Constitution

Vocabulary Constitution Legislative Branch Bicameral Executive Branch Confederation Judicial Branch Ratify Amendment Great Compromise Popular sovereignty Three-Fifths Compromise Separation of Powers Electoral College Checks and Balances Federalisms Expressed Powers Federalism Reserved Powers Anti-Federalists Concurrent Powers Preamble

Articles Of Confederation Unicameral legislature where each state had one vote. Could Could not Make laws - Tax Control military - Enforce laws Organize treaties - Regulate trade Establish national courts - Control money supply Federal system: Power is divided between national and state governments.

AOC’S ACCOMPLISHMENTS Ordinance of 1785 Divided the land into townships and allowed Congress to raise money by selling the land to settlers. Northwest Ordinance Laid the basis for the organization of new territorial governments and set a precedent for the method of admitting new states to the Union. Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin

The End of the AOC The Articles proved to be too weak for the country. Shay’s rebellion: A group of farmers in Massachusetts were in debt because of heavy state taxes. 1200 rebelled but were defeated. Showed the founders of our government that a stronger central government was needed.

Constitutional Convention May 25, 1787 55 delegates from 12 states met in Philadelphia. The purpose of the meeting was to revise the Articles of Confederation. The delegates agreed on four things: 1. Throw out the articles. 2. Each state had one vote regardless of the amount of delegates. 3. Keep it secret for 25 years. 4. George Washington would be in charge. Because technically, it wasn't what they were supposed to be doing. They were on orders to fix the Articles of the Confederation but were not given the authority to draft a whole new Constitution. In a manner of speaking, they overthrew the government.  Remember, this is post-Revolution so Britain has already let the colonies secede. However, in light of Shaw's Rebellion, the federal government was clearly too weak to do anything and the states were unable to work together because of the varying governments and currencies. At the time they were 13 nations loosely allied together, rather than the 13 parts of a greater nation they became after the Constitution.

Plans of Government Virginia James Madison 1. Bicameral legislature based on population. 2. Strong Executive Branch 3. National Court System New Jersey William Patterson 1. Unicameral legislature with equal representation. 3. National Court system Connecticut Roger Sherman 1. Bicameral legislature: Upper house equal and lower house based on population.

Constitutional Compromises Details Great Compromise Bicameral legislature Upper: Equal (Senate) Lower: Based on population (House of Rep) Three-Fifths One slave equals three-fifths of a person for the purposes of taxation and representation. Slave trade and commerce Congress can control all aspects of foreign and interstate trade, but they can not stop the slave trade until it is re-addressed in twenty years. Executive The Executive branch will be lead by one individual called “President” and will be elected every four years by the Electoral College (that is their sole purpose)

Ratification Nine out of 13 states had to ratify the Constitution. It was signed by the delegates on September 17, 1787. Federalists supported the Constitution. They wrote a series of essays called the Federalist papers that were published in newspapers across the country. James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay were the writers defending the Constitution. Anti-federalists were those that opposed the Constitution. They felt that too much power was given to the National government. They wanted a bill of rights. June 21, 1788 New Hampshire became the ninth state to ratify the Constitution. Rhode Island was the 13th state to ratify it in 1790.

Constitution Supreme law of the land. Provides the framework for government in the United States. All powers of each branch of government are in the Constitution.

Constitution 6 Purposes To unite To create equality To maintain peace Preamble – an introduction that states the goals and purposes of the government. “We the people of the United States , in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.” 6 Purposes To unite To create equality To maintain peace To provide defense To promote healthy and happy life To guarantee basic rights of all citizens (present and future)

Constitution breakdown 1. Preamble 2. Seven Articles: I. Legislative Branch II. Executive Branch III. Judicial Branch IV. Relations among states V. Amending process VI. National Supremacy VII. Ratification process 3. Twenty-seven amendments

Checks and Balances The powers of the government are divided into three branches: (Rock Paper Scissors) Legislative: Congress-Make laws (House of Reps. And Senate) Executive: President. Enforce laws. Judicial: Supreme Court. Interpret laws. The system of checks and balances keeps one branch of government from becoming too powerful.

Four basic principles The Constitution was designed on four basic principles: Popular Sovereignty Limited Government Federalism Separation of powers

Popular Sovereignty The right of the people to rule themselves (vote). Voters elect representatives and through the Electoral College, they elect a president. The president and representatives are there to serve the people.

Limited government A danger is that the majority may deny rights to the minority. The Constitution protects the rights of all Americans. The Bill of Rights was added later to secure the rights of the people.

Separation of Powers Montesquieu believed that executive, legislative, and judicial powers should be separated. The constitution separates powers and incorporates a system of checks and balances.

Federalism National government shares power with the states. This gives Americans freedom to provide for their own needs. The main reason is sectional differences.

Federalism Continued Types of Power: Enumerated: Powers given to the national government. Can be expressed or implied (Elastic clause). Reserved: Powers given to the state governments. Concurrent: Powers shared between national and state.

Amending Process Process to formally change the Constitution. An amendment must be proposed and ratified. An amendment can be proposed by a 2/3 vote from both houses of Congress or by a national convention called by 2/3 of the state legislatures. The national convention has never occurred. An amendment can be ratified by the approval of ¾ of the state legislatures or by special ratifying conventions that pass in ¾ of the states. The ratifying convention has occurred only once.

Interpretation Loose interpretation: Congress can make any law that the constitution does not specifically forbid Strict interpretation: Congress can only make laws that the constitution gives them direct authority over. The Supreme Court interprets the constitution and can declare laws unconstitutional.

Writing Prompt What was the biggest obstacle the delegates faced when getting the Constitution approved? How did Federalists and Anti-Federalists view the role of the federal government differently, and how did they feel about the Constitution as a result? Please write legibly. There are several detailed questions in the prompt, all must be addressed. 

Warm up Writing Prompt: In your own words answer the following: What does it mean to say that governments derive their power from the “consent of the governed,” and how did belief in this principle help justify the American Revolution and our independence? Please write legibly. There are several detailed questions in the prompt, all must be addressed. 