Main Idea
In order to carry on the war and build a new nation,
Americans had to create a framework of government,
but their first attempt had many weaknesses.
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What were some key aspects of the new American
republic?
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What was the structure of the new national
government?
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Why did that particular structure seem to make sense?
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What problems did the Confederation face?
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What did the government accomplish in the Northwest
Territory?
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What did the new Constitution reveal about the nature
of this new American republic?
• Legislative
branch made the laws.
• Judicial branch interpreted the laws.
• Executive branch (the governor) carried
out the laws.
• Remembering the powerful royal
governors, the states chose to limit the
governor’s power.
• Therefore, the elected legislatures held
more power.
•Americans
wanted a republic
• a political system without a monarch
• it would rule “with the consent of the
governed.”
•Ideal
of republicanism was that
property-owning citizens would be
active in government
•In reality, women, African
Americans, Native Americans, and
poor white laborers seldom owned
property or take part in
government.
The
Revolutionary War brought a
shift in women’s roles
–Managed farms and businesses
–Fought in battle or defended their homes
–Organized boycotts
–Supported war effort
Encouraged
mothers to raise their
sons to be patriotic future leaders
Encouraged mothers to raise their
daughters to be intelligent, patriotic,
and competent so they could run
households and educate their own
children.
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The Articles of
Confederation
are ratified in
November of
1777
◦ The war started
in 1775
◦ We declared
independence in
1776
◦ What took so
long to get a
plan of
government in
place?
Established a confederation—
an association of independent
sovereign states with certain
common goals
 Powers of the new government
◦ The states retained most of
their powers.
◦ Weak national government
◦ The legislative branch was essentially
the Continental Congress
◦ Each state had only one vote, regardless
of population
◦ No chief executive / No federal judiciary
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The
Articles of Confederation
allowed Congress
◦…to establish national policies and
conduct foreign relations, including
relations with Native Americans
◦…to coin money and set up post offices
◦…to establish an army and declare war
 Nine
of the 13 states had to agree on any
major law.
 All 13 states had to agree to amend the
Articles.
 The new government’s major problems
involved money.
– No power to regulate interstate commerce
– No power to impose or collect taxes
– Could not afford an army or navy
– Could not repay money it borrowed from
foreign governments and from individual
Americans during the war
 Because
it was so weak, Congress had
trouble taking advantage of the territory
that the United States had won in the
Treaty of Paris.
• The British did not leave their forts in the
Great Lakes region.
• The British and their Native American allies
kept American settlers out of the Northwest
Territory.
• Negotiating with Spain about uses of the
Mississippi and port of New Orleans was
difficult (the right of deposit)
Both dealt with western lands
 Land Ordinance of 1785
◦ Land would be surveyed and divided into a neat
grid of townships, each 6 miles square.
◦ Each township had 36 sections, each 1 mile
square.
◦ Government owned four of the sections.
◦ One section would be sold to support public
schools.
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This same regular grid was used in other
territories. It ended many boundary
disputes.
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Northwest Ordinance of 1787.
◦ Encouraged orderly settlement and the
formation of new states, all controlled by law
◦ Promised settlers religious freedom and other
civil rights
◦ Did not allow slavery in the Northwest
Territory
◦ The plan was to move unorganized territories
to full statehood
A district could become territory with a
population of 5,000 adult males. Then could
send a nonvoting representative to Congress
A territory could write a constitution and apply
for statehood with a population of 60,000.
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After the war, each state began issuing its
own paper money
The more money in circulation the less a
dollar bought
Finances collapsed
◦ Paper money was refused as worthless
◦ Gold and silver were hoarded by people
1784-1789: worst depression the colonies
had seen
Farmers tried to use their crops to pay their
debts, but it wasn’t enough
If they failed to pay their bills they were
thrown into jail until the bills were paid
Farmers all over the colonies rioted
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In 1786, Daniel Shays
led a group of farmers
in an attempt to
capture a federal
arsenal in
Massachusetts
The U.S., without an
organized army, was
powerless.
Massachusetts sent a militia to stop the
rebellion.
Shays’ Rebellion convinced many people
that the U.S. needed a new, stronger
government
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Even before Shays’ Rebellion, prominent
Americans were thinking of means to strengthen
the Articles of Confederation.
James Madison and others met with George
Washington at Mount Vernon in 1785, to discuss
commercial issues relating to Virginia and
Maryland.
One recommendation from that meeting was to
convene a group of delegates from the states to
discuss alterations of the Articles.
Only five states sent representatives to Annapolis
in the fall of 1786
Alexander Hamilton recommends another reform
meeting in Philadelphia in the spring of 1787
The recommendation was forwarded to the
Congress.
