CHAPTER 8 • SECTION 1
representatives to govern them. But not everyone in the United States would
be allowed to help select these representatives. Most states had fairly high
property qualifications, and only property owners, who were considered
citizens, would be allowed to vote. African Americans were generally not
allowed to vote. Some states granted voting rights to all white males. All
states, except Pennsylvania and Georgia, made property ownership a requirement for voting. Women were also denied the right to vote in most states.
More About . . .
Citizenship and
the Right to Vote
By the time the first Presidential election
was held in 1789, voting was still restricted
to white male property owners—and
they made up only about six percent of
the population. Former male slaves did
not become eligible to vote until 1870,
with the passage of the 15th Amendment.
Women did not become eligible to vote
until 1920, when the 19th Amendment was
ratified. And it wasn’t until 1924 that Native
Americans gained the right to vote.
Connecting History
Growth of Government
The English Bill of Rights also restated the
rights of subjects to petition the king, to
bear arms for their defense, to have a jury
trial in capital cases, and to seek redress of
grievances and amendment of laws. It also
guaranteed free elections and free speech
for members of Parliament (but not for
other people).
Analyze a Chart
POWERS GRANTED AND DENIED
CONGRESS Point out that the powers denied
Congress affected its ability to exercise any
powers it was granted.
• How might the absence of an executive
branch affect the government’s ability to
conduct foreign affairs? (Possible Answer: It
would likely have made it much more difficult
to negotiate with other countries.)
• How might the inability to enact and collect
taxes influence the power of Congress to issue
or borrow money? (Possible Answer: Printing
and borrowing money without a dependable
means of acquiring revenue would put the
government further and further in debt.)
Have students suggest other ways in which
powers denied Congress might have affected
powers it was granted.
CRITICAL THINKING ANSWER
Evaluate Possible Answer: They prevented
Congress from enforcing and interpreting the
laws it created, acquiring dependable revenue
sources, competing effectively with foreign
countries, and enacting changes that would
have helped it to govern more effectively.
236 • Chapter 8
State Constitutions Lead the Way Once the American colonies declared
Connecting History
Growth of
Government
The English Bill of Rights
limited the power of
the English monarch.
Among other things, it
prevented the monarch
from levying taxes, and
maintaining an army in
peacetime without the
consent of Parliament.
independence in 1776, each of the states set out to create its own government. The framers, or creators, of the state constitutions did not want to
destroy the political systems that they had had as colonies. They simply
wanted to make those systems more representative.
Some states experimented with giving different powers to different parts of
government. By creating separate branches of government, Americans hoped
to prevent any one part of the government from becoming too powerful.
All state governments limited the powers of their governors because of the
colonists’ unpleasant experience with the British king.
Some states included a Bill of Rights in their constitutions. Based on the
English Bill of Rights of 1689, these bills were lists of freedoms that Americans were most eager to protect. The first constitutional document in the
United States was Virginia’s constitution of 1776. It protected freedom of
the press and freedom of religion.
As citizens set up their state governments, they discussed how to form a
national government. During the Revolutionary War, Americans realized that
they had to unite to win the war against Britain. Forming a national government was key to national unity. And diplomat John Dickinson’s words, “By
uniting we stand, by dividing we fall,” became a popular slogan.
The Articles of Confederation In 1776, the Continental Congress began
to plan for a national government. Congress agreed that the government
should be a republic. But the delegates disagreed about whether each state
should have one vote or voting should be based on population.
Territory,
They also disagreed about who should control the Northwest Territory
or the lands west of the
Appalachians. The ContiPowers Granted and Denied Congress
nental Congress eventually
arrived at a plan called the
GRANTED CONGRESS
DENIED CONGRESS
Articles of Confederation.
Confederation In the
• Conduct foreign affairs
• Establish executive branch
Articles,
the
national govern• Declare war and
• Enforce national laws
ment would be run by a legmake peace
• Enact and collect taxes
islative body to be called the
• Issue or borrow money
• Regulate interstate or
Confederation Congress
Congress. Con• Control Western territories
foreign trade
gress had the power to wage
• Control Indian affairs
• Establish federal courts
war, make peace, sign treaties,
• Run postal service
• Amend the Articles
run Indian affairs, and issue
money. Each state had only
CRITICAL THINKING Evaluate Why did the powers denied Congress lead
one vote in the Congress.
to a weak government?
FPO
236 Chapter 8
DIFFERENTIATING INSTRUCTION
English Learners
Pre-AP
Culture: Clarify
Checks and Balances
Examples
Read aloud the third paragraph under
the heading “State Constitutions Lead
the Way.” Explain that the concept of
individual rights—such as freedom of
speech and religion—is the foundation
of our political and economic system as
well as our culture. Have students find
a news article on or write about the
importance of individual rights today.
Discuss its importance as a class. To
extend this activity, have students create
a classroom “Bill of Rights.”
Read aloud the second paragraph under
“State Constitutions Lead the Way.” Ask
students to provide an example of how
the system of “checks and balances”
works at the local, state, or federal
level. (Possible Answer: Congress is the
only branch of the federal government
that can create a law, but the president
can veto it. If the president does sign
it, the Supreme Court can declare it
unconstitutional.)
