The Articles of

Confederation
1777-1787
Key facts about the Articles of Confederation
• monarchy=republican, presidential=parliament, unitary=federal/confederation
• A Confederation is a type of government with a loose union among sovereign states. The central government
in a confederation is weak, while the member states retain most of their sovereign powers. For example, the
modern United Nations is a confederation of sovereign nations.

• The United States began as a confederation of sovereign states under the Articles of Confederation. The
Articles of Confederation established “a rm league of friendship” with a deliberately weak central
government.

• The drafters of the Articles of Confederation created a weak central government for three reasons. First, they
feared a strong centralized authority that was too remote from the people. Americans were wary of giving
their new government powers they had just denied to parliament. Second, they feared that big states such
as Virginia, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania would dominate the government. And thirdly, they believed
that a representative republican government would only work in small communities with common interests.

• The articles created a central government consisting of a unicameral congress elected by state legislatures.
Each state, regardless of size, had just one vote in Congress.
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Accomplishments of the Articles of Confederation

• The Confederate government successfully waged and won the

Revolutionary War.

• The Confederate government successfully negotiated a mutual defense

treaty with France.

• The Confederate government successfully negotiated the Treaty of Paris

on favorable terms to the United States, ending the Revolutionary War.
 The land ordinance of 1785

• Established uniform procedures for surveying western lands into

townships and sections.

• Provided for the sale of public lands in the west at $1/acre with a 640-acre
minimum. ⼟地投机-经济危机

• Reserved one section in each township to support public schools. This

marked the rst instance of federal aid to education.
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The Northwest Ordinance of 1787

• Established an orderly procedure for territories to become states equal to

the thirteen original states.****

• Banned slavery from the northwest territory, thus becoming the rst
national law to prohibit the expansion of slavery.*****

• The Northwest Ordinance did not provide free land for settlers.******

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 Weaknesses and Failures of the Articles of
Confederation
• Congress lacked the power to levy taxes. The inability to raise revenue made it very di cult to pay o
the Revolutionary War debt.

• Congress lacked the power to regulate interstate or foreign commerce. It failed to restore exports of
rice, indigo, and tobacco to Britain while allowing the British to ood the states with manufactured
goods. These ine ective policies produced a huge balance of trade de cit.

• The government lacked an executive branch to enforce national policy and provide national leadership.
• The government lacked a national judiciary to resolve disputes between states.
• Congress issued an in ated currency and failed to halt paper money abuses in Rhode island and other
states.

• The Articles of Confederation lacked the exibility for making needed changes. Amendments required
a unanimous vote of all thirteen states.
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• The Government under the Articles

• could not draft soldiers

• was completely dependent on the state legislatures for revenue—the federal government was not permitted to tax citizens
• could not pay o the Revolutionary War debt
• could not control interstate trade
• had no Supreme Court to interpret law 司法
• had no executive branch to enforce national law ⾏政（总统，cabinet，bureaucracy）
• had no national currency 货币
• had no control over import and export taxes imposed between states needed unanimity to amend the Articles needed
approval from 9 out of 13 states to pass legislation (69% majority)

• could not raise a national army to quash uprisings

• had no ability to ensure states complied with national laws
• lacked enforcement mechanisms for requests from within the federal government 执法（警察，监狱，法院）
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• Although the Articles of Confederation recognized the need for a central
government, this document relied on the states to make the decisions that
would ultimately determine whether the country would survive. Under the
Articles of Confederation, the national government had two levels—a
weak national government with a one-house Congress and dominant
state governments. Congress was given limited power to declare war,
make peace, and sign treaties. The national government could borrow
money, but it had no power to tax the individual states. The Articles of
Confederation created a national army and navy, but the government had
no power to draft soldiers. There was no chief executive or national court
system, and legislation had to be passed by a two-thirds majority.
• , The states could create economic havoc by imposing tari s on each other, by creating
their own currency in addition to the national currency, by refusing to amend the Articles of
Confederation (an amendment needed unanimous approval by the states), and by refusing
to recognize treaties made by the national government.

