The Confederation & the Constitution Chapter 9: The Articles of Confederation

A New Nation When Americans declared independence in 1776, they needed to form a new government: –They wanted to form a republic where citizens vote for elected leaders to represent them –They wanted to protect citizens & individual states from a powerful national government

Americas 1 st National Government When independence was declared, the 13 colonies became independent states where each state had its own constitution, legislature, & an elected governor; 8 states had Bills of Rights. The USA needed a national gov’t to do things that states could not, like sign treaties & form a military so they created the Articles of Confederation ( )

This “confederation” style of government loosely connected the states under a weak national government

Confederation Government in New York City Each state could send between 2-7 representatives to the national congress, but each state had only 1 vote To pass a law, 9 of the 13 states had to agree The national congress could make laws, settle disputes between states, negotiate treaties, handle Indian affairs, oversee a military But all other powers were left up to the states

Confederation Government in New York City Americans did not want to re-create a powerful gov’t like the one they just fought the Revolutionary War to break away from So, the national gov’t had no president & could not tax the states or citizens

The United States, 1783 Areas of Settlement, 1783 The Articles established a good system of settling western lands

Congress passed the Land Ordinance of 1785 to create an orderly way to divide the west into townships & farms Selling western lands was the only way the national gov’t could generate money since it did not have the power to tax

The Northwest Ordinance of 1787 When a territory had 5,000 residents, it could create a self-governing legislature When a territory had 60,000 residents, it could apply to become a U.S. state Slavery was outlawed in the NW

Confederation Government in New York City The inability of the government to collect taxes led to problems

U.S. Trade with Britain, Debt America could not pay off debts from the Revolutionary War

Shay’s Rebellion Property foreclosures led an uprising among Massachusetts farmers called Shays’ Rebellion in 1787 but the gov. couldn’t pay for an army to stop it. Poor farmers in western MA were angered over high taxes & prospect of debtors jail Daniel Shays led an uprising & closed debt courts & threatened a federal arsenal

Closing Task Students will read and analyze the Articles of Confederation. You will then answer questions regarding the specifics of the Articles of Confederation.

The Confederation & the Constitution Chapter 9: The Constitutional Convention

After Shays’ Rebellion, people like Hamilton & Madison began calling for a stronger national gov’t In 1787, delegates met in Philadelphia to discuss ways to improve the Articles Instead of revising the Articles of Confederation, the delegates replaced it with the Constitution

From May to September 1787, the delegates at the Constitutional Convention worked out a framework for a new federal system of government But, this plan for government had to be ratified by 9 states if it was to replace the Articles of Confederation

Anti-Federalist v. Federalist Anti- Federalist- those who opposed the Constitution, feared a stronger national government, and wanted states to remain power The Anti-Federalists were led by Patrick Henry and Samuel Adams Federalist- those who supported the new Constitution and a stronger national government Federalist leaders James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay wrote a series of essays called the Federalist Papers to counter the arguments of the Anti- Federalists.

Some states ratified the Constitution quickly, but states with large majorities of Anti-Federalists refused without a Bill of Rights to protect their liberty New Hampshire was the 9 th state to ratify the Constitution which went into effect in 1789, but the Federalists wanted all 13 states to ratify the new gov’t In 1789, the Bill of Rights was introduced and the last two states ratified the Constitution by 1790

The Constitution The Constitution was a radical shift from the Articles of Confederation because it gave more power to the national government than to the state government. The supremacy clause establishes the Constitution (not the states) as the "the supreme law of the land"

The Constitution The national government under the Constitution would have new features & powers that the Articles of Confederation did not have Rather than a single unicameral Congress, the new national government would be divided among three equal branches of government

The Three Branches of Government Legislative branch- to make laws Congress had the power to tax & coin money Executive branch-to lead the nation and enforce laws passed by Congress Judicial branch-to interpret laws and prosecute federal crimes

Critical Thinking Question B: Southern Slave States vs. Northern Free States

Northern & Southern states could not agree whether or not to count slaves towards population size If slaves are counted, Southern states would have more votes and power in the House of Representatives The Three-Fifths Compromise allowed states to count three of every five slaves toward taxation and population size

Many Northerners wanted to use the Constitutional Convention to end slavery, but Southerners threatened to leave the USA anytime slavery was discussed As a compromise for the South, the slave trade could continue for 20 more years & runaway slaves would be returned to slave masters

Father of the Constitution James Madison negotiated and wrote much of the framework of the new government and is referred to as the “father of the Constitution”

Closing Task Using pages A35- A43 in your textbook you are to complete the “Understanding the Constitution” Handout.

Launching the New Ship of State Chapter 10: Setting up the Government

When the Constitution was ratified in 1789, George Washington was unanimously elected 1 st presidentunanimously elected Washington helped shape the new nation and created precedents for future presidents and leaders

During his first term, President Washington focused on domestic issues that would shape the new nation Congress passed the Judiciary Act of 1789 which created federal courts

Washington’s Cabinet Washington created the 1 st cabinet (group of advisors who head departments) Congress created the: –Secretary of Treasury –Secretary of State –Secretary of War –Justice Departments

Henry Knox, Secretary of War Alexander Hamilton, Secretary of Treasury Thomas Jefferson, Secretary of State George Washington, President The First Cabinet

Alexander Hamilton was named Secretary of Treasury (Treasury Department deals with issues involving money or taxes) Thomas Jefferson was named Secretary of State (State Department deals with issues involving foreign nations) Hamilton and Jefferson were the most influential of Washington’s cabinet, but they had different views on the role of government

Alexander Hamilton Thomas Jefferson Watch this video clip from HBO’s John Adams series As you watch, identify as many things as you can that Jefferson and Hamilton disagree aboutvideo clip

Closing Task You will complete a matching time line activity on the New Nation.