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The United States in 1783
America’s 1st national
government was the
Articles of Confederation
(1777-1789)
The Articles established a
weak national government in
order to protect state power.
Some of the successes of the Articles
The Articles
established a good
system of settling
western lands
The Land Ordinance of 1785
established an orderly process
for laying out western townships
The Northwest Ordinance of 1787 allowed for
local government, statehood, & outlawed slavery
in the Northwest
Major Weaknesses of the
Articles of Confederation
Constitutional Reform
• By 1787, the major flaws of the Articles of Confederation
were exposed:
– Shays’ Rebellion broke out among desperate
Massachusetts farmers who faced losing their
farms or being sent to debtor’s prison.
– Congress called for a meeting in Philadelphia to
discuss revising the Articles and improving the
national government.
Shays’ Rebellion gave nationalists like
Washington, Madison, Hamilton the urgency
to call for a stronger national government
Shay’s Rebellion
A Constitutional Convention was held in
Philadelphia to try and fix the Articles
of Confederation.
However, they ended up scrapping the
entire thing and a new government was
created instead
James Madison helped negotiate many of the
compromises that made the Constitution possible &
is referred to as the “father of the Constitution”
The influence of Enlightenment Ideas
• Members of the convention
drew upon numerous
enlightenment ideas, such
as Montesquieu’s
“separation of powers,”
which argued that, to avoid
tyranny, the three branches
of government (legislature,
executive, and judiciary)
should be separated as far
as possible, and their
relationships should be
governed by a system of
checks and balances.
The Constitutional Convention
The Constitutional Convention
• Virginia Plan: Two-house legislature in which the
number of representatives for each state would
depend on the number of people in the state.
(Benefit larger states)
• New Jersey Plan: Single-house Congress in which
each state was equally represented.
Connecticut Compromise (Great
Compromise): Two houses of
Congress:
–The House of Representatives (based
on population)
–The Senate (equal representation)
The Constitutional Convention
• Each state would elect one member to the House of
Representatives for every 40,000 people in the state.
• This led to a conflict between Northern and Southern
states.
• Southern states wanted to count slaves as part of the
population.
• Northern states said no because slaves could not vote and
if they were counted for representation then they should
also be counted for taxation.
The Constitutional Convention
• Three-Fifths Compromise: every five enslaved
people in a state would count as three free
persons.
• Another compromise targeted the slave trade:
– Congress would not ban the slave trade until
1808.
The Federalist Papers
• The Federalist Papers
were a series of 85
articles supporting
the ratification of the
new United States
Constitution.
• The articles were
written by John Jay,
James Madison, and
Alexander Hamilton.
FEDERALISTS
ANTIFEDERALISTS
Federalist vs. Anti-federalist
Federalist
Anti-federalist
• Favored a strong National
government.
• Believed in a loose
interpretation of the
Constitution that resulted in
a national government that
was strong enough to do
the will of the people
• George Washington, John
Adams, and Alexander
Hamilton were Federalists
• Favored a weak national
government and strong
state governments.
• They believed in a strict
interpretation of the
Constitution.
• Demanded a Bill of Rights
be added to the
Constitution.
• Patrick Henry, Samuel
Adams, and Thomas Paine
were Anti-Federalists.
Federalists & Anti-Federalists
Anti-Federalists
Federalists
• Supported approval • Against approving the
for the Constitution.
Constitution.
• Were well-organized
–Distrusted a
and educated.
government that
• Used Federalist
removed power
Papers to argue for
from control of the
ratification and gain
people.
public support.
–Wanted more
protection of
personal liberties.
• To win approval of the Constitution, the
Federalists agreed to add a Bill of Rights to
protect the people’s liberty.
• By 1788, all states except Rhode Island and
North Carolina had ratified the Constitution.
Nine states were all that were necessary for
ratification
• All 13 states ratified the Constitution by 1790.
Effects of the
Constitutional Convention
What are the Checks and Balances?
1. Parts of the Constitution
The Bill of Rights
The Bill of Rights
The Bill of Rights
The Bill of Rights
The Bill of Rights
The Bill of Rights
The Bill of Rights
The Bill of Rights
The Bill of Rights
The Bill of Rights