The Articles of Confederation Articles of Confederation 1

The Articles of Confederation

Articles of Confederation � 1 st US National govt. �Proposed in 1776, ratified 1781 �Replaced in 1788 �Based on State Sovereignty

Articles Benefits �Land Ordinance, 1785 ◦ Divided Northwest Territory into 6 mile square townships �Required land be set aside for schools (#16) ◦ Land was sold at auction and was primary govt. revenue source

™ Western Land Claims during the Revolution

�Northwest Ordinance, 1787 ◦ Set rules for territories to become states ◦ Provided public support for education and outlawed slavery

“Article” Problems �Federal govt. could not create taxes �No national currency �Could not regulate trade � 100% agreement to create an Amendment � 2/3 majority to pass a law �No executive or judicial branches

“End” of the Articles �Shay’s Rebellion, 1787 ◦ MA farmer rebellion due to high bankruptcy rates caused by tax rates �Govt. struggled to restore order ◦ Generated calls for stronger central government

The Enlgightenment

The Enlightenment �Enlightenment was a response to the “Divine Right of Kings” �Thomas Hobbes’s Social Contract ◦ “State of Nature” people are evil and govt. must force order upon citizens �Social Contract = we give up some freedoms to keep order

�John Locke’s Natural Rights = Life, liberty, and property ◦ Social contract should allow people to form a new govt. if their natural rights are not being met �Jean Jacques Rousseau’s Popular Sovereignty ◦ All power rests in the hands of the people ◦ Promoted the idea of a direct democracy as part of the social contract

�Baron de Montesquieu “separation of governmental powers” ◦ Checks and Balances �Voltaire “Freedom of Speech & Religion”

US Constitution

Philadelphia Convention, 1787 ◦ “Constitutional Convention” � Focus was over sovereignty or who would hold the power and how would they protect the citizen’s rights from government �States or Federal Govt. �Anti-Federalists vs. Federalists � Plan for multi-branch government based on separation of powers ◦ Powers of govt. are divided into 3 branches �Judicial, Executive, Legislative

Creating a New Authority Adams, Thoughts on Government (1776) ◦ Govt. powers divided into executive, legislative, and judicial ◦ Bicameral legislature = Two house law making body ◦ Popular Sovereignty = People Choose �i. e. democracy �John

Federalists vs. Anti-Federalists �Federalists supported stronger national govt. ◦ The Federalist Papers by John Jay, James Madison, and Alexander Hamilton made case for Constitution in 85 essays �James Madison and Alexander Hamilton were both nicknamed the “Father of the Constitution

�Anti-Federalists supported state rights fearing this new national government would become tyrannical �Promise of a bill of rights enabled some Anti-Federalist support

Size / Power of Govt. �Debate over representation in legislature ◦ Virginia (large state) plan �Bicameral legislature with representation based on state populations ◦ New Jersey (small state) plan �Equal representation in legislature

Great Compromise �“Connecticut Compromise” �Bicameral Legislature ◦ Upper House equal representation (Senate) � 2 per state ◦ Lower House based on population (House of Representatives) � 435 total

Equal Representation? �Electoral College = Elects President ◦ Created to ensure equality between areas w/ large and small populations � 3/5 Compromise – Issue over how to count slaves toward representation ◦ Proposed by Thomas Jefferson who some called the Negro President after his victory in 1800 �Revealed sectional differences between North vs. South

Addressing the Anti-Federalists’ Fears ◦ Democracy / Republic – Citizens elect leaders �Enfranchisement – Right to Vote / Citizenship �Suffrage – Right to Vote ◦ Egalitarianism – All people are equal before the law ◦ Limited Govt. – Citizens have rights govt. cannot take away

�Bill of Rights = 1 st 10 Amendments ◦ Protects / Guarantees our most basic rights. �Can be restricted though �Speech if you threaten someone or if you lie �Protests must be peaceful and orderly �Cannot own a gun if you are a convicted felon

◦ 1 st – Religion, Protest, Speech, Press ◦ 2 nd – Guns ◦ 4 th – Search and Seizure ◦ 5 th – Fair Trial ◦ 6 th – Speedy Trial ◦ 7 th – Jury Trial ◦ 8 th – Cruel and Unusual Punishment

�Checks and Balances – Each branch was given power over the other two

�Federalism – Powers of govt. were divided between the state and national govt.

