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11 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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Constitution making in the states 1776 on
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What: After the Declaration of Independence, the Continental Congress asked the states to prepare new constitutions. Eleven of the states did so, and most of these documents included a bill of rights, specifically guaranteeing long-prized liberties against legislative encroachment. As written documents, they were intended to be fundamental law, above or superior to laws that might be subsequently written by a legislature.
Sig: Constitution making in the states prepared the “founding fathers” for the job they eventually did in Philadelphia in the summer of 1787 when they drafted the U.S. Constitution. The reason the Constitution is so good is that the people who drafted it were experienced at the state level (and they had immediate knowledge of the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation). |
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*Articles of Confederation March 1, 1781, to June 21, 1788
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What: The Articles was the first written constitution of the United States. Fearing central government at a time of war against what was perceived to be a despotic central government (Britain), the Second Continental Congress proposed a loose confederation of sovereign states that would not have the power to declare war, impose taxes, and regulate commerce. There was no provision for an executive or judicial. In spite of these weaknesses, the congress under the Articles brought the Revolutionary War to a successful conclusion, got the states to relinquish western land claims to the national government, passed the Land Ordinance of 1785, and passed the Northwest Ordinance of 1787.
Sig: The Articles provided a frame of government under which sovereign states could operate during a most difficult period in the history of the United States. In providing experience to members of congress and the states in the weaknesses of a loose confederation, the Articles served the added purpose of helping national leaders to understand what a good constitution should include (which helps to explain why the present Constitution is so good). |
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*Land Ordinance of 1785
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What: Law passed by Congress that allowed for sales of land in the Northwest
Territory to pay off the national debt. To avoid land disputes, land was to be surveyed into 36 square mile townships, with the sixteenth section (one square mile) reserved for public education. Sig: This law laid the foundation of American land policy and was a great achievement of the government under the Articles of Confederation. |
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**Northwest Ordinance of 1787
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Where: Applied to the Old Northwest
What: The Ordinance prohibited slavery in the Northwest Territory (which became the future states Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, and part of Minnesota). When an area had 5,000 people, it could become a territory. When it had 60,000, it could become a state on an equal footing with older states. As many as five states could be carved out of the Territory. Sig: The principles in the Northwest Ordinance were later used for the rest of the American territories. This law was a great achievement of the government under the Articles. |
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**Shays Rebellion 1786-1787
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Who: Daniel Shays and his supporters (poor farmers and veterans)
Where: western Massachusetts What: Shays and the poor men that rose with him wanted cheap paper money, lighter taxes, and a suspension of property takeovers. To prevent foreclosures, they prevented courts from meeting. A rebellion was developing. Sig: This rebellion, smashed by Massachusetts militia, made very clear that there were major problems with the Articles of Confederation. Specifically, there was no provision in the Articles for the U.S. to come to the aid of Massachusetts. This problem is solved and reflected in Article IV of the Constitution, written just a few months after the end of the Shays Rebellion. Article IV provides that the U.S. will protect the states against domestic violence. |
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The Great Compromise: 1787: the U.S. Constitution—writing of
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Who: The Philadelphia Convention (mandated to revise the Articles, the convention went on to write the Constitution)
What: The Constitutional Convention decided that states would be represented in two separate bodies in the congress. In the Senate, each state would be given two representatives no matter how big or small; and in the House, the number of representatives would depend on the population of the state. It was agreed that every tax bill or revenue measure must start in the House. Sig: This compromise settled an argument between large and small states. |
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*The 3/5 compromise 1787: the U.S. Constitution—writing of
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What: Southern states wanted slaves to count as people so they could have greater representation in the House, but the Northern states argued that slaves were property, not people. The 3/5 compromise stated that when counting total population in a state, slaves would be counted as 3/5 of a person. This increased the power of Southern slaveholding states in the House of Representatives.
Sig: Solved the problem of representation for the present, but put off the overall problem of slavery to be solved later. |
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*“Electoral College” 1787
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What: Each state is given the number of electoral votes for however many senators and representatives the state has in congress. Electors are chosen by the state (and each state chose to have the people vote for electors) and those electors vote for president and vice president. This became known as the “electoral college.” The original intent of having electors and not the people choose the president was to guard against mob excesses. The electors represented an intermediate body that would moderate popular passions and be more deliberative. (Recall that the people chose only members of the House in the original Constitution.)
Sig: The Electoral College is still used today in presidential elections. Also, note that the people do not vote directly for president—states have enacted laws to let the people vote for electors, then the electors vote for pres/vice pres. |
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Federalists v. Anti-Federalists 1787-88
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Who and what: Federalists supported a stronger federal government and argued in favor of ratification of the Constitution. Anti-Federalists believed that the Constitution was drawn up by aristocratic elements and anti-democratic. They believed it was wrong to take away sovereignty from the states and that individual rights were being jeopardized because there was no bill of rights. Anti-Federalists tried to discourage states from ratifying the Constitution, while Federalists promoted the Constitution.
Sig: The Federalists won the argument after agreeing to a Bill of Rights (as amendments to the Constitution). Also, in this Federalist-Anti-Federalist argument of the day (1787-88), one can see the beginnings of what became the split between the Jeffersonians and the Hamiltonians, with the former supporting small, limited government and the later supporting strong and energetic government. |
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*The Federalist Papers 1787-88 (also known as The Federalist)
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Who: Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, James Madison
Where: New York What: Deeply upset that New York would not ratify the Constitution, Hamilton, Madison, and Jay wrote a series of 85 articles in New York newspapers that supported ratification of the Constitution. Sig: These editorials helped with the ratification of the Constitution in New York and then later in Virginia, two very important states for the very existence of the United States. These papers became the most penetrating and authoritative commentary written on the Constitution. |
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*Bill of Rights 1791
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Who: James Madison
What: Written by James Madison, the Bill of Rights is more formally known as the first ten amendments to the Constitution. These amendments protect the freedoms of the American people from encroachment by Congress (and, at present, by the states). Examples of these are: freedom of religion, assembly, press, petition, speech; trial by jury; due process (protects life, liberty, property). Sig: State constitutions frequently included a bill of rights. Opponents of the Constitution wanted a bill of rights included before they would support ratification. The Bill of Rights, ratified in 1791, is part of the Constitution that created a stronger central government while protecting individual rights. |
