FROM CONFEDERATION TO UNION The Articles of Confederation

FROM CONFEDERATION TO UNION: The Articles of Confederation and the Constitution

Powers of State Government after the Revolution Legislative branch elected two house legislature v All white males who owned some property could vote Executive branch elected governor Judicial branch system of courts v Higher property ownership qualification to hold office

New Central Government Articles of Confederation v v Established a central government consisting of one body – Congress Each state given one vote 9 out of 13 needed to pass laws Unanimous vote required to amend

Accomplishments of the Articles v v v Winning the War - Negotiated favorable terms in the treaty of peace Land Ordinance of 1785 – Established public policy for western lands Northwest Ordinance 1787 – v Granted self-government to territory and prohibited slavery v Established rules for creating new states

Social Change After the War v v Abolition of Aristocratic Titles Reinvented the Role of Women Separation of Church and State Slavery

Weakness of Articles of Confederation Foreign Relations: v v European nations had little respect for the new nation that could not: v pay debts v force states to adhere to the Treaty of Paris v take effective and united action in a crisis Britain and Spain threatened to take advantage of U. S. weakness – interested in western lands

Weakness of Articles of Confederation Domestic Issues: v v v Shay’s Rebellion – Rebellion of farmers against high state taxes, imprisonment over debts, and lack of paper money Depression as a result of foreign trade reduction Quarrels between states

Annapolis Convention v v Although representatives from all states were invited, only 5 states sent delegates to Annapolis Madison and Hamilton persuaded others to reconvene in a new meeting to revise the Articles

Issues at the Constitutional Convention v Change the Articles or draft an entirely new document? Nationalists favored a strong central government v System of Checks and Balances v

The Debate over Representation v v v The Virginia Plan v Favored large states New Jersey Plan v Favored small states The Great Compromise v Provided a two-house congress v Equal representation in the Senate v Representation based on population in the House of Representatives

Slavery “Great as the evil is, a dismemberment of the Union would be worse. ” --James Madison How were slaves going to be counted? v Were the slave trade and slavery itself to be allowed under the Constitution? 3/5 Compromise: v Each slave counted as 3/5 of a person for taxation and population v Slaves could be imported for 20 years (until 1808), at which time Congress could vote to abolish the practice v

Trade Northern states wanted central government to regulate interstate commerce and foreign trade. v South was afraid taxes would be placed on agricultural products (i. e. , tobacco & rice) Commercial Compromise – Congress regulates interstate and foreign commerce, including tariffs on imports, but prohibited taxes on exports v

The Presidency Election v Some argued that President should hold office for life v President’s term – 4 years but set no limit to the number of terms v Electoral College –feared too much democracy might lead to mob rule Powers Veto acts of Congress May appoint federal judges who serve for life

Electoral College Election of the President was yet another compromise. Here’s how it works: v People from each state choose electors (process different from state to state) v # of electors based on population v Meet as one body to vote for President – vote for two people (most votes=President, the second most votes=Vice President) v If no one received the majority, the House of Representatives selects President based on majority vote

Federalists v. Anti-Federalists v Anti-Federalists- opposed the Constitution because it lacked a Bill of Rights, their protection against government interference Federalists supported the Constitution and wanted a strong national government Federalist Papers v Alexander Hamilton, John Jay and James Madison writing as Publius v 85 essays, printed in newspapers, explaining the Constitution and trying to convince people to ratify the Constitution v

What did they ratify? v v A federal system government Separation of powers into three branches System of checks and balances Popular sovereignty as the guiding principle