1. A Very Brief Review
of U.S. History to 1860

2. The Critical Period
Government under the Articles of Confederation
Weak Central Government; strong states
Shay's rebellion leads to calls for a stronger national government
Attempt to find a government strong enough to govern; not so strong as to threaten individual liberties  
Shays' Rebellion, the post-Revolutionary clash between New England farmers and merchants that tested the precarious institutions of the new republic, threatened to plunge the "disunited states" into a civil war. The rebellion arose in Massachusetts in 1786, spread to other states, and culminated in the rebels' march upon a federal arsenal. It wound down in 1787 with the election of a more popular governor, an economic upswing, and the creation of the Constitution of the United States in Philadelphia.
Shays' Rebellion "had a great influence on public opinion," as Samuel Eliot Morison notes; it was the fiercest outbreak of discontent in the early republic, and public feeling ran high on both sides. After the rebellion was defeated, the trial of the insurgents in 1787 was closely watched and hotly debated.

3. The Constitution
Constitution emerges as a "bundle of compromises"              
Constitution creates powerful government, but divides power:
between states and national government (federalism)
among the three branches of the national government (Separation of powers)
allows the different branches to check each other (checks and balances)
Anti-federalists oppose Constitution on grounds it creates a national government that is too strong & that there are no guarantees of individual rights
Federalists ensure ratification with the promise to amend the Constitution by adding a Bill of Rights

4. The Early Republic
Hamilton's financial plan helps set nation on firm financial footing
Disputes over Hamilton's plan leads to emergence of political parties
Marbury V. Madison establishes precedent of Judicial Review
Practices of New Government lay foundation for the "Unwritten Constitution” = Political Parties, Presidential Cabinet, Judicial Review
Hamilton – 1st Secretary of the Treasury - He designed a Treasury Department for the collection and disbursing of public revenue, but also for the promotion of the economic development of the country.
Hamiltonians (Federalists) vs.  Jeffersonians (Democratic Republicans)
Judicial Review - the idea that courts may oversee and nullify the actions of another branch of government). The landmark decision helped define the "checks and balances" of the American form of government.

5. Manifest Destiny
Belief that western expansion is inevitable and ordained by God
Indian Removal Act contributes to devastation of Native American lives
Annexation of Texas and the subsequent Mexican-American War leads to the addition of much of the Southwest to the U.S.
Removal Act – Allowed for land exchange treaties the natives were pressured into signing. Eventually removed 100,000 Native Americans from the south.

6. Sectionalism Divides the Nation 1830-1860
Geographic, economic, and cultural differences result in sectional disputes over tariffs, internal improvements, the creation of a National Bank, and the western expansion of slavery
Western Expansion continually thrusts question of slavery before the nation: Will new territory be free or slave?
Growing abolitionist movement in the North
Republican Party formed to oppose the expansion of slavery into new territories