III. The Creation of a New Government
Learning Objective:
Understand the framework of the U.S. government under the Articles
of Confederation.
The Articles of Confederation were written after the U.S. declared
its independence and ratified by the last state, Maryland, in
1781. The provisions of the Articles were:
l. There was no executive or court system, only a Congress.
Because of their experience with King George the Americans did
not want a strong executive.
2. In Congress each state had one vote. Members of Congress
were appointed by each state legislature. Members were elected
annually and could serve only 3 years out of every 6. Seven
state delegates had to be present to conduct business. It required
the agreement of 9 states for major issues, and it took all
13 states to amend to Articles.
3. The separate states, not the national government, were sovereign,
there was not a permanent national capital. The national government
could not regulate trade, levy taxes, or force the states to
provide troops for a national army.
These provisions of the Articles were deliberately built into
it by its framers to insure that individual liberty would be
protected. Also, at this time the citizens of the United States
still thought of themselves as Virginians or Georgians first,
and citizens of the new country second.
Learning Objective:
Understand the provisions of the Northwest Ordinances of 1785
& 1787.
Seven of the 13 states claimed lands in the West. The other
six states feared that the landed states could use the sale
of western lands to finance their governments and the landless
states would have to use taxes, thereby giving the states with
western land an unfair economic advantage. The landed states
gave their land to the Confederation government to organize
and sell. The Northwest Ordinances set the procedure for the
admission of all future states into the nation. Provisions:
1. Organized the Northwest Territory into 5 territories.
2. Organized the territories into townships that were 6 miles
square and divided into 36 sections of one square mile (640
acres). At first a section was the smallest plot that could
be sold — supposedly at no less than $1.00 per acre. Congress
needed cash desperately though so 1.5 million acres were sold
to speculators (including several members of Congress) at 10
cents an acre.
3. Set aside the income from one section per township for education.
4. Forbade slavery.
5. When the population of each territory reached 5,000 free
males they could elect a territorial legislature. The Congressionally
appointed governor would have veto power. When the population
of the territory reached 60,000 it could apply for statehood.
These acts gave Congress the power over the territories (and
thus later the slavery issue in the territories became a national
controversy).
Learning Objective:
Understand United States foreign relations under the Articles
of Confederation.
The British gave up the territory south of the Great Lakes
in the Treaty of Paris, yet they violated the treaty by maintaining
military posts at Detroit, in northern Michigan, and in northern
New York. They kept these posts for the following reasons:
l) They wanted to continue to trade with the Indians;
2) They hoped to put pressure on the U.S. to fulfill its treaty
agreement to pay Loyalists for confiscated property; and,
3) they wanted to protect Canada from U.S. encroachment.
In 1784, Spain closed the lower Mississippi River to U.S. trade.
The Spanish also tried to encourage western settlers to break
away from the U.S. in return for reopening the Mississippi and
restraining the Indians.
Against the British and the Spanish American diplomats could
do nothing. The U.S. lacked the military power to make European
nations respect it. The British did not even send a diplomatic
representative to the U.S. They justified their presence in
the Northwest by noting that some state governments had interfered
with the efforts of British creditors to collect pre-Revolutionary
war debts. But Congress had no power to restrain the states
from such violations of the Treaty of Paris.
Learning Objective:
Understand why the Constitution was written to replace the Articles
of Confederation.
The impotence of the U.S. in foreign affairs, the disorder
in inter-state commerce, the lack of power by the national government
to tax directly, the inability to raise a national army, and
the desire to control commerce with other nations all motivated
a group of men to write the Constitution.
In 1786 Shays Rebellion in western Massachusetts gave these
men the excuse they were looking for. Massachusetts property
taxes were very high (the government was dominated by merchants
and professional people) and farmers were being forced to sell
or surrender their property and hundreds of persons were being
jailed for non-payment of debts. Daniel Shays, a Revolutionary
War veteran, led a uprising of western Massachusetts farmers.
The rebellion was put down after a few months with little bloodshed.
But it caused intense alarm throughout the U.S. among business
and professional people. They feared that a farmer's revolt
might not be easily limited to one state.
A Constitutional Convention met in 1787 at Philadelphia. After
four months they had written the Constitution. In response to
a message by Congress, the states, one by one, arranged for
the popular election of delegates to ratifying conventions.
Strong opposition grew up against the Constitution by individuals
who feared a strong central government for one reason or another.
