Articles of Confederation

1. Articles of Confederation • Congress was nervous about creating a strong central government – feared that it would trample their rights (just like King George did!) • Articles of Confederation – a “firm league of friendship” in which “each state retains its sovereignty, freedom, and independence” • Congress CAN: make war and peace, raise an army and a navy, print money, and set up postal system • WEAKNESSES: no direct power over citizens, no power to tax, could not enforce laws, could not regulate trade, could not be changed without consent of all 13 states

2. New Land Division & Development • Land Ordinance of 1785 • Before, there was no orderly way of dividing up and selling the new western land • Western lands were divided into six-mile squares called townships • Each township was then divided into 36 sections of 640 acres each • The Northwest Ordinance of 1787 • Divided Northwest Territory into smaller territories, each governed by a territorial governor • As soon as a territory had 5,000 free adult males, it could elect its own legislature or law-making body • When the population reached 60,000, a territory could apply to Congress to become a state • Slavery was banned in the Northwest Territory

3. Shay’s Rebellion & the Need for Change • Money shortage forced famers to sell their land and livestock to pay off their debts • Daniel Shays led farmers in rebellion • Marched to the national arsenal to seize weapons • Militia troops sent to Springfield to restore order • Highlighted the weaknesses of the A.O.C. - must revise!! • Call for Convention! Each state sent delegates to Philadelphia in May of 1787 to revise the Articles of Confederation

4. Opening the Constitutional Convention • Environment: hot, sticky, steamy, slightest move was painful • President of the Convention: George Washington • WHO? • 55 delegates from 12 states (R.I. boycotted) • “Well-bred, well-fed, well-read, and well-wed” • Average age: 42 • Oldest: Ben Franklin, 81 • Extensive political experience • More than 2/3 lawyers • More than 1/3 owned slaves • “Assembly of demi-gods”

5. Opening the Constitutional Convention • Father of the Constitution: James Madison • Addressed the convention more than 200 times • Wrote down nearly every word • Took more than 600 pages of printed notes • The Rule of Secrecy • Delegates wanted to feel free to speak their minds without causing alarm among the general public • Keep secret whatever was said in the meeting until their work was done

6. Shared Beliefs and Clashing Views • The delegates were committed to the ideals of the Declaration of Independence • The basic purpose of government: • protect the rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness • The just powers of government come from the consent of the governed • Formed a republic: a country governed by elected representatives • Debate remains: Strong national government (king) vs. not-so-strong national government (no king)

7. Issue 1: How Should States Be Represented in the New Government? Original Plan: Revise the Articles of Confederation Bold Move: THROW OUT the A.O.C. and write a new constitution Delegates = Framers (NOT farmers!!)

8. KEY ISSUE Where should the government’s power come from? THE STATES? OR THE PEOPLE? Articles of Confederation = STATES NEW Constitution = ??? 2 plans were recommended…

9. The Virginia Plan Strong National Government Three branches: Legislative Branch (Congress) = MAKE the laws. Executive Branch = CARRY OUT the laws. Judicial Branch (System of Courts) = APPLY and INTERPRET the laws.

10. The Virginia Plan Congress made up of TWO houses: House of Representatives Senate The number of lawmakers sent to Congress depended on POPULATION Bigger population = more representatives

11. The New Jersey Plan Government with three branches. Legislative branch with ONE house, not two. States have equal representation in Congress, no matter how big or small they are.

12. The Great Compromise Tempers Rise small states vs. large states Roger Sherman (from CT!) presents a compromise: Two-House Congress House of Representatives Represents the PEOPLE Number of reps based on POPULATION Senate Represents the STATES Each state gets TWO senators

13. * Represents the people * # based on population * Represents the states * Two senators per state

14. Issue 2: How Should Slaves Be Counted? “Upon what principle shall SLAVES be computed in the representation?” The South 9 out of 10 slaves live in the South Southerners wanted as many reps in the H.O.R. as possible Argued that slaves should be counted the same as any other people in determining representation The North “Blacks are property and are used to the southward as horses and cattle to the northward.” Slaves should be counted only as property that could be taxed like any other property

15. New Thinking on Slavery Growing division over slavery among white Americans D.O.I. and Rev. War forced many to reexamine their views on slavery Many southerners were uneasy about slavery, but not yet ready to abolish it South’s economy too dependent on slave labor

16. Resolution: Three-Fifths Compromise Madison proposes a compromise: Count each slave as three-fifths of a person when determining a state’s population. Congress approves, naming the idea the Three-Fifths Compromise. Made a mockery of the statement “all men are created equal,” but it kept the convention moving forward.

18. The Slave Trade North: Give Congress broad power to control trade between states and other countries. South: Worried that Congress might try to tax southern export crops such as rice and tobacco. Didn’t want Congress to use its power over trade to outlaw the slave trade (importing slaves from Africa.)

19. The Slave Trade By 1787, several states had outlawed the slave trade within their boundaries. A majority of the convention’s delegates favored ending the slave trade completely. South Carolina and Georgia objected that their economies would collapse without a “constant supply of fresh slaves.” Neither state would agree to any constitution that threatened the slave trade.

20. The Slave Trade Compromise:Congress would have the power to control trade, but with two limitations: Congress could not place any tax on exports going to other countries Congress should not interfere with the slave trade for 20 years, or until 1808 “The Fugitive Slave Clause”: Escaped slaves had to be returned to their owners, even if they were caught in a free state.