• Foreign policy was virtually nonexistent. The Barbary pirates threatened our ships, and our
borders were vulnerable to attacks from both English and Spanish interests.

• A success of the national government was the Northwest Ordinance, which abolished
slavery in the newly acquired Northwest territories.

• The most positive aspect of the government was that a new middle class was developing
on the state level. Even though the old guard from the colonial era still existed, small
farmers began to dominate state politics. This created a broader political base and started
the beginning of opposing political parties (Federalists and Anti-Federalists).

• By 1787 it was obvious that, at a minimum, the Articles of Confederation had to be revised,
and many felt they should be totally changed to re ect the realities of what a functional
government should be.
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 Shays’ Rebellion, 1787
• Frustrated Massachusetts farmers were losing their farms because they
could not repay their debts to eastern creditors in hard currency.

• The desperate farmers demanded that the state legislature halt farm
foreclosures, lower property taxes, issue paper money, and end
imprisonment for debt.

• Led by Captain Daniel Shays, armed farmers closed a courthouse where

creditors were suing to foreclose farm mortgages.

• Wealthy Bostonians raised an army that quickly crushed the “rebellion.'

 • Causes

• Shays’ rebellion re ected the tensions between impoverished farmers and the wealthy
merchants who dominated the Massachusetts legislature.

• Signi cance

• Just before Shays’ Rebellion, ve states sent delegates to Annapolis to discuss trade
problems among the states. Although the Annapolis convention failed to resolve the
commercial problems, it did call upon Congress to summon a convention to revise the
Articles of Confederation.

• Shays’ Rebellion frightened many conservatives who feared a breakdown of law and order.

• The “great commotion” in Massachusetts convinced George Washington, James Madison,

and other key leaders that the United States needed a stronger national government.
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The Constitution, 1787
Key Principles of the Constitution
• The framers believed that they needed to write a new constitution in order to achieve their goal of
forming “a more perfect Union.”+++++

• The framers also believed that governments should be limited and that power should be divided
into separate legislative, executive, and judicial branches. +++++ bureaucracy

• The framers believed that widespread ownership of property is a necessary foundation of

representative government.= republicanism election/represen…(democracy=authoritarian 提拔)

• The framers opposed political parties, seeing them as vehicles of ambition and sel sh interests
that would threaten the existence of a representative government. 1820s

• James Madison believed that a large republic would curb factionalism派系⽃争.（federalists

No.10） He reasoned that “in an expanding republic, so many di erent groups and viewpoints
would be included in the congress that tyranny by the majority 多数的暴政 would be impossible.”

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 Key provisions that were in the Constitution
(=compromise) submitted to the states in 1787
• A series of compromises that created a government acceptable to large and small states, as
well as to free and slave states.

• A bicameral congress based upon the great compromise between large and small states.
According to this compromise, representation in the House of Representatives would be
apportioned on the basis of population, while each state would be allotted two seats in the
Senate.

• A congress with the authority to levy taxes, declare war, and regulate interstate commerce.
• An executive branch led by a president. The president would be required to deliver an annual
state of the union message.

• An electoral college designed to safeguard the presidency from direct popular election, the
framers believed this would insulate the presidency from the threat of “excessive democracy.”
 • An independent judiciary (jurisdiction管辖权) branch with federal judges appointed by the president and
con rmed by the Senate. As a result, the judiciary branch would be insulated from popular control.

• A federal system(=unitary system) of government is one in which power is divided between a central
government and state governments.

• A “necessary and proper” clause is also known as the elastic clause. It gives Congress the power to
make laws necessary for carrying out its enumerated powers. The elastic clause contradicted states’
rights.

• Bill of Rights (states rights and civil liberties)

• A system of checks and balances that included the following:

• Congress can override a presidential veto by a two-thirds vote in each house. 1415

• The president can veto an act of congress

• The President negotiates treaties that must be rati ed by the Senate.

