“Governing a New Nation”
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Focus Question: What were the major successes and failures of the government under the Articles of Confederation?
Leaders of the new nation remembered what they had hated about British rule. They had seen how the king and Parliament in distant England had exerted power over elected colonial legislatures. Americans sought instead to create a republic in which the states had more power than the central government.
Government by the States
*As Continental Congress began moving toward independence in 1776, leaders in 11 of the 13 states began creating constitutions (documents stating the rules under which a government will operate) to support their governments.
*RI and CT kept their colonial charters but removed references to the king.
Writing State Constitutions
*Since colonists had been unhappy with governors appointed by the king, new constitutions minimized the powers of state governors. They gave most of power to elected state legislatures.
*Governors served as the state’s executives (people who run the government and see that the laws are carried out). Governors appointed key state officials but often had to have approval from the legislature.
*Most states barred African Americans (even those who were free) from voting.
*Only NJ allowed some women to vote until 1807.
*White males had to be 21 or older to vote; in most states, they also had to own property.
Protecting Rights
*Declaration of Independence listed ways that Britain had violated the rights of the colonists, so states wanted to protect individual rights.
*VA was first state to include a bill of rights in its constitution. It included freedom of the press, freedom of religion, and right to trial by jury. It banned “cruel and unusual punishment.”
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*1777 ­ Continental Congress created a plan for the entire nation. It was called the Articles of Confederation.
Forms of Government
*Articles of Confederation had a one­house legislature, called Congress. There was no executive branch and no system of national courts.
*Within Congress, all states would be equal and each had a single vote. For most important issues, nine states had to agree before a law could go into effect.
Limited Government
*Because of the problems with Parliament and the king, the new states did not want to risk giving too much power to a central government. The Articles established a limited central government.
*Under the Articles …
~ most power remained with the states.
~ Congress could not regulate trade or collect taxes.
~ Congress had to ask states for the money it needed to operate.
~ Congress could deal with foreign nations and Native Americans outside the 13 states.
~ Congress could make laws, declare war, coin or borrow money, and run a postal service.
~ states had to enforce the laws Congress made.
Settling the Western Lands
*Articles had to be approved by all 13 states but some states would not give approval until other states dropped their claims to vast areas of land west of the Appalachian Mts. *Western lands that states had given up were turned over to national government. This land was in great demand and could be sold off to companies seeking to develop western settlements.
Land Ordinance of 1785
*Congress devised a system for land sales and settlement. *Under the Land Ordinance of 1785, surveyors were to divide public lands into townships, 6 miles on each side. Within each township there would be a grid of squares, 1 mile on each side. The 36 sections would be sold for no less than $1 an acre.
*One section in each township was set aside for schools, reflecting the belief of the nation’s leaders that democracy depended on education and educated citizens.
Northwest Ordinance of 1787
*Investors were interested in buying land in the Northwest Territory, north of the Ohio River. *The NW Ordinance of 1787 was passed by Congress to determine how the area was to be governed. It guaranteed basic rights and banned slavery there.
*NW Ordinance developed a 3­step process for admitting new states:
~As territory was starting to be settled, Congress would appoint a governor, a
secretary, and three judges.
~When the territory had 5,000 free adult
males, it could elect a legislature.
~When the free population reached 60,000,
the territory could ask to become a state.
*Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin were created out of the Northwest Territory.
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Growing Problems
*Under the Articles of Confederation, the US had many successes:
~won successful war for independence
~negotiated peace treaty with Britain
~ set up rules for settling new territories
*US experienced growing problems during the 1780s, but the Articles did not give government enough power to solve them.
Economic Problems
*Under Articles, each state set its own trade policy. To help farmers and manufacturers in their own states, they set taxes on goods brought in from other states.
*Because of trade rules, there was not much trade between states. States also printed their own money, so trade was even more difficult. Central government did not have the power to tax in order to raise money to run the government
Shays’ Rebellion
*Mid­1780s ­ severe economic depression (period when business activity slows, prices and wages drop, and unemployment rises) hit the US, causing hopelessness and anger.
*MA farmers hit really hard. With low crop prices, many could not pay taxes and lost their farms. The farmers demanded the legislature stop their farms from being sold and to make more paper money to make it easier to get loans.
The legislators did nothing.
*Aug. 1786 ­ former Revolutionary War captain, Daniel Shays, led an uprising of about 1,000 MA farmers. When they tried to seize weapons from a state warehouse, they were arrested.
*Although Shays’ rebellion was not successful, it proved that the central government was not strong enough to stop rebellions.
*Congress asked the states to send delegates to a convention in Philadelphia in 1787 to revise the Articles of Confederation.
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“The Constitutional Convention”
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Focus Question: What role did compromise play in the creation of the United States Constitution?
Americans worried about the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation. These weaknesses prompted the states to call a meeting in Philadelphia to revise the Articles.
The Constitutional Convention Begins
*Convention met in summer of 1787.
Aims of the Convention
*Congress called this meeting to revise the Articles of Confederation, not to form a new government. Many delegates believed that revising the Articles would not be enough.
*Delegates voted to keep debates secret.
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Learning Target #2 Assessment #1 (A1)
_____ 1. Under most state constitutions, which of the following were NOT allowed to vote?
A. property owners
B. women
C. white men
D. farmers
_____ 2. What was America’s first constitution called?
A. American Constitution
B. Articles of Confederation
C. Bill of Rights
D. Republic Plan
_____ 3. Under the Articles of Confederation, Congress could do all of the following EXCEPT
A. run a postal service.
B. collect taxes.
C. coin or borrow money.
D. pass laws.
_____ 4. Shays’ Rebellion made many Americans believe that a stronger central government would have
A. prevented that kind of popular uprising.
B. given the farmers what they demanded.
C. asked other nations for military aid.
D. held new elections to resolve the issue.
_____ 5. What most likely explains why so many Americans in the 1780s feared a strong national government?
A. Their experience under earlier British rule.
B. Their experience under state constitutions.
C. Their experience under the Articles of Confederation.
D. Their experience under the Continental Congress.
_____ 6. The Constitutional Convention was held in
A. Annapolis, Maryland.
B. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
C. Boston, Massachusetts.
D. Washington, D.C.
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