Creating the Constitution

2

The Articles of Confederation• During the Revolution, the

new United States needed a functioning government

• Modeled after colonial governments

• States would retain sovereignty

• Founders were fearful of concentrated power due to past experience with the British

3

A Limited Government• Articles established a “firm

league of friendship” among the states

• Bills were passed on nine of thirteen votes

• Amending the Articles took unanimous consent of the states

4

Structure of Government• Unicameral (single house)

legislative body• Each state had one vote

regardless of population size• Congress given sole

authority to govern the country

• An executive committee oversaw government when Congress was not in session

• Congress would establish temporary courts to hear disputes among the states

5

Powers Granted to Government under the Articles of

Confederation• Declare war and make peace• Make treaties with foreign countries• Establish an army and navy• Appoint high-ranking military officials• Requisition, print, and borrow money• Establish weights and measures• Hear disputes among the states related to trade or boundaries

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Powers Denied to Government• No power to raise funds for an army or navy• No power to tax, impose tariffs, or collect duties• No executive branch to enforce laws• No power to control trade among the states• No power to force states to honor obligations• No power to regulate the value of currency

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Accomplishments of the Articles of Confederation

• Administered the seven-year war effort

• Negotiated the Treaty of Paris with Britain in 1783

• Established the Northwest Ordinance of 1787

Map of the land settled in the Northwest Ordinance of 1787

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Problems Facing the New Nation• Trade with

foreign nations• Financing the

nation• Foreign

relations• Interstate

relations

A 1783 cartoon satirizing relations between Britain and America

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Problems Facing the New Nation: You Decide

• Trade with foreign nations• Financing the nation• Foreign relations• Interstate relations

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Problems with Trade• U.S. no longer the favorite trading partner of Great Britain

– U.S. exports to British ports had to be on British ships– Many U.S.-produced goods were barred from British ports– Britain sent vast amounts of cheap goods to U.S.

• Potential Remedy– Establish a tariff on British goods

• Weakness in Articles of Confederation preventing this solution

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Problems Financing the Nation• Post-war debt owed to U.S. citizens and foreign nations• Printing of Continental Dollars caused inflation• Economic depression due to loss of trade, decreased value of

the dollar, and increased state taxes• Potential Remedies

– Pass a tax law to raise revenue to pay debt– Force states to stop printing paper money

• Weakness in Articles of Confederation preventing these solutions

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Problems in Foreign Relations• British passed Navigation Acts to destroy American shipping

industry• Spain restricted access to Mississippi River and New Orleans• British troops occupied portions of the NW Territory• Barbary Pirates freely preyed on U.S. shipping• Potential Remedies

– Raise an army to force foreign governments to comply with treaty

– Raise a navy to protect American merchant ships• Weakness in Articles of Confederation preventing these

solutions

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Problems with Interstate Relations• States placed trade restrictions on neighboring states• State legislatures were not meeting their financial obligations

to the nation or treaty obligations to British citizens• States didn’t honor court decisions regarding territory disputes• Potential Remedies

– Pass laws to control interstate trade– Force states to comply with financial and treaty obligations

• Weakness in Articles of Confederation preventing these solutions

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1781–1789: The Critical Period• Postwar breakdown in

social and economic systems made problems worse

• Lack of power made the national government ineffective

• The creators of the Articles had emphasized state sovereignty, not national unity

1786 American coat of arms

Trouble in Massachusetts• Debt problems hit Massachusetts farmers• Economic depression and lack of remedy from state

legislatures increases frustration

Boston in 1787

Shays’s Rebellion• Daniel Shays led a band of farmers to stop farm

foreclosures• Rebellion quickly broken up but became a wake-up

call to many leaders

Caricatures of Daniel Shays and Job Shattuck, leaders of the rebellion

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A Need for Change• Many felt the problems were local and required local

solutions• Several leaders saw problems were national in scope• They met at Annapolis to discuss problems of interstate trade• Pushed for a convention to address the weaknesses of the

Articles• Congress agreed to call a convention with a mandate to

“revise” the Articles

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The Constitution’s Origins• Ancient Greece and Rome• The theories of the Enlightenment• Evolution of English government• The colonial experience

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Historical Influences on the Constitution

Classical learning of the Greeks and Romans

The Greeks • Value of citizenship• Role of the people in government• Divided functions of government

The Romans• Laws based on equity

and justice

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The Enlightenment• Locke, Montesquieu, Rousseau• Political ideas

– The people are sovereign– Government is a contract

between the people and the government

– People possess natural rights of life, liberty and property

– If government abuses its power, the people can take it back

Locke

Rousseau

Montesquieu

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English Influences

Magna Carta (1215) Petition of Right (1628)

English Bill of Rights (1689)

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The Magna Carta—1215 • English barons meet with

King John at Runnymede• No taxation without consent• Respect property rights• Follow due process in legal

matters• No unjust punishment• Abide by the rule of law

King John places his seal on Magna Carta

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Petition of Right—1628 • Origins of Parliament• Similar provisions as found

in Magna Carta• Also includes

– No quartering of troops in people’s homes

– No martial law in peace time

King Charles I

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The English Bill of Rights• William and Mary became the monarchs of England under the

English Bill of Rights • Agreed to respect the rights of citizens and rule by the laws of

Parliament– Supremacy of Parliament– The king could not suspend laws without Parliament’s

consent– Citizens had the right to petition the government– Members of Parliament were to be elected by the people– Sessions of Parliament were to be held frequently– Parliament would regulate the army in times of peace

