Section 1:The Articles of Confederation

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CHAPTER 8
Forming a Government
Section 1 The Articles of Confederation Secti
on 2 Problems in the New
Nation Section 3 The Constitution Section
4 Ratification of the Constitution
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SECTION 1
The Articles of Confederation
Ideas about Government

• The American colonies had taken a bold step in
  declaring their independence. Now they had to
  form a new government.
• To do so, they drew from a wide range of ideas.
• English law, Magna Carta, English Bill of Rights,
  Enlightenment, New England Town Meetings, House
  of Burgesses, Great Awakening, Mayflower Compact,
  Fundamental Orders of Connecticut

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SECTION 1
The State Constitutions

• All of the ideas were put to quick use. During
  the war, each state wrote their own constitution
  with a belief in republicanism.
• Republicanism a system of government called a
  republic. Where citizens elect representatives
  who are responsible for the people.
• Each state created a limited government to keep
  individual leaders from gaining too much power.
  (Like who?)
• State Constitutions also protected the rights of
  individuals. In Virginia had the the Virginia
  Declaration of Rights. (Like our Bill of Rights)
  Thomas Jefferson also wrote the Virginia Statute
  for Religious Freedom. (to protect religious
  freedom)
• Many states expanded suffrage (some- owned land,
  some taxpaying)

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SECTION 1
Forming a Union

• Creating only a state government was not enough
  for most people. A national government was
  needed to hold things together.
• On June 12, 1776, a committee of 13 (one from
  each colony )was created to run the country.
  This committee met to create the Articles of
  Confederation.
• Under the Articles of Confederation, the congress
  (1 from each state) would become the central or
  national government. The national government did
  not have a court system, or a president.
• All 13 States had to ratify the Articles.
• The confederation congress had only limited
  powers.
• It could make borrow .
• It could negotiate and make treaties.
• Settle conflicts between states.
• Could NOT force the states to pay taxes
• Could NOT force the states to provide troops.

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SECTION 1
The Northwest Territory

• The new government had to decide what to do with
  their new lands to the West. They also had to
  pay up debts from the War.
• They solved both issues with the Land Ordinance
  of 1785. (selling land out west) broke up the
  new land into territories. Said there had to be
  a spot for a public school, land for veterans of
  the war, then the rest of the land could be sold
  as public lands.
• To set up a political system for these regions,
  the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 was passed. It
  created the Northwest Territory. It also created
  a way to bring the new territories into the Union
  as states. (60,000 people)

Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin
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SECTION 1
The Articles of Confederation
Question What were the key ideas, people,
documents, and practices that contributed to the
development of representative government?
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SECTION 1
The Articles of Confederation

• New England town meetings
• Virginia House of Burgesses
• Mayflower Compact
• Fundamental Orders of Connecticut
• Declaration of Independence

• republicanism
• limited governments
• Virginia Declaration of Rights
• Virginia Statue for Religious Freedom
• voting rights

• Magna Carta
• English Bill of Rights
• Parliament
• Enlightenment
• John Locke

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SECTION 2
Problems in the New Nation
A Lack of Respect

• Under the Articles of Confederation, the US was a
  very weak nation. Plus, the war had just ended
  and the US was in shambles.
• B/c of the lack of power in the US, the US was
  not given much respect by anyone in the world.
• They couldnt stop the Indians. They couldnt
  enforce the Treaty of Paris 1783 against the
  British. The Spanish were taking advantage of
  the weakness of the US.
• This was a time when a strong national government
  was needed Under the Articles, that wasnt
  possible. Some began to ask for change.

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SECTION 2
Trouble with Trade

• Before the war, the biggest buyer of American
  goods was Britain. After the war, they closed
  their ports to American ships. The ones that
  didnt place high taxes on American Exports.
• The confederation congress couldnt help this
  situation, as they didnt have the power to pass
  tariffs of their own.
• One headline in a British newspaper read
  Dis-United-States. The headline was right.

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SECTION 2
Economic Problems at Home

• In addition to problems with international trade,
  trade at home was beginning to be a problem.
• The Confederation Congress had no power to
  regulate interstate commerce. Therefore, each
  state only looked out for their own well being.
• Trade laws were different from state to state.
  This made trade very difficult.
• Add to that, the fact that each state was
  printing their own and you have major
  problems. Which is worth more, Pennsylvania
  or Virginia ?
• Some states just printed endless amounts of money
  with no gold to back it up. This causes
  inflation.
• These economic problems landed the US into a
  depression pd. Of low economic activity.

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SECTION 2
Debt in Massachusetts

• Each state handled its economic problems by
  themselves.
• In Mass. They didnt print off , they instead
  tried to pay off debts by collecting tax for
  land sales. This hit farmers particularly hard.
• So farmers had to borrow to pay off these
  taxes. Then b/c of the problems w/trade, the
  farmers were having a hard time selling their
  crops and repaying their debts.
• This leads to Shays Rebellion.

