Founding Fathers Motives

The Emergence of Factions
Christopher Deion Smith 900751868 Georgia Southern University

Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to analyze state population and economic data and then analyze two published hypothesis of the possible explanations of the motivations for the political actions of the Founding Generation. To do this the publishing’s of Jim Webb and John P. Roche will be analyzed along with the census data for the time period being

In order to more closely examine the question the data will be focusing on Maryland because it shared attributes with the soon to be states in the southern, middle and New England colonies. Looking at the first available population data available from the U.S. Department of Commerce (1977, Volume 2) the earliest recorded population for Maryland was around 583 in 1640 and in 1790 the population rose drastically to 320,000 people according to the U.S. Department of Commerce (1977, Volume 1). In 1790 Maryland had a nationality distribution of 65 percent white and thirteen percent Scotch-Irish showing that while there was a Scotch-Irish present in the state it was significantly smaller than there English counterparts, this is important when trying to decide whose hypothesis is more persuasive as Webb’s relies on the Scotch-Irish populations skepticism of the government. The economy in Maryland was made up of agriculture, fisheries, material resources, ship building and commerce with the largest sector being commerce, this is important because if there was a large import/export sector in the economy then the chances of the different acts enacted on Maryland by the British in order to tax would have a larger impact because of the taxable good coming in

Roche. While the facts that are presented by Webb are very convincing after looking at the nationality breakdown the Scotch-Irish population did not have enough representation to be that influential and according to Webb (2005), “After the founding of Jamestown in 1607, the Virginia colony had evolved into a rigid, three-tiered society” (p. 141) this shows that while the mentioned population was skeptical of the government their main issue was the economic imbalance they were facing. That leads me to side more with Roche and his ideas that the economy was the most important variable when trying to understand the founder’s decision making. The issue that was most evident during the founder’s times was their economic situation, which the problem escalating quickly when the King began to unfairly tax them. This is evident by the Three-Fifths compromise and its relation to the taxation of slaves, according to Roche(1961) “ The southerner’s, on the other hand were afraid that Congressional control over commerce would lead to the exclusion of slaves or their excessive taxation as imports” (p. 811), this shows the argument of big versus small states and the economic debate that took place during the proceedings during the constitutional conventions. Upon reviewing all of the available information it is apparent that while Webb’s hypothesis is convincing in some areas it is not