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 Key provisions that were not in the Constitution
submitted to the states in 1787

• Universal manhood su rage

• The direct election of senators/president (17th, 1913)

• The two-term limit for a president (22th, 1951)

• Political parties (1820s)

• A presidential cabinet

• A Bill of Rights (rati cation conventions)

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 The Constitution and Slavery
• As the framers met in Philadelphia, a “First Emancipation” was already being implemented in the
North. At that time, Northern states had eliminated or were gradually eliminating slavery. In addition,
the confederation congress had already excluded slavery from the northwest territory. As a result,
slavery was becoming a distinctive Southern institution.

• Although the words “slave” and “slavery” did not appear in the original constitution, it nonetheless
guaranteed the legality of slavery in every state. This contradicted the assertion in the Declaration of
Independence that “all men are created equal.”

• The Three-Fifths Compromise resolved a dispute between the slave states and the free states. Under
the terms of this compromise each slave counted as three- fths of a person for the purpose of
determining a state’s level of taxation and representation of the slave states and gave them a greater
voice in the electoral college.

• The constitution contained a provision requiring all states to return runaways to their masters.
• Congress could not end the importation of slaves until 1808.******
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“In the new code of laws which I suppose it will be necessary for you
to make, I desire you would remember the ladies, and be more
generous and favorable to them than your ancestors. Do not put
such unlimited power into the hands of husbands.”

– Abigail Adams
 Key Quote- Abigal Adams’ “Remembering the
Ladies” letter to John Adams
• The setting

• Married women had no legal identity apart from their husbands.

• Women could not vote, hold a political o ce, or serve on a jury.

• Abigail Adams was a well-educated woman who was an early proponent of women’s
rights.

• Signi cance

• Abigail Adams urges her husband, John Adams, to advocate greater rights for women.

• The quote shows that there were colonial women who sought to bene t from republican
ideals of equality and individual rights by asking for a greater political voice.
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 The Clash of
Federalists and
Antifederalists
1787-1788
• Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay wrote
a series of newspaper articles supporting the
Constitution, collectively known as The Federalist
Papers. These essays are the primary source for
understanding the original intent of the framers. They
were designed to persuade the states of the wisdom of a
strong central government coupled with autonomous
political power retained by the states

• The anti-federalists opposed the creation of a stronger

national government, arguing that a constitution would
threaten citizen’s personal liberties and e ectively make
the president a king, and a lack of a Bill of Rights.
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• In Federalist Paper No. 10, the Federalists argued that a “tyranny of the majority” threaten the economic ber
of the nation. They believed the new Constitution, through its checks and balances and the separation of the
three branches of government, would ensure protection of the minorities.

• They outlined the necessity of a government that would be forced to compromise as a result of the separate
powers of each branch. They also believed the Constitution had enough built-in safeguards for the rights of
individuals. The Constitution gave each state “full faith and credit” as well as a “republican” form of
government.

• In addition, the prohibition of the passage of ex post facto laws (laws that were retroactive in nature) 禁⽌追
溯 and bills of attainder laws (laws that dictated prison sentences for the accused who were not given a trial),
and the prohibition of suspending the writ of habeas corpus (终⽌⼈身保护令) gave individuals protection
against a tyrannical federal government.

• Finally, the proposed constitution will create a federal government with enough power to preserve domestic
tranquility安宁 by quickly responding to disturbances such as Shays’ Rebellion.

• Typically, the Federalists represented the upper class: bankers, and rich large-property owners. Their
economic philosophy was clearly expressed throughout the Federalist Papers.

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• The Anti-Federalists, led by the newly emerging middle class, had George Mason and Richard Henry
Lee as their chief spokesmen. In a rival publication to the Federalist publications, Pennsylvania
Packet and Letters from the Federal Farmer, and through individual essays penned under the name of
Brutus, they argued that the principles of the Declaration of Independence would be eroded by the
new Constitution. They believed the Constitution would rmly establish an economic elite and create
the potential for an abusive federal government, especially in the area of protecting individual rights.

• The Anti-Federalists insisted that a Bill of Rights had to be part of the new Constitution—otherwise, a
powerful president supported by the Congress could easily abuse the civil liberties of the individual.
Additionally, the sovereignty of the states became a concern, even with the guarantees provided.

