1. The Confederation & The Constitution
America is built on COMPROMISES

2. Your Mission
It’s You have declared your independence from Britain. Now what? What challenges do you face as you begin nation-building?
Get into groups of four and brainstorm:
Most immediate challenge
Most potentially damaging challenge
Most difficult challenge to resolve

3. Chapter Overview
Revolution was not a radical transformation, but did produce political innovations and social change towards greater equality and democracy.
Compromise was an essential element for a federal government, along with the abandonment of the Articles of Confederation.
The federal Constitution provided a strong framework for national identify and protection against disorder.

4. Victory! But can we survive without Mom?
New responsibility of creating and operating a central government.
This new type did not exist.
Natural rights/equality taught by political leaders.
Allegiance for a common cause was now gone.
New American industry in competition with English goods.
States each coined their own money, raised armies, and erected tariff barriers.
Some States began to levy duties on other state’s goods
States quarreled over boundaries
Congress – some control over foreign affairs and army

5. Our Strengths All 13 states had similar constitutions.
Unity of a rich political heritage.
Brilliant political leaders:
Washington, Madison, Adams, Jefferson, Hamilton.

6. Move Towards Equality
Exodus of Loyalists create a weakness in conservatives.
Removal of many aristocrats
Modified laws and customs for more equal treatment.
Most states reduced property-holding requirements to vote.
Religious freedom
Expanded freedoms for women (education, civic virtue, and, republican motherhood)
Challenged Slavery – why not removed?
Sacrificed for unity
Opportunities for all (esp. land) helps keep violence at bay.
1775 – Philly Quakers found the first antislavery society
A fight over slavery would have fractured the fragile national unity

7. Judith Sargent (Murray)
1779 “On the Equality of the Sexes”: women were just as smart, but untrained so appear dumber
argued for equal capacity for memory; women superior in imagination, men in judgment (but only due to edu)
brother learned classics; she was jealous
First husband (John Stevens) died in West Indies fleeing debtors’ prison; married John Murray, universalist minister
Wrote under pseudonym (male and female)
Letter collection = best source for women’s history of the period
MA s gave girls equal right to schooling
literacy rates in northeast nearly equal - seeds of women’s suffrage movement

8. How’s the Economy?
Non-importation agreements helped give manufacturing a boost.
Later the war itself
Trade with Britain was restricted due to the same mercantilist laws
Could freely trade with other nations
DEBT from the war
States had borrowed more than they could ever repay
Inflation was out of control
States took former crown lands and Loyalist holdings and cut them up into small farms – quickly spreading economic democracy.
Political democracy took longer to develop, but if people could have access to cheap land, they could eat and weren’t tempted to become violent.
Even with this – the average citizen was probably worse off than before the war.

9. State Constitutions
The Second Continental Congress in 1776 called upon all colonies to draft new constitutions, making them states.
Several common features of these DWAARFs:
Defined the powers of the government
Weak executive and judicial branches
Authority from the people
Annual election of legislators
Rights included (Bill of Rights)
Fundamental law
Massachusetts was most noteworthy. It took the longest (1780), but acted as a “beta” US Constitution. Set up with Articles and starting with “We the People”. Also, the people ratified it directly, not a legislator.
Similarities made it easier to push for a federal charter when the time was ready, an important step.
Defined – was an element of their old colonial charters
Weak – distrust of arbitrary judges and a position with kingly power. Did not think about the fact that 173 people can be just as oppressive as one.
Authority – not from the royal seal of a distant king
Annual – forced them to stay in touch with the mood of the people
Rights – guaranteeing liberties against later laws
Fundamental - These constitutions changed from just a list of laws and customs, but rather a specifically written fundamental law – higher than ordinary legislation.

10. The Creation of Articles of Confederation
Drafted and adopted by the Second Continental Congress in 1777.
Not ratified by all 13 states until 1781.
Fighting was primarily over the west.
All states fought for it, so why not split the prize?
COMPROMISE
Land was given up
Areas for the “common benefit” – new republican states
7 states had land holdings beyond the Allegheny Mountains (NY and VA)
6 states had none (MA and PA)
Pioneers would purchase this common land from the federal government
Anti-colonial

11. Strengths in the Articles of Confederation
The first step towards the present Constitution
Clearly outlines central government powers
Making treaties
Establish the postal service
Held the states together until America was ready for the next step in unity.

