Chapter 8 Confederation
to Constitution
Section One
The Confederation Era
I Can describe the expansion of the
nation and the development of the
state governments.
Write these down and
answer them with
complete sentences.
• 1.) What did the American settlers find
when they reached Kentucky?
• 2.) Why did the Articles of Confederation
not take affect until 1781?
• 3.) What did the Land Ordinance of 1785
do?
• 4.) Why did Massachusetts farmers rebel
against their state legislature?
• 5.) How was the Northwest Ordinance
different than the Land Ordinance of 1785?
1.) What did the American
settlers find when they
reached Kentucky?
1.) Answer
• There were rich river valleys
and large numbers of buffaloes.
• There were also a few Native
Americans who lived, hunted,
and fished the area.
2.) Why did the Articles of
Confederation not take
affect until 1781?
2.) Answer
• Some states refused to accept
the Articles until states with
Western land claims agreed to
give up those claims.
• By 1781, all of the states
agreed that Congress should
control the Western lands, and
all states agreed to the Articles.
3.) What did the Land
Ordinance of 1785 do?
3.) Answer
• It organized the Northwest
Territory geographically into
six-mile-square plots, called
townships.
4.) Why did Massachusetts
farmers rebel against their
state legislature?
4.) Answer
• The legislature did not pass
debt relief, which would have
helped the farmers.
• In response, the farmers
rebelled.
5.) How was the Northwest
Ordinance different than
the Land Ordinance of
1785?
5.) Answer
• The Northwest Ordinance
organized the Northwest
Territory politically, instead of
geographically.
• It set rules for the settlement
and government of the
territories.
Articles of
Confederation Notes
I Can analyze the strengths and
weaknesses of the Articles of
Confederation
Turn to Page 206
Cornell Notes
Left Side of Cornell
Notes
• Right Side of Cornell Notes
A.) The New
Government
• After the American Revolution
the Articles of Confederation
was the government in place for
America.
1.) Weaknesses
• National Congress could not pass
tax laws
• All 13 states had to agree to change
• 9 of 13 (almost 70%) had to vote yes
to pass a law
• No executive leader
• Nation was deeply in debt from the
Revolutionary War
• Did not have the power to tax or
enforce laws.
2.) Strengths
• Transitional Government-helped
get through the Revolutionary
War.
• Encouraged settlers to move
west of the Mountains.
• Created 2 new territories:
Northwest and Southwest
2a.) Passed the
Northwest Ordinance
• Plan to govern Northwest Territory.
• Plan for territory to become states5,000 free men = Territorial
Legislature and 60,000 free men=can
ask to become a state.
• No slavery in the NW Territory
• All 13 original states had to give up
their claim to the western territory.
2b.) Ordinance of 1785
• Western land to be surveyed
and sold for $1.25 an acre.
• Land divided into townships
with 36 sections
• One Section from each
township set aside for a public
school
3.) Articles of
Confederation Fail
• Shay’s Rebellion-Farmers burn
county courthouses destroying
tax records.
• Stopped by Massachusetts
militia.
• States frightened by weakness
of the nation and call for a
convention.
B.) Constitutional
Convention
• Scrap the Articles of Confederation
• Write the Constitution.
• Goal was to balance the Convention
called in Philadelphia to fix the weak
Articles of Confederation.
• Actually striving for rights of the
individuals with the need for a strong
national government that could
ensure peace and order.
B.) Constitutional
Convention Continued
• Chairman: George Washington
• 55 Delegates from the States:
Founding Fathers
I can distinguish between
a antifederalist and a
federalist.
Answers to the 4 Circles
Shays Rebellion
• Farmers were not capable of paying their
taxes so their farms were repossessed.
The farmers rebelled by burning important
documents and then trying to take over a
weapons depot. It took the Massachusetts
Militia to come in and stop the rebellion.
• Articles of Confederation had problems
taxing the people of the 13 Colonies.
• This also showed a weakness in the
Articles by not being able to enforce laws.
War Debts
• Without the ability to set and collect
taxes the federal government could
not pay off its war debts, including
paying citizens who had helped to
supply the troops.
• More people started to believe that if
the federal government was to be
effective it needed the power of
taxation
Trade Issues
• Only 5 of the 13 colonies sent
representation to the
convention American trade
policy suffered from a lack of
direction.
• People wanted the federal
government to be able to make
and enforce trade rules
Moving West
• Now that the war is over people
are now allowed to move
westward which was not easy.
• The Wilderness road was more
like a trail than an actual road.
• Tension with the Native
Americans.
I Can identify key
delegates to the
Constitutional Convention
Turn To Page 205
People Pages
1.) Daniel Boone
• 1775
• Helped build the
Wilderness Road
• Was apart of the
movement to
Kentucky.
2.) Daniel Shays
• 1787
• Revolutionary
War Veteran
who needed
financial help
from the
government.
• Shays Rebellion
3.) Edmund Randolph
• May 15, 1787
• Governor of
Virginia
• Attended the
Constitutional
Convention
• Wanted to
reform the
government.
4.) George Washington
• 1787-Delagate at
the Constitutional
Convention
• 1789-Becomes 1st
President of the
United States.
• A War Commander
Veteran and
Farmer.
5.) Benjamin Franklin
• 1787-
Constitutional
Convention
Delegate
• Scientist and
Statesmen
6.) James Madison
• 1787
Constitutional
Convention
Delegate
• Read over 100
books to
prepare for the
convention.
7.) William Patterson
• 1787
• New Jersey
delegate, he
responded to
the Virginia Plan
and presented
the New Jersey
Plan as an
alternate.
8.) Roger Sherman
• 1787
• Delegate of
Connecticut,
proposed the
Great
Compromise.
9.) Alexander Hamilton
• 1787 Politician,
who helped
write the
Federalist
Papers, he
showed people
why they should
support
ratification.
10.) John Jay
• 1787
• Secretary of
Foreign Affairs
for the
Confederation
Congress.
• Helped write the
Federalist
Papers.
11.) Patrick Henry
• June 1787
• Member of the
Virginian House
of Burgesses.
• Refused to vote
for the
Constitution
until the Bill of
Rights was
added.
12.) George Mason
• June 1787
• Delegate to
Constitutional
Convention in
Philadelphia.
• Opposed the
signing of the final
document until a
Bill of Rights were
to be added.
Section 3 Chapter 8
Ratifying the Constitution
Answers to the Federalist
vs. Antifederalist
I Can identify the positions
of the Federalist and
Antifederalist.
Warm Up 1.) Alexander Hamilton
asked Congress to pass a law
which dealt with tariffs in 1791.
What are tariffs?
•
•
•
•
A.) Taxes
B.) Loans
C.) Savings Bonds
D. ) Restrictions
1.) What were the
Federalists?
• People who supported
ratification of the Constitution.
2.) Who were the
Antifederalists?
• People who opposed ratification
of the Constitution.
3.) Who were leading
federalists?
• Alexander Hamilton
• James Madison
• John Jay
4.) Who were the
leading Antifederalists?
• George Mason
• Patrick Henry
5.) What reasons did the
Federalists give to defend their
views on the ratification
• Removing some powers from the
states and giving more powers to the
national government.
• Supported dividing the powers
amongst the different branches of
the government.
• Also proposed to have a single
person lead the executive branch.
6.) What reasons did the
Antifederalists give to defend
their views on the Constitution?
• Wanted important political powers to
remain with the states.
• They wanted the legislature to have
more power than the executive.
• They feared one individual might
become a tyrant.
• They demanded a Bill of Rights to be
added to the Constitution to protect
the rights of the individual person.