Transcript Chapter 9: The Confederation and the Constitution

Ch 9 PPT
Confederation & the Constitution
1776- 1790
New Nation
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Many states in debt.
American Rev.- “accelerated evolution”
Responsibility of creating a new central govt
More egalitarian ideas brought forth in the new
nation
Exodus: 80,000 loyalists removed conservative
leanings:
a. Weakened upper class
b. Many large Loyalist land holdings
confiscated and divided into small farms.
c. Patriot elites emerge
Movement toward Equality
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“All men are created equal” - Decl. of Independence.
Most states reduced property requirements for
voting.
Move toward separation of church and state.
1774: Congress called for complete abolition of slave
trade. 1st antislavery society founded by Quakers in
1775.
Several Northern States abolished slavery.
Republican ideology: concept of “civic virtue” –
democracy depended on unselfish commitment to each
citizen to the public good.
No Women’s Rights, but civic virtue led to “republican
motherhood”- educational opportunities for women
expanded.
Constitution Making in the States
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1776 Continental Congress: Drafts new document Articles of Confederation adopted by Congress
1777, but ratified by all states in 1781
13 independent states linked together for joint action
when dealing with a common problem.
No executive branch, no judicial branch - left to the
states to make decisions
Process of drafting/ratifying a Constitution:
1. Convention drafts Constitution
2. Congress adopts it
3. Colonies ratify constitution (each state had
one vote)
4. Modification by Constitutional Convention
Articles of Confederation & Weaknesses
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Outlined powers of the central govt: ability to make
treaties, established a postal service
Weaknesses:
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Only had unicameral legislature = no separation of
powers.
Central govt too weak since majority of power rested
with states.
Congress didn’t have power to tax; couldn’t enforce
tax-collection because tax quota of each state was
voluntary.
Weaknesses Cont
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Amendment required unanimous state approval –so
changes to the Articles were very difficult.
Major laws to pass - need approval by 9 of 13 states difficult to do, so running a government was difficult.
Congress didn’t have power to regulate commerce
which will cause competition between states; left
states free to establish different laws for tariffs and
navigation.
Economic Crosscurrents
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Economic Democracy expressed political democracy
with confiscating and dividing land.
During war colonies were cut off from British imports
and forced into manufacturing; after war, British goods
flooded U.S. at low prices.
British Navigation laws caused more damage to the
economy after independence - American ships kept
from Britain and British West Indies.
States borrowed money = in great debt.
Exports & Imports:
1768-1783
Creating a Confederation
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13 states were sovereign: coined money, raised
armies/navies, and made tariff barriers.
6 states had no land holdings beyond the Allegheny
Mts; 7 states had a lot more land
Public lands transferred to the central government:
helped bond the states because land was to be sold
to frontier pioneers and money distributed among
states
Ch 9 Teamwork
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3.
Pg 174 What states were part of the
Northwest Territory (today known as “Old
Northwest”?
Pg 175 What other countries had influence
surrounding the new nation of the U.S.?
Chart Pg 180 Prior to 1775, list all the ways
the colonies attempted to unify.
Old
Northwest
Early Land Laws
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Old Northwest: area Northwest of the Ohio River,
east of the Mississippi River, and south of the Great
Lakes
Land Ordinance of 1785: Old Northwest land should
be sold - money used to help pay national debt
 Land 1st surveyed - divided into townships, 6 square
miles each.
Northwest Ordinance of 1787: Governing of Old
Northwest
 Areas under control of federal govt
 If area had 60 thousand inhabitants - could be
admitted by Congress as a state.
 Forbid slavery in Old Northwest area
U.S. Post-War Relations
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Britain: refused to send a minister; no commercial
treaty; didn’t repeal navigation Laws; British trading
posts for fur trading continued in U.S.; closed West
Indies trade to U.S.
Spain: controlled mouth of Miss. River
French: Demanded repayment of war loans;
restricted trade with West Indies.
U.S. couldn’t provide protection from pirates in the
Mediterranean.
