1 The Confederation Era · The Confederation Era TERMS& NAMES Wilderness Road republic Articles of Confederation Land Ordinance ... Confederation? C. Answer

The Confederation Era

Confederation to Constitution 221

11

MAIN IDEA WHY IT MATTERS NOW

The Confederation Era TERMS & NAMESWilderness Road

republic

Articles ofConfederation

Land Ordinance of 1785

Northwest Territory

NorthwestOrdinance

Shays’s Rebellion

Moving WestThe trail into Kentucky that Daniel Boone helped build was called theWilderness Road. This road was not easy to travel. It was too narrow forcarts or wagons, but it became the main road into Kentucky. The settlerscame on foot or on horseback. Settlers were drawn to Kentucky’s richriver valleys, where few Native Americans lived. But some NativeAmericans, such as the Shawnee, did live, hunt, and fish in the area.

Tensions between Native Americans and settlers led to violent con-frontations. But the settlers did not stop coming. By the early 1790s, about100,000 Americans lived there. While settlers headed into the Westernterritories, the people in the East began to create new state governments.

ONE AMERICAN’S STORYIn 1775, Daniel Boone and 30 woodsmen cut a road over

the Appalachian Mountains into Kentucky. They hacked

through brush, chopped down trees, and bridged creeks.

They labored like this for about 250 miles. Eventually, they

arrived in a grassy meadow along the banks of the

Kentucky River. Felix Walker, a member of Boone’s party,

described what they saw.

A VOICE FROM THE PAST

On entering the plain we were permitted to view a veryinteresting and romantic sight. A number of buffaloes . . .supposed to be between two and three hundred, made off . . . in every direction. . . . Such a sight some of us neversaw before, nor perhaps ever may again.

Felix Walker, quoted in The Life and Adventures of Daniel Boone

Boone was one of the earliest American settlers in Kentucky.

In the late 1700s, most Americans thought of Kentucky as the wild

frontier. Some, like Boone, looked at the frontier and saw a world of

opportunity. Exploring and governing these lands was only one of the

many challenges that faced the new government of the United States.

The Articles of Confederation weretoo weak to govern the nation afterthe war ended.

The weakness of the Articles ofConfederation led to the writing ofthe U.S. Constitution.

Early travel to Kentucky is shownin this detail of Daniel BooneEscorting Settlers Through theCumberland Gap (1851–1852) byGeorge Caleb Bingham.

New State GovernmentsOnce the American colonies declared independence, each of the statesset out to create its own government. The framers, or creators, of thestate constitutions did not want to destroy the political systems that theyhad had as colonies. They simply wanted to make those systems moredemocratic. Some states experimented with creating separate branchesof government, giving different powers to different branches. By creat-ing separate branches, Americans hoped to prevent the governmentfrom becoming too powerful.

Some states included a bill of rights in their constitutions as a way tokeep the government under control. The idea of a bill of rights camefrom the English Bill of Rights of 1689. This was a list of rights that thegovernment guaranteed to English citizens.

Although not all the states had a bill of rights, all of them did have arepublican form of government. In a republic, the people choose repre-sentatives to govern them.

The Articles of ConfederationWhile the states were setting up their governments, Americans also dis-cussed the form of their national government. During the RevolutionaryWar, Americans realized that they needed to unite to win the waragainst Britain. As Silas Deane, a diplomat from Connecticut, wrote,“United we stand, divided we fall.”

In 1776, the Continental Congress began to develop aplan for a national government. Congress agreed that the

government should be a republic. But the delegatesdisagreed about whether each state should have one

vote or voting should be based on population. Theyalso disagreed about whether the national govern-ment or the individual states should control thelands west of the Appalachians.

The Continental Congress eventually arrived ata final plan, called the Articles of Confederation.In the Articles, the national government had fewpowers, because many Americans were afraid thata strong government would lead to tyranny, oroppressive rule. The national government was runby a Confederation Congress. Each state had only

one vote in the Congress. The national governmenthad the power to wage war, make peace, sign treaties,

and issue money.But the Articles left most important powers to the

states. These powers included the authority to set taxesand enforce national laws. The Articles proposed toleave the states in control of the lands west of theAppalachian Mountains.

222 CHAPTER 8

BackgroundTwo states,Connecticut andRhode Island,kept their oldcolonial chartersas their constitu-tions. The other11 states wrotenew constitutions.

“United we stand,divided we fall.”

Silas Deane

A. Reading aMap Look at themap on page 223to see whichstates claimedterritories in the West.

The Continental Congress passedthe Articles of Confederation inNovember 1777. It then sent theArticles to the states for ratification, orapproval. By July 1778, eight stateshad ratified the Articles. But some ofthe small states that did not haveWestern land claims refused to sign.

