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1783-1787 From Confederacy to Republic. What were the challenges facing the newly independent nation?. Articles of Confederation (Adopted in 1777 – Ratified in 1781). Problems addressed by the A-of-C : Problem: Fear of a strong central government. Solution: - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
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1783-1787From Confederacy
to Republic
What were the challenges facing the newly independent nation?
ECONOMIC POLITICAL
Articles of Confederation(Adopted in 1777 – Ratified in 1781)
Problems addressed by the A-of-C:Problem: Fear of a strong central government.Solution:
Problem: Representation in Conf. Congress.Solution:
Powers Granted, and Powers Denied to the Confederation Congress
GRANTED Power to wage war Make treaties Send diplomats abroad Borrow money Regulate the currency Establish a postal service Regulate Indian Affairs
DENIED Power to regulate trade Levy & collect taxes Enforce its own laws
What were the accomplishments of the Articles of Confederation?
State Constitutions: Experiments in Government
State constitutions invaluable experienceFive Basic Reoccurring Elements:1. Higher Law & Natural Rights – The purpose of
government is to protect life, liberty, and property.2. Social Contract – people created the government
to protect their natural rights. 3. Popular Sovereignty – Authority to govern was
granted to the government by the people. People > ultimate source of power.
State Constitutions: Experiments in Government
Five Basic Reoccurring Elements:4. Representation & Right to Vote – All state constitutions instilled the importance of
representation of the people in their govt.5. Legislative Supremacy – Most power in the
legislature. States incorporate some manner of separation of powers.
Legislative Executive Judicial
The Model from Massachusetts Made extensive use of
separation of power & checks and balances.
Created a strong Executive Branch: (What was Adams thinking?) Governor to be independent of the
legislature. (fixed salary) Governor to check the power of
the legislature. (veto & appointment powers)
*Massachusetts State Constitution expressed the classical republican ideal of mixed government as a means to prevent the abuse of power.John Adams
Problems in Foreign Affairs
British still maintained forts along the Canadian frontier.The British refused to withdraw until debts to Britain & loyalists were indemnified.
Spain controlled the mouth of the Mississippi River. Spain also maintained forts along its common frontier.
Shays’s Rebellion (1786-87)
Economic Distress in MA: Heavy taxes to pay of war
debt. Post-war depression in
Atlantic trade. Many faced foreclosure &
debtors prison. Western farmers pressed
for relief. Blocked by eastern commercial interests.
Rebellion or Rural Protest?
Shays’s Rebellion (1786-87)
Popular Protest: Farmers use same tactics
they used against Britain. Town meetings expanded
into county conventions, which escalated into crowd actions to prevent courts from meeting.
Gov. Bowdoin sends the state militia, which crushes the rebellion.
Shays’s Rebellion (1786-87)
The Massachusetts uprising dramatized the growing unrest in the new nation, and symbolized to a growing number of conservatives a republic in peril. Nationalists seized upon the specter of Shays’s Rebellion to underscore the weakness of the Articles of Confederation.
Annapolis Convention - 1786 Hamilton organizes an
interstate meeting at Washington’s Mt. Vernon to discuss issues.
Five states send delegates to the Annapolis Convention to discuss interstate trade.
Outcome: Called for a larger meeting the following year in Philadelphia to revise the Articles of Confederation.