Monetary Issues
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1780’s: system for raising money breaking apart,
states refuse to pay, complaints, public debt rise, and
nation’s credit vanishing
Individual states: battles over land boundaries
1786 Shay’s Rebellion by Daniel Shay: many
losing farms from mortgage foreclosures. They
demanded paper money, lighter taxes, suspension
of property takeovers
Mass. suppressed rebellion with a small army
Monetary Issues Cont.
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Conservatives wanted stronger central govt to be
established as some feared “mobocracy” – people
would rebel for self-interests.
States produced paper currency and economy
increased
Some feared that a powerful federal govt would force
them to pay their debts.
Anapolis Convention Called
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1786: Congress called for a “secret”
constitutional convention at Annapolis: Major
issue was control of commerce.
Only 5 states were represented
Results: Alexander Hamilton (NY) suggested
having a convention to change Articles of
Confederation.
 “for the sole and express purpose of
revising” the Articles of Confederation.
Constitutional Convention Cont
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May 1787: Select group of propertied men
represented each state, except Rhode island
55 emissaries from 12 states met at Philadelphia
statehouse in secrecy.
According to Jefferson the participants were
“demigods”
Representatives: George Washington, Benjamin
Franklin, James Madison, Alexander Hamilton…
Delegates: conservative, young, wealthy,
nationalists
Great Debate
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Delegates proposed: overthrow the existing govt in
a peaceful manner
Virginia’s “ large-state plan”- House of Congress
based on population
New Jersey’s “ small-state plan” - equal
representatives from each state
Great Compromise
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Great Compromise: larger states represented by
population in the House of Representatives and
smaller states have equal representation in the
Senate.
Each state: 2 senators
Pres: executive power - appointments of domestic
offices, veto, wage war, commander-in-chief of
military (but congress declares war)
President elected by electoral college: Constitution
specifies how many electors each state has based
on population. (Today-total of 538)
Safeguards for Conservatism
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Economically: demand for money and protection of
private property
3 branches w/checks and balances- critics called it
“triple-headed monster”
Charter - democratic elements and republican ideals
in govt: based on the consent of the governed and
powers limited
No members of the convention were completely
satisfied, but finally compromised and adopted the
Constitution
Promised Bill of Rights: after it was adopted.
Clash of Federalists and Anti-federalists
Approval of the constitution would happen
during specially elected conventions
 Anti-federalist opposed the Constitution
 Lower class saw the Constitution as a plot by
the upper class to steal power back from the
common folk
 Federalists: had power, influence, press,
wealth on their side
 Anti-federalists: argued the Constitution
was created by aristocrats - therefore the
Constitution was anti-democratic
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Constitutional Convention
May-Sept 1787
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Debated about:
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Senate - by state or population
Election of senators
to include slaves or other property, to divide executive power
between 3 persons or into a single president
Election of Pres: length of term and reelection,
What offenses should be impeachable?
Nature of a fugitive slave clause: to allow abolition of the slave
trade
If judges should be chosen by legislature or executive?
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Ratified by delegates of the Constitutional Convention in Sept
1787. (39 of 55 delegates ended up signing.)
States Debate
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Voting now goes to the states
State Ratifying conventions held - candidates
elected on the basis of their pledges for or against
the Constitution
How many states need to ratify the constitution in
order for it to be established?_______________
Ratified on June 21, 1788 – but voting will continue
in the other states.
Great Debate Cont.
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Laggard states: Virginia,
NY, N. Carolina, Rhode
Island
June 21, 1788Constitution officially
adopted with New
Hampshire
Four Laggard States
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Union of all states was going to be formed with the
constitution
To get people to support the Constitution John Jay,
James Madison & Hamilton wrote propaganda
essays series of 85 articles/essays promoting
ratification of the Constitution published in NY, Oct
1787 -Aug 1788 called The Federalist )
NY finally gave in realizing the need for union
N. Carolina and Rhode Island – both eventually
took up the Constitution later when it was up and
running
Conservative Triumph
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Conservative minority had triumphed
Militant minority of conservatives: peaceful
revolution that replaced Articles of the Confederacy
with the Constitution
Federalists were convinced that by setting the govtt
in a steady course the economy and political
stability would be established
Constitution: self-rule in a self-limiting system of
checks and balances, liberty and order