Articles of Confederation

• the first national government of the U.S.

• made this at the second Continental Congress

• the Americans are deathly afraid of this being far too powerful and getting rid of their rights

• strong government = affects everyone’s life

• weak government = does not affect everyone’s life

• there is no judicial/national court system

• there is no executive system (electing presidents/vice presidents)

• legislative/Congress exists because they have experience with assemblies and they are not as afraid

  • 1 House = 1 Representative/State

  • to pass a law, one needed 2/3 of the majority of the votes

  • they are trying to make it difficult for Congress to pass laws

  • they had 3 jobs that they were allowed to do

    • declare war

    • make peace

    • make treaties

  • Congress is not allowed to do the following:

    • force the states to obey the treaties they negotiate

    • cannot tax anyone or collect taxes

      • individual states can tax

      • without taxing people, they would not be able to function

2 achievements of articles that Congress was able to do

• Land Ordinance-1785

  • Congress maps out a new territory

  • start giving land away to American settlers

  • sets up the western boundaries

• Northwest Ordinance—1787

  • it created a process for admitting new states into the country

  • ban slavery in the Northwest Territory

    • fugitive slave clause (rule)

      • all runaway slaves have to return to their owner

2 negatives of Congress

• disunited states

• economic recession (*inflation*)

  • they have their currency

• they don’t have a president to represent their whole country rather than their state (Virginia)

• the articles could not fund itself because they are not taxing people

• they cannot protect people’s rights if they are not taxing people

Shays’s Rebellion

• led by Daniel Shays

  • veteran of the Continental Army

  • his real job is farming

• problems Shays faces

  • he didn’t get paid for serving in the army

  • after the war was over and there was inflation, he was making less money

  • he cannot pay back the loan, so the bank takes his property

• he burns government buildings and banks in Massachusetts

• it is up to the Articles to end this rebellion

  • Articles cannot take action because they don’t have any money

  • they are weak and cannot function

• there is strong panic and dismay in the country

• it is believed that the country is falling apart and the country has not even started fully developing

The Continental Convention

• Congress voted on this

• 12 states are going to send representatives to the convention

• they are going to revise and edit the articles as their job

• they meet in Philadelphia to enter the convention

  • they start everything all new again

Founding Fathers

• George Washington was the president during the Convention and Congress voted on this

• representatives from 12/13 states were the founding fathers

• there was a lot of fighting and arguing

• 39/70 people were willing to sign the papers of the new constitution

• 3 major compromises

  • legislative branch/Congress

  • 2 proposals

    • Virginia Plan → created by James Madison

      • bicameral (legislative branch = 2 houses)

      • representation in Congress based on population

      • supported by larger states

    • New Jersey Plan → created by William Paterson

      • unicameral (1 house legislature)

      • supported by smaller states who feared losing power in the federal government (equal representation)

  • The Great Compromise

    • bicameral (2 house legislatures)

    • Roger Sherman

    • equal representation in the upper house of Congress (Senate)

    • representation in the lower house of Congress (House of Representatives) to be proportional to population by-election

    • Bicameral is split up into 2 houses: the House of Representatives and the Senate

      • The House of Representatives is based on population size and by-election

      • Senate is the equal representation and you would have to get appointed

        • these are both the simple majority that BOTH houses have to agree on

  • Slavery

    • enforce fugitive slave clause, making slave states (owners) happy

    • federal government policy

    • ban on International Slave Trade (1808)

  • 3/5 Compromise

    • slave states count their slaves and want to increase to have more representatives in the House of Representatives

    • slaves did not want this at all

    • some slave states secede/secession (form their own country by threats)

    • an individual slave would count as 3/5 of a person

  • Executive Branch

    • they are scared of an individual having a strong government

    • they are afraid of (elite) government corruption

    • afraid of mob rule (could be manipulated into a communist country) because they didn’t trust anyone

    • the solution is the creation of an electoral compromise

      • it is the balance between the fears of a corrupt elite/a mob rule

      • the national vote DOES NOT matter

      • state popular votes determine the election

• Preamble

  • the first words “We the People” are based on John Locke’s theory

  • the people are in charge, not the government

• 6 principles in the constitution

  • limited government → putting boundaries

  • federalism/dual sovereignty (double/shared authority)

    • dividing between federal and state government

    • delegated powers → government powers given to the federal government only

      • supremacy clause → federal government is primary and outranks the states

      • foreign affairs → only the federal government is in charge of dealing with other states

      • commerce clause → exchanging goods, taxing goods with trade, cannot tax income

      • elastic clause → It is the necessary and proper clause, gives the legislative branch a lot of power if they use it, making the constitution a living document, and it allows Congress to change

    • reserved powers → Only state government can do this, only states can regulate public education, and only they can determine voting criteria

    • shared powers → Taxes can be collected by both federal and state governments as well as a court system

  • separation of powers

    • separate powers by the 3 branches: the legislative’s job is to make the law, the executive’s job is to enforce laws, and the judicial’s job is to interpret the law

