American Pageant Chapter 9 APUSH Review (Period 3)
Summary
TLDRThis educational video explores the early years of the United States, focusing on the Articles of Confederation and its shortcomings. It highlights the creation of state governments post-independence, each with their own constitution and varying powers. The video discusses the unicameral Congress, lack of executive and judicial branches, and the inability to tax, which led to financial crises. It also covers the Northwest Ordinances, foreign policy issues, and internal rebellions like Shay's Rebellion, which underscored the need for a stronger central government. The Constitutional Convention of 1787 and the resulting Constitution are examined, including compromises like the Great Compromise and the Three-Fifths Compromise, and the establishment of a federal system with checks and balances.
Takeaways
- 🏛️ The first national government under the Articles of Confederation was weak and had limited powers, intentionally designed to prevent centralized authority.
- 🌟 State governments were established with their own constitutions, often featuring a separation of powers, property requirements for voting, and Bills of Rights to protect individual liberties.
- 📜 The Articles of Confederation faced challenges such as the inability to tax, regulate trade, and enforce laws due to the lack of an executive branch and judiciary.
- 🛣️ The Land Ordinance of 1785 and the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 were significant achievements of the Articles, establishing a system for territories to become states and prohibiting slavery north of the Ohio River.
- 🚦 The financial problems of the young nation, including a large debt and worthless paper money, highlighted the need for a stronger central government.
- 🏰 External threats like England's refusal to leave the Northwest territories and Spain's closure of the Mississippi River to American shipping added to the calls for a stronger federal government.
- 🏺 Shay's Rebellion exemplified internal strife and the inability of the Articles of Confederation to maintain order, leading to increased demands for a more effective government.
- 🤝 The Constitutional Convention in 1787 was initially intended to revise the Articles but resulted in the creation of an entirely new federal government under the U.S. Constitution.
- ⚖️ Key compromises at the Convention included the Great Compromise (bicameral legislature with equal and proportional representation) and the Three-Fifths Compromise regarding the counting of slaves for representation.
- 📜 The U.S. Constitution, once ratified, established a government based on popular sovereignty, separation of powers, federalism, and a system of checks and balances, with the Constitution as the supreme law of the land.
Q & A
What was the main concern of the states when creating their own governments after independence?
-The main concern was safeguarding liberties and preventing centralized power, especially in the executive branch, which led to the establishment of a separation of powers among the legislative, executive, and judicial branches.
Why were property qualifications maintained in many states for voter eligibility?
-Property qualifications were maintained in many states to limit voting rights to those who owned property, reflecting the belief that those with a stake in society should have a say in its governance.
What was the significance of the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom?
-The Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, authored by Thomas Jefferson, was significant because it disestablished the Church of England and provided religious freedom for all, including Jews and Catholics, which was a progressive step at the time.
Why was the Articles of Confederation considered weak as a national government?
-The Articles of Confederation was considered weak because it had a unicameral Congress, no executive branch, no power to tax, and could not regulate trade between states, which severely limited its ability to effectively govern.
What were some of the key weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation?
-Key weaknesses included the requirement of nine out of thirteen states to pass laws, equal representation for all states regardless of size, and the need for unanimous consent to amend the Articles.
How did the Land Ordinance of 1785 and the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 contribute to the success of the Articles of Confederation?
-The Land Ordinance of 1785 established a system for surveying and selling land in the Northwest Territory, with a section set aside for public education. The Northwest Ordinance of 1787 set up a system for territories to become states and banned slavery north of the Ohio River, contributing to the growth and organization of the nation.
What foreign policy problems did the United States face under the Articles of Confederation?
-Under the Articles of Confederation, the United States faced problems with England, who was building forts in the Northwest and disrupting trade, Spain, who banned American shipping along the Mississippi River, and pirates like the Barbary pirates who harassed American shipping.
What was Shay's Rebellion and why was it significant?
-Shay's Rebellion was a protest led by Daniel Shays against economic hardships and tax collection in Massachusetts. It was significant because it highlighted the need for a stronger central government to address internal threats and maintain order.
What was the main purpose of the Constitutional Convention of 1787?
-The main purpose of the Constitutional Convention was to revise the Articles of Confederation, but the delegates ultimately decided to create an entirely new federal government with a stronger central authority.
What were the key compromises made during the Constitutional Convention?
-The key compromises included the Great Compromise (bicameral legislature with equal representation in the Senate and proportional representation in the House), the Three-Fifths Compromise (counting slaves as three-fifths of a person for representation and taxation purposes), and the agreement to allow the slave trade to continue until 1808.
