Download 9._the_confederation_and_the_constitution

The Confederation and the
Constitution
1776-1790
By: Mr. Michael R. Kahoe
Del Valle High School
Impact of American Revolution
• Many people in Europe saw the American
Revolution as a turning point in history
– Americans had enforced the Social Contract
– Ended foreign rule and oppression
– Established the first democracy since ancient times
• America served as a model for a better world
The Pursuit of Equality
• Equality was all the rage after the Declaration of Independence
– Voting restrictions reduced
– Indentured servitude ends
– Primogeniture dropped
The Pursuit of Equality
• Separation of church & state
– Anglican church fell in prominence
– Congregational church still legally established in New England
– Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom
The Pursuit of Equality
• Slavery was challenged
– Vote to end slave trade
– Abolitionist societies emerge in Philadelphia & some N.E. states
abolish slavery outright
– Blacks were still
discriminated against
• (property, jobs,
education, marriage)
• But, why was slavery
allowed to continue?
The Pursuit of Equality
• Women were still unequal
– Yet women, as the caregivers, were
seen as purveyors of the “civic virtue”
– Expected to teach children republican
ideals
– Led to expanded educational
opportunities
Constitution Making
• In 1776, colonies drafted individual state constitutions
– Defined powers of government
– Authority from the people
– Represented the fundamental law
• Most included:
– Bill of Rights
– Require an annual election of legislatures
• Had the most power
– Created weak executive & judicial branches
Economic Crosscurrents
• States gained control of former crown & loyalist landholdings
• Commerce with Britain drastically reduced
– Americans forced to manufacture products on their own
– New trade sought out (ex. China)
American Exports, To & From Britain:
1783-1789
Economic Crosscurrents
• U.S. economy was in the gutter
– Profiteers had gotten rich
– Rich had become poor
– Runaway inflation
– Many unpaid war debts
– Distaste for taxes
• British navigation laws now working against America
A Shaky Start Toward Union
• U.S. was a union only in name
– Suspicion of authority of government
• British manufacturers began selling goods
at cut-rate prices
– Hurt burgeoning American industries
• People encouraged to buy products made in the
USA
A Shaky Start Toward Union
• There was still hope for the Union
– All 13 states had similar governments
– Each had a shared history
• Political inheritance from Britain
• History of self-rule
– Great political leaders
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Washington
Jefferson
John Adams
James Madison
Alexander Hamilton
Creating a Confederation
• Second Continental Congress had no real authority during war
– All 13 states were essentially sovereign
• Articles of Confederation written in 1777 (ratified in 1781)
– Chief argument was over western lands
• Some had claims out West & some didn’t
• Argued that states with land could pay war debts
– Maryland held out until 1781
• NY & Virginia to surrender land claims
• Congress promises to create new states from these areas
State Claims to Western Lands
Articles of Confederation
• Provided for a “firm league of friendship”
– Linked together to deal with common problems
– Run by congress (no executive)
• Congress:
– Each state had 1 vote
– Laws need 9 states
– 13 votes to change the Articles
Weaknesses of the Articles of
Confederation
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No central taxing authority
Each state issued its own currency
Could not command or control states
No central army – only state militias
No national control of commerce (trade, tariffs)
No sense of national identity
Strengths of the Articles of
Confederation
• Held states together until the new
constitution
• Could make treaties
• Created a postal service
Occupational Composition of Several State Assemblies
in the 1780s
Landmarks in Landlaws
• Congress passed farsighted pieces of legislation regarding Old
Northwest
– Land Ordinance of 1785 – land in Old Northwest to be sold to
pay off war debts
• Surveyed, divvyed up & sold to townships (public schools)
• Very orderly
Land Ordinance of 1785
Landmarks in Land Laws
– Northwest Ordinance of 1787
• Land would be a territory subordinate to U.S. government
• With 60,000 inhabitants, statehood could be sought
• Solved problem of having colonies
The World’s Ugly Duckling
• America had troubled foreign relations after the War
• England:
– Refused to send a minister to “backwoods” capital of Philadelphia
– Refused to make a commercial treaty or repeal Navigation Laws
• Lord Sheffield said England would eventually win back all American trade
– Closed profitable West Indies
• Colonists resort to smuggling
The World’s Ugly Duckling
• Spain:
– Controlled the Mississippi River & New Orleans
– Schemed with neighboring Indians
• France:
– Demanded repayment of money loaned
– Restricted trade with West Indies
• Pirates in Mediterranean were attacking American ships
Disputed Territories Between Spain &
the U.S.
