BEGINNINGS OF THE CONSTITUTION

Declaration of Independence Statement of reasons for separation from Britain Divided into 4 sections or parts 1st section: Preamble (introduction) 2nd section: Declaration of Rights 3rd section: Complaints 4th section: Resolution Signed and adopted July 4th, 1776

Beginnings of the Constitution 1776: declaration of independence 1777: wrote the Articles of Confederation 1781: Articles approved by all states Type of limited national government One branch of gov't (legislative: make and execute the laws)

Problems with the Articles Each state had its own court system and constitution Wealthy thought too much power given to the uneducated Huge debt ($50 million) no way to pay it High taxes between interstate commerce Unpredictable behavior of individual states

Shay's Rebellion Wealthy farmers/merchants/etc. had loaned the state govt's money for the war They weren't being paid back and high taxes were being placed on them (gold/silver) Daniel Shays led a rebellion, took over the courts in Massachusetts and closed them down Congress could do nothing (had no power to stop them), state army stopped it Shays sentenced to death, later repealed

VIRGINIA PLAN Bicameral- two houses of legislature Proportion to state population Power to tax/regulate foreign and interstate trade veto state legislature/use force against state create executive and judicial braches (3 branches)

NEW JERSEY Power to tax/regulate foreign and interstate trade Create executive and judicial braches Unicameral, one house of legislature Each state gets the same number of representatives

GREAT COMPROMISE Two houses of legislature: Senate: each state gets the same # of representatives House of Representatives: reps based on state population Makes both the large and small states happy

THREE-FIFTHS COMPROMISE Determining how the slave population would be counted in state population for # of representatives 3/5 of the slave population will be counted in the state population

Constitution was finished being drafted on September 17th, 1787 Constitution created a new type of government called the Federal Government Separation of Powers: no one branch has complete power or authority, each of the 3 branches are given an area of authority Legislative: makes the laws Executive:enforces (executes) the laws Judicial: interprets the laws Checks and Balances: a system of checks and balances are created to check/stop the other branches in certain ways This prevents tyranny and misuse of power In order for the Constitution to become a legal binding document in the United States, 9 of the 13 states had to ratify the document. Groups began forming that either supported or opposed the Constitution. These groups were called Federalists and Anti- Federalists.