After the War

What you need to know

• Difference between democracy & republic• Structure of government under Articles of

Confederation• Powers Congress had / didn’t have• Land Ordinance of 1785• Northwest Ordinance of 1787• Economic problems US faced• Political problems between states• Remaining issues between US & Britain• Issue between US & Spain

So, the US won…now what?

• Arguments begin about how new nation will be governed

• The 13 colonies were run separately• They thought of themselves as

citizens of their state, not of the USA

So, the US won…now what?

• Easy to find common ground if there’s a common enemy

• States didn’t want to unite as one big national government

• Wanted to keep all the power local

So, the US won…now what?

• Democracy– Government run by public directly– Absolutely not – general public

uneducated and dirty• Republic

– Government run by elected reps– More like it – limits input by public

Views on Republicanism

• Govts rule by consent of people• How can government succeed?

– Some argued only way is selflessness– Others argued people should pursue

their own interests – total freedom

States write constitutions

• New states wrote own constitutions• All of them:

– Limited powers of state leaders– Gave people rights (speech, press, etc.)

• How they were different:– Different rules for voting– NJ even allowed women to vote

US was very different

• Most countries in late 19th Century still ruled by kings

• There was nowhere USA could look to for ideas on how to run new country– There were countries that had elected

leaders but they didn’t have 2 layers of government

Debates of Continental Congress

• Congress argued about several things:• Representation by state or by person?

– If states have equal vote – citizens within small states get more influence

– If by population – big states stronger, small states maybe taken advantage of

• Decided each state got 1 vote

Articles of Confederation

• New form of gov – confederation– Alliance of self-ruling states

• AoC was alliance between states– Also alliance bet. all states & Congress

What Congress controlled

• Foreign policy (included natives)• Declaring war• Coinage of money• Postal service• Set standards of weight & measure

What states controlled

• Everything else–(almost everything)

• Congress had no way to force states to follow its rulings– No national courts– No executive (president)

Lands west of Appalachians

• States argued with each other over who had rights to lands to the west

• Lots of overlap

Lands west of Appalachians

• Land claims = big money and power• States w/o western claims were

scared big states would take advantage of them

• States agreed to give western lands to Congress– For fairness– So all states would agree to join the

confederation

Land Ordinance of 1785

• Plan to survey land• Congress owed money to soldiers (in

bonds)– Could raise money by selling land– Sell parcels of land – allowed for

working men to build new life– New cities – protection from natives

Northwest Ordinance of 1787

• Set up how new states could form– Congress set up territory, name

governor– When have 5000 voters – can write

territory constitution– When have 60,000 voters –can apply for

statehood from Congress

– No thought about land claims of natives

Trouble in paradise• Economic problems

– HUGE DEBT– Wars are expensive– Wars cost a lot of money– Wars leave countries in debt– Also, wars are expensive

Trouble in paradise• Economic problems

– Owed large sums to foreign countries– France, Spain, and Netherlands helped

finance war with loans – need to pay debt

–If you don’t pay your debt, no one will ever lend you money again

So why not just pay the debt?

• Paper money was worthless– Until they had gold to back it up

• Congress couldn’t tax– Approval of all states needed to set up a

tax – couldn’t get approval– Then, tried to set up a tariff – needed all

13 states – Rhode Island refused

Creditors vs. debtors

• Creditors who had lent $ to states wanted states to have high taxes – States would then have $ to repay them

• High taxes bad for regular people– If they could pay, gov makes $– If they couldn’t, they’d go bankrupt /

gov would take property & auction it

Creditors vs. debtors

• Debtors wanted national government to print more paper money– More printed $ makes value drop– Easier to come by, easier to pay debts– Creditors get $ they’re owed, but not

worth the same as when they lent it

Political problems• No national unity

– States function independently – didn’t care what’s best for US as a whole

• States were equal in power– But MA was more than 10x as big as GA

Political problems• Changes to Articles of Confederation

had to be unanimous– Nearly impossible for all 13 to agree– One state could be obnoxious

Foreign relations problems

• British soldiers were still in US– Demanded US repaid debts – Demanded US to repay loyalists who

lost property during the war

• Spain controlled New Orleans– Refused to let US ships travel from

Mississippi River to the sea

Foreign relations problems

• Congress wasn’t really given right to handle foreign policy problems– Everything they needed to do required

all 13 states to agree

• Made US weak – need stronger government to fix big problems

Drafting the Constitution

What you need to know

• Story of Shays’ Rebellion– Why is it important?

• Economic problems that led to Constitution• Philadelphia Convention

– Great Compromise– Slavery compromises (3/5 & slave trade)

• Federalism• Separation of powers• Checks & balances• Electoral College

Story of Daniel Shays

• Farmhand from MA• Fought for US for 5

yrs – became captain• Discharged wounded• Never actually paid• Went home, was

sued for farm debts• Farm was foreclosed

Shays’ Rebellion• Many others in same situation

–Mistreated when they got home–This was nationwide problem

• Farmers in MA rebel against rich businessmen squeezing them

Shays’ Rebellion• Riots all over

–But most police on Shays’ side• MA can’t stop riot themselves• Asked other states for help• No help came• Natl gov was too weak to help

Reaction to Shays’ Rebellion

• Convinced many that stronger natl gov was needed–Should be able to solve problems

that are this big

Other problems• States put restrictions on

companies from other states–High taxes, trade limits, etc.

