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| The strengths of this document were that it concluded the Revolutionary War with the Treaty of Paris in 1783, it kept the states together with a common national citizenship, and settled the question of Western land claims |
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| The weaknesses of the document were that nine of the thirteen states were needed to ratify a bill before it became a law, and all states needed to accept an amendment before it became a part of the Articles. There was little or no enforcement of laws the President made because he was only a figurehead. There was no foreign policy, and states printed their own currency. The federal government could not tax; there was no federal army, no judicial system, and a lack of national compulsive power over states. |
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| After the Treaty of Paris, England still held posts along the Canadian border that she refused to leave. The British had hoped to keep control of the fur trade and force the U.S. to pay British creditors. The posts held included Detroit and Niagara. |
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| Western Land Cession 1781 |
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| Marlyand demanded that the U.S. government have control over all western lands. Maryland postponed her ratification of the Articles unitl all states (especially Virginia) complied because she feared large states would become too powerful. The land given to the U.S. government was for public domain (complete ownership of land by the public). |
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| This law stated that the U.S. government would sell, at auction, western lands for a minimum $1 an acre. The profit would be used to pay off the national debt. The public was surveyed into township systems that were six square miles. Each township was divided into 36 one-square-mile area (sections). One section equalled 640 acres. |
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| Alexandria Conference 1785 |
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| Delegates of Virginia and Maryland met to consider means of improving the navigability of the Potomac River. The commissioners asked all states to meet at Annapolis where problems of interstate commerce could be discussed. |
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| Captain Daniel Shays led back-country farmers in a rebellion because many people were losng their farms through mortgage foreclosures and tax delinquencies. Farmers demanded cheaper paper money, lighter taxes and a suspension of mortgage foreclosures.The rebellion ended when troops broke up Shays' mob in Boston. |
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| Annapolis Conference 1786 |
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| In this convention, states near the Chesapeake Bay area talked about the lowering of taxes and tariffs to increase trade between states. Alexander Hamilton told the states to meet one year later in Philadelphia so they could overhaul the Articles of Confederation. |
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| This law provided that the area north of Ohio be divided into three to five territories, and allowed a territory to have a governor, secretary, three judges, and a legislature if inhabited by 5,000 white males. The territory could apply to the U.S. government for statehood if it had 60,000 white males. |
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| He was diconnected with the Northern states' willingness to strangle the western economy by closing the Mississippi. He conspired with Spain to seperate Kentucky from the Union in return for money. His conspiracy collapsed in 1788 when Spain reopened the Mississippi. |
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| Philadelphia Convention 1787 |
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| Delegates from all states but Georgia met in Philadelphia to discuss the Articles of Confederation. This convention resulted in a new constitution. All 55 delegates represented the propertied upper class and most were personally interested in creating a strong central government. |
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| He was unanimously elected chairman of the convention. He was respected as "the Sword of the Revolution" and served to quiet overheated tempers. |
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| He was a conservative delegate from New York who attended the Philadelphia Convention. He was only 32 years old and advocated a very powerful central government. |
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| He was a delegate from Virginia and was considered the "Father of the Constitution". He wrote out the Virginia Plan and kept a detailed diary during the convention. |
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| This plan, written by James Madison and introduced by Edmund Randoplh, called for the establishment of a national government. It specified a bicameral legislature with membership proportional to population, voting in the legislature by individuals, and a president and courts chosen by the legislature. |
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| This plan was William Paterson's counterproposal to the Virginia Plan. It enlarged the powers of Congress to include the right to levy taxes, and regulate commerce. It defined congressional laws and treaties as the "supreme law of the land" and it had seperate executive and judicial branches. |
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| This plan was a compromise between the Virginia and the New Jersey Plans. It formed a bicameral legislature that consisted of the House of Representatives (representation based upon state population) and the Senate (which had two representatives from each state). It also made money bills start from the House. |
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| He thought up the idea of the Constitution's Executive Branch. Wilson made the decision to have the Electoral College elect the President. |
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| This college is made up of people chosen by state legislators (each state receives the same number of electors as it has total senators and representatives). Electors choose the two best people for President. |
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| North and South Compromise |
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| This compromise pacified the North and South. It stated that the South could count 5 slaves for 3 whites in population, but, in return, the South would have to pay 3/5 more taxes. It also made the slave trade illegal after 1808. |
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| Bill of Rights, George Mason |
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| George Mason (Virginia) was "The Father of the Bill of Rights". The Bill of Rights are the first ten amendments added to the Constitution and enumerated the rights of men. Mason refused to sign the Constitution until these rights were added to the Constitution. |
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| They were usually wealthy, educated, property owning men, who believed in a strong, centralized federal government, and supported the new Constitution. They included planters and merchants and were concentrated along the seaboard where they could use their political power to persuade congressmen to their position. These people supported the ratification of the new Constitution. |
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| Implied Powers (Elastic Clause) |
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| This was an ambiguous power of the Federal Government that stated, "Congress can do what's proper and necessary." |
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| Loose and Strict Construction |
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| Loose constructionists (including Alexander Hamilton) believed that Congress could use the Elastic Clause to establish government programs. Hamilton used the loose construction agrument effectively in establishing a national bank. |
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