Transcript Slide 1

Creating a Lasting Government
Unit Two
Chapter 4: America’s Political
Heritage
THE COLONIAL
EXPERIENCE
Section 1: The Colonial Experience
The Early Days
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American colonies had a lot of control
Elected burgesses to represent them in a
legislature
Appointed colonial governors represented
England
Having representation in government was
rare at the time—only common in England
and the American colonies
Religious Freedom: included
the chance to worship in any
Christian church—not really
freedom, but better than
nothing
Freedom of the Press: an
early newspaper publisher,
John Peter Zenger, was jailed
for publishing complaints
against the British
Roots of Freedom
government; he was found
not guilty
ROOTS OF AMERICAN
GOVERNMENT
Section 2: Roots of American Government
The Magna Carta
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Signed by King John in 1215
Limited the monarchy’s power
for the first time
Guaranteed rights for British
nobles
British Parliament was created
by the late 1200s
The British Bill of Rights was
passed in 1689
MOVING TOWARD
NATIONHOOD
Section 3: Moving Toward Nationhood
Major Problems
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The colonists had no representation in Parliament
They could only trade with England
Colonists were overtaxed to pay for the French
and Indian war (Taxation Without
Representation)
First Continental Congress (1774): listed their
gripes about the king
Second Continental Congress (1775): people
were already fighting
So, they wrote the Declaration of Independence
•From
Thomas Paine
Thomas Paine
Common Sense, 1776
•“To be always running three or
four thousand miles with a tale or
a petition, waiting four or five
months for an answer, which
when obtained requires five or
six more to explain it in, will in a
few years be looked upon as folly
and childishness—There was a
time when it was proper, and
there is a proper time for it to
cease…England to Europe,
America to itself.”
The Declaration of Independence
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The Introduction: gives the reasons why
the colonies wanted to be independent
The Preamble: explains their views about
freedom and self rule
The First Section of the Body: states the
abuses of King George
The Second Section of the Body: explains
how the Colonists appealed in vain to the
king
The Conclusion: said the Colonies had the
right to be free from the tyrant
Read the Declaration of Independence
(pages 106 – 109)
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Why did the Colonists feel the need to separate
from Great Britain?
List the unalienable rights that cannot be taken
away.
Just how bad was the king of England? What
had he done? List at least five issues.
What right did the Colonists feel was priceless?
Who else have the Colonists turned to for help?
Organizing the New Government
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Step One: write State Constitutions
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Step Two: create their bond—The Articles of
Confederation
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Limited the governors’ terms
Made the Legislative Branches the most
powerful
Created a National Legislature—Congress
Each state would have one vote
Step Three: kick some British butt
Articles of Confederation: a step
toward the Constitution
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Written by the Continental Congress
A national code to provide the Colonies with
a united government as they fought for their
independence
It took 3½ years for all states to ratify
Created a “League of Friendship” among the
states rather than a centralized national
government
Problems Post-War
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Tons of war debt
No one to trade with
People started revolting
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Daniel Shays led a number
of farmers to revolt over
high land taxes led to lots
of lost farms in
Massachusetts (Shays
Rebellion)
Chapter 5: Creating the
Constitution
Section 1: The Constitutional Convention
What they agreed on…
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Create three separate branches of government: judicial,
legislative, and executive
Separate power between the federal and state
governments
The rest was left to much disagreement and discussion
The Constitutional Convention
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When? Summer 1787
Where? Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
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Now known as Independence Hall
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The Two Sides
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Troubled Groups:
 Federalists: favored the Constitution
and a strong central government
 Anti-Federalists: wanted the states to
have more power
Getting Started
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Washington was selected the
presiding officer
What happened in the state house, stayed in
the state house
Every state had one vote
Met from 10AM to 4PM, six days a week;
no break for meals
The Virginia Plan
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Proposed by James Madison of Virginia
Called for a strong national government
Called for three branches of government
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Legislative—with two houses whose
membership would be based on each state’s
population
Judicial
Executive
The New Jersey Plan
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Proposed by William Paterson of New
Jersey
Called for a one-house legislature
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All states would have an equal number of
votes
Appealed to the smaller states
The Compromise
Under the Articles of
Confederation
Under the Constitution
A league of friendship
A national government
A one-house legislature
A two-house legislature
No executive or judicial
branches
Established executive and
judicial branches
States can tax
Congress can also tax
States can coin money
Only the federal government can
coin money
No trade regulations
The federal government
regulates trade
States had most power
Shared power
First Elections
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Most felt the average Americans wouldn’t be
able to make good decisions
White, land-owning males would elect
members of the House
State legislatures would elect Senators
The Electoral College would elect the
President
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Each state could decide how their electoral
college representatives would be selected
Signing
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September 17, 1787
By 39 delegates
Section 2: The Struggle for Ratification
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Only those states
that ratified
(approved) the
Constitution
would be part of
the new nation
Controversy
The Federalists
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Supported the
Constitution
Felt a strong,
central government
was necessary
The Anti-Federalists
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Opposed the
Constitution
Didn’t like Congress’
ability to make
“necessary and proper”
laws
Wanted a Bill of Rights
The Argument Goes to Paper
Federalists
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Included James
Madison, Alexander
Hamilton, and John
Jay
Wrote The Federalist
essays for publication
in newspapers
Anti-Federalists
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Included Patrick
Henry
He addressed the
entire Virginia
ratifying convention
Section 3: The Supreme Law of the Land
Goals of the New Government
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To form a more perfect union—unite the
separate states
To establish justice—have a fair legal
system
To insure domestic tranquility—let’s all
get along
To provide for the common defense—
safety first
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To promote the general welfare—conditions that
benefit all Americans
To secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our
posterity—freedom for what we want to do and how we
want to live (without hurting others!)
