0.

Dissatisfied with living under

colonial rule, the American colonists

rebelled and declared independence

from Britain. In addition to fighting

a war to win their independence,

the leaders of the new nation faced

the task of creating a system of

government for themselves.

Founding a New

Nation

A Confederation of States

States Establish Republican Governments By declaring

their independence, the former colonies became states.

Each of the 13 new states wrote a constitution that created a

republican government, or a government in which officials are

representatives elected by the people. Most statb constitutions

also included a bill of rights, a list of freedoms guaranteed by the

state government. Many of them guaranteed freedom of religion,

freedom of the press, and the right to trial by jury.

At the time, voting rights were very limited. Only white male

property ownerS Could vote, except in New Jersey, where women

had the right to vote until 1807. African Americans-whether free

or enslaved-and Native Americans were not permitted to vote.

The First Plan of Government American political leaders did

not wait until the Revolutionary War had been won to set up a

new national government. In November 1777, the Continental

Congress adopted the first national constitution, the Articles of

Confederation. The Articles officially created the United States

George Washington (raising hat, right) were

among the delegates to the Constitutional

of America. Ratification by all 13. states did not oCCur

until March 1781, Six months before the British

surrender at Yorktown that ended the war.

Under the Articles of Confederation, most power

Temained with the states The Articles created a

national government without a President or a judicial

branch. The legislative branch had only very limited

powers. Congress could declare and conduct war. It

could also regulate trade with foreign COuntries and

With Indian nations, But it could not raise trO0p5

of levy taxes, and there was no way to enforce

trade regulations. The United States governiment

could only collect money and muster an army with

voluntary contributions from the states.

Weaknesses of the Articles Under the Articles,

the national government had no say Over the rules

of interstate Commerce. Each state set its own trade

policy. Most states tried to protect their industries

and agriculture from competition by taxing goods

mported from other states. This practice discouraged

trade among the states and led to competition that

had the potential to become destructive.

The national debt was also a problem. Because

the Continental Congress had borrowed money and

1ssued paper currency during the Revolutionary War,

the new government was deeply in debt. However,

The states were all paying off their oWn war debta

and were largely unwilling or unable to contribute

money to the national government.

The national government also suffered fr

structural weaknesses. There was no President.

Each state, no matter how large or Small, had a

single vote in a unicameral or One-house, Gongres

making treaties, two thirds of the states (9 out of 13

had to approve. Amending the Articles Was almost

impossible, because every single one of the states

On the major issues, includin

had to endorse any change.

declaring

Managing the Northwest Territory Despite its

national government took up the task of fulfling its

weaknesses under the Articles of Confederation, the

duties as best it could. The Articles gave Congress

authority over the vast Northwest Territory, whir

lay north of the Ohio River and stretched west iIOm

Pennsylvania to the Mississippi River. In 1785 and

1787, Congress passed two laws to manage this lar

The first, the Land Ordinance, created a system

for surveying and selling the land to settlers. The

second, the Northwest Ordinance, described ho

territories should be governed and how they coulc

become full-fledged states. This law also banned

slavery in the territory and provided for publio

educatiọn,
War and

Increasing

ubles LLacking an army

weak confederation could not defend American

interests on the frontier. The Spanish in Louisiana

tried to constrain western American settlements

by closing the port of New Orleans. Along the Great

Lakes, the British refused to abandon frontier forts

on the American side of the boundary set by the

terms of the peace treaty that ended the American

Revolution.

Domestic troubles also began plaguing the

young republic. During the mid-1780s, an economic

depression reduced the prices paid to farmers for

their produce. Unable to pay their debts, farmers

faced losing their crops, livestock, and even their

homes. In Massachusetts, matters worsened when

the courts seized farms from farmers who did

not pay taxes to the state or their loans. In rural

Massachusetts in 1786, armed farmers led by Daniel

Shays shut down the courts, blocking foreclosures.

The state of Massachusetts sent troops to suppress

this revolt, known as Shays' Rebellion. The

rebellion highlighted the weaknesses of the national

government set up by the Articles of Confederation.

VRECALL What were the main weaknesses of the

Articles of Confederation?

