Transcript Chapter 7 Section 1 - SHSHISTORYDEPT.NET

Chapter 7 Section 1
The Articles of Confederation
Define Confederation
The act of confederating; a league; a
compact for mutual support; alliance,
particularly of princes, nations, or
states. (http://www.dictionary.net/confederation)
The Nature of The Confederation
Thirteen Independent States.
Very little power in the Central
Government.
The Articles of Confederation
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State Constitutions
Limiting Power
A Republic versus a Democracy.
A New Plan of Government.
New Land Policies
Ordinance of 1785
The Northwest Ordinance.
Economic Troubles
Problems with Britain and France.
State Constitutions
• States had organized their own
governments in 1776.
• Each state had a plan of government. (Q)
• States were wary of placing to much power
into the hands of a single person. The
decision was to limit power.
• Most states adopted a bicameral legislature.
(Q)
• White males older than 21 could vote.
• Restricted the power of the governors.
Question
Why would the states want to limit
the power of Government?
Forming a Republic
• Q: What is the difference between a Republic and
a Democracy.
• Government by the people; a form of government
in which the supreme power is retained and
directly exercised by the people. (http://www.dictionary.net/democracy)
• 2. A state in which the sovereign power resides in
the whole body of the people, and is exercised by
representatives elected by them; a commonwealth.
(http://www.dictionary.net/democracy)
Forming a Republic
• Why would most American favor a weak
central government?
• They believed that the States would act
independently except in times of war and in
international relations.
• 1777 Article of Confederation Adopted.
Articles of Confederation
• “A firm league of friendship . . . In which each
state retained ‘its sovereignty, freedom, and
independence.’” (194)
• Powers of government (Congress)
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Foreign Affairs
Maintain an Army
Borrow Money
Issue Currency
• Congress could not:
– Force citizens to join the military
– Impose taxes.
If Congress Needed Money
• It had to ask the states.
• And, the states were not compelled to
contribute.
• Each State had one vote in Congress
regardless of population.
• 9 of 13 vote were required to pass a law.
• Ratified in 1781
How did the Congress Pay for the
war?
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Foreign Loans
How did they plan to pay them off?
Sale of Western Land
How could they require the States to pay?
They could not require States to contribute
to the national debt. Also, the States had
debts of their own to pay.
New Land Policies
• Settlers moved West and hoped to organize new
states. However, there were no provisions in the
AoC for adding new states.
• By 1784 the colonies had given up claims to
Western Lands to the national government.
• Jefferson Plan: divide land into self-governing
districts and when the district’s population reached
the population of the smallest existing state then
they could petition for statehood.
Ordinance of 1785
Established for the survey and selling
of Western Land.
Question: You have some extra cash, would you
buy some of this western land to resell to people
who wanted to move west?
What would you be called if you did?
What is a Speculator?
The Northwest Ordinance
• Divides the Western Lands into three to
five territories that could petition to be
states when they reached a population of
60,000.
http://www.dailypress.com/extras/sol
utions/images/SOL020703.gif
http://franklaughter.tripod.com/cgibin/histprof/images/colmap.jpg
Trouble on Two Fronts
• 1781 US Money printed during the
Revolution depreciated.
• Both Congress and the States printed their
own money without anything to back them
up. (no gold)
• War was fought on borrowed money, and
had to be paid back.
• Import Tax proposed and defeated?
International Problems
• British troops were not withdrawn from the
western lands according to the Peace Treaty of
Paris (1783)
• British Navy kept Americans from the markets of
the West Indies. (No Navy)
• Americans did not pay Loyalists for their losses.
• Spanish Treaty defeated because it did not contain
a provision for the use of the Mississippi River.
Conclusion
Although the Americans had won the war,
they had real problems in organizing a
national government. Their distrust of
political power held by a select few caused
the central government to be weak and
ineffectual. Or, as Washington stated, “ little
more than the shadow without substance . .
.”
Chapter 7 Section 2
Convention and Compromise
Convention and Compromise
• Economic Depression
• Difficult Times for
Farmers
• Shay’s Rebellion
• Slavery
• A Call For Change
• James Madison
• The Constitutional
Convention
• The Virginia Plan
• The Jew Jersey Plan.
Economic Depression
• Q. What is a Depression?
• a long-term economic state characterized by
unemployment and low prices and low levels of
trade and investment
(http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&oi=defmore&defl=en&q=define:depression)
• Plantations Damaged, Trade with Britain Reduced;
Trade with the West Indies Restricted by Britain;
and a general lack of hard currency.
• Q. What was the American Economy Based on?
Remember the Triangle Trade
1. What section of
the new nation
provided the
“Cash Crops”?
2. What section
provided the
“Food Crops”?
3. What section
provided the
“Transportation”?
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/d3/Triangle_trade.png)
4. Who did they
trade with?
Economic Dilemma
• Each state had to pay off its own war debts.
• The States Taxed the people.
• Most of the people were farmers who had very
little cash. Also, they could not sell much of their
produce because trade was at a stand still.
• The states evicted the farmers and/or put them in
jail because they could not pay their taxes.
• Q. How do we solve these problems today?
Shay’s Rebellion
• Farmers in Massachusetts led by John Daniel
Shay, a former officer, forced the courts in
Western Massachusetts to close. (200)
• January 1787 Shay, with a group of farmers tries
to take the armory at Springfield. Four are killed
and the rest scattered.
• “ . . . Mankind, when left to themselves, are unfit
for their own governance.”(Washington)
Jefferson on Shay’s Rebellion
The tree of liberty must be refreshed
from time to time with the blood of
patriots and tyrants. It is its natural
manure.
(Letter from T. Jefferson to Col. William S. Smith, Paris, November 13, 1787 )
(http://www.outpost-of-freedom.com/sol21.htm)
Q. What does Jefferson mean?
Slavery: A Social and Economic
Issue
• Northern States (Pennsylvania and North,
gradually begin to abolish slavery.
• Virginia provides for manumission.
• Q1. Why would the northern states abolish
slavery?
• Q2. Why would Virginia make it easier for
slaves to be freed?
A Call for a Change
• James Madison and Alexander Hamilton
were politicking for a convention to discuss
trade issues – and to consider changes to the
Articles.
• What they proposed to do was treasonous.
• After Shay’s Rebellion – Washington signed
on.
• Q. What does Washington agreeing to
attend do for the process?
May 1787
The Constitutional Convention
• 55 Delegates to include Washington and Franklin.
• No Native Americans, African Americans, or
Women.
• James Madison known as the father of the
Constitution.
• Washington presided over the meetings.
• 7 of 13 states had to be present for a quorum.
• Q. What is a quorum?
• The number of Members required to be present to
conduct official business
(http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&oi=defmore&defl=en&q=define:Quorum)
Limiting the Slave
Trade
1. Northern States
wanted to ban the
Trade.
2. Southern States
considered the
Trade essential to
their economy.
3. Compromise:
(http://www.regentsprep.org/regents/ushisgov/themes/gove
Congress could
rnment/three_fifths_comp2.gif)
not interfere with
the trade until
Online Presentation
1808.
(http://shsgov1.tripod.com/conrephr/sld001.htm)
Why a “Bill of Rights”
Tune in Next Week
Assignment: Read and Outline the
Constitution of the United States. Pages
233-243. Also complete Vocab Work Sheet.
Assignment due Monday February 13th.