Chapter 9The Confederation and the

Constitution

By: Andrew Lankenau, Angela Guertin, and Akil Jones

The Pursuit of Equality

• States reduce property-holding requirements for voting

• Some states stop primogeniture• Fight for separation of church and

state begins– Congregational Church remains

legally established in New England

– Fight fiercest in VA until 1786 (VA Statute for Religious Freedom)

– Anglican Church disestablished• Challenges to slavery begin

– 1774- Continental Congress abolishes slave trade

– 1775- Quakers found first anti-slavery society

– Some farmers in VA free slaves– Revolution of sentiments

incomplete• No state south of PA abolishes

slavery• Law discriminates against all

blacks• Interracial marriage laws spring

up

The Pursuit of Equality (Con.)

• Extension of equality to women; incomplete– Most still do traditional work– Some served in military– NJ constitution briefly allows

women to vote (1776)– Civic virtue

• Democracy depends on virtue of citizens

• “Republican mothers”– Keepers of nation’s

conscience

Abigail Adams- “Remember the Ladies”

Constitution Making in the States

• 1776 Continental Congress called upon colonies to draw up new constitutions

– Constitutions Rest on authority of people

• Massachusetts constitution can only be changed by another constitutional convention• Imitated in drafting/ratifying federal

Constitution

• State constitutions intended to represent fundamental law• Bill of Rights: guarantees liberties

of the people– Annual election of legislatures– Weak executive & judicial branches

Economic Crosscurrents

• Economic democracy greater than political democracy

• Stimulus by non-importation agreements

– Americans make their own goods• Independence drawbacks

– Americans barred from British trade

– Worse off after war than before• Foreign markets open

– Compensated for loss of old commercial outlets

– Ships venture into Baltic and China Seas

• War creates demoralizing extravagance, speculation, and profiteering

– Inflation • Congress fails to curb economic

laws

• Dislike of taxes and disrespect for law occurs

1784-the Empress of China carries ginseng from China

A Shaky Start Towards Union

• Difficult to set up new government– Required

experimentation and innovation

– common cause of the revolution was gone

• Hard times hit in 1786– British surpluses invade

the American market• American Industries

suffer

• Hopeful signs show– Colonies alike in

governmental structure

Creating a Confederation

• Second Continental Congress merely convention of ambassadors from 13 states

– Each state sovereign• Articles of Confederation

– Adopted by Congress in 1777• Not ratified until 1781

– Required ratification of all 13 states

• Problems because of western land holdings

• NY, VA, and 5 other states hold land in the west

• MD holds out until March 1, 1781

• Northwest Ordinance (1787)– Public lands in the northwest

go to government

The Articles of Confederation: America’s First Constitution

• Loose confederation– Congress in charge– No executive branch– Judicial branch left to states

• Congress hobbled– All states hold 1 vote– Bills require support of 9

states– Amendments to Articles of

Confederation require unanimous ratification

– No power to regulate commerce

– Can’t enforce taxes• Government in PA can only advise

and appeal– Can’t protect itself– Mutinous soldiers make

threatening demonstration in front of Independent hall

• Stepping stone– Outlined general powers of

central government

Landmarks in Land Laws

• Land Ordinance of 1785– Land of the Old Northwest

would be sold to help pay off national debt.

– Every 16th section of 36 sections was reserved for education.

• Northwest Ordinance of 1787 – Allowed admission of new

states into union when over 60,000 inhabitants.

– These new states had all of the rights and privileges as other states.

The World’s Ugly Duckling

• Britain refuses to repeal Navigation Laws, closes trading to the U.S. (including profitable West Indies).

• Spain closes Mississippi River to American commerce in 1784.

• France demands repayment of money loaned during the Revolution, restricts trade with West Indies.

• North African pirates ravage U.S. ships in Mediterranean – United States is to weak to fight

but too poor to bribe.

The Horrid Specter of Anarchy

• States refuse to pay taxes to “King Congress”, national debt grows.– Excessive inflation in

many of the states, “rag money”.

• Boundary disputes between states, states tax goods from other states.– Many lose their farms

through mortgage foreclosures and tax delinquencies, including veteran Daniel Shays.

The Horrid Specter of Anarchy (cont.)

• Shays’ Rebellion (1786): – Armed uprising of western

Massachusetts debtors seeking lower taxes and an end to property foreclosures.

