CHAPTER 7 A More Perfect Union

Section 1A. Americans needed to establish their own government

and gain Britain’s respect. This brought new challenges. The British believed the new government was weak and ineffective.

B. States organized their governments and adopted their own state constitutions. The writers wanted to prevent abuses of power and also wanted to keep power in the hands of the people.

C. State constitutions limited the power of the governor to avoid giving one ruler too much power.

• Pennsylvania replaced the office of governor with an elected council of twelve members.

D. States divided functions between the governor

(Pennsylvania’s council) and the legislature.

1. The legislature was the more powerful branch because of the limited powers of the governor. Most states had a bicameral, or two-house, legislature. This further divided the power.

2. Legislatures were popularly elected and elections were frequent. State legislatures had many disagreements about how to make taxes fair.

E. In most states only white males who were 21 years of age

could vote. They also had to either be property owners or

pay a certain amount of taxes. In some states free African

American males could vote.

Forming a Republic

A. Americans agreed that the country should be a republic, which is a government with elected representatives. What they could not agree on was the origin and powers of the new republic.

B. At first most Americans favored a weak central government with the powers being given to the states to function independently except for the power to wage war and handle relations with other countries.

C. In 1777 the Articles of Confederation were adopted to provide for a central government.

At the time the country needed a central government to fight the war against Britain. The Articles were America’s first constitution.

The states, though, gave up little of their power. Each state kept “its sovereignty, freedom, and independence.”

Under the Articles of Confederation

Congress, Could

1. conduct foreign affairs

2. maintain armed forces

3. borrow money

4. issue currency

1. regulate trade

2. force citizens to join the

army

3. impose taxes

Congress, Could NOT

Articles of Confederation• The government did not have a chief executive.

• Each state had one vote in Congress. State population did not matter, although larger, more populated states believed that they should have more votes.

• States also argued about whether or not they claimed land in the West.

• Maryland refused to ratify the Articles of Confederation until states abandoned their land claims.

• Finally all 13 states approved the Articles on March 1, 1781.

The Confederacy formally became the government of the United States.

The Confederation Government Weaknesses

1. It had limited authority.

2. It could not pass a law unless nine states voted for it.

3. To change the Articles of Confederation, all 13 states had to give consent. It was difficult, therefore, for Congress to pass laws when there was any

But • it won Americans their independence,• expanded foreign trade,• and provided for new states in the West.

Western Ordinances• The Articles of Confederation had no provision

for adding new states. • Congress realized it had to extend its authority

over the frontier and bring order and stability to the territory where western settlers reached almost 120,000 by the 1790.

• The Western ordinances had a large impact on Western expansion and development of the United States.

Ordinance of 1785

In 1785 the Confederation Congress established a new law that divided the Western

territories into larger townships and smaller sections. Each smaller section would be sold at

auction for at least $1 an acre.

Northwest Ordinance1. It created a Northwest Territory out of the lands north

of the Ohio River and east of the Mississippi River.

2. It divided the lands into three to five smaller territories.

3. It stated that when the population of a territory reached 60,000 citizens, that territory could apply for statehood. Each new state would enter as an equal to the original 13 states.

4. It included a bill of rights to protect the settlers that guaranteed freedom of religion and trial by jury. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude were permitted in the new territories.

How Did The Ordinances Open the Way for Settlement?

• They opened the door to land speculators, whoprobably encouraged people to settle in the West.

• The ordinances also divided the land so that assoon as a smaller region reached a certain population, it could apply for statehood.

• The bill of rights of the Northwest Ordinance protected settlers by giving them certain freedoms.

• This encouraged citizens to feel more comfortable moving to a new place knowing that they were protected.

Economic Depression

Depression- a time when economic activity slowed and unemployment increased.

The United States went through a depression after the Revolutionary War.

1. Because Southern plantations were damaged during the war, they could not produce as much rice as prior to the war. As a result, rice exports dropped.

