constitution

Purpose of a national, federal, or central government

To deal with issues or problems that affect the entire country (all of the states)

People in all states must

Obey the laws made by the federal government

Purpose of a state government

to deal with issues and problems that affect each individual state

The Second Continental Congress

Temporary, emergency government made up of representatives from the 13 colonies. It declared independence from England, directed the American war effort, and made the alliance with France.

After winning the American Revolution, the 13 English colonies became

13 independent states

define: constitution

A written plan of government

The Articles of Confederation were first suggested in

1777, but was not ratified until 1781

The Articles of Confederation

the first constitution of the United States

AOC created a

Loose union of the 13 independence states called a Confederation

In a confederation, what is stronger

The states are stronger than the national government

Confederation was a league of

Friendship between the 13 states

unicameral legislature

One-house legislature

Congress

the legislature of the United States government

legislature

A group of people who have the power to make laws

bicameral legislature

Two house legislature

Each state had what amount of votes in Congress

One

Small states had what power as/than large states

Equal

Authors of the Articles wanted the what government to be stronger than the what government so they made the what government weak on purpose

State, national, national

People were afraid that a strong federal government would

Interfere too much with the states, abuse it's powers, and violate the people's rights just like the English parliament and king used to before

what countries did the national gov owe money (war debt) to?

France and Spain

why did the national gov not have enough money to pay for their war debt?

1. states sent very little money
2. states had their own debts to pay

4 summed up problems the U.S. faced after revolution

1. too broke to pay off war debt and provide
2. states were arguing against each other
3. the economy was terrible
4. foreign countries took advantage of their weakness

3 ways of how the economy in U.S. was bad

1. prices farmers were receiving for their goods were low
2. business was slow b/c England & its colonies closed their ports to American exports
3. different currencies were used among all of the colonies, and the high taxes placed on products from other states hurt trade

5 ways of how foreign countries took advantage of the 13 colonies' weakness

1. England refused to withdraw its forts and trading ports from the Northwest Territory in violation of the Treaty of Paris (which then made the states ignore Treaty of Paris and refusing to pay for property taken from loyalists or to pay off prewar debts to British merchants)
2. Britain closed its ports in the West Indies and Canada
3. Spain closed the port of New Orleans
4. France demanded for the U.S. to repay $$ for loans, AND restricted trade between them and their colonies in West Indies
5. Pirates from North Africa (Morocco, Tunis, Algers, Tripoli) robbed American ships and held them for ransom payments

what 4 things were states arguing about against each other?

1. land boundaries
2. trade
3. money
4. national gov/power

3 main achievements of the Articles of Confederation gov

1. the plan for lands west of Appalachian Mts (that they had received from England in Treaty of Paris)
2. ^ states had agreed to give up their claims for the land and be given to the national gov
3. some parts of these lands came to be known as Northwest Territory. this extended north from Ohio River to the Great Lakes and west to the Mississippi River

Land Ordinance of 1785

Congress's plan to divide and sell the lands of the Northwest Territory

define: ordinance

law; legal degree; regulation

1st step of Land Ordinance of 1785

survey land into squares 6 miles long on every side (these square areas were called "Township" (The Township System))

2nd step of Land Ordinance of 1785

divide the townships into smaller sections so that they could be sold (the national gov was scared to sell it b/c it had to raise money to pay for the country's debt)

define: survey (in this context)

to measure for the purpose of setting land boundaries

The Northwest Ordinance of 1787

this set up a system for creating new states and government in the Northwest Territory

3 rules from the Northwest Ordinance of 1787

1. when the population of the territory reached 60,000 free citizens, the area could prepare a constitution and ask Congress to become a new state
2. new states were to be equal to the original 13 states in all ways
3. outlawed slavery in all parts of this territory

5 future states created from the Northwest Territory

Illinois, Wisconsin, Ohio, Indiana, and Michigan

the system created by the \_________________ would continue to be used in future years to add new \_____ to the Union

Northwest Ordinance of 1787 ,, states

Shays Rebellion: when, where, who was in charge

happened from 1786-87 and Western Massachusetts led by Daniel Shays who was a farmer and veteran of the revolution

why did Shays rebellion happen?

1. after the revolution, farmers could not pay off their debt or high taxes on land. during these years, the U.S. was experiencing an economic depression
2. when Britain closed their islands in the West Indies for trade, farmers lost many customers
3. since farmers couldn't pay off debt, they were imprisoned, while others had land and livestock taken away (called foreclosure)

\
Shays wanted this to stop so he and 2000 farmers took over several courts to prevent the state from taking anymore land and putting farmers in prison

define: economic depression

a period where business activity is slow, income and prices fall, and poverty rises (mainly affected farmers)

During the years of the AOC, the states often acted like 13

Separate countries instead of a single United nation

1st reason for 13 separate countries

States we're used to acting on their own and we're around longer than nat. governemtn

2nd reason for 13 separate countries

Poor roads and slow methods of transportation, news spread slowly and rare travelling

3rd reason for 13 separate countries

Weak economic connections, traded more with West Indies and the countries of Europe than they did with each other

4th reason for 13 separate countries

Economies and ways of making a living in regions of US were based on different types of things

In the New England Region, because of the hard, rocky soil and short growing season, what we're farms like?

