Chapter 7 notes o The Confederation 1787 John Quincy Adams wrote this critical period when the country was groaning under the intolerable burden of accumulated evils Fear of a British like central government dominated the period Congress had little authority could provide raising of armies but not fill the ranks could borrow money but take no measures for repayment could advise and recommend but not command Hard to find men of stature to serve with so little power but somehow it survived Members of congress distrusted and limited executive power In 1781 Congress estb 3 executive departments foreign affairs finance and war o Finance Executive leader of the confederation was Robert Morris Morris envisioned a coherent program of taxation and debt management to make the national government financially stable Morris issued government bonds that would help pay of wartime debt 1781 Morris secured a charter for the Bank of North America A fear of central authority hobbled action In 1783 soldier s pay was late and the officers were worried that the promised land grants would never be honored They went to Philidelphia and found a scheme to yield more power to Officers were going to hold a military revolt and Washington talked congress them out of it The above conspiracy was the Newburgh Conspiracy Currency issued by the Continental Congress became worthless Congress debt raised every year o Land Policy The congress could have possibly drawn income from the sale of western lands Land not within the 13 original colonies was public domain owned by the government Western lands were set to be distinct Republican states 1784 1787 three major ordinances for the West o land ordinance of 1784 when the population equaled that of the smallest existing state the territory would become a full state o land ordinance of 1785 outlined a plan of land surveys and sales that would eventually stamp a rectangular pattern six mile square townships o one mile plots sold for 1 per acre or 640 per plot favored speculators o few commoners had that much money o 1785 Congress had an empty treasury and congress believed that this would help them make that money back o The Northwest Ordinance New plan for government backed off from Jefferson s recommendation of early self government 1787 required a period of preparation for statehood Territory fell subject to a governor secretary and three judges all chosen by congress 3 5 territories and when they reached a population of 5000 free male adults it could choose an assembly Governor and congress would have a veto over actions by the territorial assembly Anticipated statehood when any territory s population reached a population of 60 000 free inhabitants Ohio was the first territory to receive statehood in this way Included a bill of rights that guaranteed religious freedom legislative representation in proportion to the population trial by jury and the application of common law Excluded slavery from the northwest Northwest ordinance of 1787 larger importance new states ere to be admitted to the American republic as equals Cutler presented an offer and granted 1 5 million acres for 1 million in certificates of indebtedness to Revolutionary War veterans Treaty of Fort Stanwix 1784 Iriquois were forced to cede lands in western NY and Penn Treaty of Hopewell 1785 Cherokees gave up all claims in SC much of western NC and large portions of Kent And Tenn 1785 major Ohio tribes dropped their claim to most of Ohio Acute economic contraction occurred between 1770 and 1790 Commercial agriculture collapsed during the war The British freed many Virginia slaves After the war British trade with the Americans resumed Pent up demand for goods imported from London brought a post war boom and bust By 1787 American ports were flourishing again New markets with the Dutch 1782 Swedes 1783 Prussians 1785 Moroccans 1787 After the war more Americans had turned to small scale o Trade and the Economy manufacturing o Diplomacy Nagging problems of relations with GB and Spain British held onto a string of forts along the Canadian border Still some problems with loyalists returning to their homes Problems with Spain was the navigation of the Mississippi river 1784 Louisiana s Spanish governor closed the river to American commerce o The confederation s problems Most people were not affected by economic troubles and the acute currency shortage State governments imposed special tariffs on the British vessels and goods they brought This failed because a lack of uniformity among the states Then states started taxing things that crossed state lines By 1787 there was a clear need for the national government to regulate interstate trade After the war mechanics and artisans developed new industries and they wanted to make sure that imported goods that competed with theirs were taxed Creditors wanted to be paid in coins but hard money was in short supply Debtors promoted the use of paper money as a means of easing repayment In 1785 86 seven states began issuing paper money PA NY NJ SC RI GA NC Vigorously used to fund state debts and pay off veterans o Shay s Rebellion Rhode Island gave out too much money and it had no worth RI ecame the prime example of democracy run riot In Mass There was too little paper money and too much taxation After 1780 Mass remained in the grip of a rigidly conservative state Used higher poll and land taxes to pay off a massive war debt Armed bands of angry farmers closed the courts and prevented farm government foreclosures 1200 farmers led by Daniel Shays advanced upon the Springfield arsenal state responded to the uprising by sending 4400 militiamen armed with cannons that scattered the army with a single volley 4 dead new legislature decided to relieve the agricultural crisis by eliminating some of the taxes on the farmers Shay s rebellion was rumored to be linked to the British o Calls for a stronger government Articles of Confederation Advocates for a stronger central gov t were calling for a revision of the Washington and federalists concluded that the new republic must depend for its success upon the constant virtue of the few rather than the public spiritedness of the many 1785 delegats from Virginia and Maryland met a Mount Vernon to promote commerce and economic development o The Constitutional Convention 1787 Congress endorsed a resolution for a convention in Philadelphia by then five states had already named delegates May 14 1787 six more states had acted and the meeting