Making a Constitution

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Making a Constitution

• Or
• How Unified Do We Want To Be?

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Deciding to Unite

• Encouraging Unity
• English language and Culture
• Single geographic unit
• States had no tradition of war with each other
• Cooperated to win independence
• Against Unity
• Loyalty to individual state
• Large area, poor roads and transportation
• States traded more with Europe and Caribbean than
  each other
• No longer had a common enemy

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Articles of Confederation

• Framework of new government
• Adopted in 1781
• Created a league of 13 independent states
• EXTREMELY WEAK

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Weaknesses of Articles of Confederation

• Congress could hardly make laws
• Needed 9/13 to pass
• Rarely were more than 10 delegates present
• No chief executive, all law enforcement left to
  state
• No central courts to handle issues between states
• Amendment to Articles required unanimous vote
• Congress could not levy taxes, only ask states
• 75 of these requests ignores
• Congress could issue money, but so could every
  state

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More Weaknesses

• Congress could not raise an army, only request
  states to send recruits
• This weakness shown in Shays Rebellion
• Daniel Shays led debtors in armed rebellion in
  Massachusetts seeking to end prison sentences for
  debt
• Seized courthouses and tried to take US armory at
  Springfield
• US government could do nothing, finally rebellion
  put down by Massachusetts militia
• Congress had no power to control interstate or
  foreign commerce
• Each state had own taxes and tariffs
• Government had little respect abroad
• Britain blatantly violated the Treaty of Paris by
  putting forts in the Northwest Territory

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Western Territories

• Maryland refused to adopt Articles until states
  with Western territories gave them to government
• Government gained the Northwestern Territory
• Northwest Ordinance of 1787
• Should be divided into no less than 3 and no more
  than 5 states
• Eventually became Ohio, Indiana, Michigan,
  Illinois, and Wisconsin
• When territory got 5000 male adults, could elect
  own legislature
• 60,000 inhabitants could have a constitution and
  statehood
• Slavery forbidden
• Significance
• Served as policy for sale of western lands
• Model for democratic treatment of territories
  that contrasted sharply with Englands dealings
  with the 13 colonies
• Set precedent for admission of new states

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Constitutional Convention 1787

• Delegates were mainly lawyers, landowners,
  bankers, merchants
• Leaders
• George Washington presided over Convention
• James Madison took notes, father of the
  Constitution

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A Bundle of Compromises

• Representation
• Virginia Plan (Big States)
• Representation in national legislature be based
  on state population
• New Jersey Plan (Little States)
• Each states should have equal representation
• Great Compromise
• Bicameral Legislature
• Senate Two representatives from each state
• House of Representatives representation based on
  population

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More Compromises

• Slavery
• Southern states wanted slaves to be counted as
  part of population for representation but not
  taxes
• 3/5 Compromise
• Five slaves counted as three people for purposed
  of representation and taxation
• Tariffs
• South afraid of Congress levying taxes on exports
• Compromise Congress could tax imports, but not
  exports
• Presidency
• Feared too much power, too long a term, etc
• Compromise
• 4 year term
• Electoral college

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Adoption of Constitution

• Needed 9/13 states to adopt
• Debate
• Federalists supporters of Constitution
• Wealthy
• Nation more important than state
• Said Constitution would provide a stable
  Government, law and order, economic prosperity
• Anti-Federalists Opponents of Constitution
• City-workers, farmers
• Said Constitution served rich, threatened states,
  people unprotected against powerful central
  government
• This made Federalist pledge to add a Bill of
  Rights

The Federalists are shown on the Right,
anti-federalists on the left, they are each
pulling a broken down wagon in opposite directions
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Success of Federalists

• Well-organized, could spend much money on
  achieving ratification
• Anti-Federalists supported weak Articles
• Federalists were supported by wealthy, who could
  vote
• Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison
  were leaders
• Wrote series of articles called The Federalist
  Papers that were published in New York newspapers
  and widely read
• Also supported by Benjamin Franklin and George
  Washington both highly respected