THE CRITICAL PERIOD Origins of American Government

Common Features of New States Popular Sovereignty Limited government Civil rights and liberties Separation of powers Checks and balances Right to vote limited to adult males who could meet property ownership requirements

Vocabulary Articles of Confederation Ratification Presiding Order

The Articles of Confederation First years of independence difficult because no alternative government in place  Richard Henry Lee of Virginia proposed a “plan of confederation  November 15, 1777  Established a “firm league of friendship” Confederation model Each state would remain sovereign “Sovereignty, freedom, and independence, and every power, jurisdiction, and right…not…expressly delegated to the United States, in Congress assembled.”  Ratification Needed unanimous approval of 13 States 11 agreed within a year Delaware: February 1779 Maryland: March 1, 1781, this is the date of formal ratification

Structure under the Articles Unicameral  Congress; one state, one vote No executive or judicial branch  Presiding officer, elected yearly Limited powers of Congress  Make war and peace  Send and receive ambassadors  Make treaties  Borrow money  Establish post offices  Build a navy and raise an army  Fix uniform weights and measures  Settle disputes among states

Structure under the Articles State Obligations  Pledge to obey articles and acts of Congress  Provide funds and troops when requested  Treat citizens of other states fairly and equally with their own  Give full faith and credit to the public acts, records, and judicial proceedings of other States  Surrender fugitives from justice to one another  Submit disputes to Congress  Allow open travel and trade between and among States States Rights  Retain powers not explicitly given to Congress  Responsible for life and property of the people  Accountable for general welfare

Weaknesses of the Articles No central authority  Congress did not have the power to tax  Could raise money only by borrowing and by asking the States for funds  No power to regulate trade between States  No power to make the States obey the Articles  Congress could only exercise powers with consent of 9 of the 13 States  Articles could be changed only with unanimous approval of 13 States Demands begin for stronger central government

The Critical Period End of Revolutionary War; Treaty of Paris 1783  Brought political and economic problems into focus  Central government unable to act  States argued Refused to support new government Made agreements with foreign governments without approval of Congress Organized their own military forces Taxed each others goods and banned trade Printed their own money

The Critical Period Need for stronger government  Mount Vernon 1785  Maryland and Virginia only showed Conference on trade issues  Called for “joint meeting with all the States to recommend a federal plan for regulating commerce”  Annapolis  September 11, 1786 Only 5 out of 13 States attended Called for another meeting of the States  February 1787; seven States name delegates to Philadelphia  Meeting becomes the Constitutional Convention

WHAT IS COMPROMISE? The Constitutional Convention

The Framers (a total of 74, but only 55 attended)  All but Rhode Island sent representatives to Philadelphia  George Washington  James Madison  Edmund Randolph  George Mason (from Virginia)  Benjamin Franklin  Governour Morris  James Wilson (Pennsylvania)  Alexander Hamilton (New York)  William Paterson (New Jersey)  Elbridge Gerry and Rufus King (Massachusetts)  Luther Martin (Maryland)  Oliver Ellsworth and Roger Sherman (Connecticut)  John Dickinson (Delaware)  John Rutledge and Charles Pinckney (South Carolina)

The Constitutional Convention Characteristics  Men of wide knowledge and public experience, wealth, and prestige  Many had fought in the Revolutionary War  39 had been members of the Continental Congress  8 served in Constitutional Conventions in their own States; 7 had been State Governors  8 had signed the Declaration of Independence  31 had attended college; 2 college Presidents; 3 professors  2 would become President  1 became Vice President  17 served in the Senate, 11 in the House of Representatives  Average age was 42, nearly half were only in their 30’s

The Constitutional Convention Organization and Procedure  Met in Independence Hall, May 25, 1787  Elected George Washington President of the Convention  Rules of Procedure  A majority of the States would be needed to conduct business (quorum)  Each State delegation had one vote and a simple majority would carry any proposal  Adopted a rule of secrecy (protection from outside pressures)  Recording secretary

The Constitutional Convention Met a total of 89 days  Original intent to amend commerce procedures  May 30 adopted new goal (Edmund Randolph of Virginia) “Resolved…that a national government ought to be established consisting of a supreme Legislative, Executive, and Judiciary.”  Issues of 1787  Equality  Economy  Separation of Powers

The Constitutional Convention A bundle of Compromises  Issue 1: Separation of Powers; Representation in Congress  The Virginia Plan Three separate branches: Legislative, Executive, and Judicial Bicameral Legislative Branch Representation would be based on population or amount of money contributed by the State Members popularly elected in their State Senate chosen by the House from lists of persons nominated by State legislatures Retain powers given by Articles, plus power to legislate, act on national laws, and use force if necessary to make States obey Congress would chose national executive and judiciary that would act as a council of revision Could veto acts of Congress General authority for executive to execute laws Judiciary would have one or more supreme courts and several inferior courts State officers take oath of loyalty to the Union Each State guaranteed Republican form of government Congress has power to admit new States to the Union

The Constitutional Convention A bundle of Compromises  Issue 1: Separation of Powers; Representation in Congress  The New Jersey Plan Unicameral Congress States equally represented Added powers: Closely limited power to tax and regulate trade between States Federal executive of more than one person, chosen by Congress; could be removed by request of a majority of States’ governors Federal judiciary would be a single Supreme Court appointed by the executive  Major disagreement was representation in Congress

The Constitutional Convention A bundle of Compromises  Issue 1: Separation of Powers; Representation in Congress  The Connecticut Compromise Congress would be bicameral Senate: each State has equal representation House of Representatives: based on population Often called the “Great Compromise”  Issue 2: Equality: How to determine population  The Three-fifths Compromise Counting of the slave population? Compromise: all “free persons” counted; “three-fifths” of all other persons counted This formula was also used to fix the amount of money to be raised in each State by any direct tax levied by Congress

The Constitutional Convention Issue 3: Economy  The Commerce and Slave Trade Compromise  Congress was forbidden the power to tax the export of goods from any State  Forbidden the power to act on the slave trade for a period of 20 years Other Compromises  Selection of the President  Treaty making process  Structure of national court system  The Amendment process Agreed on:  New central government  Popular sovereignty  Limited government  Separation of powers  Checks and balances

The Constitutional Convention Sources of the Constitution  William Blackstone: Commentaries on the Laws of England  Baron de Montesquieu: The Spirit of the Laws  Jean Jacques Rousseau: Social Contract  John Locke: Two Treatises of Government The Convention Completes its work  Revision of style and arrangement done by committee  Signed September 17 by 39 delegates  No one completely happy  Benjamin Franklin made the final resolution