1. Making Republican Governments 1776-1789
Chapter 6 (Part II)

2. New State Constitutions
May 1776 Second Continental Congress urged the establishment of __________ governments
VA, MD, NC, NJ, DE, PA  new constitutions
CT, RI  removed references to king
Republicanism 

3. PA Constitution of 1776 Radical!! Diverse Groups in PA ___________
No property requirement to be a citizen
Taxpaying men had right to vote & hold office
No governor = no veto
Protection from debtor’s prison
Unicameral legislature
Radical!!
Too radical? ……………………………….

4. Conservative Patriots
Unicameral legislature of PA was “so democratical that it must produce confusion and every evil work.”
“Remember, democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself.”
Office holding should be restricted to “men of learning, leisure and easy circumstances”
“if you give [average citizens] the command or preponderance in the … legislature, they will vote all property out of the hands of you aristocrats.”

5. A More Conservative Response
John Adams Thoughts on Government (1776)*
Disperse authority and preserve liberty
Separate branches of government
_____________  make laws
_____________  administer laws
_____________  enforce laws
*most states adopted most of his ideas

6. Experimenting with Confederation
State governments
National government
Elected representatives
Not direct democracy
How to implement republican ideals?
States:
“…remember the ladies…”
Yes dear ;)

7. Creating a Confederation
Shortly before declaring independence in 1776, the Second Continental Congress appointed a committee to draft a written constitution for the new nation
The finished product was the
Adopted by Congress in
convinced France that America had a genuine government in the making
was not ratified by all 13 colonies
“We have it in our power to begin the world over again. A situation, similar to the present, hath not happened since the days of Noah until now. The birthday of a new world is at hand.”