Unit 2 Part 2 America's First National Government - The Articles of Confederation

The Philadelphia Convention in 1787

1. After Shays' Rebellion, people like Alexander Hamilton and James Madison began calling for a stronger national gov't 2. In 1787, delegates met in Philadelphia to discuss ways to improve the Articles 3. Instead of revising the Articles of Confederation, the delegates replaced it with the Constitution

*The United States Constitution* I. Constitutional Convention, 1787 A. The Articles of Confederation were intentionally weak in order to protect state and individual liberties

1. But, the inability of the national gov't to tax and unify the states led to problems like Shays' Rebellion 2. A Constitutional Convention was held in Philadelphia in 1787 to discuss ways to strengthen the power of the national government

C. Federalism: the national gov't shared power with state government

1. The Constitution was a radical shift from the Articles of Confederation because it gave more power to the national gov't than to the state governments 2. The supremacy clause establishes the Constitution (not the states) as "the supreme power of the land" (sets up federal gov't as most powerful branch in the land)

IV. Ratification of the Constitution: Federalist and Anti-Federalists A. In order for the Constitution to be legitimate, 9 of the 13 states had to ratify (agree to) it

1. Federalists a. Supported ratification of the Constitution b. Were well-organized and educated c. Alexander Hamilton and James Madison authored the Federalist Papers to argue for ratification 2. Anti-Federalists a. Against ratification because they feared that this gave too much power to the national gov't b. Argued that the Constitution was an illegal change in government c. Wanted a Bill of Rights (individual rights to be protected)

C. The new Constitution was very different from the Articles of Confederation (AOC)

1. It gave more power to the national government 2. It had 3 branches of gov't, rather than 1 weak Congress. 3. The national government under the Constitution would have new features and powers that the Articles of Confederation did not have a. Congress would have the power to tax and coin money (before, states had different currency) b. The national government would have a president and a Supreme Court

D. Separation of powers: three branches with defined powers

1. Legislature Branch (Congress = House of Representatives + Senate): a. Only Congress can make laws, declare war, create taxes b. The "elastic clause" gives Congress implied powers to make laws seen as "necessary and proper" c. Only the Senate can approve treaties and only the House can create taxes 2. Executive Branch (President, Vice-President, Bureaucracy) a. The president enforces the laws passed by Congress b. The president oversees the bureaucracy(government agencies, departments and federal agencies) 3. Judicial Branch (Federal Courts) - The only court mentioned in the Constitution is the Supreme Court

B. Many of these compromises dealt with how representatives would be chosen from the states to serve in Congress

1. Representation in Congress a. Virginia Plan: (1). A bicameral (two-house) congress (2). Larger states had more representatives (3). Adding a president as national leader b. New Jersey Plan: (1). A unicameral (one-house) congress (2). States are equally represented just like the AOC (3). No president c. The Great Compromise (1). The Great Compromise resolved the differences between the large and small states by creating a bicameral Congress: (2) Senate: Each state has two representatives who serve 6-year terms (small states) (3) House of Representatives: NUmber of reps is determined by each states's population (large states) 2. Counting Slaves (Issue of representation not on outlawing slavery) a. Northern and Southern states could not agree whether or not to count slaves toward population size b. If slaves are counted, Southern states would have more representatives c. The Three-Fifths Compromise settled the issues: Three of five slaves would be counted toward representation in the House of Representatives. 3. Compromising with Slavery a. Many Northerners wanted the Constitutional Convention to end slavery, but Southerners threatened to leave the USA anytime slavery was discussed b. As a compromise for the South, the slave trade could continue for 20 more years and runaway slaves would be returned to slave masters c. James Madison helped negotiate many of the Compromises that made the Constitution possible and is referred to as the "Father of the Consititution"

II. Sucessess of the Articles of Confederation A. The Land Ordinance of 1785

1. The Articles established a good system of settling western lands 2. First, states had to cede (give up) their claims to lands in the west to the national gov't 3. Congress passed the Land Ordinance of 1785 to create an orderly way to divide the west into townships and farms a. Selling western lands was the only way the national government could generate money since it did not have the power to tax b. Sector 16 of the each township was set aside for a public school

B. Economic Problems and Shays' Rebellion in 1787

1. The inability of the government to collect taxes led to problems: a. America could not pay off debts from the Revolutionary War b. Property foreclosures led an uprising among Massachusetts called Shays' Rebellion in 1787 but the gov't could not pay for an army to stop it i. Poor farmers in western Massachusetts were angered over high taxes and the prospect of debtors jail ii. Daniel Shays led an uprising and closed debt courts and threatened a federal arsenal 2. Shays' Rebellion Convention proved to be the convincing (Congress, reevaluate system of gov't) event that led to the Constitutional Convention of 1787

III. The Weakness of the Articles A. The Articles of Confederation was America's 1st form of gov't

1. The weakness the national gov't was originally seen as good because it eliminated tyranny 2. Later, these same weakness kept the gov't from solving serious national problems

B. The Northwest Ordinance of 1787 gave government to the territories

1. When a territory had 5,000 residents, it could create a self-governing legislature (create laws) 2. When a territory had 60,000 residents, it could apply to become a U.S. State 3. Slavery was outlawed in the northwest

The National Government

America's 1st national gov't was the Articles of Confederation (1777 - 1789) This "confederation" style gov't loosely connected the states under a weak national government. a. Structure: Each state could send 2 - 7 representatives to the national congress, but each state had only 1 vote; To pass a law, 9 of the 13 states had to agree. b. Powers: The national congress could make laws, settle disputes between states, negotiate treaties, handle Indian affairs, oversee a military; But all other powers were left up to the states. c. Americans did not want to re-create a powerful gov't like the one they just fought the Revolutionary War to break away from; So, the national gov't had no president and could not tax the states or citizens.

I. The Articles of Confederation When Americans declared independence in 1776, they needed to form a new government.

They wanted to form a republic(a pure democracy would put too much power in the hands of the "uneducated mob." More "enlightened" version of the roman senate.) where citizens vote for elected leaders to represent them. They wanted to protect citizens and individuals states from a powerful national government.

Thirteen Independent States

When independence was declared, the 13 colonies became independent states. Each state had its own constitution, legislature, and an elected governor; 8 states had a bill of rights. But, the USA needed a national gov't to do things that states could not, like sign treaties and form a military.