Governing a New Nation Chapter 7 Section 1

Setting up Governments In May 1776, the Continental Congress asked each colony to set up a government to protect “the lives, liberties, and properties” of its citizens. In July the Congress set about the more difficult task of organizing a new national government.

A Constitution During the Revolution, most states wrote their own constitutions. A constitution is a document that sets out the laws and principles of a government. States wanted a written constitution for two reasons. First, a written constitution would spell out the rights of all citizens. Second, it would set limits on the power of government.

Dividing Power Colonists feared that the government would become to powerful. To avoid this, the delegates divided the power of state governments between a legislature and an executive. Every state has a legislature that passed laws. Lawmakers were elected by voters. Power within the legislature was divided between an upper house called a senate, and a lower house. All states except Pennsylvania had a governor, who executed, or carried out, the laws.

Virginia Virginia further limited the power of government by including a bill of rights in its constitution. A bill of rights lists freedoms that the government promises to protect. In Virginia, the bill of rights protected freedom of religion and freedom of the press. Citizens also had the right to trial by jury. Soon other states followed Virginia’s example.

Expanding the Right to Vote Under state constitutions, more people had the right to vote than in colonial times. To vote, a citizen had to be a white male and be over age 21. He had to own a certain amount of property or pay a certain amount of taxes. For a time, some women in New Jersey could vote. In a few states, free black men could vote.

Forming a National Government Delegates believed that the colonies could not succeed in their struggle for independence unless they were united by a national government. In 1776, few Americans thought of themselves as citizens of one nation. Instead they felt loyal to their own state. The states were unwilling to turn over power to the national government. They did not want to replace the tyranny of British rule with another strong government. In 1777, the Continental Congress completed the first American constitution called the Articles of Confederation.

Articles of Confederation The Articles of Confederation created a firm league of friendship among the 13 states. The states agreed to send delegates to a Confederation Congress. Each state had one vote in Congress. Congress could pass laws, but at least 9 of the 13 states had to approve a law before it could go into effect. Congress could declare war, appoint military officers, and coin money. Congress was also responsible for foreign affairs.

A Weak National Government The National Government was weak. Congress could not regulate trade between states or even between states and foreign countries. It could not pass laws regarding taxes. The Articles did not provide for a president to carry out laws, therefore, it was up to each state to enforce laws passed by congress. The articles did not set up a system of courts, so settling disputes was difficult.

Difficulties in a New Nation From 1783 - 1787, Americans had reason to doubt whether their country could survive. One of the biggest problems the nation faced was money. As a result of borrowing during the Revolution, the United States owed millions of dollars and it had no way to repay its debts. During the Revolution, the Continental Congress began to print paper money but without gold or silver to back it up it soon became worthless. States began to print their own money which created confusion. No one knew what the worth of a North Carolina dollar was or how valuable the Virginian dollar was. As a result, trade between states became difficult.

Other Troubles New Hampshire and New York both claimed Vermont. Under the Articles of Confederation, these states had no way to solve their dispute. Foreign countries took advantage of the new government’s weaknesses. Britain refused to withdraw troops from the Ohio River Valley. Spain challenged the United States by closing its port in New Orleans to American farmers in the western lands.

Settlement in the West Settlers in the western lands posed another problem. The Articles of Confederation said nothing about admitting new states to the United States. Settlers in Tennessee set up a government called the State of Franklin and applied for admission to the United States. Congress realized it needed to provide for local governments in the western lands. To meet the challenge, Congress passed two laws.

Land Ordinance of 1785 The first law, the Land Ordinance of 1785, set up a system for settling the Northwest Territory. The law called for the territory to be surveyed and then divided into townships. Each township would have 36 sections. A section was 1 square mile and contained 640 acres. Congress planned to sell sections to settlers for $640.00 each.

Northwest Ordinance The second law, passed in 1787, was the Northwest Ordinance. It set up a government for the Northwest Territory and outlawed slavery there. It also provided for the vast region to be divided into three to five separate territories in the future. When the settlers of a territory numbered 60,000 free settlers, they could as Congress to admit the territory as a new state. The newly admitted state would be on an equal footing with the original states in all respects whatsoever.

The Finest Achievement The Northwest Ordinance was the finest achievement of the national government under the Articles of Confederation. It provided a way to admit new states to the United States. It guaranteed that new states to the U.S. should be treated the same as the original 13 states. In time five states were carved from the Northwest Territory: Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin.

Economic Depression After the Revolution, the nation suffered an economic depression. An economic depression is a period when business activity slows, prices and wages fall, and unemployment rises. The depression hit farmers the hardest. During the Revolution, demand for food was high so farmers borrowed money for land, seed, animals, and tools. Now, as soldiers returned home, demand for farm goods fell. Many farmers could not repay their loans.

Shays’ Rebellion In Massachusetts, the state raised farmers taxes. The court seized the farms of people who could not pay their taxes or loans. In 1786, a Massachusetts farmer, Daniel Shays, who fought at Bunker Hill and Saratoga, was determined to save his debt-ridden farm.

Shays’ Rebellion cont. Shays gathered nearly 2000 farmers who traveled around the state attacking courthouses and preventing the sale of property as payment for debts. When they tried to raid a warehouse full of rifles and gunpowder, the Massachusetts legislature sent the militia to drive them off. This ended in Shays’ Rebellion.

The Significance of Shays’ Rebellion Shays’ Rebellion worried many Americans because they saw it as a sign that the Articles of Confederation did not work. Leaders of several states called for a convention to discuss ways to revise the Articles of Confederation. They decided to meet in Philadelphia in May 1787.