A More Perfect Union1771-1790

The Articles of Confederation

We Won… Now what? Each state created their own constitution

From 1776-1780, 11 of the 13 had done so

Americans are cautious and don’t want to give too much power to a single ruler Legislature more powerful than the governor

Most states established BICAMERAL (2 houses) legislature

Legislatures elected in frequent elections White males 21+ who owned land or paid taxes Some states allowed free African American men to vote

Forming a Republic

• All wanted a republic (citizens rule through elected representatives)

• States could not agree on how that would work• Most favored a WEAK central government (states

would function like independent countries)• Central government would only wage war and handle

relationships with foreign countries

Planning a New Government• 2nd Continental Congress

adopts the Articles of Confederation (needed for the Revolutionary War)– States gave up little power to

Congress– “league of friendship” between

states– The government = Congress

• Conducts foreign affairs• Maintain armed forces• Borrow money• Issue currency

Articles of Confederation• Congress could NOT:

– Regulate trade– Force citizens to join the army– Impose taxes

• Had to “request” money/troops from states• States not required to contribute• Lacked a chief executive• Each state had one vote (states equal regardless

of population)• ALL States had to approve the Articles and any

amendments

Articles of Confederation

• Became the official government of the United States in 1781 (through 1789)

• Did not provide a strong enough government – Congress had limited authority– Could not pass a law unless nine states approved– Any change to the Articles required all 13 to

approve• Under the Articles, independence was gained,

expanded foreign trade, and planned the settling of the western frontier

New Land Policies• Settlers moved west after independence

• New territories wanted to settle and become states

• Needed organization and structure

• Articles of Confederation contained no provision to add states– States gave up land claims to Congress

• 1784 Congress used Jefferson’s plans to divide the territory into districts

The Ordinance of 1785• Ordinance = Law

• The Ordinance of 1785 was a plan to survey and sell the lands west of the Ohio River– Divided territory into townships 6 miles x 6

miles– Were further divided into 36 sections of 640

acres and each sold for at least $1 an acre

– Congress worried about lawless people buying large plots of land, created the Northwest Ordinance in 1787 to protect the interests of hard-working settlers

The Northwest Ordinance• Passed in 1787 and created a single Northwest Territory out of the

lands north of the Ohio River and East of the Mississippi River

• When the population of a territory reached 60,000, the people could petition for statehood

• Included a bill of rights for settlers– Guaranteed freedom of religion; trial by jury– No slavery

• Opened the way for settlement west in a stable and orderly manner

• Native American response?

Financial Problems• Congress had so little power it could not deal

with country’s financial problems• Money depreciated during the war and became

worthless as it was not backed by gold/silver• War left the country with a huge debt• Congress could not tax, requested $$$ from

states, but little was given• Department of Finance was created

– Headed by Robert Morris– Proposed a 5% import tax– Couldn’t get approval from all 13 states

Foreign Issues

• Problems with Britain– Did not withdraw all troops from American lands– Interfered with American trade– British unwilling to discuss issues

• Problems with Spain– Wanted to halt American expansion into their lands– Closed the lower Mississippi River to American shipping

in 1784– Argued over the issues

Change Needed

• The Articles of Confederation were “little more than the shadow without the substance.” – George Washington

• Americans realized that a stronger central government was needed

Conventionand

Compromise

Economic Depression

• Depression hit in the United States after War

• Trade fell off after the British closed markets to U.S.

• Farmers could not sell goods– Some farmers’ lands were

seized to pay off debts

Shay’s Rebellion• Farmers protest the Government

• Daniel Shays led a group of farmers in MA– Forced courts to close so farmers’ lands weren’t taken– Led 1,000 farmers to Springfield to get guns and ammunition, which led to a fight

between militia and farmers

• Frightened many Americans that the government couldn’t stop unrest and violence

The Issue of Slavery• Between 1776-86, 11 of the 13 states

outlawed slavery or heavily taxed importation of enslaved people

• Northern states passed laws ending slavery

• Free African Americans still faced discrimination everywhere and in most places could not vote

• Manumission=freeing of individual slaves

• As the Articles of Confederation are amended, slavery was a major issue that needed to be addressed

A Call for Change• Alexander Hamilton – New York

lawyer who called for a convention to discuss the problems with the Articles of Confederation

James Madison – Virginia planter who called for change to make a fair, effective central government

The Constitutional Convention• Met in Philadelphia in May 1787• 55 delegates, many college educated• GW and Franklin attended and were influential• Organization –

– GW chosen to preside over the meetings– Each state = one vote; majority rule– Meetings held in private

The Virginia Plan

• Many of the ideas of James Madison• Plan called for:

– Two house legislature (# of representatives proportional to population)

• Lower house = elected by the people• Upper house = elected by the lower house• Chief executive chosen by the legislature• Court system

• Smaller states immediately object, because the bigger states would have all of the power

The New Jersey Plan

• A revision of the Articles of Confederation favored by the smaller states

• Plan called for:– Kept Confederation’s one-house legislature– One vote for each state– Congress could set taxes and regulate trade (which it

couldn’t do before)– Congress would elect a weak executive branch

• Larger states felt that they deserved more power than the smaller states

Discussion and Compromise

• Throughout the summer there was debate, but issues were not resolved

• The Great Compromise – Suggested by Roger Sherman of Connecticut– Proposed a two-house legislature