• Nowhere was this argument more heated than in New York. The Anti-Federalists prevented the
approval of the Constitution until Madison and Hamilton guaranteed that the rst Congress would
approve a bill of rights.

• Typically, the Anti-Federalists represented the farmers and the so-called common people. They
rejected the elitist base represented by the Federalists.
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 • Brutus No. 1 starts a series of
essays written by Anti-Federalists,
including Robert Yates, Patrick
Henry, and John DeWitt. The rst
essay makes an argument against
the rati cation of the U.S.
Constitution by New York.

• Brutus was afraid the new

government would become
despotic专制的 and take away
people’s liberty. The essay argued
for a written Bill of Rights to be
included in the Constitution. Brutus
also argues that the three branches
of government were too powerful.
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• In Federalist No. 10, Madison pointed out that factions could ultimately paralyze e ective
government. One of the rst examples was Shays’ Rebellion. Former patriot soldier
Daniel Shays organized a group of angry Massachusetts farmers attempting to forestall
foreclosure. They took up arms against the local authorities. Shays was arrested, and the
revolt failed.

• In Brutus No. 1 argued, in contrast, “In a republic of such vast extent as the United-
States, the legislature cannot attend to the various concerns and wants of its di erent
parts. It cannot be su ciently numerous to be acquainted with the local condition and
wants of the di erent districts, and if it could, it is impossible it should have su cient
time to attend to and provide for all the variety of cases of this nature, that would be
continually arising.” 州权pk联邦政府

• Even the overall ght over the rati cation of the proposed constitution was waged on
“party lines.” Federalists supported rati cation. Anti-Federalists opposed rati cation. In
this case, the policy agenda was the adoption of a new constitution.
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 The Bill of Rights
• The Federalists pledged to add a bill of rights to protect the rights of
individuals and the states.

• The First Amendment guarantees freedom of speech, freedom of the

press, freedom of assembly, and freedom of religion=civil liberties/civil
rights

• The Fourth Amendment guards against unreasonable searches and

seizures.

• The Sixth Amendment guarantees defendants the right to a speedy trial.

 The Federalist Era
• 1789—1800=12 federalist party

• Hamilton’s nancial policies were designed to give the

propertied interests a stake in the success of the new
government. His plan included creating a national bank,
enacting a protective tari , expanding manufacturing, and
assuming the debts incurred by states during the
Revolutionary War.

• Je erson opposed Hamilton’s loose interpretation of the

necessary and proper clause to justify creating a national
bank. Je erson advocated a strict interpretation arguing
that what the constitution does not permit, it forbids.

• Shays’ Rebellion demonstrated the weakness of the

Articles of Confederation, while the Whiskey Rebellion
demonstrated the strength of the executive branch created
by the Constitution.

• Washington’s farewell address urged future leaders to

avoid forming permanent alliances with foreign nations.
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 Hamilton’s nancial program

• Goal

• To strengthen national nances and promote economic growth

• To give the propertied and nancial classes a stake in the success of the
new government

• To move the country away from its reliance on agriculture and toward an
economy based on commerce and manufacturing.
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• Alexander Hamilton (January 11, 1755, or 1757– July 12, 1804) was an American military o cer, statesman, and Founding
Father who served as the rst U.S. secretary of the treasury from 1789 to 1795 during George Washington's presidency.

• Born out of wedlock in Charlestown, Nevis, Hamilton was orphaned as a child and taken in by a prosperous merchant. He
pursued his education in New York City where, despite his young age, he was a proli c and widely read pamphleteer
advocating for the American revolutionary cause, though an anonymous one. He then served as an artillery o cer in the
American Revolutionary War, where he saw military action against the British in the New York and New Jersey campaign,
served for years as an aide to General George Washington, and helped secure American victory at the climactic Siege of
Yorktown. After the Revolutionary War, Hamilton served as a delegate from New York to the Congress of the Confederation
in Philadelphia. He resigned to practice law and founded the Bank of New York. In 1786, Hamilton led the Annapolis
Convention to replace the Articles of Confederation with the Constitution of the United States, which he helped ratify by
writing 51 of the 85 installments of The Federalist Papers.