These states felt that unless theWestern lands were placed under thecontrol of the national government, theywould be at a disadvantage. The stateswith Western lands could sell them topay off debts left from the Revolution.But states without lands would have dif-ficulty paying off the high war debts.

Over the next three years, all thestates gave up their claims to Westernlands. This led the small states to ratifythe Articles. In 1781, Maryland becamethe 13th state to accept the Articles. Asa result, the United States finally had anofficial government.

The Northwest OrdinanceOne of the most important questions that the Confederation Congressfaced was what to do with the Western lands that it now controlled.Congress passed important laws on how to divide and govern theselands—the Land Ordinance of 1785 and the Northwest Ordinance(1787). (See Geography in History on pages 226–227.)

The Land Ordinance of 1785 called for surveyors to stake out six-mile-square plots, called townships, in the Western lands. These landslater became known as the Northwest Territory. The NorthwestTerritory included land that formed the states of Ohio, Indiana,Michigan, Illinois, and Wisconsin and part of Minnesota.

The Northwest Ordinance (1787) described how the NorthwestTerritory was to be governed. As the territory grew in population, it wouldgain rights to self-government. When there were 5,000 free males in anarea, men who owned at least 50 acres of land could elect an assembly.When there were 60,000 people, they could apply to become a new state.

The Northwest Ordinance also set conditions for settlement in theNorthwest Territory and outlined the settlers’ rights. Slavery was out-lawed, and the rivers were to be open to navigation by all. Freedom ofreligion and trial by jury were guaranteed.

The Northwest Ordinance was important because it set a pattern forthe orderly growth of the United States. As the nation grew, it followedthis pattern in territories added after the Northwest Territory.


Original 13 statesArea of Westernland claims

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250 Miles

500 Kilometers

40°N

70°W

80°W90°W

30°N

Mis s issippi

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.

A T L A N T I CO C E A N

G u l f o fMexico

QUEBEC

SPANISHPOSSESSIONS

GEORGIA

VA.

VA.

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GA., SPAIN

N.C.

S.C.

N.C.

VA.,N.Y.

VA., N.Y.

VA., N.Y.,

MASS.

N.Y.,N.C.

N.Y.,N.H.

VA.,MASS.

VA., CONN. VA., CONN., N.Y.

DEL.PA.

S.C.

N.C.

N.J.

NEWYORK

N.H.

MASS.

CONN.

MAINE(MASS.)

R.I.MASS.CONN.

MD.

VA.N.Y.

GEOGRAPHY SKILLBUILDER Interpreting Maps1. Location Which of the original 13 states had Western

land claims?2. Location To what geographic feature did the

Western land claims extend?

Western Land Claims, 1781

B. Finding MainIdeas Why didthe states with-out Western landclaims want theother states togive up theirclaims?B. Answer Thestates withoutclaims feared thatthe states withclaims would bericher andstronger thanthem.

BackgroundAccording to theNorthwestOrdinance, NativeAmericans wereto be treatedfairly, and theirlands were not to be taken from them.

SkillbuilderAnswers 1. Virginia, NewYork, Massachu-setts, Connecticut,North Carolina,South Carolina,Georgia, and NewHampshire2. Mississippi River

Weaknesses of the ArticlesAside from its handling of land issues, however, the ConfederationCongress had few successes. By the end of the Revolutionary War, theUnited States faced serious problems, and the Confederation Congressdid not have enough power to solve them.

Debt was a critical problem forthe government. Congress had bor-rowed large sums to pay for theRevolutionary War. Much of thatmoney was owed to soldiers of itsown army. Upset at not being paid,several hundred soldiers sur-rounded the Pennsylvania StateHouse where Congress was meet-ing in June 1783. The soldiersthreatened the legislators, thrustingtheir bayonets through the win-dows. The delegates were forced toflee the city. The event was a clearsign of Congress’s weakness.

Even if Congress wanted to paythe soldiers, it did not have thepower to levy taxes. The nationalgovernment depended on the statesto send money to Congress. But thestates sent very little money.

Congress was not alone in facingeconomic crises. People through-out the nation faced hard times. InMassachusetts, the economy wasso bad that people rose up in armsagainst the government.

Shays’s RebellionIn the mid-1780s, Massachusetts faced economic problems, as did otherstates. People had little money, but the state continued to levy high taxes.The average family owed $200 in taxes per year—more money thanmost farmers made. Many Massachusetts farmers fell deeply into debt.Debt laws at the time were strict. Anyone who could not repay his debtswould have his property auctioned off. If the auction didn’t raise enoughmoney to settle the debts, the debtor could be put in jail. In westernMassachusetts, many jails were packed with debtors.

