Confederation to Constitution:
The Confederation Era
Chapter 8; Section 1
Essential Question: How did Americans
create a national government that
respected both the independence of
states and the rights of individuals?
Forming a New Government
• Main goal was to prevent
governmental tyranny
from reappearing in the
nation
• Decided on a republic
– Only landowners could
vote (except Pennsylvania
and Georgia)
– African Americans not
allowed to vote
– Women not allowed to
vote in most states
Articles of Confederation
• Congress agreed on a republic, but could not
decide if each state would receive one vote, or if
voting should be based on population
• In the Articles, the national government would be
run by the Confederation Congress
– Congress could wage war, make peace, sign treaties,
and run Indian affairs
• Articles left the most important powers to the
states
– Authority to set taxes, enforce national laws, control
of land west of Appalachian Mountains
Articles of Confederation
• Articles were sent to the states for ratification
in 1777
• Some small states that did not have Western
land claims refused to sign
• Gradually, all states gave up their control of
western land, led to the ratification of the
Articles in 1781.
• United States finally had an official
government
Strengths and Weaknesses
of the Articles
• Needed to pay back debts earned from Revolutionary
War
– Confederation Congress had no money to do so
• International challenges:
– Britain competed against American fur trade by refusing to
evacuate its military forts south of the Great Lakes
– Britain barred American ships from waters in the
Caribbean, Spain also put up barriers in the Caribbean
– Spain refused to allow Americans to use the Mississippi
River or port in New Orleans
– Spain and Congress argued over the boundary of Florida
• Showed the weaknesses of the Articles: U.S. did not
have the strength to face up to the superior forces of
Britain or Spain
Shay’s Rebellion
•
Congress still owed veteran
soldiers’ salaries for the
Revolutionary War
– 300 soldiers demonstrated before
the Pennsylvania State House, and
drove Congress out of the city
•
•
•
•
•
Congress could not raise money
Could not levy taxes – depended on
states to send money
States levied taxes to pay back war
debts – few normal citizens could
afford them
Daniel Shays led a march on a
federal arsenal. Around 1,000
soldiers from the state militia
quickly defeated Shays’ men
Significant because it showed that
the national government needed
more power.
Powers Granted and Denied Congress
Granted Congress
• Conduct foreign affairs
• Declare war and make
peace
• Issue or borrow money
• Control Indian affairs
• Run postal service
Denied Congress
• Establish executive branch
• Enforce national laws
• Enact and collect taxes
• Regulate interstate or
foreign trade
• Establish federal courts
• Amend the Articles
Confederation to Constitution:
Creating the Constitution
Chapter 8; Section 2
Essential Question: How did Americans
create a national government that
respected both the independence of
states and the rights of individuals?
Constitutional Convention
• In Sept. 1786, delegates
from five states met in
Maryland to discuss ways
to promote trade among
the states
• They believed that
increasing trade would
raise the economies of all
states
• However, this would
require amending the
Articles of Confederation
• Convention was called to
discuss the issue
Constitutional Convention
• Met May 25, 1787
• Elected Convention President George Washington
• Closed proceedings – meaning citizens were not
allowed inside
• All we know comes from James Madison who kept
detailed notes
• 55 delegates arrived for the Constitutional Convention,
now called Founders
• Not a diverse group – there were no Native Americans,
African Americans, or women among the delegates
Challenges to the Convention
• James Madison and other Virginia
delegates drafted the Virginia
Plan
– Government with three
branches
• Executive branch = enforce laws
• Judicial branch = interpret laws
• Legislative branch = create laws
– Two legislature sections
• Upper House and Lower
House
• The number of
representatives in both
houses would be based off
of state population
– Checks and Balances
• Delegates from small states
strongly objected the Virginia
Plan
– Larger states would have more
political power because they
would have more
representatives
• New Jersey delegate William
Patterson presented the New
Jersey Plan
•
Single-house congress where
every state had an equal vote,
regardless of population
• Small states supported the New
Jersey Plan
Challenges to the Convention
• Emotions ran high as the delegates tried to
solve the representation issue
• A committee led by Roger Sherman and other
delegates created the Great Compromise
– To satisfy the smaller states, each state would
have an equal number of votes in the Senate
– To satisfy the larger states, representation in the
House of Representatives would be based on state
population
Challenges to the Convention
Because representation in the
House would be based on
population, the convention had
to decide who would be counted
in the population.
• Southern states had more
slaves than Northern states
• Southern states wanted slaves
to be counted for
representation, but not
taxation
• Northerners said slaves were
not citizens, and should not be
counted for representation,
but should for taxation
Challenges to the Convention
• Delegates reached an agreement known as
the three-fifths compromise
– Three-fifths of the slave population would be
counted for both representation and taxation
• Slavery was already outlawed in some
Northern states, wanted to see it banned
country-wide – Southern states disagreed
– Another compromise: the decision over slavery
would not be made until 1808 (when the
eventually banned the importation of Africans)
Challenges to the Convention
On Sept. 17, 1787, the delegates passed the
Constitution. All be three of the 42 delegates
present signed the Constitution. It was then sent
to each state for approval.
What were some of the major challenges facing
the Convention?
Federalists and Antifederalists
Federalists
• Supported the Constitution
• Like the idea of Federalism
• Published a series of essays
known as The Federalist
Papers
– Written by James Madison,
Alexander Hamilton, and John
Jay
– Written to promote federalist
views and answer critics
– Appealed to both reason and
emotion
Antifederalists
• Thought the Constitution
took too much power away
from the states and did not
guarantee rights for the
people
– Strong president could easily
become a king
– Senate could become the
ruling class
– Liberties won during the
Revolution could be lost
Confederation to Constitution:
Ratification and the Bill of Rights
Chapter 8; Section 3
Essential Question: How did Americans
create a national government that
respected both the independence of
states and the rights of individuals?
The Battle for Ratification
• Antifederalists wanted a written guarantee that
the people would have freedom of speech, of the
press, and of religion
– Also wanted the right to trial by jury and the right to
bear arms
• Federalists insisted that the Constitution granted
only limited powers to the federal government –
it could not violate state rights
• Gave people power to protect their rights by electing
trustworthy leaders
• In the end, the Federalists agreed to add a Bill of
Rights to the Constitution
Ratification of the Constitution
• Needed nine states to
approve the
Constitution
– Two-thirds of states
needed to ratify
– Eventually all states
ratified the Constitution
– Achieved ratification in
1790
• A Bill of Rights was to
follow in 1790
The Bill of Rights
• James Madison submitted ten amendments to the
Constitution
– Later became known as the Bill of Rights
• The first nine guarantee basic individual freedoms
• Showed that the Constitution could be amended to
reflect the changes in society
– Two-thirds of each house of Congress or two-thirds of the
state legislatures can propose an amendment
– Amendment then needs approval from three-fourths of
the states
– Bill of Rights became the first ten, since then 17 more have
been added
How did Americans create a national government that
respected both the independence of states and the
rights of individuals?
Confederation Weakness
New Gov’t Strengths
Taxes
Could not levy taxes
Could levy and collect taxes
Trade
Could not regulate trade between
states nor internationally
Could regulate interstate and
foreign trade
Courts
Congress depended on state
courts to settle disputes
National system of courts set up
(Supreme Court)
Enforcement of laws left to the
states
Has the power to enforce own
laws
Equality; regardless of size or
population
Proportional in House, Equal in
Senate
Executive
States’ Rights
Amendments Unanimous vote required
Laws
Nine states had to approve an
ordinary bill
2/3 vote in each house of
Congress
Majority required to pass bill