Planning a New
Government
The Articles of Confederation
How did the states run themselves before
the Articles of Confederation?
Who had the power?
 States organized their own government
with their own constitutions.
 Limits the power of the governor.
 Divided power between the governor and
a two house legislature (Bicameral)
 Popular election – White men over 21
were able to vote.
 Monarchy & Parliament
The nation was to be a republic. What is a
republic and why do you think the new
United States wanted it that way?
 Republic – A government where the
people chose representatives to govern
them.
 Based on experience with England, the
Founding Fathers feared a one
person/group having all the power.
 Granted only a few “strong” powers to the
Federal government.
Articles of Confederation - Strengths
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Declare war
Make or negotiate
treaties
Control Indian matters
Coin money
Borrow money
Admit new states
Control the army and
navy
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Form allies
 Representation from
all states – each state
had a single vote
 Passed the Land
Ordinance of 1785
 Passed the Northwest
Ordinance in 1787
Articles of Confederation - Weaknesses
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Lacked the power to
enforce laws
Lacked the power to levy
taxes
Lacked the power to
regulate trade among the
states
Could ask the states for
money, but the states did
not have to pay
Had the power to declare
war, but had to ask the
states for an army
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Continental money was
worthless
No national court system
No national executive
branch except for the
President
Required all 13 states to
approve changes in the
Articles
Foreign nations did not
respect our territory/land
Unity was difficult
The Ordinance of 1785
 Applied
to land west of the Appalachian
Mountains
 Formed townships (6 x 6 miles) and each
township had to put aside land for schools
 Cheap land for speculators
 Congress protected hard workers
 Would become known as the Northwest
Territory - Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Illinois,
Wisconsin and part of Minnesota
The Northwest Ordinance
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Land from north of the Ohio River to the
Mississippi River
The land was divided into 3 – 5 territories
Described how the territory was to be governed
60,000 people needed for statehood
“Bill of Rights” for settlers
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Religious freedom
Trial by jury
No slavery, but indentured servitude was OK
Finances and taxes
 Continental
money was next to worthless
 Increase prices and inflation led to food
riots
 War debts
 Robert Morris proposed a 5% import tax to
help
Britain
 Troops
did not withdraw as per the Treaty
of Paris
 Kept the US out of the West Indies
 Ignored the protest of the US because
England said we did not hold up our end of
the Treaty of Paris
Spain
 Closed
off the lower Mississippi River for
fear of US expansion
 Southern states upset
 Loss of trade
Depression
 Unemployment
was on the increase and
people were not spending money
 Economy was damaged from the war
 Problems with exports
 Great Britain closed off the West Indies
 Any money we had went to paying off the
war debt owed to foreign nations
Shays Rebellion
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Farmers suffered because they could not find markets
for their goods
 People who could not pay their taxes ($200 a year), the
government auctioned off their land to cover the debt
owed
 Farmers in Massachusetts did not like the government
control
 Daniel Shays forced courts to close – farmers lands
could not be taken away if there was not a court hearing
 Shays and 1500 men marched on a federal arsenal. 4
were killed before the uprising was put down
And now for something extra:
You will need paper!
There is no doubt that the men
who created our government
were smart, but their ideas were
not wholly their own. The
founding fathers borrowed many
ideas from great thinkers
throughout history. Here are a
few of those thinkers and a
summary of their ideas…
Hiawatha
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Born in the 1400’s
One of the creators of the Iroquois League, an
organization of Native American tribes created to
bring peace for warring tribes and settle disputes
Members of the various tribes made decisions
based on unanimous agreement
The League had a chief executive (like a
President)
Women had a lot of power in the League
Thomas Hobbes
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Born in 1588
Believed that humans were naturally wicked and
would make decisions only for their own benefit
A government that gave all power to a king or
queen was the best form of government
however…
To prevent a ruler from abusing his/her power,
there should be a group of representatives who
could speak on behalf of the common person…
Final decisions, though, rested with the ruler
John Locke
 Born
in 1632
 Believed people could make good
decisions if they were given the right
information
 Governments should only be formed with
the consent (approval) of the people
 Governments should be created to protect
individual rights and freedoms
Claude Montesquieu
 Born
in 1689
 Established the idea of “Separation of
Powers” – governmental power should be
divided up among different branches of
government
 This would prevent one individual or group
from gaining too much power
Benjamin Banneker
 Born
in 1732
 An African American who believed that
slaves and free blacks should have full
rights under the new Constitution
 Pointed out that colonists fought to end
their enslavement under British rule and
therefore keeping slavery alive was
illogical
Abigail Adams
 Born
1744
 Wife of John Adams
 A strong woman who spoke her mind, she
was in favor of colonial independence
 Wanted independence for ALL, and
encouraged her husband to outlaw slavery
 Reminded John to “remember the ladies”
as the new government was being formed
The Magna Carta of 1215
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Called the “Great Charter”
Guaranteed basic political rights in England
Applied not just to nobles but freemen (those not bound
to a master) as well
Checked royal power
Nobles won rights from King John:
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Could not be put on trial based only on the word of an official
without a witness
The right to a trial by people of a rank equal to their own
Could not be taxed unless council of prominent men agreed
Could not have property seized by king or officials
The Mayflower Compact of 1620
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41 men aboard the Mayflower agreed to abide
by certain rules for the general good of the
colony
Based on the legal traditions of England
Laws were created to promote the general order
and the good of all
Expressed the ideals of self-government and
majority rules
Promised to frame, constitute and enact just and
equal laws
British Bill of Rights 1689
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Signed by William and Mary to respect the rights
of English citizens and of parliament including
the right to free elections of members of the
lower house of Parliament
 Based on the Magna Carta it established an
important principle: The government was
to be based on laws made by
Parliament and not on the desires of a
ruler
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Limited the power of the monarchy and
increased Parliament’s say in ruling the country
British Bill of Rights 1689
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Parliament gained the right to approve plans to spend
money and the King was forbidden to keep a standing
army in a time of peace
 The king could not cancel laws or impose (levy) taxes
unless Parliament agreed
 Free elections and frequent meetings of Parliament must
be held
 Excessive fines and cruel punishment were forbidden
 The right to complain to the King or Queen or Parliament
without being arrested was established
Virginia Statute for
Religious Freedom
 Declared
that no person could be forced to
attend a particular church.
 No person was required to support a
single church through tax money.
 The idea was supported by Thomas
Jefferson .
 Began the notion of “Separation of Church
and State”.
The Fundamental Orders
of Connecticut
 Written
by Minister Thomas Hooker in
1636 after he “left” Mass. to found the
colony of Conn.
 Allowed male non-church members to
vote.
 Outlined the powers of the general courts.
 Created a government that was more
democratic than seen before.