Forming a New Government

Articles of Confederation and the US Constitution

Human and Social Impacts of the War

• The war costs the US about 7,000 men killed.

• Another 18,000 die of disease, starvation, exposure to the elements, etc.

• Equal or higher losses for the British

• 1,000 Hessians are killed

• 5,000 Hessians stay in the US

What America gets• Many loyalists flee to Canada

Treaty of Paris (1783)

• The US Earns its independence

• Also gets all land east of the Mississippi River (except for Canada).

• France pays a large cost of the war.

Why the colonists fought the war

• The Colonists had just fought a war against tyranny

• They were afraid of giving all of the power to just one person (like the king) or a small group of people (like royal governors).

• They had just fought a long war for individual freedom so the new government they made would be very weak.

America Creates a New Government

• Following the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the Continental Congress realizes the need to have some sort of organized government.

• The Articles of Confederation were passed by the Continental Congress in 1777, but not put into effect until 1781, when all thirteen colonies signed.

• “Confederation” – a loosely organized group of states

• South Carolina was the first to sign

• New York and Virginia refused to sign for a while because of a conflict over western land.

• The Articles were designed to be weak intentionally.

Problems with the Articles of Confederation

• The biggest problem with the Articles were that they were too weak (what a surprise)

Examples of the Article’s weaknesses

• The government could not create a national army or navy.

• The national government could not tax the new states to get revenue

• The government could not create a common currency

– States each had their own money– This makes trade between states very

complicated and expensive.– Trade reduces greatly

• The government could not regulate trade

• They could not create exchange rates for money, pass import taxes, etc.

Other things the Articles were missing

• No Judicial Branch – No national courts to try criminals or

determine if laws were fair

No executive branch• No “president” or single commander

– People were afraid of them becoming a tyrant.

Very unfair legislative branch• Each state was given one vote

regardless of the population.

• Rhode Island (70,000 people) and Virginia (750,000 people) had the same power.

Things get really complicated

• Shay’s Rebellion

• The war takes a large toll on New England farmers.

– Some colonies create high taxes and strict laws.

– Many farmers were bankrupt and their land was going to be seized by the government.

• Many farmers, and former minutemen, join together in 1787 under the leadership of Daniel Shays

• They open up debtor’s prisons and protest throughout Massachusetts

• The National government does not have the power to raise an army to put down the riots.

• Local militias do the job, but it takes a while.

• Points out the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation.

• Delegates agree to meet in Philadelphia later that year to fix some of the problems with the Articles.

The One thing that is accomplished under the Articles…

• The Northwest Ordinance of 1787

• Land to the west of the Appalachian Mountains was claimed by numerous states.

• Previously, a state continued expanding west without order.

• If this continued, some states would control huge territories while others would have very small land holdings.

– Virginia and New York claimed most of the western lands.

– Other states, like Delaware and New Jersey had no claim.

• Delegates from Virginia and New York agreed to give up claims and set up a system for admitting new states.

• Land in the northwest was divided into equal sized areas called townships.

• Once a territory had 60,000 people, they could write a constitution and be admitted as a state.

• The states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan and Wisconsin come from this territory.

• Slavery was outlawed in these areas and colonists were supposed to pay Native Americans for their land.

America Creates (Another) New Government

• Delegates did not meet with the purpose of creating a new government, rather, they wanted to fix the problems with the old one.

Need to fix the following problems…

• No national army

• No common currency

• No ability to tax

• No ability to regulate trade

• No strong leader

Who fixes them? • Delegates from every state except

Rhode Island.

• All are white males

• A variety of professions but most are rich and well-educated.

When and where?

• Delegates meet in May of 1787 in Philadelphia.

How do they fix it?• They decide to give out specific rights

to the national, state and local governments.

The Constitution

Balance of Powers • To prevent a single person or group of

people from gaining power, three branches are created.

Executive Branch• Contains the office of the President and

his cabinet.

• Their job is to enforce and pass laws

Legislative Branch

• Consists of a congress of elected officials

• Their job is to create laws

Judicial Branch• Consists of the Supreme Court and

other federal courts

• Their job is to see that laws are fair.

• To prevent one branch from taking over the others, a system of “checks and balances” is created.

