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United States History, Independence to 1914: Chapter 4 This chapter of our textbook details the period immediately following the American Revolution, the government created by the Articles of Confederation, the weaknesses of that government, and the problems the country faced. The failures of the Articles of Confederation ultimately led to a Constitutional Convention held in Philadelphia from May through September of 1787, which created the government we still have today.

Notes on The Articles of Confederation Government:These notes detail the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation government, with emphasis place on the economic problems created by weak government.

Notes on Shays' Rebellion: An explanation of how the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation led to economic collapse that led veterans of the American Revolution to rebel against they government they helped to create.

Notes on the Constitutional Convention: Detailing the process by which the current government of the United States of America was first created.

Notes on Federalists versus Anti-Federalists: These notes explain the struggle to ratify (approve) the Constitution at the state level, and describe the positions and beliefs of Federalists (those who supported a stronger central government) and Anti-Federalists (those who supported states rights).

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• Making Rules The American Revolution began the process of creating a new nation in a number of different ways; by protesting British rule through legal and extra-legal actions; by waging a war to end America's status as a colonized territory; and by designing new forms of government for what Patriots hoped would become independent states.
• State Constitutions The states now faced serious and complicated questions about how to make their rules. What did it mean to replace royal authority with institutions based on popular rule? How was "POPULAR SOVEREIGNTY" (the idea that the people were the highest authority) to be institutionalized in the new state governments? For that matter, who were "the people"?
• Articles of Confederation While the state constitutions were being created, the Continental Congress continued to meet as a general political body. Despite being the central government, it was a loose confederation and most significant power was held by the individual states. By 1777 members of Congress realized that they should have some clearly written rules for how they were organized. As a result the ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION were drafted and passed by the Congress in November.
• Evaluating the Congress The central failure of the Congress was related to its limited FISCAL POWER. Because it could not impose taxes on the states, the national government's authority and effectiveness was severely limited. Given this major encumbrance, the accomplishments of the Congress were quite impressive. First of all, it raised the Continental Army, kept it in the field, and managed to finance the war effort.
• The Economic Crisis of the 1780's The economic problems faced by the Congress deeply touched the lives of most Americans in the 1780s. The war had disrupted much of the American economy. On the high seas the BRITISH NAVY had great superiority and destroyed most American ships, crippling the flow of trade. On land, where both armies regularly stole from local farms in order to find food, farmers suffered tremendously.
• Drafting the Constitution The 1780s has often been termed the "CRITICAL PERIOD" for the new nation. The dangers posed by economic crisis and the disillusionment that came with the collapse of Revolutionary expectations for dramatically improved conditions combined to make the decade a period of discontent, reconsideration, and, in the end, a dramatic new proposal for redirecting the nation. Just as the Revolution had been born of diverse and sometimes conflicting perspectives, even among the Patriots, so too, ideas about the future of the United States in the 1780's were often cast in dramatic opposition to one another.
• Shays' Rebellion The crisis of the 1780's was most intense in the rural and relatively newly settled areas of central and western Massachusetts. Many farmers in this area suffered from high debt as they tried to start new farms. Unlike many other state legislatures in the 1780's, the Massachusetts government didn't respond to the economic crisis by passing PRO-DEBTOR LAWS (like forgiving debt and printing more PAPER MONEY). As a result local sheriffs seized many farms and some farmers who couldn't pay their debts were put in prison.
• A Cast of National Superstars At the same time that Shays' Rebellion attempted to force the government to take a new course of action in response to hard times, another group of Americans gathered to consider a very different vision for the future of the republic. The group was especially concerned about economic policy and the way that competing state policies often worked at cross-purposes. Responding to such concerns, the Virginia legislature called for a convention to meet in Annapolis, Maryland, in 1786 to discuss commercial matters. Only twelve delegates came from five states, but they agreed to meet again the next year in Philadelphia.
• The Tough Issues In spite of the common vision and status that linked most of the delegates to the Philadelphia Convention, no obvious route existed for how to revise the Articles of Confederation to build a stronger central government.
• Constitution Through Compromise "REPRESENTATION" remained the core issue for the Philadelphia Convention. What was the best way for authority to be delegated from the people and the states to a strengthened central government?
• Ratifying the Constitution A framework for a new and stronger national government had been crafted at the Philadelphia Convention by a handful of leaders. But how could their proposed system be made into law?
• Federalists The supporters of the proposed Constitution called themselves "FEDERALISTS." Their adopted name implied a commitment to a loose, decentralized system of government. In many respects "FEDERALISM" — which implies a strong central government — was the opposite of the proposed plan that they supported. A more accurate name for the supporters of the Constitution would have been "NATIONALISTS."
• Antifederalists The ANTIFEDERALISTS were a diverse coalition of people who opposed ratification of the Constitution. Although less well organized than the Federalists, they also had an impressive group of leaders who were especially prominent in state politics.
• The Ratification Process: State by State The ratification process started when the Congress turned the Constitution over to the state legislatures for consideration through specially elected state conventions of the people. Five state conventions voted to approve the Constitution almost immediately (December 1787 to January 1788) and in all of them the vote was unanimous (Delaware, New Jersey, Georgia) or lopsided (Pennsylvania, Connecticut). Clearly, the well-organized Federalists began the contest in strong shape as they rapidly secured five of the nine states needed to make the Constitution law. The Constitution seemed to have easy, broad, and popular support.
• After the Fact: Virginia, New York, and "The Federalist Papers" The convention in Virginia began its debate before nine states had approved the Constitution, but the contest was so close and bitterly fought that it lasted past the point when the technical number needed to ratify had been reached. Nevertheless, Virginia's decision was crucial to the nation. Who can imagine the early history of the United States if Virginia had not joined the union? What if leaders like George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison had not been allowed to hold national political office? In the end Virginia approved the Constitution, with recommended amendments, in an especially close vote (89-79). Only one major state remained, the Constitution was close to getting the broad support that it needed to be effective.
• The Antifederalists' Victory in Defeat With the narrow approval of the Constitution in Virginia and New York, in June and July 1788, respectively, the Federalists seemed to have won an all-out victory. The relatively small states of North Carolina and Rhode Island would hold out longer, but with 11 states ratifying and all the populous ones among them, the Federalists had successfully waged a remarkable political campaign of enormous significance and sweeping change.

"A More Perfect Union"