1. Confederation to Constitution

2. Chapter 8.1: The Confederation Era
Moving West
In 1775, Daniel Boone and 30 woodsmen cut a road over the Appalachian Mountains into Kentucky
This trail, Wilderness Road, became the main road to Kentucky
What drew settlers to Kentucky?
Describe the tensions that began to rise.

3. New State Governments
While settlers headed into the Western territories and people in the East began to create new state governments

4. …New State Governments
Each state began to create their own government
The framers did not want to destroy the political systems they had had as colonies, they simply wanted to make those systems more democratic
Describe the kinds of governments the new states created for themselves.
What is a republic?

5. The Articles of Confederation
While the states were setting up their governments, Americans also discussed the form of their national government.
1776 – the Continental Congress began to develop a plan for national government
What issues divided the Congress?
The Continental Congress eventually arrived at a final plan, The Article of Confederation!

6. The Articles of Confederation
The National Government had few powers
Why??
Each state only had one vote in Congress
The national government had the power to wage war, make peace, sign treaties, and issue money.
What powers under the Articles of Confederation were left up to the state?

7. Articles of Confederation
Continental Congress passed the Articles in November 1777
They then sent it to the states to be ratified
In July 1778, eight states had ratified the Articles
Some of the small states refused to sign it
Why?

8. The U.S. Finally Has an Official Government
What led to the Articles finally being ratified?
In 1781, Maryland became the 13th state to accept the Article of Confederation

9. The Northwest Ordinance
The Land Ordinance of 1785 called for surveyors to stake out six mile-square plots, called townships, in the Western lands
The Northwest Territory included land that formed the states Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Illinois, and Wisconsin (and part of Minnesota)

10. What is a Township?

11. …Northwest Ordinance
The Northwest Ordinance described how the Territory would be governed
Describe how the western territories were governed under the Northwest Ordinance
Why was the Northwest Ordinance important to the growth of the United States?

12. Weaknesses of the Articles
By the end of the Revolutionary War, the United States faced serious problems, and the Confederation Congress did not have enough power to solve them
Describe why debt was a critical problem for the national government.

13. Shays’s Rebellion People throughout the nation were facing hard times
Massachusetts, 1780’s – people had little money, but the state continued to levy, or collect, high taxes

14. …Shays’s Rebellion The average family taxes - $200/year
This was more than most farmers made in a year
Many farmers fell deeply into debt and debt laws at the time were strict
Describe the process for anyone who could not pay of their debt.

15. …Shays’s Rebellion
Farmers asked the Massachusetts legislature to provide debt relief
The legislature refused… and the farmers rebelled
Daniel Shays commanded a group of 1500 men

16. Shays’s Rebellion
January 1787 – Shays and his men marched on a federal arsenal
900 state militia defending the arsenal quickly defeated Shays’s men
Even though the militia put down the uprising, the farmers won the sympathy of many people

17. Danger For a Nation
How did Shays’s Rebellion point out the weaknesses of government under the Articles of Confederation?
Describe how some leaders hoped that the nation’s ills could be solved.

18. 8.2 – Creating the Constitution

19. A Constitutional Convention is Called
September 1786 – Five delegates met in Annapolis, Maryland, to discuss ways to promote trade among the states
Delegates believed that creating national trade laws would help the economies of all the states
Alexander Hamilton called the states to send representatives to Philadelphia
What would making these changes require?
What events encouraged leaders to call a Constitutional Convention?

20. The Conventions Delegates
1787 – 12 States send delegates to the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia
Who were some of the key delegates?
Who was not at the Constitutional Convention?

21. Constitutional Convention
The convention did not reflect the diversity of the U.S. population
Which groups of Americans were not represented at the convention?

22. The Delegates Assemble
Most delegates arrived at the Convention without a clear idea of what to expect
Some thought they would draft amendments
Others thought they would design an entirely new plan for government
It became clear that it was necessary government was necessary to maintain order
What challenges did the delegates face?

23. The Convention Begins
First order of business – elect a president for the convention
Who did the delegates elect?
Why?

24. The Convention Begins
The delegates decided on the rules for the convention
They decided that their discussions would remain secret…Shhhh!
Why?

25. The Virginia Plan First Speaker – Edmund Randolph
He offered a plan for a whole new government – the Virginia Plan
The plan was drawn up by Madison, Randolph, and other Virginian delegates

26. The Virginia Plan Virginia Plan Legislature Executive Judiciary
Population
Population

27. New Jersey Plan
In response to the Virginia Plan, New Jersey delegate, William Paterson, presented an alternative
The New Jersey Plan
Legislature with only one house
In it, each state would have one vote
What was the New Jersey Plan similar to?
New Jersey Plan
Judiciary
Legislature
Executive
1 Vote

28. The Great Compromise
After more than a week of arguing, the convention passed the Compromise on July 16, 1787
Great compromise
Judiciary
Legislature
Executive
Population
Equal
number
Of votes

29. Slavery and the Constitution
Because representation in the House of Representative would be based on the population of each state, the delegates had to decide who would be counted in that population
Southerners – wanted slaves to be counted in population, but not for taxation
Northerners – slaves were not citizens, should not be counted as part of population, but for taxation

30. Three-Fifths Compromise
Explain the compromise
Three-fifths of slave population would be counted when setting direct taxes on the states
Three-fifths would be used to determine representation in the legislature
How did the states compromise over the issue of slave trade?

31. Regulating Trade
Constitution placed few limits on Congress’s power “to regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the states, and with Indian tribes.”
No tax on exports
Ratification begins

32. 8.3 Ratifying the Constitution

33. Federalists and Anti-federalists
The framers suspected that the people might be afraid the Constitution would take too much power away from the states. The framers explained that the Constitution was based on federalism
What is federalism?
What were people called that supported the Constitution?
What were people called that didn’t supported the Constitution?

34. The Federalist Papers
The series of essays written to defend the Constitution were called the Federalist Papers
Who wrote the Federalist Papers?

35. Debate Over Ratification of the Constitution
Anti-Federalist Arguments
Federalist Response
1. The Constitution gives the national government too much power
1. Separation of powers divides the powers of the national govt. into 3 branches and a system of checks and balances prevents any one branch from being too powerful
2. The Constitution takes too much power away from the states
2. The Constitution is based on the system of federalism
3. There is no bill of rights to protect the individual liberties of the people
3. Promised to add a bill of rights as soon as the Constitution was ratified

36. The Battle for Ratification
Nine states had to ratify the Constitution for it to go into effect
Who was the first state to ratify?
Who was the ninth state to ratify so the Constitution went into effect?
Two very important states had no yet ratified
Which two states?
Why was it important that each state ratify the Constitution?

37. The Battle for Ratification
Name two important Virginians who opposed the Constitution
Why did they opposed ratification of the Constitution?
George Mason
Patrick Henry

38. The Bill of Rights
In 1791, ten amendments were added to the Constitution. The first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution became know as what?
Who wrote them?
James Madison