Chapter 6

Confederation and Constitution

Confederation

By the end of the Revolutionary War, the colonies had become a loose confederation of states – with a heavy emphasis on loose

The main thing that had held them together was their common enemy, Britain; that was no longer the case

Articles of Confederation

Ratified in 1781 No president Unicameral legislature with each state having

1 vote Congress could wage war and make peace Congress could conduct foreign relations,

including with the Indians Congress could set up a postal system

Congress could coin money, issue paper money, and borrow money

Congress could set uniform weights and measures

Congress could not tax

Problems with the Articles

States could ignore these standard weights and measures

They could also: - make their own money - declare their own wars

- make their own moneyThe Articles joined the states in a league of

friendship, and the states had much more power than the central government

States retained sovereignty and their freedoms

Some saw the Articles of Confederation as a weak document; however, these weaknesses were deliberately written into the document

Americans had a strong aversion to a powerful central government after their experiences with Britain

2 Major Problems with the Articles of Confederation

Monetary– Wartime inflation– No backing for paper money– States could not agree on how the government

could make money

Diplomatic– Government couldn’t make Americans pay off

their debts to Britain – those acquired before the war

– It had no power to keep Loyalists from recovering their confiscated property

– It had no power to establish a commercial policy

Accomplishments of the Articles of Confederation

It created an efficient bureaucracy to administer the day-to-day affairs of the government

The government was able to get the states to contribute to the Confederation treasury – albeit reluctantly

A Question - Concerning Lands Between the Mississippi and the Appalachians

Who held the title to these lands?– This was a question that kept states like Maryland

from ratifying the Articles of Confederation until 1781

– Maryland was afraid of the power wielded by landed states

– More land gave these states more wealth, so they wouldn’t have to tax their people as much as in the smaller states

– If these states ever needed more money, they could just sell off some of their land

The solution was to get these states to grant their western territories over to the Confederation government, so all states could share the wealth

For the sake of hard-won freedoms, states like Virginia, did so; Georgia held out until 1802

Northwest Ordinances

From the Northwest Territories would be created equal, self-governing states (Ohio, Michigan, Illinois, and Wisconsin)

As soon as the population in a designated district equaled that of the smallest state in the Confederation, that territory would be an equal partner in the Union

This was declared in the Northwest Ordinances of 1784 and 1787– Outlined how land could be sold to settlers and

how to organize a formal government– Talked about the surveying of towns

6 miles square Divided into 36 sections of 1 square mile or 640 acres Sold at $1 per acre

– The revenue from the 16th section was to be used to support a public school (1st aid to education)

– Proceeds from the sale of land went to the central government (1st income for the government)

– Bill of Rights for citizens would be the same as those in original states: freedom of religion, fair trial by jury, prohibition of cruel punishments,& abolition of slavery

It was fairly theoretical because the Indians prevented the actual settlement of the Northwest

States had power

Had constitutions ratified by the people Officials were elected annually and had term

limits New state governors had little power and

Pennsylvania had no governor; it only had a unicameral legislature

Had separation of church and state

Right to vote extended to more people– Some states had a property requirement– Some allowed every adult male taxpayer– New Jersey gave women who met qualifications

the right to vote until 1807 when it was thought that too many women were voting

– In North Carolina, free blacks who met qualifications could vote but it didn’t last

– North Carolina Catholics couldn’t vote until 1835

Each state had a Bill of Rights

The Articles of Confederation didn’t seem to be answering all the needs of the new United States.

Because of this, Virginia asked for a states’ conference to be held in Annapolis in 1786 to discuss the weaknesses of the Confederation.- only 5 states sent delegations

- they adjourned with a call for a Philadelphia Convention in 1787 to improve the national government

Shays’ Rebellion

Farmers in western Massachusetts led by Daniel Shays rebelled against high taxes and a low money supply

Farmers couldn’t provide for their families– They tried to draw a link between what had

happened with the British and themselves –Taxation

– They symbolically questioned the existence of U.S.

The rebellion was put down This hastened the movement to revise the

Articles of Confederation so that the government had the power to deal with these types of situations

Delegates were sent to the Constitutional Convention held in Philadelphia

It began 25 May 1787

James Madison was one of the most important delegates in attendance

He was young, well-read, well-prepared, and respected

In preparation, he read over 200 books on history, government, confederacies, and republics

He is known as the Father of the Constitution

Madison felt the United States needed a national government with a system of checks and balances (idea of Baron de Montesquieu of the Enlightenment)

Madison’s plan was known as the Virginia Plan

Virginia Plan of James Madison

Called for a 2-house legislature with proportional representation in both houses

Voters would elect the lower house Lower house would choose the upper house National executive would be elected by

Congress

National Judiciary would be appointed by Congress

There would be a Congressional veto over states’ laws and they would have authority to use military force against states

This would have created a government in which national authority reigned unchallenged, and state power was greatly diminished

The New Jersey Plan

The Virginia plan was challenged by William Paterson and others

He called for modifications to the Articles of Confederation rather than a complete overhaul of government

This would all be settled through a compromise

The Connecticut Compromise

It discussed the structure and function of government– They agreed on a 2-house legislature– It was decided that one house should be directly

elected by the people– The other house should be chosen by state

legislatures– There was lengthy debate over determining

proportional representation

In the Senate there would be 2 Senators from each state, each voting individually

House of Representatives would be based on population, and for this they came up with the 3/5 Compromise for states with slaves

– 3/5 of the slave population would be counted in with the white population to reach the total population of the state

– This determined how many white representatives to send to Congress

However, the slave trade would be outlawed after 1808 – the importation of slaves anyway

Congressional powers were enumerated Laws could be reviewed by the courts The president would primarily be responsible for

foreign affairs The president would be the commander-in chief of

the armed forces

The electoral college would be used to select the president

Members of the electoral college would be elected from all states

The final document was based on, yet weaker than, the Virginia Plan

The key to the Constitution was the distribution of powers – Separation of powers: executive, legislative, and

judicial branches– Division of powers between the states and the

national government

Opposition and Ratification

Ratification was to take place through special conventions elected by the people in each state

The Constitution would rest directly on popular authority

Anti-Federalists

Were critics of the Constitution Fell into 2 groups:

– Those who emphasized the threat to the states embodied in the new national government

– Those who stressed the dangers to individuals posed by a lack of a Bill of Rights

As the months passed, Anti-Federalists focused more on the lack of a Bill of Rights

Ratification

Nine states were needed to ratify the Constitution

It had won the approval of 9 states before the larger states of Virginia and New York voted

People realized the country needed the approval of those 2 states or the Constitution would not work

We needed unity

Those 2 states finally ratified the Constitution after a Bill of Rights was promised to come

The Publication of the Federalist Papers by James Madison, John Jay, and Alexander Hamilton helped to explain the theory behind the Constitution

This helped with the approval vote So the Constitution was approved and

George Washington was named our first president in 1789

The Bill of Rights passed both houses of Congress on 25 September 1789

By 15 December 1791, the amendments had been ratified by ¾ of the states