1. Chapter 7
Page

2. CONFEDERATION: a group of loosely
joined, but sovereign states.

3. Organization
After the war the United States had to figure out a way to organize their new country.
They decided on the Articles of Confederation (drafted by John Dickinson)
The articles were ratified in 1781 almost 4 years after they had been presented to the states.

4. Discussion
Why did it take so long to ratify the articles?

5. THE NORTHWEST ORDINANCE
Problem: Many states made claims to
the western lands (Northwest Territory).
Boundaries of the Northwest
Territory: Great Lakes (north),
Pennsylvania
(east), Ohio River (south), Mississippi
River (west)

6. NATIONAL DOMAIN – Public land
Solution to the Problem: All states agreed to cede (give) their claims to Congress, so Congress can sell the land for the good
of the country (confederation).
NATIONAL DOMAIN – Public land

7. LAND ORDINANCE of 1785: Congress’s plan to sell the
land of the
Northwest Territory.
Rectangular Survey System – carefully surveyed the land
into squares to be
sold.

8. Township – the largest division of land. It is thirty-six square miles.

9. The Northwest Ordinance-1787
Established territories for expansion and guidelines for becoming new states (after they reached a population of 60,000)
Required a Representative Government
SLAVERY WAS NOT ALLOWED!
Guarantee Freedom of Religion and Rights to Trial by Jury
(anticipated the Bill of Rights in 1789)

10. Summarize
What were some of the weaknesses of the Confederation?

11. Soldiers of the Colonial Army had been promised back pay and pensions.
However, there was no money to pay them for their service.
Upon release from the army, soldiers were --
allowed to keep uniforms and their musket,
issued one month’s pay,
awarded worthless government certificates.

12. Calling themselves “Regulators,” the farmers and former soldiers issued demands:
That paper money be printed and backed by gold
That no arrests be made for closing down courts
That no courts convene until the judicial system was reformed
That the state constitution be amended to be more fair to all constituents (taxes, voting rights)
- If paper money were backed by gold and controlled by state-chartered banks, then money could be borrowed at reasonable and fair rates of interest.
- The courts were imprisoning farmers and seizing the land of those who could not pay their taxes/debts.

13. Daniel shays steps in as leader
As a Regulator, Shays rallied and organized rebels into these actions in the fall of 1786:
They mobbed courthouses in Northampton, Great Barrington, & Worcester to prevent judicial actions;
They stormed the courthouse in Northampton to prevent trials & imprisonment of debtors;
They attempted to storm the courthouse at Springfield, but a militia sent by the governor stopped them.

14. Retreat & aftermath
Shays’ army & two other factions retreated in disarray to small towns where they were known
and collapsed in exhaustion.
Meanwhile, General Lincoln decided to pursue them at night through a bitter snowstorm. Frost-bitten & exhausted, his men nevertheless routed the Regulators.
Many, including Daniel Shays, slipped away, to New Hampshire and Vermont, where they were sheltered from the death sentences awaiting them.

15. He moved back to Massachusetts where he lived in poverty.
Some Regulators were hanged, while others were pardoned. Shays lived in Vermont until he was pardoned two years after the rebellion.
He moved back to Massachusetts where he lived
in poverty.
Daniel Shays finally received his pension
at the age of 77; he died at age 78.

16. Points of Agreement
The men in Philadelphia realized that the Articles could not be changed to fix the government. So they set out writing the Constitution.
The writers agreed… Republic
- Central government Division of power/Branches

17. Great Compromise

18. The Constitutional Convention: The Great Compromise It's 1787
The Constitutional Convention: The Great Compromise It's The ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION have proven to be too weak to create a workable government. At the Philadelphia State House, now called Independence Hall, the same place where the DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE had been signed 11 years before, for four months 55 delegates from 12 of the 13 states met to frame a Constitution for a federal republic that would last to today and beyond.

19. Even before Shays' Rebellion, people had been talking about the need to strengthen the American government. When meeting at Mount Vernon - George Washington's home - he, James Madison, and others came up with the idea of convening a meeting of delegates from the states to amend the Articles of Confederation.

20. This meeting happened in Annapolis, Maryland, but only five states sent delegates. It was at this meeting that Alexander Hamilton's recommendation to convene another reform meeting in Philadelphia in the spring of 1787 was forwarded to the Continental Congress.

21. The states decided who they would send to the CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION as delegates. Several prominent figures did not attend. John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and Patrick Henry were among those who were not in attendance.

22. Henry, who once said, 'Give me liberty or give me death,' now said, 'I smell a rat.'

23. Of those who did attend, George Washington, who was noted for his patience and fairness, was selected as the presiding officer. 55 delegates attended.

24. Today, they are usually regarded as great sages, but the delegates were mostly lawyers, merchants, and planters who were there to represent their personal and/or regional interests. It is amazing how the group on several occasions was able to look past those personal interests and make amazing compromises.

25. The original purpose of the meeting - to amend the Articles of Confederation - was almost instantly scrapped, and the decision to start from scratch on a new document was made.

26. This decision proved to Patrick Henry all of his fears, and he fought tooth and nail against the ratification of the Constitution because the delegates had overstepped their purpose.

27. The Big Question How should the new government be formed
The Big Question How should the new government be formed? There were two main plans. The New Jersey Plan is the plan for the little guys. New Jersey isn't the smallest state, but it certainly isn't big.

28. They came up with a plan that the little guys thought was fair: all states get an equal number of representatives in the new government regardless of state size.

29. The Virginia Plan is the plan for the big guys
The Virginia Plan is the plan for the big guys. Virginia is a big state with lots of people. The Virginia Plan said that each state should gain representation based on population. This would of course mean that Virginia would get far more representation than New Jersey.

30. The Great Compromise Since both plans had a bicameral legislature, the answer was really quite simple.

31. Two separate houses would be established - one by population, as wanted for big states in the Virginia Plan, and one where all states get equal representation, as wanted by the little states in the New Jersey Plan.

32. This compromise is why today we have the Senate with two senators for each state (we could call it the New Jersey Plan Senator House) and the House of Representatives, which has each state's representatives decided by population (we could call this the Virginia Plan House).

33. Of course, today Virginia has 11 representatives - it doesn't seem that big next to California's 53.

34. Of course, there were many more sticking points at the convention
Of course, there were many more sticking points at the convention. One dark stain on the Constitution that has to be mentioned is the three-fifths compromise.

35. Although the South did not want any rights for their slaves and wanted slaves treated as property, they did want their slaves to count as population when deciding their representation in the government.

36. Since the Southern delegates would not move forward without the slaves being counted, a compromise was reached. 3/5 of the slave population would be counted towards the overall state population.