immigration were a significant contributing factor to the revolution, and that race
and ideology were thereby most influential to the formation of the government in the
summer of 1787. Webb’s explanation relies on the skepticism of the Scotch-Irish for
government rule and oppression, and the racial differences perceived between the Scots
and the English in the 18th century.
Data:
Using data available at the National Archives and Records Administration, and from the
U.S. Bureau of the Census Bureau, investigate for yourself the motivations of the
Founding Generation. Take the following steps:
Select three states from the twelve that sent delegates to the constitutional convention,
one each of the large, small, and transitional states. You will collect population counts
(four data points), as well as economic information in the Census Bureau tables. Do not
use your home state (only students new to Georgia should select that state), and since
Rhode Island did not send delegates to the Convention, do not select that state either.
For each of the states you select, examine the delegates to the Constitutional
Convention and compare the three states. Do this by asking some questions, either
these or your own. Who were the important delegates at the Convention from the
states you selected? Who were their constituents? How did they make their living (i.e.
the important economic sectors in the state)? With information from these questions,
summarize what you think is happening in that state.
Delegates and Factions:
Primary documents and information about the Founding generation are available
on the National Archives website (www.archives.gov).
Choose the “Research Our Records” tab.
Scroll to the bottom of the screen and Choose “Browse Online Exhibits”.
Choose “The Charters of Freedom” Exhibit. Next select the Constitution.
You will need the biographies of delegates to the Constitutional
Convention found in “Meet the Framers of the Constitution”. This section
keeps moving and was recently renamed. It was at this URL recently:
https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/founding-fathers
You may find that other aspects of the Charters of Freedom exhibit is
useful to supplement the Barbour and Wright text.
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Population and Economic Data:
Data are available for the Population of the States from the first U.S. Census in 1790
(Volume I, Series A 195-209) as well as the data from the colonial censuses (Volume 2,
Series Z 1-19).
The Census Bureau report, “Historical Statistics of the United States, Colonial Times to
1970” contains data that will help you make comparisons between states and economic
sectors. The electronic version of the tables that you need are located at the Fraser
Federal Reserve Archive:
https://fraser.stlouisfed.org/title/?id=237
Note that the citation is available on the “Cite” dropdown. The PDF files can be
accessed lower down that page at the links for “Volume 1” and “Volume 2”. Use the
“Table of Contents” tab for a preview; use the “Get” tab that appears to the right of the
selection box to download the document PDF.
Be forewarned that these links to the Historical Statistics access very large files. They
will require at least 4-5 minutes to load with a fast internet connection. Do not leave
this aspect of the assignment until the last minute. This part of the assignment may be
most quickly done on a campus hard wired machine (in a computer lab, not over the wifi
network), during low usage times (early morning, or supper time).
For the states you select, examine the delegates to the Constitutional convention
(archives.gov). Who were the important delegates from the states you selected? Which
economic interests in your states are important? Based on this information gleaned
from the delegate’s biographies, examine the economic information for the states that is
available in the Census data. For example, determine what the largest sector in the
state economy is (farming, shipping, commerce, or something else)? It will be easiest
to examine the population data from the Census first, and then examine the economic
data.
Compare the populations of these states in 1790 to the population at the earliest
available census for that colony. Consider the relationship between the complexity of
the economy and the positions the delegates take toward the Constitution.
Format for the Report:
Your analysis should be typed following the Chicago Manual of Style, a subset of these
rules with examples developed for political science is found in the APSA Style Manual
available on Folio in the Reference Material folder. The length of the report is ultimately
up to you, but 2-3 double spaced pages of text is generally sufficient. Use standard 1”
margins and a font similar that used in this document. I selected Tahoma, 11, but you
may select a similar professional font. Be certain to list your sources fully with textual
references and include a bibliography. Provide a title page. An abstract is not
necessary for a short essay like this. Upload your final report as a PDF to Folio.
In the process of writing up your analysis, you should have at least one reference for
your textbook (Barbour and Wright). You should also have a reference to the Historical
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Statistics, to the National Archives and Record Administration website, to the Roche
article and to the Webb chapters. Additional sources may be used but are not
necessary, and may detract from your argumen