1787 was a pivotal year in U.S. History. Read the following excerpt from Decision in Philadelphia about American society in 1787 and answer the reflection question below:
Famine was virtually nonexistent in the United States and ordinary hunger was rare. . . . Americans in 1787 were eating better—and usually far better—than the majority of people today. They ate the most extraordinary amount of meat. In 1784 one farm family in Whatley, Massachusetts ate 500 pounds of pork and 200 pounds of beef, which comes out to roughly a half pound of meat a day, per person. And this was typical, not exceptional. . . . Undoubtedly because of this protein-rich diet, American men of 1787 were, according to army records, about as tall as they are today—an average of five feet eight, which was two inches taller than the average for British recruits. . . .
Outside of the cities the population was spread sufficiently thin so that Americans were not nearly as subject to epidemics, or even ordinary diseases as people in the Old World were. The air was pure; water could be drunk directly from streams and lakes. Life expectancy at birth was about thirty-five, but if you reached sixty, the odds were that you would live to seventy-five. In fact, life expectancy for a sixty-year old man was higher in 1787 than it was in 1970. . . . Americans worked hard because they had to, they feared God because they were raised to, and they were prosperous because they were living on a continent whose resources they had hardly begun to touch. . . . The psychological effect of Americans living this way is hard to measure, but it must certainly have given Americans a strong feeling of self-worth and a powerful sense of their own freedom.
Source: Collier, C. and James L. Collier (1986). Decision in Philadelphia. New York: Random House, pp. 22-24.
→Reflection: Using your notes, compare the description of life in 1787 to life in America today. What facts most stand out? Does this seem like a successful country?
The average white American (20% of the population, about 600,000 Americans were slaves) enjoyed the highest standard of living in the world at the end of the 18th century, so you would expect its leaders to brag about the young country's prosperity. Click on the slideshow below to view the opinions of some of its most prominent citizens about the country's state of living:
→Quick Reflection: How does the view of America expressed by its leaders differ from the description of life for the average person? Interactive popup. Assistance may be required.
Both Washington and Grayson say that America is about to become "contemptible," which means worthy of scorn or despicable. Madison claims that the U.S. case is about to be desperate. These are negative views of the country, the exact opposite of the prosperous view in the opening passage. However, it is possible for a nation to be contemptible at the same time.
How can these two viewpoints be reconciled? The answer is that while the people of the United States overall were doing well, the federal government was not.
The first government of the United States was weak and ineffective, and the leaders knew that if the country continued on its present course, there would be real problems soon. They were afraid that the weak government would jeopardize the prosperity that people were enjoying in the new country.
In this resource, you will learn about the document that created the first government of the United States called the Articles of Confederation. You will learn about its weaknesses and why in 1787, there became a need to call a convention to draft the U.S. Constitution.