The Constitution Chapter 3 Notes

Big Ideas Americans faced the task of forming independent governments at both the state and national levels. American leaders decided that a new constitution was needed. The Constitution is this nation’s fundamental law. The Constitution sets forth the basic principles of government.

The Nation’s First Governments Prior to the Declaration of Independence in 1776, the Continental Congress advised the colonies to write state constitutions. New Hampshire was the first in 1776. Within a few years, each of the others followed suit.

What’s a Constitution? A Constitution is a written plan for government. Most colonial constitutions called for a bicameral legislature, or one made up of two houses. They also provided for a governor and a court system.

Why do we need a Constitution? The main purpose of a constitution is to protect the rights of the people from the government by limiting the governments powers. Government should protect your life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

Articles of Confederation During and after the Revolution, the independent states or colonies had a loose union holding them together. They were basically a loose union of friendly countries the agreed to work together in certain areas to make business easier.

Articles of Confederation The major accomplishment of the Articles were the Ordinances of 1785 and 1787. 1785: Set up a system for surveying and selling western lands. 1787: Set up a system to organize the western territories and method for admitting new states as well as rules prohibiting slavery.

Weaknesses of Articles of Conf. Congress had not power to: Collect Taxes, Regulate Trade, Enforce it’s Laws. Also lacked a single leader or group to direct policy. No national court system. Too difficult to pass laws. Too difficult to make changes to agreement.

The Constitutional Convention 55 Delegates (representatives) from 12 of the new states met in Philadelphia, PA in 1787. Their goal was to fix the problems with the Articles of Confederation. Eventually they decided to scrap the Articles and write an entirely new Constitution.

The Delegates Of the 55 Delegates there were: Mostly well-educated Lawyers, Merchants, College Presidents, Doctors, Generals, Governors and Planters. Most of them had political experience. The delegates included: George Washington James Madison Benjamin Franklin George Mason Missing were: Thomas Jefferson John Adams Patrick Henry

Virginia Plan This plan proposed by James Madison called for a government that included a president, courts, and a congress with two houses with representation based on population. Supported by the states with large populations.

New Jersey Plan This plan proposed by William Paterson called for a much smaller government, similar to the Articles of Conf. It included a one house congress with equal votes. Congress would gain the powers to set taxes and regulate trade. Supported by states with smaller populations.

The Great Compromise AKA The Connecticut Compromise The delegates debated these plans for six weeks. This plan called for a two house congress. The Senate would have 2 members from each state. The House of Representatives would have it’s membership based on population. Neither side loved this plan, but it was a compromise they could both live with.

The Three-Fifths Compromise At the time of the Convention, there were over 550,000 slaves living in the states. Southern states wanted slaves to count as part of their population. Northern states said that slaves should not be counted because they couldn’t vote. The compromise was for slaves to count as 3/5 of a person when being counted as part of the population.

Trade Compromises They agreed that congress would be able to regulate trade with other countries and between the states but could not tax exports or interfere with the slave trade until 1808.

The Electoral College (President) Some delegates thought the congress should choose the president. Others believed the people should vote. The electoral college is a system where the voters in each state elect electors who then choose the president.

Ratification After the delegates approved their finished Constitution it headed back to each state for final approval. Each of the states would hold a ratifying convention that would result in a yes or no vote. It would require 9 of the 13 states to vote yes for the Constitution to be adopted.

Federalists vs. Anti-Federalists Federalists were people that supported a large central government that had lots of power. Anti-Federalists thought that the states should retain most of the lawmaking and decision making powers. They favored a limited government.

Major Principles of Our Government Popular Sovereignty means that the population has the power to rule their government. The Rule of Law means that the law applies to everyone, even those in government. No one may break the law (unless you’re a famous athlete or actor or politician!)

Major Principles of Our Government Separation of Powers: The powers of our government is divided up among the 3 branches. Checks and Balances: Each branch has certain powers over the other two branches. This prevents any one branch from becoming too powerful.

Federalism Power in the United States is shared by the 50 states and the Federal Government. There are three types of powers described in the Constitution: Expressed Powers Reserved Powers Concurrent Powers

Federal and State Powers Expressed Powers are specifically granted to the federal government in the Constitution. Reserved Powers are specifically given to the states. Concurrent Powers are powers shared by the Federal and State governments.