CHAPTER 5-Shaping a New Nation

Section 1-Experimenting with ConfederationSection 2-Drafting the ConstitutionSection 3-Ratifying the Constitution

Section 1-Experimenting with Confederation During the Revolutionary War, the states had

united under a similar goal: independence. However, the states were reluctant to unite

under a strong central gov’t. Americans favored a republic-a gov’t in which

citizens rule through their elected representatives.

Republicanism- the ideas that gov’t should be based on the consent of the people, meant different things to many Americans.

State constitutions limited the powers of gov’t leaders and guaranteed specific rights for its citizens.

State constitutions also varied greatly in giving its citizens the right to vote.

The Continental Congress started the process of drafting a constitution for the central gov’t while the states were drafting their own.

The Cont. Congress had to answer 3 questions:

1. Representation? By state or population?2. Can supreme power be divided?3. Who gets the western lands?

Congress decided that each state would have only one vote, although each state differed in size, wealth, and population.

The Congress proposed a new type of gov’t in a set of laws called the Articles of Confederation.

The AoC proposed 2 levels of gov’t that shared fundamental powers. State gov’t was supreme in some matters and nat’l gov’t was supreme in others.

The delegates called this gov’t a confederation, or alliance.

The AoC gave the nat’l gov’t the right to:1. Declare war2. Make peace3. Sign treaties4. Borrow $$5. Set standards for coins and weights6. Establish a postal service7. Deal with Native American affairs

However, the AoC did not create an executive dept to carry out and enforce the laws of Congress, and no nat’l court system to interpret the meaning of laws.

Maryland would not approve the AoC until all states gave up their claims to the western lands.

Eventually all states gave up their claims and the AoC went into effect in 1781.

Despite the weaknesses of the AoC, two benefits did come from how the delegates chose to deal with the western lands.

The Land Ordinance of 1785 established a plan for surveying the land west of the Appalachians.

The Northwest Ordinance of 1787 divided the lands into territories and set requirements for admission of new states.

After the Revolutionary War Americans started moving west across the Appalachian Mountains to land known as the Northwest Territory. This land was north of the Ohio River and east of the Mississippi River.

In 1785 the United States government sent men to survey the Northwest Territory. The men divided the territory into townships. Each township was six miles long by six miles wide. The townships were divided into four equal parts: one for public buildings such as schools and courthouses. The rest was for sale.

**First area of land where slaverywas prohibited.

The 3 stages to becoming a state included:1. Congress would appoint a territorial governor.2. When a territory had 5,000 voting residents,

the settlers could write a temporary constitution and elect their own gov’t.

3. When the territory reached 60,000 residents they could write a state constitution to be approved by Congress.

The AoC had several weaknesses:1. It lacked nat’l unity2. Congress did not recognize pop differences3. Changes could only be made unanimously4. Congress could not tax to pay off war debt5. Congress could not regulate interstate or foreign trade6. No executive or judicial branch

Section 2-Drafting the Constitution Since the states had placed such heavy limits on

the nat’l gov’t it was unable to solve the nation’s many problems.

Interstate trade was the worst of the problems. James Madison and Alexander Hamilton called

for a meeting of delegates to discuss these problems.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/ca/Alexander_Hamilton.jpg

Only 5 states sent representatives to the Annapolis Convention. Meanwhile….

Daniel Shays, a farmer in MA, was planning to revolt. He and many other farmers had heavy debt and their

farms were about to be taken away. Shays and 1200 other men marched into the city where

they were met by the militia. 4 of Shays’ men were killed and the rest were scattered.

Shays’s Rebellion caused panic and anxiety across the nation.

It now became obvious that a stronger nat’l gov’t was necessary to solve the nation’s problems.

A new convention in Philadelphia was called to revise the AoC and all states except Rhode Island sent delegates.

George Washington was elected to be the presiding officer of the convention.

Delegates realized the need for change and eventually gave up

the idea of revising the AoC. One big issue faced was how to give fair representation to both

large and small states. James Madison & Edmund Randolph proposed the Virginia

Plan with a bicameral legislature (lower and upper house) based on population & 3 branches of gov’t. Strongly supported by large states.