Farmers asked the Massachusetts legislature to provide debt relief.But the legislature refused—and the farmers rebelled. One of the lead-ers of the rebellion was a Revolutionary War veteran named DanielShays. He commanded a group of about 1,500 men.

224 CHAPTER 8

SKILLBUILDER Interpreting Charts1. What do you think was the greatest success of the

Continental Congress?2. What do you think was the greatest weakness of the

Articles of Confederation?

U.S. Government, 1776–1787

Weaknesses of the Articlesof Confederation

Successes of the Continental Congress

Skillbuilder Answers1. Possible ResponseGoverning thenation during theRevolutionary War,because if the warwas lost, therewould be no nation.

2. PossibleResponses Somestudents might saythe lack of thepower to tax,because it meantthe governmentcould not pay forwhat it wanted todo. Others mightsay the require-ment for all 13states to agree,because it couldparalyze Congress.

C. AnalyzingCauses How diddebt cause prob-lems for the U.S.governmentunder theArticles ofConfederation?C. AnswerCongress couldnot raise moneyto pay its debts,even to the sol-diers who hadfought the war.

Lacked power to enforce laws

Lacked power to levy taxes

Lacked power to regulate tradeamong the states

Required all 13 states to approvechanges in the Articles

Governed the nation during theRevolutionary War

Negotiated the Treaty of Paris at theend of the war

Passed the Land Ordinance of 1785

Passed the Northwest Ordinance(1787)

•

•

••

•••

•

In January 1787, Shays and his men marched on a fed-eral arsenal, a place to store weapons. The arsenal wasdefended by 900 soldiers from the state militia. The mili-tia quickly defeated Shays’s men. But even though the militia put downShays’s Rebellion, as the uprising came to be known, the farmers wonthe sympathy of many people. America’s leaders realized that an armeduprising of common farmers spelled danger for the nation.

Some leaders hoped that the nation’s ills could be solved by strength-ening the national government. In the next section, you’ll read howAmericans held a convention to change the Articles of Confederation.

BackgroundIn 1788, DanielShays was pardoned for his actions.

2. Taking NotesUse a diagram like the onebelow to list some of thechallenges Americans faced inshaping a new government.

Which challenge do you thinkwas the toughest? Why?

3. Main Ideasa. What issues affected theWestern territories between1775 and 1787?

b. What were three successesof the Continental Congress?

c. What were the strengthsand weaknesses of theArticles of Confederation?

4. Critical ThinkingForming and SupportingOpinions Which side wouldyou have supported duringShays’s Rebellion—the farm-ers or the officials who calledout the militia? Why?

THINK ABOUT• the farmers’ problems• the farmers’ march on

the arsenal• the job of the government

1. Terms & NamesExplain the

significance of:• Wilderness Road• republic• Articles of

Confederation• Land Ordinance

of 1785• Northwest Territory• Northwest

Ordinance• Shays’s Rebellion

Section Assessment

ACTIVITY OPTIONS

CIVICSGEOGRAPHY

Write an opinion article about how the United States should govern the Westernterritories or draw a map showing how you would have divided the lands.

1

Challenges

Shays’s rebels takeover a Massachu-setts courthouse.A stone markerrests on the spotof the rebellion.


228 CHAPTER 8

22 Creating theConstitutionCreating theConstitution

TERMS & NAMESConstitutional

Convention

James Madison

Virginia Plan

New Jersey Plan

Great Compromise

Three-FifthsCompromise

A Constitutional Convention Is CalledIn 1786, a series of events began that would eventually lead to a newform of government for the United States. In September of that year,delegates from five states met in Annapolis, Maryland, to discuss ways topromote trade among their states. At the time, most states placed hightaxes on goods from other states. The delegates believed that creatingnational trade laws would help the economies of all the states.

Making such changes required amending the Articles of Confederation,because the national government had been granted no power to regulatetrade among the states. The Annapolis delegates, led by AlexanderHamilton of New York, called for the states to send representatives to

The states sent delegates to aconvention to solve the problems ofthe Articles of Confederation.

The Constitutional Conventionformed the plan of government thatthe United States still has today.


ONE AMERICAN’S STORYOn the afternoon of May 15, 1787, Edmund Randolph, the

young governor of Virginia, arrived in Philadelphia for the

Constitutional Convention. The young nation faced violence

and lawlessness, as Shays’s Rebellion had shown. And now

delegates from throughout the states were coming to

Philadelphia to discuss reforming the government.

Randolph knew the serious task he and the other

delegates were about to undertake. Early in the convention,

Randolph rose to speak. He looked squarely at the delegates

and reminded them of their grave responsibility.


