Transcript The Critical Period” 1781

“The Critical Period”
1781 - 1789
The early years of the
American Republic
America after the War
New Political Ideas:
- Greater power for
the people
Republic:
Represent the Public
America after the War
• State Governments
rule supreme
• All States had a
constitution (written
law)
America after the War:
State Constitutions
Checks and
Balances” – to
prevent a group
from becoming too
powerful
(separation of
powers)
America after the War:
State Constitutions
Expanded Voting
Rights – Still only
white men could
vote
America after the War: State
Constitutions
Bill of Rights
– Guaranteed
the rights of
people
Slavery
• Development of
abolition
movement in the
north
• Quakers begin the
first Anti-Slavery
Society
Women
• Expanded role:
–“Republican
Motherhood”
–Disenfranchised
–Abigail Adams
Potential problems facing the young
nation
• Foreign Policy
• Economic Problems
• Domestic Policy
Problems: Foreign policy
• England: controlled trade, and still
maintained a presence in America
• Spain: controlled access to the
Mississippi River, controlling the trade of
Northwest farmers
• France: Demanded repayment of debt
• Pirates: Raiding American ships
$$ Economics $$
• Huge debt from war: Individual
states and the national congress
owed great sums of money
• High inflation: American money was
virtually worthless
• Farm foreclosures: Patriots could not
afford to pay back loans
The Young Nation
• Should the new
nation be 13
independent
countries or is it
one united
country?
The Young Nation
• During the Constitutional Era, the Americans
made two attempts to establish a workable
government based on republican principles.
• American political leaders, fearful of a
powerful central government like Britain’s,
created the Articles of Confederation, adopted
at the end of the war.
The Achievements of the
Confederation Congress
• In November of 1777, the Continental
Congress adopted the. Articles of
Confederation and Perpetual Union.
• This was a plan for a loose union of the states
under Congress.
• The Articles set up a weak central government
• The Confederation Congress met just once a
year.
Source of the Problem
The Articles of Confederation
America’s 1st national government:
The basic law of the
country from 1781
until 1789, when it
was replaced by the
U.S. Constitution
“The Articles of Confederation
gave Congress the privilege of
asking everything & gave the states
the prerogative of granting
nothing”
-Robert Morris
Discussion Question
• Identify the major weaknesses of the Articles
of Confederation which rendered it
inadequate.
Struggles under the Articles of
Confederation
Areas
Weakness
Executive
No central
authority
Judiciary
Taxes
Consequences
No one to
enforce the
laws
No federal
Inability to
court system
settle disputes
among states
Congress could No money to
not impose or run the
collect taxes
country
Struggles (cont)
Trade
Congress could Each state had
not regulate
its own trading
trade between laws and taxes
states
Representation Each state,
regardless of
population, had
only one vote in
Congress
The large
states had no
power over the
little states
The Achievements of the
Confederation Congress
• The Confederation Congress had the power to
declare war, raise armies, and sign treaties.
• It did not have the power to impose taxes or
regulate trade.
• The only way the Congress had to raise money
to pay its debts was to sell its land west of the
Appalachian Mountains.
• Congress arranged this land into townships to
make it easier to divide, sell, and govern.
Land Ordinance of 1785
Divided up western lands into townships
and set aside land for public schools
The Achievements of the
Confederation Congress
• The Congress also set up the Northwest
Ordinance as a basis for governing much of
this territory.
• The ordinance created a new territory north
of the Ohio River and east of the Mississippi
River, which could become three to five states.
• When the population of a territory reached
60,000, it could apply to become a state.
Northwest Ordinance
Land North & West of the Ohio River
Northwest Ordinance
Established how
territories
became states
Sale of land to pay
national debt & create
public schools
Banned Slavery in
Northwest Territories
Successes of the Articles of
Confederation
Treaty of Paris:
ended the
Revolutionary War.
Northwest Ordinance
(1785 & 1787):
Conflicting Powers of the Articles of
Confederation
• Congress could:
– Raise armies
– Declare War
– Sign treaties
• Congress could not:
– Raise revenue
through taxes
– Regulate trade or
collect tariffs
– Enforce its own
laws
– Settle disputes
between states
The Congress Falters
• After the Revolutionary War, British
merchants flooded American markets with
inexpensive British goods which drove many
American artisans out of business.