How did the Federalist Papers contribute to the ratification of the Constitution?
-The Federalist Papers, written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay, were a series of essays that aimed to persuade the public to support the ratification of the Constitution by outlining its benefits and addressing concerns about a strong central government.
Outlines
🏛️ Formation of State Governments and the Articles of Confederation
This paragraph discusses the establishment of state governments by the 13 colonies post-independence, each creating its own constitution with a separation of powers. It highlights the fear of centralized power, leading to a strong legislative branch and property qualifications for voting. The paragraph also touches on the creation of the first national government under the Articles of Confederation, drafted by John Dickinson in 1777 and ratified in 1781. It points out the weaknesses of this government, including its unicameral Congress, lack of an executive branch, and no power to tax, which led to financial problems and its eventual replacement by the Constitution.
🌱 The Northwest Ordinances and Early Foreign Policy Challenges
The second paragraph focuses on the Articles of Confederation's achievements, particularly the Northwest Ordinances. It details the Land Ordinance of 1785, which set up a system for surveying and selling land, with a section set aside for public education. The Northwest Ordinance of 1787 established a process for territories to become states and banned slavery north of the Ohio River. The paragraph also discusses foreign policy issues faced by the young United States, including disputes with England, Spain, and France, as well as internal threats like Shay's Rebellion, which highlighted the need for a stronger central government.
🏰 Shay's Rebellion and the Call for a Stronger Central Government
This paragraph delves into Shay's Rebellion, an uprising led by Daniel Shays in Massachusetts, sparked by economic hardships and debt. The rebellion, which the government under the Articles of Confederation was too weak to quell, underscored the need for a stronger federal government. It also revealed tensions between the frontier and the East Coast, leading to calls for a new government. The paragraph concludes with the Annapolis Convention of 1786 and the subsequent Constitutional Convention of 1787, where delegates aimed to create a new, stronger central government, leading to compromises like the Great Compromise and the Three-Fifths Compromise.
📜 The Constitutional Convention and the Creation of the U.S. Constitution
The final paragraph covers the debates and compromises at the Constitutional Convention, including the contentious issue of slavery and its impact on representation and the slave trade. It discusses the three-fifths compromise and the eventual agreement to allow the slave trade until 1808. The paragraph also outlines the ratification process, the Federalist and Anti-Federalist debates, and the eventual adoption of the Constitution with the promise of a Bill of Rights. It concludes by summarizing key features of the Constitution, such as popular sovereignty, separation of powers, federalism, and the Electoral College system for presidential elections.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Articles of Confederation
💡Separation of Powers
💡Republicanism
💡Northwest Ordinance
💡Shay's Rebellion
💡Constitutional Convention
💡Federalism
💡Bill of Rights
💡Electoral College
💡Three-Fifths Compromise
Highlights
The 13 colonies had to create their own state governments after independence, each with its own written plan under a state constitution.
Most state governments had a separation of powers with the legislative branch holding most of the power to prevent centralized authority.
Property qualifications were common for voter eligibility in many states, limiting voting rights to white males with property.
Virginia created a statue for religious freedom by Thomas Jefferson, a precursor to the First Amendment.
The Articles of Confederation was the first national government of the United States, drafted by John Dickinson in 1777.
Under the Articles, the government had limited power, including no power to tax or regulate trade between states.
The government under the Articles faced financial problems due to a large debt and worthless paper money.
The Northwest Ordinance of 1785 and 1787 were significant accomplishments of the Articles, establishing principles for new states and banning slavery north of the Ohio River.
Foreign policy problems included issues with England, Spain, France, and piracy, highlighting the need for a stronger central government.
Shay's Rebellion in 1786 showed the weakness of the government under the Articles and increased calls for a stronger central government.
The Constitutional Convention in 1787 aimed to revise the Articles but resulted in the creation of an entirely new federal government.
The Virginia Plan and the New Jersey Plan were debated for representation in Congress, leading to the Great Compromise.
The Three-Fifths Compromise allowed slaves to be counted as three-fifths of a person for representation and taxation purposes.
The slave trade was allowed to continue until 1808, as decided during the Constitutional Convention.
The Federalist Papers were written to persuade people to support the ratification of the Constitution.
The promise of a Bill of Rights helped secure ratification of the Constitution, which would become the supreme law of the land.
The Constitution established a government based on popular sovereignty, separation of powers, and federalism, with checks and balances.
Presidents under the Constitution would be elected by the Electoral College, not directly by the voters.
