Chapter 9… The Articles of Confederation & The Constitution The central fact of the Articles was that they "established a form of government in which Americans were citizens of their own states first and the United States second."

Articles of Confederation War time document Created in November 1777 Plan for a loose union of the states “League of Friendship” Established a very weak central government

Articles of Confederation Weaknesses Congress had no power to tax That power belonged to the states Congress had no power to enforce treaties, regulate interstate commerce, or create trade agreements No Executive Branch No Judicial Branch Amendments required unanimous vote of states Weak Army Weakish Navy Problems Created Weak currency and growing debt Inability to pay federal army or just run the gov’t Foreign nations did not trust USA because the national Congress had no control Trade suffers with the British Spanish shut down New Orleans and Mississippi River to the US Each state is creating it’s own currency States are slapping tariffs on one another No leader for the country to represent the country No way of settling the legality of laws or settling disputes with states New York and New Jersey nearly went to war with one another Nearly impossible to make changes British maintained forts in American territory and incited Native Americans Vermont Example North African pirates captured American ships for ransom

Shay’s Rebellion, 1786-1787… Economic Crisis States were beginning to act like independent nations Recession Repressive taxes lead to Shays Rebellion Farmers could not handle high taxes Open war between farmers and the federal government Annapolis Convention is called as a result of the Rebellion Only 5 states send delegates A future convention is scheduled

A Convention is Called James Madison: Father of the Constitution Madison is concerned, and convinces the state of Virginia to call for a convention Alexander Hamilton (NY) agrees and calls for a meeting in Philadelphia… May 1787 James Madison Alexander Hamilton

The Constitutional Convention Founding Fathers Every state but Rhode Island sends delegates 55 in all Most were lawyers Incredible talent mostly… 8 were signers of Declaration of Independence George Washington was chosen as the Presiding Officer Meetings were closed to public

Instant Disagreement Currently Under Articles of Confederation each state had one vote Big states hated this/Small states loved it Two plans were proposed at the Convention 1st the Virginia Plan New Jersey Plan was a response…

Virginia Plan Give the Articles of Confederation the boot The Virginia Plan- written by Madison Bicameral Legislature- Proportional Upper House- Senate Based on population Elected by State Legislatures Lower House- House of Representatives Elected directly by the people Virginia Plan draws outrage from the small states Small states respond with the New Jersey Plan

New Jersey Plan Basically strengthen the Articles of Confederation Changes Make the central government stronger Give powers not originally given Tax and regulate trade Create a unicameral legislature Each state was represented equally Not proportional

The Great Compromise 3 Branches of Government Executive Legislature- Bicameral Upper House: Senate Each state had two representatives Lower House: House of Representatives Based on population Judicial

Fear of the Common Man Indirect election of Senators Indirect election of the President (Electoral College) Judges appointed for life The typical Americans were allowed to have a direct voice in 1/2 of the branches of gov’t!

Yeah or Nay

Further Compromise 3/5 Compromise Question came up How to count slaves??? Southern states wanted to count slaves as citizens 90% of slaves lived in Maryland, Virginia, North & South Carolina, and Georgia Slaves made up 30% of southern population Northern states thought that was absurd since slaves were in no way citizens Every 5 slaves would equal 3 people South compromises by committing to end the slave trade by 1808

Did the Founding Fathers make a tragic mistake Should slavery have been outlawed at the convention??? Realistic or Unrealistic What do you think???