12. Weaknesses in the Articles of Confederation
America’s “first constitution”
Congress only
no executive branch and judicial issues were left to the states.
Each state had one vote
Important votes required 9 states
Changes to the Articles required unanimous ratification
Three significant handicaps:
No power to regulate commerce
No power to collect taxes
No power to force states or individuals of states
(wart.com + no e + no j / sovereignty)
Important stepping stone towards the constitution
In charge of foreign affairs
One Vote – Rhode Island same power as 10 times the number of Virginians.
Unanimous – impossible, meant amendments were unworkable
Commerce – conflicting tariffs
Taxes – ask for contribution
States – could not command or control a state

13. Action of Congress: Land Ordinances
Land Ordinance of 1785
Land to be surveyed and sold to pay off national debt.
Land Ordinance of 1787
First temporary tutelage
Second permanent equality
1. Old NW was different than Ohio Valley ownership and fraud were issues
Townships 6 square miles – split into 36 sections of one mile
16th section for public school
2. area would be subordinate to the fed gov’t
Once 60,000 inhabitants in the territory, could be admitted by Congress as a state
Forbade slavery in NW – exempt slaves already present
Concepts eventually carried to all frontier areas.
The Old Northwest acquired in the Peace Treaty of Paris

14. Foreign Relations: No Respect
England
Would not send an ambassador to America
Would not accept imports from U.S.
Held trading posts on U.S. soil (Indian alliance & fur trade)
Spain
Closed the Mississippi river to American commerce in 1784
Claimed Florida other southern areas given to the U.S. in the Peace of Paris.
France
Demanded repayment of war debt (revolution’s a-brewin’)
Restricted trade with West Indies
Citizens wanted to retaliate by restricting imports from England, but Congress had no power

15. U.S. in 1783

16. Shay’s Rebellion: More Backcountry Strife
Massachusetts in 1786
Impoverished backcountry farmers were losing their farms through mortgage foreclosures and tax delinquencies.
Demanded the state issue paper money, lighten taxes, and suspend property takeovers
Put down by a MA army – three were killed
Veterans of the Revolutionary War
Shay condemned to death, then pardoned

17. Impetus for Change Fears of “Democratic Despotism”
Self-interest and greed instead of civic virtue ruling
Conservatives and the wealthy wanted to create more power over the mob.
Interstate fighting over commerce had become serious.
Remember: Aristotle thought democracy was a corruption, not an ideal

18. The Constitutional Convention
Met to revise the Articles of Confederation
55 emissaries for 12 states met in Philadelphia on May 25, 1787.
Washington, Franklin, Madison, Hamilton
Not present? Jefferson, Samuel and John Adams, Hancock, Patrick Henry
Met in complete secrecy
Took 17 weeks
Not all members signed the Constitution
Rhode Island not there
Lawyers, merchants – none from the poorer debtors group
Average age of 42
19 owned slaves

19. Areas of Agreement Economically Politically Fear of mob rule
Reliable money
Protection of private property
Politically
Stronger government
Checks and balances – three branches
Fear of mob rule
Federal judges for life
Indirect voting
Most important 2 principles:
Consent of the governed
Powers of government should be limited

20. Constitutional Compromises
Large State vs. Small State plans
“The Great Compromise” House of Representatives and the Senate
Electoral College
Presidential elections by indirect means
Three-fifths compromise
Slaves counted as 3/5 a person
End to slave trade
Allowed to continue until 1807
Assumption of state debt
Centrally located capital
Tax and revenue bills must originate in the house.
3/5 compromise much worse than it sounds - not just 3/5ths of a person; 3/5 of your power goes to your slaver

21. Issues Debated
Should the United States adopt the new Constitution to replace the Articles of Confederation?
Need for change. Does the government of the Articles need to be replaced?
Can a republic govern a large territory and a diverse population?
Will the new constitutional government create an aristocratic power in the presidency?
Does the proposed Constitution protect the people’s liberty?

22. Federalists vs. Anti Federalists
Leaders
Washington, Hamilton, Madison, Jay, and Marshall
Patrick Henry, Samuel Adams, Richard Henry Lee, George Mason, and George Clinton
Social, regional, and economic strongholds
Commercial, seacoast, urban, and upper-class groups
Controlled the press
Non-commercial, western, agrarian, and state-oriented interests
Ideas argued
Drawn up by rich aristocracy – antidemocratic
No bill of rights to protect individual liberties
Elimination of annual elections for congressional representatives
Creating a federal strong-hold (10 mile square)
Omission of any reference to God
Process of ratifying with only 2/3 of the states

23. Ratification Four small states quickly sign
PA was the first large state to sign
VA, NY, NC, and RI hold out
VA Patrick Henry rails against the Constitution, but Washington, Madison, and John Marshall win.
NY Hamilton, Jay, and Madison pen The Federalist Papers.
NC and RI finally ratified, unwillingly and months later.
¼ of white adult males voted for delegates to the ratifying conventions.
Conservatism was victorious

24. In-Class Quick Write
Discuss the United States as it existed under the Articles of Confederation. What were the strengths and weaknesses of the Confederation government and how did the Constitution attempt to correct those flaws?

25. Images