The Writing of the U.S. Constitution

confederation An agreement of friendship between states

national Having to do with a whole nation or country

trade Doing business between states or countries

Federal government A form/type of government with two parts – a national government and A state government

union The joining of states into one U.S. government

Constitutional Convention The meeting in 1787 in Philadelphia to write a new plan for a U.S. government

compromise The making of an agreement where both sides give up something

slave A person who could be bought, sold and owned by another person

export Any product sent from one country to another to trade it or sell it

amendment A change or correction to a written document

5 things common in all individual state constitutions Rule by the people Limited government Rights and freedoms Separation of powers Checks and balances

Rule by the people the government’s power is in the control of the people

Limited government The government must only have a few powers All powers the government gets must be approved by the people

Rights and freedoms All people have certain rights and freedoms that the government cannot take away

Separation of powers The government was divided into three branches/parts Power to pass laws Power to carry out the laws Power to judge the laws

Checks and balances Each branch of government could check the other branches You can hold back or make sure the other branches were doing the right thing Checks help to balance the power and make sure no one branch took all the power or did the wrong thing

States Joining Together The states were against a strong government that would have power over the states The Second Continental Congress wrote a plan for government that made a confederation between the states – This plan was called the Articles of Confederation

The Articles of Confederation The first plan for the US government Set up the first national government for the US Was ratified [approved] by the states in 1781

The Articles of Confederation States would be just a group of “friends” Representatives went to congress from each state Congress had only a few powers: Could make war and peace Could deal with other countries Could borrow money Could ask the states for money or soldiers

The Articles of Confederation Problems with Congress: No power to tax No power to carry out laws Had no power to make rules about trade between states

The Articles of Confederation Problems with the states States started to act like 13 independent countries Each state had their own different money Each state set up different armies & navies Some states became enemies with other states

The Articles of Confederation Realized the Articles of Confederation government was too weak

New Meeting in Philadelphia Need to change the government The federal government needed more powers (authority)