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SECTION 2
Debt in Massachusetts

• September 1786, farmers revolt b/c of their land
  being taken b/c they couldnt pay their debts.
• Daniel Shays was the main leader.
• Ended when they tried to take a federal weapons
  arsenal.
• Shays rebellion lasted for several months. This
  embarrassed many American Leaders.
• Proved that the Articles wasnt working. Why
  couldnt they raise an army to protect the US?
  B/c the Articles didnt give the Confederation
  Congress the power to do so.

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SECTION 2
A Push for Change

• Annapolis Convention convention called to
  discuss the problems with the Articles.
• Decided that the Articles needed fixing.

Annapolis Convention Flag
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SECTION 2
Problems in the New Nation
Question What were the causes and consequences
of Shays Rebellion?
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SECTION 2
Problems With the A.o.C.
Your Left Palm
Border Finger Couldnt settle border disputes
between states
Ring Finger Couldnt raise by taxing
Guns Couldnt raise an army
Shays Rebellion
Weak Finger Weakness of Federal Govt.
Loser / No Respect
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SECTION 2
Problems in the New Nation

• Farmers had to pay new taxes.
• Farmers could not pay their debts.
• Many farmers were forced to sell their property.
• Some farmers were sent to debtors prison.
• Some farmers had to sell themselves as indentured
  servants.

• closed the Massachusetts Supreme Court
• worried political leaders
• showed the weaknesses of the Confederation
  government
• increased the call for a stronger central
  government

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SECTION 3
The Constitution
Constitutional Convention

• Time to change the Articles was here. Delegates
  met in Philadelphia in May 1787.
• 12 states (not Rhode Island) sent 55 delegates to
  Independence Hall for this event.
• Delegates were the cream of the crop in
  America.
• Franklin was the oldest at 88 yrs. James
  Madison proved to be one of the most important,
  b/c of his note taking. (Father of the
  Constitution)
• Washington was the president of the Convention.

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SECTION 3
The Great Compromise

• At first, the question came up to how they should
  change the Articles. Should they slightly change
  or scrap and restart a new one. The later was
  chosen.
• A major issue during the convention was slavery.
  Should slaves count as population. South yes.
  North no. (property or not)
• Virginia Plan (large states) 3 branches of govt.
  Congress would have 2 houses (bicameral). Both
  based on a states population.
• New Jersey Plan (small states) 3 branches of
  govt. Congress would have 1 house based on
  equality for each state.
• Great Compromise combined these two plans. 3
  branches. Congress bicameral (1 house based on
  population, other based on equality)

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SECTION 3
The 3/5 Compromise

• The debate over representation also involved some
  regional differences.
• Southern delegates wanted slaves to count towards
  their population, thus giving them more
  representatives in Congress.
• Northern delegates said they treated the slaves
  like property, therefore they couldnt count.
• The compromise that was struck was called the 3/5
  compromise. You could say that every slave was
  worth 3/5 of a man. Or you could say for every 5
  slaves, you could count them as 3 real people.

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SECTION 3
Our Living Constitution

• Most of the delegates to the Constitutional
  Convention wanted a strong central (national)
  government to replace the Articles of
  Confederation.
• But, they wanted to protect popular sovereignty.
• Popular sovereignty the idea that political
  authority belongs to the people.
• They also wanted to balance the power between the
  national state governments (federalism)
• Federalism sharing of powers between a central
  state government.
• Ex. Under the constitution, states have control
  over government functions not specifically
  assigned to the federal government.

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SECTION 3
A Delicate Balance

• The constitution also balances power within the
  federal government.
• The power of the federal government is split up
  into 3 branches.
• Legislative Branch (Congress) Makes the Laws.
  Is made up of the House of Representatives (based
  on a states population) and the Senate (each
  state has 2 representatives).
• Executive Branch (President) Carries out or
  Executes the Laws. Also includes the Vice
  President, and the cabinet.
• Judicial Branch (Supreme Court) Interpret or
  Judge the Laws. Made up of all the national
  courts.

• The Framers of the Constitution created a system
  of Checks Balances to keep any one branch from
  becoming too powerful.
• The delegates knew the Constitution was not a
  perfect document. They did believe however, that
  they had founded a strong government that still
  protected the ideas of Republicanism.

