The Confederation and the Constitution

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Chapter 9

• The Confederation and the Constitution

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A Revolution of Sentiments

• The exodus of some 80,000 Loyalists robbed the
  country of a conservative ballast.
• Upper class Patriots rose up to power as the
  elite.
• The new spirit of equality even inspired a few
  slave owners to free their slaves.
• Challenge to the new government was to come up
  with a form of government that was acceptable to
  all 13 states.
• Wanted a government that was strong enough to
  serve them but not strong enough to dominate
  them.
• The government must never become tyrannical

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Republican Motherhood

• Mothers devoted to their families were developed
  as an idea of republican motherhood and
  elevated women to higher statuses as keepers of
  the nations conscience.

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John Singleton Copley
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State Constitutions

• 2nd Continental Congress urged the states to draw
  up new constitutions.
• Must exclude England, Parliament, king, and
  government
• All constitutions must be written
• Parts of state constitutions
• Began with a declaration of independence
• Must have a list of rights against government
• State governmental framework bicameral or
  unicameral
• Weakening in the power of governor

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Economic Changes From the War

• Loyalist property was parceled and sold
• No trade with Great Britain meant the growth of
  the Industrial Revolution in the United States.
• Free trade no more navigation laws and
  mercantilism
• Wartime inflation
• Distaste for any and all taxes even necessary
  taxes

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Articles of Confederation

• 2nd Continental Congress, the interim form of
  government, drafted the Articles of Confederation
  in 1777.
• Articles were not drafted until 1781 because of a
  dispute over western land claims.
• The problems was that states like New York and
  Virginia had huge tracts of land west of the
  Alleghenies while some states had no land claims.
• Maryland held up passage of the Articles because
  unanimity was required to pass the document
• Solution found when the states gave up their land
  claims to Congress, after which the Articles
  passed.

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Articles of Confederation

• Articles provided for a loose confederation of
  states.
• Congress under the Articles ran the country.
• Equal representations by states. Each state had
  a single vote, so that some 68,000 Rhode
  Islanders had the same voice as more than ten
  times that many Virginians
• All bills dealing with specified subjects of
  importance required at least a two-thirds vote.
• Any amendment of the Articles themselves required
  a unanimous vote.
• Congress had no power to regulate commerce
• Congress could not enforce its tax-collection
  program
• Powers of Congress included dealing with other
  countries, settling disputes between states,
  declaring war and coining or borrowing money.

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Land Ordinance of 1785

• The Land Ordinance of 1785 provided the acreage
  of the Old Northwest should be sold and the money
  would go to Congress.
• This area would be surveyed and then divided into
  townships six miles square, which would then be
  divided into 36 square sections with one set
  aside for public schools.

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Northwest Ordinance of 1787aka Add-A-State Plan

• 3 stages to eventual full democracy and statehood
• When a territory has enough people Congress would
  send a governor, secretary, and 3 judges.
• When the population reached 5000 free white males
  of voting age a legulature would be chosen by the
  people
• When the population reached 60,000 free white
  males of voting age they could apply for
  statehood.
• Slavery was outlawed in the Northwest Territory

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Failures of the Articles

• United States was not taken seriously by the rest
  of the world.
• No leadership. No president, king, prime
  minister, etc.
• No military
• Could not get rid of Great Britain in the west
  which eventually led to the War of 1812
• Could do nothing when Spain closed off the
  Mississippi River to Americans
• Unpaid bills because of the inability to tax
  states bills could not be paid
• Internal strive
• Shays Rebellion Massachusetts farmers protested
  government because of excess taxes
• Rioted in Boston and because of the lack of a
  military the rioters could not be stopped.
• Lack of internal improvements

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Shays Rebellion

• It took the United States army six months to
  quell the rebellion. In an effort to strengthen
  their power, the Northern bourgeoisie and the
  slaveholding planters of the South decided to
  amend the constitution. In 1787 representatives
  of the bourgeoisie and the slave-holders, acting
  in greatest secrecy, drafted a new constitution,
  which has remained basically in force to this
  day.

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Successes of the Articles

• Stepping stone government to the Constitution
• Charting of westward settlement
• Land Ordinance of 1785
• Northwest Ordinance of 1787
• Brought Revolutionary War to an end
• Drew up the Treaty of Paris of 1783 with Great
  Britain

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Annapolis Meeting

• In 1786 in Annapolis, Maryland a convention was
  called, but only five states were represented.
• Called upon Congress to summon a convention to
  meet in Philadelphia in 1787 to revise the
  Articles of Confederation

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Philadelphia Convention

• On May 25, 1787, 55 delegates from 12 states
  (Rhode Island was absent) met in Philadelphia to
  revise the Articles of Confederation.
• The 55 delegates were rich and young (average age
  42), and they hoped to preserve the union,
  protect the American democracy from abroad and
  preserve it at home, and curb mobocracy rampant
  in various states.
• George Washington was unanimously elected
  chairman
• James Madison became the Father of the
  Constitution
• Became known as the Constitutional Convention
  after the Founding Fathers illegally decided to
  scrap the Articles and start over again.

