1. The Early Republic

2. DEBT!!!!!! No way to raise $ to pay No national currency
Post War Problems
DEBT!!!!!!
No way to raise $ to pay
No national currency

3. Weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation
A unicameral Congress [9 of 13 votes to pass a law].
13 out of 13 to amend.
Representatives were frequently absent.
No executive or judicial branches.

4. The new government’s major problems involved money.
Large war debts
No power to impose or collect taxes
Could not afford an army or navy
Could not repay money it borrowed from foreign governments and from individual Americans during the war

5. A New National Government
Problems with the states
Congress had very little power over the individual states.
It could not settle disputes between states because there was no national court system.
No method for new statehood
Problems with foreign nations
Trouble taking advantage of the territory that the United States had won
The British did not leave their forts in the Great Lakes region.
The British and their Native American allies kept American settlers out of the Northwest Territory.

6. The Articles of Confederation allowed Congress to
Establish national policies and conduct foreign relations, including relations with Native American nations
Coin money and set up post offices
Establish an army
Declare war

7. State Had More Power than Federal!!!!

8. Republicanism
Americans wanted a republic, a political system without a monarch. It would rule “with the consent of the governed.”
Ideal of republicanism was that property-owning citizens would be active in government
In reality, women, African Americans, Native Americans, and poor white laborers seldom owned property or took part in government.

9. Land Ordinance of 1785

10. Northwest Ordinance of 1787
One of the major accomplishments of the Confederation Congress!
Statehood achieved in three stages:
Congress appointed 3 judges & a governor to govern the territory.
When population reached 5,000 adult male landowners  elect territorial legislature.
When population reached 60,000  elect delegates to a state constitutional convention.

11. Shays’ Rebellion: 1786-7 Daniel Shays Western MA
Small farmers angered by crushing debts and taxes.

12. Gov”t could not get an army A “Private” army defeated
Shays’ Rebellion:
Gov”t could not get an army
raised fast enough.
A “Private” army defeated
the Rebellion

13. Failure of the Articles
The economy began to deteriorate. Several years of bad harvests ensued. Farmers went into ever-deeper debt.
Many leaders worried about questions of defense, trade, and frontier expansion.
By 1786, several states had called for a convention to discuss ways of strengthening the national government.

14. Divided Viewpoints
Federalists
Anti-Federalists

15. Federalists vs. Anti-Federalists

16. Drafting the Constitution
Two major differences separated the delegates:
The Virginia Plan called for a bicameral system of legislature with proportional representation. Large states loved it.
The New Jersey Plan called for representation in terms of equal votes per state but adopted the basic state supremacy plan of the Articles.
After some debate, the Virginia Plan was votes as the most workable solution.

17. The Great (Connecticut) Compromise:
The Constitution creates a bicameral legislature. In the House of Representatives, representation is determined by population. A census is taken every ten years to determine the population of each state. In the Senate, all states have the same number of representatives: two.

18. Another difficult question was how to count the number of blacks within its borders. The 3/5 Compromise- dictated that blacks be counted as three-fifths of a white resident for purposes of proportioning.
An Electoral College of informed delegates would be selected by state legislatures for electing the president.
Selection of the Senate would come from the votes of the House of Representatives.
Dodging a political bullet, the founders agreed that slavery as an institution could not end for at least twenty years.

19. History - summary 1774 - First Continental Congress
Second Congress
July 4, Declaration of
Independence
1777 Articles of Confederation
U.S. Constitution
Federalists
Anti-Federalists
Bill of Rights

20. Constitution - our social contract
Preamble - the introduction

21. The Basic Principles of the U.S. Constitution
Federalism - power is divided among the states and the national government.
Separation of Powers – power was divided vertically through federalism and horizontally through separation of powers among the three branches of government.
Checks and Balances - The power of each branch of government is checked or limited and balanced by powers held by other branches.

22. Basic Principles cont.
Popular Sovereignty - all political power rests with the people.
Limited Government - gov’t may only do what the people give it the authority to do.
Judicial Review- power of the Court to determine constitutionality of a gov’t action.

23. The Articles of the Constitution
Article I - establishes the legislative branch.
Article II - establishes the executive branch headed by the president.
Article III - establishes the judicial branch.
Articles IV – establishes the "full faith and credit clause" that mandates that states honor the laws and proceedings of another state.
Articles IV through VII - also include rules on the admission of new states to the union, how amendments can be added to the Constitution, prohibits religious tests for holding office, and set out procedures for the ratification of the document.

