Chapter 5 Forming a Government

The Articles of Confederation Section 1

Articles of confederation  New country = new government  New government = new rules  New rules = Articles of Confederation  Sent to each state for ratification

Articles of Confederation  LEGISLATIVE BRANCH  Congress  Limited powers to protect the freedom of citizens  NO EXECUTIVE BRANCH  President  Cabinet  NO JUDICIAL BRANCH  Supreme Court

How is that different from today?

How this is different…  NO EXECUTIVE BRANCH  President  Cabinet  NO JUDICIAL BRANCH  Supreme Court

AoC and Congress State Roles  Each state had one vote  Congress can ask states for money and soldiers  State could refuse Job  Settled conflicts among the states  Issue coins  Borrow money  Make treaties  Other countries  Native Americans

Conflict Slows Progress  Congress has two problems to solve 1. What to do with new Western Lands  Northwest Territory 2. How to raise money to pay debts  Solution: Land Ordinance of 1785  Set up a system for surveying and dividing western lands

Land Ordinance of 1785  Land split into townships  36 square miles  640 acres each  36 lots  Lots  1 lot = public school  4 lots = veteran use  Remaining lots = sold to public

New Political System  Northwest Ordinance of 1787  Established Northwest Territory  Illinois  Indiana  Michigan  Ohio  Minnesota  Wisconsin

 Created a system for creating new states  Each new territory would have a governor  Congress chooses  When territories reached 60,000 settlers  Draft new constitution  Can ask to become a new state

Ordinance Provided  Civil liberties  Public education  “there shall be neither slavery nor involuntary servitude (forced labor) in the…territory.”  Banned slavery  Controversial issue

We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

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The New Nation Faces Challenges Section 2

Relations with Other Countries  Articles of Confederation + Treaty of Paris = No Army  Articles of Confederation  Congress could not force states to provide soldiers for an army  Treaty of Paris  No more Continental Army  No army  Difficult to protect its citizens against foreign threats

Trouble with Britain  Difficult to enforce Treaty of Paris  Force British to:  Turn over forts on the American side of the Great Lakes  Wanted to protect land and trade routes  British would fight if forts were taken forcefully

Trade with Britain  Many British ports closed to American ships  Forced American merchants to pay high tariffs  Rice, tobacco, tar, oil  Merchants had to raise prices to cover the tariffs  Economy = bad

Trade with Spain  Spain closed the lower Mississippi River to U.S. shipping  Farmers and merchants were mad  Congress tried to work out an agreement with Spain  Unsuccessful  Government criticized: if we had a strong army, Spain would have given in

What was the impact of closed markets?

Trade among States  Interstate Commerce  Trade between two or more states  Confederation Congress had to power to regulate  States had different trade laws  Trade difficult for merchants who traded across state lines

Inflation  States had a hard time paying off war debt  Struggled to collect overdue taxes  States began printed money

What is inflation?

Inflation  Money had little value  States did not have gold or silver reserves to back it up  Congress had no power to stop inflation

Weak Economy  Rhode Island  Printed money  Made debtors happy  Creditors unhappy  Were being paid back with worthless money

What is a depression?

Shay’s Rebellion 

Weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation  Most power held by states  One branch of government  Legislative branch has few powers  No executive branch  No judicial branch  No system of checks and balances

Creating the Constitution Section 3

Constitutional Convention  February 1787  Goal: improve the Articles of Confederation  Outcome: U.S. Constitution  Attendees: Ben Franklin, James Madison, George Washington (President of the Convention)

Great Compromise  Some members wanted small changes to the articles  Some members wanted BIG changes to the articles  Virginia Plan v. New Jersey Plan

Virginia PLAN  Give sovereignty to the central government  Bicameral legislature  Number in both houses based on population

New Jersey Plan  Gave more power to state governments  Unicameral legislature  Number of representatives equal from each state

Great Compromise  Bicameral legislature  Number of representatives based on state population in lower house  Number of representatives equal from each state in upper house

Three-fifths compromise  Debate over slavery  South wanted enslaved Africans to be counted as part of their state population  Northerners wanted the number of slaves to determine taxes, but not representation  Only 3/5 of a state’s slave population would count when determining representation

The Living Constitution  Wanted to protect Popular Sovereignty  Political authority belongs to the people

Federalist Government  Wanted to balance the power of the central government with the power of the states  Created federalism  Sharing of power between a central government and the states that make up a country

Checks and Balances  The constitution created 3 branches of government  Legislative  Executive  Judicial  Keeps any branch from becoming too power

3 Branches of Government  Divide into 3 groups  You have 10 minutes to research your branch of government  Who is in that branch?  What is their responsibility?

 Legislative branch  Congress  Responsibility: proposing and passing laws  Senate  House of Representatives

 Executive Branch  President and departments that help the government  Responsibility: make sure the law is carried out

 Judicial Branch  All courts  Responsibility: interpreting laws, punishing criminals, and settling disputes between states

CONSTITUTION  Final draft of the Constitution was completed in September 1787  3 of the 42 delegates refused to sign  Sent to Congress to sign, then to the states

Strengths of the Constitution  Most power held by national government  3 branches of govt  Leg. branch has many powers  Exec. Branch led by prez  Jud. Branch to review the laws  Firm system of checks and balances Weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation  Most power held by states  One branch of government  Leg. Branch has few powers  No judicial system  No system of checks and balances

Ratifying the Constitution Section 4

Antifederalists  Antifederalists  People who opposed the constitution  Thought the constitution gave the central government too much power  Constitution did not have a section that guaranteed individual rights  Small farmers and debtors  George Mason  Samuel Adams  Patrick Henry

Federalists  Supported the Constitution  Constitution offered a good balance of power  Wealthy planters, farmers, lawyers  James Madison  George Washington  Benjamin Franklin  Alexander Hamilton

Federalists v. ANTIFEDERALISTS  Argument: Should the Constitution be approved?  Federalists had to convince people a change in the structure of government was needed  People were scared to live under a government that had too much power

Federalist Papers  Essays supporting the Constitution  Written anonymously  Written by Hamilton, Madison, Jay  Reassured Americans that the new government would not overpower the states

 Each state needed to ratify the constitution  To preserve nation unity  Legally only needed 9 states to ratify

Antifederalist papers  Antifederalists created the “Antifederalist Papers”  “It appears that the government will fall into the hands of the few and the great.”

 Delaware 1787 = 1 st to ratify the Constitution  New Hampshire 1788 = 9 th to ratify  New York and Virginia  Constitution needed their support  Still debating  Ratified in 1788  Rhode Island 1790 = last state to ratify

Bill of Rights  Several ratified ONLY because they were promised an addition to protect individual rights  Others thought it was, itself, a Bill of Rights  Written to protect the liberty of all U.S. citizens

 Bill of Rights added to the Constitution as amendments  Official changes  Bill of Rights  ratified in 1791  10 of the proposed amendments intended to protect citizens’ rights