THE CONFEDERATION AND THE CONSTITUTION

EQUALITY “All men are created Equal” Separation of Church and State  Anglican Church = De- anglicized  Protestant Episcopal Church  Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom Philadelphia Quakers  First antislavery society Discrimination Civic Virtue  Democracy depended on the unselfish commitment of each citizen  Republican motherhood  Social keepers

ECONOMIC CROSSCURRENTS Loyalist holdings = confiscated Stimulus in Manufacturing  Mills American ships barred from British Harbors Trade more disagreeable after independence States = pay back borrowed money  Inflation  Worse off than before war

CREATING A CONFEDERATION 2 nd Continental Congress  Only did what it dared  Military, foreign policy  13 sovereign states  Money, military, tariff barriers  Articles of Confederation  Adopted in 1777  Ratified in 1781  All 13 states  Discord over western lands

ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION Loose Confederation = “Firm league of friendship”

LANDMARKS Land Ordinance of 1785  Old Northwest = used to pay off national debt  Divide into townships  6 miles square  36 sections = 1 mile each  16 th section = public schools

CONT. Northwest Ordinance of 1787  Governing of the Old Northwest  2 stages  1 st = area subordinate to federal government  2 nd = 60,000 can be admitted by Congress as a state  Receive all privileges  Forbade slavery in the Old Northwest  Exempted present slaves

ANARCHY States getting out of hand  Refused to pay taxes  Levying duties on neighbors Shay’s Rebellion  Massachusetts = 1786  Back country farmers  Loosing their farms = mortgage foreclosures  Demanded state issue paper money, lighten taxes

DEMIGODS Control of commerce  Interstate fighting Virginia takes lead  Convention in Maryland  9 states appointed delegates  5 showed  Alexander Hamilton = Report  Meet in Philadelphia = 1 year  Bolster Articles

CONT. 12 states sent delegates to convention called by congress  Philadelphia, May 1787  R.I. not represented  55 delegates  Washington = chairman  Nationalists Gave up on fixing Articles --- Now time to form a new government

GREAT COMPROMISE Fight for Representation James Madison  Virginia Plan  2 house legislature ---- population William Paterson  New Jersey Plan  Single house congress --- equal vote Great Compromise  2 house congress ---  Equal representation in Senate = 2  Population determined House of Representatives

CONT. Three-Fifths Compromise  Three-fifths of state’s slaves to be counted 3 Branches of Government  Federalism - power divided between national government and several state governments  Delegated Powers - National Government  Control Foreign Affairs  Regulate Trade  Reserved Powers - States  Education  Tax

SAFEGUARDS Legislative Branch --- Make laws Executive Branch --- Carry out laws Judicial Branch --- Interpret the laws Checks and Balances

CONVENTION’S OVER Adjourned Convention  17 weeks  May 25 = September 17, 1787  42 remained  39 signed 9 states needed to ratify Constitution

CLASH Federalists  Supporters of the Constitution  George Washington, Ben Franklin Antifederalists  Opposed having strong central government  Sam Adams, Patrick Henry

GREAT DEBATE War of words --- Public debates / Articles  Propaganda = The Federalists  Alexander Hamilton  James Madison  John Jay Major opposition  Did not protect the rights of people  Bill of Rights

RATIFIED STATES 1.Delaware = Dec 7, Pennsylvania = Dec 12, New Jersey = Dec 18, Georgia = Jan 2, Connecticut = Jan 9, Massachusetts = Feb 7, Maryland = April 28, S. Carolina = May 23, New Hampshire = June 21, Virginia = June 26, New York = July 26, N. Carolina = Nov 21, R.I. = May 29, 1790

RELEVANCE Oldest written national constitution still in use  Meets the changing need of Americans Elastic Clause  Stretches the power of the government  Expand to meet unforeseen circumstances  Formally changed when necessary  Amendments  Only 27 amendments have been added