James Madison: Clear-Eyed Visionary

• Madison was a politcal scientist, engineer, and philosopher
• He wanted to know how people could create a republic that lasted
• His research played a important role in designing a new American government

2.1 The Articles of Confederation

• Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union were adopted by the Second Continental Congress in 1777, and ratified 1781
• Created a union of sovereign states where the states had more power than the national goverment

A Firm League of Friendship

• When they created the AoC, they had to solve two issues
  1. Citizens in one state did not trust the governments/motivations of other states
  2. Citizens did not trust any government that would rule from afar
• To solve this, a League of friendship was created among states
  • Provided protections from states disputing territories without approval from confederal government
  • Smaller states gained equal representation in the government
  • Each state had one vote and the government had one chamber
  • States could send any number of representatives
  • States and NOT the national government would be soveriegn

Limitations on the power of the Confederal Government

• The National Governmen was intentionally weak
• The power of the army and navy was one of the few powers but the government didn’t have the money to pay for it
  • It will be payed through a common treasury, that all states pay based on the value of land
• Because the national government had no taxes, they had to ask the states for money, many refused, hampering paying debts off
• They printed worthless money and sold western lands for money
• Because states retained most of their soveriegnty, foreign relations was complex
• States placed tarrifs on each other
• There was only 1 house
• The judiciary exist to resolve differences between states but had no way to enforce it
• All 13 states had to agree to amend the articles