The Confederation and the Constitution -...
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+ The Confederation and the Constitution Chapter 7 AP US History
Transcript of The Confederation and the Constitution -...
+
The Confederation and
the Constitution
Chapter 7
AP US History
+Learning Goal:
Students will be able to explain the growth of the new governing systems in the Americas through careful analysis of the Constitutional government and the impact of world events on the American people. Specifically, students will evaluate the Bill of Rights, the creation of a National Bank, the interactions of the new American government with the wider world, and the internal struggles that faced the new nation.
+ Learning Objectives:
Students will be able to…
clearly explain the ways in which British attempts to assert tighter control
over its North American colonies and the colonial resolve to pursue self-
government led to a colonial independence movement and the
Revolutionary War.
evaluate the ways in which the American Revolution’s democratic and
republican ideals inspired new experiments with different forms of
government.
evaluate how migration within North America and competition over
resources, boundaries, and trade intensified conflicts among peoples and
nations.
+ Was the American Revolution a
radical or total change?
NO! It DID NOT suddenly and violently
overturn the ENTIRE political and social
framework.
Are there world examples of this
sudden change?
YES! France and Russia both experienced
this change.
What changes were made as a result
of the Revolution?
Social customs were affected
Political institutions changed
Ideas about society, government, and
gender roles were challenged.
+The Pursuit of Equality:
Was the new America really a land where “all men are created
equal”?
Not really!
Most states REDUCED property requirements for voting.
Ordinary men and women were addressed as Mr. and Mrs. – a huge
change in social custom (reserved for only the elite in the UK)
1784: Indentured Servants were released in New York because their
status VIOLATED democratic ideas!
1800: servitude was virtually unknown!
The Society of Cincinnati
This was an exclusive hereditary order of Continental Army officers.
Most Americans saw this as an example of “lordly pretentions”
What stimulated social democracy?
Growth of trade organizations and laborers
+ The entire idea of medieval inheritance laws and primogeniture
were removed!
Separation of Church and State
The argument begins for the separation of church and state – gaining
momentum in the same idea as overthrowing inheritance and
primogeniture.
The Anglican Church suffered because of the association with the
Crown.
The Protestant Episcopal Church was re-formed out of the Anglican
Churches in the Americas – and it disestablished (removed the official
status of the Church)!
Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom: Measure enacted by the
Virginia legislature prohibiting state support for religious institutions
and recognizing freedom of worship. Served as a model for the
religion clause of the first amendment of the Constitution.
What other ideas were challenged?
The institution of slavery!
Equality for women – Civic virtue: the idea that democracy depends
on the unselfish commitment of each citizen to the public good.
+
Copley Family
Portrait, 1776-1777
Portraits of the period
document the clothing styles,
peoples, and material
possessions of the people.
This work also reveals the
important values of the
period.
Note the sentiments of
“republican motherhood” in
the work.
+ Constitution Making in the States: What did the Constitutional Convention request of states
in 1776?
Draft new constitutions! Become new states!
Republicanism ideas stated that the authority in the new states was with the PEOPLE!
Massachusetts submitted the constitution to the PEOPLE for ratification – the PEOPLE!
This is the LONGEST living Constitution in world history
How did Massachusetts influence the United States?
The Constitution would be submitted to the PEOPLE for ratification across the nation!
The American constitution differed from the British ideas in that it is a written document (not a contract) and it represents a fundamental law!
How did states transition in the era?
State capitals moved westward – from the coastal regions to the interiors.
+Economic Crosscurrents:
What happened to the Loyalists AFTER the Revolution?
Land was seized; however, this Revolution DID NOT have a Reign
of Terror!
How did economic ventures change?
Goods imported from England were cut off!
Americans made their own products, and could now trade with
foreign countries!
Economic democracy spread (ex: Empress of China (1784) sailed
into various ports and traded in both the Baltic and China Seas).
Does this mean that the new United States was
economically stable?
NO! extravagance, speculation, and profiteering entered America
as a result of the Revolution.
Inflation was rampant, and taxes were hated!
+ The Empress of China in 1876
+A Shaky Start Toward Union:
While the U.S. had to create a new
government, the people were NOT
united!
In 1786, after the war, Britain flooded
America with cheap goods, greatly
hurting American industries.
What did the states share?
Similar constitutions.
A rich political inheritance from Britain.
Great political leaders: Washington,
Madison, Jefferson, Hamilton, and John
Adams!
+ Creating a Confederation:
The Second Continental Congress…
Was more a group of ambassadors from 13 states.
Was without any constitutional authority.
Before declaring independence, the Congress appointed a
special committee:
WRITE a constitution for the new nation!
What is the first constitution?
The Articles of Confederation!
Adopted in 1777: translated into French to convince the French to assist
the Americans.
When was this document ratified?
In March 1781! Maryland was the last state to ratify.
New York and Virginia could sell lands to pay war debts – what about the
other states? A compromise is needed!
+The Articles of Confederation:
America’s First Constitution The Articles of Confederation established a WEAK
government!
Was this intentional?
YES! Avoiding a strong national government was desirable to avoid loss
of unalienable rights or abuse of power.
Essentially, they were afraid of tyranny (England)
What did this government contain?
There is NO executive branch (no single leader).
The Congress was weak – each state having one vote.
Commerce regulation and taxation could NOT be enforced.
States printed their own money and competed for trade!
A 2/3 majority was required in a vote.
Unanimous votes were required for amendments.
+ Independence Hall, Philadelphia
+Landmarks in Land Laws: “How will the new lands in the Ohio Valley be divided up?”
The Land Ordinance of 1785 answered this question!
It provided the acreage of the Old Northwest should be sold and
that the proceeds be used to pay off the national debt.
This vast area would be surveyed before settlement and then
divided into townships (six miles square), which would then be
divided into 36 square sections (1 mile square each) with one
section set aside for public schools (section #16).
“How will new states be made once people move out there?”
The Northwest Ordinance of 1787 answered this question.
It made admission into the union a two stage affair:
There would be two evolutionary territorial stages, during which
the area would be subordinate to the federal government.
When a territory had 60,000 inhabitants, they wrote a state
constitution and sent it to Congress for approval. If approved, it’s
a new state.
It worked to solve a problem that had plagued many other nations.
Forbade the expansion of slavery into the states.
+ Surveying the Old Northwest under the
Land Ordinance of 1785
+ The World’s Ugly Duckling: Did the World accept this new nation quickly?
Not really!
Britain still refused to repeal the Navigation Laws, and closed
down its trading to the U.S. (proved useless to U.S. smuggling).
Britain also sought to annex Vermont to Britain with help from
the Allen brothers.
Britain continued to hold a chain of military posts on U.S. soil.
Why? The soldiers had to make sure that the U.S. would honor
its treaty and pay back debts to Loyalists.
What other nations presented problems to the new country?
In 1784, Spain closed the Mississippi River to American
commerce.
Spain also claimed a large area near the Gulf of Mexico that was
ceded to the U.S. by Britain.
Areas of contention: Georgia, North Carolina, and Natchez
+ What about France?
Even France demanded payment of
U.S. debts to France.
France also restricted trade in the
West Indies.
What other problems is the young
nation facing?
Piracy!
The pirates of the North African
states, including the arrogant Dey of
Algiers, ravaged U.S. ships in the
area and enslaved Yankee sailors.
America was just too weak to stop
them.
Could the American people create a
government strong enough to
command respect from the World?