1. Small
2. Farmer did most work and had fewest slaves
3. Fishing, trading, manufacturing

In the South, although most people were actually small farmers, the economy was controlled by those people who

Produced cash crops, such as tobacco rice and indigo, plantations on farm using slave labor

Economy of middle states combined elements of the other 2 regions by

1. Large farms that produced major amounts of wheat and other grains


2. Many people working in trade and manufacturing

1st major reason AOC failed

Articles did not give national gov. enough power

2nd major reason AOC failed

1. Congress had difficulty making laws
2. At least 9 states had to agree
3. Make any changes to AOC all 13 had to agree

Articles did not call for an

Executive to enforce the laws that congress did pass

To enforce a law means

Make sure it is obeyed

There was no national system of what to settle disputes or arguments between states

Courts so War between states was a possibility

National government did not have power to make

Currency that would be used in country

Most states had their own

Currency

Congress had no power to

Raise money by taxing the states, could only ask

Congress did not have power to order men to

Serve in the army and navy. Could only ask

Congress had no power to control what between states and foreign countries

1. Trade
2. States often placed high taxes on goods coming in from other states

Shays rebellion even tried to take over a U.S. Government what in Springfield

Arsenal

Arsenal

storage place for military equipment

The national government was powerless against Shays Rebellion because

It had no army

The Governor of Mass quickly sent the state what to crush the rebellion

Militia

Shays and several of his followers fled to

Vermont. We're pardoned

Pardon

legal forgiveness of a crime

Most important result of Shays rebellion

Many Americans saw how weak the national government was and became convinced that they needed a stronger one

In 1786, only 5 states sent delegates to a meeting in Maryland called the

Annapolis Convention to discuss trade problems between states, laid groundwork for important meeting the following year

In May, 1787, 12 states sent delegates to a convention in

Philadelphia, PA

define: Convention

Meeting of delegates/representatices

The purpose of this convention (constitutional convention, may 1787) was to

Change/Revise the AOC so that the national government could be made stronger

Only the state of \___ was not represented at the Philadelphia Convention

Rhode Island. Did not want to lose power

Constitutional Convention

A meeting in Philadelphia in 1787 that produced a new constitution

AOC laid the foundation for the new and stronger what which would be created in the US

Constitution, Government

Constitution also kept alive the concept of

Unity among the states

what was the NJ plan?

it called for a unicameral (1 house) legislature where each state gets an equal number of representatives

The constitutional convention began in

May of 1787

The convention ended in

September 1787

Convention took place in

Philadelphia. Independence hall.

Number of men who attended Convention

55

Delegates to convention from every state except

Rhode Island

Delegates chose \__ to preside over the convention

George Washington

unanimously

in complete agreement

Delegates wanted convention to be

Secret

34 of delegates were what

Lawyers

About half of the delegates were

College educated and under 40

James Madison

"Father of the Constitution," Federalist leader, and fourth President of the United States.

Benjamin Franklin

American intellectual, inventor, and politician He helped to negotiate French support for the American Revolution.

Alexander Hamilton

United States statesman and leader of the Federalists

Framers

Group of delegates who drafted the United States Constitution at the Philadelphia Convention in 1787

Founding Fathers

leaders who laid the groundwork for the United States

Reason for the Constitutional Convention

To revise the Articles of Confederation

The convention chose to do what with the Articles

Completely abandon it and create the Constitution

The major problem was deciding how many what each state would have

Representatives in Congress

Virginia Plan

Virginia delegate James Madison's plan of government, in which states got a number of representatives in Congress based on their population

Popular Sovereignty

A belief that ultimate power resides in the people.

Preamble

Gives the general purposes of the Framers in writing the document and creating a new stronger national government

Consent of the governed

People are the source of any and all governmental power

Limited government

A principle of constitutional government; a government whose powers are defined and limited by a constitution.

The Constiutition is like a what between the government and their people

Contract

Rule of law

principle that the law applies to everyone, even those who govern

Separation of powers

Constitutional division of powers among the legislative, executive, and judicial branches, with the legislative branch making law, the executive applying and enforcing the law, and the judiciary interpreting the law

purpose of separation of powers

prevent the misuse of power

Article 1 of the Constitution

Legislative Branch