unit 2 foundations of american govt articles of the confederation federalists & anti federalists

Unit 2Foundations of American Govt

Articles of the Confederation

Federalists & Anti Federalists

Background Information…

• 1776: colonies declared their independence

AOC: mid 1776 – late 1777

• Articles of Confederation(AOC) created to bind the new states together

• Articles were the first form of government created in the newly declared United States

• The AOC was considered a firm league of friendship

• Lacked enforcement powers

Strengths of AOC

• Negotiated Treaty of Paris (1783): ended the Revolutionary War

• Land Ordinance of 1785

• Northwest Ordinance of 1787

LAND ORDINANCE OF 1785

• Under the AOC the govt did not have the power to tax

• Goal was to raise money through the sale of land in the largely unmapped western territory

NORTHWEST ORDINANCE: 1787• Created a management policy for

Westward expansion. (creating Midwestern states)

• The U.S. grew as a Nation.• Set up how territories could become

states

Weakness of the AOC• Congress (legislative branch) could not:

• Regulate trade• Collect taxes• Raise an army• One vote for each state, regardless of size• 9 of the 13 states had to approve most acts/laws• No National Court System• No Executive Officer (President)• No National Currency ($) • National Government only had a unicameral (1

branch) Legislature • Articles only a “firm league of friendship”

• Individual states seemed to have most of the power under the Articles of Confederation, because there was no:

• National Army• National Currency• Executive Officer (President)

Shay’s Rebellion:1787-86• Small group of armed farmers in Ma • They were angered by crushing state debt & taxes

needed to pay for the Revolutionary War.

• Importance: it made people realize that, without the federal govts ability to raise an army, it could not protect its citizens

• There need to be a better solution

Problems arose between states…

• Trading

• States having different currencies($)

• No national defense

U.S. Constitution: May 14, 1787

Constitutional ConventionPhilidelphia, PA

12 states74 delegates

Arguments for a New Government

Who has the power in the govt? Big Central ( Federal) Govt? Power in the states? How do we preserve popular sovereignty?

How are the states going to represented?

Becomes known as the big state v little state debate

What about the slaves? Are they counted? How?

Constitutional Compromises

FEDERALISTS: Alexander Hamilton

Loose interpretation of the Constitution - Constitution changes with time

Argued that the new nation needed a strong, effective Central Government to

- Handle economy

– Establish a monetary (money) system

– Promote Justice

ANTI-FEDERALISTS: Thomas Jefferson

• Strict interpretation of the Constitution

• Consisted mostly of farmers & small land-owners who believed nation’s economic future was in agriculture

– Opposed strong centralized government– Wanted power for states & individuals

“Believed best government governs the least”

Representation Plans

NEW JERSEY PLAN

Small state plan Unicameral (1)

legislature Representation:

one vote per state

VIRGINIA PLAN

Large state plan Bicameral ( 2)

legislature Representation by

population

• divided the legislature into two bodies• Senate & House of Representatives

• Senate: equal representation (2 representatives from each state)

• House: proportional representation (based on population).

Great Compromise (Connecticut Compromise):

Representation ONLY

Five (5) slaves would be counted as three (3) free people

Used to determine a state’s population

Three-fifths Compromise:

FEDERALIST PAPERS• The Federalist Papers (85 articles)

• Written to encourage the ratification of the Constitution

• Outlining the proposed ideas of the system of

govt

• They did not agree on the type of govt the former colonies should have

• They argued over the constitution.

Bill of Rights: was the compromise

(1st 10 amendments) added to protect individual & states rights

Federalists & Anti-Federalist Compromise

Solutions offered by Constitution

Representation by State & by State’s Population in bicameral (2 houses) legislature

Congress had power to tax

Congress had power to regulate trade

President

National Court System

Amendments ratified by ¾ of States

Laws passed by a simple majority from both houses

Established strong National Government