From Articles to Constitution: The Evolution of American Government

1. From Articles to Constitution …but now what? Congratulations!!! You have won your Independence from Britain…. Who rules? And how? Strong central government or strong state governments? Each state equal power or population based?

2. Articles of Confederation (1781) The Continental Congress wrote the Articles of Confederation during the Revolutionary War to give the colonies some sense of a unified government. Once the thirteen colonies became the thirteen states, however, each one began to act alone in its own best interest. TWO Governments were SHARING power: • FEDERAL: STATE: • Declare war - raise an army • Make peace - levy taxes • Deal w/ Natives - make laws • ***No separate Executive Dept. to enforce acts of Congress or Judiciary to interpret meaning of laws

3. Problems • Lacked national unity – each state functioned independently, rather than as one nation • Unequal state populations had equal power • Any changes had to be unanimous, so nothing got done • Congress lacked the power to tax or regulate foreign trade • Difficulty repaying foreign debts …But there was ONE good thing to come from the Articles…

4. What to do with the newly acquired lands West of the Appalachain Mountains?

5. Land Ordinance of 1785 Devised a plan to survey the new land into parcels to be sold off Northwest Ordinance of 1787 Congress provided a way to carve out 5 new states out of the territory ***This is important because it provided a blueprint for the expansion of the country – to add new states!

6. Shays’ Rebellion Farmers were heavily in debt and could not pay their taxes. States threw debtors in jail and auctioned off their property in default. What were the farmers to do? Daniel Shays led about 1000 Massachusetts farmers on a raid of a federal arsenal in Western Massachusetts The rebellion was eventually put down… …but not before it scared the states to send delegates to a National Constitutional Convention to fix the problems of the weak Articles of Confederation

7. Constitutional Convention • Some Big Names were there – Ben Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, James Madison – even George Washington as its President! • They immediately scrapped the A of C and sought to create a new government • But how? Small states vs. Big States, National Government over State governments, Weathy merchants pitted against farmers, Northerners against Southerners…this would not be easy!

8. Big State vs. Small State • James Madison’s Virginia Plan: • - Bicameral legislature (membership based on population) • - Voters elect lower house • Lower house elects upper • Both houses vote for President and judges *Small States objected to Virginia Plan because it gave way too much power to states with larger populations

9. Not So Fast, Mr. Big State! William Paterson’s New Jersey Plan: • Unicameral legislature • Each state has ONE vote, regardless of population or how many delegates a state chooses to send to Congress *Large states objected to New Jersey Plan because if all 7 small states voted together, they would control Congress with only a combined 25% of the people represented!

10. The Great Compromise Roger Sherman suggests: • Bicameral legislature • People elect Representatives, Representatives choose Senators

11. Three-Fifths Compromise To boost their representation in Congress, 60% of a Southern state’s slave population would count toward the represented population…EVEN THOUGH THEY WERE STILL PROPERTY AND HAD NO RIGHTS!!! To preserve it, Congress was banned from entertaining a ban on importation of slaves for 20 years (1808)

12. Separation of Powers

14. After four months, the Convention drafted the Constitution! Now the hard part - The Constitution was then sent to the states for ratification at individual state conventions

15. Federalists Supported ratifying the Constitution Claimed the division of power and system of checks and balances would protect against tyranny

16. Anti-Federalists Long list of possible abuses including a strong central government biased toward weathy minority and not help ordinary citizen HUGE problem with absent Bill of Rights

17. Constitution is Ratified!!! George Washington is unanimously chosen as first President James Madison chosen to draft the Bill of Rights (ratified in 1791) **The genius of the Constitution is that it can be changed – it’s a LIVING document. The flexibility of the US government and peaceful exchange of power is a model to the rest of the world