Journal # 25

“If all men were angels, no government would be necessary.”

Attributed to John Adams

Do you agree or disagree? Why or why not?

• 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

THE ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION AND THE

CONSTITUTION

THE SECONDCONTINENTALCONGRESS: AMERICA’S FIRST CENTRAL GOVERNMENT(Right) A French engraving showing

Congress in action.(Below) The committee Congress selected

to draft the Declaration of Independence.

ALEXANDER HAMILTON,

ADVOCATE OF NATIONAL

POWER

• A Continental Army veteran and former member of General George Washington’s staff, Hamilton became a New York congressman.

• He openly criticized the weaknesses that the Articles of Confederation built into America’s first central government.

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.

A VULNERABLE FRONTIER

Americans moving west, including pioneers, traders, and

land speculators, found their interests threatened by the

British, Spanish, and various Indian tribes.

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.

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.

THE 1st AMERICAN REGIMENT: THE

REPUBLIC’S 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.

DISGRUNTLED VETERANS

Angry 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.

INDEPENDENCE HALL, PHILADELPHIAWhere the Constitutional Convention met in 1787.

GEORGE WASHINGTON, ADVOCATE OF

NATIONAL POWER

• Alarmed by Shays’ Rebellion, Washington desired a stronger central government.

• He would lead Virginia’s delegation at the Constitutional Convention in 1787.

THE CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTIONAn 1833 engraving of George Washington presiding over the convention.

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.

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.

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EL76FUgwh8I

Chapter 7

CREATING THE PUBLIC DOMAINTo 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.

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.

THE FIRST PAGE OF THE

CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED

STATES, 1787

THE BATTLE FOR RATIFICATIONA cartoon satirizing the debate between Federalists and Anti-Federalists in Connecticut.

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).

THE FEDERALIST

AND ITS AUTHORS

(Right) Alexander Hamilton.

(Bottom left) John Jay.(Bottom right) James

Madison.

THE BILL OF RIGHTS