Let us not be afraid to view with a steady eye the [dangers] with which we are surrounded. . . . Are we not on the eve of [a civil] war, which is only to be prevented by the hopes from this convention?

Edmund Randolph, quoted in Edmund Randolph: A Biography

Over the next four months, the delegates debated how best to

keep the United States from falling apart. In this section, you will read

about the Convention of 1787 and the creation of the U.S. Constitution.

EdmundRandolph (left)and the otherdelegatesgathered in thePennsylvaniaState House(above) to discusscreating a newgovernment forthe United States.

A. EvaluatingHow well do thecharacteristics ofthe Foundersserve as modelsof civic virtue?A. PossibleResponseThey provide anexcellent modelof civic virtuebecause theywere educated,well-informed,and actively par-ticipated in government.

Philadelphia the following May to discuss such changes.At first, many Americans doubted that the national

government needed strengthening. But news of Shays’sRebellion in late 1786 and early 1787 quickly changedmany people’s minds. Fearing that rebellion mightspread, 12 states sent delegates to the meeting inPhiladelphia in the summer of 1787. Only RhodeIsland refused to participate.

The Convention’s DelegatesThe 55 delegates to the Constitutional Convention, asthe Philadelphia meeting became known, were a veryimpressive group. About half were lawyers. Others wereplanters, merchants, and doctors. Three-fourths of themhad been representatives in the Continental Congress.Many had been members of their state legislatures andhad helped write their state constitutions. Along withother leaders of the time, these delegates are called theFounders, or Founding Fathers, of the United States.

America’s most famous men were at the Con-stitutional Convention. George Washington, the heroof the Revolution, came out of retirement for themeeting. Benjamin Franklin, the famous scientist andstatesman, lent his wit and wisdom to the convention.One of the ablest delegates was James Madison.Madison had read more than a hundred books on gov-ernment in preparation for the meeting. WhenThomas Jefferson, serving as ambassador to France,read the list of delegates, he wrote, “It is really anassembly of demigods.”

Not everyone was at the Constitutional Convention. ThomasJefferson and John Adams were overseas at their diplomatic posts. Butthey wrote home to encourage the delegates. Others had a less positiveoutlook on the convention. For example, Patrick Henry, who had beenelected as a delegate from Virginia, refused to attend. He said he“smelled a rat in Philadelphia, tending toward monarchy.”

Also, the convention did not reflect the diverse U.S. population of the1780s. There were no Native Americans, African Americans, or womenamong the delegates. The nation’s early leaders did not consider thesegroups of people to be citizens and did not invite any of them to attend.However, the framework of government the Founders established is thevery one that would eventually provide full rights and responsibilities toall Americans.

The Delegates AssembleMost of the delegates arrived at the Constitutional Convention withouta clear idea of what to expect. Some thought they would only draft


BackgroundRhode Island didnot send dele-gates because itfeared that astrong nationalgovernmentwould force people to repaythe war debts ondifficult terms.

INDEPENDENCE HALL

The Pennsylvania State House,where the ConstitutionalConvention took place, is nowcalled Independence Hall. It isprotected as part of a nationalpark in Philadelphia.

The State House itself was thesite where George Washingtonreceived his commission to leadthe Continental Army and wherethe Declaration of Independencewas signed. The Liberty Bell isnearby. Many visitors come to Philadelphia to stand in the building where much of America’s early history as a nation was made.

amendments to the Articles of Confederation. Othersthought they would design an entirely new plan for thegovernment. But they all agreed that the governmentshould protect people’s rights.

Back in 1776, many Americans thought that govern-ment was the main threat to people’s rights. But by1787, many realized that the people often came intoconflict and needed a government that could maintainorder. As a result, the government had to be strongenough to protect people’s rights but not too strong tobe controlled. Madison later wrote about this problem.


If men were angels, no government would be necessary. Ifangels were to govern men, neither external nor internalcontrols on government would be necessary. In framing agovernment which is to be administered by men over men,the great difficulty lies in this: you must first enable thegovernment to control the governed; and in the next placeoblige it [the government] to control itself.

James Madison, The Federalist “Number 51”

This was the challenge that faced the delegates:how to set up a strong but limited federal government.By May 25, 1787, at least two delegates from each of seven states had arrived in Philadelphia. With 29delegates in attendance, the convention was officiallyunder way.