Delegated Concurrent Reserved

Establishing the Government �Initial executive department of War, State, and Treasury ◦ President’s Cabinet �Judiciary Act of 1789 established national courts ◦ Marbury v. Madison – Supreme Court has final authority on laws and presidential actions �“Judicial Review” �Congress passed tariff as source of income ◦ Tariff is a tax on imports

Ratifying the Constitution �Delaware was 1 st to ratify the new Constitution in 1787 �Majority of states ratified by 1789 �Rhode Island was last in 1790

Constitution and You �Elastic Clause – “Implied Powers” Congress has the power to create laws as needed as times change ◦ Highways and Interstates ◦ Internet �Goal of US government is to promote the “Common Good” while protecting individual “minority” rights

�Duties as a US Citizen: ◦ Jury Duty ◦ Be an informed Voter ◦ Obey Laws

Discussion Questions �Examine the Articles and the Constitution. How did they differ? Which better served the freedoms and rights of the American people?

�Kentucky and Tennessee attracted settlement by 1790 ◦ Daniel Boone - Cumberland Gap - 1792 – 15 th State

Challenges Facing the Early Republic 1790– 1800

Interpreting the Constitution �Constitution is only a document how should it be applied in real life? ◦ Loose constructionist ◦ Strict constructionist

Hamiltonian Economics �Alexander Hamilton - 1 st Secretary of Treasury �Report on Public Credit, 1790 ◦ Consolidated national debt �Treasury Bond/CD’s �Creation of a Bank of the United States

Jefferson Versus Hamilton �Hamiltonians = economic interests ◦ Northern ◦ Loose Constructionist �Jeffersonians = farmers, “Common Man” ◦ Southern, Western ◦ Strict Constructionist

Regional Challenges �Debate bank over the creation of a national US ◦ Capitol was moved south to DC to gain Southern support for bank �Indian wars in the Northwest ◦ Battle of Fallen Timbers in 1794 �Sets the stage for the War of 1812

Whiskey Rebellion � 1794 farmers refused to pay federal excise tax on whiskey ◦ Similar causes to Shay’s Rebellion �Difference was the central government was strong enough to end the rebellion quickly

Foreign Challenges ◦ Jay Treaty with England, 1795 ◦ Pinckney Treaty with Spain, 1796 ◦ Secures access to Mississippi River and port of New Orleans

Washington’s Farewell �Set 2 term custom �Warned against foreign involvement �Denounced political parties ◦ John Adams elected 2 nd President in 1796

US Politics and the French

Troubles with France, 1796– 1800 �XYZ Affair ◦ French were upset with Washington’s declaration of neutrality & the Jay Treaty ◦ French diplomats demanded money to avoid war �Quasi Naval-War with French

Alien and Sedition Acts � 4 laws to restrict criticism of US govt. and arrest / deport “aliens” ◦ KY and VA resolves �Cited State’s Rights �Established idea of NULLIFICATION

Election of 1800 � 1796 Adams elected president Jefferson VP �Led to the birth of political parties ◦ Adams = Federalist ◦ Jefferson = Democratic-Republican �Jefferson wins = “Revolution of 1800” � 12 th Amendment 1803

Evolving American Culture

Cultural Changes �Virginia’s Statute for Religious Freedom, 1786 �Religious toleration (Catholics & Jews) �War allowed women greater control of everyday lives ◦ Challenges to patriarchal orientation of society �Male dominated ◦ Concept of “republican motherhood” gave women moral superiority in society

Slavery Debate �North increasingly abolitionist ◦ Anti-Slavery �Phillis Wheatley – African American Poet; freed slave ◦ 1780 Pennsylvania begins to outlaw slavery; which slowly becomes norm in North �Choices Slavery Debate

�Maryland Virginia passed manumission laws �Ways for slaves to earn freedom / time frame ◦ Atlantic slave trade outlawed in 1808 �Only practiced in Georgia and South Carolina after Revolution