Confederation to Constitution:The Confederation Era

Chapter 8; Section 1

Essential Question: How did Americans create a national government that

respected both the independence of states and the rights of individuals?

Forming a New Government

• Main goal was to prevent governmental tyranny from reappearing in the nation

• Decided on a republic– Only landowners could

vote (except Pennsylvania and Georgia)

– African Americans not allowed to vote

– Women not allowed to vote in most states

Articles of Confederation

• Congress agreed on a republic, but could not decide if each state would receive one vote, or if voting should be based on population

• In the Articles, the national government would be run by the Confederation Congress– Congress could wage war, make peace, sign treaties,

and run Indian affairs• Articles left the most important powers to the states– Authority to set taxes, enforce national laws, control of

land west of Appalachian Mountains

Articles of Confederation

• Articles were sent to the states for ratification in 1777

• Some small states that did not have Western land claims refused to sign

• Gradually, all states gave up their control of western land, led to the ratification of the Articles in 1781.

• United States finally had an official government

Strengths and Weaknesses of the Articles

• Needed to pay back debts earned from Revolutionary War – Confederation Congress had no money to do so

• International challenges:– Britain competed against American fur trade by refusing to

evacuate its military forts south of the Great Lakes– Britain barred American ships from waters in the Caribbean,

Spain also put up barriers in the Caribbean – Spain refused to allow Americans to use the Mississippi River or

port in New Orleans– Spain and Congress argued over the boundary of Florida

• Showed the weaknesses of the Articles: U.S. did not have the strength to face up to the superior forces of Britain or Spain

Shay’s Rebellion• Congress still owed veteran soldiers’

salaries for the Revolutionary War– 300 soldiers demonstrated before the

Pennsylvania State House, and drove Congress out of the city

• Congress could not raise money• Could not levy taxes – depended on

states to send money• States levied taxes to pay back war

debts – few normal citizens could afford them

• Daniel Shays led a march on a federal arsenal. Around 1,000 soldiers from the state militia quickly defeated Shays’ men

• Significant because it showed that the national government needed more power.

Powers Granted and Denied Congress

Granted Congress• Conduct foreign affairs• Declare war and make

peace• Issue or borrow money• Control Indian affairs• Run postal service

Denied Congress• Establish executive branch• Enforce national laws• Enact and collect taxes• Regulate interstate or

foreign trade• Establish federal courts• Amend the Articles

Confederation to Constitution:Creating the Constitution

Chapter 8; Section 2

Essential Question: How did Americans create a national government that

respected both the independence of states and the rights of individuals?

Constitutional Convention

• In Sept. 1786, delegates from five states met in Maryland to discuss ways to promote trade among the states

• They believed that increasing trade would raise the economies of all states

• However, this would require amending the Articles of Confederation

• Convention was called to discuss the issue

Constitutional Convention

• Met May 25, 1787• Elected Convention President George Washington• Closed proceedings – meaning citizens were not

allowed inside• All we know comes from James Madison who kept

detailed notes• 55 delegates arrived for the Constitutional Convention,

now called Founders• Not a diverse group – there were no Native Americans,

African Americans, or women among the delegates

Challenges to the Convention• James Madison and other Virginia

delegates drafted the Virginia Plan– Government with three

branches• Executive branch = enforce laws• Judicial branch = interpret laws• Legislative branch = create laws

– Two legislature sections• Upper House and Lower House• The number of representatives

in both houses would be based off of state population

– Checks and Balances

• Delegates from small states strongly objected the Virginia Plan– Larger states would have more

political power because they would have more representatives

• New Jersey delegate William Patterson presented the New Jersey Plan• Single-house congress where

every state had an equal vote, regardless of population

• Small states supported the New Jersey Plan

Challenges to the Convention

• Emotions ran high as the delegates tried to solve the representation issue

• A committee led by Roger Sherman and other delegates created the Great Compromise– To satisfy the smaller states, each state would

have an equal number of votes in the Senate– To satisfy the larger states, representation in the

House of Representatives would be based on state population

Challenges to the ConventionBecause representation in the House would be based on population, the convention had to decide who would be counted in the population.• Southern states had more slaves

than Northern states• Southern states wanted slaves to

be counted for representation, but not taxation

• Northerners said slaves were not citizens, and should not be counted for representation, but should for taxation

Challenges to the Convention• Delegates reached an agreement known as the

three-fifths compromise– Three-fifths of the slave population would be

counted for both representation and taxation• Slavery was already outlawed in some Northern

states, wanted to see it banned country-wide – Southern states disagreed– Another compromise: the decision over slavery

would not be made until 1808 (when the eventually banned the importation of Africans)

Challenges to the Convention

On Sept. 17, 1787, the delegates passed the Constitution. All be three of the 42 delegates present signed the Constitution. It was then sent to each state for approval.

What were some of the major challenges facing the Convention?

Federalists and Antifederalists

Federalists• Supported the Constitution• Like the idea of Federalism• Published a series of essays

known as The Federalist Papers– Written by James Madison,

Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay

– Written to promote federalist views and answer critics

– Appealed to both reason and emotion

Antifederalists• Thought the Constitution

took too much power away from the states and did not guarantee rights for the people– Strong president could easily

become a king– Senate could become the

ruling class– Liberties won during the

Revolution could be lost

Confederation to Constitution:Ratification and the Bill of Rights

Chapter 8; Section 3

Essential Question: How did Americans create a national government that

respected both the independence of states and the rights of individuals?

The Battle for Ratification

• Antifederalists wanted a written guarantee that the people would have freedom of speech, of the press, and of religion– Also wanted the right to trial by jury and the right to bear

arms• Federalists insisted that the Constitution granted only

limited powers to the federal government – it could not violate state rights• Gave people power to protect their rights by electing

trustworthy leaders• In the end, the Federalists agreed to add a Bill of

Rights to the Constitution

Ratification of the Constitution

• Needed nine states to approve the Constitution– Two-thirds of states

needed to ratify– Eventually all states

ratified the Constitution– Achieved ratification in

1790

• A Bill of Rights was to follow in 1790

The Bill of Rights

• James Madison submitted ten amendments to the Constitution– Later became known as the Bill of Rights

• The first nine guarantee basic individual freedoms• Showed that the Constitution could be amended to reflect

the changes in society– Two-thirds of each house of Congress or two-thirds of the state

legislatures can propose an amendment– Amendment then needs approval from three-fourths of the

states– Bill of Rights became the first ten, since then 17 more have been

added

How did Americans create a national government that respected both the independence of states and the

rights of individuals?Confederation Weakness New Gov’t Strengths

Taxes Could not levy taxes Could levy and collect taxes

Trade Could not regulate trade between states nor internationally

Could regulate interstate and foreign trade

Courts Congress depended on state courts to settle disputes

National system of courts set up (Supreme Court)

Executive Enforcement of laws left to the states

Has the power to enforce own laws

States’ Rights Equality; regardless of size or population

Proportional in House, Equal in Senate

Amendments Unanimous vote required 2/3 vote in each house of Congress

Laws Nine states had to approve an ordinary bill Majority required to pass bill