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1-Page Summary of The Quartet
Overview
The Quartet is a historical account of the debates and events leading up to, during, and immediately following the creation of the Constitution. The people involved in this were George Washington, James Madison, Alexander Hamilton and John Jay. ”
Each of these men were involved in the American Revolution, lending credibility to their cause and ability to establish a national government. Washington led the Continental Army as its Commander-in-Chief while Hamilton served under him as an aide de camp and then later commanded his own troops. Madison was also a commissioned colonel in Virginia’s Orange County militia before serving on the Continental Congress with Jay who negotiated terms for ending the Revolutionary War.
During the Revolution, the Articles of Confederation were meant to unite the colonies against England. The articles protected individual values and goals while avoiding a strong central government that many felt was too similar to a tyrannical government. However, it wasn’t enough because Washington, Madison, Hamilton and Jay each found fault with it as they presented their own ideas for a stronger federal government and constitution in order to ensure America’s success.
In 1781, Robert Morris accepted the role of superintendent of finance for the United States. He was reluctant to do this because he knew that his solutions would be hard for many people to understand or accept. However, he had already been financing the Continental Army early in the war and was eventually charged with establishing credit for the US government. He tried to implement policies such as a national tax and other taxes that would help solve their debt problems but these were repeatedly denied by other delegates.
In order for the US to pay off its debt, it could expand westward. Jay was a leader in this effort because he believed that by establishing the Mississippi River as America’s western border and gaining independence, America would be able to become more powerful both economically and physically.
Jay’s contributions to government did not end there. He was asked to create a sound foreign policy for the states. His work led him to believe that the only way for the US to function optimally would be as a united nation rather than as individual states, which planted the seeds of his involvement in national politics.
Jay wanted to move the US from a confederation to a nation, but the states were an obstacle. They would not agree to certain issues, such as Virginia paying its debts and New York ending confiscation of estates. These actions showed how different they were from one another.
Although Jay was gracious in his defeat, he still believed that something would happen to force the US into nationhood. He thought it would be difficult because of problems with the Articles of Confederation and other similar issues.
In July of 1783, Hamilton proposed a convention to amend the Articles of Confederation. The proposal failed in Congress but inspired other proposals for amendments to the Articles. None succeeded but political reform continued as time passed and more people became discontented with the current state of affairs.
In January of 1786, Congress agreed to host a convention about interstate commerce. It was an incremental improvement in terms of establishing the power of the federal government in the US. However, it wasn’t successful because not enough states’ delegates showed up for votes to take place.
Shay’s Rebellion in 1786 and 1787 was a catalyst for drastic reform of the federal government. Some people were happy about this, but others felt that it would be bad for the country. They thought that Shay’s Rebellion proved that the US couldn’t work as one big nation because of all its differences from state to state.
