Historical Documents

1. Historical Documents The Articles of Confederation The Northwest Ordinance The Federalists Papers Anti-Federalists Papers Bill of Rights

2. Think about what might happen if we did not have a national government and instead each state was independent without any national control. • List 5 things that you might happen • Be ready to share ideas with class Bell Work

3. 17,000 French and American troops surrounded the British on the Yorktown peninsula. • After a month of bombarding General Cornwallis surrendered to the French and American Forces, on October 19th, 1781 The British Surrender at Yorktown

4. Peace talks that end the war in the city of Paris, France in 1782 • Treaty signed in September 1783 • Confirmed U.S. independence • Set boundaries for the United States Treaty of Paris

5. As citizens of a new and independent nation, Americans had to create their own political system. • After the Revolutionary War many Americans favored a republic style of government. • Republic = a government in which citizens rule through their elected representatives Experimenting with Confederation

6. Many citizens feared democracy placed power in the hands of the uneducated masses • Democracy = government directly by the people Experimenting with Confederation

7. Created by the Second Continental Congress, ratified in 1781 • Confederation = a union of independent states, an alliance • The Articles set up a Congress; each state had one vote regardless of population The Articles of Confederation

8. Articles of Confederation did not create a Judicial Branch, or Executive Branch • There was no President • Power was divided between state and national governments The Articles of Confederation

9. Declare War • Make Peace • Sign Treaties • Borrow Money • Set the Standards for coins, weights and measurements • Established a postal service The Articles of ConfederationNational Governments Powers

10. Amending the Articles was difficult; took consensus from all 13 states • Congress had no ability to raise money, it had to ask states for money Problems with The Articles of Confederation

11. Land Ordinance of 1787 – Plan for surveying land • Northwest Ordinance of 1787 – Procedure for dividing the land into no fewer than three and no more than five states • Northwest Ordinance also set requirements for the admission of new states The Articles of Confederation Successes

13. New States • Ohio • Indiana • Illinois • Michigan • Wisconsin The Northwest Ordinance of 1787

15. A weak national government • Congress could not tax or regulate trade • One vote per state no matter the size of the population or land size • The national government did not have an executive or judicial branch • No common currency among the states 5 Major Weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation

16. Congress could not enact and collect taxes • Each state had only one vote in Congress, regardless of population • Nine out of thirteen states needed to agree to pass important laws • Articles could be amended only if all states approved Other weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation

17. There was no executive branch to enforce laws of Congress • There was no national court system to settle legal disputes • There were thirteen separate states that lacked national unity Other weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation

18. Articles of Confederation only lasted from 1781-1789 • There were too many weaknesses to run an effective national government • Federalism – power is divided between a national government and several state governments. Creating a New Government

19. The Constitutional Convention met in 1787 to draft a new Constitution • One of the biggest debates at the Constitutional Convention was over representation • The Great Compromise • 2 Senators / State • 1 representative /30,000 people • Three-Fifths of a state’s slaves to be counted as part of the population U.S. Constitution mini-lecture

20. Federalists = supporters of the Constitution • favored the balance of power between the states and the national government • Antifederalists = opponents of the Constitution • opposed having a strong central government U.S. Constitution mini-lecture

21. Anti-Federalists thought that the solution was not good enough. They wanted more representation. • They worried that 1 person could not adequately represent 30,000 people. • Federalists disagreed. Antifederalists

22. A Series of 85 essays defending the Constitution • Written by three influential supporters of ratification • Alexander Hamilton • James Madison • John Jay WAR OF WORDS / The Federalist

23. New Constitution was that it contained no guarantee that the government would protect the rights of the people or the states. • Fought aggressively for the Bill of Rights; Individuals protections from the federal government WAR OF WORDS /Letters from the Federal Farmer

24. After the Constitution was written, it had to be ratified by 9 states. • The Anti-Federalists lost the battle, but won the war. • The first 10 amendments to the Constitution—the Bill of Rights—were ratified in 1791. • These addressed many of the issues that the Anti-Federalists raised in the conventions. Ratification