Articles of Confederation/U.S.
Constitution
Articles of Confederation
• Constitution – rules and laws that form a government
• 1776 – 2nd Continental Congress – began work on
creating government
– Were influenced by English Law – Magna Carta – and
Enlightenment-John Locke
• Republicanism – citizens elect representatives
responsible to the people
• Limited government – even leaders had to obey the law,
no one has total power
• Suffrage – Right to vote – taxpaying or property-owning
white men
• Articles of Confederation – America’s first constitution
(plan of government) – Committee of 13
• National government would be a republic
• States would join in a Confederation – loose union
– states would have more power than national govt.
• A. All states had to ratify (approve) before it became
constitution
• B. 9 out of 13 states had to agree on new laws or
major decisions
• C. All 13 states had to agree to amend (change or
add) the articles
• D. Only states had the power to tax and enforce law
• E. No president – 3 person committee chosen by
Congress – very limited powers – John Hanson
– F. Uni-cameral (one house) legislature – each state had
one vote
– G. No system of national courts
– H. Weaknesses – no military, could not regulate trade,
national congress responsible to the state legislatures –
not the people
– I. Powers of national government – could make and
borrow money, foreign relations (wage war, make
peace), Indian affairs
– J. Articles are not ratified until March of 1781 – disputes
over land claims
• Land Ordinance of 1785/Northwest Ordinance of
1787 – created a system for bringing new states into
the country – had to have a population of 60,000
Important Founding Sources
• 1. Magna Carta - 1215 – limited government, no one is
above the law
• 2. English Bill of Rights - 1689 – People’s
representatives should have strongest voice in government
• 3. Virginia Statute of Religious Freedom - 1777 –
Separation of Church and State
• 4. New England Town Meetings – 1600’s to today –
Forum for the people to express their views and participate
in decisions
• 5. Mayflower Compact - 1620 – first attempt at selfgovernment in the colonies
• Identify a weakness of the Articles of
Confederation and describe how that
weakness impacted the government.
Problems in the New Nation
• 1. National government could do little to enforce
laws or protect citizens
• 2. Trade problems
– A. Tariffs – taxes on imported and exported goods
– B. Britain was forcing U.S. to pay high tariffs on
goods sold in Britain
– C. Britain closed many ports to Americans and forced
them to use British shipping
– D. Confederation Congress could not pass tariffs to
punish Britain
• 3. Congress could not regulate interstate trade
• 4. Each state printed its own money – many began printing
large amounts of paper money to pay off war debts
• 5. Inflation – increased prices on goods and services –
reduced value of money
• 6. Depression – period of low economic activity and high
unemployment
• 7. Debtors – people who owe money or taxes
• 8. Creditors – people who lend money
• 9. Shay’s Rebellion – September 1786
• 10. Many people in the states saw that the Articles were not
working
• New Constitutional Convention would be held in
Philadelphia in May of 1787
• Which was the greatest problem facing the
nation that would lead to the desire for
change?
Constitutional Convention
• 1. Philadelphia Convention
– A. Date – May 1787
– B. Purpose – To discuss trade issues and
reform Articles of Confederation – James
Madison, Alexander Hamilton
– C. Plan – revise Articles to give national
government increased powers to solve nation’s
problems
– D. Decision – create a new plan of
government (Constitution)
Virginia Plan
Large-state plan
• A. Three Branches of government
– 1. Legislative – makes the laws – Two-house (bi-cameral)
legislature
– 2. Executive – carries out and enforces laws – President and
his cabinet (advisors)
– 3. Judicial – interprets the laws – court system (Supreme
Court)
• B. Written mostly by James Madison
– 1. Known as the father of the Constitution
– 2. His proposal – system of checks and balances between
the branches so no one branch would control the entire
government
• C. Congress – Bi-cameral – number of
representatives based on state population
• 1. Division – How elected
• A. Lower house – House of Representatives –
elected by the eligible voters of each state
• B. Upper House – Senate – elected by lower house
• Conflict – The larger a state’s population, the more
representatives it would have. Smaller states
thought it was unfair since larger states would
control the Congress
New Jersey Plan Small-state plan
• A. One-house (Uni-cameral) legislature – each state
would send the same number of representatives –
equal representation
• B. Who proposed the plan? William Paterson.
Smaller states like New Jersey, Delaware etc.
• C. How elected? Representatives would be chosen
by the state legislatures
• *This plan was very much like the Articles of
Confederation
• Which of the two plans do you think was a
more fair solution to the problem of
representation? Why?