• American states imposed duties (taxes) on
imported goods.
• The states did not all impose the same taxes
so the British would land their goods at the
states with the lowest taxes or restrictions.
The Congress Falters
• Because the Confederation Congress could not
regulate commerce, the states set up customs
posts on their borders and levied taxes on other
states’ goods.
• This weakness of the Confederation threatened
the union of the states.
• The federal government had no powers over the
states and could not force them to pay their
debts to Britain or return Loyalist property.
The Congress Falters
• The British retaliated by refusing to leave
American soil as promised in the treaty.
• Since Congress could not regulate trade, it
could not force the British into settlement.
• The end of the Revolutionary War and the
slowdown of economic activity with Britain
caused a severe recession in the United
States.
The Congress Falters
• To pay for the war, many states had issued
bonds as a way to borrow money.
• To pay back the bondholders, many people
urged the states to issue paper money.
• States did not have the gold and silver to back
paper money and so the paper money greatly
declined in value.
Shays‘s Rebellion
• Shays’s Rebellion broke out in Massachusetts.
• It started when the government of
Massachusetts decided to raise taxes to pay
off its debt instead of issuing paper money.
• The taxes hurt the farmers most and those
who could not pay their taxes and other debts
lost their farms.
• Daniel Shays led the rebellion.
Shays’s Rebellion
• They went to a state arsenal to get weapons.
• A government militia defended the arsenal
killing four farmers.
• Many Americans began to see the risk of
having a weak central government.
• They called for a change in government.
Shays’s Rebellion
• Causes:
• Increased taxes
• Foreclosure on
farms by banks
Stirs memories
of………..
England
Shays’s Rebellion
• Effects:
–Convinces
people of the
need to
Strengthen
national
government
Shay’s Rebellion
Farms were taken away
from them because
they couldn’t pay their
Why
couldn’t
debts.
the
Farmers
revolted
Congress
help to stop
Shay’s
Closed
down courts so
Rebellion?
homes
could not be
taken away from them.
Failure of the Articles
1) America had a huge
debt:
Couldn’t pay our bills
2) Couldn’t stop fighting between
states
Not United
Failure of the Articles
Almost impossible
to change the laws
Our Government
was: Too Weak
It could NOT protect peoples rights
to: Life, liberty, and the pursuit of
happiness
Which
weakness do
you think hurt
the new
government the
most?
The Constitutional Convention
• All states, except Rhode Island, sent delegates
to the Constitutional Convention held in
Philadelphia in 1787.
• Most of the 55 delegates to the Constitutional
Convention had experience in government.
• George Washington was presiding officer.
• James Madison kept records of the debates.
• The meetings were closed to the public.
Constitutional Convention
(1787)
Philadelphia
All states except Rhode
Island
George Washington:
President of Convention
(presiding officer)
James Madison: “Father
of Constitution”
The Constitutional Convention
• Leaders were all appointed by the state
legislatures, whose members had been
elected by voters who could qualify as
property owners.
• 55 delegates convened on May 25, 1787 in the
Philadelphia statehouse , most all were men
of high prestige and conservative
• Jefferson, in Paris, called the group a
“convention of demigods”
Divisions at the Convention
• What are we
doing here?
Revise the Articles
OR
Write a new Constitution
Articles of Confederation
• Went against Congress’s
explicit wish to revise the
govt. not replace it,
states were now in
danger of losing their
sovereignty.
• In effect, U.S.
government was
peacefully overthrown
Hot Topics
• Representation
–Large States vs Small States
Stronger New Government
• National principle:
–National government should be
stronger than the states
Hot Topics (cont)
• Slavery
–North vs
South
Two Plans for Government
•
•
•
•
Virginia Plan (Big State)
Three Branches of Government
Executive, Legislative, Judicial
Bicameral Legislature (Two
houses)
• # of Reps based on population
The Virginia Plan
• James Madison created the Virginia Plan
which proposed that the legislature be divided
into two houses (bicameral)
• Members of both houses would reflect that
state’s population.
• It proposed a national government consisting
of a legislative, executive, and a judicial
branch
• National government had power to tax.
Two plans for government
• New Jersey Plan
(Small State)
• Unicameral
Legislature
• 1 state = 1 vote
• Power to Tax!!!!
The New Jersey Plan
• Congress would have a single house.