• Power is “delegated”

• “Delegated”- specifically given to someone

• Each branch has power over the other two

Executive powers

• Signs bills into law, can veto bills

• Veto – to reject a law

• Appoints judges to courts

Legislative powers• Can impeach

president or pass bills over the president’s veto

• Impeach - to bring a politician up on charges

• Approves nominees to the court

Judicial Powers

• Judges impeachment trials

• Declare laws unconstitutional

• power is called “judicial review”

The Debate over Ratification

• Nine out of thirteen states are required to ratify the Constitution in order for it to become legal.

9/13

• Since the states varied greatly in population, size and social foundations, a lot of compromise was needed.

The Compromises• Conflict over the Legislature (The

Great Compromise)

The Virginia Plan• Creates a bicameral legislature

• Bicameral – two houses

The Virginia Plan• Membership is based on a state’s

population.

• Favored by larger states

The New Jersey Plan

• Creates a unicameral legislature

• Unicameral – one house

The New Jersey Plan

• One vote is given to every state, no matter the population.

• Favored by smaller states

The Great Compromise• Proposed by Roger Sherman of Conn.

• Created a bicameral legislature

The Great Compromise

• The upper house (Senate) is given two representatives per state.

– Representatives are appointed by state governments.

• The lower house (House) has membership based on population.

Conflict over slavery • Should slaves be counted as

population for the appointing of representatives to the House?

• The North said no, arguing that the slaves were equivalent to horses in their ability to wield power.

• The South said yes, arguing that government policies impacted them.

• It is later agreed that each slave would count as 3/5 of a person when counting populations for representation in congress.

The Slave Trade Compromise• Since congress had the power to

regulate trade, this included slaves.

• Congress agreed to not abolish the slave trade until 1808.

• It is agreed that the Constitution will be the “supreme law of the land”.

• In other words, it will count for more than state or local laws.

• Certain powers are given specifically, or delegated, to the Federal government.

– These powers include the ability to raise taxes, raise an army, regulate interstate trade and negotiate with foreign powers.

• Other powers, which are not specifically listed, are reserved to the states.

• known as the “implied powers”

• Includes the establishment of schools, hospitals, fire and police departments, etc.

Leaders at the convention

(Most of them from Virginia)

George Washington

• His celebrity status makes him an obvious choice to be the president of the Constitutional Convention.

• So does the fact that he is from Virginia

James Madison

• Known as “the Father of the Constitution”

• Often led debate and kept high quality notes on the proceedings.

• Designed the Virginia Plan

• Later was responsible for writing much of the Bill of Rights

Thomas Jefferson

• Writes the Virginia Statute of Religious Freedom

• Provides for the foundation of freedom of religion in the US, as well as the separation of church and state.

George Mason

• Creates The Virginia Declaration of Rights

• Mason feared that a government would trample people’s natural rights unless those rights were specifically outlined.

• Parts of it are used by Jefferson in the Declaration of Independence and later are used in the Bill of Rights.

The Origins of Political Parties

• The power of the government was a hot topic, as well as what rights should be guaranteed to the people.

• Two sides, representing the extreme views, start collecting followers.

The Federalists

• Where in favor of a strong Constitution and wanted the national government to have a lot of power.

• They were opposed to the system of checks and balances

• They wanted a strong government who could regulate interstate and foreign trade and provide for a strong army.

• They also opposed listing specific rights, because that would make it easier to discriminate against rights not listed.

• Members included Alexander Hamilton, John Adams, John Jay and James Madison.

• Major publications included the Federalist Papers

Anti-Federalists

• Wanted a weaker Constitution where the states had more of the power

• They favored the system of checks and balances.

• They thought that a strong national government would take rights away from the people.

• They wanted a Bill of Rights, which would outline people’s natural rights.

• Members included Patrick Henry, Thomas Jefferson and Thomas Paine

• Major publications included Letters to the American Farmer.

Ratification

• The Constitution is finished and submitted to the states on Sept. 17th, 1787

• Delaware becomes the first state to ratify it, on December 7th, 1787.

• New Hampshire’s ratification on June 21st, 1788 makes the Constitution the law of the land.

• Virginia follows four days later.

• The passage by Virginia (a large and powerful state) attaches importance to the document and helps it survive.