US
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SECTION 3
Checks Balances
Legislative Branch
Executive Branch
Judicial Branch
Makes a law
Pass the law or Veto it.
Override Pres. Veto
Constitutional Or Not
President Appoints Sup. Crt. Judges
Life time appointments
Congress oks appointment
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SECTION 3
The Constitution
Question Which delegates participated in the
Constitutional Convention, and what were the
positions and contributions of each?
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SECTION 3
The Constitution
took good notes, joined many talks, wrote most of
the Virginia Plan
James Madison
George Washington
elected president of the Convention
presented the Virginia Plan
Edmund Randolph
presented the New Jersey Plan
William Patterson
spoke strongly against counting slaves in
determining congressional representation
Gouverneur Morris
wanted to stop the slave trade
George Mason/John Dickinson
supported the slave trade
John Rutledge
refused to sign the Constitution
Elbridge Gerry/ Edmund Randolph/ George Mason
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SECTION 4
Ratification of the Constitution
Federalists Antifederalists

• Once the constitution was made, a great debate
  began among Americans.

Antifederalists
Federalists

• Antifederalists people who opposed the
  constitution.
• Believed the convention had gone to far in
  creating a new govt. (only supposed to change
  the Articles)
• Constitution gave too much power to the central
  government.
• There was no bill of rights to protect our
  freedoms.

• Most federalists believed that the constitution
  offered a good balance of power.
• They thought it was a careful compromise between
  various political views.

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SECTION 4
The Federalist Papers

• The most important arguments in favor of the
  Constitution appeared in a series of widely read
  essays that became known as the Federalist
  Papers.
• The authors of the essays were Alexander
  Hamilton, James Madison, John Jay. Together
  they wrote about 85 essays.
• The Federalist Papers were widely reprinted and
  strongly influenced the debate over the
  Constitution.
• The Federalist Papers were like The
  Constitution for Dummies

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SECTION 4
The Ratification Fight

• The true test of the Constitutions support came
  during the debate over state ratification, or
  approval.
• The Articles of Confederation had needed the
  approval of all 13 states to go into effect.
• The Constitution only needed 9 states to ratify
  it.
• Each state except Rhode Island held special state
  conventions to give citizens the chance to
  discuss the Constitution.
• Delaware became the first state to ratify the
  Constitution.

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Articles of Confederation
Constitution
Executive Branch Executive Branch
No executive to administer enforce laws Congress has the sole authority to govern. - Executive committee to oversee government when Congress is out of secession. - President administers enforces the laws.
Legislative Branch Legislative Branch
Unicameral legislature Each state has one vote Need 9 of 13 votes to enact laws Bicameral Legislature Equal representation in Senate. House based on population. Simple majority to enact laws.
Judicial Branch Judicial Branch
No National court system Congress to establish temporary courts to hear cases of piracy. National Court system headed by Supreme Court. Courts to hear cases involving national laws, treaties, about Constitution, between states, between citizens, between state and people.
Other Matters Other Matters
Admission to the Confederation by 9 of 13 votes Amendment of the Articles by unanimous vote The states retain independence Congress admits new states all must have same for of govt. as US does. Amendment of the Constitution by 2/3 votes of both houses or by national convention, followed by ratification by ¾ vote of all states. The states accept the Constitution as the supreme Law..
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SECTION 4
Demanding a Bill of Rights

• Several state ratified the Constitution only
  after they were promised that a bill of rights
  would be added to it.
• So, in Congresss first session, legislators put
  together a proposed bill of rights.
• Amendment official change or correction to the
  Constitution.
• The Framers believed amendments would be
  necessary to reflect the will of the people.
  They designed the process to be difficult,
  however. Proposed amendments must be approved by
  2/3 majority of both houses of Congress. Then
  they must be ratified by ¾ of the states before
  going into effect.
• There were 12 amendments proposed. Only 10 were
  ratified (Bill of Rights)
• These 10 amendments added to the strength of the
  constitution. The Bill of Rights also set a
  clear example of how to amend the Constitution to
  address the needs of the nation.
• The flexibility of the US Constitution has
  allowed it to survive for more than 200 years.
  It is the worlds oldest written national
  constitution.

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SECTION 4
Ratification of the Constitution
Question What were the important events that led
to the ratification of the Constitution and the
addition of the Bill of Rights?
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SECTION 4
Ratification of the Constitution
September 17, 1787 The Constitutional Convention
gives its approval to the U.S. Constitution.
Debate begins among Antifederalists and
Federalists.
Debate over state ratification begins.
The Federalist Papers appear.
Legislators create a list of 12 amendments to
send to the states for ratification, which will
add strength and flexibility to the Constitution.
In Congresss first session, Madison encourages
legisla-tors to put together a bill of rights.
Delaware is the first state to ratify the
Constitution.
Rhode Island is the last state to ratify the
Constitution.
December 1791 Three fourths of the states have
ratified 10 of the proposed amendments as a bill
of rights.
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CHAPTER 8
Chapter Wrap-Up
1. How did the Articles of Confederation affect
the new national governments ability to conduct
foreign policy? 2. Why did many Americans want a
federal bill of rights? 3. How does the
Constitution guard against the misuse of power?