• As a trusted member of President Washington's rst cabinet, Hamilton served as the rst U.S. secretary of the treasury. He
envisioned a central government led by an energetic president, a strong national defense, and an industrial economy. He
successfully argued that the implied powers of the Constitution provided the legal authority to fund the national debt,
assume the states' debts, and create the First Bank of the United States, which was funded by a tari on imports and a
whiskey tax. He opposed American entanglement with the succession of unstable French Revolutionary governments and
advocated in support of the Jay Treaty under which the U.S. resumed friendly trade relations with the British Empire. He
also persuaded Congress to establish the Revenue Cutter Service. Hamilton's views became the basis for the Federalist
Party, which was opposed by the Democratic-Republican Party led by Thomas Je erson. Hamilton and other Federalists
supported the Haitian Revolution, and Hamilton helped draft the constitution of Haiti.
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 • After resigning as Secretary of the Treasury, Hamilton resumed his legal and business
activities. He was a leader in the abolition of the international slave trade. In the Quasi-
War, Hamilton called for mobilization against France, and President John Adams
appointed him major general. The army, however, did not see combat. Outraged by
Adams' response to the crisis, Hamilton opposed his reelection campaign. Je erson and
Aaron Burr tied for the presidency in the electoral college and, despite philosophical
di erences, Hamilton endorsed Je erson over Burr, whom he found unprincipled. When
Burr ran for governor of New York in 1804, Hamilton again campaigned against him,
arguing that he was unworthy. Taking o ense, Burr challenged Hamilton to a duel. In the
July 11, 1804, duel in Weehawken, New Jersey, Burr shot Hamilton in the stomach.
Hamilton was immediately transported to the home of William Bayard Jr. in Greenwich
Village for medical attention, but succumbed to his wounds the following day.

• Scholars generally regard Hamilton as an astute and intellectually brilliant administrator,

politician, and nancier who was sometimes impetuous. His ideas are credited with
laying the foundation for American government and nance.
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• Components 汉密尔顿⾦融/经济新政=winner(propertied class)/losers(lower classes/
farmers)

• To fund the federal debt at face value with current holders of government bonds. 政
府债券

• To assume state debts incurred during the revolution.

• To adopt an excise tax on liquor to raise revenue to fund the nation’s debts.
• To impose tari s on imported goods to raise revenue and to protect America’s new
industries.

• To charter a national bank that would provide a stable currency and source of capital
for loans to fund the development of business and commerce.
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 The National Bank Debate

• Is a National Bank constitutional?

• Congress passed the bank bill over Madison’s objections. Before signing the bill
into law, Washington asked Je erson and Hamilton to compose written opinions
on the constitutionality of the bank bill.

• Washington’s request sparked America’s rst debate on constitutional

interpretation. Should there be a strict or broad interpretation of the constitution?
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 • Je erson’s arguments, democratic republican party leader, Virginia planter,
slave holder

• Je erson admitted that a bank would be a convenient aid to Congress in

regulating the currency and collecting taxes.

• However, Je erson forcefully argued that a national bank was not

absolutely necessary. The Constitution did not speci cally authorize
Congress to create a national bank. Je erson argued that what the
Constitution does not permit, it forbids. He concluded that the states, not
Congress, had the power to charter banks. “To take a single step beyond
the boundaries thus specially drawn around the powers of congress,”
Je erson wrote, “is to take possession of a boundless eld of power, no
longer susceptible of any de nition.
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• The Bank of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia. Designed by the architect Benjamin Latrobe
and built between 1798 and 1801, this elegant structure with Greek columns housed
one of the country’s rst banks. Hamilton’s program was intended to give the
country’s nancial leaders a stake in the stability of the federal government.
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• Hamilton’s arguments

• Hamilton argued that the constitution speci cally empowered congress to

collect taxes and regulate trade. A national bank would be more than a
convenience; it would be a necessary institution for carrying out these power.

