Transcript Chapter 7: A More Perfect Union

Chapter 5
Creating the Constitution
Objectives
• Explain England’s government influenced the Set-up of
the United States government
• List the powers and limitations of the Articles of
Confederation
• Explain why land ordinances were put into effect.
• List and explain the events that led up to the decision to
revise the Articles.
• Compare and contrast the New Jersey Plan and the
Virginia Plan.
• Examine the Three-Fifths Compromise and decide how
you think the states should be represented in Congress.
Objectives Continued
• To explain the roots of The Constitution
• To list the branches of government and
their name some responsibilities of each
• To Describe how The Constitution
prevents government from getting too
powerful
Roots of Government
• Magna Carta (1215)- The King was no
longer able to tax without the permission
of nobles
– This group of nobles evolved into a governing
body called Parliament
– Parliament became a bicameral government
• House of Lords- Nobles who inherited their seat
• House of Commons- Members elected by
commoners
English Bill of Rights
• King James II tried to rule without Parliament
– Revoked colonial charters & replaced colonial elected
assemblies with crown appointed governors and
councils
– Was overthrown during Glorious Revolution
• Replaced with King William and Queen Mary
– Agreed to rule with Parliament and sign Bill of Rights
-Bill of Rights guaranteed many freedoms including
Habeas Corpus
Two Big Responsibilities
• Once they had independence they had to
keep it! The Americans had to constantly
keep an eye on the British
• After independence the Americans also
had to create their own government.
13 Separate Governments
• Americans were fearful of a single ruler or
one group having too much power.
• In 1776 the Continental Congress asked
states to make their own governments
– Each state created governments and wrote
their own constitutions
State Constitutions
• Limited the power of
the governor
• Power was divided
between the governor
and the legislature
• Most had bicameral
legislatures
• Wanted the people to
have power
POWER
• State constitutions limited the power of the
governor
– This made the legislator the most powerful
branch of government.
• Elections were held frequently
– White males that were 21 could vote
– Voters had to own property
– Some free African Americans could vote
Forming a Republic
• Continental Congress gathered to design
a plan for a new government in 1776.
– The Americans needed a central government
to fight against Britain
• The Articles of Confederation was adopted
1777
– Lead by John Dickison of Pennsylvania
– Reflected Declaration of Independence and
rejected a strong centralized Government
The Articles
Could:
–
–
–
–
Conduct foreign affairs
Maintain armed forces
Borrow money
Issue currency
Could not:
– Regulate trade
– Force citizens to join the
army
– Impose taxes
*If congress needed money or troops they had to ask the
states but the states did not have to give them anything.
Under the Articles
• There was no president
• Only a Congress with delegates selected by
state legislatures not voters
• Each state had one vote
• Changing the Articles:
– To pass a law at least 9 states had to vote “yes” for
the suggested law.
– To change the articles all 13 states had to vote “yes”
for the change.
• officially approved until March 1, 1781.
New Land Policies
• The Articles did not have provisions on
how to add a new state
• The government decided to divide the
western territories into districts
– When the districts had a high enough
population they could petition for statehood
The Ordinance of 1785
• Divided the land north of
the Ohio River into
townships, and then into
sections
– A township was 6
miles long and 6 miles
wide
– The township was
divided into 36
sections at 640 acres
a piece.
• The land was sold at
public auction for cheap
The Northwest Ordinance
• Created the Northwest Territory
• Contained a bill of rights for the settlers of
the territories
• The ordinance also said that slavery was
not allowed in the territory.
* Both the Northwest Ordinance and the
Ordinance of 1785 made the settlement of
the Northwest Territory in an orderly
manner.
Trouble on Two Fronts
• Financial Trouble
• International Trouble
$ Financial Difficulty $
• After the War the Country had a large debt
– Congress could not tax to pay the debt
• Paper money
– Was not backed by silver or gold which made
it worthless
– The price of food and other goods
skyrocketed
– Food riots broke out
NO R-E-S-P-E-C-T
• Even though the Americans won the
Revolution, Great Britain did not respect
their independence.
