Transcript Slide 1
The Revolutionary War • Battle of Kettle Creek: A big victory in Georgia for the patriots. The battle is important because the British had captured and controlled most of Georgia. • Siege of Savannah: Fall of 1779, the Patriots with the help of the French tried to retake the city if Savannah. The British held the city with minimal costs, while the patriots had a severe wounded and death toll. • Georgia was the only colony where British control was re-established. When the war ended the British still had a large control over Georgia. In the spring of 1782 the British gave up control of Georgia. Constitutions The United States’ and Georgia’s What is a constitution? • A fundamental plan of operation for a government. • That’s the definition, but what does it mean? • Spells out what the government can and can’t do. • Sets up the different branches. • Identifies major offices in each branch. • Tells how each office is to be filled. • Can spell out important liberties of the people. Georgia’s Constitution • Originated in 1777. • FYI: The Revolutionary War was going on when Georgia’s first constitution was written. • What did the Georgians want? • The principle Popular Sovereignty • Introduced a new principle in the very first article of the constitution– Separation of Powers: Each branch shall be separate and distinct, so that neither can exercise powers properly belonging to the other. • Unicameral • one house legislature. Georgia’s Constitution cont… • Counties were set up instead of parishes. • Each county was to have its own officials, courthouse, schools, and militia. • Superior courts were established to settle disputes with the constitution dictating how cases were to be tried. • The framers of the Georgia Constitution severely weakened executive power. Executive vs. Legislative • Executive Powers • 1 year term. • No consecutive terms. • Could not veto legislature. • Chief executive in name only. • Legislative Powers • Elected the governor. • Elected 12 of their own members to serve as an executive council who had veto power over the governor. • Power to grant pardons. New government • The new constitution went into effect in May 1777. • John Adam Treutlen was named the first governor. Problems • Many Georgians were still loyal to the King. They wanted to see the new government fail. • Power Struggle between the different Whig groups. Problems with the Whigs: • Resentment between the radical backcountry party and the conservative city party escalated when conservative Lachlan McIntosh said slanderous remarks about Button Gwinnett. Gwinnett challenged McIntosh to a duel. The duel was fought on May 16, 1777. Gwinnett died three days later. • Most importantly the War was still going on!!! So what was going on Nationally? • The First Continental Congress met in September, 1774 to pass resolutions and agreements. • They could not take official action. • Georgia did not send any delegates!! • The Second Continental Congress met in 1776. • Declaration of Independence was issued. • In November 1777, The Articles of Confederation were sent out for State approval. The AoC were officially approved on March 1, 1781. Articles of Confederation • What is a confederation? • A confederation is a partnership between independent and equal states. • Unicameral or Bicameral? • Are there disadvantages to being unicameral? Advantages? • What kind of house do we have now? • Who had the power? • The Nation or The States How did the nation respond to the AoC? • How was the national economy? Great! or Desperate need for a change! • Was the nation working together or were the States just taking care of them selves? How did the nation respond to the AoC? • How were some states issuing money? Gold or paper? • Did the merchants want to accept that kind of currency? Shay’s Rebellion • In 1786, Massachusetts levied taxes to decrease the war debt. • This meant that farmers would have to sell off their land and livestock to pay off their debts. • In 1787, Daniel Shays led a group of disgruntled farmers and citizens to the national arsenal in Springfield to seize weapons stored there. • Congress had disbanded the Continental Army so they had no way to quell the rebellion. • Massachusetts sent militia troops to restore order. • Many Americans saw this as a sign that the nation was falling apart. • Played a major part in the questioning of the Articles of confederation that led to the decision for the need for a constitutional convention. Constitutional Convention • Philadelphia, 1787 • 55 delegates from 12 states. • Georgia sent four delegates: • William Pierce • William Houston • William Few • Abraham Baldwin • They all supported the constitution draft but only William Few and Abraham Baldwin stayed to sign it. Problems at the Constitutional Convention • The Virginia Plan • Strong National Government. • 3 branches or parts. Legislative, executive, and judicial. • Congress would be 2 houses: The Senate and the House if Representatives. • Representation based on population. • The New Jersey Plan • Strong State Government. • 3 branches or parts. • The legislative branch would be 1 house instead of two. • Equal vote in congress. The Great Compromise • Kept the bicameral Congress. • The House of Representatives would represent the people. The number of representatives would be based on the State’s population. • The Senate would represent the states. Each state would have 2 senators. What role did Georgia’s Abraham Baldwin play in the Great Compromise? • He decided to vote with the smaller states when the vote for equal representation was taken on July 2, 1787. Making the vote a tie. • His actions split Georgia’s vote and forced the convention to turn the matter over to a committee allowing the Great Compromise. More constitutional compromises • The Three-Fifths Compromise: • Were slaves people or property? • Slaves were counted as three-fifths of a person or every three out of five slaves were counted for taxation and representation. • The Commerce Compromise: • Who would regulate trade? • Congress would! The Slave Trade Compromise • By 1787 a lot of States had banned slave trade within their boundaries. • Some southern stated wanted to end slave trade completely. • Georgia and South Carolina feared economic devastation without the slave trade market. • The southern delegates agreed to allow congress to control trade with conditions. • First condition: Congress could not place any tax on exports going to other countries. • Second condition: Congress could not interfere with the slave trade for 20 years (1808). After 1808 the importation of slaves could be forbidden. The Constitution is ratified!!!! • What does ratification mean? • To formally approve a plan or an agreement. • 9 states had the ratify. • On January 2, 1788 Georgia become the 4th state to ratify the constitution. • The promise of the Bill of Rights addition after the Constitution ratification help calm some fears over the national government becoming too strong and keeping individual rights.. • 1789 the National Government took over. • George Washington was elected to the presidency! Changes to Georgia’s Constitution • 1789 Georgia adopted a new state constitution. • More like the national constitution • Bicameral • 3 branches • Branches not balanced • The legislative branch had more power • • • • General Assembly Controlled raising and spending money. Chose the governor. Judges, and other state officials. Granted divorces.