Formation of the United States

Formation of the United States

• Visionary leaders averted common revolutionary pitfalls by establishing a new representative government.
• These leaders applied the lessons learned from past revolutions.

The Challenge of Balancing Power

• The American revolutionaries believed that a government's primary role was to safeguard individual liberties such as freedom of speech, religion, and assembly.
• Overthrowing a government was acceptable if it violated those rights.
• Excessive governmental power could devolve into tyranny.
• A weak government could not maintain law and order, resulting in anarchy.
• The challenge was to achieve the right balance of power.

Articles of Confederation

• The colonies united under the Articles of Confederation during the War for Independence, but the union was fragile.
• The Confederation Congress was unable to tax or coordinate foreign policy.
• States maintained sovereignty and had their own currencies.
• The weak central government could not manage the states' conflicting interests.
• The union was a union in name only under the Articles.

George Washington's Concerns

• George Washington was uncertain of the new nation's long-term stability.
• He feared that the states' self-interest might cause civil war or foreign intervention.
• States were in debt from the war and behaved with increasing self-interest.
• Inflation was caused by some states' printing of paper money.
• Other states increased taxes on farmers.
• The Confederation Congress was too weak to enforce laws or the peace treaty with Great Britain.
• Foreign policy entailed pleading for new loans to service existing debt.

The Need for a New Constitution

• Amending the Articles required all 13 states to agree unanimously.
• Many leaders believed that a new national constitution was needed.
• The Constitutional Convention required George Washington's leadership to succeed.

Shays' Rebellion

• Angry farmers, led by Daniel Shays, protested high taxes in Massachusetts in 1786.
• Shays' Rebellion was put down, but it persuaded Congress that action was required.
• Congress convened a national convention in Philadelphia in 1787.
• Washington agreed to attend, stating that "Reform of the present system is indispensable."

The Constitutional Convention

• Delegates from all over the union, including Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, and James Madison, gathered in Philadelphia in May 1787.
• George Washington presided over the 55-member convention.
• The convention's goal was to secure peace and to disprove foreign powers.
• The delegates decided to draft a new constitution, exceeding their mandate to amend the Articles of Confederation.
• James Madison took careful notes while they worked secretly.
• The delegates disagreed on representation for smaller states.
• Two delegates from New York left, believing the convention had exceeded its mandate.

The Great Compromise

• Roger Sherman of Connecticut proposed the Great Compromise, which divided the legislature into two chambers.
• The House of Representatives would allocate representatives based on a state's population.
• The Senate would treat states as equals.

Slavery and the 3/5 Compromise

• The issue was how enslaved people would be counted for representation and taxation.
• Slavery existed in every state except Massachusetts in 1787, but it was most prevalent in the South.
• Southern states wanted slaves to be counted as part of their population, despite considering them property.
• Northern delegates were skeptical.
• The delegates reached a compromise, agreeing to count slaves as 3/5 of a person.
• This ensured that the Constitutional Convention had a chance of success.
• The new constitution kept millions in bondage and sparked a fuse that would lead to the Civil War 70 years later.

The Executive Branch

• The Articles of Confederation lacked a strong executive branch.
• Each state had the power to overrule the others.
• There was no one to represent national interests beyond those of the states.
• Hamilton and Madison argued that a strong national leader was required.
• The Virginia Plan proposed a strong, single executive balanced by a representative legislature and a judiciary.
• Others were concerned that concentrating too much power in one person's hands could lead to monarchy.
• The proposal for a single executive was approved, based on the assumption that George Washington would lead the new government.

Ratification

• By the time the Constitution was ready to be signed, 42 of the original 55 delegates remained in Philadelphia.
• Washington signed first, followed by the rest.
• Three delegates refused to sign, protesting the lack of a bill of rights.
• The document contained seven articles, which defined the branches of government, the relationship between the states and the federal government, and the amendment process.
• The reactions were mixed.
• The Confederation Congress briefly considered censuring the delegates for exceeding their mandate.
• The states were asked to form conventions to ratify or reject the new charter, with at least nine states required for approval.
• Federalists believed that the new Constitution was essential.
• Anti-Federalists, including Patrick Henry, were wary, fearing the power of the executive and the lack of individual rights..
• Ratification occurred quickly in states where Federalists were strong, beginning with Delaware.
• The largest states, New York and Virginia, were deadlocked.

Virginia and New Hampshire's Role

• Patrick Henry and George Mason were the most outspoken opponents of ratification in Virginia.
• James Madison, with Washington's support, argued in favor of it.
• Virginia ratified the Constitution by a margin of ten votes, with the compromise that a bill of rights would be added
• New Hampshire was the ninth state to ratify the constitution.

Washington's Presidency

• Washington's influence carried the government due to public approval.
• The remaining states voted in favor, with Rhode Island being the last to join in 1790.
• George Washington was unanimously elected president.
• His leadership propelled the nation into uncharted territory.
• His leadership was critical to the American experiment.
• The former colonies were united into the United States.
• It was equipped with a representative government that was both balanced and empowered to serve the people.
• The U.S. Constitution has remained the world's oldest continuously used representative constitution.