The Separation of Powers
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To prevent one body in the government from
having all the power
Article I: established the legislative branch
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Article II: established the executive branch
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The lawmaking part of the government
The U.S. Congress (House and Senate)
The law enforcing part of the government
The president and vice president
Article III: established the judicial branch
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The law interpreting part of the government
The Supreme Court and the lower federal courts
Citizens and the New Government
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Article IV: the Full Faith and Credit Clause
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Article V: establishes procedures for amending
the Constitution
Article VI: the supremacy article
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Each state will respect the laws of other states
Guarantees a representative form of government for
all states
The Constitution is the supreme law of the land
Article VII: says ratification by nine states was
enough to adopt the Constitution
A Limited Government
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Federalism: state and nation have power
Concurrent: some powers are shared
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Reserved: some powers aren’t given to either
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Taxing, courts
Schools, police
Separation of Power
Checks and Balances
Chapter 6: The Bill of
Rights
Section 1: Adding the Bill of Rights
The Amendment Process
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Must be approved at the national and state
level
Proposed to the states by Congress:
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Approved by 2/3 vote in both the Senate and
the House
Called for by 2/3 of state legislatures (never
been done)
State Ratification:
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3/4 of the nation’s state legislatures
At special conventions at 3/4 of the states
Adding the Bill of Rights
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James Madison encouraged fellow
Congressmen to amend the Constitution
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Twelve were proposed—only ten were
passed
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The House was NOT enlarged
There would be NO limits to when
Congress could raise its salaries
Bill of Rights Activity
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Read through the Bill of Rights.
Choose three of the Amendments and
rewrite them in more modern language.
(That will have to be on a separate piece
of paper.)
Complete the Bill of Rights application
worksheet—read the scenario and decide
which Amendment should be applied.
(You can do that in the packet.)
Section 2: Protections in the Bill of Rights
Individual Freedoms: The First Amendment
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Freedom of Religion—and a separation of
church and state
Freedom of Speech—no slander (telling lies that
damage another’s reputation)
Freedom of the Press—again, no lies though, and
no endangering the lives of others
Freedom of Assembly—including
demonstrations
Freedom of Petition—ask that laws be changed
Protections Against Government
Abuse of Power (Amendments 2-5)
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2nd: We have the right to own guns
3rd: Soldiers cannot stay in civilian homes
without the homeowner’s permission
4th: Police need a valid reason to search
personal property
5th: People must be paid a fair price if the
government takes their property due to
eminent domain
Rights of Citizens Accused of
Crimes (5th-8th Amendments)
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5th Amendment
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Confessions cannot
be forced
Grand juries must
indict in serious
crimes
No double jeopardy
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6th Amendment
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Trial by jury
A speedy, public,
and fair trial
Right to a lawyer
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7th Amendment
 Jury trials for cases
about money or
property
8th Amendment
 Release on bail
(which cannot be
excessive)
 No cruel or
unusual
punishment
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9th Amendment
 Rights aren’t
limited to those in
the Constitution
10th Amendment
 Powers not listed
belong to the state
or to the people
Chapter 7: Our Enduring
Constitution
Section 1: Changing the Law of the Land
We the People?
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Remember, only white, land-owning, males were
really considered important in the beginning
Slavery wasn’t even mentioned because the framers
didn’t want to upset anyone
Tensions continued
 The Missouri Compromise adding slave and free
states
 The Dred Scott case declared slaves property
Slavery wasn’t abolished until the 13th Amendment
in 1865
Who Gets to Vote?
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The 14th Amendment
 Made African Americans citizens
 Forced states to respect citizens’ rights
The 15th Amendment forbade voting
discrimination based on race or past condition
of servitude (slavery)
The 19th Amendment gave women voting
rights
The 24th Amendment said voting should be
The 26th Amendment lowered the voting
age to 18
Section 2: A Flexible Framework
Who is Watching?
The Supreme Court!
Equal Protection
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People don’t have to be treated in exactly the
same way, but everyone must be treated fairly
Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) had permitted
segregation by allowing separate but equal
Overturned with Brown v. Board of Education
of Topeka (1954)
Affirmative Action has been around since the
1960s to help combat discrimination