1. The first four sections
Chapter 9
The first four sections

2. Articles of Confederation – first Constitution
John Dickenson – Member of Continental Congress who feared a strong central government from Delaware, main author of the Articles of Confederation who referred to it as a “firm league of friendship”
One house government – Continental Congress – had no power to tax
States were more powerful, but used different money and had different laws – other states may accepted or declined the $ or law….
Economic Depression – no $, high unemployment, war veterans did not get paid for their service and returned to their homes and they had to borrow money to buy homes, farms, businesses

3. Good (depending upon point of view) things about the Articles:
Settled land disputes by organizing the lands into territories and measuring it into Townships (6X6 square mile units divided into 36 sections of 640 acres each)
$ gained from selling Native American Land in the Ohio Valley (sold a section for $1 per acre or $640 minimum – the buyer could divide it sell it off to make money – “land speculators” GW, BF, AJackson)
Northwest Ordinance
$ set aside for education (Trustlands Money today) People have to be educated to have an effective government.
Outlawed slavery in new territories – (D of I – all men are created equal should be reflected in the laws)

4. Rebellion – to keep, to stop?
GEORGE WASHINGTON
DANIEL SHAYS
*Continental Army vet
*planter – big farmer
*farmer
*Fought for rights in D of I
*Fought for rights in D of I 1787
*Won the war
*Got caught
*Hero
*Traitor
Daniel Shays – Continental Army captain from Massachusetts borrowed $ to buy a farm; but he could not pay his loan because of the depression and poor weather conditions; the county seized his farm for lack of payment. Because government did not protect his rights to life, liberty, and property, he organized 1,000 other farmers who had lost their property to the banks, and led an attack on Massachusetts court house and Springfield arsenal – he was captured, put on trial for treason, and sentenced to death.

5. We need to fix A of C before we go back to England!
Continental Congress had to do something fast before a disaster took place (Shay’s Rebellion) – May 1787 delegates form all the states met in Philadelphia to rewrite the Articles of Confederation
Benjamin Franklin – age 81, most famous printer, author, inventor, diplomat – asked to open meeting with prayer, chaired the Grand Committee to work on the compromise for state representation and voting
James Madison – Virginian that drafted a new government framework for the 1787 Convention in which “government should be ‘to act upon and for the individual citizen’.” Father of the Constitution – he attended all meetings and kept the best record of the events in his notes.
George Washington – He must be there to get others there – put in charge of conducting it.

6. Philadelphia – hot, closed doors to allow for disagreements, but not interfere with acceptance
Edmund Randolph – VA governor proposed Madison’s proposal of a strong central government as “The Virginia Plan” refused to sign the Constitution but accepted it after the states ratified it.
William Paterson, NJ delegate who fought against the VA Plan and offered the “New Jersey Plan” which favored state power
What about slavery? – Most thought it would die out by 1820, so to get Constitution done and accepted the 3/5s Compromise counted enslaved persons as 3/5 of a person for taxation (north happy) and for representation in the House (south happy)
It would remain legal for 20 years until the government could address it.

7. September 17, 1787 Delegates approve and sign the Constitution
9 of 13 states must ratify it to be made the law of the land
Organized and separated the powers of government into 3 branches: executive, legislative, judicial
Used: Iroquois League for representational republic
Magna Carta 1215 – Limited the power of the ruler
John Locke – 1690 Enlightened author who inspired the D of I – government was a contract to protect the people’s rights of life, liberty, and property.
Baron de Montesquieu – 1748 author that said to limit government power by separating it into 3 parts

8. Electoral college
Checks and balances
To ratify – demand for the Bill of Rights; added in 1789 – the first Ten Amendments
The beginning of the political parties:
Federalists – favored the Constitution and a strong national government (Madison)
Anti-federalists – opposed a stronger central government and the Constitution (Jefferson)