should honor them on the Nation's birthday. They proved that government in this country rests on the will of the people. to the colonies to carry out the laws of England. 4. The group of representatives who came together to protect the rights of the colonists was called the Congress. It first met at It elected the year in to lead the army 5. The thirteen colonies fought a long war and won their from Great Britain. The written statement of their rights and of the wrongs against them was called the It was signed by men. of 6. The Declaration of Independence states some of the of our Government. It says that the of government is to protect the rights of the people. We keep our Nation's birthday on the Fourth of in at every year. 7. The treaty of peace that ended the war was signed The British soldiers gave up the fight Virginia. CHAPTER IV The Making of Our Constitution "There is one thing better than good government, and that is government in which all the people have a part." -Walter Hines Page. By the Declaration of Independence the colonies had separated from England. They were free States. There was no mother country to decide things for them. The Continental Congress knew that all of the States would have to fight in order to win the war against England. It believed that the States should unite. It said that they should act as one when it came time to make peace. But should the Union come to an end when the war was over? That was the most important question. Soon after the Declaration of Independence was signed the Continental Congress drew up a plan for a central government. The plan was called "The Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union." It was sent to the States. They were asked to accept it. Many of the States did not favor the plan. Some said that the Central Government would not be strong enough. Other States feared that they would lose the right to govern their own people. Changes were made in the plan. It was accepted by all of the thirteen States by March 1, 1781. WHAT THE PLAN SAID Under the Articles of Confederation, the States entered into "a firm league of friendship" with one another. The people in each State thought of the other States as friends. They would help one another. But the people did not think that they were members of a true Union. The Articles of Confederation set up a Congress of one House only. Each State was represented in that House. Every vote was taken by States. Each State had only one vote. The Congress had authority to make war and peace. It could make money. A committee of the Congress governed the Nation when the Congress was not meeting. WAYS IN WHICH THE PLAN WAS WEAK After the war was won, the one big purpose in working together was gone. The war had held the States together to win independence. Many of the people thought that the Union had ended. They did not know one another well. The States quarreled with one another. The other nations thought that the new government would not last long. The Central Government did not have enough authority to carry on its work. The Congress could do nothing unless the States agreed. For example, the Congress asked the States for money, but could not force them to pay. The Congress could not tax the citizens. The Congress asked the States to send soldiers to protect the Nation. But some of the States refused. The Congress made treaties with other countries. But the States did not obey the treaties. body without a head." The Articles of Confederation were weak in other ways. There was no President. The Central Government was "a There were no national courts. The Congress could not force any person to obey the laws. It could not force the people to support the Central Government. The Congress had no power to control trade among the States or between the States and foreign countries. The States quarreled over the right to tax goods from other States. For example, New York taxed wood from Connecticut. It taxed butter, cheese, and vegetables from New Jersey. Connecticut and New Jersey taxed goods from New York. Also, the States quarreled over which owned certain lands. Virginia and Maryland could not agree which owned Chesapeake Bay. CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION OF 1787 Something had to be done to improve the trade among the States. Virginia requested that delegates from the thirteen States meet in a convention. The delegates should plan changes in the Articles. But only five States sent delegates to the Convention. The Articles of Confederation could not be changed unless the thirteen States agreed. The delegates decided to hold another meeting in Philadelphia the next year. They asked the States to send delegates to this Convention to study the Articles of Confederation and to make changes. The Central Government needed more authority over the States and the people. It wanted officers to enforce the laws. The Convention met on May 25, 1787, in Philadelphia, in Independence Hall. The Declaration of Independence had been signed there in 1776. Twelve of the States appointed a total of 70 delegates but only 55 attended. Rhode Island did not send any delegates. The men who attended had had experience in public and private matters. Some were governors, lawyers, and judges. Some had signed the Declaration of Independence. Some were practical businessmen and landowners. New York sent Alexander Hamilton who was a leading lawyer in that State. Virginia sent James Madison and George Washington. Pennsylvania sent Benjamin Franklin. The delegates elected George Washington president of the Convention. THINGS THAT WERE CLEAR TO THE DELEGATES The members of the Convention knew that it would not be easy to change the Articles of Confederation. No State wanted others to tell it what it should do. But the delegates knew that all States had the same ideas about liberty and the right to set up their own government. They knew |