Confederation and Constitution Flashcards
(27 cards)
Critical Period
Term Popularized by John Fiske referring to the time after the American Revolution in the 1780s when the Nations Future was uncertain
Common Elements in State Governments
- Cheif executive had limited power
- Most states had bicameral legislatures; Pennsylvania and new hampsiere had Unicameral
- Lower house appropriated funds; dominate branch of government
- Property ownership required for voting and holding office
- Judges appointed by legislature with tenure based upon “good behavior” and created a more independent judiciary.
- States had “Bills of Rights” designed to protect the rights of citizens from government abuse
Indian land cessions
During the last third of the 18 century Native Americans were forced to give up extensive homelands
Articles of confederation and perpetual friendship
Introduced by Richard Lee Henry he suggested that colonies enter into a bond of perpetual friendship congress feared this idea because they thought a strong national government would be oppressive. Approved in march 1781
Ordinance of 1784
The first land ordinance. Written by Thomas Jefferson allowed for formation of new states all states were to enter the Union with equal footing to the original 13
Ordinance to 1785
The Second ordinance. allowed for the surveying and disposition of the lands west of the Ohio River.
Range
Smallest division of Land
Township
6 miles square
Section
360 acres within a township
Northwest Ordinance
Last Ordinance of the three. Established Government for the new territories. There were to be 3 - 5 states created. Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Wisconsin.
5000 adult males - Non voting representative to be sent to congress
60,000 adult males - could apply to admission to the Union
Congressional Authority
- Declare war make and peace.
- Make treaties with Indians and foreign powers.
- Create army and navy.
- Coin money and borrow funds.
- Set weights and measures.
- Establish a post office
Congressional Limitations
- Limited taxing authority; requested state funds.
- No regulatory power over trade and commerce.
- No federal court system.
- A single vote in Congress for each state.
- No chief executive officer to implement policy
Failures of Congress
1) States did not honor the Treaty of Paris, 1783; states refused to
return property to the Loyalists (Tories).
(2) British refused to leave the Northwest Territory; refused to leave
until the return of British property by the states.
(3) Spain did not allow free navigation on the Mississippi River and closed
the port at New Orleans (only way into the interior of the new country)
closing of the port made trade difficult.
(4) Lack of cooperation between state governments and the national
government; made negotiations with other nations extremely difficult;
army forced Congress from Philadelphia.
In 1786 Shays Rebellion demonstrated the
weakness of the national government.
Shays Rebellion
A civil insurrection in Massachusetts (1786) during an economic depression; farmers demanded:
an end to specie payments for debt
Government issue currency
an end to imprisonment for debt
stay laws to end property forecloses
Federal Constitution
James Madison was the “most gifted” at the convention and is termed the “father of the Constitution.
Locke argued for a social contract and for the right of
citizens to revolt against their king if that monarch became
tyrannical. This philosophy enormously influenced the
democratic revolutions that followed, especially the founders.
Charles Montesquieu advocated a “separation of powers” in
Spirit of the Laws (1748) with political authority divided among
legislative, executive and judicial powers; branches of a co-equal
government.
Great Debate
The 55 delegates intended to revise the Articles of
Confederation in Philadelphia which began May 25, 1787.
Virginia Plan (May 29, 1787) called for popular
representation; introduced by Edmund Randolph
New Jersey Plan (June 15, 1787) called for equal
representation; introduced by William Paterson
Connecticut Compromise (Great Compromise) combined the two ideas on July 16, 1787; passed by one vote and was introduced by Roger Sherman and Oliver Ellsworth
he Three-fifths Compromise was the first compromise on slavery.
Article I section 2
Representatives and taxes will go off of respective numbers based upon the number of free persons.
(including those bound to service for a term
of Years, and excluding Indians not taxed, three fifths
of all other Persons)
Article I section 9
No Tax or Duty shall be laid on Articles exported from any State. No Preference shall be given by any Regulation of Commerce or Revenue to the Ports of one State over those of another: nor shall Vessels bound to, or from, one State, be obliged to enter, clear, or pay Duties in another.
Roger Sherman
Roger Sherman, from
Connecticut, was the only
Founding Father to sign all
four of the most significant
documents in American
history:
Articles of Association from the first Continental Congress
Declaration of Independence
Articles of Confederation
and Constitution.
Federalist
Federalists that strongly
supported the Constitution. They were worried more
about the failure of the national government under the Articles of Confederation than the possibility of future abuses of government.
Anti federalists
Anti federalists that strongly
opposed the Constitution. They were worried that the
new Constitution might centralize authority and become abusive … their experience with Great Britain
Battleground states
Massachusetts: Federalists promised to
add a Bill of Rights to Constitution if MA ratified.
Virginia: Federalists promised to
add a Bill of Rights to Constitution if VA ratified.
New York: Federalists supported the Constitution
with the Federalist Papers.
The Federalist Papers
The Federalist Papers were a series of eighty-five essays urging the citizens of New York to ratify the
new United States Constitution.
Written by Alexander Hamilton,
James Madison, and John Jay
James Madison on the benefits of Republicanism
The tenth essay in The Federalist Papers, often called Federalist No. 10, is one of the most famous. Written by James Madison, it addresses the problems of political parties (“factions”).
Madison argued that there were two
approaches to solving the problem of political parties: a republican government and a democracy. He argued that a large republic provided the best defense against what he viewed as the tumult of direct democracy. Compromises would be reached in a large republic and citizens would be represented by representatives of their own choosing.” 32
