Creating the Constitution

Plan of government

History of the Articles of Confederation: 13 Independent States

• Before the end of the Revolutionary War, the Continental Congress decided to have a national government, but shortly after the war ended the colonies began writing their own state constitutions. How should our new government be run? Who should have the POWER?

– Most colonists feared a strong central government.

– They didn’t want someone that lived somewhere else making laws that they had to live by.

• Wrote state constitutions that limited the power of the governor.

• The Second Continental Congress came up with a plan…The Articles of Confederation.

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History of the Articles of Confederation: Thirteen Independent

StatesAt first, most Americans favored a weak central

government. They assumed the states would be very much like small, independent

countries…similar to the way that the colonies had been set up. The states would act independently on most issues, working together through a central government

(Congress) only to wage war and handle relations with other nations.

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Structure of the Articles of Confederation

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Congress (Central Gov)

State Governments

History of the Articles of Confederation: 13 Independent States

• For Americans, establishing separate state governments was a much easier task than creating a central government.– States divided government functions between the

governor and the legislature.– Most states established two-house (bicameral)

legislatures to divide the power even further.– State constitutions restricted the powers of the

governors, which made legislatures the most powerful branch of government.

• The writers of the constitution not only wanted to prevent abuses of power in the states, but they also wanted to keep power in the hands of the people.

State governments stronger than Congress! 6

What Was The Articles of Confederation????

• These articles were to be a kind of friendship between the thirteen colonies. It would be a republic form of government.

– What is a republic? A government where people elect representatives to run the country.

• Under the articles each state chose leaders who would chose the representatives. Each state would send no more than 7 representatives which would make up Congress. Even though there were 7 people, each state only received ONE vote. In order to pass a law, 9 out of the 13 colonies had to vote in favor of the law. In order to amend the Articles, 13 out of 13 states had to vote in favor of it.

Sounds like a good plan right????7

The Articles of Confederation

• Our 1st attempt at government

• 1st constitution• 1777 – until current

constitution written• Our main goal was to

avoid a strong central government.• We wanted to avoid a

strong oppressive government, like Great Britain imposed.

• States would retain sovereignty.

Basics of The Articles of Confederation

• Created a confederation of 13 sovereign states– A confederation is a loosely tied group of states.

• Established a national legislature (Congress), but no judicial or executive branch– Congress had very little power.

Basics of the Articles of Confederation

• Under the new plan each state had one vote in Congress, regardless of its population, and all states had to approve the Articles as well as any amendments. – Larger states believed their population warranted

more votes

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Central Government Structure• Unicameral (single house)

legislative body

• Each state had one vote regardless of population size

• Congress given sole authority to govern the country

• Lacked a chief executive

• An executive committee oversaw government when Congress was not in session.

• Congress would establish temporary courts to hear disputes among the states.

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Powers Granted to Central Government Under the Articles of

Confederation• Declare war and make peace

• Make treaties with foreign countries

• Establish an army and navy

• Appoint high-ranking military officials

• Requisition, print, and borrow money

• Establish weights and measures

• Hear disputes among the states related to trade or boundaries

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Powers Denied to Central Government Under the Articles

of Confederation• No power to raise funds for an army or navy

• No power to force citizens to join the army

• No power to tax, impose tariffs, or collect duties

• No executive branch to enforce laws

• No power to control trade among the states

• No power to force states to honor obligations

• No power to regulate the value of currency

If Congress needed to raise money or troops, it had to ask the state legislatures.

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Accomplishments of the Articles of Confederation

• Administered the seven-year war effort

• Americans won their independence

• Expanded foreign trade

• Negotiated the Treaty of Paris with Britain in 1783

• Established the Northwest Ordinance of 1787

Map of the land settled in the Northwest Ordinance of 1787

New Land Policies• More and more people are settling west of the Appalachian

Mountains by the 1790s.• These western settlers hoped to organize their lands as

states and join the union, but the Articles of Confederation contained no provision for adding new states.– Congress realized that it had to extend its national

authority over the frontier and bring order to this territory.

• In 1784, Congress divided the western territory into self-governing districts.– When the number of people in a district reached the

population of the smallest existing state, the district could petition Congress for statehood.

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The Ordinance of 1785• In 1785, the Confederation Congress passed an

ordinance (law) that established a procedure for surveying and selling western lands north of the Ohio River.

