Download Articles of Confederation & Constitution

THE ARTICLES OF
CONFEDERATION AND THE
CONSTITUTION
THE SECOND
CONTINENTAL
CONGRESS: AMERICA’S
FIRST CENTRAL
GOVERNMENT
(Right) A French engraving showing
Congress in action.
(Below) The committee Congress selected
to draft the Declaration of
Independence.
Declaration of Independence
July 4,1776
 Influenced by John Locke
 Natural rights granted by God
 Life, liberty, & the pursuit of
happiness (property)




Equality of all men
Principle of limited government
Government by consent
Right to rebel against tyranny
Thomas Jefferson
Primary Author
IN CONGRESS, JULY 4, 1776
The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America
When in the Course of human events it becomes
necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected
them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and
equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a
decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the
causes which impel them to the separation.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they
are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these
are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights,
Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the
consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes
destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and
to institute new Government………….
• THE
UNITED
STATES IN
1783
• In addition to
the Thirteen
Colonies,
Great Britain
ceded all land
east of the
Mississippi
River to the
young
republic
Weaknesses of the
Articles of Confederation
 Confederate system w/one branch at the national level
 Unicameral Congress - one vote per state
 National Congress powerless to tax
 National Congress powerless to regulate foreign &
interstate trade
 No executive branch to enforce acts of Congress
 No national court to settle disputes between states
 Amendment: ALL 13 states had to agree - unanimous
 9/13 majority to pass laws
ALEXANDER
HAMILTON,
ADVOCATE OF
NATIONAL
POWER
• A Continental Army veteran
and former member of
General George
Washington’s staff,
Hamilton became a New
York congressman.
• He openly criticized the
weaknesses that the Articles
of Confederation built into
America’s first central
government.
SHAYS’ REBELLION
(Left) Rebellious Massachusetts
farmers close the courts to prevent
confiscation of their lands for
unpaid back taxes. (Below) The
insurrection caused George
Washington to question if
Americans were capable of
governing themselves.
A VULNERABLE
FRONTIER
Americans moving west,
including pioneers, traders, and
land speculators, found their
interests threatened by the
British, Spanish, and various
Indian tribes.
A NAKED FRONTIER
The Articles of Confederation left
Congress unable to field a military
force strong enough to protect
American settlers west of the
Appalachians. (Left) A tense
confrontation in the Ohio Valley.
(Below) White hunters scan the woods
for hostile Indians.
SPAIN TURNS UNFRIENDLY
In 1784, Spain closed the Mississippi River to American traffic, which prevented
farmers living west of the Appalachians from floating their produce to market.
THE 1st AMERICAN
REGIMENT: THE
REPUBLIC’S
PITIFULLY SMALL
MILITARY
In 1784, Congress reduced
American military to a single
regiment, the 1st American
Regiment. Ranging in authorized
strength from 700 to 840, this force
was too small to deter Indian
attacks or British and Spanish
efforts to stifle American growth.
DISGRUNTLED
VETERANS
Angry about not receiving the back
pay and pensions promised for their
services in the Revolution, former
Continental Army officers became
some of the leading advocates for a
stronger central government.
INDEPENDENCE HALL, PHILADELPHIA
Where the Constitutional Convention met in 1787.
GEORGE
WASHINGTON,
ADVOCATE OF
NATIONAL POWER
• Alarmed by Shays’
Rebellion, Washington
desired a stronger
central government.
• He would lead
Virginia’s delegation at
the Constitutional
Convention in 1787.
THE CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION
An 1833 engraving of George Washington presiding over the convention.
Who wrote the Constitution:
• 55 men
• experienced in politics
• men of wealth and
prestige (elite)
• most were formally
educated
• all were white
• owned property
• relatively young
James Madison = Primary Author
“Father of the Constitution”
JAMES MADISON,
ADVOCATE OF
NATIONAL POWER
• Another member of the
Virginia delegation,
Madison wanted a
national government
that would be supreme
to state governments.
• He did not get
everything that he
wanted, but he actually
wrote most of the
Constitution.
BENJAMIN
FRANKLIN,
ADVOCATE OF
NATIONAL POWER
• The oldest delegate at the
Constitutional
Convention and the most
famous man in America
next to George
Washington, Franklin
used his influence to
persuade his fellow
delegates to work in a
spirit of compromise.
THE CONSTITUTION ADOPTED
This modern painting of the climactic moment in the Constitutional Convention contains
recognizable portraits of many of the Founding Fathers, including George Washington
standing on the dais at right and Benjamin Franklin seated at center.
THE FIRST PAGE
OF THE
CONSTITUTION
OF THE UNITED
STATES, 1787
Solutions provided by the
U.S. Constitution
 Federal System
 Bicameral Congress: (Connecticut Compromise)
 Senate – States are equally represented – 2 per state
 House of Representatives – Based on population size
 Congress given power to tax
 Congress given power to regulate trade
 Executive Branch to enforce laws
 Judicial Branch to interpret laws & Constitution
 Amendment: Proposed by 2/3 Congress
 Ratified by ¾ of the state legislatures
 50%+1 to pass laws
Articles of Confederation vs. the Constitution
 Confederate system
 Unicameral Congress - one
vote per state
 Powerless to tax
 Powerless to regulate foreign
& interstate trade
 No executive branch to
enforce acts of Congress
 No national court to settle
disputes between states
 Amendment: ALL 13 states
had to agree - unanimous
 9/13 majority to pass laws
 Federal System
 Bicameral Congress: Senate
& House of Representatives
 Congress given power to tax
 Congress given power to
regulate trade
 Executive Branch to enforce
laws
 Judicial Branch to interpret
laws & Constitution
 Amendment: 2/3 Congress +
¾ State Legislatures
 50%+1 to pass laws
THE BATTLE FOR RATIFICATION
A cartoon satirizing the debate between Federalists and Anti-Federalists in Connecticut.
The Constitution (1789)
Ratification - approval process:
Issues: Representation, tyranny of the majority,
governmental power

Federalists (James Madison, John Jay & Alexander
Hamilton)
• Representative of the people and have a
measure of autonomy from the people =
efficiency & competency
• Feared tyranny of the majority
• Favored strong national government
Ratification of the Constitution…

Anti-Federalists (Thomas Jefferson, Robert Yates & Patrick
Henry)
• feared giving too much power to the
national government
• favored state power
• feared aristocratic nature of governments
• opposed the lack of a bill of rights
LEADING ANTI-FEDERALISTS
Those suspicious of the new central government and the broad federal powers proposed by
the Constitution included such former revolutionary firebrands as Samuel Adams of
Massachusetts (left) and Patrick Henry of Virginia (right).
THE
FEDERALIST
AND ITS
AUTHORS
(Right) Alexander
Hamilton.
(Bottom left) John Jay.
(Bottom right) James
Madison.
THE BILL OF
RIGHTS
Bill of Rights
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
5th
6th
Freedom of Religion, Speech, Press, Assembly, Petition
Right to Keep and Bear Arms
Quartering of Soldiers
Security from Unwarrantable Search & Seizure
Rights of Accused Persons in Criminal Proceedings
Right to Speedy Trial, Witnesses, Trial by Jury in
Criminal Cases
7th Trial by Jury in Civil Cases
8th Ban Excessive Bail, Fines, and Cruel & Unusual
Punishment
9th Unenumerated Rights of the People
10th Reserved State Powers