Georgia Constitution and The Articles of Confederations

What are the next steps? Now that the colonies have gained independence, what’s next? Brainstorm/discuss what would need to happen next as a country and for each individual colony. What do you think the biggest challenges are going to be?

Word Review Ratify- To approve or make valid Unicameral - Consisting of a single branch, chamber or house, as a legislative assembly. Bicameral - having two branches, chambers, or houses, as a legislative body. Confederation - local/state governments make their own laws. A weak overlying central government.

Tasks Read Articles of Confederation handout Answer questions 1- 9 on your paper Review the 13 articles and answer questions 10 -12 and be ready to discuss the questions Brainstorm the ways each of the FIVE weaknesses of the AOC’s will create a problem for the new country

Reading Guide AOC 1. How many years was the Articles of Confederation our system of government? 8; 1781-1789 2. What problem did the colonists face after gaining independence from Great Britain? They did not know what kind of government they should have 3. How did their experience with heavy-handed British rule effect the establishment of the new form of government? They wanted a government that couldn’t do much or that was all powerful 4. How many governments did they have under the Articles of Confederation? 14; Each state had their own government + Congress 5. How many branches of government did they have? 1 Congress was the only branch of government.

Reading Guide AOC – Part II 6. How was voting determined among the states? each state got one vote. 7. What were the PROS of the government established by the AOC? 1) formed a not too strong (weak) government 2) states could keep their power and independence 3) the power to create a military to protect all the states 8. What were the CONS of the government established by the AOC? Did not give congress the power to enforce laws No power to collect taxes for the military Every single state had to agree to the changes 9. What made this very difficult to resolve? Each state had different needs (economies), different sizes (population) and different opinions Feared losing freedom to a powerful central government.

Student Friendly AOC What powers did the Articles give to the national government? Allowed establishment of Congress (A. V) Control of value of money (A. IX) Rules for when Congress not in session (A. X) Pay debt to other countries (A. XII) Changes to articles needed approval by Congress and all states (A. XIII) What is required to pass a law? What is required to allow a new colony admission into the U.S.? What is required to amend the AOC? 9 out of 13 states have to agree All states and Congress had to agree unanimously 12. What is missing from the articles that you believe would make an effective country? Student responses will vary

Problems with the AOC -No one to enforce laws -No checks and balance Strong legislative branch, no executive or judicial branches: -No separation of powers -No one to enforce laws -No checks and balance Each state had its own currency: -Issues with trade between states -No system for currency exchange -No economical unity -National currency was worthless 1. Strong legislative branch, no executive and no judicial branch 2. Each had its own currency 3. All 13 states had to approve an amendment to the articles 4. Each state got one vote regardless of the population 5. Created a WEAK central government Created a weak central government: -All power rested with individual states -Could do nothing without states’ approval -Couldn’t enforce laws -Couldn’t collect taxes for national defense All 13 states had to vote to amend the Articles: -Would make changing the system almost impossible -Would not accommodate state’s different needs Each state got ONE vote regardless of the population: -Voting was not a true representation of the population - States with small populations received the same voice as states with large populations

U.S. Constitution

Problems with the Articles of Confederation The Articles of Confederation were purposefully designed to provide the people with as much power as possible. (1) Created a very weak central government and led to many problems including: (2) Yes; Lack of funds meant they could not maintain an Army or Navy; they could not build roads or canals (3) Difficulty passing laws because all 13 states had to agree

Constitutional Convention (4) The convention was held at Independence Hall in Philadelphia in 1787. The delegates attended, representing every state except Rhode Island. (5) The outcome was an entirely new government and constitution.

Georgia in the Constitutional Convention (6) Georgia, and the Southern delegates, were unified in support of slavery. (7) Three-Fifths Compromise- a compromise agreed upon by the North and the South which allowed for slaves to count toward a state’s overall population by counting slaves as “3/5 of a person.”

Georgia in the Constitutional Convention (8) The Great Compromise- created a bicameral legislature where each state had 2 members in the Senate but representation in the House of Representatives was based on the state’s population.

Abraham Baldwin (9) Pol. Accomplishments 1 of 4 Georgians at Constitutional Convention Served 5 terms as U.S. Congressman Served 2 terms as U.S. Senator (10)Most famous for his role in the creation of the University of Georgia and served as UGA’s first president.

William Few (11) He did not make a major impression at the Constitutional Convention (12) But- he later served as senator, a representative, and a judge in the state of Georgia. In New York he became a member of the legislature and a bank president.