Creating a Republic Chapter 7

Section 1 A Loose Confederation Constitution A. document that sets out the laws, principles, organization, and process of the government B. In forming governments, each state wrote a constitution 1. a written constitution would spell out the rights of all citizens 2. limited the power of government

1. Divided power between executive and legislative branches C. State constitutions were set up similar to colonial governments to structure 1. Divided power between executive and legislative branches 2. Legislature was elected by the voters to pass laws D. Under state constitutions more people had the right to vote. -White males aged 21 and owner of a certain amount of land or pay a certain amount of taxes

II. Articles of Confederation Delegates of the Continental Congress drafted a plan for the country Delegates believed that the colonies needed to be united by one national government Most states did not see themselves as loyal to one government but loyal to an individual state The congress approved the Articles of Confederation in 1777. It created a very loose alliance between the 13 states

E. Limited power of Articles of Confederation Each state sent delegates to Congress. Each state had one vote. Congress had the power to: Declare war, appoint military officers, coin money, and be responsible for foreign affairs Congress could pass laws but 9 states had to approve it Congress could NOT regulate trade between states or between states and countries Could not tax states Articles had NO president to enforce the laws

F. Dispute over Western lands Maryland refused to ratify the Articles until Virginia and other states that had claimed land in the west ceded it (gave it up) Maryland and other small states were afraid these large states would become too powerful.

III. Weaknesses of the Confederation States were feuding over land 1. New York and New Hampshire both claimed Vermont. 2. The Articles did not give the government the power to handle this problem After the war, the US now owed millions of dollars to people and countries. 1. Congress could not tax under the Articles 2. During the war Congress printed paper money. Continental money had little to no value 3. Money was not backed by silver or gold 4. States began printing its own money which never equaled the same in all states.

C. Taking advantage of America 1 C. Taking advantage of America 1. Great Britain ignored the Treaty of Paris by refusing to withdraw its troops from the Ohio Valley 2. Spain closed the port of New Orleans to American to American shipping. This hurt farmers in the west near the MS river

IV. Admitting New States Congress did have productive moments. They passed laws on how to govern the NW Territory These laws established how territory would be governed and how it can become a state. C. Land ordinance of 1785- set up a system for settling the NW territory 1. territory would be surveyed and divided into townships 2. Townships would be divided into 36 sections- each was 1 square mile in size 3. each section would sell for $640. One section in each township was set aside for a public school

D. Northwest Ordinance 1. Passed in 1787 the Ordinance set up a government for the NW territories. a. Guaranteed basic rights to settlers b. Outlawed slavery c. Provided a vast region to be made into territories later. 2. Once a territory had a population of 60,000 “free” settlers it could ask congress to be admitted as a state. 3. Once made a state it would be equal to the original states in all respects

E. Northwest Territory I. Became the states of: Wisconsin 1848 Illinois 1818 Indiana 1816 Michigan 1837 Ohio 1803

V. Call for Change A. NW Ordinance was a great achievement for the new government. B. Congress could still do nothing about its economic problems and the country fell into a depression. C. Many farmers were having a hard time making ends meet after the war Because of the depression, judges started taking farmer’s land who could not pay their local taxes (they were really high) Daniel Shays and over 1,000 farmers forced courts to close in Massachusetts so that land could not be taken away

F. Shays’ Rebellion 1 Daniel Shays and over 1,000 farmers forced courts to close in Massachusetts so that land could not be taken away. 2. January 1787- Shays and the farmers headed toward the federal arsenal in Springfield, MA to take the guns and ammunition 3 The militia stepped into stop them by firing over their head but the mob continued. 4.The militia fired a second time and killed 4 farmers. The farmers with Shays fled back to their homes. 5, This rebellion scared Americans and law makers alike because the federal government could do nothing to stop uprisings.

VI. Convention called Because of Shays’ Rebellion, Americans saw that the Articles of Confederation were not working. Leaders of several states met in Philadelphia in May 1787 to revise the Articles. In the end they created a whole new government.