Post- Revolutionary Problems

1)No National Government Colonists did not want a national government Colonists thought a national government would be like having a King. (they didn’t want another King)

1)No National Government 13 Separate State Governments Each state had a constitution, governor, and an army

2)All 13 Colonies in Debt A National Gov’t was needed to handle debt Debt caused by borrowing money during Revolutionary War

Articles of Confederation Set up First National Government in America Made intentionally weak to protect the rights of citizens in America

Problems with Articles of Confederation

Article/Problems Gave Congress no power to tax Gov’t couldn’t raise money

Article/Problems Gave Congress no power to regulate commerce (trade) among the states Border States almost went to war over money owed in trading

Article/Problems Provided for no common currency Money had different values in different states

Article/Problems Gave each state one vote regardless of size Unfair to larger states

Article/Problems Provided for no executive or judicial branch No one to enforce laws

Shays Rebellion A Mass. farmer lead a rebellion to protest the rising taxes on poor farmers by Mass state government Other states feared rebellions and wanted a national government to protect them.

The Constitution VUS.5 Mr. Poley

Problems with Articles of Confederation Gave Congress no power to tax Gave Congress no power to regulate commerce among the states Provided for no common currency Gave each state one vote regardless of size Provided for no executive or judicial branch

Constitutional Convention 12 states met in Philadelphia in 1787 to change the Articles of Confederation Rhode Island did not attend because they believed smaller states would be overlooked in a stronger national government

Constitutional Convention Original plan was to change the Articles of Confederation but decided to throw it out and start a new government

George Washington Chosen as Chairman of the Convention Washington brought prestige and legitimacy to convention He stayed out of political arguments

James Madison “Father of the Constitution” Main author He was a federalist – a person who favored a strong national government

Problems with Articles of Confederation and Constitutional Solutions

Problem 1 States had too much power

Solution 1 Supremacy Clause – national law was supreme over state law; national law limited to those stated in Constitution

Problem 2 People feared a strong national government would have too much power and take away their rights

2 Solutions Separation of Powers – government divided into 3 equal branches (legislative, judicial, and executive) Checks and Balances – each branch of government can check the powers of the other

Key Compromises at Constitutional Convention

Issue 1 Set up of legislature

Side 1 NJ Plan – wanted a unicameral (one house) legislature with equal votes per state; favored smaller states

Side 2 VA Plan – wanted a bicameral (two house) legislature with representation based on a states population; favored larger states

Compromise Great Compromise – a bicameral legislature (Congress) with an upper house (Senate) with two votes per state and a lower house (House of Representatives) with representation based on a states’ population

Issue 2 Determining representation in House of Representatives

Side 1 Southern view – slaves should be counted when determining number of representatives in Congress

Side 2 Northern view – slaves are property and should not be counted as citizens

Compromise 3/5 Compromise – only 3 out of 5 slaves would be counted in census

Issue 3 Presidential Election

Side 1 People were not educated enough to choose a President

Side 2 People should have the right to choose their own leader

Compromise Electoral College – group of electors who choose the President based on popular vote in their state

Ratification of Constitution

Constitution Preamble – introduction to the Constitution; mission statement for America 7 Articles – outlines set up for government, the jobs of each branch, and the duties and procedures in the government Amendments – laws that govern the country

Ratification of Constitution Nine States had to ratify or approve the Constitution before it could become law Two Sides –Federalists vs Anti-federalists

Ratification Compromise Federalists agreed to have a national Bill of Rights added to Constitution if Anti-Federalists would ratify the Constitution James Madison wrote the bill of rights

Ratification Compromise Bill of Rights was based on the VA Declaration of Rights (George Mason) and the VA Statute for Religious Freedom (Thomas Jefferson)

Federalists Supported a strong national government and wanted Constitution ratified Felt people were protected because of checks and balances in the government and the separation of powers

Federalists Did not believe a national Bill of Rights was necessary Wrote Federalists Papers to encourage country to ratify Constitution

Anti - federalists Believed national government was too strong and limited states too much Wanted a national Bill of Rights added to protect their natural rights

Articles Essay You are to write an essay detailing at least three weaknesses from the Articles of Confederation. Explain why they are a weakness and then show how the Constitution would fix those problems. This is to be a minimum of 5 paragraphs and to be more than one page in length. Read and follow these instructions. Failure to do so will result in deductions from your grade. You might use chapter 2 section 2 from the new book, as well as the Constitution page 65Also chapter 5 section 1 of the old Textbook. SEE RUBRIC!