2. Farmers could not sell the goods they grew and therefore did not have money to pay state taxes. As a result, farmers lost their lands when state officials took their farms to pay the debt they owed. Some farmers were even jailed.

3. American trade fell off when Britain closed the West Indies to American merchants. As a result, currency was in short supply, and whatever was around was used to pay the war debt.

Shays’s Rebellion

• occurred as a result of the problems farmers suffered

• In 1787 Daniel Shays led a group of more than 1,000 angry farmers in forcing courts in western Massachusetts to close so judges could not seize farmers’ lands.

• Shays led the farmers toward the federal arsenal in Springfield, Massachusetts, for arms and ammunition.

• The farmers did not stop, even when the state militia fired over their heads and then directly at them, killing four.

Americans felt the impact of the Shays uprising. Many were scared that future uprisings could occur.

Slavery

1. Quakers organized the first American Antislavery Society in 1774.

2. In 1780 Pennsylvania passed a law that provided for freeing enslaved people gradually.

3. In 1783 a Massachusetts court ruled slavery was illegal.

4. Between 1784 and 1804, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York, and New Jersey passed laws that gradually ended slavery.

5. In 1787 the Free African Society in Philadelphia was formed.

Slavery (continued)

• Some states clung to slavery, especially those south of Pennsylvania. The plantations system relied on slavery to survive. Yet a number of slaveholders did begin to free slaves after the war.

• Virginia passed a law encouraging manumission, or freeing individual enslaved persons.

• The abolition of slavery divided the country. In 1787, when state representatives met to plan a new government because they realized the Articles of Confederation were weak, they compromised on the issue of slavery.

• It would take another war to resolve this issue.

TIME FOR CHANGE

Political leaders were divided on the issue of the type of government the country should have.

1. One group wanted to remain with a system of independent state governments.

2. The other group wanted to create a strong national government.• This group called for reform of the Articles of Confederation.

• James Madison and Alexander Hamilton were proponents of a strong central government.

• In September 1787, Hamilton proposed calling a meeting in Philadelphia to discuss trade issues and possible changes to the Articles of Confederation so that the union would become a nation.

• George Washington finally agreed to attend the convention although at first he was not enthusiastic about revising the Articles of Confederation. His presence lent greater significance to the meeting.

The Constitutional Convention

• The Constitutional Convention met in Philadelphia beginning in May 1787.

• 55 delegates, none of whom were Native American, African American, or women.

• None of these groups were included in the political process.

• Several leaders stood out

• George Washington• Ben Franklin • James Wilson Morris• Edmund Randolph• James Madison

At the ConventionGeorge Washington presided. The basic rules were:

1. each state had one vote on all issues

2. a majority vote was needed to finalize decisions

3. delegates from at least 7 of the 13 states were required for meetings to be held

4. delegates met behind closed doors so they could talk freely

Virginia PlanThe Virginia Plan was proposed

by Edmund Randolph from Virginia

Called for a two house legislaturea. The people would elect members of the lower house.b. The lower house would choose members of the upper

house.c. In both houses, the number of representatives would be

proportional to the population of each state. A state with a smaller population would have fewer representatives than a state with a larger population.

Virginia Plan

Also Called For :

A chief executive chosen by the legislature one person to lead- a president

A court system.

The New Jersey Plan was Proposed by William Paterson

The New Jersey Plan Modified the Articles of Confederation.

1. It kept the one-house legislature with one vote for each state.

2. Congress would now have the powers to set taxes and regulate trade.

3. Congress would elect a weak executive branch with more than one person.

The Great Compromise

Roger Sherman of Connecticut proposed the plan.

It said that:

1. There would be a two-house legislature. In the lower house, or House of Representatives, the number of seats for each state would vary according to the state’s population. In the upper house, or Senate, each state would have two members.

The Three-Fifths Compromise

• The way to count enslaved people would be determined by the Three-Fifths Compromise.

• Each enslaved person was to count as three-fifths of a free person for taxation and representation.

• So every five enslaved people would equal three free people. This broke the great debate that divided large and small states.

