LECTURE 3-3: THE ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION AND THE CONSTITUTION The American Revolution s democratic and republican ideals inspired new experiments with different forms of government. I. Allegiances A. Factors for National Unity i. Common language and culture ii. Single geographic unit based around the east coast iii. No tradition of hostility or war against each other iv. Cooperated against the British for independence B. Factors Against National Unity i. Strong state loyalties ii. Large area with poor roads, transportation, and communication iii. Not interdependent economically iv. No longer a common enemy to bind the states together II. Organization of New Governments A. State Governments i. List of Rights a. After declaring independence, American political leaders created new constitutions and declarations of rights that articulated the role of the state and federal governments while protecting individual liberties and limiting both centralized power and excessive popular influence. b. During and after the American Revolution, some individuals and groups called for greater political democracy in the new state and national governments. ii. Separation of Powers a. Many new state constitutions placed power in the hands of the legislative branch. b. Most states had bicameral legislatures. iii. Voting a. Most states believed in republicanism, the belief that government should be based on the consent of the governed. b. Many new state constitutions maintained property qualifications for voting and citizenship, though a few had universal white male suffrage. iv. Office-Holding a. Those seeking elected office were usually held to a higher property qualification than the voters. B. Articles of Confederation i. Ratification a. The Articles of Confederation unified the newly independent states. ii. Structure of Government a. The Articles of Confederation created a central government with limited power. b. Unicameral central government c. Each state had one vote and it took 9 of the 13 states to pass a law d. Amendments required unanimous consent iii. Powers
a. The writers of the Articles of Confederation were cautious about giving the new government power they had just denied Parliament. The confederation consisted of a weak central government. b. This satisfied small farmers, frontier settlers, city workers, states rights advocates, and debtors c. The national government was permitted to wage war, make treaties, send diplomatic representatives, and borrow money. iv. Accomplishments a. Revolutionary War 1. The Articles of Confederation government concluded the Revolutionary War and negotiated the Treaty of Paris. 2. The Congress was able to sign the Treaty of Alliance with France and secure needed materials and assistance during and immediately after the war. b. Land Ordinance of 1785 1. Divided western lands into townships of 36 sections 2. Income from one section of each township was used to support public education 3. Land sold in 640-acre sections at no less than $1 per acre c. Northwest Ordinance of 1787 1. As settlers moved westward during the 1780s, Congress enacted the Northwest Ordinance for admitting new states. 2. The Northwest Ordinance provided for the orderly creation of territorial governments and new states. Ohio was the first state admitted to the Union from the Northwest Territory. 3. Established a national policy for the sale of western lands and encouraged public education. 4. Served as a model for the democratic treatment of territories in contrast to Britain s colonies. 5. With 5,000 male adults, a territory could be granted a legislature. A governor and judges were appointed by Congress. They would lead the territory along with the legislature. 6. With 60,000 inhabitants, the territory could write a constitution and apply for statehood, on equal footing with the original states in all respects whatsoever. 7. The ordinance promoted public education, the protection of private property, and a ban on slavery in the Northwest Territory. v. Problems with the Articles a. After the American Revolution, difficulties over international trade, finances, interstate commerce, foreign relations, and internal unrest led to calls for a stronger central government. b. Power resided in the individual members, not in the central government. c. Congress lacked the authority to tax. d. Paper money was virtually worthless. e. Congress lacked the ability to exercise authority directly over the states.