• Hurt economic future of US–Hard for businesses to grow

Annapolis Convention

• Meeting of states to discuss & solve trade issues–Called by Madison & Hamilton–Met in Annapolis, MD–Only 5 states went – not enough

• Then Shays’ Rebellion happened–Scared many people

Philadelphia Convention

• After Shays’ Rebellion• 12 states attended (not RI)

• Revise Articles of Confederation–Don’t throw AoC out & start over–Just make natl gov stronger

Arguments & compromises

• VA Plan (for big states)–VA was biggest state–Create bicameral Congress

w/both houses by population

• Angered small states – would be easily taken advantage of

Arguments & compromises

• NJ Plan (for small states)–NJ was one of the small states–Remain a unicameral Congress–All states equal vote

• Angered big states – big state voters would have less power

Arguments & compromises

• Great Compromise–aka CT Compromise–Roger Sherman’s suggestion–Create a bicameral Congress–House by population–Senate each state 2 members

Arguments & compromises

• If population sets representation, should slaves count?–South: YES – get more power–North: NO – keep south from

getting too much power

Arguments & compromises

• 3/5 Compromise–60% of slaves count toward state’s population

Arguments & compromises

• Slave trade compromise–North wanted slave trade

(importation) ended immediately–South wanted it to continue–Agreed it couldn’t be banned for

first 20 yrs, then fair game

The New System• Scrapped confederation• Set up federalism

–Split up power b/w natl & states–Natl has some political powers–States have some–Some powers they share

Federalism• Examples of national powers

–Foreign affairs – war & peace–Regulating interstate commerce

• Business done across state lines–Coining money

Federalism• Examples of state powers

–Education–Marriages–Regulating intrastate commerce

• Business inside a state’s boundary

Federalism• Shared between natl & state

–Taxes–Courts–Law enforcement

Separation of Powers

• Original idea of Montesquieu• Split gov power into 3 branches

in Constitution:–Legislative power Congress–Executive power President–Judicial power Courts

Checks & balances

• Each branch has powers over the other two branches–Congress writes laws, but president

can veto them–President can appoint people to

positions, but Senate must approve–Congress can pass laws, but courts

can rule them unconstitutional

Electing the President

• No parties, bad communications & travel = maybe too many candidates

• Founders didn’t trust middle class– Scared they’d vote out the rich– Poor couldn’t vote anyway

Electing the President

• Agreed Congress would elect– But which house of Congress?– Same big / small state argument

• Created independent group to elect – Electoral College– Each state’s votes = House + Senate

What you need to know

• Story of Shays’ Rebellion– Why is it important?

• Economic problems that led to Constitution• Philadelphia Convention

– Great Compromise– Slavery compromises (3/5 & slave trade)

• Federalism• Separation of powers• Checks & balances• Electoral College

Ratifying the Constitution

What you need to know

• Who were Federalists– What did they argue for– Who wrote Federalist Papers– What did Federalist Papers say

• Who were Antifederalists– What did they argue against / for

• What is Bill of Rights– How does it protect rights

Federalists & Antifederalists

• Constitution surprised Americans b/c of BIG changes to existing system

• Made many people mad

• States held conventions to ratify – voters elected people to conventions

• 9 of 13 states required to ratify

Federalists• Supporters of Constitution

–Liked balance b/w state & natl govs–Natl gov controlled by division of

power / checks & balances

• Mainly urban & rich – strong gov protects trade & business

The Federalist Papers

• Series of newspaper editorials argued for Constitutional ratification

• Published by:– James Madison– Alexander Hamilton– John Jay

The Federalist Papers

• Explained & justified the Constitution

• Argued that separation of powers protects the people

• Argued that factions were bad and that Americans should be united

Antifederalists• Argued against ratification• Feared strong natl gov

– It would favor rich minority–Would require too many taxes

• Mainly appealed to:–Rural people–Large states scared they’d give up

power to strong natl gov

Antifederalists• Leading antifederalists:

–Patrick Henry–Samuel Adams–Richard Henry Lee

Antifederalists• Letters From a Federal Farmer

–Written by R.H. Lee–Argued for freedoms of religion,

press / rights of accused–Strong natl gov would take away

important rights

Bill of Rights• Constitution included nothing

to guarantee personal rights

–Feds: If people can select their gov, they won’t pick bad people

–Antifeds: Include it just in case

Bill of Rights• Feds agreed to include BoR if

states would ratify constitution–Congress would add amendments

once it started meeting

Ratification• 1st state to ratify was Delaware• Georgia was 4th

• VA & NY – heated debates but ratified eventually

• New natl gov established 1789

Bill of Rights adopted

• Congress proposed 12 amendments• 10 ams ratified by required ¾ states

Bill of Rights• 1st – personal freedoms

–Religion, speech, press, etc.• 2nd & 3rd – protection from gov

–Guns / no soldiers forced on home• 4th – 8th – rights of accused• 9th & 10th – limits on national gov

powers over people & states

What’s not in Bill of Rights

• Rights for women• Rights for slaves• Rights for Native Americans

What you need to know

• Who were Federalists– What did they argue for– Who wrote Federalist Papers– What did Federalist Papers say

• Who were Antifederalists– What did they argue against / for

• What is Bill of Rights– How does it protect rights