Revolution to Constitution

Objectives Students will… Categorize the various components on the Declaration of Independent Describe how the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation led to the writing of the Constitution Compare the Virginia and New Jersey Plan ID cause/effect relationships in the development of American government Standard: GC.5 Summarize (CC) with supporting evidence why the Founding Fathers established a constitutional system that limited the power of government. (H, P)

The path to revolution… Colonial governments were set up a lot like English governments Ideas we stole from England… Ordered government Wanted to regulate their relations with each other Limited government Government is not all powerful There are individual rights that can’t be taken away Representative government Government should serve the will of the people

Magna Carta (1215) Written by rich land owners Limited the king’s power to tax English citizens Gave citizens the right to due process and a trial Allowed citizens to elect people to represent them (led to the creation of Parliament) Promoted freedom of religion Ignored for 400 years "The democratic aspiration is no mere recent phase in human history . . . It was written in Magna Carta." --Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 1941 Inaugural address "To no one will We sell, to no one will We deny or delay, right or justice.” -Magna Carta

English Bill of Rights (1689) Limited the king’s power to tax English citizens Gave citizens the right to due process and a trial Allowed citizens to elect people to represent them Provided citizens with the opportunity to come to the king with complaints Was actually followed

The Coming of Independence The colonies were being taxed to pay for British wars “taxation without representation” Since England was so far away, the colonies were essentially self-governed First Continental Congress (1774) Second Continental Congress (1775-1781)

The Declaration of Independence July 4, 1776 Thomas Jefferson was the main writer Laid out the natural rights of man and declared that the king had violated those rights

Read the DOI (together) Anatomy of the DOI The Preamble- the purpose Rights- what rights do people have? Grievances- what did Britain do? Intentions- what are the colonists going to do about it?

The New Government After the Revolution, the Framers were given the task to make a new government Thinking about the Declaration, what you think the Framers wanted in a new government? More state power No central power

The Articles of Confederation The first government after revolution It was described as a “firm league of friendship” between the states The new government was set up in response to the abuses of the King and Parliament of England Life under British rule left Americans a little wary of a new government They had incentive to keep the government weak Made a confederation A loose alliance of independent states

The Articles of Confederation Provisions: Each state was independent and would have its own government Each state would send representatives to the “Congress of the Confederation,” a lawmaking body Congress was the only branch of government In Congress, each state got one vote

The Articles of Confederation The Articles had good parts and bad parts Pros Cons States got to keep their power Congress could raise a military to protect the states Congress could borrow money Congress couldn't enforce laws Congress couldn’t tax to pay for the military or pay down debt from the Revolutionary War Could only be amended by unanimous vote

The Articles of Confederation It became apparent early that this government wasn’t working States had different needs Fishing based economy vs. farming based economy States had different sizes Population People had different opinions Fear of central government vs. need for a central government

Compromise? Several states realized the Articles weren’t working and came together to amend them Many states wanted three branches The federal government needed to be able to enforce law May 25, 1787

Representation The biggest argument became about representation in Congress Under the Articles, each state sent one representative Large states hated is, small states loved it The Framers set out to come up with a plan that most could be happy with

Virginia Plan vs. New Jersey Plan VA Plan NJ Plan Legislative branch has 2 chambers Number of votes depends on the state’s population Legislative branch has one chamber Each state gets one vote

The Connecticut Compromise (aka The Great Compromise) Congress is divided into two chambers The House and the Senate House: population Senate: equality Other problems the Constitution solves The Constitution requires states to treat citizens of other states the same The Constitution can be amended by ¾ of the states The Constitution is the supreme law of the land

Cause and Effect Every grievance in the Declaration can be tied to a provision in the Articles The weaknesses in the Articles can be tied to the provisions in the Constitution [Cause and effect activity]

Before you go… Complete the true/false exit ticket