Experimenting with Confederation
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Transcript of Experimenting with Confederation
Experimenting with Confederation
Chapter 5 Section 1
I Americans Debate Republicanism• Everyone understood they needed a
republican gov’t but some reluctant to unite under a strong central gov’t
WHY DO YOU THINK SOME ARE RELUCTANT TO SUPPORT A STRONG CENTRAL GOV’T?
A. Basis for a Republic• Favored republic because a
democracy, gov’t directly by the ppl, put power in hands of uneducated mases– Republic=gov’t in which
citizens rule through elected reps
• Republicanism=the idea that gov’ts should be based on consent of its ppl– Meant diff. things to diff. ppl
• Some believed the success would only come if ppl placed the good of the country before personal interest
• Others argued that allowing citizens to pursue own econ. And pol. Interest would benefit the nation
• States created their own constitutions which showed fear of centralized gov’t
II Continental Congress Debates• While states created their own constitutions,
the Continental Congress began to draft its own– Had to answer 3 basic questions
A. Representation by Population or by State?
• States came together but were not equal in land size, wealth, & population– Should each state elect the same # of reps or
should states w. large pop have more reps then those w/ smaller pop
• Members viewed themselves as reps of independent states– Decided each states would have 1 vote regardless
of pop
B. Supreme Power: Can it be Divided?• Most ppl until then believed gov’t could
not shar supreme power or it wouldn’t function
• Congress created the Articles of Confederation– Articles of Confederation= gov’t in which 2
levels of gov’t shared fundamental powers• Under the Articles the national gov’t
had right to…– Declare war/make peace– Sign treaties– Borrow $$– Deal w/ Native Americans
• ARTICLES DID NOT CREATE SEPARATE EXECUTIVE TO ENFORCE THE ACTS OF CONGRESS OR A COURT SYSTEN TO DECIDE THE MEANING OF LAWS
• THIS MADE THE GOV;T AND THE ARTICLES WEAKTO PROBLEMS
C. Western Lands: Who Gets Them?• Arguments over western lands delayed new gov’t– Some wouldn’t sign until all claims to western lands
were given up– Belief was that western claims would make some
states largerover powering of smaller states• Land Ordinance of 1785= established plan for
surveying western lands
• Northwest Ordinance of 1787= procedure for dividing the land and set requirements for admission of new states– Congress appoints governor &
judges– When ter. Has 5,000 voters they
can write temp constitution & elect gov’t
– Total pop reached 60,000 settlers could write state constitution which needs to be approved by Congress before statehood is granted
III the Confederation Encounters a Problems
A. Political & Economic Problems• Most serious prob = lack of unity• States pursued own interests rather then the nations
– Did not recog. Diff. among pop of states• Georgia (25,000) & Mass. (270,000) same pol power
– Amendment to Articles only with approval from ALL STATES• Changes were diff. to achieve
– Most serious econ prob= debt from Revolution• Congress did not have power to taxcan’t pay debt
• Congress asked approval from states to impose a tariff– Tariff=tax on imported goods
• One state rejected it so Congress could not impose tariff
B. Foreign Relations Problems• Britain refused to evacuate military forts
because US could not pay back war debt• Spain closes access to Miss. R which was vital
to western and southern American farmers• These problems stemmed from the weakness
of the Confederation gov’t