Transcripts
what's going down history people today
we're going to take a look at our first
national government the Articles of
Confederation we're going to see how it
failed where it did have some success
and ultimately why was it replaced by
the new federal government under the
Constitution now before we get into any
national governments one thing you need
to keep in mind is all of the 13
colonies upon independence had to create
their own state governments so each
state is going to set up its own written
plan of government under state
constitution and they're gonna look very
different depending upon which state you
focus on now they do share some
characteristics and one of those things
is a separation of powers power was
typically split between three branches
of government the legislative branch
executive branch and the judicial branch
and most of the power in many of the
states was in the legislative branch
they were worried about centralized
power especially in the executive branch
so no two powerful governors in these
states the whole idea of separation of
powers was to safeguard the liberties
that they are fighting for and
eventually will win with the American
Revolution some states had different
property requirements these were typical
for voter eligibility in fact many
states maintain property qualifications
in order to vote in other words if you
were a white male sorry
only white males are able to vote in the
new nation if you were a white male you
had to have property in order to be able
to vote so the American Revolution
didn't change that reality in many
states some states it did many states
included Bill of Rights that outline
basic freedoms in the state constitution
so freedom of religion trial by jury and
other rights that they were worried
might be taken away by too powerful of a
government in fact one state in
particular Virginia created the statue
for religious freedom by Thomas
Jefferson this was passed by the
Virginian assembly and it D established
the Church of England
provided religious freedom for all
including Jews and Catholics who
typically were ignored when we talked
about religious freedom and Jefferson
was very proud of this accomplishment
way before the Bill of Rights or the
First Amendment establishing religious
freedom now important to keep in mind is
all these different state governments no
matter what their different rules were
they were set up based upon the idea of
republicanism and this meant power comes
from the people and it's based upon
consent however there would be debates
over what republicanism would look like
in the new nation and as I said some
states maintain property qualifications
for voting while others abolish them
during the American Revolution our first
national government is set up under the
Articles of Confederation this is the
first national government of the United
States it's drafted by John Dickinson
during the American Revolution he
actually submits it in 1777 during the
fighting but it took some time to ratify
because the different states were
disputing who controlled land out in the
West there was all sorts of arguments
and it's not formally ratified until
1781 now this government it could
conduct foreign policy it could borrow
money it could make treaties sounds like
a lot of power right there however it's
extremely important to keep in mind
under the Articles of Confederation the
government was weak it had limited power
and they did that intentionally because
of their experiences with King George
and Parliament and their experiences
with England in general so some examples
of the weaknesses it had a unicameral
Congress unicameral meaning one house
only one house there's no executive
branch no president no prime minister in
fact there's no court system so no
executive branch to enforce the laws it
has no power to tax the Articles of
Confederation gave the government no
power to tax and that's going to be a
big problem and it could not regulate
trade between different states some
other problems under the Articles of
Confederation include it took nine votes
out of 13 to pass laws that mean nine
states out of thirteen way
more than a majority needed to agree to
pass any laws all states regardless of
size had one vote so the most populated
state Virginia had the same amount of
representation as a smaller state such
as Rhode Island and if you want it to
change the Articles of Confederation to
amend it all thirteen states must agree
in order to make any changes and that's
nearly impossible big thing that happens
is under the Articles of Confederation
financial problems plagued the young
nation there was a large debt as a
result of the American Revolution paper
money was being printed and it was
worthless there's no ability to tax and
you had to rely on the states to just
send money to the government and it's
not going to work out very well in spite
of these challenges there is some things
the Articles do well and that's really
seen in the northwest ordinances one of
the biggest accomplishments of the
Articles of Confederation the first one
is the land ordinance of 1785 and it
established the principle that
territories could become States as their
populations grew and we're really
talking about this territory right in
here the old northwest and the US
government under the Articles would sell
the land in order to raise money and pay
off the debt under the land ordinance of
1785 it sets up a system for surveying
the land and selling that land in the
northwest so they would survey the land
as you can see right here they would
divide it up into townships and an
important part of the ordinance of 1785
was that one section of the land would
be set aside for public education and
this was a pretty progressive idea at
the time for the government to be
setting aside land for public edie
and then finally the third law under the
Northwest ordinances is the Northwest
Ordinance of 1787 this set up the system
for territories to enter the union as
new States and you could see the five
states that will eventually be created
out of this chunk of territory it said
once a territory reached 60,000
residents they could petition to become
a state and they could become a state
and they would be
equal to the existing states but under
the ordinance of 1787 they did something
they banned slavery north of the Ohio
River in this territory and this is
