America was the first form of government They create a weak central government

• The national government can collect taxes, only the states

• Each state had one representative Each state had their own currency

There were problems with the Article of Confederation

They had a meeting in Philadelphia, Pennslyvania to make changes and each state sent representatives

They came up with a new government and this time they created a Federal central government by giving it more power

They separated the government into 3 branches

• The legislative branch would make the laws

• The judicial branch would enforce the laws

• The executive branch would interpret the laws

Representation = Power

• Big states (Virginia) wanted the number of representatives for each state to be based on the representation of the state

• Small states (New Jersey) wanted the number of representatives for each state to be equal - each state gets the same number of representatives

The compromise = legislative branch and they have two houses

• Senate would have an equal number of representatives from each state (2)

• House of representation would have the number of representatives based on the size of a state population

Bicameral is what the two houses are called together

This compromise became known as the Constitution Convention

Slavery existed in all states but Massachusetts in 1787

There were most slaves in the south

The southern states wanted enslaved people to be part of their population but wanted to consider them as property (not people)

They came up with a 3/5 compromise where 3/5 of the enslaved people of each state would be counted as the population for representation.

The delegates agreed to have 1 leader(president) America was the first form of government All of the changes made the national government to power that they agreed to add a Bill of Rights

The Southern states protected slavery

The farmers thought that slavery was evil and they thought slavery would eventually die out

The Slave Trade Clause said that the slave trade will not be illegal until 1808 and will continue for 20 years.

Federalists wanted a strong central government

Anti-Federalists wanted a weak central government.

Federalist:

• A strong central government could represent the nation to other countries.

• A strong central government could protect citizens’ rights and freedom

• There were 3 branches that could not become too powerful

• The Federalist Paper was created to protect the Constitution.

Anti-Federalist:

• Believed that the citizens knew what would protect their rights

• They thought a strong central government would cause them to lose their power and influence. -They were afraid that it would be to power and be like having a king.

They made the Bill of Rights which made them both happy.

1. Congress (the legislative branch) can impeach a president and remove him/her from office. This checks the power of the executive branch.

2. The president (the executive branch) can veto a law passed by Congress. This checks the power of the legislative branch.

3. Congress (the legislative branch) can override a president’s veto. This checks the power of the executive branch.

4. The Supreme Court (the Judicial branch) can declare a law unconstitutional. This checks the power of the executive branch.

5. The president (the executive branch) nominates judges. This checks the power of the Judicial branch.

Bill of Rights

• Amendment 1: This means that every person has freedom of religion, press, speech, assembly, and petition. (on test)

• Amendment 2: This means that anyone can have weapons such as guns at their home.

• Amendment 3: People are not forced to provide soldiers with a room in their house at any time of war.

• Amendment 4: This means that if the police want to search someone's house, they must have a search warrant.

• Amendment 5: This means that if a person is accused of a crime, they are innocent until proven guilty in court.

• Amendment 6: Anyone accused of a crime has the right to a speedy and public trial.

• Amendment 7: Everyone has the right to trial by a jury if the damages are more than 20 dollars.

• Amendment 8: People are prohibited from cruel and unusual punishment.

• Amendment 9: Americans have additional rights that are not listed in the constitution.

• Amendment 10: Powers that are not given by the constitution to the US government belong to the states or to the people.

Vocab:

Legislative Branch (Congress)

• Draft bills

• Can override a presidential veto of a bill

Executive Branch (President)

• Sings bills into laws

• Can veto a bill

Judicial Branch (Judges)

• Determine if the law is constitutional

Checks and Balances

• a system in which the different parts of an organization (such as a government) have powers that affect and control the other parts so that no part can become too powerful.

Federalisim

• a system of government in which two levels of government control the same territory.