Governing A New Nation

1. Governing A New Nation

2. Government By The States • As the Continental Congress began moving toward independence in 1776, leaders in the individual states began creating governments, 11 of the 13 colonies wrote state level constitutions, the other 2 used their old colonial charters • Colonists had been very unhappy with governors being appointed by the King of England thus these new constitutions sought to limit the power of the governor and gave most of the power to the people • New state level constitutions allowed for more people to vote but did not guarantee the right of everyone to vote • Virginia becomes the first new state to include a bill of rights in their constitution, NY also included provisions for freedom of religion

3. The Articles of Confederation • While the states were writing their own constitutions, the Continental Congress created a plan for the nation as a whole, it was called the Articles of Confederation • Instead of having 3 branches of government like those of most states, the government under the articles would have only 1 a legislative branch called Congress, there would also be no national court system • The framers of the AOC kept in mind their complaints against Britain and purposely limited the power of a federal type government, most of the power was to be held by the states • Congress could not collect taxes or regulate trade, the federal government also had no power to enforce laws

4. Settling the Western Lands • Under the AOC any new laws or changes would have to be approved by all 13 states, the AOC also required all lands west of the Appalachian Mountains to be forfeited to the federal government – this land was very valuable and states like Maryland, Massachusetts and Virginia were very reluctant to give up control of these regions, once they did the federal government created 2 ordinances on how to use the land make money off their sale at the same time • The Land Ordinance of 1785 sent surveyors west of the Appalachian Mountains to divide up the land into townships 6 miles by 6 miles in size, this would allow for grids to be used when mapping the new lands, all land in the grid would then be divided up into 1 acre lots and sold for $1 per acre, each township also had to set aside land for a school • The Northwest Ordinance of 1787 guaranteed basic rights for those who settled lands north of the Ohio River, it also banned slavery from these new lands, it set up a 3 step process for being an official US state

5. Growing Problems • Under the AOC the US had many successes, it waged a successful war for independence, negotiated a peace treaty with Britain, set up rules for settling new territories, but by the mid 1780’s many Americans concluded that the AOC did not give the government enough power to solve the new problems facing our young nation • Under the AOC, each state set it’s own rules for trade, each state set it’s own rules for farming and manufacturing and set their own taxes, in addition each state printed it’s own money that held limited value across state lines • Because the new nation was so young and still figuring itself out, many foreign powers viewed America as a weak nation and refused to do business with us • The British refused to leave American soil in the mid west, and Spain refused to let American ships sail on the Mississippi River • In the mid to late 1780’s, a severe economic depression hit the US, as crop prices fell Massachusetts farmers were unable to pay their bills and the state government began to seize their property, Daniel Shay led an armed rebellion against the Governor of Massachusetts – although the rebellion fizzled it did plant fear into the hearts and minds of many Americans