• Hamilton believed that the necessary and proper clauses gave congress the
implied power to charter a national bank. He argued that what the
constitution does not forbid. It permits. “If the end,” Hamilton emphasized,
“be clearly comprehended within any of the speci ed powers, collecting
taxes and regulating currency, and if the measures have an obvious relation
to that end, and is not forbidden by any particular provision of the
constitution, it may safely be deemed to come within the compass of the
mutual authority.
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• Washington’s decision

• Hamilton’s arguments prevailed, and Washington signed the bank bill into
law, thus chartering the rst national bank of the United States.

• Hamilton’s “loose construction” theory of the constitution set an important

precedent for the expansion of federal power.
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 The Whiskey Rebellion, 1794
• Hamilton’s excise tax on liquor provoked resistance and evasion among frontier
farmers.

• Outraged farmers in western Pennsylvania tarred and feathered federal tax

collectors stopped court proceedings and blew up the stills of those who paid the
tax.

• Encouraged by Hamilton, Washington called out 12,9000 militiamen to suppress the

whiskey rebellion.

• It is interesting to compare Shays’ rebellion and the whiskey rebellion. Both involved
backcountry farmers whose protests tested the strength of new governments.
Shays’ rebellion demonstrated the weakness of the Articles of Confederation and the
need for a stronger national government. The suppression of the whiskey rebellion
demonstrated the strength of the new federal government. Washington’s prompt use
of force showed that it was no longer acceptable to challenge unpopular laws with
the type of revolutionary tactics used during the Stamp Act crisis.
Foreign affairs under Washington
• Washington’s Neutrality Proclamation 1789=isolationism 孤⽴主义

• The French Revolution soon led to a prolonged war between Great Britain
and France that did not end until Napoleon’s nal defeat at Waterloo in 1815.

• Under the terms of the Franco-American alliance of 1778, the United States
was a French ally, bound to defend her possessions in the West Indies.
Washington resisted pressure from supporters of both France and Great
Britain. On April 22, 1793, he issued a neutrality proclamation declaring the
United States “friendly and impartial toward the belligerent powers.” As
America’s chief diplomat, Washington did not require the consent of either
Congress or his cabinet to issue the neutrality proclamation.
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• Jay’s Treaty, 1794
• A number of issues strained relations between the United States and Great
Britain. The British still refused to evacuate forts in the northwest territory. In
addition, British naval commanders seized neutral ships trading with the French
West Indies. This policy led to the seizure of some 250 American merchant ships.

• Determined to avoid war with Great Britain, Washington sent Chief Justice John
Jay to London with orders to negotiate a treaty resolving the issues dividing the
two countries. Jay brought back a treaty in which the British promised to
evacuate the northwest forts and pay damages for seized American ships.
However, they refused to renounce their right to make future seizures. Jay also
agreed that the United States would pay the debts owed to British merchants on
pre-revolution accounts.
 • Jay’s Treaty had several important diplomatic consequences. It kept the
peace with Great Britain, strained relations with France, and induced Spain
to agree to a surprisingly favorable treaty. The Spanish feared that Jay’s
treaty foreshadowed an Anglo-American alliance. They, therefore, signed
Pinckney’s Treaty of 1795, granting the United States free navigation of the
Mississippi River and the right to deposit goods in New Orleans.

• Jay’s Treaty also had signi cant domestic consequences. Led by

Je erson, southern planters vehemently opposed the treaty. They
protested that it forced them to pay the lion’s share of pre-revolutionary
debts while New England merchants collected damages from their seized
ships. The rati cation ght over Jay’s Treaty played a crucial role in
exacerbating the increasingly bitter disputes between Hamilton’s federalist
supporters and Je erson’s Democratic-Republican supporters.
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• Washington’s farewell address, 1796 (1793)

• In his famous farewell address to the nation, Washington urged future

American leaders to avoid forming permanent alliances with foreign
nations.

• Washington’s farewell address had a signi cant impact upon American

foreign policy. For example, following World War I, Republican
congressmen used Washington’s views to justify a policy of isolationism to
avoid becoming entangled in European con icts.
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