Slavery & Bill of Rights

• Another compromise plan to resolve the issue of slavery said that Congress would not interfere with the slave trade until 1808. Beginning that year, Congress could limit the slave trade if it chose to. The Northerners, who wanted to abolish slavery throughout the nation and had already banned the slave trade in their states, compromised with the Southern states that considered slavery and the slave trade essential to their economies.

• The Bill of Rights was proposed to protect the new government from abusing its power. George Mason of Virginia proposed a bill of rights, but it was defeated. Most of the delegates felt that the Constitution already provided adequate protection of the people’s rights.

Root of the ConstitutionThe framers of the Constitution had studied government, history, and politics. Many ideas in the Constitution came from the study of European political institutions and political writers. The Enlightenment also influenced the delegates.

• The British system of government and British ideas and institutions influenced the framers of the Constitution.

• The English found ways to limit the power of the monarch beginning in the 1200s. (Magna Carta)

• The English Parliament controlled funds.

• The English Bill of Rights guaranteed individual rights, and the judicial system oversaw that these rights were protected.

These ideas were included in the original Constitution except for the Bill of Rights, which was added a few years later.

The Enlightenment

John Locke

• that all people have natural rights, including life, liberty, and property

• that government is an agreement, or contract, between the people and the ruler.

The Constitution was a contract between the American people and their

government, and it protected the people’s natural rights by limiting the

power of the government.

Baron de Montesquieu

• The French writer believed that a

separation and balance of powers

should exist.

• Also, the powers of government

should be clearly defined and

limited.

The framers provided for a specification and a division of powers. They also provided for a system of checks and

balances to make sure that no one part would gain too much power

The Federal System

The Federal System divided powers between the national (federal) government and the states. It created shared powers, a distinctive feature of the United Stated government.

1. The federal government had the powers to tax, regulate trade, control the currency, raise an army, and declare war.

2. The state governments had the power to pass and enforce laws and regulate trade within their borders. They could also establish local governments, schools, and other institutions affecting the welfare of its citizens.

3. Shared powers by the federal and states included the power to tax and to build roads.

The ConstitutionThe Constitution became the supreme law of the land, the final authority.

No state could make laws or take actions that went against the Constitution.

Federal courts based on the Constitution would settle disputes between the federal government and states.

The Three BranchesLegislative Executive Judicial

lawmaking branch President court system

making all laws carries out the nation’s laws and policies.

Supreme Court

House of Representatives and the Senate.

conduct foreign policy lower courts

collecting taxes serve a four-year term

coining money commander in chief of armed forces

regulating trade

declaring war

raising & supporting armies

Checks and BalancesBoth houses of the legislature must

pass a bill for it to become a law.

The president can check Congress by vetoing a bill.

The judicial branch checks the Congress by making sure the laws they pass do not conflict with the Constitution.

Congress can check the president by overriding the veto, but two-thirds of both houses must vote for the bill.

The judicial branch checks the president by making sure his decisions and actions are legal.

The judicial branch decides whether or not decisions or actions by the legislative and administrative branches are legal.

The president appoints Supreme Court justices, but the Senate checks by approving the appointments.

The Constitution – The Debate

Federalists

• supported the Constitution

• Federalist Papers, a collection of essays explaining and defending the Constitution

• The Federalists feared disorder without a strong federal government

Anti-Federalists

• wrote a series of essays known as the Antifederalist Papers.

• believed that the new Constitution would take away the liberties Americans had fought to win

• the Antifederalists feared oppression more than disorder.

• they wanted a bill of rights

Constitution ApprovedThe Constitution was ratified by all states

Delaware was the first to ratify on December 7, 1787.

New Hampshire was the ninth state to ratify on June 21, 1788.

New York and Virginia, the two largest states, had not yet ratified. Both states had strong Antifederalist groups, and their support was

necessary to promote the future of the new government.

Virginia ratified at the end of June 1788 after being told the Constitution would have a bill of rights added to it.

New York narrowly ratified in July 1788

North Carolina in November 1789

Rhode Island in May 1790