The Early RepublicThe Early Republic

Post War ProblemsPost War Problems

• DEBT!!!!!!• No way to raise $ to pay• No national currency

Weaknesses of theWeaknesses of theArticles of Articles of

ConfederationConfederationA unicameral Congress [9 of 13 votes to pass a law].

13 out of 13 to amend.

Representatives were frequently absent.

No executive or judicial branches.

• Large war debts

• No power to impose or collect taxes

• Could not afford an army or navy

• Could not repay money it borrowed from foreign governments and from individual Americans during the war

The new government’s major problems involved money.

A New National GovernmentProblems with the states

• Congress had very little power over the individual states.

• It could not settle disputes between states because there was no national court system.

• No method for new statehood

Problems with foreign nations

• Trouble taking advantage of the territory that the United States had won

• The British did not leave their forts in the Great Lakes region.

• The British and their Native American allies kept American settlers out of the Northwest Territory.

The Articles of Confederation allowed Congress to

•Establish national policies and conduct foreign relations, including relations with Native American nations

•Coin money and set up post offices

•Establish an army

•Declare war

State Had More Power than Federal!!!!

RepublicanismRepublicanism

•Americans wanted a republic, a political system without a monarch. It would rule “with the consent of the governed.”

• Ideal of republicanism was that property-owning citizens would be active in government

• In reality, women, African Americans, Native Americans, and poor white laborers seldom owned property or took part in government.

Land Ordinance of 1785Land Ordinance of 1785

Northwest Ordinance of Northwest Ordinance of 17871787

One of the major accomplishments of the Confederation Congress!

Statehood achieved in three stages:

1. Congress appointed 3 judges & a governor to govern the territory.

2. When population reached 5,000 adult male landowners elect territorial legislature.

3. When population reached 60,000 elect delegates to a state constitutional convention.

Shays’ Rebellion: 1786-Shays’ Rebellion: 1786-77

Daniel Shays

Western MA

Small farmers angered by crushing debts and taxes.

Shays’ Rebellion: 1786-Shays’ Rebellion: 1786-77

Gov”t could not get an army raised fast enough.

A “Private” army defeated the Rebellion

Failure of the ArticlesFailure of the Articles• The economy began to deteriorate.

Several years of bad harvests ensued. Farmers went into ever-deeper debt.

• Many leaders worried about questions of defense, trade, and frontier expansion.

• By 1786, several states had called for a convention to discuss ways of strengthening the national government.

Divided Viewpoints

• Federalists• Anti-Federalists

Federalists vs. Anti-Federalists

Drafting the Constitution

• Two major differences separated the delegates:The Virginia Plan called for a bicameral

system of legislature with proportional representation. Large states loved it.

The New Jersey Plan called for representation in terms of equal votes per state but adopted the basic state supremacy plan of the Articles.

• After some debate, the Virginia Plan was votes as the most workable solution.

 The Great (Connecticut) Compromise:

• The Constitution creates a bicameral legislature. In the House of Representatives, representation is determined by population. A census is taken every ten years to determine the population of each state. In the Senate, all states have the same number of representatives: two.

• Another difficult question was how to count the number of blacks within its borders. The 3/5 Compromise- dictated that blacks be counted as three-fifths of a white resident for purposes of proportioning.

• An Electoral College of informed delegates would be selected by state legislatures for electing the president.

• Selection of the Senate would come from the votes of the House of Representatives.

• Dodging a political bullet, the founders agreed that slavery as an institution could not end for at least twenty years.

History - summary•1774 - First Continental Congress

•1775 - Second Congress

•July 4, 1776 - Declaration of

Independence

•1777 Articles of Confederation

•U.S. Constitution - 1787

Federalists

Anti-Federalists

•Bill of Rights - 1791

Constitution - our social contract

Preamble - the introduction

The Basic Principles of the U.S. Constitution

• Federalism - power is divided among the states and the national government.

• Separation of Powers – power was divided vertically through federalism and horizontally through separation of powers among the three branches of government.

• Checks and Balances - The power of each branch of government is checked or limited and balanced by powers held by other branches.

Basic Principles cont.

•Popular Sovereignty - all political power rests with the people.

•Limited Government - gov’t may only do what the people give it the authority to do.

•Judicial Review- power of the Court to determine constitutionality of a gov’t action.

The Articles of the Constitution

• Article I - establishes the legislative branch.• Article II - establishes the executive branch

headed by the president.• Article III - establishes the judicial branch.• Articles IV – establishes the "full faith and credit

clause" that mandates that states honor the laws and proceedings of another state.

