1781 Continental Congress adopts the Articles of Confederation
The colonies were already wary of the power of a centralized government(think England) Under the AOC Congress could: Declare war Provide mail service Enter into Treaties with other countries Coin/Print money
The AOC could not: Collect taxes Regulate Trade Because the AOC Was so weak, it was Likely that another Country would take Over the country.
States began taxing other states goods and also began to heavily tax the citizens of their state. Revolutionary War veteran, Daniel Shays, lead a group of farmers and attempted to seize guns at the Springfield Armory. This act made the weakness of the current government obvious.
Continental Congress calls for a convention to take place in Philadelphia. First meeting takes place on May 25, Every state but Rhode Island sent a delegate. Discussions were kept secret so that there would be a free exchange of ideas. George Washington led the debates.
Virginia Plan James Madison proposes a federal govt. where the power is SHARED between the national and state governments 3 BRANCHES / 1 Legislative 2 Executive 3 Judicial Central Idea of the Plan. Checks and Balances which means no one branch has more power than the other For example: the President can Veto a law passed by the Congress or the Supreme Court can declare it UNCONSTITUTIONAL.
PROBLEM: the Va. Plan proposed representation based on population. So the smaller states would have less power. Virginia Connecticu t
The New Jersey Plan: an alternative to Madison’s plan that gave each state the same number of Representatives The larger states rejected this plan and it looked as if there would be no document.
The Great Compromise Roger Sherman of Connecticut proposes a BICAMERAL system: a Legislature a TWO parts. There would be a Senate and a House of Representatives Compromise accepted and the work contined.
The 3/5’s compromise Slaves would be counted as three fifths of a person as far as representation goes.
Federalist vs Anti-Federalist The Federalists believed that the “folks” could not handle the responsibility of voting directly for the President Anti-Federalists believed each citizen should vote directly for the President THE COMPROMISE is “The Electoral College”
The States had to “Ratify” or vote for the Constitution by a two-thirds margin or nine states. North Carolina was number 12.