THE ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION AND THE CONSTITUTION

1. THE ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION AND THE CONSTITUTION

2. THE SECOND CONTINENTAL CONGRESS: AMERICA’S FIRST CENTRAL GOVERNMENT (Right) A French engraving showing Congress in action. (Below) The committee Congress selected to draft the Declaration of Independence.

3. THE UNITED STATES IN 1783 In addition to the Thirteen Colonies, Great Britain ceded all land east of the Mississippi River to the young republic

4. A Continental Army veteran and former member of General George Washington’s staff, Hamilton became a New York congressman. He openly criticized the weaknesses that the Articles of Confederation built into America’s first central government. ALEXANDER HAMILTON, ADVOCATE OF NATIONAL POWER

5. THE UNITED STATES IN 1783 In addition to the Thirteen Colonies, Great Britain ceded all land east of the Mississippi River to the young republic

6. SHAYS’ REBELLION(Left) Rebellious Massachusetts farmers close the courts to prevent confiscation of their lands for unpaid back taxes. (Below) The insurrection caused George Washington to question if Americans were capable of governing themselves.

7. A VULNERABLE FRONTIERAmericans moving west, including pioneers, traders, and land speculators, found their interests threatened by the British, Spanish, and various Indian tribes.

8. A NAKED FRONTIERThe Articles of Confederation left Congress unable to field a military force strong enough to protect American settlers west of the Appalachians. (Left) A tense confrontation in the Ohio Valley. (Below) White hunters scan the woods for hostile Indians.

9. SPAIN TURNS UNFRIENDLYIn 1784, Spain closed the Mississippi River to American traffic, which prevented farmers living west of the Appalachians from floating their produce to market.

10. THE 1st AMERICAN REGIMENT: THE REPUBLIC’S PITIFULLY SMALL MILITARYIn 1784, Congress reduced American military to a single regiment, the 1st American Regiment. Ranging in authorized strength from 700 to 840, this force was too small to deter Indian attacks or British and Spanish efforts to stifle American growth.

11. DISGRUNTLED VETERANSAngry about not receiving the back pay and pensions promised for their services in the Revolution, former Continental Army officers became some of the leading advocates for a stronger central government.

12. INDEPENDENCE HALL, PHILADELPHIAWhere the Constitutional Convention met in 1787.

13. Alarmed by Shays’ Rebellion, Washington desired a stronger central government. He would lead Virginia’s delegation at the Constitutional Convention in 1787. GEORGE WASHINGTON, ADVOCATE OF NATIONAL POWER

14. THE CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTIONAn 1833 engraving of George Washington presiding over the convention.

15. Another member of the Virginia delegation, Madison wanted a national government that would be supreme to state governments. He did not get everything that he wanted, but he actually wrote most of the Constitution. JAMES MADISON, ADVOCATE OF NATIONAL POWER

16. The oldest delegate at the Constitutional Convention and the most famous man in America next to George Washington, Franklin used his influence to persuade his fellow delegates to work in a spirit of compromise. BENJAMIN FRANKLIN,ADVOCATE OF NATIONAL POWER

17. THE CONSTITUTION ADOPTEDThis modern painting of the climactic moment in the Constitutional Convention contains recognizable portraits of many of the Founding Fathers, including George Washington standing on the dais at right and Benjamin Franklin seated at center.

18. THE FIRST PAGE OF THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES, 1787

19. THE BATTLE FOR RATIFICATIONA cartoon satirizing the debate between Federalists and Anti-Federalists in Connecticut.

20. LEADING ANTI-FEDERALISTSThose suspicious of the new central government and the broad federal powers proposed by the Constitution included such former revolutionary firebrands as Samuel Adams of Massachusetts (left) and Patrick Henry of Virginia (right).

21. THE FEDERALIST AND ITS AUTHORS(Right) Alexander Hamilton.(Bottom left) John Jay.(Bottom right) James Madison.

22. THE BILL OF RIGHTS

23. CREATING THE PUBLIC DOMAIN To encourage ratification of the Constitution, all the states with land claims west of the Appalachian Mountains ceded that territory to the federal government to be sold for the benefit of the nation as a whole. Chapter 7