The U.S Constitution

The Articles of Confederation was the name of the first government of the United States. It had been started back in 1776 in the Continental Congress, and finally approved by all the states in 1781. 

Republic- A government in which the people elect representatives to make decision for them.

Unicameral (The Continental Congress) Each state acted as a separate country rather than a unified country!!!

The Land Ordinance of 1785.

  • Opened up the land West of the Appalachian mountains, which Britain had forbid the colonist from entering after winning the (French and Indian War).

The Northwest Ordinance of 1787 The ordinance established the Northwest Territory, which included areas that are now in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. 



Shays’ Rebellion: 1786-7 The Turning Point that made people 

  • Daniel Shays- patriot that fought for farmers that got their land taken away from the government.

Annapolis Convention (1786)-address barriers that limited trade and commerce between the states but it didn’t work because of the lack of state representatives.



THE CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION OF 1787 - Takes place in philadelphia that talked about how they should rewrite the constitution


James Madison, a Virginia representative, kept notes about the meetings. Father Of the constitution


THE VIRGINIA PLAN - the problem was the larger land would always win because of more people.

3 branch Gov’t :

A) Legislative Branch--create laws

B) Executive Branch—enforce the laws

C) Judicial Branch--a system of courts to decide if the laws are fair to all


The Legislative Branch 

  -- 2 “houses” or sections.  

  --# of reps. for each state based on population.  Larger states---more reps.


THE NEW JERSEY PLAN 

By William Patterson

---The idea for 3 branches of government was included just like in the Virginia Plan


--- The legislative branch

      ---one “house”         

      ---states get one vote

The GREAT COMPROMISE (1787) - (Created BY ROGER SHERMAN,  CONNECTICUT REPRESENTATIVE)
The Senate: 50% in charge

  • Each state would have 2 representatives (Jersey Plan!!!)

  • The House of Representatives: 50% in charge

    • Representation based on population size (Virginia Plan!!!)

  • Created a bi-cameral legislature (2 houses).

One house (unicameral)

⅗ compromise- ⅗ of slaves would count for representatives.


Limited government (the government’s power over people’s freedoms is limited by laws) 

– Republicanism (citizens have the power to choose government representatives)

 – Checks and balances (powers of one branch of government are limited by the powers of other branches)

 – Federalism (division of power between federal and state governments) 

– Separation of powers (government functions are divided among three branches)

– Popular sovereignty (the government’s power lies with the people)

– Individual rights (rights that every man or woman has)


The second part of the Constitution lists the Articles (numbered sections of a document) that outline the structure and powers of our federal government. 

There are seven principles that can be found throughout the articles of the Constitution.


Separation of Powers- prevent any single group from having too much control by using 3 branches.

  • legislative branch – Congress makes the laws

  • executive branch – headed by President – carries out the laws

  • judicial branch – Supreme Court – interprets/applies the laws


The states were part of a Confederacy, where they each had their own sovereignty. 


 The Problem: How to create a strong central government with sovereignty, without taking the sovereignty from the states?

Answer: Federalism

The founding fathers feared a strong central government that would control the entire country. The federalist system was created to allow the states to maintain local control of the residents in them.


Federalism

  • the principle of shared power

  • three types of government powers

    • enumerated powers/delegated – belong only to the federal government

    • reserved powers – power retained by the states

    • concurrent powers – powers the state and federal 

National government: Delegated powers

  • Powers given to the federal government in the constitution

  • Include:

    • Coin Money

    • Regulate Interstate and foreign trade

    • Raise and maintain armed forces

    • Declare War

    • Govern U.S. Territories and admit new states

    • Conduct foreign relations


State government: Reserved powers

  • Powers given to the state  government in the constitution

  • Include:

    • Conduct elections 

    • Establish Schools

    • Regulate business within a state

    • Regulate marriage

    • Establish local governments

    • Assume other powers not given to the national government or state governments


Both governments: ConCurrent powers

  • Powers given to the state and Federal government in the constitution

  • Include:

    • Enforce laws

    • Establish courts 

    • Borrow money

    • Protect the safety of people

    • Collect taxes 

    • Build roads

Elastic Clause : Implied powers

  • This Necessary and Proper Clause, gives congress power to pass laws not listed in the Constitution if they are “necessary and proper” to execute other powers. 


Federalist - people who were all for ratification 

AntiFederalist - people who does not agree with ratification

Alexander Hamilton - thought that only rich / first class citizens should vote 

Thomus jefferson - thought the common/ working class should be able to vote
































Homework review:

Section 1-

Magna Carta, a document signed by King John in 1215, made the king subject to law.


A constitution is a set of basic principles and laws that states the powers and duties of the government.


Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom. This document declared that no person could be forced to attend a particular church or be required to pay for a church with tax money.


suffrage, or the right to vote,


Under the Articles of Confederation, Congress would become the single branch of the national government, but it would have limited powers in order to protect the liberties of the people.


