1. Weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation

2. Weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation
No power to tax
No national executive
Unicameral legislature
No judicial/national court
No checks & balances!
Result
No money
No enforcement of laws
One vote / state
unequal representation
Problems with interstate
relations

3. Weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation
No regulation of commerce
No power to maintain army
Government dominated by
states
Need 9/13 to pass a law &
unanimous consent to amend
Results
Economic quarrels
No foreign trade
No defense
No unity
Impossible to accomplish

4. Other Problems under Confederated Government
States were issuing their own paper money but inflation soon made it worthless
Post war depression hurt small businesses and lowered prices farmers received for their crops which left farmers unable to pay debts.
In Mass. farmers attacked courthouses to prevent judges from foreclosing on farmers –
Shay’s Rebellion.

5. Other Problems under Confederated Government
Some of the economic elite in other states feared more attacks like Shay’s Rebellion where the people had taken the law into their hands and violated the property rights of others.

6. Other Problems under Confederated Government
Neither Congress nor Mass. was not able to pay for a militia to stop the rebellion – privately paid forces had to do the job.
All this fueled the dissatisfaction with the Articles of Confederation.

7. How the Constitution addressed the problems of the Articles of Confederation

8. Weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation
No power to tax
No national executive
Unicameral legislature
No judicial/national court
Solution
Article I sec 8
Congress has power
Article II
Presidential power
Article I
Bicameral legislature
Article III
National Courts

9. Weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation
No regulation of commerce
No power to maintain army
Government dominated by states
Need 9/13 to pass a law & unanimous consent to amend
Solutions
Article I sec 8
foreign & interstate commerce
army & navy
Article VI
Constitution & Federal
Govt are supreme
Articles I & V
I = majority for laws
V = 2/3 & ¾ to ammend

10. Motivation of the Framers
Two Theories

11. MOTIVATION OF THE FRAMERS Two Theories
Charles Beard : The economic elitist view
The framers of the Constitution represented the “solid, conservative, commercial and financial interests of the country.”
They were distrustful of the majority rule and sought to structure the government to prevent democratic excess and protect the interests of the propertied class.
Many framers were trained in politics, law, finance and administration and were landowners, merchants & creditors (the economic elite)

12. Charles Beard : The economic elitist view
Objected to direct popular government – thought the representative form would check the “democratic excesses” of the people and the aristocratic body (Senate) of men of property would hold down the turbulence of democracy
Supports for his arguments:
Many of the delegates were the economic elite
Checks & balances were built in the doctrine that one popular branch of government cannot be allowed to sway or enact laws touching on property
There was exclusion of direct vote for President and Senate
There was an independent judiciary

13. Supports for Beard’s argument (cont’)
There would have been property qualifications for voting in the Constitution but they couldn’t agree on the nature & amount
Finally, ratification was not by popular vote but through the state legislatures where a more elite economic view prevailed.

14. John Roche: A democratic reform view
The framing of the Constitution was a democratic reform process
They were professional politicians who hammered out a series of pragmatic compromises which would strengthen the national interest but also be acceptable to the people.
Framers were a political elite that were not just dedicated to establishing an effective controlled national government that would overcome the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation.

15. John Roche: A democratic reform view
The framers risked their political fortunes by opposing the established doctrines of state sovereignty because they were convinced that the existing system was leading to national impotence and probably foreign domination.
“The Constitution was not a triumph of architectonic genius, it was a patchwork sewn together under the pressure of both time and events by a group of extremely talented democratic politicians. “
Translation: the document was a conglomeration of compromises put together to make the Constitution “saleable” to the general population.

16. Supports for Roche’s argument
The Va. Delegation came to the convention with a completely new plan which set the agenda from revision of the Articles to complete change.
Although he was against equal representation in the Senate, Madison was willing to compromise knowing that there would not be a Constitution without compromise.
The concept of federalism was just a compromise worked out by the supporters of strong central government and state sovereignty `

17. Supports for Roche’s’s argument
Practical compromises:
- Electoral College: a “jerry-rigged improvisation” that gave a bonus to the small states and settled an argument over the selection of the executive
- Three-Fifths Compromise: was a bargain between the Northern & Southern states - compromise of 3/5 representation for slaves for the South
- Trade Compromises: The South is allowed to continue slave trade for 20 years & a 20 year ban on cotton taxation in exchange for majority vote for any navigation acts that the Northern states wanted.
Motivation: Compromises to get passage of the Constitution