1. Confederation to Constitution, 1776–1790
Learning Target: I will be able to evaluate the degree to which the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution embodied the principles of the Revolution.

2. The Pursuit of Equality
Society of the Cincinnati
Founded by elite on the ideas of primogeniture
Looked down upon by most after Revolution
Civic Virtue
Democracy depended on unselfish commitment of everyone to the public good
Republican Motherhood
Keepers of the nation’s conscience
Education became more open to women only for the good of future generations

3. Constitution Making in the States
Massachusetts
Convened convention and ratified by people
Similarities in State Constitutions
Most included some sort of bill of rights
Annual election of legislatures
Weak executive and judicial branches
Legislatures given sweeping powers
“173 despots in a legislature would surely be as oppressive as one.” –Thomas Jefferson

4. Economic Crosscurrents
Large landholdings were divided up
Manufacturing increased, but economy still mostly based on farming
Lost most commerce with Britain
New commercial outlets became important
Baltic
China
Inflation ran rampant
Most were worse off than before war

5. A Shaky Start Toward Union
Most Americans were suspicious of authority
Unity was very limited

6. Creating a Confederation
Articles of Confederation
Adopted in 1777, ratified by all in 1781
Western lands became biggest hurdle
Useful in paying war debts
Western lands controlled by government and divided up into states that could eventually apply for statehood with equality like original 13
If states wanted benefits of sale and use of public western land, they had to stay as part of union

7. Map 9.1 Western Land Cessions
to the United States, 1782–1802
Map 9-1 p163

8. The Articles of Confederation: America’s First Constitution
13 linked for dealing with common problems like foreign affairs
Congress was government, but weak
Purposely weak
All states had one vote
No executive
Judiciary left to individual states
Amending had to be unanimous
Two major handicaps
No power to control commerce
No authority to levy and collect taxes

9. Independence Hall, Philadelphia, 1776 Originally built in the 1730s as a meeting place for
the Pennsylvania colonial assembly, this building witnessed much history: here Washington was
given command of the Continental Army, the Declaration of Independence was signed, and the
Constitution was hammered out. The building began to be called “Independence Hall” in the
1820s and is today a major tourist destination in Philadelphia.
p164

10. Map 9.2 Surveying the Old Northwest Under the Land Ordinance of 1785 Sections
of a township under the Land Ordinance of 1785.
Map 9-2 p165

11. Landmarks in Land Laws Land Ordinance of 1785
Old Northwest should be sold and split up to pay for war debts
Northwest Ordinance of 1787
Start out as territory subordinate to federal government
Once population hit 60,000, could apply for statehood
Forbade slavery in Old Northwest

12. Map 9.3 Main Centers of Spanish and British Influence
After 1783 This map shows graphically that the United
States in 1783 achieved complete independence in name
only, particularly in the area west of the Appalachian Mountains.
Not until twenty years had passed did the new Republic,
with the purchase of Louisiana from France in 1803, eliminate
foreign influence from the east bank of the Mississippi
River. Much of Florida remained in Spanish hands until the
Adams-Oni´s Treaty of 1819 (see p. 239–240).
Map 9-3 p167

13. Shays’s Rebellion
States were in chaos, both within and with each other
Shay’s Rebellion
Massachusetts, 1786
Poor farmers led by Daniel Shays
Protested for paper money, lighter taxes, and halt of property takeovers
3 killed, and movement ended
Showed weakness of A of C to deal with national issues

14. Formative Assessment
For what reasons did the Articles of Confederation fail? Did revolutionary ideas play a part in its weaknesses?

15. Debtors Protest, 1787 This drawing done on the eve of
the writing of the U.S. Constitution features a farmer with a
plow, a rake, and a bottle complaining, “Takes all to pay
taxes.” The discontent of debt-rich and currency-poor
farmers alarmed republican leaders and helped persuade
them that the Articles of Confederation needed to be
replaced with a new constitution.
p168

16. Table 9-1 p170

17. Signing of the Constitution of the United States, 1787 George Washington
presided from the dais as the Constitutional Convention’s president. At a table in the
front row sat James Madison, later called the Father of the Constitution, who recorded
the proceedings in shorthand. Daily from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., from late May through mid-
September 1787, the fifty-five delegates wrangled over ideas for a new federal
government.
p171

18. Table 9-2 p173

19. Map 9.4 The Struggle over
Ratification This mottled map
shows that federalist support
tended to cluster around the
coastal areas, which had enjoyed
profitable commerce with the
outside world, including the
export of grain and tobacco.
Impoverished frontiersmen,
suspicious of a powerful new
central government under the
Constitution, were generally
antifederalists.
Map 9-4 p174

20. Table 9-3 p175

21. Banner Paraded by the Society
of Pewterers in New York City,
1788 This silk banner was carried
by members of the Society of
Pewterers in a parade in New York
City, on July 23, 1788, to celebrate
the impending ratification of the
United States Constitution by New
York State. The enthusiasm of these
craftsmen for the Constitution
confirms that not all federalists
were well-to-do.
p176

22. A Triumphant Cartoon
This cartoon appeared in the
Massachusetts Centinel on
August 2, Note the two
laggards, especially the sorry
condition of Rhode Island.
p176

23. p179