Chapter 2.3 The Nation’s First Governments

Early State Constitutions In January, 1776, New Hampshire was the first colony to organize as a state and craft a written plan for gov’t or constitution. Other states formed similar systems of gov’t and by 1780 all had followed. Most state legislatures were bicameral – divided into two parts or houses. Members of the two houses were chosen by different methods.

continued Each state had an elected governor to carry out the laws and judges and courts to interpret the laws. Most state constitutions included a bill of rights.

continued The Massachusetts constitution was different from the others. 1) It distributed power more evenly among the legislature, governor and courts. 2) It gave the governor and the courts the authority to check the legislature. 3) The constitution itself was not created by the legislature but by a convention of elected delegates. The Massachusetts constitution would later become the model for the U.S. Constitution.

The Articles of Confederation Separately, the states could not maintain a large army to fight the British. For this and other reasons, the Second Continental Congress made a plan for union called the Articles of Confederation. A confederation is a group of individuals who band together for a common purpose.

continued The Articles set up a one-house legislature. As a result of bad experiences with the British gov’t, the states refused to give Congress the power to tax or to enforce its laws. Congress could not require the states to give money or do anything else. As a result the Articles were doomed to fail.

continued The states ratified, or approved, the Articles. Soon, serious problems became clear. Strict voting requirements to pass laws or amend (change) the Articles made it difficult for Congress to accomplish anything. (Law needed 9/13 approval, Amendments needed 13/13 approval) Even when it passed laws, Congress could not enforce them. States could just ignore the laws.

continued The Treaty of Paris was signed in 1783, ending the Revolutionary War. Unable to collect taxes, Congress had borrowed to pay for the war. The states had also run up deep debts. To pay their debts, the states overtaxed their citizens and even taxed goods from other states and foreign countries. The Confederation Congress had no power to solve these problems.

continued Daniel Shays, an indebted farmed, felt the state had no right to take his farm away because of a problem the state had created. He led an uprising, known as Shay’s Rebellion. This unrest swayed leaders toward revising the Articles of Confederation to create a stronger national government.