POS1041 Chapter 2 The Constitution The Road to Independence A Legacy of Self Governance Home rule Americans responsible for managing their domestic affairs including taxation 1619 first colonial representative assembly convenes in VA o 1650 all colonies had established elective assemblies initiated laws and levied taxes Britain regulated all of its colonies commerce and provided them w military security by means of its navy o Exacerbated free riding little experience managing collective action 1750s French and Indian War Seven Years War Britain asks for U S collective help to recover from losses o Benjamin Franklin Plan of the Union could have created a national government American army could provide for British protection a popularly elected national legislature w power to levy taxes executive appointed by the British king Not popular due to free riding on British protection Dismantling Home Rule 1763 French lose French and Indian War no more American colonization Britain poor o Britain imposes taxes violates home rule to consolidate its power and regain money 1765 Stamp Act tax on all printed materials No taxation w out representation colonists establishing home rule Colonial assemblies passed resolutions demanding the tax be repealed Stamp Act Congress delegates from colonies sent to create a response to the taxation o Over the next decade Britain imposes 6 new tax and administrative laws designed to weaken the colonies Americans boycott British products form protest groups Sons Daughters of Liberty Committees of Correspondence o Boston Tea Party Mass Colonists dress as Indians and dump tea into Boston Harbor to protest tea taxes British response Restraining Act Coercive Act o Closed the port of Boston to all commerce dissolved Mass Assembly decreed British troops in Boston must be quartered in American homes ordered that Americans charged w protest crimes and soldiers charged w crimes against the colonies be sent to England for trial The Continental Congresses 1774 First Continental Congress In PA run by Samuel Adams o Passed resolutions condemning British taxes and administrative decrees o Most significant actions adoption of Declaration of American Rights reasserted home rule endorsement of an agreement to ban all trade w Britain until it rescinded the despised taxes and regulations To enforce boycott Congress formed committees of observations in every county town hamlet Formed the base for statewide conventions that sprang up throughout the colonies when the British prevented meetings o Collected taxes raised militias passed laws forbidding the judiciary from enforcing British decrees selected delegates to Second Continental Congress 1775 Second Continental Congress In PA o Instructed state conventions to reconstitute themselves as state gov ts based on republican principles Bicameral legislature 2 chamber term limits o Issued the nation s first bonds and established a national currency o Authorized George Washington to expand Mass Militia into natl army The Declaration of Independence January 1776 Thomas Paine published Common Sense sells 120 000 copies in first 3 months ignites ideas for independence only in the creation of an independent republic would the people find contentment June 1776 Richard Henry Lee VA called for a creation of a new nation separate from Britain o Declaration of Independence drafted by Thomas Jefferson a document stating that the U S is seceding from Britain on the rationale that rested on the fundamental right of self gov t Adopted by Second Continental Congress on July 4 1776 America s First Constitution The Articles of Confederation Articles of Confederation the nation s first constitution served as a de facto constitution during the intervening war years o Confederation a highly decentralized system in which the national gov t derives limited authority from the states rather than directly from citizens states select officials of gov t and retain authority to override gov ts decisions o Articles transferred form and functions of the Continental Congress to the permanent Congress Each state receives 1 vote Major laws 9 13 states must approve Fundamental changes unanimous agreement to amend the Constitution o In adopting a Confederation delegates sought to replace home rule Independence responsibility of providing for themselves what Britain used to Most important defense and commercial markets Confederation at War Britain begins a war with the U S b c the U S wanted sovereignty from Britain o States didn t want to give natl gov t sufficient authority to conduct war States became responsible for providing troops and making them ready for war National military command answered to Congress assumed responsibility for organizing the various state regiments into a single fighting force o Congress the coordinator Identified military requirements assessed the states channeled contributions to the army Could borrow money through bonds lack of taxation authority made it risky expensive Public s suspicion of gov t prevented natl officeholders from creating admin Structures suitable for the new gov ts wartime responsibilities o Legislators unskilled in administrations frequently unable to make timely decisions Military was deteriorating many wanted Congress to step in 2 o Gen Washington army plight attested to the naivet and ineffectiveness of the confederation s o The undeveloped national administration provided breeding ground for free riding in the form of structure corruption o W out authority to play a central role in war Congress further decentralized States became responsible for directly supplying the troops Converting public good military supplies that all state regiments could consume regardless of state s contribution private good linked the welfare of each state s troops to its legislature s efforts State officials second major group to call for reforms prepared to sacrifice for war but only if they could be confident that the other states would also do their part prisoners dilemma Summer of 1780 states calling for direct action August several New England states met and passed a resolutions calling for investing Congress w powers competent for gov t o Hartford Convention when 5 northern states met to make a resolution urging Congress to grant itself the power to tax Resolution Congress to delegate Gen Washington the authority to induce punctual compliance from the states that would not support the army 1781 Rhode Island vetoed a bill giving
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