obviously going to lead to further
divisions between the north and the
south as time goes on in this early
period the United States is going to
face many threats many foreign policy
problems from a variety of sources and
one is our old mama England in fact
England was building forts in this
territory remember they still occupied
Canada they're building forts in the old
Northwest they're supposed to remove
those forts they don't there is
disruptions in trade between the United
States and England and they're giving
weapons to the Native Americans in this
region which is very often then being
used on Americans in the frontier so
there's a lot of problems in tensions
continuing between the US and England
another problem came from Spain when in
1784 they banned American shipping along
the Mississippi River they basically
shut off the Port of New Orleans right
over here and this is a huge problem
because this is basically the highway
that trade traveled on and really if you
look at this map roughly half of the
territory of the United States was
really not firmly in their control we're
also going to have some problems with
our former allies France they start
demanding repayment of loans that they
had given us during the American
Revolution and eventually they're going
to have their own revolution the French
Revolution which is going to cause a lot
of problems later on then lastly you'll
never believe it
but pirates also were causing problems
for the United States in this early
period the Barbary pirates were over
here in North Africa and the
Mediterranean Sea and in this area and
they start harassing American shipping
previous to this period we had the
protection of the powerful British Navy
since there are mama and now that we're
free we have to do our fighting on our
own and we're not equipped to deal with
these multiple threats so you have all
these foreign policy problems for the
young nation then you have threats from
within and that really could be seen
with Shaye's
rebellion recall following the American
Revolution the economy suffered a
post-war depression the economy is doing
really poorly the money's worth nothing
and particularly hard-hit were farmers
since the Articles of Confederation
can't tax the debt is growing and many
states are printing paper money that is
basically worthless as a result of these
problems you have something called
Shay's rebellion sparking in 1786 and
Daniel shade the guy who the rebellion
is named after is a veteran of the
American Revolution and he's a farmer in
Massachusetts and he leads a rebellion
of poor farmers in the state of
Massachusetts many of these farmers were
seeing their farms foreclosed they were
taken over by the bank and in order to
deal with this they start organizing
they have some demands they want lower
taxes they want the end of foreclosures
they don't want their farms taking over
they want the printing of paper money so
that they can help pay their debts off
easier and they also want the end of
imprisonment for debt you could actually
go to jail if you didn't pay your bills
back then these farmers don't get their
demands met and they begin to organize
into mobs that stop the collection of
taxes they start closing down the courts
where the debtors were being put on
trial and there's even a mob of farmers
that try to seize the weapons from the
armory where all the guns are kept now
here's the thing about Shay's rebellion
the government under the Articles of
Confederation was too weak to put the
rebellion down so these farmers are not
paying their taxes they're shutting down
the court systems and the government
really can't put this rebellion down and
you can see it's happening throughout
the state of Massachusetts eventually a
militia breaks up the rebellion and
Shay's rebellion kind of fades away but
what's important about this and make
sure you know it it increased calls for
a stronger central government there's a
real fear amongst the propertied classes
the moneyed that this rebellion is a
sign of things to come and we need a
strong government to deal with these
potential rebellions another important
thing about Shay's rebellion is it
reveals tensions between those people in
the back
country those people out in the frontier
and the people that are on the East
Coast the more wealthy the more property
the more money following chase
rebellions some people wanted a new
government to be formed and there was a
growing demand that something be done to
address the problems facing the nation
under the Articles of Confederation you
can see in the blue some of the things
we've already mentioned there is a
meeting in 1786 at Annapolis it's called
the Annapolis convention only five
states attend to discuss trade and
commerce it's not a really successful
meeting in terms of accomplishing
anything but two people at the meeting
Alexander Hamilton and James Madison
agree we're going to meet up again in
Philadelphia in one year and that's
exactly what they do and this event
becomes the Constitutional Convention in
1787 the purpose of the meeting was for
revising the articles in fact the 55
delegates who go there sent for the sole
and express purpose of revising the
Articles of Confederation they're going
there with the plan that we're going to
fix this thing and make it a little bit
better 12 States show up at the
Constitutional Convention no Rhode
Island you got some all-stars you can
see him in that painting you got George
Washington he's the president of the
convention Ben Franklin's in the house
at 81 years old and you got a whole
bunch of other people and what they
decide these 55 delegates they very
quickly decided to create an entirely
new stronger central government they're
going to get rid of the Articles of
Confederation and replace it with a new
federal government interesting to note
who's not there Thomas Jefferson is over
in Europe so is John Adams and some of
the more radical members of the American
Revolution Patrick Henry Sam Adams they
are suspicious of this group and they're
really worried about the formation of a
more powerful government but they're
doing it anyhow and so here's what
happens they do need to make a lot of
compromises at the Constitutional
Convention there's a lot of
disagreements make sure you know about
them and the biggie is about
representation
Congress how were they going to
determine the number of people who are
