Unit 2 Foundations of American Govt Articles of the Confederation Federalists & Anti Federalists
Unit 2Foundations of American Govt
Articles of the Confederation
Federalists & Anti Federalists
Background Information…
• 1776: colonies declared their independence
AOC: mid 1776 – late 1777
• Articles of Confederation(AOC) created to bind the new states together
• Articles were the first form of government created in the newly declared United States
• The AOC was considered a firm league of friendship
• Lacked enforcement powers
Strengths of AOC
• Negotiated Treaty of Paris (1783): ended the Revolutionary War
• Land Ordinance of 1785
• Northwest Ordinance of 1787
LAND ORDINANCE OF 1785
• Under the AOC the govt did not have the power to tax
• Goal was to raise money through the sale of land in the largely unmapped western territory
NORTHWEST ORDINANCE: 1787• Created a management policy for
Westward expansion. (creating Midwestern states)
• The U.S. grew as a Nation.• Set up how territories could become
states
Weakness of the AOC• Congress (legislative branch) could not:
• Regulate trade• Collect taxes• Raise an army• One vote for each state, regardless of size• 9 of the 13 states had to approve most acts/laws• No National Court System• No Executive Officer (President)• No National Currency ($) • National Government only had a unicameral (1
branch) Legislature • Articles only a “firm league of friendship”
• Individual states seemed to have most of the power under the Articles of Confederation, because there was no:
• National Army• National Currency• Executive Officer (President)
Shay’s Rebellion:1787-86• Small group of armed farmers in Ma • They were angered by crushing state debt & taxes
needed to pay for the Revolutionary War.
• Importance: it made people realize that, without the federal govts ability to raise an army, it could not protect its citizens
• There need to be a better solution
Problems arose between states…
• Trading
• States having different currencies($)
• No national defense
U.S. Constitution: May 14, 1787
Constitutional ConventionPhilidelphia, PA
12 states74 delegates
Arguments for a New Government
Who has the power in the govt? Big Central ( Federal) Govt? Power in the states? How do we preserve popular sovereignty?
How are the states going to represented?
Becomes known as the big state v little state debate
What about the slaves? Are they counted? How?
Constitutional Compromises
FEDERALISTS: Alexander Hamilton
Loose interpretation of the Constitution - Constitution changes with time
Argued that the new nation needed a strong, effective Central Government to
- Handle economy
– Establish a monetary (money) system
– Promote Justice
ANTI-FEDERALISTS: Thomas Jefferson
• Strict interpretation of the Constitution
• Consisted mostly of farmers & small land-owners who believed nation’s economic future was in agriculture
– Opposed strong centralized government– Wanted power for states & individuals
“Believed best government governs the least”
Representation Plans
NEW JERSEY PLAN
Small state plan Unicameral (1)
legislature Representation:
one vote per state
VIRGINIA PLAN
Large state plan Bicameral ( 2)
legislature Representation by
population
• divided the legislature into two bodies• Senate & House of Representatives
• Senate: equal representation (2 representatives from each state)
• House: proportional representation (based on population).
Great Compromise (Connecticut Compromise):
Representation ONLY
Five (5) slaves would be counted as three (3) free people
Used to determine a state’s population
Three-fifths Compromise:
FEDERALIST PAPERS• The Federalist Papers (85 articles)
• Written to encourage the ratification of the Constitution
• Outlining the proposed ideas of the system of
govt
• They did not agree on the type of govt the former colonies should have
• They argued over the constitution.
Bill of Rights: was the compromise
(1st 10 amendments) added to protect individual & states rights
Federalists & Anti-Federalist Compromise
Solutions offered by Constitution
Representation by State & by State’s Population in bicameral (2 houses) legislature
Congress had power to tax
Congress had power to regulate trade
President
National Court System
Amendments ratified by ¾ of States
Laws passed by a simple majority from both houses
Established strong National Government