• Articles IV through VII - also include rules on the admission of new states to the union, how amendments can be added to the Constitution, prohibits religious tests for holding office, and set out procedures for the ratification of the document.

Methods of Amending theU.S. Constitution

• Formal Method –Article V creates a two-stage process for amending the

Constitution: proposal and ratification. • An amendment can be proposed by two-thirds of

both houses of Congress or • by two-thirds of state legislatures requesting

Congress to call a national convention to propose amendments.

• An amendment can be ratified by a favorable vote in three-fourths of all state legislatures or by such a vote in specially called ratifying conventions called in three-fourths of the states.

Checks and Balances

Planning the court system•Delegates wanted to keep judges and

courts independent, maintaining a separation of powers.

•President nominates federal judges.•Senate approves them.•Judges cannot be fired arbitrarily.

Checks and Balances

LEGISLATIVE BRANCHChecks on Judicial BranchChecks on Judicial Branch

• May propose constitutional amendments to overrule judicial decisions

• May impeach Supreme Court justices

Checks on Executive BranchChecks on Executive Branch

• May reject appointments made by executive

• May reject treaties• Controls funding for presidential

initiatives• May impeach president• May override a veto

JUDICIAL BRANCH

Checks on Legislative BranchChecks on Legislative Branch

• May declare laws passed by Congress to be unconstitutional

Checks on Executive BranchChecks on Executive Branch

• May declare executive actions to be unconstitutional

EXECUTIVE BRANCH

Checks on Legislative BranchChecks on Legislative Branch

• May veto bills• May adjourn Congress in certain

situationsChecks on Judicial BranchChecks on Judicial Branch

• Appoints judges

Federal and State PowersEnumerated Powers(Powers given to the Federal Government)

Concurrent Powers(Powers shared by the State and Federal Gov’t)

Reserved Powers(Powers given to state government)

Pass all laws necessary and proper to carry out its powersRegulate trade with other countries and among the statesConduct foreign affairsRaise and support an armyCoin and print moneyEstablish a postal systemGovern US territories and admit new states Regulate Immigration

Enforce the lawsEstablish CourtsCollect taxesBorrow MoneyProvide for the general welfare

Provide for the public safety, health, and welfare within the stateRegulate trade and commerce within the stateEstablish local governments Conduct elections determine qualifications of votersEstablish a public school system

Checks and Balances

We, the People of the United States . . .

• Three delegates would not sign the Constitution because it lacked a bill of rights.

• 39 delegates from 12 states signed it, and the Constitutional Convention adjourned on September 17, 1787.

Federalists and Antifederalists

Ratification process

• Antifederalists demanded the addition of a Bill of Rights.

• Wanted to spell out some basic rights in the Constitution to make sure those rights would be protected

• Adding the rights became the main focus of the struggle over ratification.

• Congress called for special ratifying conventions in each state.

The Federalist Papers

• Circulated widely in other states• Collected in a book, The Federalist, also known as the

Federalist Papers

• A series of essays discussing and defending the Constitution were published in New York newspapers.

• Written under the pen name Publius

• Publius was three Federalists: James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay

• Main goal of essays was to persuade New York delegates to ratify the document by explaining the advantages it would bring

The Federalist PapersIdeas in the Federalist• Hamilton wrote that the decision they were about to

make was important for the whole world.

• Madison warned against the dangers of factions—groups with specific, often opposing, interests.–Had torn apart some European governments–They were a natural part of American society and should not be suppressed.

–A republican government would help balance the influence of factions.

•He explained how the separation of powers described in the Constitution would limit government powers.

Adding a Bill of Rights

Constitutional amendments•Several crucial states had ratified the Constitution only because they were promised a bill of rights.

•Once the new Congress was elected, it needed to add the bill in the form of amendments to the Constitution.

•James Madison took charge of putting the Bill of Rights through Congress.

•He pointed out that in England the constitution limited only the king’s power, not Parliament’s. The amendments would protect against all abuses of power.

•The states approved 10 of the 12 amendments that Congress had approved. They became the Bill of Rights.

Adding a Bill of Rights

The Bill of Rights• First eight amendments dealt with individual civil liberties.• Ninth Amendment stated that listing certain rights given to

the people did not mean that other rights did not exist as well.

• The final amendment addressed the actions that states could do.

• Tenth Amendment defined two kinds of government powers.

– Delegated powers: powers that the Constitution gives to each branch of the national government

– Reserved powers: powers that the Constitution does not specifically give to the federal government or deny to the states

• Reserved powers belong to the states or to the people.