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Founding Fathers
Stuart, Gilbert, 1755-1828
A portrait of Alexander Hamilton by John
Trumbull, 1792.
U.S. Library of Congress
Gilbert Stuart American, 1755 - 1828
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Great Compromise

• Compromise that would determine the number of
  representatives and the House.
• Big states Vs. little states
• Virginia Plan Proposal that would let
  population determine the number of
  representatives and the House.
• New Jersey Plan Proposal that would call for
  equal representation in the House. One vote one
  state.
• Connecticut Compromise Two house Congress
• Senate for the small states. Two senators for
  each state
• House of Representatives for the big states.
  Representation based on population. The bigger
  the state the more representatives
• All tax and revenue bills must start in the House
  because big states shoulder much of the nations
  tax burden

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Compromise on Election of President

• President elected indirectly by the Electoral
  College, rather than directly by the people.

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3/5 Compromise

• Southern state Vs Northern state
• Dealt with representation in the House
• Southerners wanted to count all of their slaves
  toward the population
• Northerners them to count none of the slaves
• Compromise 3/5 of the slaves counted toward the
  population in the south

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Trade Compromise
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Guarding Against the Masses

• Federal judges elected for life.
• Judges chosen by the president and approved by
  Congress
• Electoral College
• Senators originally chosen by state legislatures
  not the people
• Only one-half of one branch chosen by the people
  (House of Representatives)

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3 Branches of Government

• Executive
• President
• Legislative
• Congress
• Senate
• House
• Judicial
• Supreme Court

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System of Checks and Balances
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Constitution

• Preamble
• Article I - The Legislative Branch
• Article II - The Executive Branch
• Article III - The Judicial Branch
• Article IV - The States
• Article V Amendment
• Article VI - The United States
• Article VII - Ratification

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Bill of Rights

• Amendment 1 - Freedom of Religion, Press,
  Expression
• Amendment 2 - Right to bear Arms
• Amendment 3 - Quartering of soldiers
• Amendment 4 - Search and Seizure
• Amendment 5 - Trial and Punishment, Compensation
  for Takings
• Amendment 6 - Right to speedy trial,
  confrontation of witnesses
• Amendment 7 - Trial by jury in civil cases
• Amendment 8 - Cruel and Unusual punishment
• Amendment 9 - Construction of Constitution
• Amendment 10 - Powers of the States and People

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Signing of the Constitution
Delegates to the Philadelphia convention of 1787
sign the newly written Constitution in this 1940
painting by Howard Chandler Christy. These men
are often referred to as the "Founding Fathers."
(Painting by Howard Chandler Christy, ctsy. U.S.
House of Representatives)
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Federalist Vs Anti-Federalists
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Electoral College

• Electoral votes by state

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Ratification of the Constitution

• Federalists needed 9 of 13 states to ratify the
  Constitution
• Four small states quickly ratified the
  Constitution, and Pennsylvania was the first
  large state to act.
• Massachusetts finally ratified it after a promise
  of a bill of rights to be added later.
• Three more states ratified, and on June 21, 1788,
  the Constitution was officially adopted after
  nine states had ratified.
• All but Virginia, New York, North Carolina, and
  Rhode Island had ratified

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Federalist Papers

• The 85 Federalist Papers were written between
  October 1787 and May 1788 by Alexander Hamilton,
  James Madison, and John Jay. Through publishing
  them, the authors hoped to both explain the new
  Constitution to the people of America and to
  garner their support for it. Originally published
  anonymously, under the name "Publius," the
  Federalist Papers appeared in various New York
  state newspapers of the period.

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Constitution Ratified!

• New York was swayed by The Federalist Papers,
  written by John Jay, James Madison, and Alexander
  Hamilton, and finally yielded after realizing
  that it could prosper apart from the union.
• North Carolina and Rhode Island finally ratified
  after intense pressure from the government
• Conservationism was victorious, as the safeguards
  had been erected against mob-rule excesses.

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Constitution

• President George W. Bush and Laura Bush view the
  U.S. Constitution with National Archivist John
  Carlin, second on left, and Senior Curator Stacy
  Bredhoff, second on right, while touring the
  National Archives in Washington, D.C., Wednesday,
  Jan. 19, 2005. The Bushes also looked at the
  Declaration of Independence, George Washington's
  handwritten inaugural address, George Washington
  and President George H. W. Bush's inaugural
  Bible, and the Bill of Rights. White House photo
  by Eric Draper