1 / 17

Shaping A New Nation

Shaping A New Nation. Albany Plan of Union. 1754- British government summoned an intercolonial congress and 7 of the 13 colonies sent delegates. Purpose was to keep the Native Americans loyal to the British and not the French.

berke
Download Presentation

Shaping A New Nation

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Shaping A New Nation

  2. Albany Plan of Union • 1754- British government summoned an intercolonial congress and 7 of the 13 colonies sent delegates. • Purpose was to keep the Native Americans loyal to the British and not the French. • Would have unified the colonies under a central government for the purpose of defense and other important purposes. • Became a template for the Articles of Confederation

  3. Balancing Power • System of distinct, self governing colonies encouraged people to think of the colony as the primary political unit not a central government. • Democracy- To much power in hands of the uneducated masses. • Republic- A government in which citizens rule through their elected representatives. • Republicanism- Idea that government should be based on the consent of the people.

  4. Political Precedents • Few models to draw from • The Continental Congress tried to make a constitution for all of the states but had to answer three major questions

  5. Representation by population or by State? • Unequal in size, wealth, and population. • Same number of representatives regardless of population or not? • Continental Congress makes the decision that each state would have one representative regardless.

  6. Supreme Power: Can it be Divided • Congress proposes a set of laws called the Articles of Confederation- two levels of government shared fundamental powers. State governments were supreme in some matters, while national government was supreme in other matters, called an alliance or confederation. • States and Federal government share powers

  7. Who Gets the Western Lands? • 1779, 12 of the 13 states signed the Articles of Confederation. • Some states had land claims and some did not, feared powerful states with to much land. • Maryland signs the Articles of Confederation

  8. Governing the Western Lands • Land Ordinance of 1785- established a plan for surveying and selling the federally owned lands west of the Appalachian Mountains. • Northwest Ordinance of 1787- established procedures for the admission of new states to the union.

  9. Problems Arise • Confederation lacked national unity • Unequal representation • Articles could not be amended without full approval of states. • Huge debt- over $190 million • Borrowers vs. Lenders • Foreign Relations – British refused to remove troops, Spain’s troops on borders. • Trade between states

  10. Shays Rebellion • Daniel Shay, Revolutionary war vet • Heavy in debt, to much taxation • Turned farmers into a 1200 strong mob and marched towards the Springfield arsenal. • Militia stopped the rebellion after 4 rioters die. • Showed the nation that something was obviously wrong.

  11. Constitutional Convention • Trade over states creates quarrels over taxes and disagreements of navigation rights. • The first convention only involved five states representatives including James Madison from Virginia and Alexander Hamilton. • After Shays Rebellion the Constitutional Convention included 12 states, Rhode Island did not participate.

  12. May 1787, Tossed out the Articles of Confederation • Virginia Plan- Two house legislature with membership based on state population. Favored larger states • New Jersey Plan- Single house legislature where states get equal vote. • The Great Compromise- Two house Congress to satisfy both large/small states. • Equal representation in the Senate, upper house • House of Representatives decided by population, lower house

  13. Three-Fifths Compromise- Slaves worth 3/5th of a white male. • Federalism- Divided power between the national government and state governments. • The national government had powers over: • National defense • Foreign affairs • Regulating trade • Coining money • States had powers over: • Education • Marriage laws • Regulating trade within state

  14. Separation of Powers • Legislative Branch- Makes the laws • Executive Branch- Administers and enforces the laws • Judicial Branch- Interprets the laws and the constitution • Check and Balances- Prevents any branch from dominating the other two branches. • Electoral College- Equal to the number of senators and representatives, the electors would cast ballots for the candidates

  15. Ratification • Ratification- Required 9 of the 13 states to agree. • Federalists- Supported the constitution, wanted balance between state and central governments • Antifederalists- Disapproved of the constitution, wanted more state rights. • The Federalist- Series of 85 essays defending the Constitution, appeared in New York magazines from 1787 and 1788. • Letters from the Federal Farmer- Antifederalist publication, Sought to protect civilian rights

  16. Bill of Rights • Constitution provided no guarantee of rights. • People wanted a written bill of rights to protect their rights. • Bill of rights included the following: 1. Religious/political freedom 2. Right to bear arms 3. Freedom from quartering troops

  17. 4. Freedom from unreasonable search and seizure 5. Rights of accused persons 6. Right to a fast and speedy trial 7. Right to a trial by jury 8. Limits on fines and punishments 9. Rights of the people 10. Powers of the states and the people

More Related