22. Conclusion “Without such compromises, the states might never have come together in a single union. Still, the compromises only postponed the day when Americans would have to resolve the terrible contradiction between slavery and the ideals of liberty and equality. Meanwhile, generations of African Americans would spend their lives in bondage.”

23. Issue 3: How Should the Chief Executive Be Elected? • Who will head the new government’s executive branch? • Charles Pinckney: wants “vigorous executive” • Vigorous = strong, active, robust, powerful in action or effect. • James Wilson: wants a single person to serve as chief executive

24. How Should the Chief Executive Be Elected? • Convention’s response: • WHAT!? A SINGLE EXECUTIVE!? • We don’t want another King George!! • Wilson’s response: • Good governments need clear, timely and responsible leadership. This is most likely found in a single person, not a group.

25. One Executive or Three? • People who didn’t like Wilson’s idea: • Edmund Randolph of Virginia: preferred a three member executive drawn from different parts of the country. Three people are better than one. • Benjamin Franklin: The first guy might be good, but who knows what will come after him? The next one might be too ambitious or war-hungry.

26. Final Decision • ONE EXECUTIVE!! • Called “President” • Term limited to four years • Vice president needs to be elected if the president dies while still in office

27. Choosing the Chief Executive • So.. How do we choose? • Some ideas: • Congress appoints president • People elect the president • A special “group of electors” from each state elects the president

28. Resolution: The Electoral College • So what was decided? Who should elect the president? • NOT Congress • NOT the people • Instead, a “special body called the Electoral College would elect the government’s leaders.”

29. The Electoral College System • Electoral College is made up of: • Electors who cast votes to elect the president and vice president every four years • Each state has as many electors in the E.C. as the number of senators and representatives it sends to Congress • Each state decides HOW to choose their electors • TODAY: the people choose their state’s electors when they vote in presidential elections The electors then cast their ballots for president and vice president on a date chosen by the Congress • The candidate with the most votes became president

30. Political Parties and Elections • Framers’ concern: Voters don’t know enough about candidates outside their own state to choose a president wisely. Thus, we need the ELECTORS to choose. • Within a few years of the convention, political parties were nominating candidates for president and educating voters in every state about those candidates.

31. The Electoral College Today • In most states, the candidate who gets the most votes (even if less than a majority) gets all of that state’s ELECTORAL votes. • As a result, a candidate can win a majority in the Electoral College, without necessarily winning a majority of the votes cast across the country. • EXAMPLE: In the 2000 election, George W. Bush won the presidency over Al Gore, even though more voters nationally chose Gore. • Why?? ELECTORAL VOTES.

32. The Electoral College Today Electing the President in Plain English

34. Approving the Constitution • Questions: • How many states would have to ratify (approve) the Constitution before it could go into effect? • Should ratification require approval by all 13 states? • By the majority of 7 states? • Compromise: • 9 states would need to approve in order to ratify the Constitution.

35. Approving the Constitution • Questions: • Who should ratify the Constitution? • The people? (fountain of all power) • State Legislatures? (faster and easier) • Conclusion: • The Constitution would be ratified at special conventions by delegates elected by the people in each state.

36. Signing the Constitution • September 17, 1787: • CONSTITUTION COMPLETE! • Franklin shares his final thoughts: “I confess that I do not entirely approve of this Constitution,” (but no convention could produce a perfect plan.) “It therefore astonishes me to find this system approaching so near to perfect… and I think it will astonish our enemies. I expect no better, and because I am not sure that it is not the best. Everyone member of the convention must put his name to this instrument.”

37. Signing the Constitution • 14 delegates left the convention before it ended • 3 did not sign at all • Must most felt: “A new day was dawning for the United States.”

38. The Constitution Goes to the Nation • Newspapers in every state printed the Constitution as soon as they could get it. • What they found: • A plan that would create a “federal” system of government in which a strong national government shared power with the states. • Before long, the entire country was debating the same issues that had kept the convention in session for four long months.

39. The Federalists • SUPPORTED THE CONSTITUTION • Argument: • The Constitution would create a national government that was strong enough to unite the quarreling states into a single republic. • Leaders: • James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, John Jay

40. The Federalists • What They Did: • Reminded people of the weaknesses of the government under the A.O.C. • Showed how the Constitution would remedy those weakness by creating a stronger, more effective Union of the states. • Addressed the fears of many Americans that a strong government would threaten their freedom or take away their rights. • Pointed out that the powers given to the government were strictly limited and divided among three branches so that no one branch could become too powerful. • All of this was written in what are called The Federalists Papers.

41. The Anti-Federalists • OPPOSED THE CONSTITUTION • Argument: • Congress would ruin the country with taxes • The president had enough power to rule like a king • Judicial branch would swallow up state courts • The plan did not list the rights of the people • Leaders: • Patrick Henry, Samuel Adams, Thomas Jefferson

42. Conclusion • According to Madison, the question facing the nation was: “whether or not the Union shall or shall not be continued. There is, in my opinion, no middle ground to be taken.”

44. ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS Using your prior knowledge (everything we have learned about the Revolution, Declaration of Independence, etc) and your Chapter 8 Notes, create an OUTLINE that will answer our two essential questions: • How did conflict create the need for the Constitution? • What is the role of compromise in shaping the Constitution?