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Governing a New Nation Chapter 7 Section 1 Setting up Governments • In May 1776, the Continental Congress asked each colony to set up a government to protect “the lives, liberties, and properties” of its citizens. • In July the Congress set about the more difficult task of organizing a new national government. A Constitution • During the Revolution, most states wrote their own constitutions. • A constitution is a document that sets out the laws and principles of a government. • States wanted a written constitution for two reasons. • First, a written constitution would spell out the rights of all citizens. • Second, it would set limits on the power of government. Dividing Power • Colonists feared that the government would become to powerful. • To avoid this, the delegates divided the power of state governments between a legislature and an executive. • Every state has a legislature that passed laws. • Lawmakers were elected by voters. • Power within the legislature was divided between an upper house called a senate, and a lower house. • All states except Pennsylvania had a governor, who executed, or carried out, the laws. Virginia • Virginia further limited the power of government by including a bill of rights in its constitution. • A bill of rights lists freedoms that the government promises to protect. • In Virginia, the bill of rights protected freedom of religion and freedom of the press. • Citizens also had the right to trial by jury. • Soon other states followed Virginia’s example. Expanding the Right to Vote • Under state constitutions, more people had the right to vote than in colonial times. • To vote, a citizen had to be a white male and be over age 21. • He had to own a certain amount of property or pay a certain amount of taxes. • For a time, some women in New Jersey could vote. • In a few states, free black men could vote. Forming a National Government • Delegates believed that the colonies could not succeed in their struggle for independence unless they were united by a national government. • In 1776, few Americans thought of themselves as citizens of one nation. • Instead they felt loyal to their own state. • The states were unwilling to turn over power to the national government. They did not want to replace the tyranny of British rule with another strong government. • In 1777, the Continental Congress completed the first American constitution called the Articles of Confederation. Articles of Confederation • The Articles of Confederation created a firm league of friendship among the 13 states. • The states agreed to send delegates to a Confederation Congress. Each state had one vote in Congress. • Congress could pass laws, but at least 9 of the 13 states had to approve a law before it could go into effect. • Congress could declare war, appoint military officers, and coin money. • Congress was also responsible for foreign affairs. A Weak National Government • The National Government was weak. • Congress could not regulate trade between states or even between states and foreign countries. • It could not pass laws regarding taxes. • The Articles did not provide for a president to carry out laws, therefore, it was up to each state to enforce laws passed by congress. • The articles did not set up a system of courts, so settling disputes was difficult. Difficulties in a New Nation • From 1783 - 1787, Americans had reason to doubt whether their country could survive. • One of the biggest problems the nation faced was money. • As a result of borrowing during the Revolution, the United States owed millions of dollars and it had no way to repay its debts. • During the Revolution, the Continental Congress began to print paper money but without gold or silver to back it up it soon became worthless. • States began to print their own money which created confusion. No one knew what the worth of a North Carolina dollar was or how valuable the Virginian dollar was. • As a result, trade between states became difficult. Other Troubles • New Hampshire and New York both claimed Vermont. • Under the Articles of Confederation, these states had no way to solve their dispute. • Foreign countries took advantage of the new government’s weaknesses. • Britain refused to withdraw troops from the Ohio River Valley. • Spain challenged the United States by closing its port in New Orleans to American farmers in the western lands. Settlement in the West • Settlers in the western lands posed another problem. • The Articles of Confederation said nothing about admitting new states to the United States. Settlers in Tennessee set up a government called the State of Franklin and applied for admission to the United States. • Congress realized it needed to provide for local governments in the western lands. • To meet the challenge, Congress passed two laws. Land Ordinance of 1785 • The first law, the Land Ordinance of 1785, set up a system for settling the Northwest Territory. • The law called for the territory to be surveyed and then divided into townships. • Each township would have 36 sections. • A section was 1 square mile and contained 640 acres. • Congress planned to sell sections to settlers for $640.00 each. Northwest Ordinance • The second law, passed in 1787, was the Northwest Ordinance. • It set up a government for the Northwest Territory and outlawed slavery there. • It also provided for the vast region to be divided into three to five separate territories in the future. • When the settlers of a territory numbered 60,000 free settlers, they could as Congress to admit the territory as a new state. • The newly admitted state would be on an equal footing with the original states in all respects whatsoever. The Finest Achievement • The Northwest Ordinance was the finest achievement of the national government under the Articles of Confederation. • It provided a way to admit new states to the United States. • It guaranteed that new states to the U.S. should be treated the same as the original 13 states. • In time five states were carved from the Northwest Territory: Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin. Economic Depression • After the Revolution, the nation suffered an economic depression. • An economic depression is a period when business activity slows, prices and wages fall, and unemployment rises. • The depression hit farmers the hardest. • During the Revolution, demand for food was high so farmers borrowed money for land, seed, animals, and tools. • Now, as soldiers returned home, demand for farm goods fell. • Many farmers could not repay their loans. Shays’ Rebellion • In Massachusetts, the state raised farmers taxes. • The court seized the farms of people who could not pay their taxes or loans. • In 1786, a Massachusetts farmer, Daniel Shays, who fought at Bunker Hill and Saratoga, was determined to save his debtridden farm. Shays’ Rebellion cont. • Shays gathered nearly 2000 farmers who traveled around the state attacking courthouses and preventing the sale of property as payment for debts. • When they tried to raid a warehouse full of rifles and gunpowder, the Massachusetts legislature sent the militia to drive them off. This ended in Shays’ Rebellion. The Significance of Shays’ Rebellion • Shays’ Rebellion worried many Americans because they saw it as a sign that the Articles of Confederation did not work. • Leaders of several states called for a convention to discuss ways to revise the Articles of Confederation. • They decided to meet in Philadelphia in May 1787.