The Americans

Chapter 5, A New Nation, 1781-1850Section 1

Experimenting with Confederation

Americans Debate Republicanism

• Creating a new government was hard• Each colony (state) is different and had

different rules• How can the new states connect with the new

government and work together as one?

Colonies become States

• Each colony had its own governor (leader), council, and colonial assembly

• People thought each colony has its own government or a “primary political unit”

• Most people were loyal to their colony rather than the country, except during the Revolutionary War, when they all worked together

Colonies become States

• Colonies became states• Colonies were nervous about giving up their

“state government” to a strong central government

• A system of government had to be formed that was fair for all of the different interests of the states

Unity through a Republic

• All of the people were not educated enough to run a country

• Republic – citizens elect representatives for government

• Republicanism – governments should be based on the consent or approval of the people

• Value on the nation vs Value on personal interests?

State Constitutions

• Each state created their own constitutions, but shared their desire for freedom of speech, religion and press, but didn’t want a “centralized authority” or one leader making decisions

• States disagreed on who can vote (all white males, property owners, etc.)

Political Precedents

• Most nations were ruled by kinds, so the new country had little models to refer to

• Leaders researched history of governments but had difficulty

• The US was different because the government had to balance the concerns of both the state and nation

The Continental Congress Debates

• States developed individual constitutions• Continental Congress tried to create one for

all of the states• There was much disagreement. The Congress

has to answer 3 questions:– Representations by population or by state?– Supreme Power: Can it be divided?– Western Lands: Who gets them?

Representation by Population or by State?

• States were equal in political power, but different in size, wealth, & population

• Is it fair for the states to have more representatives in Congress because their state and population is larger?

• Continental Congress decided each state would have one vote, no matter how large or small the population is

Supreme Power: Can It be Divided?

• Most thought a central government couldn’t share power with the individual states

• Articles of Confederation: 2 levels of government shared the power (State and National)– National: declare war, make peace, sign treaties,

borrow money, create currency (money) standards, create a postal service, deal with Native Americans

• This new government was called confederation, meaning alliance (join together as a team)

Western Lands: Who Gets Them?

• 12 of the 13 states agreed to the new government• Some states claimed land west of the Appalachian

Mountains• Smaller states, like Maryland, worried that larger

states would take over• Maryland refused to agree to the new

government until states gave up Western lands• States gave up western lands and Maryland

signed the Articles of Confederation in March 1781.

Governing the Western Lands

• Land Ordinance of 1785 – survey or examine the land

• Northwest Ordinance of 1787 – divided the lands into territories, and adding new states– This ordinance ignored the Native American’s

claim to land– Conferation’s greatest achievement because it

created future growth of the nation

Political & Economic Problems

• Most serious problem: country lacked unity• Each state worried about itself only instead of

the country• Changes in government was difficult, because

each state had to vote and agree• Congress owed money from the Revolutionary

War to foreign countries• Congress wanted to tax foreign goods to raise

money, but one state said no

Borrowers vs. Lenders

• Creditors (Lenders of Money) let people borrow money

• Debtors (borrowers of Money) people who owed money and had to pay it back

• Creditors wanted a high tax added to borrowed money, but debtors couldn’t afford the high tax and couldn’t pay them back

• Creditors sued the debtors, and the government would take the debtor’s land

Borrowers vs. Lenderscontinued