Chapter Seven

ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION AND THE CONSTITUTION

ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION• First written constitution in the United States

• One house Congress

• No President

• No Judiciary

• Powers: declare war, conduct foreign affairs, and make treaties

• The Articles were definitely a response to the fear of tyrannical government (especially the concept of a President or “pseudo-monarch”)

• What the Articles could not do:

• Levy taxes

• Maintain an army

ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION• 1. Establishes the name of the confederation as "The United States of America".

• 2. Asserts the equality of the separate states with the confederation government, i.e. "Each state retains its sovereignty, freedom, and independence, and every power, jurisdiction, and right, which is not by this Confederation expressly delegated."

• 3. Establishes the United States as a new nation, a sovereign union of sovereign states, united ". . . for their common defense, the security of their liberties, and their mutual and general welfare, binding themselves to assist each other, against all force offered to, or attacks made upon them . . . ," while declaring that the union is "perpetual," and can only be altered by approval of Congress with ratification by all the state legislatures.

• 4. Establishes freedom of movement–anyone can pass freely between states, excluding "paupers, vagabonds, and fugitives from justice." All people are entitled to the rights established by the state into which he travels. If a crime is committed in one state and the perpetrator flees to another state, he will be extradited to and tried in the state in which the crime was committed.

• 5. Allocates one vote in the Congress of the Confederation (United States in Congress Assembled) to each state, which was entitled to a delegation of between two and seven members. Members of Congress were appointed by state legislatures; individuals could not serve more than three out of any six years.

• 6. Only the central government is allowed to conduct foreign relations and to declare war. No states may have navies or standing armies, or engage in war, without permission of Congress (although the state militias are encouraged).

• 7. When an army is raised for common defense, colonels and military ranks below colonel will be named by the state legislatures.

• 8. Expenditures by the United States will be paid by funds raised by state legislatures, and apportioned to the states based on the real property values of each.

• 9. Defines the powers of the central government: to declare war, to set weights and measures (including coins), and for Congress to serve as a final court for disputes between states.

• 10. Defines a Committee of the States to be a government when Congress is not in session.

• 11. Requires nine states to approve the admission of a new state into the confederacy; pre-approves Canada, if it applies for membership.

• 12. Reaffirms that the Confederation accepts war debt incurred by Congress before the Articles.

• 13. Declares that the Articles are perpetual, and can only be altered by approval of Congress with ratification by all the state legislatures.

THE WESTERN TERRITORIES• After the war, the British/Indian connection made Americans feel justified in settling on the

land west of the Appalachian Mountains

• Congress was initially unsure how to regulate the western settlement

• Ordinance of 1784 – established self-government for the western territories

• Ordinance of 1785 – regulated land sales in the region north of the Ohio River

• Americans (and the states) eventually got greedy and began taking land without regard to Congressional mandates

• The Articles of Confederation actually worked in this case

• Maryland did not have land claims beyond their boundaries and argued that the western territories should belong to Congress for the benefit of the people

THE WESTERN TERRITORIES• Virginia had claims in the western territories and did not want to give up the land

• Maryland delayed the ratification of the Articles until Virginia relinquished the land

• Other states followed Virginia’s example and Congress became owner of all land west of the Appalachian Mountains

• In the mid-1780s, most Americans and settlers knew law and order was almost non-existent in the western territories

• Congress provided for local government and the promise of future statehood

NORTHWEST ORDINANCE OF 1787• Rules of the Northwest Ordinance

• Most of the area would be divided into 7 districts

• When any of these districts reached the population of the smallest colony during the Revolution, it could be eligible to become a state

• Rhode Island – 68,000 in 1790; 1 million in 2008

• Each new state would have the same status as the existing 13 states

• When 5,000 males resided in a district, they could elect an assembly

• To protect private contracts, religious liberty, trial by jury, abolition (if they chose), and habeas corpus

• However, Congress retained the rights to sell the land off at any time (before it became a state)

NORTHWEST ORDINANCE OF 1787• Congress sold off the western land at $640 a lot

• Most of it sold to the Ohio Company at less than 10 cents an acre

• Congress sold 6 million acres to capitalize quickly and pay for the war debt

• The companies that bought the land had trouble selling it

POLITICAL ISSUES IN THE 1780S• Continental Army Debt

• Congress promised generous pensions and bonuses for those that enlisted and stayed in the military

• Congress now had trouble paying it back

• Congress also dealt with the ideological and fiscal issue of maintaining an army during times of peace

• Washington retained 2600 soldiers (one artillery division and four infantry divisions)

• By 1784, Congress retained only 80 soldiers in two forts

• When the soldiers figured out they were not going to get paid, some rioted and other deserted their posts

• Alexander Hamilton began to push for a strong federal government, but no one really listened at this point

