The Americans
Chapter 5, A New Nation, 1781-1850
Section 1
Experimenting with Confederation
Americans Debate Republicanism
• Creating a new government was hard
• Each colony (state) is different and had
different rules
• How can the new states connect with the new
government and work together as one?
Colonies become States
• Each colony had its own governor (leader),
council, and colonial assembly
• People thought each colony has its own
government or a “primary political unit”
• Most people were loyal to their colony rather
than the country, except during the
Revolutionary War, when they all worked
together
Colonies become States
• Colonies became states
• Colonies were nervous about giving up their
“state government” to a strong central
government
• A system of government had to be formed
that was fair for all of the different interests of
the states
Unity through a Republic
• All of the people were not educated enough
to run a country
• Republic – citizens elect representatives for
government
• Republicanism – governments should be
based on the consent or approval of the
people
• Value on the nation vs Value on personal
interests?
State Constitutions
• Each state created their own constitutions,
but shared their desire for freedom of speech,
religion and press, but didn’t want a
“centralized authority” or one leader making
decisions
• States disagreed on who can vote (all white
males, property owners, etc.)
Political Precedents
• Most nations were ruled by kinds, so the new
country had little models to refer to
• Leaders researched history of governments
but had difficulty
• The US was different because the government
had to balance the concerns of both the state
and nation
The Continental Congress Debates
• States developed individual constitutions
• Continental Congress tried to create one for
all of the states
• There was much disagreement. The Congress
has to answer 3 questions:
– Representations by population or by state?
– Supreme Power: Can it be divided?
– Western Lands: Who gets them?
Representation by Population
or by State?
• States were equal in political power, but
different in size, wealth, & population
• Is it fair for the states to have more
representatives in Congress because their
state and population is larger?
• Continental Congress decided each state
would have one vote, no matter how large or
small the population is
Supreme Power: Can It be Divided?
• Most thought a central government couldn’t
share power with the individual states
• Articles of Confederation: 2 levels of government
shared the power (State and National)
– National: declare war, make peace, sign treaties,
borrow money, create currency (money) standards,
create a postal service, deal with Native Americans
• This new government was called confederation,
meaning alliance (join together as a team)
Western Lands: Who Gets Them?
• 12 of the 13 states agreed to the new
government
• Some states claimed land west of the
Appalachian Mountains
• Smaller states, like Maryland, worried that larger
states would take over
• Maryland refused to agree to the new
government until states gave up Western lands
• States gave up western lands and Maryland
signed the Articles of Confederation in March
1781.
Governing the Western Lands
• Land Ordinance of 1785 – survey or examine
the land
• Northwest Ordinance of 1787 – divided the
lands into territories, and adding new states
– This ordinance ignored the Native American’s
claim to land
– Conferation’s greatest achievement because it
created future growth of the nation
Political & Economic Problems
• Most serious problem: country lacked unity
• Each state worried about itself only instead of
the country
• Changes in government was difficult, because
each state had to vote and agree
• Congress owed money from the Revolutionary
War to foreign countries
• Congress wanted to tax foreign goods to raise
money, but one state said no
Borrowers vs. Lenders
• Creditors (Lenders of Money) let people
borrow money
• Debtors (borrowers of Money) people who
owed money and had to pay it back
• Creditors wanted a high tax added to
borrowed money, but debtors couldn’t afford
the high tax and couldn’t pay them back
• Creditors sued the debtors, and the
government would take the debtor’s land
Borrowers vs. Lenders
continued