2 18 14 The Path to the Constitution Articles of Confederation how disastrous were they Some historians call this era a critical period where America just about collapsed What were its major accomplishments and shortcomings It was a formalization of the structures and powers 1781 all the states ratified it The delay in ratification stemmed from conflicts over western lands The state was the basis for representation De facto system during Revolutionary War not optimal but won Peace settlement optimal but more credit to diplomats Was very successful credit goes to diplomats and not to the Articles of Confederation because the diplomats ignored their instructions from the Continental Congress Federal Land policy major accomplishment Policies form the basis of US policy today Principle was established that there would be no dependent class of colonies States give up western land claims Different states with overlapping and conflicting land claims potential for an American civil war Land Ordinances 1784 1785 1787 Thomas Jefferson was their chief author 1784 established the principle that territories could become states as their population grew 1785 mandated a rectangular grid system of surveying and specified a minimum price of 1 an acre 1787 created the territories that would eventually become the states of Ohio Indiana Illinois Michigan and Wisconsin Prohibited slavery and earmarked funds from land sales for the support of schools Specified that congress would appoint a governor and judges to administer each new territory until the population reached 5 000 freed adult men at which point the citizens could elect a territorial legislature Threshold for statehood was set at 60 000 people A territory could then write a constitution and apply for statehood Orderly rectangular land survey education support Plots of land divided into 36 sections one of those sections is dedicated to a school which helped with requiring education Gradual progression to equal statehood Slavery outlawed in the territories north of Ohio River Economic problems but not only from the weakness Confederate system some of these problems continued into 1800 It s normal to have inflation during war time After the war it s usually normal to have a depression overproduction with decreased demand We were still dependent on Britain for a lot of manufactured goods Problems not only in the area of trade but in terms of territory Most serious problem was currency and debts Confederacy currency collapsed colonies had a shortage of hard money gold and silver No power to tax the states nor the people so it was difficult to borrow money 6 states were producing their own paper money Shay s rebellion resembled American resistance to the British Stamp Act revolt of poor debtors raises the fear of anarchy War had crippled American shipping and the Navigation Acts now barred Americans from legal trade with the British West Indies Low priced British manufactures were flooding American markets driving urban artisans and textile firms out of business In western part of Massachusetts Daniel Shays Continental army veteran Closed down several country courts in order to prevent debtors from being foreclosed upon Although the rebellion failed it showed that many middling Patriot families felt that American oppressors had replaced British tyrants Shay s movement was largely discredited because of the violence Movement growing for the strengthening of the federal government Writing and Ratifying the Constitution Money problems DOMINATED the post war political agenda 1785 Mount Vernon Conference 1787 Philadelphia Convention adopted a resolution to amend the Articles of Confederation All of the states except Rhode Island attended the convention Rhode Island DID NOT want a stronger federal government so they stayed away Constitutional Convention abolished rather than amended the Articles Would take effect when 9 of the 13 states ratified it not unanimity Ratification would be done by a special convention not by state legislatures as under the Articles deliberate undercutting of states right Included 55 delegates 42 of the 55 had served in the Continental Congress most of them were prosperous educated men no artisans no frontiersman Thomas Jefferson and John Adams were both serving abroad at diplomatic posts did not attend Convention George Washington s support gave it a lot of credibility he was elected chairman of the Constitution Convention A simple majority was needed to pass any proposed resolutions One of the biggest issues the Convention had to resolved was the problem with large states vs small states Large vs Small states Virginia Plan representatives based on population representing the large states Proposed 3 branches of government people elect lower house based on population upper house is elected by lower house Rejected state sovereignty in favor of the supremacy of national authority including the power to overturn state laws National government be established by the people and for the national laws to operate directly on citizens of the various states Scheme for a powerful national government proposed by James Madison New Jersey Plan unicameral equal representation of states representing the small states Devised by William Paterson Would have been a less drastic revision of the Articles of Confederation One house elected by the states voting by state delegation and an executive elected by Congress less centralized power in that sense Connecticut or Great Compromise House Senate 2 senators to each state State legislatures elected senators not entrusted directly to the people Lower house representation is based on population determined every 10 years by a national census Members were directly elected by the people After bitter debate delegates from the populous states reluctantly accepted this Great Compromise Electoral College elected the President One of the last points that was decided in the Constitutional Convention State legislatures would elect members of the upper house or Senate and the states would select the electors who would choose the President If there was no majority in the Electoral College who elects the President then The House of Representatives Has become more democratic over the course of time Slavery Compromises never mentioned by name but it is implicitly dealt with The delegates excluded the words slavery and slave from the Constitution Seen as a huge controversial issue at the time 3 5 Compromise 3 5 for