United States History The Constitution (1787-1791)

The Constitution (1787-1791) After the American Revolution, the leaders of the new United States decided to set up a weak government, because they feared a strong government. The document that established the new, weak government was called the Articles of Confederation. The government of the Articles of Confederation had a few important characteristics: o First form of government used by the U.S. after independence from Britain and the first union plan for the 13 original states. o At this point, many Americans distrusted a strong central government because of their experiences under the rule of Great Britain. ▪ They wanted to limit the central government’s opportunities to infringe upon the people’s liberties, so they established a decentralized (power is broken up and divided among many groups, not unified) political system in which the state governments had all the power. o States had the power to collect taxes, coin money, and control trade. o Success of the Articles: ▪ It provided a system for governing the Western territories and a process for admitting new states to the union. ● Reasons why the government was weak: o There was only one branch called the legislative (Congress). Since there was no executive branch to enforce laws, o Congress had no power to collect taxes, therefore the government had no money o The states had most of the power. o The government under the Articles of Confederation was unable to defeat Shays’s Rebellion (1786) without the financial help of wealthy Americans ● The one positive accomplishment of the Articles of Confederation was called the Northwest Ordinance o A law that defined the procedure for adding new states into the nation. ● In 1787, American leaders decided to write a new document that would build a stronger government. o The meeting where they wrote this document was called the Constitutional Convention; the document they wrote is the Constitution. Those who wrote the Constitution are called the Framers. At the Constitutional Convention, there was a debate about representation in Congress (how many representatives each state would have in Congress). o Large states wanted proportionate representation (where the number of representatives would be based on a state’s population). o The small states wanted equal representation (where each would have the same number of representatives). ● The small and big states reached a compromise known as the Great Compromise (1787) o Created a bicameral legislature (a two-house Congress) with a House of Representatives (proportionate representation) and a Senate (equal representation). Another argument at the Constitutional Convention was over how much power the new government should have. o One group called the Federalists wanted a strong central government. o Another group (the Anti-Federalists) wanted a weaker central government. ▪ The Anti-Federalists demanded that a Bill of Rights should be added to the Constitution to protect people against government abuse. ▪ In the end, each side got what it wanted: the Constitution did create a stronger federal government and a Bill of Rights was added to the Constitution. The Constitution has a number of important main ideas [make sure you study these!]: o Limited government ▪ The idea that the government should not have too much power o Flexibility ▪ The constitution is adaptable to change. ▪ Congress has the power to make laws about any issue it encounters as necessary. o Federalism ▪ Power is shared between state governments and the federal government o Separation of powers ▪ there are three branches (executive, legislative, judicial) o Checks and balances ▪ each branch has the power to limit the power of the others ● Three-Fifths Compromise o Solution to the problem of how to determine the number of representatives in the House of Representatives (branch of Congress) from states with large slave populations. Determined that 3/5 of the slave population would be counted for representation in the House. ● Other Major Compromises o Slave Trade, Taxation, Election of President.