Chapter 7 A More Perfect Union (1777-1790)

Lesson 2 Forging a New Constitution

Need For A Change

• Many felt that the Articles of Confederation needed changed
• The Articles were too weak to deal with the nation’s problems
• After the war the US had a depression (economic activity slows and unemployment increases)
• The money the government did have went to paying foreign debts, resulting in currency shortage

American Farmers

• Suffered because they couldn’t sell their goods
• In Massachusetts, paper money was almost useless
• Lawmakers outlawed paper money in 1781 and forced people to pay debts and taxes in gold and silver money
• This hurt farmers, they didn’t bring in gold or silver money
• Farmers were unable to pay debts and lost their land
• Many went to prison

The Farmers Take Action

• 1786- angry farmers fought back
• Led by Daniel Shays, they forced courts in Massachusetts to close so they could not take farmers land
• January 1787- Shays led more than 1000 men toward the federal arsenal in Springfield, Massachusetts
• Looking for guns and ammunition
• The state militia ordered the advancing farmers to stop and then fired over their heads
• The farmers did not stop

Shays’ Rebellion

• The militia fired again, killing 4 farmers
• Shays his followers scattered and the uprising was over
• Shays’ Rebellion frightened many Americans
• They worried that the government could not control unrest and prevent violence
• George Washington wondered whether “mankind, when left to themselves, are unfit for their own government”
• Thomas Jefferson- “A little rebellion, now and then, is a good thing”

The Issue of Slavery

• The Revolutionary War brought attention to the contradiction between the battle for American liberty and the practice of slavery
• 11 states (all except SC and Georgia) outlawed or heavily taxed the importation of enslaved people
• In the North slavery was ending
• Free African Americans still faced discrimination
• States south of Pennsylvania clung to the institution of slavery
• Southerners feared that their economy could not survive without it

More of The Issue of Slavery

• Many slaveholders started freeing slaves after the war
• Virginia passed a law that encouraged manumission (freeing of individual enslaved persons)
• The slavery issue divided the American people

Reform of the Articles of Confederation

• Two Americans that were active in the movement for a change were James Madison and Alexander Hamilton
• September 1787- Hamilton called for a convention (meeting) in Annapolis to discuss trade issues
• Also discuss changes that need to be made for the Union
• Washington agreed to come after hearing of Shays’ Rebellion
• Others heard Washington was coming and saw the significance

The Philadelphia Meeting

• Began in May 1787
• One of the hottest summers on record
• 55 delegates
• 3 under 30 and one (Ben Franklin) was over 80
• Many were well educated

More of the Philadelphia Meeting

• Many people did work on the Constitution
• Gouverneur Morris wrote the final draft of the Constitution
• James Madison took notes and is called the “Father of the Constitution”
• Madison was the author of the basic plan of government the Convention adopted

Organization

• Washington was chosen to preside over the meetings
• Each state would have one vote on all questions
• Sessions were not open to the public

Section 2

1. A
2. B
3. C
4. D

Who presided over the meetings at the Constitutional Convention?

A. John Hancock

B. James Madison

C. George Washington

D. Benjamin Franklin

The Virginia Plan

• Edmund Randolph proposed the creation of a strong national government
• Randolph presented the Virginia Plan, which was largely the work of James Madison
• Called for a 2 house (bicameral) legislature
• A chief executive chosen by the legislature
• And a court system
• The members of the lower house of the legislature would be chosen by the people
• Members of the upper house would be chosen by the lower house

More of the Virginia Plan

• In both houses the number of representatives would be proportional to the population of each state
• Virginia would have many more delegates than the smaller states
• Delegates from Delaware, New Jersey, and other smaller states objected
• They wanted all states represented equally
• June 15^th, William Paterson of New Jersey presented an alternative plan

The New Jersey Plan

• 1 house legislature, one vote for each state
• Congress could set taxes and regulate trade
• Congress would elect a weak executive branch consisting of more than one person
• His plan was designed to amend (improve) the Articles

The Great Compromise

• A committee was appointed to settle the dispute between large and small states
• Roger Sherman came up with what is called the Great Compromise
• Sherman proposed a 2 house (bicameral) legislature
• Lower House (House of Representatives) would be based on population
• Upper House (Senate) would give each state two members

Section 2

1. A
2. B

According to the Great Compromise, in which house would each state be represented by two members?

A. The House of � Representatives

B. The Senate

The Three-Fifths Compromise

• Southern states wanted enslaved people counted in their population
• They wanted more members in the House of Representatives
• Northerners objected because enslaved people were legally considered property
• The committee’s solution is known as the Three-Fifths Compromise
• Each enslaved person was counted as 3/5 of a free person for both taxation and representation

Slave Trade

• Northern states wanted to ban the slave trade nation wide
• Southern states objected
• The solution was that Congress could not interfere with the slave trade until 1808

Bill of Rights

• George Mason proposed a Bill of Rights
• Some worried without a Bill of Rights the new nation might abuse its power
• Most felt that the Constitution provided adequate protection of individual rights
• Mason’s proposal was defeated

Approving the Constitution

• Finished on September 17, 1787 delegates gathered to sign the document
• Three refused to sign- Elbridge Gerry (Mass.), Edmund Randolph (VA.), and George Mason (GA.)
• Gerry and Mason would not sign without a Bill of Rights
• The approved draft of the Constitution was sent to the states for consideration
• The approval process required 9 of the 13 states to be approved