The Founding Fathers present…..

The Articles of Confederation Approved in 1781

The Articles of Confederation Agreed to by Congress November 15, 1777; ratified and in force, March 1, Preamble To all to whom these Presents shall come, we the undersigned Delegates of the States affixed to our Names send greeting. Articles of Confederation and perpetual Union between the States of New Hampshire, Massachusetts bay, Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia. Article I. The title of this Confederacy shall be "The United States of America.“ Article II. Each state retains its sovereignty, freedom, and independence, and every power, jurisdiction, and right, which is not by this Confederation expressly delegated to the United States, in Congress assembled. Article III. The said States hereby severally enter into a firm league of friendship with each other, for their common defense, the security of their liberties, and their mutual and general welfare, binding themselves to assist each other, against all force offered to, or attacks made upon them, or any of them, on account of religion, sovereignty, trade, or any other pretense whatever.

Goal: Create a WEAK national government *Contained only a legislative branch-Congress *Left most of the power to the states *Each state received one vote in Congress *Major decisions required 9 out of 13 states to agree

US Achievements 1.Waged a successful war against England 2. Negotiated the Treaty of Paris

The Articles: Required that each state acknowledge the laws of the other states. Passed the Northwest Ordinance of This was the most important law under the Articles.

D.Problems with the Articles of Confederation 1. The National Government did not have money and had no power to tax. They could only ask for money. 2.The National Government had no power over the state governments or their citizens. 3.The National Government could not make the states live up to trade agreements with other nations 4. The National Government could not control trade between states.

The money shortage was really hard on farmers- couldn’t pay their debts and taxes. In Massachusetts, judges ordered them to sell farms and livestock to pay debt Angry farmers led by Daniel Shays rebelled.

So what did they do…? - They closed down courthouses to keep judges from taking their farms. -Then they marched on the national arsenal at Springfield and seized weapons stored there.

Finally… Massachusetts sent in its own militia troops to end Shays’ Rebellion

Major Impact: Made Founders realize they needed a stronger national government

Plan B…. The Constitutional Convention

IV.The Constitutional Convention May 25, 1787 to Sept. 17, 1787 A. Who attended delegates from 12 states a. all white b. All male c. Average age—42 d. ¾ of the delegates had been members of the Confederation Congress f. For the most part all were rich

McGarry- stop here.

B.Major Players 1. George Washington Presided over Constitutional Convention

George Mason Bill of Rights

Ben Franklin

William Paterson The New Jersey Plan

James Madison Father of the Constitution Drafted Virginia Plan

Edmund Randolph Introduced Virginia Plan

Luther Martin Helped formulate NJ Plan

Alexander Hamilton The British Plan

Charles Pinckney Pinckney’s Plan Introduced Fugitive Slave Clause

Gouverneur Morris Wrote the Constitution Preamble

Roger Sherman Connecticut Plan “The Great Compromise”

V. The Conflict over Representation or in other words, how to make a fair Congress A.Conflict between Big States and Small States 1. Small states were afraid Big states would control the new Congress. Small states wanted equal representation. a. The New Jersey Plan—Small states wanted one house where each state had one vote. 2. Big States thought it unfair that small states had so much power. Big states wanted proportional representation. a. The Virginia Plan—Big states wanted two houses where representation was determined by population..

B.The Great Compromise (Connecticut Plan) 1. Congress would have two houses. Bills had to pass both houses to become law a. The House of Representatives (Lower House) i. Elected by the people ii. Based on proportional representation iii. The House of representatives had sole authority to start tax or spending laws.

b. The Senate (Upper House) i. Appointed by the states (then) ii. Equal representation—two senators for each state iii. The Senate would confirm all judges and ambassadors and approve treaties

VI Passing the Constitution A. State Conventions 1. Madison’s Plan: a. Each State had to approve the Constitution by calling a state wide convention. Madison believed that this would allow the most people to vote on the Constitution. The State legislatures would not vote on the Constitution b. 9 out of 13 states had to approve the Constitutionbefore it became law.