Constitutional Era Articles of Confederation
Jan 17, 2018
Constitutional Era
Articles of Confederation
Potential problems facing the young nation
• Foreign Policy• Economic Problems• Domestic Policy
Problems: Foreign policy
• England: controlled trade, and still maintained a presence in America
• Spain: controlled access to the Mississippi River, controlling the trade of Northwest farmers
• France: Demanded repayment of debt• Pirates: Raiding American ships
$$ Economics $$
• Huge debt from war: Individual states and the national congress owed great sums of money• High inflation: American money was
virtually worthless• Farm foreclosures: Patriots could not
afford to pay back loans
Problems: Domestic Policy
• Is the new nation 13 independent countries or is it one united country?
Source of the Problem
Struggles under the Articles of Confederation
Areas Weakness Consequences
Executive No central authority
No one to enforce the laws
Judiciary No federal court system
Inability to settle disputes among states
Taxes Congress could not impose or collect taxes
No money to run the country
Struggles (cont)
Trade Congress could not regulate trade between states
Each state had its own trading laws and taxes
Representation
Each state, regardless of population, had only one vote in Congress
The large states had no power over the little states
Conflicting Powers of the Articles of Confederation
• Congress could:–Raise armies–Declare War–Sign treaties
• Congress could not:–Raise revenue through taxes–Regulate trade or collect tariffs
The Constitutional Convention
• May 1787: Philadelphia• Each state
represented (except R.I.)
The Constitutional Convention
• Leaders were all appointed by the state legislatures, whose members had been elected by voters who could qualify as property owners.
• 55 delegates convened on May 25, 1787 in the Philadelphia statehouse , most all were men of high prestige and conservative
• Jefferson, in Paris, called the group a “convention of demigods”
Hot Topics
• Representation–Large States vs Small States
Stronger New Government
• National principle: –National government should be
stronger than the states
Hot Topics (cont)
• Slavery–North vs
South
• How should slaves be counted?–People?–Property?
Virginia Plan
• 3 Branches of Government• Bicameral legislature• Population based
New Jersey Plan
• Small state plan• Equal voting in legislature• Group executive• States Rights
Compromises
• Great Compromise (Connecticut)–Population and Equality based
legislature–House of Representatives control
taxation
Compromises
• Three-Fifths Compromise–North: Slaves should not count in
population totals–South: Smaller population would lead
to northern domination–Compromise: Slaves will count as 3/5
of a person for representation
Compromises Cont.
• Most northerners and many southerners believed slavery would eventually die out.
• Most northerners also believed blacks inferior and could work only as menial laborers.
Compromises
• Commerce Compromise–Agricultural vs Industrial states–Congress could tax imports, but
not exports
Constitutional Principles
• Federalism• Separation of Powers–Checks and Balances
• Individual Rights
Federalism
• Shared Power between the National government & State governments
Stronger New Government
Legislative Branch
Checks on Judicial Branch
• Creates lower courts• Can impeach and remove judges• Can propose amendments to
overrule judicial decisions• Approves appointments of federal
judges
Checks on Executive Branch
• Can override presidential veto• Confirms executive appointments• Ratifies treaties• Declares war• Appropriates money• Impeachment
Executive Branch
Check on Legislative Branch
• Proposes Laws• Veto • Call special sessions of Congress• Appointments to federal posts• Negotiates treaties
Check on Judicial Branch
• Appointments of judges• Pardons
Supreme Court
Checks on Legislative Branch
• Declare acts of Congress illegal
Checks on Executive Branch
• Can declare actions unconstitutional
Articles of Confederation
• In effect, U.S. government was peacefully overthrown
Approval
• The new constitution must be ratified by 9 of the 13 states• Special state constitutional
conventions were convened to vote on the new government• Debate: Federalists vs Anti-
Federalists
Federalists
• Supporters of the new Constitution• Merchants, urban, upper-class,
seacoast, commercial interests• Washington, Madison, Jay, Marshall
Federalist Papers
• Series of articles by Madison, Jay, and Hamilton in support of Constitution (“Publius”)• Madison’s “Federalist 10” considered
to be one of the greatest political documents written
Anti-Federalist
• Opposed the new government• Infringement of natural rights• Agrarian, western, states rights
supporters• Patrick Henry, Sam Adams, Richard
Henry Lee
Issues
• Who controls the country: the national government or the state governments• Bill of Rights
The Winner
• If it would have been a popularity contest the Anti-Federalist would have won hands down……….. But, it wasn’t!!!!!
• By 1788, 9 states had ratified the Constitution
• Remaining states join because they don’t want to be left out
Conservative Victory
• New Government created to check the excesses of the Mob (common people)
• Federal judges appointed for life• President elected indirectly by Electoral
College• Senators chosen indirectly by state
legislatures
Bill of Rights
• Anti-Federalist victory…
• Guaranteed certain rights that the government could never infringe upon
Bill of Rights
• Guaranteed freedoms
• 1-9: Personal Freedoms
• 10: Reserved powers of the states
Federalist Era
• 1st Constitutional elections: Mostly Federalist elected to Congress• Goal: Finish what they started–Build a Strong central government