Great Britain thought the
new American
government was weak
and ineffective
American vs. British
Treaty of Paris
• After the war was over the Americans still
had to battle the British
– The British ignored the Treaty of Paris and
kept their troops in American Territories
– The British wouldn’t allow Americans to trade
in West Indies
– The British refused to negotiate because the
Americans had not paid loyalists for the
property they lost during the war.
Problems with Spain
• Spain closed the Mississippi River to the
Americans to prevent them from
expanding further west. (1784)
• An agreement was made between the 2
countries in 1786 so that the US could use
the River
• Spain also agreed to accept the border
between Georgia and Spanish Florida.
Economic Depression
• Plantations were damaged during the war
– Rice sales dropped
• Trade was slow because the British closed
off trade with West Indies
• Farmers could not pay taxes so their lands
were seized by state officials
Debt  Rebellion
• Farmers were in debt
because they could
not sell goods or pay
taxes.
• State officials seized
their land to pay taxes
• Daniel Shays led
farmers in rebellion to
shut down courts.
• No court, no land
seizure
Shay’s Rebellion 1787
• Daniel Shays led 1000 farmers toward
federal arsenal for weapons
• State militia was called out
• 4 farmers were killed
• Rebellion ended
• People feared more rebellions would
happen
Song, written by Marcia Albrecht
Shays’ Story
(To the tune of the Beverly Hillbillies)
Come and Listen to a story ‘bout a man named Shays
Poor ol’ farmer whose debts weren’t gettin’ paid
So one day he rallied up his friends
and that my dear is where it all begins
Well, Shays and his friends they stole a lot of guns
They closed down the bank
They shouted “Re-bell-yun”
The wise men knew this Shay wasn’t a fool, they knew to others he’d seem
really cool (Smart that is, John Locke, don’t ya' see?)
Well the next thing you know the rich folks got all scared
Madison said “Let’s get out of here!”
He said “Philadelphia is the place we oughta be”
So they saddled up the horse and they rode off to Philly
(PA that is, making rules, changing laws)
And that my friends was really just the start
Those 55 men were really very smart
They made a constitution for you and me
And it has lasted for two-20 (years that is)
Issue of Slavery
• Some People worked to end slavery
– Between 1776-1786 all states except South
Carolina and Georgia outlawed or taxed the
importation of Slavery
• In 1774 Quakers in Pennsylvania set up
the first American antislavery society
• Pennsylvania passed a gradual end to
slavery law in 1780.
• Massachusetts ruled
slavery illegal in 1783
• NY, NH, RI, CT, & NJ
abolished slavery
between 1783 and
1804.
• Free African
American’s still faced
harsh discrimination
and segregation
• Free African Society
Formed in
Philadelphia (1787)
A Call for Change
• The Articles of Confederation were weak and
unable to deal with the needs of the nation
• Many people called for change
– Some wanted to fix the Articles of Confederation
– Others wanted a stronger new government
Constitutional Convention
• Met in May 1787 to discuss a change in
government
• 55 delegates were present
–
–
–
–
George Washington
Benjamin Franklin
James Madison
Governor Morris
• Doors were locked and windows nailed shut so
they could talk freely and secretly
• Two plans were proposed
Virginia Plan
• Proposed by Edmund
Randolph
• Wanted strong national gov’t
• Throw out Articles
• Two house legislature
– Number of representatives based
on population
• President
• Court System
New Jersey Plan
• Proposed by William Patterson
• Wanted to Change Articles
• Kept the one house legislature
– One vote for each state
• Congress could tax and
regulate trade
• Incorporated executive branch
– Had more than one president
The Great Compromise
• Roger Sherman (CT) proposed that the
government have a two house legislature
– House of Representatives
• the number of reps would be based on
population
– The Senate
• each state would have 2 senators
Three-Fifths Compromise
• Determined how slaves would be counted
in the representation controversy between
the north and south
• Decided to count each slave as three fifths
of a person when counting population.