The Constitutional

Convention
By 1787, many Americans agreed that the Articles

of Confederation were flawed. In May 1787, the

states sent delegates to a special convention in

Philadelphia to draft proposed amendments to the

Articles. However, once there, the delegates decided

not to revise the Articles of Confederation. Instead,

they agreed to undertake a complete restructuring

of the national government. The convention came

to be known as the Constitutional Convention. The

Convention would go on to produce a completely

new, much stronger plan of government. That plan,

the United States Constitution, has endured to this

day with relatively few significant changes.

Two Opposing Plans While the delegates agreed

that the Articles of Confederation were deeply

flawed, it was much harder for themn to reach an

agreement on the best solution.

The first proposal put forth was the Virginia

Plan, designed by James Madison. The Virginia

Plan advocated a national union that was both

strong and republican. Madison insisted that a large

republic could be more stable than a small one,

>> Shays' Rebellion resulted in bloodshed when state

militia attacked angry rioters led by Daniel Shays.

Describe How did Shays' Rebellion test the strength of

the new national government?

because in a large republic, the diverse interests

would provide checks and balances to preserve the

common good. In addition to securing the power to

major structural changes. The nation would have a

bicameral legislature: a House of Representatives

and a Senate. In both houses, the states with larger

populations would have more members. The Virginia

Plan also featured a President to command the

armed forces and to manage foreign relations.

William Paterson offered a counterproposal called

the New Jersey Plan. This plan, favored by the small

states, would give Congress the power to regulate

commerce and to tax while keeping the basic

structure of the Confederation. The plan retained

a unicameral legislature representing the states as

equals--no matter how large or small. The states

remained sovereign except for those few powers

specifically granted to the national government.

Under the New Jersey Plan, the United States would

stay a loose confederation of states, rather than

become a unified nation.

The Great Compromise The delegates worked

throughout the hot Philadelphia summer to resolve

their differences. Roger Sherman proposed what has

the differences between the Virginia and the New

come to be called the Great Compromise. It settled

legislature. In a concession to the smaller states.

the Senate would equally represent every state by

Jersey plans by creating a. bicameral, or two-house,

Representatives, in which representation was based

In keeping with the Virginia Plan, the House of

allowing just twWO senators per state

states.

appeased the southern states. Their delegates feared

The Slavery Issue Another major compromise

domination by the northern states, which had a

larger white population. To reassure the South, the

delegates adopted the three-fifths clause. It counted

each enslaved person as three fifths of a person, to

be added to a state's free population which boosted

the numnber of the So

three-fifths clause, however, gave no rights +

enslaved African Americans.

V CHECK UNDERSTANDING What was the basic

principle of the Great Compromise?

The Struggle Over

Ratification

The Constitution was now written. but it was not yet

the law of the land. Before it could go into effect, 9 of

the 13 states had to ratify, or officially approve, it.

Federalists Argue for Ratification Supporters

of the Constitution were called Federalists. They

wanted the United States to have a strong central

government. Three leading Federalists-James

Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John JayWrote

a series of letters to newspapers in support of the

Constitution. These letters, collectively called The

Federalist Papers, explained why they believed

the Constitution was vital to the survival of the new

government would work. Today, the Federalist essays

are recognized as perhaps the most sophisticated

explanation of the new American political system

ever written.

Antifederalists Argue Against Ratification

Opponents of the proposed Constitution were

called Antifederalists. They included some

leading Americans, such as Patrick Henry and

Samuel Adams. The Antifederalists objected to

the Constitution because they thought it gave

South's seats in Congress. The

the national government far too much power at

the expense of the states. They believed that the

President had too much power, that Congress was

oo small and could not represent voters, and that a

federal court system interfered with local courts

A Bill of Rights Leads to Ratification One of

the most powerful arguments of the Antifederalists

wBS that the proposed Constitution lacked a bill of

rights. Most of the states already had bills of rights

protecting individual liberty. The Antifederalists

were concerned that the federal governmnent would

becomea threat to Americans' prized freedoms

without a similar set of protections. To help secure

ratification, the Federalists promised to add a bill of

rights once the new government was established.

By June 1788, the nine states required to ratify the

Constitution had voted to make it the law of the land,

York-quickly following.

In 1789, Congress approved the 10 constitutional

amendments that became the federal Bill of Rights.

The states ratified these amendments in 1791.

