Ideas About Government Ch. 7, section 1 – 186-191 To form a new government, the American people drew on several sources: Ancient Roman Republic = Senators, “Veto!” Magna Carta = The king must follow the rule of law like all other people. English Bill of Rights = King or queen could not create new taxes or change laws w/o Parliament’s approval.

Ideas About Government Other sources that Americans drew on were: Enlightenment writer John Locke who believed there is a “social contract” between the people and their government. It was the government’s responsibility to protect the peoples’ unalienable rights. New England Town Meeting, Virginia House of Burgesses, and the Iroquois League

The State Constitutions During the American Revolution, every state wrote its own Constitution. Republicanism = Citizens elect representatives that are responsible to the people. This created Limited Government = leaders have to obey laws and no one has total power.

The State Constitutions Many states expanded Suffrage = voting rights. Suffrage examples: Any white man who was a taxpaying citizen. Any white man who owned property. Seven of the first state constitutions gave voting rights to free African American men By the 1860’s these rights had been taken away by high property or residency requirements.

Forming a Union During the Second Continental Congress, many members believed that a central government was necessary to hold the country together. In 1781 the Articles of Confederation was created and with it, a Confederation Congress. Each state was allowed one vote in the new central national government.

Forming a Union The Confederation Congress had limited powers No president or court system Could make coins and borrow money Could settle conflicts between states Could ask states for money and soldiers Could not force states to give money or troops even during an emergency.

The Northwest Territory The Confederation Congress had to decide what to do with its newly acquired western lands, and pay war debts. It created the Land Ordinance of 1785 = sell this land to the public. Townships were created of 36 square miles. Each township was divided into 36 lots of 640 acres each. One lot was saved for the public school. Four lots were saved for Revolutionary War veterans. The remaining lots were for sale to the public.

The Northwest Territory

The Northwest Territory There needed to be a political system for the western lands as well. Northwest Ordinance of 1787 = This system helped to bring new states into the Union. The ordinance created the Northwest Territory which included the area that is now Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Wisconsin

A Lack of Respect Section 2 – 194-199 It was soon realized that the Articles of Confederation and the Confederation Congress were not very powerful. There was no army to protect the citizens. The British were not leaving their forts on the US side of the Great Lakes. Spain closed the lower Mississippi River to all US shipping.

Trouble with Trade After the war, many British colonial ports would not allow US ships to trade. The British charged high tariffs on all US exports that they accepted. Tariffs = Taxes on imports and exports. The Confederation Congress did not have the right to create tariffs on British goods.

Economic Problems at Home After the war, most states had a hard time paying off war debts and collecting overdue taxes. Those problems led those states to print large amounts of money. The result was Inflation = An increase in prices for goods and services while the value of money is reduced. The Confederation Congress did not have the power to stop states from printing paper money.

Economic Problems at Home Example of Inflation: Money with Less Value: Money with Value: If a state’s bank had 16 ounces of gold, it should print only enough money that equals the value of that gold. 1 ounce = $10.oo 16 ounces = $160.00 The state should only print $160.00 worth of paper money. If a state’s bank had 16 ounces of gold, it may print more money than the value of that gold. 1 ounce = $10.00 16 ounces = $160.00 The state prints $320.00 worth of paper money so the gold is worth half its original value.

Economic Problems at Home Debtors vs. Creditors Debtors = People who have borrowed money and are required to pay it back. Because of inflation, debtors could pay back their debts with money that was worth less than the coins they had borrowed. Creditors = People who lend money. Because of inflation, creditors were being paid back with money that had a lesser value than the money they had lent.

Economic Problems at Home Because of rising inflation and a lack of profitable trade with Britain, a depression set in. Depression = A period of low economic activity combined with a rise in unemployment.

Debt in Massachusetts Massachusetts refused to print money and instead tried to pay its war debt by creating a property tax. Farmers were the primary landowners and in most cases could not pay the taxes. The state’s courts began to: Foreclose on the farms Put farmers in “Debtors Prison” Some farmers had to become indentured servants in order to pay their debts.

Shays’ Rebellion In 1786, Daniel Shays – a poor farmer and Revolutionary War veteran, led angry citizens in a revolt in which many Massachusetts court houses were closed down. Why? They reasoned that if the courts couldn’t operate, farms and homes couldn’t be foreclosed.

Shays’ Rebellion In early 1787 Shays’ forces tried to steal the weapons from the Springfield Armory. In a short battle, state troops defeated Shays’ forces Shortly afterwards most of Shays’ forces surrendered or had been arrested. 14 leaders were sentenced to death. Soon the state let everyone else go including Shays , because the state understood the rebels’ motives.

