CHAPTER 8 – THE CONFEDERATION ERA
Notes for 8.1
The Move West



The West composed of
all land west of the
Appalachian Mountains
After the Rev. War, the
population in West grew
from 2,000 to 100,000
people
According to the Articles
of Confederation, states
deemed this land as
public, belonging to the
central government
The West


So who protects this public land?
The government did not have money to send troops
or purchase land from the Native Americans.
The West



To raise money, the central government sold large
tracts of land to Land speculators (dealers) who
would then sell them for profit
Westerners did not like these land speculators
Settlers in Tennessee and Kentucky threatened to
leave the U.S. so Congress replied with two laws:
 Land
Ordinance of 1785
 Northwest Ordinance
Land Ordinance of 1785

Land Ordinance of 1785- law that established a
plan for dividing the federally owned lands west of
Appalachian Mountains
Land Ordinance of 1785




Land north of the Ohio River would be divided into
townships 6 miles square
Each township would again be divided into 36 sections
each 1 mile square
Money from the sales of this land had to go to establish
a public school
To attract land speculators, land cost $1 per acre and
one had to buy an entire section


1 square mile = 640 acres
Land speculators could divide the land into smaller
rectangular tracts to sell for profit
Northwest Ordinance

Northwest Ordinance- law that described how the
Northwest Territory was to be governed
Northwest Ordinance of 1787




Land enclosed by the Ohio River, Great Lakes, and
the Mississippi River were to be divided into 3 to 5
territories
Population = 5,000 male citizens, they could set up
a territorial government with elected legislatures
Population = 60,000 can apply for statehood
Outlawed slavery north of the Ohio River
Northwest Ordinance of 1787



The Utmost Good Faith Clause
Utmost Good Faith Clause of the Northwest Ordinance
Article III.
�Religion, morality, and knowledge, being necessary to good
government and the happiness of mankind, schools and the means of
education shall forever be encouraged. The utmost good faith shall
always be observed towards the Indians; their lands and property shall
never be taken from them without their consent; and, in their property,
rights, and liberty, they shall never be invaded or disturbed, unless in
just and lawful wars authorized by Congress; but laws founded in justice
and humanity, shall from time to time be made for preventing wrongs
being done to them, and for preserving peace and friendship with them.
Continental Congress. "The Northwest Ordinance,"
July 13,1787. http://www.law.ou.edu/hist/ordinanc.html.
Northwest Ordinance

Importance of Northwest Ordinance:
 Set
foundation in how to organize a state
 Restricted slavery in that land
 Made provisions for public education
 Included “Utmost good faith” clause for dealing with
the Native Americans in the Northwest Territory
Problems with Britain and Spain
Britain
Spain
-Refused to evacuate military from forts south of the
Great Lakes (wanted part of the fur trade)
-Barred American-owned ships from British waters in the
Caribbean.
-Put up barriers to American shipping in the Caribbean.
-Refused to allow Americans to use the Mississippi River
to deposit goods in New Orleans.
-Spain and the Confederation Congress (U.S. national
legislative body formed by the Articles of Confederation)
argued over the boundary of Florida.
Economic Problems and Shays’s
Rebellion
PROBLEM
Which Led To
RESULT
U.S. owed money for war
debt. Congress did not
have the power to levy
(collect) taxes.
Angry soldiers protest
outside the State House,
where Congress was
meeting. Congressmen fled
the city!
States owed war debt,
therefore they taxed the
citizens.
Shays’ Rebellion- uprising
of Massachusetts farmers
who demanded debt relief.
Arsenal- a place where
weapons are stored.
The government’s economic problems led to armed rebellion
The Confederation Era

The Rebellion caused the U.S. government to realize
they needed more power to be effective.
Government Under the Articles
* Unicameral Legislature
* One vote per state
* 2/3 majority needed to pass legislation
* Unanimous vote needed to amend Articles
Weaknesses of the Articles
* No national executive
* No national court system
* National government could not collect taxes
* National government could not raise an army
* National government could not regulate trade
Problems under the Articles
* Currency Problems: Many states printed their own money. The national
currency, meanwhile, became almost worthless
* Interstate Commerce: States placed tariffs on each other's goods. This,
combined with currency problems, led to a sharp decline in intrastate
commerce
* Foreign Trade: Other countries placed tariffs and trade restrictions on US
goods; the US was not able to reciprocate. The absence of a strong navy also
left US merchant ships vulnerable to pirates.
* Foreign Affairs: The inability of the national government to raise an army
left the US vulnerable. For example, key provisions of the Treaty of Paris,
which ended the Revolutionary War, were not enforced. As a result, the British
continued to occupy forts in the Northwest territory -- landed that had
technically been ceded to the US.
Assignment


