A Confederation of States

1. A Confederation of States • After the Revolutionary War, the Patriots feared creating another tyrannical or abusive parliament, so therefore they refused to entrust the new Union with too much power. As a result, most authority remained with the states. Within a short time, the powerful states and weak national government faced severe problems. • So what form of national government did the Patriots create initially, and what events revealed that a new government was necessary? Why It Matters :

2. Experimenting with Confederation Why would creating a new government be considered a challenge? • Colonies become states • Each one founded with its own governor, council, and state assembly. • Americans saw their home state as the primary political unit. • Their allegiance was mostly with their state. • After the war, they still remained reluctant to unify these new states under a central government. • They needed to BALANCE the interests of the multiple states with those of the whole country.

3. Republicanism • Some believed too much power would be given to uneducated people. • The idea that governments should be based on the consent of the people. • People interpreted this in many ways. • The good of the nation had to be placed above personal interest. • Others thought if a government allowed independent citizens to pursue their own economic and political interests, then the whole nation would benefit.

4. Unicameral vs. Bicameral • The more democratic Patriots wanted to create state governments with strong legislatures and weak governors. • These people also wanted greater rights for the people. • They thought a unicameral legislature, or one with a single house, whose members were elected by the people. • Pennsylvania and Georgia adopted this. • Some states chose to create more conservative state constitutions. • These states had a bicameral, or double legislature, as well as a strong governor. • Bicameral included both a Senate and a House of Representatives. • Senators were wealthy, well-educated men and Representatives in the House were commoners.

5. State Constitutions • Limited powers of the government leaders. • Guaranteed specific rights for citizens: • Freedom of speech • Freedom of religion • Freedom of the press • Liberty rather than equality • Feared centralized authority

6. Political Precedent • There were not a lot of countries that could serve as models for a republic type of government. • Most governments at this time were ruled by Kings or monarchies.

7. Continental Congress Debates • States developed their own constitutions while the CC tried to draft one for the whole country. • Basic questions had to be answered? • Should delegates represent people or states? • Should each state elect the same number of representatives regardless of population? • Should states with large populations have more representatives than smaller states? • The consensus was that each state would have one vote regardless of population!

8. Articles of Confederation • People assumed government could not share supreme power with states; it was one or the other. • Congress proposed a new type of government in a set of laws called the Articles of Confederation. • Alliance that said two levels of government could share fundamental power. • States were supreme in some matters, the nation government in other matters. • Enlightenment thinkers hoped that the new system would reflect the order and harmony found in nature.

10. Western Lands: Who Gets Them? • By 1779, 12 states had agreed to accept a new government • Dispute over Western land • Maryland held up the process. It feared being overpowered because of its size. • All states had to turn over their Western land. Only then would they approve the A of C. • Articles went into effect in March, 1781. • How should the public Western lands be governed?

11. Land Ordinance of 1785 • Congress passed it. • They wanted a plan to survey the land. • If they knew what was out there it would be easier to govern it.

12. Northwest Ordinance of 1787 • Congress divided land into territories. • Overlooked Native American land claims. • Set requirements for admission of new states into the country. Three basic stages for becoming a state: • Congress would appoint a territorial governor and judges. • When a territory had 5,000 voting residents, settlers could write a temporary constitution and elect their own government officials. • When a total population of a territory reached 600,000 free inhabitants,the settlers could write a state constitution which had to be approved by Congress before it granted statehood.

13. Problems… • Americans feared giving the national government too much power. • That led to the government lacking sufficient power to deal with the nation’s problems. • How do you fix this??? • Constitutional Convention! • Weaknesses • 9 out of 13 states were needed to pass a law • All 13 states were needed to amend a law • Difficult to regulate trade between other states • Government could not tax • No President to carry out laws • No National Army • Problems it created • Very few laws would get passed • Nearly impossible to amend it • States would fight over rivers, taxes, etc. • Government could not operate effectively • No leadership gets nothing done • Vulnerable attack to foreign power

14. Shay’s Rebellion • A slowdown of trade increased unemployment. • Farmers were not making as much money because their goods were not being traded as much. • In Western Massachusetts in 1786, farmers took up arms to shut down the courts to block any foreclosure hearings on their homes and farms. • Daniel Shay, a veteran of the Rev. War led about 1,000 farmers to seize weapons from the Springfield Armory and attempted to shut down the courts. • The state of Massachusetts raised an army to suppress the rebellion.