 Biggest challenge of the Second Continental Congress was to establish a central government  1777 delegates wrote the Articles of Confederation (America’s first constitution or plan of government)  they established a “firm league of friendship” between states  Created a Congress with each state having one vote (unicameral legislature)  Gave most power to the states

 Did not create office of chief executive, federal court system, or authorize Congress to raise an army or impose taxes (no branches)  Any law passed had to be approved by at least 9 of 13 states (which was rare)  Foreign countries quickly realized the weaknesses of the Articles and as a result, Britain refused to withdraw troops from the Ohio Valley despite the Treaty of Paris 1783  Unable to raise an army, the U.S. could not oppose such actions  Issues of slavery, land claims, and trade also divided the states

 Unable to sell crops due to falling prices, farmers could not pay loans or the heavy taxes on their land that each state had imposed to pay for its war debts  As a result, Daniel Shays led a number of farmers in rebellion  Without a national government, Massachusetts had to deal with the revolt on its own  Showed that a stronger central government was needed to deal with the nation’s problems  Thomas Jefferson believed rebellion was necessary to correct the ills of government

 Delegates from each state met in Philadelphia in 1787 to revise the Articles of Confederation  George Washington chosen as president of convention  Thomas Jefferson and John Adams were not present because they were ambassadors in Europe  They decided to do away with the Articles completely and write the U.S. Constitution  Came up with two plans to improve the legislative branch: the Virginia Plan proposed by Edmund Randolph and James Madison and the New Jersey Plan proposed by William Paterson

 Three branches (separation of powers, checks & balances)  Bicameral Legislature : lower house elected by the people, upper house chosen by lower house  Proportional representation in Congress by state population (large states loved this)  Legislative branch makes laws  Chief executive (enforce laws) chosen by legislature  Federal judiciary (make sure laws were administered fairly)  Power to veto state laws

 Three branches, but a u nicameral legislature (one house)  Maintain Articles of Confederation  Equal representation of states (favored by small states)  Give Congress power to tax and regulate trade  Establish laws of United States as supreme over state laws

 Federalism : sharing of power between federal and state governments  Constitution would be supreme law of the land  Republic: governed by representation of people’s will ( Popular Sovereignty )  Limited government : only had powers granted to it by the Constitution  Three branches with ability to check each other ( checks and balances )

 Bicameral legislature: House of Representatives based on state’s population, Senate with each state represented equally by two members  Three-fifths compromise : three-fifths of enslaved count as part of the population to be used for calculating taxation and representation (important to the South)  Slave trade compromise : Congress would not interfere with slave trade for twenty years, Congress could limit slave trade after that time

 Debate between Federalists like Alexander Hamilton and James Madison “Father of Constitution” who supported ratification, strong central government, loose interpretation of Constitution (implied powers)  Antifederalists like Jefferson who supported strong states’ rights, strict interpretation (Republicans)  Important to many was protection of people against abuse by government  Several states refused to ratify until a Bill of Rights was included

 Essays written by Hamilton and Madison to help persuade New York to ratify the Constitution  Eased the fear of one faction becoming too powerful in government  Faction : group of people bound by a common belief/cause (Federalists, Antifederalists) led to political parties (Republican and Federalist)  Federalist view won out, but Antifederalists secured a Bill of Rights  Constitution was ratified by 9 of 13 states on June 21, 1788, went into effect in 1789

 Sponsored by James Madison in 1789, went into effect 1791  First 10 amendments to Constitution  Purpose: to protect civil liberties

 Was unanimously elected as first president by delegates and served in both 1789 and 1792  He quickly chose trusted men to serve in key positions as his cabinet (heads of departments who serve as the president’s key advisors)  John Adams selected as Vice President  Thomas Jefferson was Secretary of State  Alexander Hamilton was Secretary of Treasury

 Take on state debts incurred from war  To raise revenue wanted to tax whiskey  Argued this would also demonstrate power of the federal government  Supported tariffs (taxes on imports) to raise money and protect U.S. businesses from foreign competition  Proposed establishing a national bank (implied power)

 Thomas Jefferson argued the federal government was not given power to open national bank (strict interpretation)  Southerners were against tariffs because it would raise prices and lessen competition  They also feared other countries would respond with tariffs of their own  Many feared the government intended to support the wealthy few

 Tax on whiskey very unpopular in Penn, MD, VA, and NC with farmers who earned a living producing whiskey  Protest resulted in Whiskey Rebellion when farmers in Penn refused to pay the tax and resorted to violence  Washington showed the power of the federal government by sending in troops to halt the armed protest

 Great Britain and France were once again at war  Washington recognized the U.S. could not afford to take sides  As a result, the United States’ ability to trade on the high seas was affected

 Played major role in 1796 presidential election  John Adams (Federalist) received most votes and was elected 2 nd president  According to Constitution, individual receiving second highest votes became vice president  Thomas Jefferson won, and had very different views from Adams

 XYZ Affair: unsuccessful attempt to improve U.S./French relations, caused U.S. to build up its military  Alien Act: allowed government to arrest, detain, or remove foreigners deemed untrustworthy  Sedition Act: severely limited free speech

 Jefferson and Madison saw the alien and sedition acts as abuses of power  Adopted resolution doctrine of nullification which stated that states can nullify a national law that they believe violates the Constitution  States’ rights became highly debated leading up to the Civil War

 Adams v. Jefferson/Federalists v. Republicans  Republicans accused Federalist Adams of wanting to be a king  Federalists proclaimed Jefferson of being an anarchist (against any government)  Electoral college voted on Jefferson and Aaron Burr (both Republican) ending in a tie  House of Rep. had to decide  Hamilton (a Federalist who disagreed with Jefferson’s politics) supported Jefferson making him the 3 rd president (only because he hated Burr)  Burr never forgave Hamilton and ended up shooting and killing him in a duel