1. Goal Identify the major domestic problems of the nation under the Articles of Confederation (A of C) and assess the extent to which they were resolved by the new Constitution

2. The Articles of Confederation
Characteristics of the Articles, a weak central government
9 of 13 votes needed to pass a law
no power to enforce laws
13 of 13 to amend
no military
no power to tax
unicameral, one branch, weak, central government
could not regulate trade

3. The Articles of Confederation
The advantages / the achievements of a weak central government
Treaty of Paris 1783
ended the Revolutionary War, gave land to the US
Land Ordinance of 1785
organized the new territory for settlement
one section was set aside for public education
Northwest Ordinance 1787
provided a way for the territories to become = states

4. The Articles of Confederation specifics of the Land Ordinance 1785

5. The Road to the Constitution of 1787, the Constitutional Convention
Shays’s Rebellion
a Massachusetts farmer, Daniel Shays, led farmers who were unable to pay their mortgages on a march to an arsenal to get weapons to prevent courts from holding session and taking their farms away.
the Massachusetts militia was eventually able to put down the rebellion
the central government, the A of C, was powerless
many leaders decided to call a convention to rewrite the Article of Confederation to give the central gov’t power

7. The Road to the Constitution of 1787, the Constitutional Convention
at the convention, competing plans were suggested and compromises needed
the Virginia Plan
a bicameral legislature, based on population
the New Jersey Plan
a unicameral legislature, based on equality
the Great Compromise / Connecticut Plan
a bicameral legislature, the upper house based on equality and the lower house based on population

8. The Road to the Constitution of 1787, the Constitutional Convention
3/5s Compromise
a slave counts as 3/5s a person for tax and for representation purposes (for the House of Representatives)
the Commerce and Slave Trade Compromise
the slave trade will continue until 1808
Congress can regulate interstate and foreign trade
Electoral College –
President elected indirectly by electors from each state.
Each state has a number of electoral votes based on their number of Senators and Representatives combined and most states operate on the winner take all principle.
Winner Take All Principle: Whomever wins the popular vote in that state gets ALL of that states electoral votes.
The 23rd amendment gave electoral votes to Washington D.C.

9. The Road to the Constitution of 1787, the Constitutional Convention
the major problems of the Articles of Confederation included deciding how much power a central government would have and how to deal with the new land
the new land was dealt with effectively
the power of a central government proved too weak and the Constitutional Convention and its compromises created a new, more powerful gov’t
opposing leaders will demand a Bill of Rights