Transcript The Confederation & The Constitution

The Confederation
&
The Constitution
America is built on
COMPROMISES
1776 - 1790
Your Mission
• It’s 1776. You have declared your
independence from Britain. Now
what? What challenges do you face
as you begin nation-building?
• Get into groups of four and
brainstorm:
– Most immediate challenge
– Most potentially damaging challenge
– Most difficult challenge to resolve
Chapter Overview
• Revolution was not a radical transformation,
but did produce political innovations and
social change towards greater equality and
democracy.
• Compromise was an essential element for a
federal government, along with the
abandonment of the Articles of
Confederation.
• The federal Constitution provided a strong
framework for national identify and
protection against disorder.
Victory! But can we survive
without Mom?
• New responsibility of creating and
operating a central government.
– This new type did not exist.
– Natural rights/equality taught by
political leaders.
• Allegiance for a common cause was
now gone.
• New American industry in
competition with English goods.
Our Strengths
• All 13 states had similar
constitutions.
• Unity of a rich political heritage.
• Brilliant political leaders:
– Washington, Madison, Adams,
Jefferson, Hamilton.
Move Towards Equality
• Exodus of Loyalists create a weakness in
conservatives.
– Removal of many aristocrats
• Modified laws and customs for more equal
treatment.
– Most states reduced property-holding
requirements to vote.
– Religious freedom
– Expanded freedoms for women (education,
civic virtue, and, republican motherhood)
– Challenged Slavery – why not removed?
• Sacrificed for unity
– Opportunities for all (esp. land) helps
keep violence at bay.
Judith Sargent (Murray)
How’s the Economy?
• Non-importation agreements helped
give manufacturing a boost.
– Later the war itself
• Trade with Britain was restricted
due to the same mercantilist laws
– Could freely trade with other nations
• DEBT from the war
– States had borrowed more than they
could ever repay
– Inflation was out of control
State Constitutions
• The Second Continental Congress in 1776
called upon all colonies to draft new
constitutions, making them states.
• Several common features of these
DWAARFs:
–
–
–
–
–
–
Defined the powers of the government
Weak executive and judicial branches
Authority from the people
Annual election of legislators
Rights included (Bill of Rights)
Fundamental law
The Creation of
Articles of Confederation
• Drafted and adopted by the Second Continental
Congress in 1777.
– Not ratified by all 13 states until 1781.
• Fighting was primarily over the west.
• All states fought for it, so why not split the
prize?
• COMPROMISE
– Land was given up
– Areas for the “common benefit” – new
republican states
Strengths in
the Articles of Confederation
• The first step towards the present
Constitution
• Clearly outlines central government
powers
– Making treaties
– Establish the postal service
• Held the states together until America
was ready for the next step in unity.
Weaknesses in
the Articles of Confederation
• America’s “first constitution”
• Congress only
– no executive branch and judicial issues were left to
the states.
• Each state had one vote
– Important votes required 9 states
– Changes to the Articles required unanimous
ratification
• Three significant handicaps:
–
–
–
–
No power to regulate commerce
No power to collect taxes
No power to force states or individuals of states
(wart.com + no e + no j / sovereignty)
Action of Congress:
Land Ordinances
• Land Ordinance of
1785
– Land to be surveyed
and sold to pay off
national debt.
• Land Ordinance of
1787
– First temporary
tutelage
– Second permanent
equality
The Old Northwest acquired
in the Peace Treaty of Paris
Foreign Relations:
No Respect
• England
– Would not send an ambassador to America
– Would not accept imports from U.S.
– Held trading posts on U.S. soil (Indian
alliance & fur trade)
• Spain
– Closed the Mississippi river to American
commerce in 1784
– Claimed Florida other southern areas given to
the U.S. in the Peace of Paris.