• Lower house = House of Representatives– # of representatives based on population

• Upper House = Senate– Each state has two senators

Three-Fifths Compromise• Issue of whether slaves should count as population

– North said No– South said Yes– Higher population = more representatives

• Solution – Each slave would count as three-fifths of a person– Northern states also wanted to ban slave trade throughout the nation– Southern states considered it essential to their economy

• Solution – Congress would wait until 1808 to limit the slave trade if they chose

Bill of Rights• George Mason proposed that a bill of rights be

included in the Constitution– Worried that without it, the government could

abuse their power• Most felt that the Constitution was good

enough, and defeated his proposal

Approving the Constitution

• September 1787, delegates sign the Constitution– Three refused to sign (including Mason, who

wanted a bill of rights included)

• Draft sent to the states for approval– Once 9 of the 13 states approved, the new

government would come into existence

A New Plan of Government

Roots of the Constitution

• Republic = system of government in which the people elect representatives to exercise power for them– Requires citizens to take an active role

• Based on other civilizations– Greece and democracy– European governments and thinkers – Especially Britain

• Value of individual rights guaranteed by law

The British System of Government• Magna Carta (1215) – placed limits on power

of king– Parliament emerged as a law making body– Colonial assemblies modeled after Parliament– English Bill of Rights (1689) – many Americans felt

the Constitution needed a similar Bill of Rights

– Enlightenment Period (1700s) – promoted knowledge, reason and science

• John Locke and Baron de Montesquieu

Thinkers• John Locke – English Philosopher

– Believed all had natural rights (life, liberty, property)– Two Treatises of Government

• Government is based on an agreement with the citizens. Government protected the people’s rights.

Social Contract Theory

John Locke

• Baron Montesquieu – French writer• Powers of government should be separated and balanced against

each other• Separation keeps one person from too much power• Powers of government should be clearly defined

Shared Powers• Constitution created a federal system of government

that divided powers• States gave up some of their powers to the

government• Federalism – sharing powers between state and

federal government– Federal government – could tax, regulate trade, control

currency, raise an army, declare war, pass laws– State government – could pass and enforce laws, regulate

trade within their borders (intrastate as opposed to interstate trade), establish local governments, schools, tax, build roads

Supreme Law of the Land

• Constitution – supreme law of the country, above all other laws.

• No state could make laws or take actions against the Constitution

• Federal courts would settle disputes between states• Constitution=final and supreme authority

Legislative Branch• Article I of the Constitution establishes Congress• Congress = Legislative Branch = Law Making Branch

– Contains the House of Representatives and Senate• HoR = representatives based on population• Senate = equal representation (2 senators per state)

• Congress can make laws, collect taxes, coin money, regulate trade, declare war, raise and support armies

Executive Branch

• Article II of the Constitution created executive branch

• President = Executive Branch = Carries out laws• President = Commander in Chief of armed forces and

conducts relations with foreign countries• President and Vice President are ELECTED by the

Electoral College– Electoral College = selected #of electors based on the

number of members of Congress– President and Vice President both serve four year terms

Executive Branch

Judicial Branch

• Article III of Constitution established the judicial branch– Court system = Judicial Branch = interprets laws

• Supreme Court (9 members) top of judicial branch– All lower federal courts are included in this branch

• Hear cases involving Constitution, laws passed by Congress, and disputes between states

Clarence ThomasChief Justice – John Roberts

Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Antonin Scalia

Sonia Sotomayor

Elena Kagan

Samuel AlitoStephen Breyer

Anthony Kennedy

System of Checks and BalancesIncluded to ensure that branches are equal

National Citizens

• Constitution created citizens of the United States

• Set up a government in which the people choose their officials

• New government pledged to protect its citizens

• Created a new government without war or chaos

The Constitutional Debate

• Constitution now had to be approved by the people– NINE states had to ratify (approve)

• State legislatures created special ratifying conventions to discuss the document

• Rhode Island opposed the Constitution from the start, never met

Federalists• Supporters of the Constitution included GW,

Franklin, James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay– Wrote essays explaining and defending the

Constitution (the Federalist Papers)

Anti- Federalists• Opposed ratification of the Constitution• Anti-federalist Papers

– Main argument: Constitution would take away the liberties that Americans fought to win

• Argued that the government would ignore the rights of the people and the states and favor the wealthy

• Preferred local government close to the people

• Patrick Henry a supporter

Protecting Rights

• Strongest criticism = lack of a bill of rights– Several states announced they would not ratify the

Constitution without it

• Federalists feared chaos and disorder without a strong central government (more Shays rebellions)

• Anti-federalists feared oppression more than disorder

Adopting the Constitution• 1787 Deleware is the first to ratify

• By 1788, 9 states had ratified, making the Constitution the government of the United States

• Two states (NY and VA) had not ratified– In VA, Patrick Henry gave persuasive speeches against the Constitution– Virginia finally ratified after a promise that there would be a Bill of Rights

included

• By May, 1790, all 13 states ratified (celebrations, parades, etc.)

• Bill of Rights added in 1791– Now the government was ready to work and elect leaders