The Antifederalists were finally mollified when the Federalists
agreed to add a Bill of Rights to the Constitution. Even then,
North Carolina and Rhode Island did not ratify the Constitution
until April, 1789. By then George Washington, chosen unanimously
as the first President, and the recently elected First Congress
had already set the new government in motion in New York City.
Learning Objective:
Understand the provisions of the Constitution of the U.S.
Distribution of Powers. The framers of the Constitution tried
to solve the most basic dilemma of politics: how can a government
be made powerful enough to perform its essential tasks without
becoming so strong that it can threaten the rights of its citizens?
The solution was to preserve the federal system used under the
Articles of Confederation but to grant much more power to the
national government at the expense of the states. This power
was distributed into separate executive, legislative, and judicial
branches, following the pattern of state governments.
The issue of how much power the various states should have
in the national legislative branch nearly destroyed the Convention.
A "Great Compromise" was reached in which the membership
in the lower house (the House of Representatives) was based
on population, and each state, regardless of size, was given
two seats in the upper house (the Senate).
Checks and balances were worked into the system to insure that
no one person or faction could get control of the government.
Members of the House were elected for 2 year terms, members
of the Senate for 6 year terms, the President for a 4 year term,
and judges were appointed for life. Members of the House were
elected by the "people" (free, white, property owning
males, 21 years of age or older). Senators were elected by state
legislatures until the 1913, 17th amendment, and the President
was elected by the electorial college.
A bill has to pass both houses of Congress and can be vetoed
by the President. A Presidential veto can be overridden by a
2/3 vote of each house. Judges, ambassadors and Cabinet officials
are appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate.
While the president negotiates treaties, two-thirds of the Senate
must approve them. All civil officials of the federal government
can be impeached and convicted of crimes and removed from office.
The Constitution can be amended by having 2/3 of the membership
of both houses of Congress propose an amendment and 3/4 of the
state legislatures approve it.
The 3/5 clause was a compromise between the "free"
and "slave" states. The North wanted slaves counted
as a full person for taxation purposes but not for population
when determining representation in the House of Representatives.
The South wanted slaves to count for population, but not for
taxes. The compromise stated that 3 slaves would equal 5 free
people for the purposes of population and taxes. In addition
the Constitution stated that escaped slaves would be returned
to their master and the importation of slaves could not be prohibited
by Congress prior to 1808 (although they could be taxed up to
$10).
Learning Objective:
Understand the Bill of Rights.
The Bill of Rights were ratified by the necessary 3/4 of the
states by December 1791. These rights can be regulated, but
not abridged.
Amendment l. Congress shall make no law that has to do with
making any religion the official one or that restricts people
from worshipping as they please or limits freedom of speech
or of the press, or keeps them from assembling peaceably, or
from petitioning the government.
Amendment 2. "The people shall be allowed to keep and
bear arms."
Amendment 3. Troops cannot be quartered in peoples' homes during
times of peace.
Amendment 4. Government officials cannot make unreasonable
searches or seizures of individuals or their persons, homes,
or belongings. No warrant for a search shall be issued unless
there is probable cause that a crime has been committed and
will be exposed as a result of the search, and unless the places,
persons, or things to be searched or seized are specifically
described in the warrant.
Amendment 5. No person shall be: (l) tried for a serious crime
unless a grand jury has first examined the evidence and decided
that a trial is warranted, except in cases arising in the armed
forces; (2) tried for the same crime twice [double jeopardy];
(3) forced, in a criminal case, to be a witness against himself;
(4) executed, imprisoned, or fined without due process of law;
and, (5) deprived of his property for public use unless he has
first been given a fair price for it.
Amendment 6. Any person being tried for a criminal offense
is entitled to: (l) a speedy and public trial; (2) an impartial
jury chosen from citizens of the state and district in which
the crime was committed; (3) knowledge of why he is being tried;
(4) see and hear the witnesses who testify against him; (5)
force witnesses who can give evidence in his favor to come to
court to testify; and, (6) assistance by a lawyer in defending
himself.
Amendment 7. In law suits involving more than $20, individuals
have the right to a jury trial.
Amendment 8. Individual accused of a crime cannot be required
to pay excessive bail. Individuals found guilty of crimes cannot
be required to pay excessive fines, nor can cruel or unusual
punishments be inflicted.
Amendment 9. The fact that certain individual rights are guaranteed
by the Constitution should not be interpreted to mean that the
rights not specifically mentioned in the Constitution are denied
the individual.
Amendment 10. All powers not delegated to the national government
by the Constitution are reserved to the states or to the people.
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Chapter >
Courtesy of George Burson, Aspen School District,
Aspen, Colorado.
