The American West Topic Summaries

Political tensions and the foundations of the United States

GCSE > History > Edexcel > GCSE History: The American West (1835-1895) > Early settlement (1835–1861) > Political tensions and the foundations of the United States
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Key terms
  • Early tensions arose over political representation, with large states favouring representation by population and small states demanding equal representation.
  • These disagreements were linked to slavery, as southern states sought to protect slave-based plantation economies. Northern states were more industrial and increasingly opposed to the expansion of slavery.
  • Shays’ Rebellion (1786–1787) involved Massachusetts farmers protesting high taxes and debt imprisonment. The federal government’s inability to suppress the rebellion exposed weaknesses in the Articles of Confederation and convinced many leaders of the need for a stronger central government.
  • The Constitutional Convention met in 1787 to reform the government. The Connecticut Compromise created a bicameral legislature (meaning two governmental bodies):
    • The House of Representatives was based on population, satisfying large states.
    • The Senate gave equal representation to all states, protecting small states.
  • Federalists such as Alexander Hamilton and James Madison supported a strong central government. Anti-Federalists feared tyranny and supported stronger states’ rights. The Bill of Rights was added in 1791 to protect individual liberties and secure ratification of the Constitution.
  • The Louisiana Purchase of 1803 was an agreement in which the United States bought the Louisiana Territory from France for $15 million, doubling the size of the country and giving it control of vital land between the Mississippi River and the Rocky Mountains which was valuable for trade and the economic development of western farmers. Although Thomas Jefferson worried that the purchase went beyond his strict interpretation of the Constitution, he justified it as necessary for national security and westward expansion, setting a precedent for stronger federal power.
  • The Missouri Compromise (1820) aimed to maintain a balance between free and slave states. It temporarily reduced tensions but did not resolve the slavery issue.

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