The Convention BeginsThe first order of business was to elect a president forthe convention. Robert Morris of Pennsylvania nomi-nated George Washington. No American was morerespected or admired than Washington. Every delegatevoted for him. Washington’s quiet and dignified leader-

ship set a solemn and serious tone for the convention.At their next meeting, the delegates decided on the rules for the con-

vention. They wanted to be able to consider all ideas and to be able tochange sides in any debate. They did not want to be pressured by thepolitics of the day. For these reasons, they decided that their discussionswould remain secret. To ensure privacy, the windows in their meetingroom were kept shut even though it was summer. Guards were postedoutside the door. Whenever the door was opened, the delegates stoppedtalking. With the secrecy rule approved, they got down to business.

The Virginia PlanOn May 29, the delegates began the real work of designing a newnational government. Presiding over the convention, George Washington

230 CHAPTER 8

JAMES MADISON

1751–1836

James Madison was a short, soft-spoken man, but he may havemade the greatest contribution of any of the Founders at theConstitutional Convention. Hetook thorough notes of the con-vention’s proceedings. His notesare the most detailed picture wehave of the debates and dramaof the convention.

But Madison did not justobserve the convention. He wasperhaps the most important par-ticipant. One of the other dele-gates called him “the bestinformed Man of any point indebate.” Madison was so impor-tant that he earned the title“Father of the Constitution.”

How did Madison contributeto the ConstitutionalConvention?

B. PossibleResponses Theproblem is inframing a govern-ment that cancontrol itself as well as the governed.

B. Using PrimarySourcesAccording toMadison, what isthe central prob-lem in framing a government?

C. PossibleResponses Somestudents mightagree because thedelegates mightnot have felt freeto have an honestdebate withoutsecrecy. Othersmight disagreebecause theybelieve peopleshould have hadthe right to knowwhat the dele-gates were doing.

C. MakingDecisions Do youagree with theFounders’ deci-sion to keep theconventionsecret? Why orwhy not?


recognized Edmund Randolph as the first speaker. Randolph offered aplan for a whole new government. The plan became known as theVirginia Plan. Madison, Randolph, and the other Virginia delegates haddrawn up the plan while they waited for the convention to open.

The Virginia Plan proposed a government that wouldhave three branches. The first branch of government was thelegislature, which made the laws. The second branch was theexecutive, which enforced the laws. The third branch was thejudiciary, which interpreted the laws.

The Virginia Plan proposed a legislature with two houses.In both houses, the number of representatives from eachstate would be based on the state’s population or its wealth.The legislature would have the power to levy taxes, regulatecommerce, and make laws “in all cases where the separatestates are incompetent [unable].”

The Virginia Plan led to weeks of debate. Because they had larger populations, larger states supported the plan. It would give them greaterrepresentation in the legislature. The smaller states opposed this plan.They worried that the larger states would end up ruling the others.Delaware delegate John Dickinson voiced the concerns of the small states.


Some of the members from the small states wish for two branches in thegeneral legislature and are friends to a good [strong] national government;but we would sooner submit [give in] to a foreign power than submit to be deprived, in both branches of the legislature, of an equal suffrage [vote],and thereby be thrown under the domination of the larger states.

John Dickinson, quoted in Mr. Madison’s Constitution

The Great CompromiseIn response to the Virginia Plan, New Jersey delegate William Patersonpresented an alternative on June 15. The New Jersey Plan called for alegislature with only one house. In it, each state would have one vote.In providing equal representation to each state, the New Jersey Planwas similar to the Articles of Confederation.

Even though the New Jersey Plan gave the legislature the power toregulate trade and to raise money by taxing foreign goods, it did notoffer the broad powers proposed by the Virginia Plan. The delegates

The delegates atthe ConstitutionalConventiondebated theConstitutionintensely.

D. SummarizingWhat was theVirginia Plan?D. Answer It wasthe plan for thelegislatureoffered by theVirginia delegatesto the conven-tion. It proposeda legislature withtwo houses withrepresentationbased on popula-tion or wealth.

“If men wereangels, nogovernmentwould benecessary.”

James Madison

voted on these two plans on June 19. The Virginia Plan won and becamethe framework for drafting the Constitution.

During the rest of June, the delegates argued over representation in thelegislature. Emotions ran high as the delegates struggled for a solution.In desperation, the delegates selected a committee to work out a com-promise in early July. The committee offered the Great Compromise.(Some people also refer to it as the Connecticut Compromise.)

To satisfy the smaller states, each state would have an equal numberof votes in the Senate. To satisfy the larger states, the committee setrepresentation in the House of Representatives according to state pop-ulations. More than a week of arguing followed the introduction of theplan, but on July 16, 1787, the convention passed it.

Slavery and the ConstitutionBecause representation in the House of Representatives would be basedon the population of each state, the delegates had to decide who wouldbe counted in that population. The Southern states had many moreslaves than the Northern states. Southerners wanted the slaves to becounted as part of the general population for representation but not fortaxation. Northerners argued that slaves were not citizens and shouldnot be counted for representation but should be counted for taxation.

