The Creation of the Articles of Confederation What do we do now?

We have declared independence Now that we are independent, what do the colonies (now called states) look like? Each state created its own Constitution The following were included in Constitutions for the states: Natural rights and higher law Social Contract Popular sovereignty Representation Separation of Power Checks and Balances The purpose of government is to protect the rights of citizens to life, liberty, and property. Most checks were within the legislative branch – sometimes by having 2 houses within the legislature. The people could also check the government through the election process. Government is formed as a social contract ; the people agreed that the formation of government was needed to protect their rights. Popular sovereignty means that the people are the highest authority. States wanted to be represented by elected representatives of the people; 70% of white men were eligible to vote as opposed to 10% in Great Britain. Government was divided into legislative, executive, and judicial branches. Where do these ideas come from? John Locke The Declaration of Independence Discuss the points on the slide as to what happened after the colonies declared their independence through the Declaration of Independence. Each state created their own constitution States included the ideas of natural rights, natural law, social contract, popular sovereignty, representation, separation of power, and checks and balances. These are all ideas of John Locke, Montesquieu, and ideas found in the Declaration of Independence.

What else Was in the state constitutions? The right to vote for men who met certain qualifications Race Age Land ownership Free and frequent elections Freedom of speech and press Freedom to petition the government No taxation without representation ALL states’ Bill of Rights included rights for people accused of crimes Right to an attorney Right to a jury trial Protection from unreasonable searches Protection from excessive bail and fines After displaying all of the contents of the state constitutions, discuss the importance of each: Right to vote: gives people a say in the government (limited to white, male, landowners) Free and frequent elections: gives people a say in the government; allows the states to select the leadership in their government as opposed to someone being placed in power or through a bloodline Freedom of speech and press: British government limited what could be said or printed; people wanted these rights as a means of expression Freedom to petition the government: if the people felt the government was wrong, they wanted the right to protest/petition the government to correct the wrongs No taxation with representation: this was a catalyst for the American Revolution; the people wanted representation in government and thus a say in policies that would impact the people Rights for those accused of crimes: states wanted fair trials for all accused of crimes; these rights would protect those charged with crimes until proven innocent or guilty Why were all of these things important to the people?

Fears of the Founders The states had their own Constitutions, which means they had their own rights, government structure, and processes they followed within the state. Why would the Founders want to create a national government at this point in history? A national government was essential to unify the states and conduct the Revolutionary War. Possible question for discussion: What problems could you see with each state having a different constitution and different system of government? Answer: There is little unity within each state when they act independently. A central government would help coordinate efforts between the states in order to fight the British in the Revolutionary War.

What were the founders’ fears in creating a new central government? Think like an early American…what would you be afraid of in a government? Too much power in the central government Creation of a monarchy Having a central government nullify the constitutions of the states Lack of social contract Will the government overpower the will of the people? Early Americans feared a strong central government because they felt it could turn into a system like the one they just rebelled against. They were concerned about the central government having too much power and resembling a monarchy, the possible nullification of their state constitutions, and the possibility that the will of the central government would overpower the will of the people.

They thought it would be best to create a weak central government Based on the fears of Your fellow Americans, what would you do as a founder? The Founders recognized that they did need a central government of some kind…. They thought it would be best to create a weak central government They outlined this government in the nation’s first constitution, known as the Articles of Confederation. The Founders felt creating a weak central government would protect the rights of the people and unify the states while leaving the power with the states.

How did the Articles of Confederation Set up the Government? States Central Gov. The Articles only created a legislative branch There was no executive branch (no president or cabinet). There was no judicial branch (courts). The Articles gave each state (regardless of size) one vote, giving the states total control of the legislature. "Each state retains its sovereignty, freedom, and independence, and every power, jurisdiction, and right, which is not by this Confederation expressly delegated.“ The legislature is responsible for declaring war, making laws, and serving as the final court in disputes between states. States were responsible for sharing money spent by the United States of America, since the central government had no power to tax the states. These points will be discussed at more length in the following slides. The main ideas are that the “power” of the government only rested in the legislative branch and states had equal representation, regardless of size, in the legislature.

What did the Articles get right?? Under the articles, the national government was able to: Wage war against Great Britain End the American Revolution with the Treaty of Paris Provided that each state would recognize laws of the other states Allowed freedom of movement between states Marriage in one state was to be recognized in all states Passed the Northwest Ordinance Provided a means for new states to become recognized Prohibited the westward expansion of slavery Gave rights to western settlers in newly admitted states

Where did the Articles of Confederation go Wrong? Congress was not given any power to tax the people No taxes=no money to run the country Make it Modern! If there was no power to tax (raise money to run the country), what would be missing in the United States today? Answer: Taxes are used to provide highways and public transportation, roads, schools, prisons, law enforcement, parks, medical care (in some cases), welfare, fire departments, courts, libraries, and running the government. Question for discussion: What would the United States be like if we were missing all of these things?