II. f. Congress could not regulate interstate or foreign commerce. g. Congress made no action to handle war debt, which earned no respect from foreign nations. The British and Spanish frequently expanded into western American lands. h. Unable to control widespread inflation i. No executive or judicial branch of government vi. Shays Rebellion a. The rebellion was sparked by the economic frustrations of Massachusetts farmers who were losing their farms because they could not pay debts in hard currency. b. The leaders of Shays Rebellion sought the following changes: 1. An end to farm foreclosures 2. An end to imprisonment for debt 3. Relief from oppressively high taxation 4. Increased circulation of paper money c. The leaders of Shays Rebellion did not attempt to overthrow the government of Massachusetts. d. Shays Rebellion helped convince key leaders that the Articles of Confederation were took weak and that the United States needed a stronger central government. Social Change A. Abolition of Aristocratic Titles i. No legislature could grant titles of nobility, nor could any court recognize the feudal practice of primogeniture (the first born son s right to inherit his family s property). ii. Whatever aristocracy existed in colonial America was further weakened by the confiscation of large estates owned by Loyalists. B. Separation of Church and State i. Most states adopted the principle of separation of church and state. They refused to give financial support to any religious group. ii. Only in three New England States did the Congregational Church continue to receive state support in the form of a religious tax. C. Women i. Abigail Adams was an early proponent of women s rights. She wrote a letter to her husband, John Adams, asking him to remember the ladies. The letter demonstrates that some colonial women hoped to benefit from republican ideals of equality and individual rights. ii. In response to women s participation in the American Revolution, Enlightenment ideas, and women s appeals for expanded roles, an ideal of republican motherhood gained popularity. iii. Republican motherhood called on women to teach republican values within the family and granted women a new importance in American political culture. D. Slavery i. The expansion of slavery in the Deep South and adjacent western lands and rising antislavery sentiment began to create distinctive regional attitudes toward the institution. ii. During and after the American Revolution, an increased awareness of inequalities in society motivated some individuals and groups to call for the abolition of slavery. E. Culture
III. i. Ideas about national identity increasingly found expression in works of art, literature, and architecture. Drafting the Constitution A. Annapolis Convention i. Consisted of 12 representatives from only 5 states. ii. Its goal was to address barriers that limited trade and commerce between the states. iii. Not enough states were represented to make any real progress. iv. They sent a report to the Congress to call a meeting of all the states to meet in Philadelphia to examine areas broader than just trade and commerce. B. Philadelphia Convention i. Delegates from the states participated in a Constitutional Convention and through negotiation, collaboration, and compromise proposed a constitution that created a limited but dynamic central government embodying federalism and providing for a separation of powers between its three branches. C. Key Issues i. Representation a. Virginia Plan 1. Proposed a unicameral legislature where seats were apportioned by population b. New Jersey Plan 1. Proposed a unicameral legislature where each state received equal representation c. Connecticut Compromise (Great Compromise) 1. Decided on a bicameral legislature The Senate, the upper house, was based on the New Jersey Plan, whereby each state received two senators The House of Representatives, the lower house, was based on the Virginia Plan, whereby representatives were allocated according to the states populations. ii. Slavery a. The Constitutional Convention compromised over the representation of slave states in Congress and the role of the federal government in regulating both slavery and the slave trade, allowing the prohibition of the international slave trade after 1808. b. The Three-Fifths Compromise, whereby slaves counted as three-fifths of a person for purposes of apportionment in the House of Representatives and taxation iii. Trade a. The northern states wanted the central government to regulate interstate commerce and foreign trade. b. The southern states were afraid that export taxes would be placed on its agricultural products. c. The commercial compromise allowed Congress to regulate interstate and foreign commerce, including placing tariffs on foreign imports, but it prohibited placing taxes on any exports. iv. The Presidency
IV. a. Rather than have voters elect a president directly, the constitution created an Electoral College to safeguard the presidency from direct popular election. b. The delegates limited the president s term to four years but with no limit on the number of terms. c. The president was granted considerable power, including the ability to veto acts of Congress. v. Ratification a. After 17 weeks of debate, the Philadelphia convention approved a draft of the Constitution to submit to the states for ratification. Each state would hold popularly elected conventions to debate and vote on the proposed Constitution. Adding the Bill of Rights A. Anti-Federalists i. In a debate over ratifying the Constitution, Anti-Federalists opposing ratification battled with Federalists. ii. Anti-Federalists were those opposed to federalism feared that a strong central government would become tyrannical. iii. Characteristics of Anti-Federalists a. Drew support primarily from rural areas b. Argued that the President would have too much power c. Feared that Congress would levy heavy taxes d. Feared that the government would raise a standing army e. Believed that the new national government would overwhelm the states f. Argued that individual rights would not be protected B. Federalists i. Federalists ensured the ratification of the Constitution by promising the addition of a Bill of Rights that enumerated individual rights and explicitly restricted the powers of the federal government. ii. Federalists felt that there was no need for a national Bill of Rights, as each state had one. They argued that by enumerating what Congress couldn t do, it was implied that they inherently had the power to violate natural rights. C. The Federalist Papers i. The principles of the Federalists were articulated in the Federalist Papers, primarily written by Alexander Hamilton and James Madison. ii. The prevailing conventional wisdom was challenged when Madison and Hamilton asserted that a large republic offered the best protection of minority rights. Since several different groups and viewpoints would be included in the Congress, tyranny by the majority would be impossible. D. The First Ten Amendments i. Guarantee of individual liberties added to the Constitution in 1789 via the first 10 amendments to appease the Anti-Federalists. Written (as was much of the Constitution) primarily by James Madison. ii. Much of its content was based on George Mason s Virginia Declaration of Rights and Thomas Jefferson s Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom