EQ: What were the weaknesses of the Articles of

Confederation and how did this lead to the creation

of the US Constitution?

CONFEDERATION AND

THE CONSTITUTION

After the Revolutionary War, Americans were

reluctant to unite under a strong central government

They favored a republic: a government where citizens

ruled through elected representatives

REPUBLIC

1. Congress could not enact and collect taxes

2. Each state had only one vote in Congress, regardless of population

3. Nine out of thirteen states needed to agree to pass any law

4. Articles could be amended only if all states approved

5. There was no executive branch to enforce laws of Congress

6. There was no national court system to settle legal disputes

7. There were thirteen separate states that lacked national unity

WEAKNESSES OF THE

ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION

Farmers rose up in protest over increased state taxes

Daniel Shays led an army of 1,200 towards the arsenal in

Springfield, Massachusetts

Militia was called out to cut off the rebellion; four rebels were

killed

Why was this important? Shays’ Rebellion caused panic and dismay throughout the

nation and showed that we needed a stronger central

government

SHAYS’ REBELLION (1787)

Question: How do we give fair

representation to both large and small

states?

FORMING A NEW GOVERNMENT

Virginia Plan

Called for a two-house

(bicameral) legislature

with membership based

on each state’s

population

New Jersey Plan

Called for a single

house legislature with

membership based on

equal representation

PLANS

Great Compromise

Called for a bicameral legislature

Upper house (Senate) would be based on equal representation

Lower house (House of Representatives) would be based on

each state’s population

Solved the problem of representation

3/5ths Compromise

Problem: Southern states wanted slaves to count and Northern

states did not

Solution: Three-fifths of each states slaves counted towards

their population

COMPROMISES

Federalism: power is divided between a national

government and state governments

Checks and balances: prevented any one branch of

government from dominating the other two

Legislative: makes the law

Executive: enforces the law

Judicial: interprets the law and settles disputes

FEDERALISM

Federalists

Supported the new constitution

Favored its balance of power between the states and the

national government

Antifederalists

Opposed the new constitution

Did not like having such a strong central government

Because of this, a Bill of Rights was eventually

added to the Constitution after it had been ratified

(approved)

ANTIFEDERALISTS VS FEDERALISTS

The Constitution was ratified in June of 1788

This made it the law of the land

By 1791, the states had adopted the Bill of Rights

Constitution is the oldest written national constitution still in

use

It’s considered to be a “living document”

THE CONSTITUTION