1. Chapter 7
A More Perfect Union

2. The Articles of Confederation
Section 1
The Articles of Confederation

3. State Constitutions A constitution is a plan of government
At the beginning of the war, each state was asked to create their own constitutions by the continental congress
States wanted to limit the power of the executive (leader)
People were elected to office (voted in)

4. Popular Politics
State constitutions restricted the power of governors – Person in charge of a state
This made legislatures in charge. They are the people that make laws (smaller congresses)
Once the state governments were set up, the citizens believed America should be a republic – or a government which citizens rule through elected representatives.

5. Power for the States…Initially
The people originally wanted states to act like small countries, united by a weaker central government
The second continental congress developed the Articles of Confederation

6. Articles of Confederation
Under this, the states had most of the power, but the government had the authority to conduct foreign affairs, maintain armed forces, borrow money, and issue currency
The government would not be able to regulate trade, force soldiers to join the army, or impose taxes.
The government would have to ask permission to the states for any of the above, and had no chief executive.

7. Approving the Articles
Under the plan, each state had one vote in the Confederation Congress
Large states with more people thought they should have more votes
States also argued about rights for the western land
Eventually all states agreed on the articles

8. Problems with the Articles
Congress could not pass a law unless 9 states voted in favor of it.
There was no provision for allowing new states from the Western Territory
Eventually they decided to allow states when a territories population reached that of the smallest existing state.

9. Ordinance of 1785
In 1785, an ordinance or law was passed which divided the land up into townships 6 miles long and wide, then divided into 36 sections of 640 acres each.
In 1787 The Northwest Ordinance divided the northwest land into 5 lands. When the population of each land reached 60,000 people, each territory could apply for statehood.

10. Northwest Ordinance
The dividing of land would eventually create Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio
The ordinance included a bill of rights for settlers, guaranteeing freedom of religion and trial by jury.
The government banned slavery as well

11. Financial Problems
By 1781, the money printed during the Revolution had depreciated or lost value to the point where it was completely worthless
The confederation could not pay back the war debts.
It requested money from states, but they only provided roughly 1/6 of the money needed E

12. Solution Shot Down
A merchant named Robert Morris suggested collecting a 5% tax on imported goods to help pay the national debt.
It required all states approving it, but Rhode Island shot it down
The financial crisis got worse

13. Problems with Britain
Britain kept their troops in certain forts in the great lakes area
However, Britain claimed America was in violation of the Treaty of Paris for not paying loyalists for property taken from them during the revolution.
The congress recommended to pay the loyalists, but the states refused.

14. Problems of Spain
Spain was even more upset at Americans going west into their territory
They closed the lower Mississippi River to American Shipping in 1784
The government compromised to limit American shipping in return for Spain accepting the border between Georgia and Florida.
The Southern States rejected the agreement, because they wanted full use of the Mississippi

15. The Weak Articles of Confederation
The Government that the Articles of Confederation had created was very weak
George Washington described the government as, “Little more than the shadow without the substance”
Many Americans now called for a stronger national government

16. Convention and Compromise
Section 2
Convention and Compromise

17. Depression
America went through a depression after the war, or a period when economic activity slows and unemployment increases.
Southern Plantations were damaged during the war
Rice exports dropped Sharply
Farmers could not sell their goods, and many were arrested for not paying their debt

18. Trouble in Massachusetts
Farmers saw the government as another form of tyranny
Daniel Shays and other angry farmers took the law into their own hands and forced courts to close so no one could take their land
He then led his army to a federal arsenal of weapons

19. Shays Rebellion
The guards fired over the heads of the mob, over and over but the mob didn’t stop
Eventually they fired and killed 4 farmers
Shays Rebellion was over, but Americans were now worried their government could not protect them from violence.