• France
– Demanded repayment of war debt
(revolution’s a-brewin’)
– Restricted trade with West Indies
U.S. in 1783
Shay’s Rebellion:
More Backcountry Strife
• Massachusetts in 1786
– Impoverished backcountry farmers
were losing their farms through
mortgage foreclosures and tax
delinquencies.
– Demanded the state issue paper money,
lighten taxes, and suspend property
takeovers
• Put down by a MA army – three
were killed
Impetus for Change
• Fears of “Democratic Despotism”
– Self-interest and greed instead of civic
virtue ruling
– Conservatives and the wealthy wanted
to create more power over the mob.
• Interstate fighting over commerce
had become serious.
The Constitutional Convention
• Met to revise the Articles of
Confederation
• 55 emissaries for 12 states met in
Philadelphia on May 25, 1787.
– Washington, Franklin, Madison, Hamilton
– Not present? Jefferson, Samuel and John
Adams, Hancock, Patrick Henry
• Met in complete secrecy
– Took 17 weeks
– Not all members signed the Constitution
Areas of Agreement
• Economically
– Reliable money
– Protection of private property
• Politically
– Stronger government
– Checks and balances – three branches
• Fear of mob rule
– Federal judges for life
– Indirect voting
• Most important 2 principles:
– Consent of the governed
– Powers of government should be limited
Constitutional Compromises
• Large State (Virginia Plan wanted representation based on
population) vs. Small State plans (NJ Plan wanted equal
representation)
– “The Great Compromise” House of Representatives and the
Senate (how it is today)
• Electoral College (controlled democracy)
– Presidential elections by indirect means (wanted to avoid
“mobocracy” in which the uneducated would elect a president
who was dangerous to the stability of the country
• Three-fifths compromise (impt. b/c southern states had large
slave populations)
– Slaves counted as 3/5 a person
• End to slave trade
– Allowed to continue until 1807
• Assumption of state debt
– Centrally located capital
Northwest Ordinance
 The land north of the Ohio River and east of
the Mississippi would be settled but that it would
eventually become part of the United States. Until
then this area had been temporarily
– The Ordinance provided for the creation of not
less than three nor more than five states (Ohio,
Indiana, Illinois, Michigan and Wisconsin). In
addition, it contained provisions for the
advancement of education, the maintenance of
civil liberties and the exclusion of slavery.
– Above all, the Northwest Ordinance accelerated
the westward expansion of the United States.
Issues Debated
• Should the United States adopt the new
Constitution to replace the Articles of
Confederation?
• Need for change. Does the government of
the Articles need to be replaced?
• Can a republic govern a large territory and a
diverse population?
• Will the new constitutional government
create an aristocratic power in the
presidency?
• Does the proposed Constitution protect the
people’s liberty?
Federalists vs.
Anti Federalists
Federalists
Anti-Federalists
Leaders
Washington, Hamilton,
Madison, Jay, and Marshall
Patrick Henry, Samuel
Adams, Richard Henry Lee,
George Mason, and George
Clinton
Social, regional, and
economic strongholds
Commercial, seacoast,
urban, and upper-class
groups
Non-commercial, western,
agrarian, and state-oriented
interests
Controlled the press
Ideas argued
•Drawn up by rich aristocracy – antidemocratic
•No bill of rights to protect individual liberties
•Elimination of annual elections for congressional
representatives
•Creating a federal strong-hold (10 mile square)
•Omission of any reference to God
•Process of ratifying with only 2/3 of the states
Ratification
• Four small states quickly sign
• PA was the first large state to sign
• VA, NY, NC, and RI hold out
– VA Patrick Henry rails against the
Constitution, but Washington,
Madison, and John Marshall win.
– NY Hamilton, Jay, and Madison pen
The Federalist Papers.
– NC and RI finally ratified, unwillingly
and months later.
In-Class Quick Write
Discuss the United States as it existed
under the Articles of Confederation.
What were the strengths and
weaknesses of the Confederation
government and how did the
Constitution attempt to correct those
flaws?
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