The Great Compromise
• Also called the Connecticut Compromise – Roger
Sherman – took parts of both plans
– A. From the Virginia Plan – Bi-cameral
Legislature – lower house representation based on
population – elected by the people to represent the
people – rest of government as proposed by
Madison
– B. From the New Jersey Plan – Upper house
would have equal representation – two reps per
state – chosen by state legislatures to represent
states
Three-Fifths Compromise
• A. What was the Compromise? For every five
slaves, three would count for taxation and
representation
• B. Who benefited? Southern States
• C. How did they benefit? More representation in
Legislative branch – also meant more influence in
choosing President
• Three-fifths compromise acknowledges that slavery
exists – Slavery is never specifically mentioned in
Constitution until 13th Amendment in 1865
• How could the 3/5ths compromise lead to
future conflict?
Role of the President
• A. Commander-in-chief of armed forces
and responsible for foreign relations
(dealing with other countries), also sets
guidelines for domestic policies (our
country)
• B. Veto Power
• C. Also appoints judges and other federal
officials – Supreme Court and Cabinet
(advisers)
• Can be elected to two 4-year terms
• Must be 35 and a natural-born citizen
Williamson’s Contributions
• Hugh Williamson – NC delegate to Constitutional
Convention – Anti-federalist(opposed to strong
national government)
– A. Impeachment – removal of President for wrong-doing
– B. Two-thirds majority vote would override a
Presidential veto
• What do you think is the most important
role that the president serves? Why?
Legislative Branch
• Congress – two-house legislature – (bicameral)
– 1. Senate – 100 members – each state
gets two
• Elected to a six-year term – unlimited
• Must be 30
– 2. House of Representatives – 435
members – based on state population
• Elected to a two-year term – unlimited
• Must be 25
Judicial Branch
• Supreme Court – has final say on all
legal matters – cannot be overruled by
President or Congress
– 9 members – nominated by President,
approved by Senate
– serve for life on good behavior
• Which of the three branches of government
plays the most important role in governing
the nation? #totesLPiner
Trade Compromise
• A. Issue – Who would control foreign trade?
– North – wanted Congress
– South – Each state should set its own rules
• B. Compromise – Congress had the power to control trade
with other countries and could tax imports, but not exports.
Congress could not do anything about the slave trade for 20
years. After that, it would be outlawed. Congress could
regulate trade between the states
• Constitution becomes law in 1788 when New Hampshire
becomes 9th state to ratify it.
– North Carolina – 12th state to ratify Constitution - 1789
Ratification of the Constitution
• 1. Popular Sovereignty – final political power rests with
the people
• 2. Federalism – strong national government that shares
power with the states
• 3. First “political parties” were created
• 4. Federalists
– A. Leaders – Alexander Hamilton, James Madison
– B. Favored strong national government with “loose”
interpretation of the Constitution
– C. Domestic policy(in your country)
• I. Supported national bank
• II. Favored high tariffs to provide money for
government
• III. Favored limited freedom of speech and press
•
D. Foreign policy(dealing with other countries) Favored the British, were opposed to the French
• E. Bill of Rights was not needed – each state
constitution would protect individual rights
• F. Favored by the wealthy, manufacturers, shippers,
business people, urban areas
• G. Alexander Hamilton– Secretary of the US Treasury/created National Bank
– Excise taxes to repay debt from Rev. War (leads to
Whiskey Rebellion)
– Killed by the VP Aaron Burr in a duel
– Founder of modern governmental spending and
budgetary fiscal responsibility
Alexander Hamilton
5. Antifederalists – AKA DemocraticRepublicans
A. Leaders – Thomas Jefferson, George
Mason
B. Favored States’ Rights, weak
national government, “strict”
interpretation of the Constitution
C. Domestic Policy
– I. Opposed to national bank
– II. Tariffs should be low
– III. More rights for the people
D. Foreign policy – Favored the French, were
opposed to the British
E. Bill of Rights was extremely important to
protect the rights of the people – needed to
protect the minority from the will of the
majority
F. Favored by farmers, planters, rural areas
• 6. NC was mostly antifederalist
• 7. Main issue for several states before they would
ratify the Constitution was to include a Bill of
Rights to protect the rights of individuals
• 8. Amendments – additions to the Constitution
– A. Have to be approved by two-thirds of
Congress, signed by President, and ratified by
three-fourths of states – 27 amendments today
– B. Electoral College – some delegates did not
trust the people to elect the President
• I. Decided against direct election of the President
• II. Each state would choose electors (qualified voters)
to elect President and Vice-president
• III. Number of electors would be equal to a state’s
representation in Congress
• IV. Today – popular vote determines how electoral
votes are awarded. In most states, popular winner gets
all electoral votes
• 9. Constitution is ratified by all states by
1790 – world’s oldest written Constitution
• 10. 1791 – Bill of Rights is ratified
• George Washington – 1st president 17891797 – was opposed to political parties
and foreign involvement – trade only dies in 1799
• State of Franklin – 1784-1790 – John
Sevier