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

• 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)– 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?

• 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/solutions/images/SOL020703.gif

http://franklaughter.tripod.com/cgi-bin/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

(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/d3/Triangle_trade.png)

1. What section of the new nation provided the “Cash Crops”?

2. What section provided the “Food Crops”?

3. What section provided the “Transportation”?

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 1787The 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)

Online Presentation (http://shsgov1.tripod.com/conrephr/sld001.htm)

(http://www.regentsprep.org/regents/ushisgov/themes/government/three_fifths_comp2.gif)

Limiting the Slave Trade

1. Northern States wanted to ban the Trade.

2. Southern States considered the Trade essential to their economy.

3. Compromise: Congress could not interfere with the trade until 1808.

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.