POLITICAL ISSUES IN THE 1780S• Border Dilemma

• The British retained troops in the Great Lakes area

• Constantly harassing what was left of the Continental Army and settlers

• Spain kept troops in the western territory also

• Both the Spanish, Indians, and British caused stress on settlers in the Western territories

• Congress was divided on what to do about it

• Port Issue

• British, Spanish, and West Indies ports were off-limit to American merchants

• Overall, the U.S. could not escape British regulations

• Most independent business owners were rapidly going bankrupt

• This caused a terrible depression that was only slightly better than the depression of the 1930s

• Overall, international trade was destroyed

Bankruptcy Scene in the 1780s

ECONOMIC ISSUES IN THE 1780S• Congress owed a total of $10 million to other countries and $40 million to American veterans

• During the war, Congress issued paper money that was close to worthless

• How did it get to this point?

• Congress failed to solicit the states to pay for the accumulating debt

• Congress did not push for a provision in the Articles to levy taxes

• Why? Congress was too concerned with uniting the country in general

• Farmers were reduced to attempting to obtain similar loans to share-cropping

• Farmers would use their land and its production as collateral for a loan

• Farmers also realized that government coinage would fail, so many tried the new banking system

ECONOMIC ISSUES IN THE 1780S• Bank of North America (formed in Philadelphia in 1781)

• Did not use local or national currency

• Used collateral and short-term loans to merchants and farmers

• Bank notes were backed by gold and silver coins

• Gold and silver gained an interest rate of 8.74

• Most of the poor viewed the banking system as the elite attempting to make a dime off the poor

• Overall, the early banking system caused great unrest between classes

SHAYS’ REBELLION• In 1786, farmers were growing frustrated with the lack of government action

• Many farmers were facing land seizure and bankruptcy

• Poor farmers were also irritated at the elite controlling virtually everything at the poor’s expense

• A Revolutionary war leader named Daniel Shays formed a small militia that began to call themselves the “Regulators” after the Carolina uprisings in the 1760s

• Shays intended to spark another revolution if the government did not listen

• The Massachusetts legislature passed the Riot Act in response

• Prohibited armed groups from gathering in towns

• Suspended habeas corpus, thus, allowing for the imprisonment of anyone for an indefinite period

• Can the government do this?

Daniel Shays and Job Shattuck

SHAYS’ REBELLION• The rebellion was cut short after a terrible blizzard and a surprise attack by the Massachusetts

state militia

• Publically, Shays was considered a traitor

• However, Shays’ Rebellion is important because it demonstrated the dire need for a new government

• The Articles were not working

• Central government was needed to ensure private liberty, bring about an end to the war debt, and attempt to ensure class harmony

THE FEDERALISTS• James Madison and Alexander Hamilton called for increased national authority in government

• Madison (Virginia) was a follower of Thomas Jefferson

• Hamilton came from the West Indies, served in the war, and married into a rich New York family

• He believed that genuine liberty required a “proper degree of authority, to make and exercise laws”

• Hamilton also wanted an energetic government that would enable the nation to become a powerful commercial and diplomatic presence in world affairs

• Both felt that Americans were shortchanging the war and independence

• The nation would survive only by enhancing national authority

Alexander Hamilton James Madison

THE FEDERALISTS• The Federalists (Nationalists) were army officers, members of Congress, and diplomats who

were adept at working with individuals throughout the new nation

• They were typically seen as the nation’s best, richest, and brightest

• Federalists were critics of the Articles of Confederation

• Federalists held a convention in Annapolis in 1786 to consider better ways for regulating interstate and international commerce

• They later agreed to meet in Philadelphia to amend the Articles and eventually write a new Constitution

• Shays’ Rebellion proved useful to the Federalists’ push to overhaul the government

• They saw the rebellion as a signal of anarchy or monarchy breaking out in the states if national authority was not exercised

• As Congress sank further in public esteem by failing to pay soldiers’ pensions, more Americans began to realize that the Articles were completely ineffective

THE CONSTITUTION• The Constitutional Convention (Philadelphia Convention) took place from May 25 to

September 17, 1787

• 55 delegates (all states except Rhode Island sent delegates)

• The majority were the wealthiest and most educated men in the nation

• George Washington presided as President over the Convention

THE VIRGINIA PLAN• The Virginia Plan

• Crucial for setting forth the debate for the convention

• Drafted primarily by James Madison

• Brought forth the idea of population-weighted representation

• Three branches of government – legislative, executive, and judicial

• Legislative was more powerful (chose people to serve in the other two branches)

• Legislature included a House of Representatives and a Senate

• House was directly elected by the people

• Senate was elected by the state legislatures (based on population)

• The legislature could regulate interstate trade, strike down unconstitutional laws, and use the military to enforce laws

The Virginia Plan

THE NEW JERSEY PLAN• Proposed three branches of government

• Legislative, executive, and judicial

• The Legislature appoints people to serve in the Executive branch

• The Executive branch appoints justices for the Supreme Court

• This is where we get the first part of the selection process for Supreme Court Justices

