THE ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION AND THE CONSTITUTION

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THE ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION AND THE CONSTITUTION
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• THE SECOND
• CONTINENTAL
• CONGRESS AMERICAS
• FIRST CENTRAL
• GOVERNMENT
• (Right) A French engraving showing Congress in
  action.
• (Below) The committee Congress selected to draft
  the Declaration of Independence.

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• THE UNITED STATES IN 1783
• In addition to the Thirteen Colonies, Great
  Britain ceded all land east of the Mississippi
  River to the young republic

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ALEXANDER HAMILTON, ADVOCATE OF NATIONAL POWER

• A Continental Army veteran and former member of
  General George Washingtons staff, Hamilton
  became a New York congressman.
• He openly criticized the weaknesses that the
  Articles of Confederation built into Americas
  first central government.

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• THE UNITED STATES IN 1783
• In addition to the Thirteen Colonies, Great
  Britain ceded all land east of the Mississippi
  River to the young republic

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SHAYS REBELLION(Left) Rebellious Massachusetts
farmers close the courts to prevent confiscation
of their lands for unpaid back taxes. (Below)
The insurrection caused George Washington to
question if Americans were capable of governing
themselves.
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A VULNERABLE FRONTIERAmericans moving west,
including pioneers, traders, and land
speculators, found their interests threatened by
the British, Spanish, and various Indian tribes.
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A NAKED FRONTIERThe Articles of Confederation
left Congress unable to field a military force
strong enough to protect American settlers west
of the Appalachians. (Left) A tense
confrontation in the Ohio Valley. (Below) White
hunters scan the woods for hostile Indians.
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SPAIN TURNS UNFRIENDLYIn 1784, Spain closed the
Mississippi River to American traffic, which
prevented farmers living west of the Appalachians
from floating their produce to market.
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THE 1st AMERICAN REGIMENT THE REPUBLICS
PITIFULLY SMALL MILITARYIn 1784, Congress
reduced American military to a single regiment,
the 1st American Regiment. Ranging in authorized
strength from 700 to 840, this force was too
small to deter Indian attacks or British and
Spanish efforts to stifle American growth.
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DISGRUNTLED VETERANSAngry about not receiving
the back pay and pensions promised for their
services in the Revolution, former Continental
Army officers became some of the leading
advocates for a stronger central government.
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INDEPENDENCE HALL, PHILADELPHIAWhere the
Constitutional Convention met in 1787.
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GEORGE WASHINGTON, ADVOCATE OF NATIONAL POWER

• Alarmed by Shays Rebellion, Washington desired a
  stronger central government.
• He would lead Virginias delegation at the
  Constitutional Convention in 1787.

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THE CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTIONAn 1833 engraving
of George Washington presiding over the
convention.
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JAMES MADISON, ADVOCATE OF NATIONAL POWER

• Another member of the Virginia delegation,
  Madison wanted a national government that would
  be supreme to state governments.
• He did not get everything that he wanted, but he
  actually wrote most of the Constitution.

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BENJAMIN FRANKLIN,ADVOCATE OF NATIONAL POWER

• The oldest delegate at the Constitutional
  Convention and the most famous man in America
  next to George Washington, Franklin used his
  influence to persuade his fellow delegates to
  work in a spirit of compromise.

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THE CONSTITUTION ADOPTEDThis modern painting of
the climactic moment in the Constitutional
Convention contains recognizable portraits of
many of the Founding Fathers, including George
Washington standing on the dais at right and
Benjamin Franklin seated at center.
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THE FIRST PAGE OF THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED
STATES, 1787
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THE BATTLE FOR RATIFICATIONA cartoon satirizing
the debate between Federalists and
Anti-Federalists in Connecticut.
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LEADING ANTI-FEDERALISTSThose suspicious of the
new central government and the broad federal
powers proposed by the Constitution included such
former revolutionary firebrands as Samuel Adams
of Massachusetts (left) and Patrick Henry of
Virginia (right).
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THE FEDERALIST AND ITS AUTHORS(Right) Alexander
Hamilton.(Bottom left) John Jay.(Bottom right)
James Madison.
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THE BILL OF RIGHTS
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CREATING THE PUBLIC DOMAIN To encourage
ratification of the Constitution, all the states
with land claims west of the Appalachian
Mountains ceded that territory to the federal
government to be sold for the benefit of the
nation as a whole.
Chapter 7