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Colonial Influences• 1619: Virginia establishes the first representative Government • 1630: Mayflower Compact sets down the principle of majority rule

and voluntarily agreeing to be governed • 1639: Fundamental Orders of Connecticut establishes that political

agreements are written down • Colonial charters limited

the power of the government to preserve people’s rights

• Cases like that of John Peter Zenger established precedents for freedom and liberty

The Mayflower Compact

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The Declaration of IndependenceA. The people are sovereignB. Government is a contract

between the people and the government

C. People possess natural rights of life, liberty and property

D. If government abuses its power, the people can take it back

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The Philadelphia Convention

Delegates at the Federal Convention—1787

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The Delegates• Delegates who attended• Qualifications and experience• Occupations

George Washington Benjamin Franklin James Madison

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The Delegates (continued)• Collective beliefs and philosophies of the delegates• Importance of those who weren’t there

Not in attendance

Patrick HenryThomas Jefferson Samuel Adams

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The Convention Begins• Delayed beginning• Proceedings conducted in secret• Delegates decide to discuss all matters of government, not just

revisions to the Articles

Philadelphia in 1787

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The Virginia Plan• Proposed a strong

national government• Three active branches

of government– Legislative– Executive– Judicial

• Two-house Congress with proportional representation

Edmund Randolph

Gouverneur Morris

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Central Questions

• What powers should the government have?• How much power should the government be given?• Equal representation seen as undemocratic• Proportional representation thought to favor only large states

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The New Jersey Plan• Single-house legislature• Equal representation• Plural executive elected by

Congress• Supreme Court chosen by

executive• Acts by Congress and

treaties superior to state law

William Paterson

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The Debate Rages On• Battle over

representation and apportionment continues

• Other matters debated and decided

Illustration of Benjamin Franklin speaking at the convention

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The Great Compromise• The House would have proportional representation• The Senate would have equal representation

The Senate buildingThe hall of the House of

Representatives

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Compromises between Northern and Southern States

• Three-fifths of slave populations would be included in determining House representation

• The South agreed to allow Congress to have the power to pass tariffs

• The North agreed not to interfere with slave importation for 20 years

• Compromises avoided makingslavery an issue for debate

• Framers ended up merelypostponing a national calamity

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Limits on Democracy• Delegates wanted to limit democracy• Plan to indirectly elect the president• Federal judiciary made an appellate court• Power to declare any law unconstitutional not stated, but

implied

The Philadelphia state house around the time of the Constitutional Convention

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Major Features and Innovations• Separation of powers• Checks and balances• Limits on direct

democracy

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Major Features and Innovations (continued)

• Supremacy clause• Federalism

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Major Features and Innovations (continued)

• Amendments• Ratification process

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Signing the Constitution

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Review Questions• Why was the Constitutional Convention called?• Why did the delegates decide not to amend the Articles of

Confederation?• What was the basic organization for government proposed in

the Virginia Plan?• Why was the New Jersey plan rejected by the majority of the

delegates?• Why did the delegates spend so much time and energy on the

apportionment for representation in the Congress?• What were the delegates’ general views on democracy for the

people, and how were they reflected in some of the provisions of the Constitution?

43

The Struggle for Ratification• Congress agrees to send the Constitution to the states• Ratification procedure called for direct input from the people

and not the state legislatures or Congress• Two distinct views emerged:

– The Federalists– The Anti-Federalists

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Federalists• Who were the Federalists?• Central government essential• Believed the Constitution addressed all the shortcomings of

the Articles• Provisions in place to check government’s power

John JayJames MadisonAlexander Hamilton

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Anti-Federalists• Who were the Anti-Federalists?• Central government had too much power• The “distant” government would neglect their needs• The Constitution favored the wealthy and commercial classes• No protection of individual liberties

Richard Henry Lee Patrick Henry Samuel Adams

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The Federalists’ “Hard Sell”• Argued that the

Constitution adequately addressed the country’s problems

• The Federalist Papers provided sound, reasoned arguments

• Portrayed the Constitution as the best—and only—plan available

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Early Battles for Ratification• Delaware, New Jersey, Georgia, and Connecticut• Battles in Pennsylvania and Massachusetts

Cartoon satirizing events in Connecticut at the time of the state’s ratification convention

48

The Ratification Battle in Virginia

• Famous figures on both sides of the debate• Maryland, South Carolina ratify by the time the Virginia

convention opens• New Hampshire ratifies

while the convention is going on

• Virginia ratifies the Constitution by a slim margin soon afterward

Pro-Constitution cartoon

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The Final States Ratify• New York• North Carolina ratifies in November of 1789• Rhode Island ratifies in May of 1790

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Creation of a Bill of Rights• Initially, the Constitution had no bill of rights• Briefly mentioned during the federal convention but rejected• During the ratification conventions, it became clear a bill of

rights was desired• Federalists agreed to include a bill of rights• Bill of Rights drafted and approved in the first Congress in

1789• Approved by the people through the amendment process in

1791

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The Promise in the Bill of Rights• Written rights don’t guarantee rights• The Bill of Rights continued the dialogue on liberty and

freedom discussed at the Federal convention• 14th amendment: Federal and

state governments are held accountable to not violate people’s rights

• Democracy is best practiced by people defending their rights

• The Supreme Court serves as the forum for continued dialogue over people’s rights and freedoms