elected into Congress per state and
there's a lot riding on this decision
because the more votes the more power
remember under the Articles every state
had one vote regardless of size and you
can see on the map you got 13 states and
they have wildly different levels of
population James Madison introduced his
plan called the Virginia Plan oftentimes
kind of referred to as the large state
plan and this said we should set up a
bicameral to house legislature and
representation would be based on
population meaning the more people you
have living in the state the more people
you would get that would be able to
serve in Congress clearly if you're a
small state you don't like this plan and
they had their own plan sometimes
referred to as the New Jersey Plan and
this was favored by small states they
say let's have a unicameral legislature
one house and each state would have
equal representation there's a lot of
tension over this issue but luckily
there's a compromise it's called great
compromise introduced by Roger Sherman
sometimes referred to as the Connecticut
plan and here's what they do they're
going to take elements of both plans
you're going to have a bicameral
legislature so you're going to have a
two house the upper house the Senate two
representatives per state so it didn't
matter how big or small your state was
you're going to get two senators and in
the lower house the House of
Representatives the representation would
be based upon population so the more
people living in the state the more
people you get to elect while they solve
the population issue another issue kind
of hovered over the Constitutional
Convention and that has to do with
slavery there was a debate over whether
slaves should be counted in the state
population and southerners said yes you
should count our slaves so we can get
more representatives northerners say no
you don't give them any political or
social or economic rights so the answer
is no they come up with a very
controversial compromise called the
three-fifths compromise and basically
what it said slaves would be counted as
three-fifths
of a person when deciding representation
in the House of Reps so each slave would
count as three-fifths and by doing so
this adds more representatives in the
House of Reps for southern states
which tended to have large slave
populations another agreement
surrounding the issue of slavery has to
do with the slave trade how much longer
should we allow people to be forcibly
brought to this new nation founded upon
liberty and freedom and all that good
stuff and at the convention they decide
they're going to allow the slave trade
to continue until 1808 and for another
20 years slaves are allowed to be
brought into the United States and then
finally although the word slave or
slavery was not used in the Constitution
it's important to note the institution
of slavery was very much protected by
the original document they even have a
Fugitive Slave Clause which is added
which says if your slave runs away you
are able to reacquire your property and
bring them back to your plantation or
farm there's other debates and conflicts
at the Constitutional Convention but
eventually they create a document and
they have to figure out whether or not
we're going to ratify or approve it the
Constitution would only take effect if 9
out of 13 states ratified it and there
are going to be supporters and haters on
both sides the Federalists were those
individuals who were the supporters of
the Constitution and they really favored
a strong central government on the other
end were the anti-federalists people
like Thomas Jefferson even though he was
over in Europe these were the critics of
the Constitution and they favored a weak
central government yes there were flaws
with the Articles of Confederation but
this new government in their mind was
giving too much power to the central
government and anti-federalists were
very much opposed to ratification they
tended to favor state rights you do have
people trying to convince those who did
not want ratification and you could see
this in the Federalist Papers these are
85 essays largely written by James
Madison and Hamilton but you also got
some by John Jay and they were designed
to persuade people to support
ratification of the Constitution
eventually the thing that helps get
enough anti federalists to support
ratification is the guarantee of a Bill
of Rights that would be added to the
Constitution the first ten amendments
would be added later on and the idea
behind the Bill of Rights is it
enumerated it's spelled out specifically
individual rights and explicitly
restricted powers of the federal
government and the new government will
take effect in 1789 when George
Washington takes office as the nation's
first president finally some stuff you
should know about the Constitution the
Constitution set up a government based
upon popular sovereignty and this means
power is in the hands of the people they
are the source of a government's power
separation of powers between the three
branches of government is very much a
part of this constitutional system and
it's important to note that the power of
government is limited and there are
checks and balances and a separation of
powers embedded in this document another
concept you should know about is the
fact that the Constitution set up a
division of power between the national
and state governments both the national
and state governments have power and
this is the system known as federalism
but it's also important to note that the
federal government the national
government ultimately has supremacy over
the states ratification meant the
Constitution would be the supreme law of
the land and lastly under the
Constitution presidents would not be
elected directly by the voters in fact
the framers of the Constitution wanted
to limit excessive popular influence
they feared too much democracy would
lead to mob rule number these were men
of property and money so they created
the Electoral College as the means of
electing the President of the United
States that's going to do it thank you
for watching if you learned some stuff
click like on the video if you haven't
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post them in the comment section and
make sure you check out our website have
a beautiful day peace
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