A New Nation Faces Problems
Goals for Learning during the next week:
1. To explain the Articles of Confederation
2. To identify the problems the government faced under the Articles of Confederation
3. To explain why the Constitutional Convention was held
4. To identify the differences between the New Jersey Plan and the Virginia Plan
5. To list the compromises made at the Constitutional Convention
6. To explain the differences between the Federalists and Anti-Federalists
7. To describe the purpose of the Bill of Rights
A new nation was born when the treaty of Paris was signed in 1783. British control was no longer a problem, for
America had won its independence. Now America had to form a government that would act as a unit for all of the states.
Forming this new government of many different types of people would not be a simple task. Over the next few days we will
learn how the government was formed.
Thought Provoker
(What do you think was the most difficult problem facing the Americans after the Revolutionary War?)
A New Nation Faces Problems
- During the Revolutionary War in 1781, the states adopted the ___________________________________________
- The articles set up a government with limited power over each state
- During the war, the states had been willing to unite against the British
- After the war, the Articles of Confederation _________________________________________________
What Problems Did the Western Lands Cause?
- Pioneers (one of the first persons to settle in a territory) had begun to settle in the West long before the war started
- They ignored the fact that the land already belonged to American Indians
- Sometimes, two states claimed the same area
- This made it difficult for settlers to get help fighting the American Indians or Spanish in the southern regions
- Steps to solve the problem of overlapping claims included a workable system of land ownership
- In 1784, Thomas Jefferson developed a plan for a temporary government of western lands
- This plan would later lead to the __________________________________________________
What Trade Problems Did the Americans Face?
- Americans had depended upon trade with Great Britain for many years
- After the war, Great Britain closed its ports to American shippers but British merchants continued to send their goods to us
- They could sell the goods for less than the American manufactures could
- Americans had to find ___________________________________________________ to survive
What Problems Developed With the Spanish?
- The Spanish controlled Florida, New Orleans, and the land west of the Mississippi River
- They did not take the Treaty of Paris seriously
- Americans were not welcome in the southern region & Spain would not permit them to ship goods from ________________
- Because they could not use New Orleans, western settlers had to travel by land and the routes was slow and costly
- The U.S. was too weak to force the Spanish to change their policy
How Was the Government Out of Control under the Articles of Confederation?
- The government of the 13 states was ______________________________________ under the Articles of Confederation
- 9 of the 13 states, each having one vote, had to give their approval before Congress could act
- If a change in the Articles was proposed, ____________________________________________ had to agree on it
- Each state, no matter how large its population, had only one vote in Congress, as larger states felt that this practice was unfair
- Congress had no power to create and _______________ or place duties on imports (a good brought in from a foreign country)
- Congress had to ask the states to give it money as less money was coming in, but the debt was increasing
- To add to the problem, states were printing their own money & paper money often _____________________________
- Sometimes it would not be accepted either within the state or between states
- Some people thought that if more money was printed, the problem would be solved
- Without gold to back it, though, the money would be worthless
- Congress also lacked the power to ____________________________ as states began to treat each other as separate countries
- States added tariffs (a tax on goods leaving or entering some place) to keep out other states' goods
- The tariffs caused a _______________________ & this encouraged Americans to buy British goods instead of American goods
- There were also no national courts as state courts could not settle _______________________________________
- All of these were serious problems that the central government was unable to solve
A Demand for Change
- Not everyone agreed with the Articles of Confederation
- Business owners, merchants, shippers, manufactures, and bankers wanted a ____________________________________
- They could not protect themselves from the practices of stronger foreign countries and from unfair laws that Britain passed
- The weak American gov't could do nothing to help these groups as disputes among the states only increased the difficulties
Why Was the Annapolis Convention Called?
- Maryland and Virginia were having a dispute over commercial rights on the Potomac River
- Delegates from these two states met at ________________________ in Mount Vernon and worked out many of the problems
- James Madison proposed a convention to which delegates from all states would be invited in1786 at ____________________
- Annapolis Convention was not successful because only ________ sent delegates as the host state didn't send a representative
- Alexander Hamilton proposed a convention for 1787 in which the main business would be forming a _____________________
What Was Shay's Rebellion?
- Doubts about the need for a strong gov't ended after a rebellion against the gov't of Massachusetts in the winter of 1786
- Farmers were upset by low farm prices and high state taxes & many of them were afraid they would _____________________
- They were led by former captain Daniel Shay as his rebellion _________________ & almost captured a storehouse of weapons
- Shay's Rebellion grew to include over __________________________ as the rebellion last for several months
What Happened at the Constitutional Convention?
- The Articles of Confederation had succeeded in doing some good things
- It had led the Americans through the war and the signing of the _______________________________
- It had kept the 13 states together during a difficult time, and it provided for the peaceful settlement of western land
- Now it was time to create a stronger, more forceful government
- Delegates met in May of 1787 at Independence Hall in Philadelphia & all states but ____________________ were represented
- The meeting was called the Constitutional Convention
- _____________ of the most respected Americans were present
- Among these were George Washington, James Madison, and Edmund Randolph of Virginia; John Dickinson of Delaware;
Benjamin Franklin of Pennsylvania; Alexander Hamilton of New York; and William Paterson of New Jersey
- Both _______________________ & ____________________ were in Europe at the time and were absent from the convention
- Most of the delegates were __________________________, while some were farmers and merchants