But the Articles left most important powers to
the states. These powers included the authority to
set taxes and enforce national laws. The proposed
Articles left the individual states in control of the
lands west of the Appalachian Mountains.
Western Land Claims 1789
The Articles Are Ratified The Continental
Also claimed
by MASS.
Also claimed
by CONN.
B R IT ISH P O SSESSIO N S
Grea
t
MAINE
(Mass.)
es
N.H.
MASS.
N.Y.
R.I.
CONN. 40°N
N
N.J.
MD. DEL.
E
W
PA.
Claimed by N.Y.
A.
by V
L O U ISIA N A
Mississi
ppi
R.
(Spanish)
Claimed by
S.C.
Claimed by
N.Y. and N.H.
k
La
ed
aim
Cl
VA.
Claimed by
N.C.
Claimed by
GA.
Disputed with
Spain
S
35°N
N.C.
S.C.
AT L A N T I C
OCEAN
GA.
30°N
F L O R I D A (S
p
85°W
Original 13 states
an
i
)
sh
Congress passed the Articles of Confederation in
November 1777. It then sent the Articles to the
states for ratification, or approval. By July 1778,
eight states had ratified the Articles. But some
of the small states that did not have Western
land claims refused to sign. These states worried
that they would be at a disadvantage unless the
Western lands were placed under the control of
the national government. The states with Western
lands could sell them to pay off debts left from
the Revolution and possibly become overwhelmingly powerful. But states without lands would
have difficulty paying off the high war debts.
Gradually, all the states gave up their claims to
Western lands. This led the small states to ratify
the Articles. In 1781, Maryland became the 13th
state to accept the Articles. As a result, the United
States finally had an official government.
CHAPTER 8 • SECTION 1
0
0
200
200
400 miles
400 kilometers
75°W
Land claimed by states
Western Land Claims 1789
Connect Geography
History
SYNTHESIZE Have students study the
size of the territory and its distance from
the states who had claims. What forms of
communication would have been available at
the time? (Possible Answer: letters carried on
horseback, on foot, or by boat.)
• What geographic feature separated the
western lands from the original 13 states?
(Appalachian Mountains)
80°W
Connect Geography
History
1. Location How far west did the Western land
claims extend?
2. Draw Conclusions The western lands were vast.
What might be some of the challenges of governing
such a large territory?
SUMMARIZE Discuss the powers of the states
under the Articles of Confederation.
Answer: States got authority to set taxes and enforce national laws.
Strengths and Weaknesses of the Articles
ANSWERS
1. Location the Mississippi River
2. Draw Conclusions Possible Answers:
enforcing laws, communicating over vast
distances, collecting taxes
Teach
KEY QUESTION What were the weaknesses of the national government?
The Confederation Congress had run the country during the Revolutionary
War and had some success in handling land issues. But Americans began to
realize the Confederation Congress was too weak to deal with most other
national issues.
The Land Ordinance of 1785 One issue the Confederation Congress
successfully handled was what to do with the Western lands that it now
controlled. Starting in 1785, the Congress passed important laws on how
to divide and govern these lands.
The Land Ordinance of 1785 called for surveyors to stake out six-mile-square
plots, called townships, in the Western lands. These lands later became
known as the Northwest Territory. The Northwest Territory included land
that formed the states of Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin, and
part of Minnesota.
Confederation to Constitution 237
DIFFERENTIATING INSTRUCTION
Struggling Readers
Gifted & Talented
Causes and Effects Chart
Political Debate
Draw a two-column chart on the board.
Label the columns Powers Denied and
Effects. Fill in the first column with the
powers denied Congress, in order, from
the chart on page 236. Have the group
fill in the second column with the effects
of powers denied Congress. Discuss
each entry. Students can copy the chart
in their notebooks and use it to review
key weaknesses of the Confederation.
Discuss why the Continental Congress
gave each state only one vote in the
Congress. (so all states had equal power)
Have volunteers defend one of these
forms of legislature:
• a legislature composed of a Senate
and House identical to our present
legislature.
• one composed only of a Senate.
• one composed only of a House.
Have the group debate the strengths and
weaknesses of each position.
Strengths and Weaknesses
of the Articles
Reader, Recorder, Reporter
• Why was the Northwest Ordinance a big
success for the Confederation Congress?
Why was fair treatment of Native Americans
a challenge? (Possible Answer: It held many
democratic features and provided for the
orderly growth of territories, but contact
between settlers and Native Americans led to
conflicts. The government’s inability to enforce
national laws might have contributed to this
challenge.)
• What domestic and foreign problems did
the Confederation face? (Domestic: severe
economic crisis, huge war debts, inability to
levy taxes, citizen uprisings; Foreign: British
competition in fur trade, British and Spanish
barriers in Caribbean, Spanish control of
Mississippi River and New Orleans port, dispute
with Spain over boundary of Florida)
• Problems and Solutions How did some
leaders hope to solve the problems of a weak
national government? (by giving more power
to the national government)
Teacher’s Edition • 237