– Though quickly put down, the insurrection inspired fears of “mob rule” among leading Revolutionaries.

– People begin to doubt republicanism and the Articles of Confederation

– Motivates Americans to desire a stronger federal government.

A Convention of “Demigods”

• On May 25, 1787, 55 delegates from 12 states (excluding Rhode Island) met in Philadelphia. – Called “for the sole and

express purpose of revising” the Articles.

– Sessions were held in complete secrecy.

– Important names of the convention include Hamilton, Franklin, and Madison. Washington was head of the congress.

– Absentees include Jefferson, John Adams, Paine, Sam Adams, Hancock, and Henry.

Patriots in Philadelphia

• Delegates were mostly part of the conservative body– Most were either lawyers,

merchants, shippers, land speculators, and moneylenders

– Not a single spokesperson was present from poorer debtor group

• Desired a firm, dignified, and respected government.– Determined to preserve the

union, forestall anarchy, and ensure security of life and property against uprisings of the “mobocracy”.

Hammering Out a Bundle of Compromises

• Virginia Plan:– Called for proportional

representation in both houses of a bicameral Congress.

– Favored larger states, prompted smaller states to come up with a different plan.

• New Jersey Plan:– Proposed equal

representation by state, regardless of population, in a unicameral legislature.

– Small states feared that the more populous states would dominate the agenda under a proportional system.

Hammering Out a Bundle of Compromises (cont.)

• Great Compromise:– Reconciled the New Jersey and

Virginia plans at the constitutional convention, giving states proportional representation in the House and equal representation in the Senate.

– Paved the way for subsequent compromises over slavery and the Electoral College.

• Civil law: body of written law enacted through legislative statutes or constitutional provisions.– In countries where civil law

prevails, judges must apply the statutes precisely as written.

Hammering Out a Bundle of Compromises (cont.)

• Constitution was drafted as a bundle of compromises and checks and balances.

• Introduction of an executive branch:– Led by a president who would be

military commander-in-chief, appoint domestic offices, and could veto legislation.

– The President was allowed to wage war, but Congress had the crucial right to declare war.

– Was elected by the Electoral College rather than directly by the people.

• Three-fifths compromise:– Each slave would be counted as three-

fifths of a person for the purpose of apportioning taxes and representation.

Safeguards for Conservatism• Members of the Constitutional

Convention were in agreement about:– Economics: demanded sound

money and the protection of private property

– Politically: favored a strong gov. with 3 branches; system of checks and balances. “three-headed Monster”

– Federal Judges were to be appointed for life

– President was to be elected indirectly by an electoral college

– Senators chosen indirectly by state legislators

Safeguards for Conservatism (Con.)

• The new charter stood on the two great principles of republicanism:

– the only legitimate government was one based on the consent of the governed

– the powers of government should be limited

• The virtue of the people was to be the ultimate guarantor of liberty, justice, and order

• May 25 1787, only forty-two of the 55 members remained to sign the constitution.

– Three of them refusing to sign left to resist ratification

Clash of Federalists and Anti-Federalists

• Only nine states were needed to put the constitution into play.

• Federalists preferred a strong government.

• Anti-Federalist opposed to the constitution:– it was anti democratic– freedoms of the individual were

jeopardized by the absence of a bill of rights

The Great Debate in the States

• Pennsylvania was the first large state to fall under the new Constitution

• Massachusetts was the second– at first an anti-federalist

majority– ratification of Massachusetts

was barely won, 187 to 168

• New Hampshire was the last state to fall in line

• Constitution was adopted on June 21, 1788

The Four Laggard States

• Virginia ratified (89-79)– Could not continue as an

independent state• New York yielded to ratification

by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison and John Jay

• The Federalist– Written by Hamilton, Madison, and

Jay– Series of articles used as

propaganda– Approved 32 amendments

• Attempts at ratifying North Carolina and Rhode Island failed– The eventually ratified because they

could not safely exist outside the fold

A Conservative Triumph

• Minority of conservatives overthrew Articles of Confederation

• Constitution embedded with – self rule in a system of checks

and balances among the three branches of government.

• The Constitution reconciled the potentially conflicting principles of liberty and order

• Conservatives and Radicals have championed the heritage of republican revolution For more in-depth picture click here