Complete the vocabulary sheet
Answer questions 2-4 on page 225
 Title
Chapter 8 sec.1
CREATING THE
CONSTITUTION
Chapter 8 Section 2
A Constitutional
Convention is called
• 12 delegates from 5
states meet to create
national trade laws @
Annapolis
• Call for national
meeting in
Philadelphia
• Afraid of rebellion, 12
states (except Rhode
Island) send delegates
(New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania,
Delaware, and Virginia)
The Convention’s Delegates
• 55 state delegates meet at Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia
• Delegates include George Washington, Benjamin Franklin and James
Madison
James Madison


Noted as one of the
ablest delegate
In preparation for the
convention- read more
than 100 books on
democracy
ABSENT
TJ
JA
PH
When Jefferson read the list of delegates, he wrote, “It is really an assembly of demigods.”
The Delegates Assemble


Delegates want to create
government strong enough to
maintain order
But also want government that
protects people’s rights.
The Convention Begins



George Washington elected president of the
Constitutional Convention.
Delegates do not want decisions influenced by
political pressures
To ensure this, they decide that discussions will
remain secret
The Virginia Plan

The Virginia Plan divides government into 3
branches:
-Legislature- makes the laws

Legislature has two houses
Representation is based on each state’s population or wealth
-Executive- enforces the laws
-Judiciary- interprets the laws
THE
VIRGINIA
PLAN


Larger states support the plan, smaller
states oppose
Smaller states are afraid larger states will
control them
FOR UNDERSTANDING
The purpose of the Constitutional Convention was:
1) to divide up the lands west of
the Appalachian Mountains.
2) to resolve problems with the
Articles of Confederation.
3) to declare independence from Great Britain
4) to set up a confederate governmental system.
The Constitutional Convention was held in:
1) 1785
2) 1787
3) 1789
4) 1791
Who of the following was present
at the Constitutional Convention?

1) Thomas Jefferson

3) James Madison

2) John Adams

4) Patrick Henry
Who of the following was absent from
the Constitutional Convention?

1) George Washington

3) James Madison

2) Patrick Henry

4) Benjamin Franklin
______ served as the president of
the convention.

1) George Washington

3) James Madison

2) Benjamin Franklin

4) Edmond Randolph
The ______, proposed a government
with three branches.


1) Great Compromise

2) delegates from
Philadelphia

3) Three-Fifths
Compromise
4) Virginia Plan
The three branches proposed by
the Virginia Plan were:


1) an executive, a
legislative, and a
congressional.
2) an executive, a
litigious, and a
judiciary.


3) an elite, a
legislative, and a
judiciary.
4) an executive, a
legislative, and a
judiciary.
New Jersey Plan
New Jersey Plan is an
alternative plan for U.S.
government
• legislature has one house
• each state has one vote



The large states favored the Virginia Plan
The small states favored the New Jersey Plan
A committee was selected to find a compromise



Delegates pass the Great Compromise
Each state is given equal votes in the senate:
this satisfies the small states
State’s population determines representation in
House of Representatives: This satisfies the
larger states
The Great Compromise



Delegates place few limits on Congress’s power
to regulate commerce
Southerners succeed in banning Congress from
taxing imports
Native Americans are not foreign nations or part
of separate states
Virginia Plan


New Jersey Plan
The Legislative branch would
have two houses.
Both houses in the Legislature
would assign representatives by
state population or wealth.


The Legislature would have
one House.
Each state would have one
vote in the Legislature.
The Great
Compromise
•The Legislature would have two houses.
•The Senate would give each state equal representation.
•The House of Representatives would have representation according to state
population.
Slavery And The Constitution

Southern states want slaves counted for representation, not for taxes

Northern states want slaves counted for taxes, not for representation

To solve the dispute, delegates agree to the Three-Fifths Compromise



3/5 of slave population
counts for direct taxes
3/5 of slave population
counts for representation
Delegates agree that slave
trade cannot be banned
until 1808
The Delegates agree on
the Constitution


On September 15, 1787 delegates approve the
Constitution
Constitution sent to the states for ratification
FOR UNDERSTANDING
The ______ proposed a legislature
with two houses, the members of
which were based on the population
and wealth of each state. The ______
suggested a single house where each
state had equal value.


1) Virginia Plan,
New Jersey Plan

2) Madison Plan,
Randolph Plan

3) Carolina Plan,
New York Plan
4) Monroe Plan,
Jefferson Plan
The ______ created a legislative
branch with two houses, one based
on the population of each state, and
one that gave an equal voice to each
state.

1) Virginia Plan

3) Great Compromise

2) Federalist Papers

4) New Jersey Plan
For purposes of taxation and
representation in the House of
Representatives, the ______ counted
slaves as partial citizens.

1) Three-Fifths
Compromise



2) Missouri
Compromise
3) Virginia Plan
4) Articles of
Confederation
Congress was granted the power to
regulate, promote and tax______,
make treaties, and be the sole coiner
of money.

1) slaves

3) exports

2) commerce

4) incomes