• 1 – the executive selects potential justices

• 2 – the legislature confirms them (from the Virginia plan)

• One legislative body (unicameral)

• States would be represented equally; all states have the same power

• National government could levy taxes and import duties, regulate trade

• State laws would be subordinate to laws passed by national legislature (no system of checks and balances)

• This plan was rejected because it was too similar to the Articles of Confederation

The New Jersey Plan

THE CONNECTICUT COMPROMISE• The final compromise between the New Jersey and Virginia Plan

• The issue between both plans rested on the legislative branch

• Bicameral Legislature

• Senate (based on New Jersey Plan) allowed for equal representation of all states

• House of Representatives (based on Virginia Plan) allowed for population-weighted representation

• Senate was the brains of the government (republicanism)

• House of Representatives was the “heart of the people” (pure democracy)

STRUCTURE OF GOVERNMENT• Article One (Legislative Power)

• Article Two (Executive Power)

• President is commander-in-chief of the army, but is unable to unilaterally declare war

• Article Three (Judicial Power)

• The key to the success of an effective and stable government was finding a way to balance the competing claims of liberty and power

• A checks and balances system was instituted

LIMITS OF THE CONSTITUTION• Did not set federal voting qualifications

• States could still have inequality based on property rights restrictions

• New government was based on a limited democracy

• Only prominent men could hold office

• Neither the president or federal judges were elected by popular vote

• Based on the Electoral College System

• Confirmation system for Supreme Court Justices

• Electoral College System

• Citizens vote for electors (that represent a state) who are authorized constitutional participants in a president election

• Primate example of indirect voting

• The electors pledge to vote for specific candidates

• Citizens vote for electors that pledge to vote for their intended candidates

SEPARATION OF POWERS• The Constitution essentially embodies federalism (large central government) and a system of

checks and balances on the individual branches

• Federalism was the complex relationship between the national and state governments

• Separation of powers refers to the way the Constitution seeks to prevent any branch of the national government from dominating the other two

• State power

• States have the permission from the federal government to keep an army, make a treaty, coin money, or issue currency

• Required a 3/4s vote of the legislative branch to formally amend the Constitution

SLAVERY IN THE CONSTITUTION• The issue of slavery represented the largest divide between the Constitutional delegates (aside from

the legislative issue)

• The words “slavery” and “slave” do not appear in the Constitution, but it did provide and allow for slavery

• South Carolina was extremely influential for the perpetuation of slavery into the 19 th century

• Remember that over half of the state’s population was slaves?

• Fugitive slave laws allowed for the state governments to extradite slaves from other states

• The federal government could not interfere with slavery in the states

• 3/5s Compromise

• How to deal with slaves as members of the population

• 5 adult slaves equaled 3 voters in the states

• Congress later prohibited the slave trade in 1808

• Not a definitive end to slavery, but a start

RATIFICATION OF THE CONSTITUTION• Final draft signed on September 17, 1787

• Nine of the 13 states had to ratify the Constitution into law

• The Federalist was published to garner support for ratification

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

• Hamilton argued that government was an expression of freedom, not its enemy (Many were holding on to the idea that large government was the representation of tyranny)

• Madison argued that America represented a new vision of government and society

• The large physical size of the country was a strength, not a weakness

• Popularized the liberal ideal that men are generally motivated by self-interest

• The good of society arises from the clash of private, personal interests

THE FEDERALIST WRITERS

Alexander Hamilton James Madison John Jay

THE ANTI-FEDERALISTS• Opposed ratification

• Argued that the republic needed to stay small and warned that the Constitution would result in a government of oppression

• Liberty became the Anti-Federalist’s by-word and watch-word in all publications

• Always attempting to exploit any weakness of the Constitution that might infringe on liberty

• Although the Anti-Federalists did not have as much support as the Federalists, they convinced Madison to promise a Bill of Rights if the Constitution was approved

• Overall, the only states to vote against ratification were Rhode Island (small state) and North Carolina (large, slave state)

• Both felt their economies would be put in jeopardy if the Constitution was ratified

THE BILL OF RIGHTS• Amendment I

• Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

• Amendment II

• A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.

• Amendment III

• No soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.

• Amendment IV

• The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

• Amendment V

• No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual service in time of war or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.

THE BILL OF RIGHTS• Amendment VI

• In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the state and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of counsel for his defense.

• Amendment VII

• In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise reexamined in any court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.

• Amendment VIII

• Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.

• Amendment IX

• The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.

• Amendment X

• The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people.

NATIONAL IDENTITY AFTER RATIFICATION• Identities acknowledged in the Constitution

• Indians

• “Others Persons” – more or less a reference to slaves and/or what was left of indentured servitude

• “People” – only group that was explicitly guaranteed the rights to American freedom (whites)

• This hints that American nationality was both civic and ethnic