Where did the Articles of Confederation go Wrong? Congress had no power to enforce its own laws in the states No enforcement=people in various states doing what they want Make it Modern! If there was no enforcement of laws, what would the United States be like today? Answer: Laws that impact the whole country would have no value if they were not enforced. For example, the requirement to pay taxes to the federal government would have no value under the Articles of Confederation. Side note: There was no power to tax in order to fund law enforcement. This also made the enforcement of laws difficult to impossible.

Where did the Articles of Confederation go Wrong? Congress could not make states follow trade agreements with other nations Bad trading relations with other counties = no international trade Make it Modern! If no one followed trade agreements with other nations, what would the United States be like today? Answer: The United States would not be a part of the international economy, limiting businesses from trading with countries outside of the United States. The United States would not be able to legally import items like coffee, clothing, automobiles, or any foreign made objects, thus creating a higher cost of living in the United States. Without trade agreements, international relations would be very tense.

Where did the Articles of Confederation go Wrong? Congress could not regulate trade between the states. High trading taxes between states = difficulty trading goods = slow business = lost jobs Make it Modern! If the government could not regulate trade between the states, what would state relations be like? Answer: State trade relationships would be very tense, like the international example. States could set their own regulations and taxes, thus creating slow and expensive processes for trading. If certain states set a ban on trading with other states, states could prohibit the movement of goods through their state (creating geographical trade issues).

Where did the Articles of Confederation go Wrong? Citizens in states thought their property rights were being violated Violated property rights = need for national government to check the states Make it Modern! If there were no property rights for citizens, what would the United States be like today? Answer: Without the national government protecting the property rights of the people, the states could have the power to manipulate policy to benefit those in the majority and forget about those in the minority. This would lead to corruption in government, people being stripped of their rights, and discrimination against those not in power without a national government to check the power of the state government. Click HERE to see how countries rank in the 2012 International Property Rights Index

Where did the Articles of Confederation go Wrong? There was no national court system No national court system = different systems by state = confusion in the justice system Interstate issues would have no courts to go to on the federal level No means of checking the laws of the legislature Make it Modern! If there were no national court system, what would the United States be like today? Answer: We would have a confusing justice system with no one to settle disputes between states or check the laws of the national government. All cases would have to be handled between states, which becomes complicated since states have different laws and methods of handling disputes.

Where did the Articles of Confederation go Wrong? There was no executive branch for the central government This means there was no President or party responsible for enforcing laws; no authority behind the laws There was no figure head for the government No means of checking the policies created by the legislature (what happens when all power is in one branch of government?) Make it Modern! If there were no executive branch, what would the United States be like today? Answer: The United States would have no Commander in Chief of the military, ambassadors (representatives of the United States) to other countries, updates on the state of government, ability to override the laws of the legislative branch, appointment of judges to federal courts or the U.S. Supreme Court (neither of which would exist under the Articles).

Where did the Articles of Confederation go Wrong? It required a unanimous vote to make changes to the Articles This made it very difficult to make any changes to the Articles Make it Modern! If there were a requirement to reach a unanimous decision to amend the U.S. Constitution, what would the United States be like today? Answer: None of the amendements to the United States Constitution have ever passed with a unanimous vote. The exercise on the slide will show students which amendments we would be missing if it was required to have a unanimous vote to amend the U.S. Constitution. Using your copy of the Constitution, read the amendments in the United States Constitution that would not have been added if there had been a requirement for a unanimous decision to include that amendment. List 3 Amendments you think are the most important that have been added since the ratification of the Constitution and discuss what the United States would be like without those amendments.

So what Happened Next? Farmers in Massachusetts were beginning to lose their farms due to economic problems The Farmers blamed high taxes imposed by the state for the economic downturn Many farmers lost their farms and homes; some were even put in prison As a result, local farmers, led by Daniel Shays decided to rebel by shutting down the courts using force – they even raided a federal arsenal to take weapons for their rebellion The following slides discuss Shays’ Rebellion which led to the Philadelphia Convention where delegates were to revise the Articles of Confederation.

Shays’ Rebellion Shays’ rebellion scared the colonists Who was going to maintain order if the states couldn’t? Would rebellions like this begin to spread? Could the country survive with things like this going on? The colonists knew that something needed to be done about all of the problems the government was having under the Articles.

Philadelphia Convention At the urging of the states, Congress invited delegates from all of the states to Philadelphia The purpose of this meeting was “for the sole and express purpose of revising the Articles of Confederation” Delegates (representatives of the states attending the convention) were only to revise the Articles… …but did they do more than revise? The delegates to the Convention, which was a confidential conference, would throw out the Articles of Confederation to write the United States Constitution.

Photos Courtesy: Slide 1 Colonies: ed101.bu.edu Declaration of Independence: founding.com John Locke: oregonstate.edu