• Modified the Articles of Confederation
• Congress would have power to tax and
regulate trade.
• Small states insisted that each state had to
have an equal vote in Congress
• Northern and Southern states disagreed over
how to treat slavery in the constitution.
The Constitutional Convention
• In What ways did the Virginia Plan and the New
Jersey Plan differ?
• The Virginia Plan wanted to throw out the
Articles of confederation, while the New Jersey
Plan wanted to revise the Articles of
confederation. The Virginia Plan called for two
houses of Congress with representation based on
a state’s population. The New Jersey Plan called
for one house with equal representation. The
Virginia Plan called for three branches of
government, whereas the New Jersey Plan did
not.
What is a compromise?
• Why so important to the development of the
United States?
A Union Built on Compromise
• The delegates of the Constitutional
Convention were divided geographically.
• The small states wanted changes that would
protect them against the big states.
• Northern and Southern states were divided
over the issue of slavery in the new
constitution.
• A Compromise was needed.
Compromises
• Great Compromise (Connecticut)
– 2 Houses
– House of Reps:
• Population Based
• House of Representatives control taxation
– Senate:
• Equal Reps
The Connecticut Compromise (The
Great Compromise)
• Congress voted to proceed with the Virginia Plan
with the purpose of working on a new
constitution for the United States.
• In one house of Congress the states would be
represented according to size.
• In the other house, (the Senate), each state
would have equal representation.
• The eligible voters would elect the House of
Representatives, but the state legislatures would
choose senators.
Compromises
• Three-Fifths Compromise
– Issue: Are slaves people or property?
– North: Slaves should not count in population totals
– South: Smaller population would lead to northern
domination
– Compromise: Slaves will count as 3/5 of a person
for representation (5 slaves=3 votes)
– Slavery legal
– Slave trade end in 1808
Compromises Cont.
• Most northerners and many southerners
believed slavery would eventually die out.
• Most northerners also believed blacks inferior
and could work only as menial laborers.
Compromises
• Commerce Compromise
–Agricultural v Industrial states
–Congress could tax imports, but
not exports
–Electoral College
Enlightenment Ideas and the Constitution
Constitution
• The new constitution was based on the principle
of Popular sovereignty, or rule by the people.
• It created a system of government known as
federalism. (It divided government power
between the state government and the national).
• It provided for a separation of powers
• The two houses of Congress made up the
legislative branch (made laws).
Constitution
• The executive branch, headed by the
president (implements and enforces laws)
• The judicial branch, federal courts, would
interpret federal laws
• No one serving in one branch could serve in
the other branches at the same time
Checks and Balances
• Each branch of government had the ability to
limit the power of the other branches
• President can veto bills, appoint judges, and
propose legislation
• Congress can override vetoes, approve or reject
appointments, and impeach, formally accuse of
misconduct, and then remove the president or
any high official in the executive or judicial
branch.
• The judicial branch interprets laws and serves for
life.
Constitution Congress
• Created a system for making amendments, or
changes to the Constitution.
• Supporters of the Constitution were known as
Federalists
• Opponents to the Constitution were known as
Antifederalists
• James Madison’s promise to add a bill of rights
helped Virginia and New York vote in favor of
the Constitution.
