From Confederation to
Federal Union
1.
How were women affected by the war?
2.
What did women want after the war?
3.
Were women allowed to vote after the war?
4.
How did the Revolution inspire slaves?
5.
How many African Americans fought for the patriots?
6.
What is emancipation?
7.
Where did emancipation take place after the Revolution?
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State Constitutions
Restricted the power of the governor
Many states restricted terms to 1 year
They could not overturn laws
Reduced the influence of the church on the
government
Virginia Statute for Religious
Freedom
Drafted by Thomas Jefferson in 1779
Government could not control
religious beliefs
Articles of Confederation
Presented on July 12, 1776
Adopted on November 15, 1777
The Articles created a confederation of states while
guaranteeing each state its “sovereignty, freedom, and
independence”
Articles of Confederation
Strengths
Authorized congress to borrow coin money (State
could coin also)
Set policies toward Native Americans
Declare War and Make Peace
Deal with foreign countries and make treaties
Operate a post office
Articles of Confederation
Weaknesses
The national government could not force the states to
obey its laws.
It did not have the power to tax
It did not have the power to enforce laws
Congress lacked steady leadership
No national army or navy
No system of national courts
Articles of Confederation
Weaknesses
Amendments needed the approval of all 13 states
Major legislation needed the approval of 9 states
Some states avoided paying war debt
Each state could issue its own paper money
Each state could put tariffs on trade between states.
Page 136-137
1.
Why did Congress need money?
2.
What did Congress want to sell to raise money?
3.
How was land divided under the Land Ordinance of 1785?
4.
How much was land being sold for?
5.
Who did this law benefit?
6.
How many people did a territory need to apply for
statehood?
7.
What states came out of the Northwest Territory?
Shays’ Rebellion
Massachusetts legislature passed a law that imposed
heavy taxes on land to pay war debt
If land owners did not pay the courts would seize their
land
“taxation without representation”
Daniel Shays led a rebellion and shut down debtor
courts and stopped property auctions
Shays’ Rebellion
December 26, 1786 Shays and 1,200 farmers set out for
Springfield, Massachusetts to seize the federal arsenal
The governor called for 4,000 recruits
Shays men attacked in late January
4 farmers were killed by artillery and Shays men fled
Result of Shays’ Rebellion
The rebellion raised doubts about the central
government’s power
Many people called for the Confederation to have
more power
Drafting and Ratifying the
Constitution
1. What document needed to be amended at the
Constitutional Convention?
2. What were the 2 key things that needed to be changed?
3. Why were the windows in Independence Hall closed?
4. Who were the leading thinkers of the convention?
5. How did both men feel about democracy?
Page 142-143
The Great Compromise
Proposed by Roger Sherman of Connecticut
Allowed for equal representation and representation
based on population
Each state regardless of size would have equal
representation in the upper house
Representation would be based on population in the
lower house
The Three-Fifths
Compromise
Another problem arose in the convention
Should Slaves be counted as part of the population
Southerners wanted slaves to be counted as part of the
population, but northerners objected
Counting the slave population would give southern
states more representation
The final agreement was only three-fifths of the slave
population would be counted to determine
representation
Compromise on Commerce
Northerners favored giving the national government
the power to regulate all trade with foreign nations and
among the states
The Southern economy depended on export
They feared the government would place tariffs (taxes)
on these exports
Government would only be able to levy taxes on
imports and not exports
Excluding slave trade until 1807
Completing the Constitution
July 26, 1787 five delegates began drafting the
Constitution
The final copy was drafted on September 17, 1787
39 delegates signed it then it went to congress and the
states for ratification
Federalists
Favored the ratification of the Constitution
Typically wealthy planters, merchants, and lawyers
Supported a strong central government who could
ensure a strong currency
Antifederalists
Feared a powerful national government
Offered 3 objections to the Constitution
1.
2.
3.
The delegates of the Constitutional Convention
conspired in a “veil of mystery” and had gone beyond
what they were charged to do
A strong central government would destroy states rights
The new system of government resembled a monarchy
and violated the principle of liberty that guided the
revolution
Antifederalists
Pointed out that under the constitution voters did not
directly elect the president
Electors who were delegates selected by the state
government chose the president
Voters only elected members of the lower house
The Federalist Papers
The federalist wrote a series of 85 essays to answer their
critics
Written by Madison, Hamilton, and John Jay
These essays appeared in newspapers throughout the
states
Ratifying the Constitution
New York and Virginia did not want to ratify the
constitution without a bill of rights
However, by June 21, 1788 enough states had ratified the
constitution for it to take effect
New York Federalists threatened to withdraw New York City
from the state if the state did not ratify the constitution
Washington and Madison urged Virginia to ratify the
constitution
Rhode Island was the last state to ratify the Constitution
The Constitution a Living
Document
Chap 5 sec 3
Delegated Powers
Held by the federal government
Coin money
Regulate trade with foreign nations and among the
states
Raise and support an army and a navy
Reserved Powers
Held by state government
Establishing local government
Overseeing schools
Concurrent Powers
Held jointly by state government and federal
government
Levying and collecting taxes
Borrowing money
Providing the public welfare
Establishing courts
Enforcing laws
Supremacy Clause
Found in article VI of the Constitution
“This Constitution, and the laws …and all treaties…of the
United States shall be supreme law of the land”
Separation of Powers
Legislative branch makes the laws
Executive branch enforces the laws
Judicial branch interprets the laws
Executive Branch
Executive Branch
Responsibilities
Head of the Government
Sets foreign policy
Commander and chief of the armed forces
Legislative Branch
The United States Congress consists of the Senate and
the House of Representatives
The House of Representatives
435 members
Its major power is to pass federal legislation
Democrat: 188
Republican 245
Vacant: 2
The House of Representatives
California 53
Texas 32
New York 29
New Jersey 13
Alaska, Delaware, North Dakota, South Dakota,
Vermont, and Wyoming each have 1
Majority Leader
Kevin McCarthy
Minority Leader
Nancy Polosi
Speaker of the House
John Boehner
Your Congressman
Congressman
Leonard Lance
The Senate
Upper house of the Legislative Branch
100 members
6 year terms
Powers include ratifying treaties and confirming the
appointment of Cabinet secretaries, federal judges,
ambassadors, and others
Democrats 53
Republicans 45
Independent 2
Your Senators
Cory Booker
Robert Menendez
Electoral College
538 electors
Elect president and vice president
Winner takes all except for Maine and Nebraska
270 votes are needed to become president
Electoral College
What is the smallest amount of states that will
win the 270 majority?