Philadelphia: May – September, 1787
Delegates from the states were selected to attend a
convention to “revise” the Articles of Confederation
Only Rhode Island didn’t attend
George Washington presided
55 delegates – the “Framers”
Fear occupied the fifty-sixth chair
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Must be able to regulate interstate & foreign trade

Must have the power to levy taxes
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Must have the means to enforce federal law
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Must have an executive
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Must have an easier amendment process
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Biggest Problem Area: The Nature of Congress
◦
The Virginia Plan or the New Jersey Plan?
Another Problem: Slavery

◦
Count for representation but not taxes or count for
taxes but not representation?
Third Problem: How do we choose the Executive?
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◦
Rely on the people? Have you seen the people?
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The Great Compromise (Problem #1)
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3/5 Compromise (Problem #2)
◦ A bicameral national legislature is created
◦ Slaves are to be counted as 3/5 of a person for
the purposes of taxation AND representation
◦ No interference with the slave trade for 20 years
◦ Fugitive slave laws are protected
◦ The word “slave”/“slavery” does not appear in the
Constitution (“democracy” doesn’t either)
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The Electoral College (Problem #3)
◦ The average voter could not make such an
important decision so “electors” are elected by
the popular vote and they elect the president
◦ # of senators + # of members in the House =
electoral votes
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In 1876 there were a total of 369 electoral votes available
with 185 needed to win.
◦ Rep. Rutherford B. Hayes: 4,036,298 p. votes won 185 e. votes
◦ Dem. Samuel J. Tilden:
4,300,590 p. votes won 184 e. votes
◦ Hayes was elected president.
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In 1888 there were a total of 401 electoral votes available
with 201 needed to win.
◦ Rep. Benjamin Harrison: 5,439,853 p. votes won 233 e. votes.
◦ Dem. Grover Cleveland: 5,540,309 p. votes won 168 e. votes.
Harrison was elected president.
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In 2000 there were a total of 538 electoral votes available
with 270 needed to win.
◦ Rep. George W. Bush: 50,456,002 p. votes won 271 e. votes
◦ Dem. Al Gore:
50,999,897 p. votes won 266 e. votes
◦ Bush was elected president.
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CONSERVATIVE
◦ Safeguards
against the “mob”
 Judges appointed
for life
 President NOT
directly elected by
the people
 Senators chosen by
state legislatures
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LIBERAL
◦ Democratic
elements
 The new government
would be based on
the consent of the
governed
 The new government
would be limited by a
written constitution
 “We, the people…”
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A-Fs thought the
Constitution created
a too powerful
central government
The states should
have more power
since they were
closer to the people
No Bill of Rights
(yet)
Created a central
government very
similar to having a
king
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The Fs supported
the Constitution as
being written by
representatives of
the states
There were Checks
and Balances within
the national
government
Federalism created
shared power with
the states
Wrote The Federalist
to encourage the
states to ratify
A series of
85 essays
making the
case for this
new
Constitution
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Among the most influential:
◦ Federalist #10 countered the argument that
democracies dissolve into chaos and disorder by
factions (groups acting on passion or impulse
counter to the best interests of the community)
 It was thought only a strong leader (a monarch) could
control factions
 The antidote to the problem of faction, Madison
declared, is a large republic with a multiplicity of
interests, making it unlikely that a majority faction will
form.
 Large republics provide the largest possible candidate
pool ensuring fit office holders
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Among the most influential:
◦ Federalist #51 explained how the separation of powers
with checks and balances protects liberty.
◦ Madison borrowed his ideas from Montesquieu
 To preserve liberty it was essential that no one person or
group of persons exercise all three powers (leg., exec.,
jud.)
 If one person or one group of people were able to
exercise all three types of power, that person would be a
threat to individual liberty.
◦ “If men were angels, no government would be
necessary”
◦ A compound republic provided double security
 Federalism (power divided by national and state govt)
 Separation of Powers and Checks and Balances
Ratification of the Constitution (need 9 / 13)
Date
State
1
December 7, 1787
2
Votes
Yes
No
Delaware
30
0
December 11, 1787
Pennsylvania
46
23
3
December 18, 1787
New Jersey
38
0
4
January 2, 1788
Georgia
26
0
5
January 9, 1788
Connecticut
128
40
6
February 6, 1788
Massachusetts
187
168
7
April 26, 1788
Maryland
63
11
8
May 23, 1788
South Carolina
149
73
9
June 21, 1788
New Hampshire
57
47
10
June 25, 1788
Virginia
89
79
11
July 26, 1788
New York
30
27
12
November 21, 1789
North Carolina
194
77
13
May 29, 1790
Rhode Island
34
32
county by county link