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LESSON 8

Origins of Government 8

In this lesson you will learn how the newly independent colonies developed a self-government model.

In May, 1776, the Second Continental Congress, which served as the central government during Revolutionary War, recommended that the colonies set up state governments. The response of the states follows.

Four states adopted constitutions before the Declaration of Independence was adopted on July 4, 1776. The colonial legislatures approved the new constitutions. These new state constitutions reflected the social contract theory of government, emphasizing popular sovereignty and the concept that government came from the consent of the governed. Many of these state constitutions were very similar and contained a system of government that would not allow the abuses of the British Parliament and King George III.

These new state constitutions called for frequent elections so the people could keep a constant watch over the government. The property and religious qualifications for voting were retained.

Many of the states followed the concept of Montesquieu in the separation of the powers of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government.

The states established bicameral or two house, legislatures. A unicameral is a one house legislature. In most of the states the executive or governor was given limited powers. In many states the governor could only serve one term and could not succeed himself in office.

Currently, Nebraska is the only state that has a unicameral legislature.

A form of the Bill of Rights was included in most of the state constitutions which guaranteed protection of individual liberties based upon common law. These rights usually included

• freedom of speech and press,
• freedom from arrest without just cause,
• right of trial by jury,
• and immunity from cruel and unusual punishments.

The Second Continental Congress had been working on a "plan for confederation" since the original vote for independence in 1776.

A CONFEDERATION is an alliance of independent states that is very limited by having only those powers which the states specifically grant. Please note the model of a confederate form of government on the next screen.

(confgovt)

Please note that the member states have the political power.

A committee had been formed to draw up a confederate form of government referred to as a "league of friendship." This "league of friendship" had been suggested by Richard Henry Lee, who had introduced the resolution that the colonies should be free and independent states in June of 1776.

The committee worked quickly but it was four years before the thirteenth state ratified, or accepted the Articles of Confederation.

The delay over the ratification of the Articles of Confederation was a result of a controversy over the division of powers between the individual states and the central government. At issue was the question of federalism.

Should the states retain most of their sovereignty and create a weak central government (confederalism) or should the states be made subordinate to a strong, national government (federalism)?

The Articles had several weaknesses in the beginning that became worse over time.

1. No executive or president
2. No court system
3. No power to tax
4. One vote per state
5. Unanimous vote required

A government with no executive or court system is a main design of the confederate form of government. The member states want to keep as much control and power as possible.

ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION

No executive or president

No court system

No power to tax

One vote per state

Unanimous vote required

The lack of an executive branch makes it difficult to have a national identity. How would you negotiate with foreign countries? In addition, disputes between states could not be resolved with a national judiciary.

The last glaring weakness of the Articles was that it took a unanimous vote to change them or even to put the Articles into effect. It is very difficult to obtain unanimous consent for any action in any group.

Maryland finally ratified the Articles in 1781, four years after they were passed by the Continental Congress. Many other problems with the Articles of Confederation began to surface.

The common theme of these problems was that they could not be solved by a weak national government created by the Articles of Confederation.

1. Each state had its own money making it difficult to carry on trade and finance.

2. No regulation of trade. States taxed other states and some states would not trade with any states.

Discontent grew because other problems plagued the Articles.

3. It took a unanimous vote to change or amend the Articles and a seventy percent majority (9 of 13) to even pass a law. This meant that very little legislation was passed.

4. Some states had their own armies and several had made treaties with foreign governments. This further fragmented the states and weakened the stability of the new government.

More problems arose when violence broke out in several places, most notably in Massachusetts with the Shay's Rebellion of 1786.

In Massachusetts, the banks and creditors controlled the government and they resisted the pressure to issue paper money.

Paper money would help the debtors, the people who owed money to the banks. The creditors asked the courts to foreclose on the property of the people who owed the money.

A special Massachusetts Militia, or police force, put down the rebellion with a minimum of bloodshed. The message of Shay's Rebellion was clear. The price of a weak central government was anarchy and mob rule.

Congress was not able to address these problems because it lacked the power to promote an economic policy and could not stop any violence.

Individually these problems were not fatal, but together they were a need for change that cried out to be filled. Change was needed for the most important of all reasons.

All of these events highlighted the fact that the Articles of Confederation simply did not work.

The major weakness was sovereignty. (See Lesson 1.)

The government had no power to enforce any law or policy. A type of government that has no sovereignty cannot last.

One of the main problems under the Articles of Confederation was that there was no direct contact between the central government and the people. The authority of the Confederation rested on the states and not the people.

In spite of all of the weaknesses of the Confederation, this central government did function during the Revolutionary War. One of the most important problems facing the United States following the Revolutionary War was the territory west of the Appalachian mountains. The Revolutionary War ended in 1781.

North America 1783 (nam1783)

As a result of the Revolutionary War, the United States gained the territory between the Appalachian Mountains and the Mississippi River. The Congress under the Articles of the Confederation had to determine how this new territory would be organized.

(claims)

You will recall from the previous lesson that many of the States had claims to the western lands between the Appalachian Mountains and the Mississippi River.

Congress passed the Northwest Ordinance of 1787, which provided a framework of government for the western lands.

Under this Ordinance, the Northwest Territory was to be divided into no less than three nor more than five states. The Territory would first be governed by a governor and three judges, appointed by the Congress.

When the adult male population of a region reached 60,000, it would be ready to become a state, "on an equal footing with the original states in all respects whatever," after it had created a constitution guaranteeing a republican form of government.

A Bill of Rights guaranteed to all settlers freedom of speech, freedom of religious worship, trial by jury, and other basic liberties. Slavery was prohibited in the Northwest Territory.

Many of these shortcomings of the central government under the Articles of Confederation affected the most wealthy and influential members of society.

These influential men were bankers, planters, merchants, and traders needed a stable political and economic system.

In 1785, Maryland and Virginia took the lead in calling for a meeting to try to resolve the problems of trade and money. The meeting, which was moved to George Washington's home at Mount Vernon, was very successful.

Because of this success, the Virginia Assembly called for an additional meeting in Annapolis. Only five states attended, so another meeting was called in Philadelphia in early 1787.

Then Congress asked states to send delegates for the purpose of revising the inadequate Articles of Confederation.

This meeting then became a Constitutional Convention.

There were many notable men who did not attend his meeting in Philadelphia in the summer of 1787.

Most of the leaders of the Convention were in their thirties, including James Madison, William Randolph, and Alexander Hamilton.

As the Constitutional Convention began there appeared to be two main differences over the type of central or federal government that should exist.

• One side proposed that the Articles of Confederation should remain basically unchanged, with only a slight increase of powers to the central government.
• The Federalists believed that a new national government needed be created because of the failures of the Articles of Confederation.

This concluded this lesson over the Articles of Confederation and the events leading to the development of the U.S. Constitution.

In the next lesson we will focus on the work of the Constitutional Convention in the summer of 1787.

Good luck on your test!