CONFEDERATION TO
CONSTITUTION
CHAPTER 8
SHAYS REBELLION (1786-1787)
• Farmers rebellion against unfair taxes in MA
• MA state militia stopped the rebellion
• Caused leaders of the new country to realize they
needed a stronger national govt to deal with such
problems
REPUBLIC
• Govt where people choose representatives to govern
them
• Like in Ancient Roman republic, not all people would be
considered citizens and be able to vote
• Women, African Americans, and even some white men
couldn’t vote b/c had to own property to qualify in most
states
STATE CONSTITUTIONS
• After the D of I, many colonies/states started to write
their own consitutitions
• This is where many of the rights we have and laws we
have were first made
• ex: VA protected freedom of press and religion
ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION (1781)
• First set of laws governing our country
• National gov’t would be run by a legislative body called
Confederation of Congress
• Each state had only one vote in Congress
• Most important powers were left up to the states (enforce
laws and set taxes)
LAND ORDINANCE OF 1785
• Divided up the Northwest Territory (would become OH,
IN, MI, IL, WI, MN)
NORTHWEST ORDINANCE (1787)
• Decided how the Northwest Territory would be governed
since they were not states
• If they reached 60,000 people they could apply to
become a state
• Slavery would be outlawed
ECONOMIC PROBLEMS
• Confederation could not collect taxes so it struggled to
pay off loans from the war including pay owed to
soldiers
• States raised taxes to pay off debts but people couldn’t
make the high payments
CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION
(1787)
• George Washington was president of the convention
• 55 delegates from all 13 states (“Founding Fathers”)
• All delegates were white men
VIRGINIA PLAN
• Proposed three branches of govt and two house
legislature
• representation based on population
• Proposed that each branch of govt could check and
balance each other
NEW JERSEY PLAN
• Proposed a single house legislature
• Each state would have equal vote in legislature
GREAT COMPROMISE
• Created the setup of new govt that we still have today
• Created one part of legislature to be called the Senate
where each state would have an equal vote
• Created another part of legislature to be called House
of Representatives where representation would be based
on population
3 BRANCHES OF GOVERNMENT
• Legislative branch- make the laws, disperse $, declare
war
• Executive branch- enforce the laws (president, cabinet
advisors, etc)
• Judicial branch- interpret the laws
ARTICLE 1
• Sets up Congress and how it will work
ARTICLE 2
• Sets up the executive branch and how it will work
ARTICLE 3
• Sets up the Judicial branch and how it will work
3/5 COMPROMISE
• 3/5 of slave population would be counted towards both
representation and taxation
• Only way southern states would ratify the constitution was
to put this into law and to not restrict their right to own
and sell slaves
ANTI FEDERALISTS
• People who opposed the new form of govt
• Wanted more power with the states and less with national
govt
• Supported by people in small states and rural areas
FEDERALISTS
• People who supported the Constitution and the new form
of govt
• Supported by people in large states and cities
FEDERALIST PAPERS
• Essays that helped to promote the ideas of the new govt
around the country
• Written by John Jay, Alexander Hamilton, and James
Madison
BILL OF RIGHTS
• Supported by Thomas Jefferson
• VA would not ratify the Constitution without adding a Bill
of Rights
• Written by James Madison
• First ten amendments to the constitution
• Its legacy is that it made the Constitution a living
document that can be changed by adding amendments
• Actually was 12 amendments but only ten were ratified
by the states
ADDING AN AMENDMENT
• 2/3 of Congress has vote and approve an amendment
• Then 3/4 of states have to approve it
RELIGION AND THE BILL OF RIGHTS
• Before the constitution, the state gov’t enforced religious
laws which was a source of a lot of social conflict
• Madison and Jefferson knew this and thought this needed
to be changed to protect the new government
• First amendment guarantees religious freedom and
creates “separation of church and state”
CONSTITUTION RATIFIED
• 1791, the last state ratifies the Constitution
• Once 9 states ratified it (1788), it became law
• Washington is elected our 1st president in 1789 and the
1st Congress meets in 1789