William Patterson proposed the New Jersey Plan with a unicameral legislature where each state had one vote. Strongly supported by small states.

Delegates refused to agree on either plan. Roger Sherman suggested the Great

Compromise (aka Connecticut Compromise) which offered a bicameral legislature. Each state would have equal representation in the Senate and representation based on population in the House.

It also provided for 3 branches of gov’t.

Representation based on pop raised the issue of whether or not slaves should be counted into pop.

Delegates agreed to the 3/5 Compromise which allowed 3/5 of a state’s slaves to be counted as population for representation and taxation purposes.

Another compromise dealing with slavery was the Slave Trade Compromise; the delegates decided to put off the issue of slavery for the future, but agreed that the slave trade would end in 1808.

After reaching these compromises, delegates decided that powers of gov’t should be divided between the state and nat’l gov’t and that the nat’l gov’t should have 3 branches.

Delegates protected the rights of the states, but also gave some powers only to the nat’l gov’t.

The 3 branches included:1. Legislative-makes laws-Congress2. Executive-enforces laws-Pres, VP, Cabinet3. Judicial-interprets laws-Supreme Court, other courts

Distrust of popular sovereignty led the delegates to create a complex method for electing the President.

Instead of each person directly choosing the Pres they would choose a number of electors who would cast ballots for candidates.

The Electoral College was made up electors= # of Senators + # of Reps.

Section 3-Ratifying the Constitution After spending 4 months drafting the Constitution the

delegates printed the full text document. The Constitution established a gov’t based on limited

gov’t, separation of powers, and checks and balances. Limited gov’t is the principle that even gov’ts must

obey a set of laws and respect the rights of citizens. They are “limited” in what powers they have and what they can do.

Separation of powers divided authority to govern b/t different branches of gov’t. This idea came from Montesquieu, a French philosopher who believed good gov’ts had separate branches that had their own jobs, but also worked together.

Checks and balances allow each branch to check the powers of the other two. This keeps any one branch from becoming too powerful.

Many Americans were shocked at the changes made by the Founding Fathers and the fact that the AoC had been abandoned.

The framers set up a procedure to ratify (approve) the Constitution in which each state would hold a convention to approve the new document.

Ratification required that 9 of the 13 states must approve.

Supporters of ratification called themselves Federalists because they favored the balance of power b/t the state and nat’l gov’t.

Their opponents came to be called the Antifederalists because they opposed having a very strong nat’l gov’t.

Leading Federalists included George Washington, James Madison, John Jay, and Alexander Hamilton.

Leading Antifederalists included Patrick Henry, Samuel Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and Richard Henry Lee.

Both sides held debates and published articles to combat their viewpoints.

The Federalists published a series of 85 essays called The Federalist Papers to explain the principles found in the Constitution.

Federalists vs. Antifederalists

The main argument of the Antifederalists was that the Constitution had no bill of rights to protect the people, and they refused to ratify until it was added.

In 1789 Congress submitted 12 amendments and by 1791 10 amendments were agreed upon.

The first 8 included personal liberties and the last 2 imposed limits on the nat’l gov’t.

BILL OF RIGHTS-10 AMENDMENTS 1st-freedom of religion, speech,

press, petition, assembly 2nd-right to bear arms 3rd-freedom from quartering

troops 4th-protection against

unreasonable search and seizure

5th-trial by jury, double jeopardy, self-incrimination, due process of law.

6th- impartial jury, speedy trial, notification of charges.

7th-right to trial by jury in civil cases

8th-protection from excessive bail/fines, and cruel/unusual punishment.

9th-rights of the people 10th-powers reserved to the

states and the people.

Constitutional Facts: The amendments are divided into 3 parts:

1-12 are known as personal liberty amendments (4-8 are rights to the accused), 13-15 are known as the Civil War amendments, and 16-27 are known as the 20th Century amendments.

The Constitution is divided into 3 parts:The Preamble, the 7 Articles, and the 27 Amendments.