From the Articles of Confederation to the Creation of the American Constitution

Essential Questions
1) What were the major weaknesses of the Articles of
Confederation?
2) What compromises were made at the Constitutional
Convention?

Plan to Build New Gov’t
• Congressional Committee presents plan in
1777, ratified in 1781
• Gov’t Under the Articles of Confederation
1) Called for “ League of Friendship” between independent colonies (no strong national gov’t)
2) Unicameral congress that selects executive positions
3) Each state picks representatives for Congress
4) Each state has one vote

Congressional Powers
1) Make war and peace
2) Send/receive ambassadors
3) Enter into treaties
4) Raise/equip navy
5) Maintain army
6) Appoint military officers
7) Fix standards of weights/measures
8) Regulate Indian affairs
9) Establish Post offices
10) Decide some disputes amongst States

Achievements of
Articles of Confederation
• Plan of action to deal w/
Western territory
– Ordinance of 1785: survey/division of land
– Ordinance of 1787: statehood of new areas
• Peace Treaty w/ Great Britain
• “ Full Faith and Credit ” policy adopted

The Problems with Confederation
• No power to tax
• No power to regulate trade
• No way to enforce ANYTHING
• Laws needed approval of 9 of
13 states but delegates from each state were not always present
• Amending required unanimous approval
• No executive
• No national court system
• =A nice idea, but worthless

Need For Stronger Gov’t
• States quarreling over boundary lines and tariffs
• $40 million debt
• Shay’s Rebellion
-In 1786 led a group of farmers in a rebellion against the Massachusetts government
-State gov’t struggled putting down the rebellion

Talk to your neighbor:
What were the major weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation?

The Constitutional Convention Begins
• 55 delegates assembled to “rewrite” the Articles of Confederation in 1787
1. Regulate commerce
2. Strengthen the central government
• George Washington presided
• Each state one vote, majority rules

Key Agreements
• Abandon Articles of
Confederation
• National gov’t needs to be strengthened , but still limited
• Separation of
Powers : legislative, judicial, executive

The Sticking Points: Should Population
Impact Representation in Congress?
Small State Plan/ New
Jersey Plan
– Representation equal for all states
– Create equality between states
Large State Plan/ Virginia
Plan
– Representation based on population
Resolution : The Connecticut Compromise
Create two houses/bicameral: Every state gets two senators (Senate);
Every state gets representatives based on population (House of
Representatives)

The Sticking Points: Should Slaves Be
Counted in the Population?
• The North
– Slaves should NOT count as part of the population for
Congressional
Representation
– Would give too much power to South
• The South
– Slaves MUST count as population for representation (1/3 of pop!)
– Would give the South some much needed power
The Resolution: The 3/5 Compromise
Each slave equals 3/5 of a white person , creates a balance of power in
Congress.

The Elephant in the Room: Slavery
• Word slave does not appear in the
Constitution
• Many Northern states wanted to outlaw slavery
• Founders knew South would never ratify if they outlawed slavery
• Left the problem for later generations

Talk to your neighbor:
• What compromises were made at the Constitutional
Convention?
• Don’t forget to write your summary!