Americans agreed their new governments would be republican, meaning power stems from the people.
New state constitutions:
Were written down.
Severely limited executive branches (e.g., no executive in Pennsylvania).
Gave most power to the legislative branches.
Most new constitutions did not embrace direct popular rule.
Property requirements for voters remained in all states until 1800.
1780s and 1790s: Americans grew increasingly concerned about the instability of their new state governments.
By the late 1780s: almost every state had either revised its constitution or drawn up a new one with expanded powers for governors (executive).
ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION:
After independence, the task of creating a national government began.
At first, most believed the central government should remain relatively weak.
The Articles of Confederation were created.
This document was written and adopted during the Revolutionary War and ratified in 1781.
It provided Congress with some central authority:
Declare war.
Make treaties.
Deal with Native Americans.
Have an army and navy.
Coin and borrow money.
Regulate weights and measures.
Postal service.
WEAKNESSES OF THE ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION
Congress had no power to levy or collect taxes.
Outcome: The government was always short of money.
Congress had no power to regulate foreign trade.
Outcome: Quarrels broke out among states, and trading with other countries was difficult.
Congress had no power to enforce its laws.
Outcome: The government depended on the states for law enforcement.
Approval of nine states was needed to enact laws.
Outcome: It was difficult to enact laws.
All 13 states needed to approve amendments to the Articles.
Outcome: There was no practical way to change the powers of government.
The government had no executive branch.
Outcome: There was no effective way to coordinate the work of government.
There was no national court system.
Outcome: The central government had no way to settle disputes among the states.
The Articles of Confederation intentionally created a very weak central government, giving the 13 sovereign states more power.
No executive branch.
No judicial branch.
One branch (legislative) called Congress, which was unicameral.
Major Weaknesses:
Needed a unanimous vote to amend the Articles.
Each state had only 1 vote; 32 needed to pass laws.
No power to levy taxes directly on the people.
Within just 9 years, the nation faced:
A postwar recession and terrible inflation.
Failure to repay debts (creditors, veterans, foreign nations, etc.).
Interstate squabbles over land and tariff disputes.
Lack of respect from other nations and distrust.
NORTHWEST ORDINANCE:
The Confederation’s most important accomplishment: organizing western lands with the Land Ordinance of 1785 and Northwest Ordinance of 1787.
These ordinances:
Set the pattern and precedent for settlement of the Northwest Territory.
Provided guidelines for territories to become equal states (not subordinate colonies).
Guaranteed citizenship to inhabitants.
Contained a bill of rights with religious freedom protections.
Prohibited slavery in the Northwest Territory.
BUT allowed for the return of fugitive slaves.
This territory was Native American land, leading to violence as white settlers moved into the region (peak in the early 1790s).
The Northwest Ordinances of 1785 and 1787 concerned land including:
Wisconsin (1848)
Michigan (1837)
Illinois (1818)
Indiana (1816)
Ohio (1803)
Section 16 reserved for public schools
One section = 640 acres (1 square mile)
A half section = 320 acres
A quarter section = 160 acres
A half-quarter section = 80 acres
Quarter-quarter section = 40 acres
SHAYS' REBELLION:
After more than 150 years of dependence on Great Britain, the American economy was suddenly on its own.
Postwar depression took hold from 1784-1787.
Both the national government and state governments faced mounting debt.
States, who had the power to tax, increased local taxes.
Thousands of farmers, unable to pay debts, lost their farms, leading to debtor’s prison, homelessness and hunger for their families, and loss of voting power.
Consequence: many rioted, particularly in New England.
The most famous protest was Shays’ Rebellion in Massachusetts (1786-1787).
REMEMBER: “spark” for Constitutional Convention!
Led by Daniel Shays, a former captain during the Revolutionary War.
Farmers in western MA rebelled, closing down several courthouses in charge of bankruptcy/debtor’s prison cases, creating tensions between creditors and debtors.
Because the Articles of Confederation did not allow for a standing army, only MA state militia could intervene, prolonging efforts to stop the rebellion and showing weakness of Articles of Confederation, which was worrisome for many leaders.
After a failed attack on the Springfield Armory, the rebellion was contained by a private army hired by the Governor (many militiamen were rebels!).
Shays and 18 other leaders were sentenced to death.
Shays fled to Vermont.
Eventually only two were hanged; the rest were pardoned.
As a movement, the rebellion failed.
But it added urgency to the movement to produce a new, strengthened constitution and stronger central government, serving as a spark for the Constitutional Convention.
KEY TAKEAWAYS:
New state constitutions placed power in the hands of the legislative branch and maintained property qualifications.
The Articles of Confederation unified the newly independent states, creating a government with limited power. It failed, however, to solve internal unrest (e.g., Shays’ Rebellion), leading to calls for a stronger government.
As settlers moved westward in the 1780s, Congress enacted the Northwest Ordinance for admitting new states. Conflicts with Native American tribes increased.