The Fight for Ratification Remember that the Articles of Confederation provided that changes to the Articles required all 13 states to agree to the changes. The Constitution was not a Change to the Articles, but an entirely new government altogether. When Writing the the Constitution the authors were actually breaking the laws of the Articles and needed 2/3 or 9 of the 13 states to Ratify the new constitution. It took a total of 2.5 years to get all states to Ratify(Approve/Pass) to the new Constitution.

The Fight to Ratify After the Constitution was written and sent out to the states to get approval, there was a huge debate between two opposite camps known as the Federalists and Anti- federalists. A Federalist is someone who was in favor of ratifying the new constitution. Most people who attended the constitutional convention in Philly belonged to the federalist camp. The mission of the federalists was to convince people that the new government under the constitution would protect the “people” not tyrannize them

The Anti-Federalists The Anti-Federalists were those who disliked to the new Constitution and favored States right. Included prominent Americans such as Samuel Adams, John Hancock, and Patrick Henry. Parts of the constitution they took objection to included…. The absence of the word GOD in the constitution Denial to the states to print their own money The increased power of the Federal Gov and decreased power of the State The lack of a bill of rights that protected personal freedoms

The Experiment The 55 men in Philly were technically breaking the law by creating the Constitution… In essence they were overthrowing the Articles of Confederation Benjamin Franklin Called the Constitution an Experiment and thought it would only last 10 years. Why did it succeed??? Because it created a Bi- Cameral (Two-Houses) Legislative Branch. The House of Representatives was based on Population more people more Votes (Big States Happy) The Senate was based on equality all states had an equal say (small states happy)

The New Constitution The constitution sets up the basic principles upon which the government in the United States is built and is referred to as “The Law of the Land”, and the Living Document The Constitution is a relatively short document at only 7,000 words and it only takes about a 1/2 hour to read

Constitutional Makeup What makes up the Constitution? A very short introduction called the Preamble 7 Articles that define the Gov. make up the bulk of the Constitution The 1st three Articles outline the basic organization of the Government into a Executive, Legislative, Judicial branches. And how people are selected to these positions. The Seven Articles are followed by 27 Amendments- that were added to the constitution in chronological order.

Basic Principles The Constitution is founded on Six Basic Principles. –(Popular Sovereignty), (Limited Gov.), (Separation of Power), (Checks and Balances), (Judicial Review), and (Federalism). Popular Sovereignty- In the US all power resides in the People. –“We the People of the US establish the Constitution of the US.” Separation of Powers- The powers of the Gov are divided to prevent one branch from getting too strong or abusing its power

Six Principles cont’ Limited Government- This idea states that no Government is all powerful, the Government may do only the things that the people give it power to do… The Government must obey same laws as citizens Checks and Balances- the 3 branches of Gov are not separate, but they are tied together through the powers to Check the actions of the other if they get out of line. –Ex. Congress makes laws, but the President may veto a law –Ex. President is commander of Army but only congress declares war The President appoints Fed. Judges and Important officials, but these appointments must be approved by congress

Six Principles Cont’ Judicial Review- This power is given to the courts and is used to determine whether the government is obeying the constitution –To date 150 laws created by congress have been determined unconstitutional Federalism- This idea says that the Federal Gov and the State government share many powers –Federalism was a compromise between a weak loose friendship of States and an all powerful central government

Extra Credit Rev What is an Anti-Federalist Someone who was against the new constitution How many words are in the Constitution 7,000 What is the Introduction of the Constitution called? Preamble How many Articles are found in the Constitution 7 How many amendments are found in the Constitution 27 What does limited Government mean? Government must follow laws too How does Federalism Work State and Federal Gov. Share power