Birth of the Constitution
Early Government
July, 1776 – 2nd Cont. Congress approved
Declaration of Independence
C.C. was a loose collection of delegates
from 13 separate states
Almost no one wanted a powerful national
government
Most people regarded Congress as only a
wartime necessity
Individual States
Americans saw themselves as citizens of
distinct states
When referring to United States, most
Americans wrote “the United States are”
(plural) rather than “the United States is”
(singular)
Belief that the country as a whole was less
important than its 13 parts
Not a nation, but a confederation (an
alliance of separate governments that
work together)
State Constitutions
During and immediately after revolution,
state governments had more power than
national government of U.S.
Individual state constitutions were primary
forms of govt. in new nation
Most were established during revolution
State constitutions served as models for
later national documents (1776
Pennsylvania, suffrage to all white males
21)
Articles of Confederation
1777, Continental Congress adopted a set
of laws to govern the United States
Not ratified by all states until 1781
Established a limited national government
Most political power lay with the states
Only one branch: a legislature, or
Congress, made up of delegates
Differences from Today’s Congress
Could declare war and $, but COULD NOT
TAX
Each of the 13 states had 1 vote in Congress
– Passage of any measure involving money
require 9 of 13 states
– Changes to Articles required all 13 votes
Difficult to get things done (some saw this as
good)
Many dissatisfied with weak government
After fighting war for independence,
Americans generally agreed that their new
nation should be a democracy
(government by the people)
Specifically, they favored the creation of a
republic (government run by the people
through their elected representatives)
Americans held widely differing views on
how much influence ordinary citizens
should have in governing of the republic
This division became clear as objections to the Articles
began to surface
One set of objections arose out of economic problems
that followed the war
By 1787, 3 years after rev, nation still had a debt of
about $50 million, unthinkably huge at time
State and federal govts had borrowed money from
foreign countries and own citizens to finance the war
Some state governments even printed cheap paper
money to help their citizens pay off their loans.
States with good seaports put heavy taxes on goods
destined for neighboring states, stirring up hostilities
Prominent critics of the Articles believed that these
troubles had arisen because ordinary citizens had too
much power in their state legislatures.
The Nationalists
By the early 1780s, began expressing their
views about dangers of a weak national
government in papers and private letters
Included George Washington, James Madison,
and Alexander Hamilton
Worried Americans fondness for challenging
authority and demanding individual rights was
getting out of hand
Saw republics in Europe fail and dissolve into
chaos
Agreed with Paine that America was model for
the world
Irresponsible, they believed, to allow nation to
fall into political violence.
Annapolis Convention
1786, Nationalists held convention in
Annapolis, Maryland to discuss economic
problems that could not be solved under
limits of Articles of Confederation
12 delegates from 5 states attended
Agreed to call a convention in Philadelphia
the following year to “fix” the government
Shays’ Rebellion
1786, Daniel Shays, Mass. Farmer, led
rebellion
Armed protestors blocked courthouses
and refused to pay taxes
Congress could only look on helplessly
Had no money to raise army and no way
to force states to pay for one
Showed that steps needed to be taken to
avoid civil unrest
Constitutional Convention
May, 1787 in Philadelphia
12 states sent delegates (55 in total)
The business at hand, wrote key delegate
James Madison, was to “decide forever
the fate of republican government.”
In only 4 months, delegates produced
document that has governed U.S. for over
220 years: the United States Constitution
Divisions at the Convention
1st act: unanimous election of G.W. as
president of the Constitutional Convention
Major division between those who wanted
to amend/revise Articles and those who
wanted to abandon it and start fresh
Technically only had power to revise
Convention would have to overstep its
authority to create a new document
Virginia Plan
In the end, Madison and others who wanted a
new government managed to dominate the
meetings by bringing a plan with them.