On this issue, the delegates reached another compromise, known asthe Three-Fifths Compromise. Under this compromise, three-fifths ofthe slave population would be counted when setting direct taxes on thestates. This three-fifths ratio also would be used to determine represen-tation in the legislature.

The delegates had another heated debate about the slave trade.Slavery had already been outlawed in several Northern states. All of theNorthern states and several of the Southern states had banned the

232 CHAPTER 8

SkillbuilderAnswers1. the New JerseyPlan2. PossibleResponse Itincluded more ofwhat the largestates wantedbecause there weretwo houses in thelegislature, one ofwhich had repre-sentation by popu-lation.

SKILLBUILDER Interpreting Charts1. Which plan appealed more to the small states?2. Did the Great Compromise include more of what the large

states wanted or more of what the small states wanted?

THE GREATCOMPROMISE

VIRGINIA PLAN

NEW JERSEY PLAN

● The legislative branch would have two houses.

● Both houses in the legislature would assign representatives according to state population or wealth.

● The legislature would have one house.

● Each state would have one vote in the legislature.

The Great Compromise

● The Senate would give each state equal representation.

The legislature would have two houses.

● The House of Representatives would have representation according to state population.

BackgroundRoger Sherman ofConnecticut iswidely creditedwith proposingthe GreatCompromise.

2. Taking NotesUse a chart like the onebelow to take notes on thecontributions made by theleading delegates at theConstitutional Convention.

3. Main Ideasa. What was the relation-ship between the AnnapolisConvention and the Consti-tutional Convention?

b. What is the significance ofthe date 1787?

c. How did the ConstitutionalConvention reach a compro-mise on the issue of slavery?

4. Critical ThinkingAnalyzing Points of ViewHow did the delegates at theconvention differ on the issueof representation in the newgovernment?

THINK ABOUT• the large states and the

small states• the Virginia Plan• the New Jersey Plan• the Great Compromise


significance of:• Constitutional

Convention• James Madison• Virginia Plan• New Jersey Plan• Great Compromise• Three-Fifths

Compromise

Section Assessment

ACTIVITY OPTIONS

TECHNOLOGYART

Think about the Three-Fifths Compromise. Make an audio recording of a speech or draw a political cartoon that expresses your views on the issue.

2

importation of slaves. Many Northerners wanted to seethis ban extended to the rest of the nation. ButSouthern slaveholders strongly disagreed. The delegatesfrom South Carolina and Georgia stated that theywould never accept any plan “unless their right toimport slaves be untouched.” Again, the delegates set-tled on a compromise. On August 29, they agreed thatCongress could not ban the slave trade until 1808.

Regulating TradeAside from delaying any ban on the slave trade, theConstitution placed few limits on Congress’s power “toregulate commerce with foreign nations, and among theseveral states, and with the Indian tribes.” Most dele-gates were glad that Congress would regulate—and evenpromote—commerce. After all, commercial problemswere the main cause of the Annapolis Convention in1786. Southerners, however, succeeded in banningCongress from taxing exports because Southerneconomies depended on exports. The commerce clause also showed theshadowy status that Native Americans had under the Constitution. Theywere neither foreign nations nor part of the separate states.

The Constitutional Convention continued to meet into September.On Saturday, September 15, 1787, the delegates voted their support forthe Constitution in its final form. On Sunday, it was written out on foursheets of thick parchment. On Monday, all but three delegates signedthe Constitution. It was then sent, with a letter signed by GeorgeWashington, to the Confederation Congress, which sent it to the statesfor ratification, or approval. In the next section, you will read about thedebate over ratification.


Delegate Contribution

E. Forming andSupportingOpinions Did thedelegates do theright thing inagreeing to theThree-FifthsCompromise?Explain.E. PossibleResponses Somemight say no,because theFounders shouldhave abolishedslavery. Othersmight say yes,because otherwisethe Southernstates might nothave ratified theConstitution.

PRESERVING THECONSTITUTION

The National Archives isresponsible for preserving the200-year-old sheets of parch-ment on which the originalConstitution was first written.

The Archives stores the document in an airtight glasscase enclosed in a 55-ton vaultof steel and concrete. Everyfew years, scientists examinethe pages with the latest technology. For the last exami-nation in 1995, they used fiber-optic light sources and computer-guided electroniccameras designed for space exploration.

