Question

Describe the process that the new nation went through in forming the government

Answer 1

The Articles of Confederation (1777) was the document that established the first government in the United States. However, it gave too little power to the federal government, because the creators were very cautious about accidentally creating a government the resembled the monarchy of England. It only took a year for the government to realize that the Articles of Confederation were not working and they needed to change it. At first, they did attempt to change it at the Grand Convention, but then they agreed that the Articles should just be replaced. The Constitutional Convention was called for, located in Independence Hall in Philadelphia. It included delegates from 12 of the 13 states, excluding Rhode Island. George Washington led the convention. Each state got one vote. It included many compromises. The first compromise resulted from the disagreement about representation in Congress. Smaller states wanted an equal amount of representatives from each state, while larger states wanted the amount of representatives to be based on the state's population. This resulted in the compromise that divided congress into two houses: the House of Representatives and the Senate. The second compromise was the 3/5 Compromise, which stated that slaves counted as 3/5 of a person in censuses. The last compromise was the Commerce and Slave Trade compromise. This said that congress could control international commerce, except for the slave trade. Then the ratification debate started, which was between two groups: the Anti-Federalists and the Federalists. 9 out of the 13 colonies needed to ratify the Constitution in order for it to become the law. North Carolina was concerned about the absence of a Bill of Rights. At first, Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Georgia, and Connecticut all ratified the Constitution. Eventually Massachusetts, then Maryland, then South Carolina, then New Hampshire ratified it as well. It became the law in 1788.