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Articles of Confederation
- Create a basic government to defeat the British
- Confederation: loose collection of sub-actors that hold most power
- As a government and for fighting a war, big problems:
    - No central authority missing _six_ key powers
        - AoC couldn't make binding treaties, so war couldn't end
            - Also couldn't make allies
        - Couldn't organize soldiers; left up to states
        - Couldn't compel states to tax
            - States didn't want to pay for someone else
        - Couldn't regulate commerce between colonies or other states
            - Like Virginia and Connectitut argument
            - One thing that united the colonies
        - Couldn't compel states to pay fair share of cost
            - Brits would fight to destroy infrastructure
            - States wouldn't pay for repairs of internal damage
            - AoC couldn't pay for it with nonexistent taxes
        - Couldn't coin money
            - No common currency, so its value was based on states'
              values, and people wouldn't accept specific currencies
The Constitution
- Approved Sep 17, 1787
- Madison Model's 5 Principles
    1) Popular sovereignty
        Choice in the legislature
    2) Republican Government
        Electing decisionmakers
    3) Limited government
        Government has limited power
    4) Separation of Power
        Ambition must counteract ambition
    5) Federal system
        Stronger national authority partnered with states
Difficulties in ratifying
- Public is very unaware of the constitution developing
- Constitution violated the AoC, so secret organizing was a coup
- Republicans vs Federalists
    - Republican, "anti-federalist" = power vested in states
- Federalists fought an uphill battle w/ Federalist Papers
    - Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay
    - 85 short essays in popular publications
    - Federalist #15 and #51 important
        - 15 = proof of need for strong central gov
            - Enforcement power
            - Collective good as a real entity
        - 51 = proof of need for fragmentation in strong gov
            - Double security: states check fed & fed checks fed
            - Protection of the minority