The Constitutional Convention Section 3 – 200-205 In May, 1787 the Constitutional Convention was held in Philadelphia. 12 states sent a total of 55 delegates. Rhode Island refused to participate. Goal = To discuss ways to improve the Articles of Confederation.

The Great Compromise The states had different agendas based on their individual wants and/or needs. For example: Number of representatives for each state. Slavery Tariffs How strong to make the national government.

The Great Compromise After four days of discussion, James Madison’s Virginia Plan was presented to the congress. Virginia Plan or Large State Plan : Give supreme power to the central government. Divide the national government into the executive, judicial, and legislative branches. The legislative branch would be bicameral = two houses. The number of representatives that each state could send to the legislature would be based on the states population. Larger states would have more power than smaller ones.

The Great Compromise After a couple of weeks of debate, William Patterson presented the New Jersey Plan. New Jersey or Small State Plan: Have a unicameral or one-house legislature. Each state would have an equal number of votes. The national government should have the power to tax all citizens in all states. Allow the national government to regulate commerce. Smaller states would have just as much power as larger ones.

The Great Compromise After another month of discussion and debate, a committee was formed and proposed an agreement in which each side gave up some of their demands so the other demands could be met. Result of the Great Compromise: Every state, regardless of its population would have an equal vote in the upper house (senators). Every state would have a certain number of representatives in the lower house based on population (Congressmen).

The Three-Fifths Compromise The debate over representation continued. Southern states wanted slaves counted as part of their populations. By having this, they would qualify for more representatives in Congress. Northern states only wanted slaves to be counted for the purpose of taxation. In the end, they agreed to count three-fifths of a state’s slave population in order to determine the correct number in the lower house and for taxation.

The Three-Fifths Compromise

Our living Constitution Most of the convention delegates agreed that a strong central government was needed to replace the Articles of Confederation, but… They wanted to protect Popular Sovereignty = political authority belongs to the people. Also, they wanted the power to be shared between the central government and the states, so… The delegates looked to Federalism = the sharing of power between the central government and the states.

A Delicate Balance The federal government has three branches: Legislative, Executive, and Judicial Legislative = this is Congress and is made up of two houses. Congress makes the laws that we live by. Upper Houses = United States Senate – two senators represent each state. Lower House = United States House of Representatives – the number of congressmen is determined by each state’s population.

A Delicate Balance Executive = this is the president and the departments that help to run the government. This branch makes sure that the laws are carried out.

A Delicate Balance Judicial = This branch is the national courts with the US Supreme Court being the highest. This branch is responsible for interpreting laws, punishing criminals and settling disputes between states.

A Delicate Balance

A Delicate Balance A system of checks and balances was created to prevent any branch from becoming to powerful.

Federalists and Antifederalists Section 4 – 206-211 When the Constitution was made public the American people began to debate. Antifederalists = people who opposed the Constitution because they felt it gave too much power to the central government and did not include a Bill of Rights. Federalists = people who supported the Constitution because they felt it showed a good balance of power and was a compromise between many political views.

Federalists and Antifederalists

The Federalist Papers Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay wrote essays to the American public called the Federalist Papers. The purpose of these essays was to inform the American public that: The new federal government would not overpower the states. Because there were so many different points of view within the American public, no single group could ever control the government. The Articles of Confederation was not complete enough to protect our country.

The Ratification Fight For the Constitution to be ratified (accepted and put into practice), 9 of the 13 states needed to approve it. Each state except RI held state conventions to give citizens the chance to discuss and vote on the Constitution. Both Federalists and Antifederalists voiced their opinions. In 1787, Delaware was the first state to ratify the Constitution. In 1790, Rhode Island was the last state to ratify.

Demanding a Bill of Rights Several states agreed to ratify the Constitution if a bill of rights was added. Many Federalists felt that a bill of rights was not necessary, but they knew that certain states were counting on it. Once a bill of rights was created, it would be added to the Constitution as amendments = official changes, corrections, or additions. Article 5 of the Constitution allows for amendments.

Demanding a Bill of Rights To create a list of possible amendments the legislators drew ideas from: state ratifying conventions Virginia Declaration of Rights Declaration of Independence Abuses by Great Britain as listed in the DOI were made illegal under the new government. By the end of 1791, the states ratified the first 10 amendments. These first 10 amendments are known as the Bill of Rights.