Their Virginia Plan became the focus of
discussion against which all other ideas were
weighed
Called for creation of a bicameral (two-house)
national legislature
Each state would send representatives
proportional to population of its citizens
Thus, larger state would have greater voting
power
Virginia Plan
VP addressed shortcomings of Articles in
several ways
1st, new legislature would have added powers
– Right to tax and regulate foreign and interstate
commerce
2nd, nat. legislature would have veto power over
any act of a state legislature
3rd, nat. govt. would have judicial and executive
branch
States w/ large populations stood to benefit most
– Large states supported this plan
New Jersey Plan
Supported by opponents of VA Plan
Similar to VA Plan, but all states would
have 1 vote in a unicameral legislature
Ensured heavily populated states would
not overpower smaller states
Like the Articles, NJ plan aimed to keep
state governments more powerful than the
national government
Constitutional Compromise
Central dif. between VA and NJ plans
centered on representation in legislature
Should states with larger populations have
more representatives?
Vote on July 2, 1787 was split and
convention remained deadlocked
Within several days, a compromise was
reached
The Great Compromise
Legislative branch with 2 houses
In senate, states had equal representation
– Pleased small states
In house, states had proportional rep.
– Pleased large states
Approved on July 16, 1787
Three-Fifths Compromise
When calculating a state’s populations,
should enslaved people be counted?
Under the compromise, 3/5 of a state’s
slave population would be counted when
determining representation
Did not mean that slaves would be
allowed to vote or that their interests would
be represented in Congress
Battle Over Ratification
In order to become law, 9 of the 13 states
had to ratify it
Votes would be cast by special
conventions in each state, not legislatures
Framers of Constitution bypassed state
legislatures out of fear that legislatures
wouldn’t approve of document that would
reduce their power
Federalists & Anti-Federalists
Federalists – those who supported the
Constitution
– Stressed weaknesses of the Articles
– Included many Nationalists (G.W., Madison, Hamilton)
– Feared the people more than the government
Anti-Federalists – those who opposed it
– Believed the Federalists plan posed a threat to state
governments and to the rights of individuals
– Feared the government more than the people
– Many objected to the lack of a Bill of Rights in the
Constitution (it did not explicitly protect basic rights)
Federalists
To make the case for ratification, Hamilton,
Madison, and John Jay, a Nationalist from NY,
wrote The Federalist, a series of 85 essays that
appeared in NY City newspapers in 1787-88.
Perhaps the most sophisticated explanation of
the new American political system ever written.
Emphasize the separation of powers and the
system of checks and balances as protections
against tyranny
Anti-Federalists
Rallied behind older revolutionary figures
like Patrick Henry of VA
Saw the Constitution as a betrayal of the
American Revolution
Warned that a president would be nothing
more than a king
Had American Patriots died to create
another government that would tax them
and tell them what to do?
Federalist Advantages
Drew on widespread feeling that the
Articles of Confederation had serious flaws
They were united around a specific planthe Constitution
The anti-Federalists had no plan of their
own, only criticisms of the Constitution
The Federalists were much more
organized (national scope vs. disjointed
local politicians)
Federalists had support of G.W.
Ratification
June, 1788, New Hampshire became 9th
state to ratify the Constitution
Summer of 1788, NY and VA ratified
May 1790, Rhode Island was last to ratify
All 13 states had signed on to the
Constitution
Date
Ratification of the Constitution
Votes
State
Yes
No
1
December 7, 1787
Delaware
30
0
2
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
Bill of Rights
Federalists promised to support
amendments to Constitution that would
protect basic rights
Dec. 15, 1791, first 10 amendments are
added as the Bill of Rights
The promise of support for such a bill gave
the Federalists their victory
A Lasting Document
Final draft of the Constitution approved on
September 17, 1787
Ratified by 9 (NH) June of 1788, 13 (RI) May, 1790
Has remained basically the same for 220 yrs
Why? On some issues…
– Specific enough not to be reinterpreted too much by later
generations, and on others…
– Flexible enough to adapt to social, economic, political,
and technological changes its creators could not have
imagined
– Amended only 27 times in its history