Importance of the Bill of Rights The Bill of

Rights protects a wide range of personal freedoms,

including freedom of speech, freedom of religion,

freedom of the press and of assembly, the right to

bear arms as part of "a well-regulated militia" and

protections against arbitrary intrusions and arrests,

unfair trials, and "cruel and unusual" punishments.

The personal freedoms established by the Bill of

Rights have been cherished by Americans ever

since. The protection they provide against abuses

of power by the government are as imnportant today

as they were when they were originally written,

perhaps even more so.

V CHECK UNDERsTANDING Why was the Bill of

Rights added to the Constitution?

Principles of the

Constitution

The intent of the Constitution was to create the

ramework for a republican form of government that

strengthened the federal government from what it

nad been under the Articles of Confederation while

palancing the interests of the large and small states.

The Meaning of the Constitution The authors

of the Constitution established a representative

The Nintb PILLAR erected 1

e The Ratification of the Conventions of nine States, hall be fuficient for the efta

en ehe States fo ratifying the Same" Art. vát

ment of this Conftitution, betwe

INCIPIENT MAGNI PROCEIDERE MENSES.

GIR is not up

ewill rife.

From the Independent Chronicle and Universal Avertiser, Boston, Thursday June 6, 128s,

>> In this cartoon about ratification, states are

represented by pillars; some are standing and others

are not. Analyze Political Cartoons What does the

cartoon suggest about ratification?

Bounce to Activate Chart

popular SOvereignty, separation of powers, limited

government, federalism, checks and balances, and

representative government.

Attescon m

Popular Sovereignty The government derives its

political authority from the people. This sentiment is

reflected in the Constitution's opening words, "We

the People of the United States

Separation of Powers The Constitution defined

distinct legislative, executive, and judicial branches

with different powers and responsibilities to prevent

misuses of power by any of the three branches.

Limited Government Popular sovereignty ensures

that a government's power is restricted, or limited.

The Constitution specifically defined and limited the

above the law.

Federalism To create a national government

stronger than the one under the Articles of

Confederation, the framners created a new form of

federalism to share power between the national

and state governments. The states could no longer

issue their own paper money or regulate trade

On average, almost 55 percent of registered voters

have participated in recent presidential elections.

with other states. These powers, known as the

delegated powers, now belonged only to the federal

government. Certain reserved powers Continued

to belong to the states alone, including the power

to regulate and conduct elections. The federal and

state governments also held some overlapping, or

concurrernt, powers, among them parallel court

systems and the right to collect taxes.

Checks and Balances The three banches

were given separate and sometimes overlapping

responsibilities, along with specific ways to override,

or check and balance, the decisions of the other

branches. This distribution of power was intended

to prevent the emergence ofa single center of power

and to provide remedies for abuses of power by the

members of any one branch.

Representative Government The writers

Created an indirect democracy in which voters elect

representatives to be their voice in government.

college would indirectly elect

choose the memnbers of the Senate, and the electoral

the

Republic established by the Constitution of the

The Importance of the Constitution The

United States became a symbol of freedom not

only to Americans

President

but to COuntries in

republics in Latin America as well. The 13 colonies

were now forged together into a single nattion With a

strong central government to bind it together.

government?

Europe and

E pluribus unumn This unity had already been

is Latin for "Out of many, one." This phrase was first

suggested by the phrase "E pluribus unum" which

suggested as a motto for the young nation by the

seal for what political leaders were beginning g to call

committee appointed in 1776 to design an official

"the United States of America." As the United States

grew and developed into a more diverse nation, it

began to take on a second meaning. "Out of many,

one" is now commonly taken to signify that a single,

unified people has grown out of people with many

different backgrounds, ethnicities, and beliefs.

ASSESSMENT

V CHECK UNDERSTANDING What is the division

1. Generate Explanations Explain why the

national government was weaker than individual

states under the Articles of Confederation

2. Support a Point of View With Evidence

Explain why the Antifederalists opposed the

Constitution.

3. Compare and Contrast Describe the similarities

and differences between the Articles of

Confederation and the Constitution.

4. Analyze Context Explain the significance of

the phrase "E pluribus unum" and account for

changes in its meaning over time.

5. Discuss the idea of the separation of powers

and explain how the Constitution enacted this

principle.