  • checks and balances

    • every branch can veto/cancel the actions of the other branches

    • they can check if the branches become too powerful

  • judicial review

    • the Supreme Court can cancel laws that they decide are unconstitutional

    • majority rule/popular sovereignty

      • the people have the right to tell the government what to do because the people are in charge

    • end of the constitutional convention

      • unsure about the final copy of the constitution

      • controversial copy because they are presenting a strong government

      • ratification process

        • to ratify the constitution

        • the people have to approve this change

        • every state has to have a ratification vote (approve/reject the new constitution)

        • 9 states need to ratify the constitution to make it official

        • Alexander Hamilton leads Federalist groups

          • they want Americans to ratify the new constitution

          • federalist groups want to be stronger than the state groups

        • Thomas Jefferson leads anti-federalist groups

          • want Americans to reject the new constitution

          • he says that the new constitution is too strong

          • the elastic clause scares the anti-federalists because they believe that the government will abuse their rights

      • Eventually, they have to compromise. They need enough states to ratify the constitution

        • in return, they promise to add a Bill of Rights to the new constitution

        • in June 1788, the Constitution officially replaced the Articles of Confederation

  • Bill of Rights

    • 1st 10 amendments included in the Constitution

    • Amendments

      • 1st amendment

        • we have freedom of speech, press, religion, petition, and assembly

      • 2nd amendment

        • right to bear arms (right of gun ownership)

      • 3rd amendment

        • not required to house soldiers

      • 4th amendment

        • need a search warrant to look for evidence of a crime

      • 5th amendment

        • right to own property

      • 6th amendment

        • right to a jury and a lawyer

      • 7th amendment

        • right to a jury if you are being sued for money

      • 8th amendment

        • ban on cruel and unusual punishments

      • 9th amendment

        • any rights not listed are still protected

      • 10th amendment

        • any powers not specified in the constitution are automatically reserved powers (states only)

George Washington (2 terms)

• 1st president of the U.S.

• President of Precedents

  • presidents are voted based on population votes in states

  • a precedent is an early example that is considered to be a guide for future similar circumstances

• The Executive Cabinet

  • a group of various departments that are meant to help Washington run the government and the executive branch

  • department of state

    • under the leadership of the Secretary Thomas Jefferson

    • in charge of all foreign affairs

  • department of treasury

    • under the leadership of Secretary Alexander Hamilton

    • in charge of the country’s finances

      • Ex: Louisiana Purchase

• Domestic Policies

  • things that Washington wants to do

  • driven by Hamilton and Jefferson

    • Hamilton believes in a strong federal government and wants them to be active, and wants them to remain under the leadership of the American Aristocracy

    • Jefferson DID NOT trust the federal government or the American Aristocracy

      • he believes the state government should be more powerful than the federal government

      • he prefers a less active federal government

        • Hamilton established the Federalist Political Party and advocated strong federal government policies

        • Jefferson creates the Democratic-Republicans Party and advocate for weaker government policy

    • 11th Amendment → U.S. citizens cannot use the federal government to sue state governments

    • excise taxes → Hamilton convinces Washington and Congress to pass an excise tax on whiskey to help pay for the war debts

      • The Whiskey Rebellion

        • whiskey producers refuse to pay the excise tax and attack federal tax collectors

        • demonstrates the new and effective power of the federal government under the new constitution can work as the national government

• Foreign Policy

  • guides how we interact with other countries around the world

  • Neutrality → Washington wants us to remain neutral (avoid alliances and focus strictly on trading)

• Two-Term Precedent

  • every president (up until Roosevelt) is going to follow Washington’s example

John Adams (1 term)

• federalist

• controversy → difficult personality, opinionated man, not well-liked

• Peaceful Transition of Power → Adams was willing to step down and let Jefferson rule

Thomas Jefferson (2 terms)

• he believes in having a weak federal government

• his presidency is going to expand the power of the federal government

• Marbury v. Madison (1803) (Marbury v. Madison and judicial review ALWAYS go together!!!!)

  • the Supreme Court establishes judicial review

  • grants the Supreme Court the right to invalidate laws that it deems as constitutional

• The Louisiana Purchase

  • Napoleon sold Louisiana territory for $15 million to Jefferson

  • Jefferson used the elastic clause (expanding government power), doubling the size of the U.S., and making the federal government stronger

• 12th Amendment → gets rid of the rule where the Vice-President is a runner-up and you would have to elect both the president AND vice-president

• Death of Hamilton

  • Aaron Burr kills Hamilton in a dual

James Madison

• democratic-republican

• The War of 1812

  • between the U.S. and England

  • 2 causes of the war

    • English forced U.S. sailors to serve in the British Royal Navy

    • providing weapons to Native American groups who were in active conflict with the U.S.

  • military stalemate

  • battle of New Orleans → victorious

    • it was not intentionally suppose to count as a battle

  • Treaty of Ghent, 1814 → war is over

  • legacy

    • nationalism (extreme pride for one’s country)

    • defeated England, making them quit

    • boost confidence