New Nation 10/12/14

Growing Pains of a New Nation

• Many issues after the end of the Revolutionary War• Money • Government

• Shay’s Rebellion• Armed movement of debt-ridden farmers in

western Massachusetts in the winter of 1786-1787. The rebellion created a crisis atmosphere

State Solutions

• Every state tried to create new laws to help regulate the economy

• Debt was a huge issue and the Continental Congress did not have power to institute new laws and currency without majority of states’ approval

• Unchecked democracy • Needed a solution to the problem and Virginia started to find a

political solution • Annapolis Convention • Revision of the Articles of Confederation

Philadelphia Convention

• 55 men from 12 states came to the convention • Wanted to steer further away from

democracy

• Virginia Plan

• New Jersey Plan

• The Great Compromise: representation proportional to population in the House and equal representation by the states in the Senate• Which one was more emphasized?

Details of the Constitution

• The southern states were concerned about not getting enough representation because most of their population were slaves • 3/5ths compromise: five slaves will be counted as three

• Three branches of government: judicial, executive, legislative

Ratifying the Constitution

Federalists

Believed in power in national government

Checks and balances

States will be regulators

Anti-Federalists

Wanted to keep the Articles of Confederation

Believed that national government was too powerful

Wanted to have list of people’s rights

The Federalists Papers

• Madison, Hamilton, and Jay wrote it to convince colonies to ratify the constitution

• “The utility of the UNION to your political prosperity—The insufficiency of the present Confederation to preserve that Union—The necessity of a government at least equally energetic with the one proposed, to the attainment of this object—The conformity of the proposed Constitution to the true principles of republican government—Its analogy to you own State constitution—and lastly, The additional security which its adoption will afford to the preservation of that species of government, to liberty, and property.”

• How did Hamilton try to convince readers by using what evidence that the Constitution would be a better government system?