Constitutional Principles
• Federalism
• Separation of Powers
–Checks and Balances
• Individual Rights
Federalism
• Shared Power between the
National government & State
governments
Federalism
Delegated
Powers
National
Government
Concurrent
Powers
Both
Reserved
Powers
State
Government
Delegated Powers
Declare War
Print Money
Inter-State Commerce
Reserved Powers
Marriage Laws
Driving Laws
Schools
Concurrent Powers
Welfare
Taxes
Borrowing Money
Stronger New Government
Strong Executive
• Enforcer of laws
• Powers:
–Commander in Chief
–Appointment: Check on Judicial and
Legislative branches
–Veto of Legislation: Check on
Legislative branch
Legislative
• Congress: Makers of Laws
–House of Representatives:
Popularly elected
–Senate: Every state has 2
• Can override presidential veto with
2/3 vote
Judiciary
• Supreme Court: Interpret the laws
• Judicial Review
Legislative Branch
Checks on Judicial Branch
• Creates lower courts
• Can impeach and remove judges
• Can propose amendments to
overrule judicial decisions
• Approves appointments of federal
judges
Checks on Executive Branch
•
•
•
•
•
•
Can override presidential veto
Confirms executive appointments
Ratifies treaties
Declares war
Appropriates money
Impeachment
Executive Branch
Check on Legislative Branch
•
•
•
•
•
Proposes Laws
Veto
Call special sessions of Congress
Appointments to federal posts
Negotiates treaties
Check on Judicial Branch
• Appointments of judges
• Pardons
Supreme Court
Checks on Legislative Branch
• Declare acts of Congress illegal
Checks on Executive Branch
• Can declare actions unconstitutional
Stronger New Government
• Extended Republic: Benefit of an
"extended republic" to control
faction and limit negative impact
of self-serving politicians
Approval
• The new constitution must be
ratified by 9 of the 13 states
• Special state constitutional
conventions were convened to vote
on the new government
• Debate: Federalists vs AntiFederalists
Ratifying the Constitution
• Federalist
Washington,
Madison,
Hamilton
• Anti-Federalist
George Mason
Patrick Henry
Support
Ratification
Oppose Ratification
Federalist Papers
Afraid of a loss of state
and individual rights
Federalists
• Supporters of the new Constitution
• Merchants, urban, upper-class,
seacoast, commercial interests
• George Washington, James Madison,
John Jay, John Marshall, Alexander
Hamilton, and Benjamin Franklin
Federalist Papers
• Series of articles by Madison, Jay,
and Hamilton in support of
Constitution (“Publius”)
• Madison’s “Federalist 10” considered
to be one of the greatest political
documents written
Anti-Federalist
• Opposed the new government
• Infringement of natural rights
• Agrarian, western, states rights
supporters
• Patrick Henry, Sam Adams, Richard
Henry Lee, George Mason
Issues
• Who controls the country: the
national government or the state
governments
• Bill of Rights
The Winner
• If it would have been a popularity contest
the Anti-Federalist would have won
hands down……….. But, it wasn’t!!!!!
• By 1788, 9 states had ratified the
Constitution
• Remaining states join because they don’t
want to be left out
Conservative Victory
• New Government created to check the
excesses of the Mob (common people)
• Federal judges appointed for life
• President elected indirectly by Electoral
College
• Senators chosen indirectly by state
legislatures
Bill of Rights
• Anti-Federalist
victory…
• Guaranteed
certain rights that
the government
could never
infringe upon
Individual Rights
Guaranteed by the Bill
of Rights
The 1st 10 amendments to
the US Constitution
Bill of Rights
• Guaranteed
freedoms
• 1-9: Personal
Freedoms
• 10: Reserved
powers of the
states
Bill of Rights
Author James Madison; greatly
influenced by two Virginians:
1) George Mason
Virginia Declaration of Rights
2) Thomas Jefferson
Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom
Key Issues
• Made federal law the supreme law but gave
leeway to states to govern themselves.
• Balanced power between large and small
states (Senate where each state gets 2
senators and House of Representatives with
membership based on population)
• Placated Southern states by counting slaves as
3/5 of population
Key Issues
• Established three co-equal branches of
government with checks and balances:
Legislative, Executive, and Judicial.
• Limited powers of federal government to
those identified in the Constitution.
A Framework for Limited Government
• The Constitution has a system for making
amendments, or changes to the Constitution.
• There is a two-step process for amending the
Constitution-proposal and ratification.
• New amendments can be proposed by a vote
of two-thirds of the members of both houses
of Congress, or two-thirds of the states can
call a constitutional convention to propose
new amendments.
A Framework for Limited Government
• A proposed amendment must be ratified by
three-fourths of the state legislatures or by
conventions in three-fourths of the states.
A Framework for Limited Government
• How does the Constitution provide for a
separation of powers?
• It provides for three branches of government.
The legislative branch makes the laws. It is
made up of the two houses of Congress. The
executive branch enforces the laws. It is
headed by a president. The judicial branch
interprets federal laws. It is made up of a
system of federal courts.
Americans Create a Republic
• The Federal System
– Constitution creates three branches of government
– Provides checks and balances—ensures branches share
power equally
– Promotes federal system—power divided between nation
and states
• The Bill of Rights
– Some fear too much national power, few protections of
rights
– Leaders win support for Constitution by adding a Bill of
Rights
• Ten amendments to Constitution that protect freedoms