Congress could settle conflicts among the states, issue coins, borrow money, and make treaties with other countries and with Native Americans. Congress could also ask the states for money and soldiers. However, states had the power to refuse these requests.


Northwest Ordinance of 1787. The ordinance established the Northwest Territory, which included areas that are now in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Minnesota, and Wisconsin.


Land Ordinance of 1785, which set up a system for surveying and dividing western lands.


Section 2:

tariffs—taxes on imports or exports.


interstate commerce - trade between two or more states

 

Inflation occurs when there are increased prices for goods and services combined with the reduced value of money.


The depression made debtors—people who owe money—quite happy.

Creditors during the depression—people who lend money—were upset.


A depression is a period of low economic activity combined with a rise in unemployment. The uprising of farmers to protest high taxes and heavy debt became known as Shays’s Rebellion.


Section 3:

The Constitutional Convention was held in May 1787 in Philadelphia’s Independence


Hall to improve the Articles of Confederation.


George Washington was elected president of the Convention.


Patrick Henry chose not to attend because he did not want a stronger central government.


Women, African Americans, and Native Americans did not take part because they did not yet have the rights of citizens.


The Virginia Plan -  He proposed a new federal constitution that would give sovereignty, or supreme power, to the central government.


New Jersey Plan, which called for a unicameral, or one-house, legislature. The plan gave each state an equal number of votes, and thus an equal voice, in the federal government.


The agreement to create a two-house legislature became known as the Great Compromise.

  • The legislative branch would have two houses.

  •  Each state, regardless of its size, would have two representatives in the Senate, or upper house. 

  • This would give each state an equal voice, pleasing the smaller states.


Southern delegates - wanted enslaved Africans to be counted as part of their state populations. This way they would have more representatives, and more power, in Congress. Northerners disagreed. They wanted the number of slaves to determine taxes but not representation.


Three-Fifths Compromise. Under this agreement only three-fifths of a state’s slave population would count when determining representation.


The Commerce Compromises - allowed Congress to levy tariffs on imports, but not exports, and allowed the importation of slaves until the end of 1807.


The right of individual citizens to maintain the unalienable rights of “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” was supported by the idea of popular sovereignty. This is the idea that political authority is in the hands of the people.


In a republic, the government consists of people elected by voters to represent them. In this system, voters can limit the actions of the government by removing representatives who do not truly work for the goals of voters.


The three branches of government:

  • The legislative branch is Congress. It is responsible for proposing and passing laws, which are also called legislation.

- made up of two houses, as created in the Great Compromise.

- House of Representatives are elected through different systems, which helps balance the power among voters from different states.

  • executive branch includes the president and the departments that help run the government

- Makes sure laws are carried out

       - The judicial branch is made up of all of the national courts.

- responsible for interpreting laws, punishing criminals, and settling disputes between states.

checks and balances, which keeps any single branch of government from becoming too powerful.


law. The


president has the power to veto, or reject,


laws that Congress passes. However, Con-

gress can override the president’s veto with


a two-thirds majority vote.


The Supreme

Court has the power to review laws passed

by Congress and strike down any law that

violates the Constitution.


federalism. Federalism is the sharing


of power between a central government and

the states that make up a nation.


amendments,

or changes to the Constitution,


Section 4:

Anti Federalists —people who opposed the Constitution—thought that the Constitutional Convention should not have created a new government.


Convention delegate George Mason became an Antifederalist for this reason. In a speech to a Virginia ratifying convention he stated, “This power is calculated to totally annihilate the state governments.” For some Antifederalists, the main problem was that the Constitution did not have a section that guaranteed individual rights.


Federalists, supporters of the Constitution, included James Madison, George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, and Alexander


Hamilton. Most Federalists believed that the Constitution offered a good balance of power between various political views.


Advocate - to plead in favor of


Federalist Papers - These essays supporting the Constitution were written anonymously under the name Publius.


The authors of the Federalist Papers tried to reassure Americans that the new federal government would not overpower the states.


In Federalist Paper No. 10, Madison argued that the diversity of the United States would prevent any single group from dominating the government.


The Constitution needed only 9 states to pass it. However, to establish and preserve national unity, each state needed to ratify it.


Every state except Rhode Island held special state conventions that gave citizens the chance to discuss and vote on the Constitution.


Hamilton argued convincingly against the Anti Federalists led by DeWitt Clinton. When news arrived of Virginia’s ratification, New York ratified it as well. Rhode Island was the last state to ratify the Constitution in May 1790.


James Madison wanted to make a bill of rights one of the new government’s first priorities.


In Congress’s first session, Madison encouraged the legislators to put together a bill of rights. The rights would then be added to the Constitution as amendments, or official changes.


Bill of Rights—10 of the proposed amendments intended to protect citizens’ rights.