The Constitution and the New Republic
- In September 1787, when Franklin, Washington, and other delegates signed the Constitution that they had drafted, their
young country was in a troubled state
- Over the next week we will summarize the problems leading to the Constitutional Convention, the debates in the various
states on whether to ratify the new plan of government, and the struggles of two presidents, Washington & Adams, to meet
the domestic & international challenges of the 1790s
The United States under the Articles of Confederation (1781-1787)
- Between the Treaty of Paris of 1783 & the meeting of the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia was a period of only ____
- The original U.S. government under the Articles of Confederation consisted of a one-house congress, no separate executive, &
no separate judiciary (court system)
- Let us review some of the major problems the U.S. faced immediately after winning its independence
Foreign Problems
- Relations between the U.S. and the major powers of Europe were troubled from the start
- States failed to adhere to the Treaty of Paris, which required Loyalists' property be _______ and debts to foreigners be ______
- A weak gov't under the Articles could do nothing to stop Britain from placing restrictions on trade & maintaining outposts on
the _____________________________________
Economic Weakness & Interstate Quarrels
- Reduced foreign trade and limited credit due to nonpayment of war debts contributed to widespread ____________________
- The inability to levy national taxes and the printing of worthless paper money by many states added to the problems
- In addition, the 13 states treated one another with suspicion and competed for economic advantage
- They placed tariffs and other restrictions on the movement of goods _____________________________________________
- A number of states also entered into ___________________________________ that increased interstate rivalry and tension
The Annapolis Convention
- To review what could be done about the country's inability to overcome critical problems, George Washington hosted a
conference at his home in Mt. Vernon, Virginia in 1785
- Representatives from four states (Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, and Pennsylvania) agreed that the problems were serious
enough to hold further discussions at a later meeting at ______________________, at which all the stats might be represented
- Only ____________________________ sent delegates to the Annapolis Convention in 1786
- After discussing ways to improve commercial relations among the states, James Madison & Alexander Hamilton persuaded the
others that another convention should be held in Philadelphia for the purpose of revising the ____________________________
Drafting the Constitution at Philadelphia
- After many states elected delegates to the proposed Philadelphia convention, congress consented to give its approval to the
meeting as it called all 13 states to send delegates to Philadelphia for the purpose of revising the Articles of Confederation
- Only ________________________________________, not trusting the other states, refused to send delegates
The Delegates
- Of the 55 white male delegates who went to Philadelphia for the convention n the summer of 1787, most were collegeeducated & relatively young (averaging in their early 40's)
- With few exceptions, they were far ____________________________ than the average American of their day
- They were well acquainted with issues of law & politics
- A number of them were practicing ____________________________, and many had helped to write their state constitutions
- By no means were all the major leaders of the American Revolution represented at the convention
- John Jay, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and Thomas Paine were on diplomatic business __________________________
- Samuel Adams & John Hancock were __________________________________ as delegates
- _________________________________, who opposed any growth in federal power, refused to take part in the convention
Delegates set up procedures for the convention
- The first order of business was to elect a presiding officer & decide whether or not to communicate with the public at large
- They voted to conduct their meetings in secret & say nothing to the public about their discussions until their ______________
- ______________________________________ was unanimously elected chairperson
- Ben Franklin, the elder statesman at age 81, provided a calming and unifying influence
- Creating specific articles of the Constitution was directed by James Madison (known as the father of the Constitution),
Alexander Hamilton, Gouverneur Morris, and John Dickinson
- While they represented different states, these leaders shared the common goal of wanting to ____________ the young nation
The Issues
- At first the delegates disagreed on the issue of whether they should make changes in the Articles or draft a new document
- Those wanting a new document were strong nationalists like _______ & ________, who quickly took control of the convention
- Americans in the 1780s generally distrusted gov't & feared officials would seize every opportunity to abuse their powers, even
if they were elected democratically
- Therefore, James Madison & other convention delegates wanted to make sure that the new constitution would be based on a
system of _________________________________________ (one branch of gov't having sufficient power to check the others)
Representation
- Especially divisive was the issue of whether the larger states such as Virginia & Pennsylvania should have proportionally more
representatives in Congress than the smaller states such as New Jersey & Delaware
- Madison's proposal (Virginia Plan) favored _____ states; it was countered by the New Jersey Plan, which favored _____ states
- It was resolved by a compromise solution called The Connecticut Plan (Great Compromise) provided for a two-house Congress
- In the Connecticut Plan each state would be given equal representation in the Senate; but in the larger body, the House of
Representatives, each state would be represented according to the size of its _________________________________
Slavery
- How were slaves to be counted in the populations of the states?
- Were the slave trade and slavery itself to be allowed under the Constitution?
- Disagreement on these questions between northern & southern states was finally resolved by:
1. Three-Fifths Compromise counted each slave as 3/5 of a person to determine a state's level of _________ & ______________
2. Guarantee that slaves could be imported for at least ______ longer until 1808, at which time Congress could vote to abolish it
Trade
- The northern states wanted the central government to regulate _____________________ & ___________________________
- The South was afraid that ___________________________ would be placed on its agricultural products such as tobacco & rice
- The Commercial Compromise allowed Congress to regulate interstate & foreign commerce, including placing tariffs (taxes) on
foreign imports, but it ______________________ placing taxes on any ____________________
Powers & election of the president
- Delegates disagreed over the president's term of office (some argued that the chief executive should hold office for life) and
also over the method for electing a president
- It was finally decided to grant the president considerable power, including the power to veto acts of _____________________
- President's term of office was limited to four yrs. but had no limit to number of terms to which a president could be reelected
- Rather than having the people elect a president directly, delegates decided to assign to each state a number of electors equal
to the total of that state's _______________________________ & ___________________________
- The Electoral College was created because delegates at Philadelphia feared that too much democracy might lead to ________
Ratification
- _______1787 after 17 weeks of debate, the convention approved a draft of the Constitution to submit to states for ratification
- Anticipating opposition to the document, delegates required a vote on only _________of 13 would be required for ratification
- Each state would hold popularly elected _________________ to debate & vote on the proposed _______________________