Download Setting up Governments

Governing a New Nation
Chapter 7
Section 1
Setting up Governments
• In May 1776, the Continental Congress
asked each colony to set up a
government to protect “the lives,
liberties, and properties” of its citizens.
• In July the Congress set about the more
difficult task of organizing a new
national government.
A Constitution
• During the Revolution, most states wrote their
own constitutions.
• A constitution is a document that sets out the
laws and principles of a government.
• States wanted a written constitution for two
reasons.
• First, a written constitution would spell out the
rights of all citizens.
• Second, it would set limits on the power of
government.
Dividing Power
• Colonists feared that the government would become
to powerful.
• To avoid this, the delegates divided the power of
state governments between a legislature and an
executive.
• Every state has a legislature that passed laws.
• Lawmakers were elected by voters.
• Power within the legislature was divided between an
upper house called a senate, and a lower house.
• All states except Pennsylvania had a governor, who
executed, or carried out, the laws.
Virginia
• Virginia further limited the power of
government by including a bill of rights in its
constitution.
• A bill of rights lists freedoms that the
government promises to protect.
• In Virginia, the bill of rights protected freedom
of religion and freedom of the press.
• Citizens also had the right to trial by jury.
• Soon other states followed Virginia’s
example.
Expanding the Right to
Vote
• Under state constitutions, more people had
the right to vote than in colonial times.
• To vote, a citizen had to be a white male and
be over age 21.
• He had to own a certain amount of property
or pay a certain amount of taxes.
• For a time, some women in New Jersey could
vote.
• In a few states, free black men could vote.
Forming a National
Government
• Delegates believed that the colonies could not succeed
in their struggle for independence unless they were
united by a national government.
• In 1776, few Americans thought of themselves as
citizens of one nation.
• Instead they felt loyal to their own state.
• The states were unwilling to turn over power to the
national government. They did not want to replace the
tyranny of British rule with another strong government.
• In 1777, the Continental Congress completed the first
American constitution called the Articles of
Confederation.
Articles of Confederation
• The Articles of Confederation created a firm league of
friendship among the 13 states.
• The states agreed to send delegates to a Confederation
Congress. Each state had one vote in Congress.
• Congress could pass laws, but at least 9 of the 13 states
had to approve a law before it could go into effect.
• Congress could declare war, appoint military officers,
and coin money.
• Congress was also responsible for foreign affairs.
A Weak National
Government
• The National Government was weak.
• Congress could not regulate trade between states or
even between states and foreign countries.
• It could not pass laws regarding taxes.
• The Articles did not provide for a president to carry
out laws, therefore, it was up to each state to enforce
laws passed by congress.
• The articles did not set up a system of courts, so
settling disputes was difficult.
Difficulties in a New Nation
• From 1783 - 1787, Americans had reason to doubt
whether their country could survive.
• One of the biggest problems the nation faced was money.
• As a result of borrowing during the Revolution, the United
States owed millions of dollars and it had no way to repay
its debts.
• During the Revolution, the Continental Congress began to
print paper money but without gold or silver to back it up it
soon became worthless.
• States began to print their own money which created
confusion. No one knew what the worth of a North
Carolina dollar was or how valuable the Virginian dollar
was.
• As a result, trade between states became difficult.
Other Troubles
• New Hampshire and New York both claimed
Vermont.
• Under the Articles of Confederation, these
states had no way to solve their dispute.
• Foreign countries took advantage of the new
government’s weaknesses.
• Britain refused to withdraw troops from the
Ohio River Valley.
• Spain challenged the United States by closing
its port in New Orleans to American farmers in
the western lands.
Settlement in the West
• Settlers in the western lands posed another
problem.
• The Articles of Confederation said nothing
about admitting new states to the United
States. Settlers in Tennessee set up a
government called the State of Franklin and
applied for admission to the United States.
• Congress realized it needed to provide for local
governments in the western lands.
• To meet the challenge, Congress passed two
laws.
Land Ordinance of 1785
• The first law, the Land Ordinance of 1785,
set up a system for settling the Northwest
Territory.
• The law called for the territory to be surveyed
and then divided into townships.
• Each township would have 36 sections.
• A section was 1 square mile and contained
640 acres.
• Congress planned to sell sections to settlers
for $640.00 each.
Northwest Ordinance
• The second law, passed in 1787, was the
Northwest Ordinance.
• It set up a government for the Northwest
Territory and outlawed slavery there.
• It also provided for the vast region to be divided
into three to five separate territories in the future.
• When the settlers of a territory numbered 60,000
free settlers, they could as Congress to admit
the territory as a new state.
• The newly admitted state would be on an equal
footing with the original states in all respects
whatsoever.
The Finest Achievement
• The Northwest Ordinance was the finest
achievement of the national government
under the Articles of Confederation.
• It provided a way to admit new states to the
United States.
• It guaranteed that new states to the U.S.
should be treated the same as the original 13
states.
• In time five states were carved from the
Northwest Territory: Ohio, Indiana, Illinois,
Michigan, and Wisconsin.
Economic Depression
• After the Revolution, the nation suffered an
economic depression.
• An economic depression is a period when
business activity slows, prices and wages fall,
and unemployment rises.
• The depression hit farmers the hardest.
• During the Revolution, demand for food was
high so farmers borrowed money for land,
seed, animals, and tools.
• Now, as soldiers returned home, demand for
farm goods fell.
• Many farmers could not repay their loans.
Shays’ Rebellion
• In Massachusetts, the state raised farmers
taxes.
• The court seized the farms of people who
could not pay their taxes or loans.
• In 1786, a Massachusetts farmer, Daniel
Shays, who fought at Bunker Hill and
Saratoga, was determined to save his debtridden farm.
Shays’ Rebellion cont.
• Shays gathered nearly 2000 farmers who
traveled around the state attacking
courthouses and preventing the sale of
property as payment for debts.
• When they tried to raid a warehouse full of
rifles and gunpowder, the Massachusetts
legislature sent the militia to drive them off.
This ended in Shays’ Rebellion.
The Significance of
Shays’ Rebellion
• Shays’ Rebellion worried many Americans
because they saw it as a sign that the Articles
of Confederation did not work.
• Leaders of several states called for a
convention to discuss ways to revise the
Articles of Confederation.
• They decided to meet in Philadelphia in May
1787.