234 CHAPTER 8

33 Ratifying theConstitutionRatifying theConstitution

TERMS & NAMESfederalism

Federalists

Antifederalists

The Federalistpapers

George Mason

Bill of Rights

ONE AMERICAN’S STORYFor a week in early January 1788, a church in Hartford, Connecticut,

was filled to capacity. Inside, 168 delegates were meeting to decide

whether their state should ratify the U.S. Constitution. Samuel

Huntington, Connecticut’s governor, addressed the assembly.


This is a new event in the history of mankind. Heretofore, mostgovernments have been formed by tyrants and imposed on mankind by force. Never before did a people, in time of peace and tranquillity,meet together by their representatives and, with calm deliberation,frame for themselves a system of government.

Samuel Huntington, quoted in Original Meanings

The governor supported the new Constitution and wanted to see it

ratified. Not everyone agreed with him. In this section, you will learn

about the debates that led to the ratification of the Constitution.

Federalists and AntifederalistsBy the time the convention in Connecticut opened, Americans hadalready been debating the new Constitution for months. The documenthad been printed in newspapers and handed out in pamphlets across theUnited States. The framers of the Constitution knew that the documentwould cause controversy. They immediately began to campaign for rati-fication, or approval, of the Constitution.

The framers suspected that people might be afraid the Constitutionwould take too much power away from the states. To address this fear,the framers explained that the Constitution was based on federalism.Federalism is a system of government in which power is shared betweenthe central (or federal) government and the states. Linking themselves tothe idea of federalism, the people who supported the Constitution tookthe name Federalists.

People who opposed the Constitution were called Antifederalists.They thought the Constitution took too much power away from the

Americans across the nation debatedwhether the Constitution wouldproduce the best government.

American liberties today areprotected by the U.S. Constitution,including the Bill of Rights.


Samuel Huntington

A. PossibleResponse Hebelieves failure to ratify theConstitution willput Americans’liberty, dignity,and happiness at risk.

A. MakingInferences Whatdoes Hamiltonthink will happenif the Constitutionis not ratified?


Vocabularyaristocracy:a group or classconsidered supe-rior to others

• Supported removing some powers from the states and giving more powers to the national government

• Favored dividing powers among different branches of government

• Proposed a single person to lead the executive branch

ANTIFEDERALISTSFEDERALISTS

• Wanted important political powers to remain with the states

• Wanted the legislative branch to have more power than the executive

• Feared that a strong executive might become a king or tyrant

• Believed a bill of rights needed to be added to the Constitution to protect people’s rights

Federalists and Antifederalists

George MasonJohn Jay

SKILLBUILDER Interpreting Charts1. Which group wanted a stronger central government?2. If you had been alive in 1787, would you have been a Federalist or an Antifederalist?

states and did not guarantee rights for the people. Some were afraid thata strong president might be declared king. Others thought the Senatemight turn into a powerful aristocracy. In either case, the liberties wonat great cost during the Revolution might be lost.

Antifederalists published their views about the Constitution in news-papers and pamphlets. They used logical arguments to convince peopleto oppose the Constitution. But they also tried to stir people’s emotionsby charging that it would destroy American liberties. As oneAntifederalist wrote, “After so recent a triumph over British despots[oppressive rulers], . . . it is truly astonishing that a set of men amongourselves should have had the effrontery [nerve] to attempt the destruc-tion of our liberties.”

The Federalist PapersThe Federalists did not sit still while the Antifederalists attacked theConstitution. They wrote essays to answer the Antifederalists’ attacks.The best known of the Federalist essays are The Federalist papers. Theseessays first appeared as letters in New York newspapers. They were laterpublished together in a book called The Federalist.

Three well-known politicians wrote The Federalist papers—JamesMadison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay, the secretary of foreignaffairs for the Confederation Congress. Like the Antifederalists, theFederalists appealed to reason and emotion. In The Federalist papers,Hamilton described why people should support ratification.


Yes, my countrymen, . . . I am clearly of opinion it is in your interest to adoptit [the Constitution]. I am convinced that this is the safest course for yourliberty, your dignity, and your happiness.

Alexander Hamilton, The Federalist “Number 1”

SkillbuilderAnswers1. Federalists2. PossibleResponses Somestudents may sayFederalist becausethey favor theConstitution.Others may sayAntifederalistbecause they favorindividual rights.

The Federalists had an important advantage over the Antifederalists.Most of the newspapers supported the Constitution, giving theFederalists more publicity than the Antifederalists. Even so, there wasstrong opposition to ratification in Massachusetts, North Carolina,Rhode Island, New York, and Virginia. If some of these states failed toratify the Constitution, the United States might not survive.

The Battle for RatificationThe first four state conventions to ratify the Constitution were held inDecember 1787. It was a good month for the Federalists. Delaware,New Jersey, and Pennsylvania voted for ratification. In January 1788,Georgia and Connecticut ratified the Constitution. Massachusettsjoined these states in early February.

