AP US Gov and PolMiller

In this module, you will learn About the structure of the Articles of

Confederation government Inherent weaknesses of the AoC Events leading up to the Constitutional

Convention Major political themes and concepts of the

Constitution Major compromises achieved to finalize the

document The ratification process of the document

From the beginning of the Revolution until 1789 successive Continental Congresses ran US affairs

The document that outlined the structure and powers of the Continental Congress was the Articles of Confederation

Often forgotten in popular history – probably due to its ultimate failure and dismissal

In broad terms, the AoC created a government with a Unicameral (single chamber) national

Congress where all states had the same amount of representation

Very weak executive which only served for a 1 year term

No national court structure to speak of No mechanism for resolving conflicts between

the states

As a result, the AoC Congress and executive could not Effectively tax the states, had to ask states for

funds Raise its own armed forces, had to borrow

state militias Regulate commerce effectively Provide any type of assistance to the states or

administer any social programs of any kind Negotiate with foreign powers in a unified,

national manner

Seemed like the system could work at first

When states had a common enemy (the British), differences were set aside and states cooperated to win the war

Most successful moment after that was the passage of the Northwest Ordinance which divvied up the territory of the states that would later become Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, etc.

Political, economic, and social chaos ruled during the period after the Revolution States often ignored the national Congress’s

call for money or soldiers The Congress often could not function

because not enough members were present to conduct official business

Rival states were openly attempting to subvert each other via currency manipulation and random, overbearing taxation

Particularly annoyed by the economic problems of the system, Hamilton attempts to rally his political allies

Wants to have a meeting in Annapolis to proposed amendments to the AoC

Totally flabbergasted when barely anyone shows up and again no official business gets done

It’s now obvious to him that states think the AoC is a joke and are unwilling to commit more political energy to the government

Previous iterations of the national Congress had promised bonuses of land and money to veterans of the Revolutions

Years continued to pass while nothing was given to these American heroes

Eventually Massachusetts veterans under the command of Daniel Shays start a rebellion in western Massachusetts, begin burning civic buildings and marching en masse to the state capitol

Massachusetts sends messages to Congress, neighboring states to send militia to assist but no soldiers are sent

Finally, Massachusetts business elites form a mercenary group to crush the rebellion

Many other political elites (Washington, Franklin, Hamilton) now realize the AoC is doomed and the confederation must become a federation

Hamilton calls for another national Constitutional Convention in Philly in 1787

Many political heavyweights answer the call but many others are conspicuously absent Jefferson in France John Adams in England Hancock in Massachusetts Sam Adams in Massachusetts Patrick Henry refused to attend

Due to the open spot in the Virginia delegation because of the absence of Jefferson, James Madison is sent instead

Madison is Jefferson’s protégé Arrives with details of what will be known

later as the Virginia Plan Also serves as Secretary for the

Convention – essentially served as the starting point for the entire discourse at the Convention and recorded all of the details

Called for unicameral Congress with proportional representation based on state population

Obviously larger states like New York, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts and Virginia loved it

But smaller states felt threatened by it – felt that such a government would relegate them to lesser status

Counterproposal of small states Called for essentially a continuation of

the Congress structure derived from the AoC – equal representation for each state

Larger states felt totally marginalized by this plan – surely their larger population meant they should have more impact on national affairs

A state that could relate to both sides was Connecticut Small land mass Medium sized population

Solution was a bicameral legislature reminiscent of the English parliament

Lower chamber (House of Reps) would be determined by state population

Upper chamber (Senate) would feature state equality

So significant in American politics it was deemed the “Great Compromise”

All state delegations were confused about how to treat the new national executive

Some preferred the super-weakling in the AoC model

Hamilton actually proposed a constitutional monarch but quickly had to retract his idea

Eventually, Great Compromise featured a moderately strong executive with mostly military, foreign relations, and appointment powers that served four year terms

Electors, NOT popular votes, would choose the president

Delegates had an even harder time trying to figure out what the powers of the national court system would be

Knew that it had to exist, however, and knew that it had to be accountable to both the new Congress and president

Eventually, Supreme Court justices themselves flesh out the powers of the court but at first they were nebulous

The Constitutional Convention was one of America’s first chances to end slavery but it doesn’t happen

Instead, South flexes its political, economic muscles and forces the North to agree to the absurd Three-Fifths Compromise

Slaves, although totally disenfranchised, were to somehow count for “three-fifths of a person” in terms of census counts that affected House of Reps seats Presidential electors

States do, however, agree to end importation of slaves by year 1808

But it is still clear that as long as United States is an agricultural society, the political power of the South can strong-arm the North into agreeing with policies that unduly favor the South

Next, delegates complete the document Give new national government power to

resolve interstate problems Set the process for amending the new

constitution Add the very controversial Supremacy Clause And set the rules for ratification

9 out of 13 states were required to complete the ratification process

State delegation would return home with a copy of the Constitution and discuss it in state conventions or state congresses

Many states were outraged at first – Hamilton had sold the Philly Convention as a meeting to amend the AoC, not scrap it altogether

Sensing the need to persuade the voting elites of large states, Hamilton, Madison and Jay (sort of) began writing the Federalist Papers

Political treatises and essays published in major city newspapers between the time of the drafting of the Constitution and its ratification

Here Hamilton and Madison expound on and highlight the main themes of the new proposed government The benefits of the federal republic The essence and application of separation of

powers The virtues of checks and balances The need for a stronger executive

Immediately, a response forms to the concept of federalism but is not previously given a name so it takes the poorly worded form of “anti-federalism”

Anti-federalist Papers begin circulating to counter the Federalist Papers

Popular themes included A lack of civil liberties and rights guaranteed

in writing The possible tyranny of a stronger executive

run amok

As the deadline for ratification loomed, a few large states were still up in the air

More and more people agreed with the Anti-federalists that some form of guaranteed written civil liberties and rights should be included in the document

Jefferson hears of the debate and mails Madison from France

Madison deliberates and then compiles the first ten amendments to the Constitution – the Bill of Rights

With the Bill of Rights included, the last few states ratify (except Rhode Island who refused to even participate)

By 1789 First president of Constitutional government

George Washington takes office First new US Congress begins official business

The Age of the Federal Government had begun