Presidential Powers to check
Congress
The president can Veto any bill passed by congress
Veto-official rejection of legislation
Congress can override a presidential veto with a twothirds majority vote
School House Rock
Executive and Legislative Branches
Checks and balances system set by the Constitution
that prevents any one branch of the government from
gaining more power than another
Impeachment
Impeachment -The House of Representatives may
charge a president who is thought to be guilty of
“treason, bribery, or other high crimes and
misdemeanors”
Which 2 Presidents have been
impeached?
Andrew Johnson
He illegally removed a
cabinet member
Bill Clinton
Perjury and obstruction of
justice
The Judicial Branch
The Supreme Court has the power to judge laws
unconstitutional
This allows them to check legislative power
The Judicial Branch
The executive and legislative branch can check the
power of the judicial branch
The president appoints judges and the senate must
approve them
Judges may also be impeached
Congress can propose Constitutional amendments to
overturn earlier court rulings
The president can also pardon or delay the punishment
of someone convicted of a federal crime
Flexibility
The Constitution has remained effective for over 200
years
Only 27 amendments have been made
The Elastic Clause allows Congress to exert its powers
in ways not specifically outlined in the Constitution
Laws relating to new technology, commerce, etc.
The End
Land Ordinance of 1785
Legislation that divided western lands into townships and
made provisions for public schools
Each township was 640-acre tracts, these tracts could be sold
for no less then one dollar per acre
Four sections in each town were reserved for Veterans of the
Revolutionary War
Northwest Ordinance
Also called the Land Ordinance of 1787
Established a system for governing the northwest
territory
Outlined the necessary steps for achieving statehood
Guarantied Civil rights and banned slavery in the
territory
The Call to Philadelphia
The Articles of Confederation needed improvement
Congressional leaders called for a Constitutional
Convention
It was held in Philadelphia May 14, 1787
Only delegates from Pennsylvania and Virginia arrived
on the 14th, but enough arrive by the 25th to begin
Constitutional Convention
Assembled in the Pennsylvania State House (Today
Independence Hall)
The delegates proceeded in secret
Washington was accompanied by 54 other delegates
Including Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and
Ben Franklin
Constitutional Convention
The original goal of the Constitutional Convention
was to revise the Articles of Confederation
Some delegates believed the Articles of Confederation
needed to be replaced
Federal Power vs.
States Rights
The Virginia Plan was drafted by
James Madison
It shifted political power away
from states and towards the
central government
Madison believed the nations
survival depended on federalism
Division of power between a
strong central government and
the state governments
Federal Power vs.
States Rights
The Virginia Plan gave the central government the
right to overturn state laws, tax the states, and use force
against any state not fulfilling its duty
The government would be made of 3 branches
Executive, Judicial, and Legislative
The Legislature would be bicameral (made up of 2
houses)
Federal Power vs.
States Rights
• Voters would elect representatives in the
lower house who would choose members
of the upper house
State Population would determine the number of
representatives
A dispute quickly arose over the number of
representatives each state would have
Federal Power vs.
States Rights
States with large population supported the plan
Small states objected to the Virginia Plan and called for
an equal amount of representatives for each state
Federal Power vs.
States Rights
The New Jersey Plan written by William Paterson offered
an alternative
It called for a unicameral (one house) legislature where each
state would have 1 vote
Gave the federal government the power to tax and regulate
commerce
Madison and others rejected the plan because they believed
it did not correct the weakness of the Articles
It was rejected on June 19th
Page 136-137
1.
Why did Congress need money?
2.
What did Congress want to sell to raise money?
3.
How was land divided under the Land Ordinance of 1785?
4.
How much was land being sold for?
5.
Who did this law benefit?
6.
How many people did a territory need to apply for
statehood?
7.
What states came out of the Northwest Territory?
The Problem of Land
Congress expected each state to help pay war debts
States with surplus land had an additional source of
revenue
Other states were subject to higher taxes to pay debts
States without claim to western land, such as
Maryland, refused to ratify the Articles of
Confederation
The Problem of Land
New York and Virginia gave their disputed land to
congress
In 1781 all states agreed to join the confederation
officially creating ‘The United States of America”
1. How did the Land Ordinance of 1785 divide western
land?
2. How much would the land be sold for?
3. Who did the price of the land favor?
4. What key things did the Land Ordinance of 1787
Establish?
5. What could a territory do under the Land Ordinance
of 1787 if they had 60,000 people?
Page 137