The United States in 1787
The Horrid Specter of Anarchy
• Raising money difficult for congress
– States refused to pay
– Public debt increasing
– Foreign credit drying up
– “Rag Money” – depreciating paper money
• Quarrels over state boundaries
• States taxed each other’s goods
Shays’ Rebellion
• 1786 – Mass. Farmers upset over losing farms
• Captain Daniel Shays – revolutionary vet leads rebellion
– Felt he was fighting tyranny
– Demanded:
• State issued paper money
• Lower taxes
• Stop property seizures
Shays’ Rebellion
• Small army is raised to squash rebellion
– 3 Shaysites killed & 1 wounded
– Shays sentenced to death (later pardoned)
– Rebellion crushed
Shays’ Rebellion
• Result of Shays’ Rebellion:
– Debtor relief laws passed
– Fear of too much liberty
– Talk of stronger central government
• A King maybe?
• “Cement to the Union”
• “A hoop to the barrel”
“The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time
with the blood of patriots and tyrants.” – Thomas
Jefferson
A Convention of “Demigods”
• Squabbling over interstate commerce led to changes to the Articles
• 1786 – Annapolis Convention
– Only 5 delegates show
• Alexander Hamilton (NY) calls for a future meeting in Philadelphia
• 1787 – Constitutional Convention
– 55 delegates meet
• Washington was chair
• Franklin elder statesman at 81
• James Madison
– “Father of the Constitution”
• Alexander Hamilton
– Advocate for strong central government
Patriots in Philadelphia
• Goals of Convention:
– Preserve the Union
– Curb unrestrained democracy
• Shays Rebellion
– Wanted a strong central government
Hammering Out a Bundle of
Compromises
• Delegates decide to scrap the Articles all together
• Legislative Branch (makes laws)
– Virginia’s “large state plan”
• Representation in two houses based on state’s population
– New Jersey’s “small state plan”
• One house congress
• Each state with one vote
Hammering Out a Bundle of
Compromises
– “The Great Compromise”
• Legislative Branch
– House of Representatives – based on state population
– All tax bills originate in the house
– Senate – 2 senate seats per state
• Executive Branch (carries out laws)
– Makes appointments
• Ex. Supreme Court justices
– Commander in Chief
– Veto power
– Can’t declare war
Hammering Out a Bundle of
Compromises
• Slaves
– Are they counted as citizens?
– 3/5 compromise
– African slave trade shut down by 1807
• Georgia last to stop
Safeguards for Conservatism
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Created sound money
Protection of private property
Checks & balances
Limited government
Republic – “we the people”
Indirect Election:
– President – electoral college
– Senators – by state legislatures
– Supreme Court – appointed
– House – by voters
Federalists vs. Antifederalists
• Federalists supported the Constitution & strong government
• Antifederalists – opposed a strong central government
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No bill of rights
No annual election for House
Federal Stronghold (D.C.)
Standing Army
No mention of God
Ratified by only 2/3 vote
• Constitution adopted by 9 states in 1788
– All but Virginia, NY, NC, & RI
Patrick Henry
The Four Laggard States
• Virginia - ratified it 89 to 79
• New York
– Federalist Papers, written by John Jay, James Madison, and
Alexander Hamilton
• North Carolina & Rhode Island later ratified
A Conservative Triumph
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The minority had triumphed
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1/4 of the adult white males in the country had voted for the delegates
Conservationism was victorious
Federalists believed every branch of government represented the
people