• Land speculators viewed the law as an opportunity to cheaply accumulate large tracts of land. – Concerned about lawless people moving onto western

lands, Richard Henry Lee, urged the rights of property be clearly defined by the government.

• Congress drafted another ordinance to protect interests of hard-working settlers.

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The Northwest Ordinance

• Passed in 1787, the Northwest Ordinance created a single Northwest Territory out of the lands north of the Ohio River and east of the Mississippi River.– Eliminated the Proclamation of 1763– The lands were to be divided into three to five smaller

territories.– When population of a territory reached 60,000, the people

could petition for statehood.– Each new state would come into the Union with the same

rights and privileges as the original 13 states.

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The Northwest Ordinance

• Included a bill of rights for the settlers, guaranteeing freedom of religion and trail by jury.

• Also stated “There shall be neither slavery nor involuntary servitude in said territory.”– Marked first attempt to stop the spread of slavery

• Opened the way for settlement of the Northwest Territory in a stable and orderly manner.

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Problems Facing the New Nation• Government had severe economic problems

(debt and inflation)• Congress could not enforce tax laws

• Competition between states and no one worked together.

• There was no president or clear leader of the country.

• Didn’t have money or power to establish a military

• Could not regulate commerce• No central money system, weights & measures

different in every state and no one to regulate.

The Articles of Confederation did not provide a government strong enough to handle the

problems facing the United States.

More Problems Facing the New Nation

• Trade with foreign nations

• Financing the nation

• Foreign relations– British troops still occupying

forts in U.S.

• Interstate relations

• Hard to pass laws

• Confusion with where Congress should meet

• Inflation

A 1783 cartoon satirizing relations between Britain and America.

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Problems with Trade• U.S. no longer the favorite trading partner of Great Britain

– U.S. exports to British ports had to be on British ships.– British keeping Americans out of the West Indies and other profitable

British markets– Many U.S. produced goods were barred from British ports.– Britain sent vast amounts of cheap goods to U.S.

• Spain closed the lower the lower Mississippi River to American shipping in 1784.

• Potential Remedy– Establish a tariff on British goods

• Weakness in Articles of Confederation preventing this solution

Who Was Affected?

• Since products that used to cost less were now costing much more, how do you thing they colonists felt?– You’re right! They were MAD! The people most

affected were soldiers and farmers. These farmers had to pay high state taxes, and now the materials they needed to operate their farms were too expensive.

– They began to protest, some protests became VIOLENT…

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Shays’s Rebellion• In 1786, angry farmers lashed out! Led by Daniel Shay’s, they

forced courts in western Massachusetts to close so judges could not confiscate farmer’s land.

• In 1787, Shays led more than 1000 farmers toward the federal arsenal in Springfield, Mass. for arms and ammunition.– The state militia ordered the advancing farmers to halt, then fired

over their heads. The farmers did not stop, and the militia fired again, killing four rebels. Shays and his followers shattered, and the uprising was over.

• Shays’s rebellion frightened many Americans. – They worried that the government could not control unrest and

prevent violence.

Obviously these new laws weren’t working!

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Obviously The Articles Weren’t Working!!!

• Each colony was acting as a separate nation.• Some began to feel it was necessary that there be

a strong central government. One person supporting this was James Madison.– Remember, people still feared strong national

government because of former British rule. Some still supported the Articles. One supporter was Patrick Henry.

Something must be done!!! Some decisions need to be made!!

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Structure•Once branch of government: Congress, responsible for making national laws•Each state has 1 vote in Congress•No Executive Branch (President)•No Judicial System (judges)

Decision-making

•9 of 13 states had to approve a proposal before it could become a law•All the states had to agree to change an existing law

Money & Finances

•The Articles of Confederation (A of C) could not collect taxes•A of C had to ask individual states for money•A of C could print and borrow money•Each state could regulate trade with other states•Each state could tax its residents

Protection•The A of C managed agreements with other countries and Native Americans•The A of C could appoint military officers•Only the states could establish militias

OtherThe A of C established the following:•A postal system•Weights and measures•Courts•Consequences for piracy

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Review: Our First Government

1. What were the new laws that governed our new nation?

2. How many colonies had to agree for a law to pass?

3. Which military captain led a rebellion against the taxes and inflation?

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