History 1301 5a-6d

@ grayson college, prof: chad tomaselli

2nd Continental Congress (1775-81)

2nd Continental Congress (1775-81)

served as interim/new government after revolutionary war

• wrote new laws

• established gov structure

Articles of Confederacy

pre-constitution document written by 2nd continental congress

• 13 articles

• One Branch of Government

• weak central power with lots of state powers

details of one branch gov (articles of confederacy)

a mix of modern legisl. and exec. branch, the “Confederation Congress”

• unicameral( only had one house of congress)

• each chose how many representatives they sent, but still only had one vote

5 Powers of Confederation Congress

1. regulate and fund the military

2. declare war and negotiate peace

3. negotiate alliances with foreign countries

4. act as final mediator between states if requested

5. regulate post office

3 key powers confederation congress did not have

1. no right to collect/regulate taxes

2. regulate trade or currency (internal or external)

3. deal with internal disturbances ( protests, etc.)

State Power

states could do anything except what confed. congress did

success of the articles

handling of western issue, Land Ordinance of 1785, Land Ordinance of 1787

Land Ordinance of 1785

surveyed, divided, and sold in W Territory

significances of Land Ordinance of 1785

1. survey methods still used today

2. method for division and sale remained for 80 yrs

3. allowed wealthy to profit, allowed average person to buy land, allowed gov. to raise money

Northwest Ordinance of 1787

established process for new territories to become states, said new states were equal to existing ones, banned slavery in NW Territory

significance of NW Ordinance of 1787

statehood process and state equality is still used, US history/Civil War would be very different if NW was slave states

reason Jefferson banned slavery in NW territory

to ensure average people could buy and work on land opposed to slave owners having monopoly

Core Problem with Articles of Confederacy

1. Lack of power in national gov.

2. “US are…” mindset not “US is…”

Debt and Taxation resulting from art. of confed.

• $100m (3.2b today) debt across states and national gov.

• national gov could do nothing but sell land to make money, while states taxed their population

Trade Regulation issues as result of art. of confed.

national gov. had no control over trade between colonies → colonies created laws that lead to trade wars

mercantilism issues as result of articles of confederation

british still sought self sufficiency/monopoly/favorable trade → intentionally flooded and crashed US market

soldier pay issues as result of articles of confed

soldiers from revolutionary war still needed to be paid

• initially fought for free with promise of ½ pay for life after war

Rhode Island Currency Crisis

RI response to debt where they

• printed more money

• passed law requiring people to take money at face value

led to banks closing and insane inflation

Annapolis Convention (1786)

attempt to gather all 13 states in Maryland to address failures of articles of confed. but only 5 showed up

Shays’ Rebellion (August 1786 - June 1787)

rebellion led by Daniel Shay bc farmers were in debt, being taxed heavily, and Massachusetts government was not helping

debtors prison

policy enforced in massachusetts where if you didn’t pay debt, you would be jailed until debt was paid

3 significances of Shays’ Rebellion

1. overall was failure bc farmers lost and no change happened

2. convinced states to show up to philadelphia convention

3. convinced national government to listen to ideas at philadelphia convention

mount vernon conference (1785)

Virginia and Maryland met to discuss sharing Potomac River border so both could benefit from trade; encouraged states to gather more often

philadelphia convention aka constitutional convention (may-december 1787)

12/13 states met to discuss failures of articles of confederation, wrote constitution

• washington was voted in charge

• legitimacy issue bc not arranged by national gov

Significance of Articles of Confederation

1. most thought US would fail or go back to UK but they didn’t

2. showed error in states’ right style government

Virginia Plan at Philadelphia Convention

James Madison’s proposal to scrap articles and build new government

3 Branches of Gov under Virginia Plan

1. legislative: make laws w/bicameral congress, proportional representation

   • lower house (representatives) chosen by popular vote

   • upper house (senate) chosen by lower house

2. Executive: single person who enforces laws, acts as commander in chief, chosen by congress

3. judicial: interpret law, national layered court system w/supreme court @ top, judges chosen by congress

Pros and Cons of Virignia Plan

• pros: national gov had power to tax, regulate trade/economy, regulate internal disturbances

• cons: power given to large population states due to proportional representation

New Jersey Plan aka small state plan

• unicameral legislature (one house, one vote per state)

• equal representation (same # of reps regardless of population )

Great Compromise aka Connecticut Compromise

authored by Roger Sherman in response to Virginia and New Jersey Plans, proposed bicameral congress with:

1. lower house (house of reps): proportional representation by state population, chosen by popular vote

2. upper house (senate): equal representation of two per state, senators chosen by state congress

method followed until 1916

3/5ths Compromise

counted slaves as 3/5 of a person; result of southern states wanting to count slaves as part of population to get more representation

• significance: allowed constitution to be approved by south, only mention of slavery in constitution

Slave Trade Compromise

agreement to not discuss banning overseas slave trade for 20 years; 11/13 states already banned overseas slave trade, but Georgia and South Carolina wouldn’t approve const. w/out it

• banned 20 years to day by Thomas Jefferson

checks and balances in constitution

created out of fear that one branch could dominate others, system separated powers among groups to prevent abuse

presidential elections under original constitution

whoever got most votes became president, second most became VP

• lasted four elections

• shows did not expect two party system

electoral college in constitution

• electors: each state has # of electors same as amnt of people in congress that typically vote the same as states popular vote

• flaws: can lose popular vote but win electoral college

voting rights in original constitution

originally determined by wealth, circa 1800s changed to race and gender

• 15th ammendement (1870) gave african americans and former slaves right to vote

judicial branch in new constitution

not very well defined until 1803, right to interpret laws through vague courts

supremacy clause

states can make whatever laws they want but cannot contradict national laws

anti-federalist 5 arguments

1. philadelphia conv. didnt try to fix art. of confed. so they had no right to make new gov

2. central gov was too strong

3. people’s voice was cut out of system

4. potential for tyranny

5. bill of rights must be added to protect citizens

famous federalists

alexander hamilton, james madison, john jay

federalists 3 arguments

1. strong central gov is needed; weak central gov was issue in art of confed

2. checks and balances prevented corruption

3. bill of rights were inherit and spelling them out could cause interpretation issues

• will add a bill of rights to get antifederalists to approve constitution

Federalist Papers

85 essays explaining federalist papers, outlining how constitution was to work

• published anonymously but written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, John Jay

• seen as one of most imp political writings

Bill of Rights (1791)

first 10 amendements, focus on individual rights (except #10 which gives states and people authority not in national gov.), originally only applied nationally but this changed