• The States also compromised saying
congress could not interfere in the slave
trade for 20 years.
The Bill of Rights
• George Mason (Va)
proposed a Bill of
Rights to protect
rights of the people
• Most thought it was
not needed
Approval
• September 17, 1787 delegates met to sign
The Constitution
• Sent document to the states for approval
• 9 out of 13 states needed to approve
The Roots of The Constitution
*The Constitution used ideas from other forms of
government
•British political Institutions and political
writers
•The Enlightenment
•British system of government
•Magna Carta
•English Bill of Rights
The Enlightenment
•Promoted knowledge, reason and science as a
way to improve society
•John Locke (English)
•Believed all people had natural rights
•Live, Liberty, and Property
•Baron de Montesquieu-(Balance of Powers)
•Said powers of government should be
separated and balanced against one another
Fitting into The Constitution
• The Constitution protected people’s
natural rights by limiting the power of the
government.
• The Constitution divided the government
into 3 branches and had a checks and
balance system.
The Federal System
* Powers
were Divided between the Federal
Government and the State Governments
Federal
Powers
States Powers
•Pass & enforce
laws
•Regulate
Trade
•Control
currency
•Raise an
army
•Declare war
Shared Powers
•Taxing
•Building Roads
•Regulate trade
w/in borders
•Establish local
governments,
schools
Separation of Powers
Federal Government
3 branches
Executive
Legislature
Judicial
Executive Branch
•
•
•
•
Headed by the President
Commander in Chief of military
Conducts foreign relations
President & Vice President elected by the
Electoral College
• Serves for 4 years
Legislative Branch
Congress has 2 houses
House of Representatives
•
•
•
•
•
•
Senate
Responsibilities of Congress
Collect taxes
Coin money
Regulate trade
Declare war
Raise and support armies
Makes Laws
Judicial Branch
• Supreme Court and other Federal Courts
• Hears cases regarding The Constitution,
laws passed by congress, and disputes
between states.
Checks and Balances
• Balances the power between each branch
of government
• Each branch has a role to check other
branches:
– President can Veto a congressional act
– Congress can override a veto
– Both houses of congress must pass a bill for it
to become a law
The Constitutional Debate
• 9 out of 13 States had to ratify the
constitution
• States held ratifying conventions
Federalists
• Supporters of the Constitution
– George Washington
– Benjamin Franklin
– James Madison
– John Jay
– Alexander Hamilton
• Wrote The Federalist Papers which were
essays that explained and promoted the
Constitution
Federalist Papers
• http://thomas.loc.gov/home/histdox/fedpap
ers.html
Anti-federalists
• People who opposed The Constitution
• Wrote Anti-federalist Papers explaining
their stance
– Against Strong National Government
– Preferred local government close to home
– Wanted a Bill of Rights Added
The Bill of Rights
• It was believed by Anti-federalists that no
government could be trusted to protect the
freedom of the citizens
• James Madison drafted the Bill or Rights
– It was passed by congress in 1789
– The first 10 Amendments of the Constitution
Adopting the Constitution
• Delaware became the first state to
approve The Constitution in Dec. 1787
• Strong Anti-federalist groups slowed the
ratification in New York and Virginia
– Virginia finally ratified in June 1788
– New York narrowly ratified in July 1788
• Rhode Island was the last of the 13 to
ratify in 1790.
• Bill of Rights added in 1791
Song Activity
• With your partner pick a topic related to
the Articles of Confederation- The
Creation of the Constitution
• Write song Lyrics that relate to your topic
– ( your song can follow the tune of a popular
song)
• Turn your song in ( 30 points ) not optional
• Sing your song in front of the class
(optional) worth an extra 30 points!