SSUSH5 A, B, C & D

Creating a New Government

Creating a New Government

The Articles of Confederation

• Formally called the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union, this

agreement was created by the leaders of the original thirteen colonies

as a Confederation of Sovereign States.

• Although it was designed to secure the

sovereignty of the thirteen original

states, this document established a

weak central government.

• Within the document, there were no

president, no executive agencies, no

judiciary, and no tax base.

Creating a New Government

The Articles of Confederation

• The primary focus of the agreement

was the Sovereignty, Freedom, and

Independence of each state.

• Secondly, it did not declare the United

States of America as a “nation” or a

government, but simply as a League of

Friendship between each of the states.

• Third, it allocated only 1 vote in the

Congress of the Confederation to

each state, regardless of size.

Creating a New Government

The Articles of Confederation

• Only the Confederation Congress was

allowed to conduct foreign political or

commercial relations or declare war.

• However, they did not have the right

to impose taxes or regulate trade.

• All debts incurred by the United

States of America were to be paid

by funds raised proportionately by

the individual state legislatures.

Creating a New Government

Initial Economic Problems

• Unfortunately, by 1785, each state

had created its own paper money at

its own rate of exchange.

• Since the new nation was in debt due to

the war with Britain, and experiencing

reduced trade from Europe, the economy was in a severe recession.

• Instead of using gold or silver to pay off their debts, the states issued

bonds to wealthy supporters, issued paper money, and raised taxes .

• Since the paper money wasn’t backed by gold and silver, people did not

trust it, causing increased inflation within the United States.

Creating a New Government

Initial Economic Problems

• Since the bulk of the taxes fell mostly upon the poor farmers in the

western parts of the states, many found it impossible to pay both their

taxes and the mortgages on their farms.

• Angry at the situation, farmers in

western Massachusetts rebelled.

• As a result, in January 1787, about

1,200 farmers clashed with local militia

during what was later called Shay’s

Rebellion.

Creating a New Government

Initial Issues on Expansion

• After the war was over, the only way for the

Confederation Congress to raise money to pay

for their war debt was to sell the lands it

controlled west of the Appalachian Mountains.

• Initially, the Land Ordinance of 1785

established a method for surveying the

western lands for new settlement.

• In 1787, the Confederation Congress passed the Northwest Ordinance,

which provided the basis for governing most of the western territories.

Creating a New Government

Initial Issues on Expansion

• The primary effect of the ordinance was the creation of the Northwest

Territory.

• Secondly, and most importantly, it

established methods for creating

new states from within the region.

• Third, it created a civil government

within the territory under the

direct control of the Confederation

Congress.

• Finally, the exclusion of slavery from the new region established the

foundation for future restrictions on the expansion of slavery.

Creating a New Government

Initial Diplomatic Problems

• After the war, the Confederation Congress was unable to resolve

several disputes between the United States and its European neighbors.

• The Confederation Congress was unable to compel the states to pay

back pre-war debts to British lenders.

• They were also unable to force the individual states to return property

confiscated from British Loyalists during the war.

• As a result, the British refused to evacuate frontier forts on the

shores of the Great Lakes.

• In addition, the limited powers of the Confederation Congress prevented

them from solving disputes over Georgia’s Border with Spanish Florida

and the use of the Mississippi River through Spanish controlled territory.

Creating a New Government

The Constitutional Convention

• The weakness of the Confederation Congress worried American leaders

who believed the United States would not survive without a strong

central government.

• Late in 1786, both James Madison and Alexander Hamilton

suggested that a convention needed to be held to discuss

reviving the Articles of Confederation.

• When the convention began on May 25th, 1787, only seven states

were represented, with Rhode Island boycotting the meeting and

New Hampshire arriving half way through the proceedings.

• People who supported the idea of creating a stronger central

government became known as Nationalists.

Creating a New Government

The Constitutional Convention

• While waiting for the convention to begin, James Madison

outlined a strong nationalist proposal that

became known as the Virginia Plan.

• This plan called for a national government

with three branches: Legislative, Judicial,

and Executive.

• In addition, the Legislative Branch was to

be bicameral (two chambers): the House

of Representatives and the Senate.

• It also set forth the idea of population

weighted representation in the Legislature.

Creating a New Government

The Constitutional Convention

• Delegate William Paterson provided a counter-proposal, to

amend the Articles of Confederation, known

as the New Jersey Plan.

• This plan supported the establishment of a

national government with three branches,

but with a unicameral (one house) legislature.

• Congress would be granted the authority to

raise taxes, create tariffs, & regulate trade.

• In addition, it promoted the ideas of

impeachment and the 3/5th’s rule for taxes.

Creating a New Government

The Constitutional Convention

• When the delegates voted to proceed with the Virginia Plan, many of

the small states threatened to withdraw from the Convention due to

issues concerning representation in Congress.

• A Committee of delegates from each

state, headed by Benjamin Franklin, was

organized to deliberate over the issue.

• Their solution was an upper house (called the Senate) with equal

representation for each state and a lower house (the House of

Representatives) with representation based on state population.

• This proposal became known as the Connecticut Compromise or the

Great Compromise.

Creating a New Government

The Constitutional Convention

• Unfortunately, another problem arose during the debates

over Legislative Representation and State Taxation.

• Delegates opposed to slavery only wanted to count free inhabitants,

while pro-slavery delegates wanted to count all enslaved people as well.

• After several proposals failed to

pass a majority of the state

delegates, they agreed upon a

proposal from James Madison,

which became known as the

Three-Fifth’s Compromise.

Creating a New Government

The New Constitution

• The New Constitution that the

delegates agreed upon was based on

the principle of Popular Sovereignty.

• In addition, it created a system of

government known as Federalism, in

which power is divided between the National & State levels of government.

• It provided for the Separation of Powers among the three branches of

government as follows:

The Legislative Branch would have the power the make laws.

The Executive Branch would be responsible for implementing the laws.

The Judicial Branch would interpret the laws.

Creating a New Government

The New Constitution

• The three branches would also be prevented from becoming too powerful

through a system of Checks and Balances.

• The President, as the Executive, was given far reaching

powers, including proposing legislation, appointing

judges, and rejecting acts of Congress by Veto.

• The Congress, as the Legislature, was given the right to

enact laws, confirm presidential appointments, and

impeach the president or other high officials for

misconduct.

• The Supreme Court, as the Judiciary, was given the power to hear federal

cases and determine the constitutionality of new laws.

Creating a New Government

The Great Debate

• When it came time to vote on ratification of the new constitution, the

delegates were divided over several key issues.

• Wealthy landowners and urban businessmen who supported the new

constitution and a strong central government became known as Federalists.

• Self-sufficient western farmers and rural townspeople who were

suspicious of the wealthy and powerful became known as Anti-Federalists.

• Edmund Randolph and George Mason were two

convention delegates who joined the Anti-Federalists

because of their concern over the protection of

citizen’s rights.

Creating a New Government

The Great Debate

• Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay

were three key supporters of the new constitution

who wrote 85 essays, known as the Federalist Papers,

to persuade Americans to support ratification.

• During the debates, the Federalist

delegates finally promised to add a

bill of rights to the constitution.

• By 1791, after many debates, ten Constitutional

Amendments protecting the rights of citizens and the

power of the states became known as the Bill of Rights.