By late June, nine states had voted to ratify the Constitution. Thatmeant that the document was now officially ratified. But New York andVirginia had not yet cast their votes. There were many powerfulAntifederalists in both of those states. Without Virginia, the new gov-ernment would lack the support of the largest state. Without New York,the nation would be separated into two parts geographically.

Virginia’s convention opened the first week in June. The patriot PatrickHenry fought against ratification. George Mason, perhaps the most influ-ential Virginian aside from Washington, also was opposed to it. Mason hadbeen a delegate to the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, but hehad refused to sign the final document. Both Henry and Mason would notconsider voting for the Constitution until a bill of rights was added. A billof rights is a set of rules that defines people’s rights.

James Madison was also at Virginia’s convention. He suggested thatVirginia follow Massachusetts’s lead and ratify the Constitution, and herecommended the addition of a bill of rights. With the addition of a billof rights likely, Virginia ratified the Constitution at the end of June.

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B. AnswerSeveral statesrefused to ratifythe Constitutionunless a bill ofrights was added.

B. DrawingConclusions Howdid the lack of abill of rightsendanger theConstitution?

Supporters of the Constitutionturned out in parades like thisone in New York in 1788. The“Ship of State” float hasAlexander Hamilton’s name onit to celebrate his role in creat-ing the Constitution.

What does the pictureindicate about the impor-tance of the Constitution in people’s lives?


2. Taking NotesUse a diagram like the onebelow to compare and con-trast the Federalists and theAntifederalists.

Which group do you thinkmade the stronger argumentabout ratification? Why?

3. Main Ideasa. What were Patrick Henry’sand George Mason’s views onratification?

b. How did the Federalistsand the Antifederalists try to convince people to taketheir sides in the debate over the Constitution?

c. What was the significanceof the Bill of Rights?

4. Critical ThinkingRecognizing PropagandaReread the quotation byHamilton on page 235. Is itan example of propaganda?Why or why not?

THINK ABOUT• Hamilton’s use of the word

countrymen• Hamilton’s reference

to liberty, dignity, andhappiness


significance of:• federalism• Federalists• Antifederalists• The Federalist

papers• George Mason• Bill of Rights

Section Assessment

ACTIVITY OPTIONS

SPEECHLANGUAGE ARTS

Review the major arguments for and against ratification of the Constitution.Hold a press conference or write a news report on the ratification debate.

3

BackgroundThe seven states that asked for abill of rights wereMassachusetts,South Carolina,New Hampshire,Virginia, NewYork, NorthCarolina, andRhode Island.

Federalists BothAnti-

federalists

The news of Virginia’s vote arrived while the New York convention wasin debate. The Antifederalists had outnumbered the Federalists when theconvention had begun. But with the news of Virginia’s ratification, NewYorkers decided to join the Union. New York also called for a bill of rights.

It was another year before North Carolina ratified the Constitution.In 1790, Rhode Island became the last state to ratify it. By then, the newCongress had already written a bill of rights and submitted it to thestates for approval.

The Bill of RightsAt the same time that seven of the states ratified the Constitution, theyasked that it be amended to include a bill of rights. Supporters of a billof rights hoped that it would set forth the rights of allAmericans. They believed it was needed to protectpeople against the power of the national government.

Madison, who was elected to the new Congress inthe winter of 1789, took up the cause. He proposed a setof changes to the Constitution. Congress editedMadison’s list and proposed placing the amendments atthe end of the Constitution in a separate section.

The amendments went to the states for ratification. Aswith the Constitution, three-quarters of the states had toratify the amendments for them to take effect. WithVirginia’s vote in 1791, ten of the amendments were rat-ified and became law. These ten amendments to the U.S.Constitution became known as the Bill of Rights. (Seethe Constitution Handbook, pages 266-268.)

The passage of the Bill of Rights was one of the firstacts of the new government. In the next chapter, you willread about other issues that faced the new government.

RELIGIOUS FREEDOM

Freedom of religion was animportant part of the FirstAmendment. Jefferson andMadison believed that govern-ment enforcement of religiouslaws was the source of muchsocial conflict. They supportedfreedom of religion as a way toprevent such conflict.

Even before Madison wrotethe Bill of Rights, he worked to ensure religious liberty inVirginia. In 1786, he helped pass the Virginia Statute forReligious Freedom, originallywritten by Jefferson in 1777.

Documents

1 The Confederation Era · The Confederation Era TERMS& NAMES Wilderness Road republic Articles of Confederation Land Ordinance ... Confederation? C. Answer