Weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation and how US Constitution corrected them

Weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation No power to tax No national executive Unicameral legislature No judicial/national court No checks & balances! Result No money Federal laws not enforced One vote per state unequal representation Problems with interstate relations

Weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation No regulation of commerce No power to maintain army States more power than national gov’t Need 9/13 to pass a law & unanimous consent to amend Results Economic quarrels among states & foreign trade hurt No national defense Almost no unity among states Impossible to accomplish

Other Problems under Articles of Confederation States were issuing their own paper money but inflation soon made it worthless Nat’l government couldn’t settle disputes between states Post war depression hurt small businesses and farmers which left farmers unable to pay debts. In Mass. farmers attacked courthouses to prevent judges from foreclosing on farmers – Shay’s Rebellion

SHAYS’ REBELLION Angry farmers in Mass. took law into their own hands- violated property rights of others Congress had no real power to help stop the rebellion This caused concern by property owners in other states Led to calling of a convention to revise the Articles of Confederation

The Constitutional Convention started May 25, 1787 met at Independence Hall, Philadelphia An extraordinary group of delegates 55 men Well-educated Lawyers, merchants, college presidents, doctors, generals, governors, and planters with considerable political experience Rhode Island did not go…they did not want a stronger central government

The Boss Who was chosen to preside over the convention? George Washington Respected for his leadership during the Rev. War http://richmondthenandnow.com/Images/Famous-Visitors/George-Washington-big.jpg

Procedures of the Convention Each state was only allowed one vote Majority votes from all states made decisions All discussions were a secret! Why…?? This way, delegates could speak freely, without worry about how the public would react

Virginia Plan vs. New Jersey Plan Two Opposing Plans VS. Virginia Plan vs. New Jersey Plan

The Virginia Plan presented by James Madison called for 3 branches of government bicameral Congress (2 houses), both determined by population Favored big states b/c of population

The New Jersey Plan presented by William Patterson also called for 3 branches of gov’t Unicameral legislature (1 house) with equal representation for each state favored by smaller states b/c equal

The GREAT COMPROMISE Roger Sherman of Connecticut comes up with the solution… a compromise to please large & small states Lower House House of Representatives Determined by population 2 year term of office Favored larger states Upper House Senate Equal representation (2 from each state) 6 year term of office Favored smaller states also known as the Connecticut Compromise

use of population to determine representation led to another debate How will slaves be counted in population? at that time, there were 550,000 slaves mostly in the South Southern states wanted slaves counted to increase their population & reps in Congress Northern states did not want slaves counted since they were not citizens

3/5 COMPROMISE Conflict over counting slaves in population was settled by 3/5 Compromise Every 5 slaves would count as only 3 people This formula was used for determining representation in Congress & figuring taxes

How to choose the President? Selecting the Chief Executive also created debate at the Convention Some delegates felt Congress should choose President What’s wrong with this plan? Others felt vote of all citizens should choose President Finally compromised by creating the Electoral College How does the Electoral College work?

Correcting Weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation No power to tax No national executive 1 vote per state No way to settle disputes Solution Article I sec 8 Congress has powers to…. Article II Executive Branch- Presidential powers Article I Bicameral Congress- representation Article III Federal Court- Supreme Court

Correcting Weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation No regulation of commerce No national defense States more power than national gov’t Need 2/3 vote to pass a law & unanimous vote to amend Solutions Article I sec 8 foreign & interstate commerce create an army & navy Article VI Constitution & Federal Govt are supreme Articles I & V I = majority for laws V = easier to amend- not unanimous

once Constitution was written in Philadelphia, what was required to replace the Articles Look at Article VII. “The Ratification of the Conventions of nine States, shall be sufficient for the Establishment of this Constitution between the States so ratifying the Same.”

Ratification of Constitution created conflict between Federalists & Anti-Federalists Wanted the Constitution to be ratified Thought nation needed stronger national gov’t Felt country couldn’t survive under Art. of Confederation Leaders were: John Adams Alexander Hamilton James Madison writers of the Federalist Papers ANTI-FEDERALISTS Opposed to ratifying the Constitution Feared giving away state powers to federal gov’t Preferred to keep the Art. of Confederation Leaders were: Sam Adams Patrick Henry James Monroe Were finally appeased by Bill of Rights