Creating A Constitution TAV Chapter 3 Creating A Constitution

Articles of Confederation Weak central Govt. No power to tax No power to regulate commerce No power to coin money Could not force states to abide by treaties Cannot declare war unless all states agree

Articles of Confederation Cntd. One vote per state Unanimous vote to change articles 9/13 to pass a measure

Northwest Ordinance 1787 Land north of the Ohio River and east of the Miss. River Governor, Secretary and 3 Judges 5,000 adult men owning 50+ acres they could elect a Terr. Legislature 60,000 Pop. they could petition to become a state

Northwest Terr. Contd. Freedom of religion Trial by jury No slavery or servitude Was not exactly followed

Shays’ Rebellion 1786, farmers in W. Mass. Try to shut down courthouses that are collecting taxes. The recession and the added taxes were causing farmers to lose their land. 1,200 farmers took part in the uprising that was eventually stopped by the US Army. 4 farmers were killed

Chapter 3 Section 2 A New Constitution

Constitutional Convention May 1787, 55 delegates from every state but Rhode Island convened at the Pennsylvania Statehouse in Philadelphia. They planned on making changes to the Articles of Conf. Scrap the Articles and start over George Washington presided over the Conv.

James Madison, The Father of the Constitution, kept a written record of the proceedings. Held in secret

The Virginia Plan Written by Madison, & presented by Edmund Randolph 2 house legislature Voters would elect the members of the 1st house & the 1st house would pick the members of the 2nd # of members would be based on population Judicial branch

New Jersey Plan Called for: Executive Branch Judicial Branch Power to tax One-house legislature with one vote per state

Deadlock at the Convention July 2, 1787, a vote was taken to see how the delegate felt about the plans The delegates were split

The Great Compromise Parts of each plan were use to help the delegates come to an agreement.

The Great Compromise

The 3/5 Compromise To resolve the issue of counting slaves as population The slave population of each state would be multiplied by 3/5 to count toward the Pop.

The Separation of Powers Divided into three branches Each branch has the power to check the others EX. The Executive can veto legislative acts The legislature can override the executive veto with a 2/3 vote

The New Congress House of Representatives Senators Chosen every 2 years Senators Chosen by members of the House of Representatives Later changed to popular vote Serve for 6 years Only 1/3 of the Senate would be up for re-election every 2 years

Powers of Congress Coin money Deal w/ other nations Declare war Raise an Army Provide for a Navy Regulate commerce

The Executive Branch-President Elected to a 4 year term Originally, could be re-elected as many times as the people wanted The Commander-in-chief of the armed forces Voters chose the electors to vote on the President

The Electoral College System The electoral votes are equal to each state’s number of representatives The winner of the most Electoral College votes becomes the President In the event of a tie… The House of Representatives would vote on the President Each state would get 1 vote

Judicial Branch - Courts Appointed by the President The U.S. Supreme Court Justices are appointed for life

Ratifying the Constitution Chapter 3 Section 3 Ratifying the Constitution

The Constitutional Quandary In 1787, not everyone liked the new constitution The country was divided into two groups The Federalists The Anti-Federalists

The Federalists Wanted a strong federal Govt. Supported by Washington, Madison, & Alexander Hamilton The Federalist Papers were 85 essays outlining reasons for a strong Fed. Govt. They called for a “republican empire” Meaning Govt. by the people

The Anti-Federalists People who were against the Constitution Led by Patrick Henry They felt that a constitution would betray the ideals of the American Revolution The breaking away from a strong central Govt. Saw the President as a king

Ratification There were more Anti-Feds. than Feds. The Federalists used the following: Played on feelings that the Articles of Conf. needed reform Made the Anti-Feds look negative They were well organized George Washington Their Ace in the hole

Voting For Ratification Voting on ratification of the Const. began in Dec. of 1787 FINALLY… In May 1790, Rhode Island accepted the U.S. Constitution

The Bill of Rights The first ten amendments of the U.S. Const. Accepted in Dec. 1791

The Arguments Against the Bill of Rights Federalists were against the Bill of Rts. It is not needed B/c. a Govt. of, for, & by the people should be all the protection we would ever need People would not sign away their own freedoms. Therefore, they will not sign away other people’s freedoms

The Arguments For the Bill of Rights The position of the Anti-Federalists They did not trust the Govt. They wanted a list of protections from this new strong central Govt. That way there was no question as to what the Govt. could or could not do