25. Methods of Amending the U.S. Constitution
Formal Method –
Article V creates a two-stage process for amending the Constitution: proposal and ratification.
An amendment can be proposed by two-thirds of both houses of Congress or
by two-thirds of state legislatures requesting Congress to call a national convention to propose amendments.
An amendment can be ratified by a favorable vote in three-fourths of all state legislatures or by such a vote in specially called ratifying conventions called in three-fourths of the states.

26. Planning the court system
Checks and Balances
Planning the court system
Delegates wanted to keep judges and courts independent, maintaining a separation of powers.
President nominates federal judges.
Senate approves them.
Judges cannot be fired arbitrarily.

27. Checks and Balances
LEGISLATIVE BRANCH
Checks on Judicial Branch
May propose constitutional amendments to overrule judicial decisions
May impeach Supreme Court justices
Checks on Executive Branch
May reject appointments made by executive
May reject treaties
Controls funding for presidential initiatives
May impeach president
May override a veto
JUDICIAL BRANCH
Checks on Legislative Branch
May declare laws passed by Congress to be unconstitutional
Checks on Executive Branch
May declare executive actions to be unconstitutional
EXECUTIVE BRANCH
Checks on Legislative Branch
May veto bills
May adjourn Congress in certain situations
Checks on Judicial Branch
Appoints judges

30. Federal and State Powers
Enumerated Powers
(Powers given to the Federal Government)
Concurrent Powers
(Powers shared by the State and Federal Gov’t)
Reserved Powers
(Powers given to state government)
Pass all laws necessary and proper to carry out its powers
Regulate trade with other countries and among the states
Conduct foreign affairs
Raise and support an army
Coin and print money
Establish a postal system
Govern US territories and admit new states
Regulate Immigration
Enforce the laws
Establish Courts
Collect taxes
Borrow Money
Provide for the general welfare
Provide for the public safety, health, and welfare within the state
Regulate trade and commerce within the state
Establish local governments
Conduct elections determine qualifications of voters
Establish a public school system

31. Checks and Balances
We, the People of the United States . . .
Three delegates would not sign the Constitution because it lacked a bill of rights.
39 delegates from 12 states signed it, and the Constitutional Convention adjourned on September 17, 1787.

32. Federalists and Antifederalists
Ratification process
Antifederalists demanded the addition of a Bill of Rights.
Wanted to spell out some basic rights in the Constitution to make sure those rights would be protected
Adding the rights became the main focus of the struggle over ratification.
Congress called for special ratifying conventions in each state.

33. The Federalist Papers
A series of essays discussing and defending the Constitution were published in New York newspapers.
Written under the pen name Publius
Circulated widely in other states
Collected in a book, The Federalist, also known as the Federalist Papers
Main goal of essays was to persuade New York delegates to ratify the document by explaining the advantages it would bring
Publius was three Federalists: James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay

34. The Federalist Papers
Ideas in the Federalist
Hamilton wrote that the decision they were about to make was important for the whole world.
Madison warned against the dangers of factions—groups with specific, often opposing, interests.
Had torn apart some European governments
They were a natural part of American society and should not be suppressed.
A republican government would help balance the influence of factions.
He explained how the separation of powers described in the Constitution would limit government powers.

35. Adding a Bill of Rights Constitutional amendments
Several crucial states had ratified the Constitution only because they were promised a bill of rights.
Once the new Congress was elected, it needed to add the bill in the form of amendments to the Constitution.
James Madison took charge of putting the Bill of Rights through Congress.
He pointed out that in England the constitution limited only the king’s power, not Parliament’s. The amendments would protect against all abuses of power.
The states approved 10 of the 12 amendments that Congress had approved. They became the Bill of Rights.

36. Adding a Bill of Rights The Bill of Rights
First eight amendments dealt with individual civil liberties.
Ninth Amendment stated that listing certain rights given to the people did not mean that other rights did not exist as well.
The final amendment addressed the actions that states could do.
Tenth Amendment defined two kinds of government powers.
Delegated powers: powers that the Constitution gives to each branch of the national government
Reserved powers: powers that the Constitution does not specifically give to the federal government or deny to the states
Reserved powers belong to the states or to the people.