State Constitutions and the Articles of Confederation

1. State Constitutions and the Articles of Confederation

2. The Articles of Confederation • The Articles of Confederation were the first constitution of the United States. • It created a loose confederation of independent states that gave limited powers to a central government. • The national government would consist of a single house of Congress, where each state would have one vote. • There was no independent executive and no veto of legislation. • Judicial proceedings in each state were to be honored by all other states. • The federal government was plagued by several problems with the Articles of Confederation, the biggest issue was the inability to regulate trade and levy taxes.

3. Strengths and Weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation • Allowed for declaration of war. • Allowed for borrowing of money and creation of an economic system. • Created a postal service. • The Northwest Ordinance of 1787. • Attempted to put into practice the ideals of the Declaration of Independence. • Congress could not tax. • Each state had only one vote in Congress, regardless of population. • 9 out of 13 states needed to agree to pass laws. • Articles could only be amdended if all states approved. • There was no Executive Branch to enforce laws. • There was no national court system to settle legal disputes. • There were 13 separate states that lacked a national unity or identity.

4. Annapolis Convention • Some Americans began contemplating radical changes because they were unhappy with the impotence of the Articles of Confederation. • The Annapolis Convention was organized to address issues related to commerce. • James Madison and Alexander Hamilton used the meeting to advocate a new form of federal government. The Maryland State House above was the site of the Annapolis Convention

5. Shay's Rebellion • Poor Massachusetts farmers rebelled because they were seeking; • equitable political representation • tax reform • The abolition of imprisonment for debt • It was led by Daniel Shay and primarily consisted of posturing and parading through towns and villages. • The rebels were able to operate largely unimpeded through much of the fall and winter of 1786 and 1787. • A militia defeated the main body of rebels, largely ending the rebellion. • Shay and other rebel leaders fled to Vermont, where they were captured and sentenced to be hanged. • They were later pardoned by Massachusetts Governor John Hancock.

6. Original 13 States

7. Drafting the Federal Constitution

8. Constitutional Convention • 74 delegates were selected, but only 55 eventually came to Philadelphia for the convention. • George Washington was elected president of the convention. • Talk quickly shifted from ways to modify the Articles of Confederation to ways to replace the Articles. • Debate centered on a democratic plan offered by Virginia and a more constrained plan offered by New Jersey. • Secrecy was paramount to the delegates, because of this little is known about happened inside of the convention.

9. The Virginia Plan • James Madison argued that no confederacy could endure if it acted upon states only and not directly upon individuals. • He outlined a new system of government, the basis of the "Virginia Plan" presented in the convention by Edmund Jennings Randolph. • That Madison and Randolph were able to enter the Constitutional Convention with a plan of government conferred an enormous political advantage. • The Virginia Plan became the basis for the early debate on a new structure of government. James Madison

10. The New Jersey Plan • New Jersey delegate William Paterson introduced a competing plan designed to protect the power of the small states. • Paterson’s plan maintained many aspects of the Articles of Confederation. • It also gave equal representation in the legislature to all states regardless of population . William Paterson

11. The Great Compromise • The Constitutional Convention was deadlocked between supporters of the two plans. • The larger states preferred the Virginia Plan while, the smaller states preferred the New Jersey Plan. • Connecticut delegate Roger Sherman Roger Sherman eventually proposed a compromise that was acceptable to both factions. • The Great Compromise, retained the bicameral legislature envisioned by Madison, but apportioned the lower house by population and granted equal representation to all states in the upper house. Roger Sherman

12. 3/5 Compromise • With it decided that the lower house would be apportioned by population another difficulty arose for the convention. • Slave states wanted their slaves counted as population, despite having denied them all political rights. • Free states saw this as unacceptable because slave states would be able to dominate the congress. • James Wilson proposed that all unfree labor should count as 3/5 of a person for apportionment purposes. James Wilson

13. Drafting the Constitution • The new constitution went through several drafts. • Charles Pinckney submitted a plan that had considerable influence on the final draft. • Alexander Hamilton, a known Federalist, was far-reaching in both his influence and his involvement in the process.

14. The Federalist Papers • The Federalist Papers werea series of 85 articles arguing for the ratification of the United States Constitution. • They were first published serially from October 1787 to August 1788 in New York City newspapers. • Alexander Hamilton was their principle author, with assistance from James Madison and John Jay. • Federalist No. 10 and Federalist No. 51 are generally regarded as the most influential of the 85 articles; • 10 advocates for a large, strong republic and includes discussion on factions, • 51 explains the need for separation of powers.

15. The Anti-Federalists • Opposed having a strong central government, therefore, anti-Constitution. • Main argument: There was no guarantee that the government would even protect the rights of the people. • Agreed to support the Constitution if a Bill of Rights was included. • Patrick Henry, George Mason, Richard Henry Lee • Letters from the Federal Farmer asked for protections like freedom of the press, of religion, and guarantees against unreasonable searches of people and their homes, and the right to trial by jury.

16. The Constitution • On 17 September 1787, the document was presented to the convention and signed by 39 of the 55 delegates. • With the endorsement of the convention, the constitution was sent to the states for ratification. • The states were instructed to either ratify or reject the constitution in its entirety. • Contrary to the Articles of Confederation, which required unanimous consent from the states for any change in the national government, the constitution required only the consent of 9 states to be ratified.

17. Ratification • In June, 1788 New Hampshire became the ninth state to approve the Constitution. • By December, 1791, the states had ratified ten amendments to the Constitution. • These became known as the Bill of Rights. • The first 8 amendments give personal liverties like freedom of religion, speech, press, etc. • The ninth and tenth amendments limit the power of the federal government and reserve powers for the states.