20. Slavery
Between 1784 and 1804, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York, and New Jersey outlawed slavery
This divided the country because slavery was still a large part of the Southern economy

21. Call for Reform
Now there was a demand for a change to the Articles of Confederation
James Madison, and Alexander Hamilton, came to Philadelphia for change
George Washington, originally against changing the Articles, changed his mind after Shays Rebellion

22. The Constitutional Convention
Representatives from all over the nation, ranging in age from 30 to an over 80 year old Ben Franklin, attended the meeting
The meeting was a closed door meeting, or the information was kept from the public
Each state delegation would have one vote and a majority vote would be used to make decisions

23. The Virginia Plan
Edmund Randolph proposed that the delegates create a strong national government.
He wanted a two house legislature, and states with more population would have more members in the legislature
Delegates from Delaware, New Jersey, and other small states did not agree

24. The New Jersey Plan
William Paterson of New Jersey presented a plan that gave congress more power to tax and regulate trade
This plan however gave every state equal representation

25. Compromise Roger Sherman of Connecticut had a great idea
He suggested two houses. In the lower house: The House of Representatives, the number of seats for each state would vary according to the state’s population
The Upper House: The Senate, each state would have two members

26. The 3/5 compromise
Once the representation was settled, the colonies had to deal with the issue of slavery
Neither side wanted to give African Americans the right to vote
The colonies decided to count each enslaved person as three-fifths of a free person for both taxation and representation.

27. Other Compromises
The northern states let the southern states continue slavery, and pledged not to interfere for 20 years
The draft of the constitution did not include a bill of rights
When 9 of 13 states approved, the new government would be created, instead of a unanimous agreement needed for previous

28. A New Plan of Government
Section 3
A New Plan of Government

29. Roots of the Constitution
England did have many items that the creators of the constitution admired:
Parliament as a way to limit the power of the king
Parliament also paid for wars and financed the government
England also had the bill of rights of 1689

30. Principles of Locke
John Lock was a philosopher who believed all people had the right to life, liberty, and property
He also stated that government should be a contract between the people and the ruler
The contract would protect peoples rights

31. Baron de Montesquieu
He was a French writer that stated powers of government should be separated and balanced against each other
This separation would prevent any one person or group from gaining too much power

32. Sharing Power
Federalism is sharing power between the federal and state governments.
Under the constitution, government gained the powers to tax, regulate trade, control the currency, raise an army, and declare war.
However, states still had the power to pass and enforce laws within their borders. States also had the power to tax

33. The Supreme Law of the Land
No state could make laws or take actions that went against the constitution.
The power of the government would be divided into three parts based on Montesquieu’s ideas
The Legislative, Executive, and Judicial Branches

34. Legislative Branch
Congress would be two parts, The house of representatives and the senate
Powers of congress would include collecting taxes, coining money, regulating trade, and declaring war
It could make new, necessary laws within the constitution

35. Executive Branch
Memories of King George made the colonies reluctant for this branch
Eventually, they agreed on the executive branch, headed by the president
The president and vice president would be elected by an electoral college, and each state was to have as many electors as representatives in congress
Each president and vice president would serve a four year term

36. Judicial Branch This is the court system of the country
The nations power will be in one supreme court and any other lower federal courts that Congress might establish
The supreme court were to hear cases involving the Constitution, laws passed by congress, and disputes between states

37. Checks and Balances
The three branches have roles that check, or limit the others so that no single branch can dominate the government

38. Checks and Balances
Both the house and senate must pass a bill for it to become law
The president can check congress by vetoing or rejecting the bill.
To override a veto, two-thirds of congress must vote for the bill

39. The finished product
With the constitution, Americans had shown the world that it was possible for a people to change its form of government through discussion and choice, rather than war
Other nations would watch America closely to see if this experiment would really work

40. Ratifying the Constitution
Section 4
Ratifying the Constitution

41. The First Party
Supporters of the new constitution were called federalists
They had the support of the most famous and respected men in America – George Washington, Ben Franklin, as well as three of the most respected thinkers, James Madison, John Jay, and Alexander Hamilton

42. The Second Party Anti-federalists opposed the constitution
They were not as organized, but strongly believed that the constitution took away basic rights won from Britain, favor the wealthy over the poor, and ignore the will of the people

43. Ratifying the Constitution
Despite anti-federalist complaints, the vote went forward
9 states had to ratify the constitution
On December 7th 1787, Delaware became the first state to ratify the constitution
On June 21st 1788, New Hampshire became the 9th state to ratify the constitution

44. Concerns
New York and Virginia were the two largest states, but they had not ratified the constitution yet
Virginia eventually ratified it when they were promised a bill of rights would be added on
New York gave in when New York City threatened to join the Union on their own and leave the state
The bill of rights would be added in 1791