1 - Early Beginnings

Learning Targets

• Assess the reasons why the Articles of Confederation was an unsuccecssful constitution and paved the way for the institutional framekworkk created by the US Constitution
• Evaluate the reasoning behing political compormises made while developing the three major branches of government in the US Constitution
• Distinguish between 'separation of powers' and 'checks and balances as concepts

Beginning of the Framework of Three Branches

Articles of Confederation was an attempt at compromise between need for cooperation and maintaining independance between each state
Articles of Confederation can be thought of as the first constitution

Articles of Confederation is the formal establishment of a confederation
Confederation is an alliance between sovereign states that are united by a set of common objectives. They acn act independently with no outside interference

How can you get all states in a country to forge a consensus on large scale issues if they all perceive themselves as independent?

The Articles of Confederation had a very weak central government system

• There was no national executive (president) of judicial branch
• There was no way to make Congress decisions enforceable
• Unanimous consent required for any ratification or amendment

States under Articles of Confederation

States, under Articles of Confederation had the power/authority to:

• Coin their own money
• Regulate commercial activities
• Provide for the defense of their citizens
  Different money in each state proved to be extremely hard to work with, as people coming from GA to NC couldn't use their money
  Each state had different rules and taxes governing trade and exchange

Shays' Rebellion

Shays' Rebellion - Armed uprising in Massachusetts during 1786/87
Led by Revolutionary War Veteran Daniel Shays
Veterans and farmers had economic anxiety, as they faced losing their property to the banks
Massachusetts asked for federal assistance to quell uprising, but only Virginia provided any support toward a national army

People felt that they weren’t independent because they were losing their money and land due to high taxes and debts. Many farmers were afraid of losing their farms when they couldn’t pay their debts

The Articles of Confederation failed because there really was no central government that can intervene and forge consensus
Totally incapable of maintaining a stable and coherent economic system. Could not collect taxes or regulate commerce
States conducted their own foreign trade negotiations
With no executive or national army, very hard for states to protect themselves from any possible revolt or foreign attack

Constitutional Convention of 1787

Power and representation were the two main topics debated

Two main plans were created:

Virginia Plan

Drafted by James Madison
Also known as the large states plan
Have 3 branches of government to keep power decentralized
Proposed having a bicameral (two chamber) legislature with representation levels in both chambers determined by population level
Executive chosen by legislative branch. Would be only one person. Members of federal judiciary chosen by legislature

New Jersey Plan

Created by William Paterson, then New Jersey Attorney General
Supported by smaller states fearing loss of power compared to those held in the Articles of Confederation
Proposed having a unicameral (one chamber) legislature with each state having a single vote
The executive branch chosen by legislature, but made up of multiple people. Executive branch appoints judiciary

Connecticut Compromise

Bicameral Legislature - both chambers have to approve legislation for it to pass
U.S. Senate - Two senators from each state. Every state has equal influence in the Senate in terms of vote
U.S. House of Representatives - number based on state population. Allowed deliberations to continue, leading to three-fifths compromise to allow southern state additional representation

Final U.S. Constitution

Created 9/1787, officially established 6/1788, Certified as Duly Ratified 9/1788, Took effect 3/1789

Separation of Powers

We have 3 independent branches of government - legislative, executive, judicial
No one branch has the power or capaticy to handle all matters addressed by the government

Checks and Balances

Each branch has the ability to review and influence the decisions made by other branches
In other words, each branch can limit or serve as a 'check' on the actions of the other two

Summary

Articles of Confederation created my logistical problems that shaped the way the three branches formed in U.S. Constitution
Not one branch of government can do things on their own expecting zero response or action from other two branches
Reflection question - how might the compromises made to ratify the U.S. Constitution influence political interactions today?

COERCIVE ACTS

What are the strength and weaknesses of the Virginia Plan?
What are the strength and weaknesses of the New Jersey Plan?