Government by the States Angela Brown Chapter 5.1 Page 122
The Declaration of Independence Approved by … The Continental Congress In 1776 By delegates from 13 separate states
Mindset of the Nation Citizens thought of themselves as citizens of individual states not of a nation. “The United States are” plural not “The United States is” singular of today. It was not a nation but a confederation… An alliance of separate governments that work together.
Articles of Confederation Adopted by the Continental Congress in 1777 Approved in 1781 Established a limited national government with most of the power belonging to the States.
Branches under the Articles Only one branch of government: legislature Carried out duties of both the executive and legislative branches Each State maintained its own court system. There was no judicial branch.
Weaknesses of the Articles The Articles lacked the power to tax. Congress had to petition the States for money. States could send as many representatives as they wished but… Only one vote per State regardless of size
Could not regulate foreign and interstate commerce No separate executive branch to enforce acts of Congress. No national court system to interpret laws
Passage of any measure required 9 of 13 states to agree. Today we need only a majority to pass a measure and 2/3 vote to overturn a Presidential veto. Changes to the Articles required all 13 states to agree. Today Amended by 2/3 of both houses and 3/4 th of the State legislatures.
Democracy and Republic Americans agreed the nation should be a democracy. Or a government by the people They favored the creation of a republic. A government run by the people through elected representatives. Question: How much influence should ordinary citizens have in governing the republic?
Nationalist National debt in 1786 equaled $50 million. Some sought to strengthen the national government George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, James Madison, and Alexander Hamilton led the charge. They were educated in European History and agreed with Thomas Paine They feared America would meet the same fate as Rome if changes were not made.
Annapolis Convention Nationalist convention held in 1786 in Annapolis, Maryland Purpose: to discuss economic problems that could not be solved by the Articles. 12 delegates from 5 States attended They agreed to call another convention to Philadelphia in 1787 to try to fix the government.
Shays’ Rebellion Citizens who had loaned money to the states during the war pressed the states to pass high taxes to collect the money to pay off their debts. Massachusetts legislators passed the heaviest tax to be paid in specie – gold or silver, no paper money
Unrest Farmers grew desperate as the courts seized their property. Daniel Shays was a war veteran facing jail for his debts. In 1786 he led a rebellion driving off tax collectors and petitioning the courts protesting the taxes. When the courts rejected the petitions, the rebels forced the courts to close.
Rebellion Ends Riots ended in at an arsenal in Springfield Congress could do nothing. The state government raised an army an ended the rebellion in January, Many rebels moved to states with lower taxes. Shays and a few others were arrested and sentenced to death. He appealed the sentence and was later freed.
Effects The rebellion demonstrated a need to strengthen the government to avoid civil unrest. In May 1787, the convention opened in Philadelphia. 12 States sent delegates (all but RI)