Now what
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Transcript of Now what
New Hampshire
New York
Pennsylvania
New Jersey
Virginia
South Carolina
North Carolina
Georgia
Connecticut
Rhode Island
Massachusetts
Delaware
Maryland
State Constitutions
Features held in most state constitutions
• Bicameral legislatures• Both houses were elected directly• Elections for lower house held annually• Popularly elected governors (NY had the strongest
executive position)• Property ownership was a requirement for holding
office
Articles of Confederation
Features/Powers
• “a league of friendship”• Each state maintained its sovereignty• Legislative: Unicameral
– 9/13 to pass any measure
– Each state had one vote
• Executive: In name only—powerless • Judicial: Did not exist• Unanimous consent of all 13 to amend
Articles of Confederation
Challenges
• Foreign threats– British
– Spanish
– Barbary Pirates
Articles of Confederation
Challenges
• Foreign threats– British
– Spanish
– Barbary Pirates
• Interstate disputes• The problem of debt• Shay’s Rebellion
New Hampshire
New York
Pennsylvania
New Jersey
Virginia
South Carolina
North Carolina
Georgia
Connecticut
Rhode Island
Massachusetts
Delaware
Maryland
America in 1787
America in 1787
Some key traits
• Size: Much larger than any other countries– Travel and communication challenges: Can it be
governed?• A very regional feel: distinct places
New Hampshire
New York
Pennsylvania
New Jersey
Virginia
South Carolina
North Carolina
Georgia
Connecticut
Rhode Island
Massachusetts
Delaware
Maryland
America in 1787
Northern New England: trade and fishing
NY and S. New England: better soil, access to Hudson
Delaware Valley: more cosmopolitan--Philadelphia
Chesapeake Bay: Fertile—large-scale commercial agricultureS. Virignia/NC: tobacco industry
SC/GA: sparsely populated; rice and indigo—slave labor
America in 1787
Some key traits
• Size: Much larger than any other countries– Travel and communication challenges: Can it be governed?
• A very regional feel: distinct places
• 75% white (but a diverse white); mostly Protestant
• 20% black (mostly slave)
• A deferential society
• Rural (Only Phila. And NYC had populations of over 25,000) – 90% farmers
• Hard-working, God-fearing, and prosperous