Transcript Part 2 PPT
Creating a Nation 1783-1788 © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. The Articles of Confederation • Written by John Dickson in 1777 • Ratified in 1781 • Governed Americans in 1781-1787 • Paved way for new Constitution Powers of the National Government under the Articles • Declare War • Make peace • Sign treaties • Borrow money • Set standards for weights and measures • Establish Post Services • Deal with Native Americans **The Articles of Confederation were a CONTROLLED Failure** Greatest Achievements of Articles • Land Ordinance of 1785 – established a plan for surveying the land west of the Appalachian Mountains • Northwest Ordinance of 1787 – Congress provided a procedure for dividing the land into no less than three and more than five territories. • officially titled "An Ordinance for the Government of the Territory of the United States North West of the River Ohio," was adopted by the Confederation Congress on July 13, 1787. • This was the 1st territorial expansion of the New Nation The Northwest Territory Grid System © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Northwest Ordinance • The ordinance would establish a clear, orderly process by which new territories in the west could become states. • These laws established a blueprint for the growth of the new nation. • outlined the process for admitting a new state to the Union • guaranteed that newly created states would be equal to the original thirteen states. Congress would appoint a territorial governor. • When a territory reached 5,000 voting residents the settlers could write a temporary constitution and elect their own government. • Total population of territory – 60,000 – Settlers could apply for statehood. • protected civil liberties and outlawed slavery in the new territories. • Abolished slavery in this territory, sold the land (source of revenue), One grid was set aside for public education. Weaknesses • Did not create a separate executive branch to enforce the laws of Congress. • No national court system. • Courts lacked unity- each state functioned as a separate entity. They pursued their own interests. • One state – One Vote Weaknesses • Could not be amended without the consent of all of the states. Change is difficult. • Congress could not enact TAXES. • Congress could not REGULATE INTERSTATE COMMERCE or FOREIGN TRADE. • 9 out of 13 states needed to agree to pass a law. Weaknesses • 13 states lacked unity • Most serious problem – ECONOMY – The war cost the treasury millions of $$$$$$$$. • The Continental Congress borrowed from foreign countries. • Paper money became worthless. Foreign Relations Problems • The lack of support by states for national concerns gave Congress foreign relation problems because the U.S. could not pay back its debt. • As a result Spain shut down the Mississippi River. Hurts merchants The AmericanSpanish Border, 1783–1795 Fear of a Strong Government • Americans fear of giving the national government too much power had resulted in a government that lacked sufficient power to deal with the nation’s PROBLEMS State Claims to Western Lands © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. For American Indians • For the federal Congress, the greatest threat to the new United States came from American Indians. • Treaty of Fort Stanwix - A 1784 treaty between one faction of the Iroquois and the U.S. government that sought to end the violent battles over western land. © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Tribal Land Claims, 1783– 1788 © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Ohio in the 1780s © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. For Slaves, Former Slaves, and Those Who Claimed Ownership of Them • By the time George Washington was inaugurated president in 1789, slavery had been abolished in five states and was dying— though slowly— throughout the north. • Pennsylvania (1780), New Hampshire and Massachusetts (1783), Connecticut and Rhode Island (1784). • With the coming of peace, the planter elite in the South was determined to reestablish a way of life that depended on slavery. © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. For Women: The Rise of Republican Motherhood • Women fell into all of the different groups that men did. • Republican Motherhood, came to dominate public discussions of women’s place in the new United States. • Women would have an important role, but a limited one • As in the case of the abolition of slavery, changes for women would not come overnight. • Education and respect would lead to the emergence of a powerful, outspoken middle class of women. Creating a Government: Writing the U.S. Constitution • The years immediately after the Revolution were not easy ones in the new United States of America. • Some of the most famous revolutionary leaders were determined to end the growing chaos and reshape the new nation they had helped to create. © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. The Crisis of the 1780s: The Failure of the Articles of Confederation • Financial problems • Problems with navigation rights • Diplomatic problems © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. The Constitutional Convention of 1787 • 1787 in Philadelphia – Constitutional Convention • 55 white men convened • Virginia Plan: LARGE STATES • New Jersey Plan: SMALL STATES • “The Great Compromise”: What we ended up with © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. THE GREAT COMPROMISE • VA Plan: James Madison • NJ Plan: William Patterson The Effects of Slavery on a Unified Government • Framers were equally careful to protect the institution and appease slaveholders. • 3/5 Compromise (1787) • The fugitive slave clause gave slaveholders a new and powerful tool. © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Debating and Adopting the Constitution (The bundle of compromises) • Federalists: Pro-Constitution • Antifederalists: Anti- Constitution • Delaware first state to ratify • Virginia the largest state to ratify • Rhode Island last to ratify © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. • CRASH COURSE • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bO7FQsCcbD8 • New Constitution • http://www.history.com/topics/articles-of-confederation/videos/americagets-a-constitution