Now What Do We Do?
Establishing A Government
Sasso
US I
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The Treaty of Paris
provides us with all of
the territory from the
Atlantic Ocean to the
MS River (excluding
Canada & FL)
LOTS of territory to
survey, control, and
eventually populate
What problems do we
face?
How can we go about
accomplishing those
goals?
What Are We Looking At?
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The concept has always been present on
some level in America
As we struggled in war, we also struggled to
develop a system to replace the British govt.
model
It’s a struggle that will last nearly 15 years,
but many important phases were addressed
during the Revolution
Two questions:
◦ What exactly are we trying to create?
◦ What should our govt. look like?
Self Government
The formation/amending of state govts got
underway around 1776
 Most of these “constitutions” reflect a fear of
executive power
 There is also a great concern about govt.
instability by giving the people too much power
 It’s a pretty delicate balance to try and find
 One thing that all parties agree on: the state and
national govts. should be Republican (not
meaning today’s political party)
 This would mean all power would derive from the
people, as opposed to a supreme authority
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First Step: Forming State Govts
Success of a Republican govt. depends on
the nature of its citizens
 In theory, if the population consists of
independent property owners with “civic
virtue”, the govt. should be in good shape
 If there are a few powerful aristocrats and
a great mass of dependent workers, the
govt. may be in trouble (potential for
corruption)
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Republican Govt
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Equality is another part of the equation
In theory, talent and energy would determine
role in society
Equality of opportunity, not condition
Inevitably, some will be more wealthy and
powerful than others
It’s a nice concept, but America is never
really like that
We already have a huge, dependent labor
force (slaves) with more to come
America never really provides a full equality
of opportunity, nor will we
Republican Govt
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11 of 13 states will produce new constitutions by 1780 (CT
and RI will not)
Not necessarily smooth sailing, but completion is important
1st basic decision: Constitutions will be written down
Seems simple enough, but a pretty big deal
We feel that vagueness produces corruption; structure
must be recorded
2nd basic decision: executive power must be limited
There is a concerted effort to separate branches of govt.
3rd basic decision: Not going the way of direct popular
vote
Most states will have an upper and lower legislative house
The upper house typically represents a higher order of
society
State Constitutions
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Initially, state govts are
not very effective
Pretty difficult to get tasks
accomplished; there
might be TOO MUCH
democracy
Many states will quickly
revise their recently
completed work
MA becomes the model
MA makes two major
changes
◦ #1- Constitutional
Conventions
◦ #2- Strengthening the
executive position
State Constitutions
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By this point, most states
have moved to true
religious freedom and a
complete separation of
church and state
While religion is no longer
an overwhelming issue,
slavery is becoming one
Many movements begin to
spring up around the
country looking to
abolish the institution
TJ- “Slavery is like holding
a wolf by the ears”
State Constitutions
National govt. is an entirely different set of
issues
 Most people believe that govt. at the national
level should be very weak
 There is a tremendous fear of monarchy
 Each state should essentially be its own
sovereign nation
 Kind of like 13 little countries, instead of 1 big
country
 The Articles of Confederation are developed out
of this concept, beginning in 1777
 Much of the credit for the Articles goes to John
Dickinson (PA)
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National Govt
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The Articles of Confederation will serve as our first form of
national govt.
Congress will remain the only institution of national authority
There is NO EXECUTIVE BRANCH (meaning no steady President)
There is NO SUPREME COURT (meaning no national court)
Congress will be a unicameral legislature: one house legislature
Each state would get 1 vote in Congress
1 state = 1 vote (regardless of size or population)
In order to pass any legislation, 9 out of 13 states would have to
approve
In order to ratify or amend the Articles, 13 out of 13 states would
have to approve
Nearly impossible to make changes to the document
The Articles of Confederation
National Govt
State Govts
Create Army/Navy
 Conduct Wars
 Borrow/Issue $
 Make Laws
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Taxes
 Trade Regulation
 Drafting of soldiers
CAN’T regulate trade
CAN’T tax
CAN’T draft soldiers
National Power vs. State Power
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Legislative setup is
unbalanced
Smallest states tend to vote
in a bloc, and they
outnumber the heavily
populated states (7-6)
Big land issue springs up
Largest states have claims
on huge tracts of Western
land
Small states feel intimidated
Eventually, the larger states
will agree to give up all of
their western claims to the
national govt.
Once that happens- Articles
of Confederation will be
ratified in 1781
Some Hold-ups
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The govt. will survey
new lands
Townships are 36
square miles
36 sections of 1 sq. mi.
1 sq. mi. = 640 acres
Govt. will sell the land
at $1/acre
Here’s the catch- the
govt. requires and
individual to purchase
an entire section
(owners can subdivide
if they choose)
The Land Ordinance of 1785
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The blueprint for
developing states
Attract 5,000 citizens to
territory- set up
provisional govt.
60,000 citizens- draft
constitution
Constitution can then be
submitted to Congress for
admission to Union
NW Territory can be no
less than 3 states, no
more than 5
Slavery is PROHIBITED in
the NW territory
The Northwest Ordinance 1787
America would really like to stay out of
European rivalries, but that’s nearly
impossible
 We need $, and our prosperity will depend
on trade
 Ultimately have to develop some kind of
commercial treaties
 BUT… we have serious issues with
England, Spain, and Native Americans
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Problems, Problems, Problems…
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Relationship with England
will be naturally strained
Treaty of Paris will be
violated by both England and
America
American goods no longer
receive a preferred position
in British markets
England will flood our
markets with cheap goods
England accepts an American
ambassador (John Adams),
but they will refuse to send
one in return; not sure if
they should send 1 or 13
Political slap in the face
England would like nothing
more than to see us fail
Problems, Problems, Problems…
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Spain is not pleased about
the large amount of territory
that America has acquired
U.S. expansion threatens
Spanish lands
Many border disputes will
spring up
Spain will form alliances with
several Native American
tribes and encourage them
to attack US settlers
Spain will also reject a Right
of Deposit request in New
Orleans, hampering
Americans ability to trade in
Western territories
Problems, Problems, Problems…
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France is not exactly
pleased with U.S. either
Supporting U.S.
decimated their finances
France would like to be
compensated for the
effort
America is not in a
position to pay France
back monetarily
Trade privileges sought by
France didn’t materialize
France is starting to think
they got the short end of
the stick (and they’re
probably correct)
Problems, Problems, Problems…
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We also have to deal with
the presence of the
Barbary Pirates
North African pirates who
patrol the Mediterranean
and Atlantic
They will capture the
ships/crews of nations
who refuse to pay tribute
(bribes)
America had been
protected by the British
navy and treasury
Those privileges no longer
apply- U.S. ships will face
constant harassment
Problems, Problems, Problems…
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America has domestic issues
as well
The northeastern states
dislike each other
Continually bicker over
boundaries and trade
Congress can’t regulate
trade, so states will pass all
sorts of unfair trade laws to
take advantage of their
neighbors
No longer a national
currency, so each state
creates their own money and
rates of exchange
Ridiculous- but there is no
authority to stop them from
doing it
Problems, Problems, Problems…
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Between 1780-1790, the
Western population will
increase from 2,000 to
100,000
Very tough to meet the
needs of these people
Can’t move the British out of
Western forts
Can’t handle the Spanish on
any level
No money to buy land or
settle with Native Americans
No soldiers to protect them
Situation out West can be
utterly lawless
Problems, Problems, Problems…