CONFEDERATION TO CONSTITUTIONCHAPTER 8

SHAYS REBELLION (1786-1787)

• Farmers rebellion against unfair taxes in MA

• MA state militia stopped the rebellion

• Caused leaders of the new country to realize they needed a stronger national govt to deal with such problems

REPUBLIC

• Govt where people choose representatives to govern them

• Like in Ancient Roman republic, not all people would be considered citizens and be able to vote

• Women, African Americans, and even some white men couldn’t vote b/c had to own property to qualify in most states

STATE CONSTITUTIONS

• After the D of I, many colonies/states started to write their own consitutitions

• This is where many of the rights we have and laws we have were first made

• ex: VA protected freedom of press and religion

ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION (1781)

• First set of laws governing our country

• National gov’t would be run by a legislative body called Confederation of Congress

• Each state had only one vote in Congress

• Most important powers were left up to the states (enforce laws and set taxes)

LAND ORDINANCE OF 1785

• Divided up the Northwest Territory (would become OH, IN, MI, IL, WI, MN)

NORTHWEST ORDINANCE (1787)

• Decided how the Northwest Territory would be governed since they were not states

• If they reached 60,000 people they could apply to become a state

• Slavery would be outlawed

ECONOMIC PROBLEMS

• Confederation could not collect taxes so it struggled to pay off loans from the war including pay owed to soldiers

• States raised taxes to pay off debts but people couldn’t make the high payments

CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION (1787)

• George Washington was president of the convention

• 55 delegates from all 13 states (“Founding Fathers”)

• All delegates were white men

VIRGINIA PLAN

• Proposed three branches of govt and two house legislature

• representation based on population

• Proposed that each branch of govt could check and balance each other

NEW JERSEY PLAN

• Proposed a single house legislature

• Each state would have equal vote in legislature

GREAT COMPROMISE

• Created the setup of new govt that we still have today

• Created one part of legislature to be called the Senate where each state would have an equal vote

• Created another part of legislature to be called House of Representatives where representation would be based on population

3 BRANCHES OF GOVERNMENT

• Legislative branch- make the laws, disperse $, declare war

• Executive branch- enforce the laws (president, cabinet advisors, etc)

• Judicial branch- interpret the laws

ARTICLE 1

• Sets up Congress and how it will work

ARTICLE 2

• Sets up the executive branch and how it will work

ARTICLE 3

• Sets up the Judicial branch and how it will work

3/5 COMPROMISE

• 3/5 of slave population would be counted towards both representation and taxation

• Only way southern states would ratify the constitution was to put this into law and to not restrict their right to own and sell slaves

ANTI FEDERALISTS

• People who opposed the new form of govt

• Wanted more power with the states and less with national govt

• Supported by people in small states and rural areas

FEDERALISTS

• People who supported the Constitution and the new form of govt

• Supported by people in large states and cities

FEDERALIST PAPERS

• Essays that helped to promote the ideas of the new govtaround the country

• Written by John Jay, Alexander Hamilton, and James Madison

BILL OF RIGHTS

• Supported by Thomas Jefferson

• VA would not ratify the Constitution without adding a Bill of Rights

• Written by James Madison

• First ten amendments to the constitution

• Its legacy is that it made the Constitution a living document that can be changed by adding amendments

• Actually was 12 amendments but only ten were ratified by the states

ADDING AN AMENDMENT

• 2/3 of Congress has vote and approve an amendment

• Then 3/4 of states have to approve it

RELIGION AND THE BILL OF RIGHTS

• Before the constitution, the state gov’t enforced religious laws which was a source of a lot of social conflict

• Madison and Jefferson knew this and thought this needed to be changed to protect the new government

• First amendment guarantees religious freedom and creates “separation of church and state”

CONSTITUTION RATIFIED

• 1791, the last state ratifies the Constitution

• Once 9 states ratified it (1788), it became law

• Washington is elected our 1st president in 1789 and the 1st Congress meets in 1789