After Independence What happens now?

___________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________ APK: Activation of Prior Knowledge Write at least 2-3 sentences describing a time when… You finally got your way or something you really wanted for a long time and then did not know what to do with it. Question of the Day How were the Founding Fathers able to resolve their differences to form a federal government in the United States of America?

What has happened in America recently? [From ]  The United States declared independence from Great Britain  Great Britain sent troops to take the colonies back  The United States created a written plan for their new government called the Articles of Confederation  The Articles of Confederation proved to weak and ineffective  Because they Articles of Confederation were weak the new states had to convene to create a new constitution

To keep you on track TopicsSpecific details/factsImpacts or effects Constitutional Convention Federalists and Anti- Federalists Federalism Virginia Plan New Jersey Plan Connecticut’s Great Compromise 3/5ths Compromise

Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia Delegates from all 13 former colonies met to share ideas about how best to create a new federal government to replace the flawed Articles of Confederation. The convention [meeting] lasted about four [4] months and was intended to write and ratify [pass] a United States Constitution. Not everyone was happy with the result but because of their hard work we have a framework of government that has lasted for over 200 years.

After all of the “drama…” After all of the “drama…”  People within the old English American colonies began to “takes sides.”  Factions developed.  A faction is a group of people who comes together to organize and get something accomplished  The two main factions were:  Federalists-This group wanted create a constitution that would unite all 13 colonies under one government  The Federalists supported the U.S. Constitution  The Anti-federalists were worried that a national government would be just like Great Britain and control citizens too much.  Anti-Federalists were against the U.S. Constitution  The anti-federalists wanted to guarantee personal freedoms such as speech and religion

Federalism  Federalism- Type of government with separate and individual (sovereign states).  However, states must follow a higher (federal) law.

Separation of Powers  Although each of the 13 states was sovereign [power and authority for themselves] the state governments were subject to the power of the federal government.  So this meant that in any disagreement between the Federal/Central/National government and the states…  Who wins?  The Federal government!  Remember that this idea was Montesquieu’s. Subordinate-inferior, under, responsible to.

Federalists  The Federalists favored a strong federal/national/central government.  Small states with fewer people supported this faction (The Federalists).  The Federalists wanted Americans to approve the proposed United States Constitution.

Anti-Federalists  The Anti-federalists were from larger states and they favored stronger (state) local governments.  The Anti-federalist did not trust a federal/national/central government because of past experience of mistreatment by England prior to the Revolution. Virginia Pennsylvania

How can we solve these issues?  The Compromise  Each side (Federalists versus Anti-Federalists) had to give up something. The problem for the new states:  What kind of government would they have?

The Virginia Plan [large states]  James Madison came up with a plan of shared power within the new federal government.  There would be three (3) branches [parts] of government.  Remember that this was Montesquieu’s idea  A federal/national Legislature [Legislative] To propose, debate and pass laws To propose, debate and pass laws  A federal/national Judiciary [Judicial] To interpret laws and hear appeals from lower courts To interpret laws and hear appeals from lower courts  An federal/national President [Executive] [Executive] To lead and ensure laws passed by the Congress are enforced To lead and ensure laws passed by the Congress are enforced

Virginia Plan [large states] Virginia Plan [large states]  Executive (president)  Enforces (executes), carries out the laws.  Provides leadership  Head of State  Commander-in-chief of military.  Chief Diplomat

Virginia Plan [large states] Virginia Plan [large states]  Judicial Branch (Supreme Court)  Interprets (explains/decides) what the laws mean.  Hear appeals from lower courts.  Settle legal disputes between branches.  Based on what?  The U.S. Constitution!

Virginia Plan [large states] As a large state, with thousands of slaves, Virginia wanted to have a Congress [Legislature Branch-people who made laws] that based on the amount of representatives each state had on each state’s population with only one house.  This idea did not make states with smaller population happy!

The New Jersey Plan [Small states]  In response to the Virginia Plan states with smaller populations became nervous.  New Jersey believed larger states would dominate the Congress.  They believed each state should have equal representation.  No one state should be more powerful than another.

Connecticut’s Great Compromise The Delegates from Connecticut had an idea to bring all sides together. A compromise to blend the ideas of Virginia and New Jersey created a bicameral legislature The new Congress would have two [2] separate houses. The Senate and the House of Representatives The Senate would have equal representation [2 per state] The House of Representatives would have membership based on the state’s population [larger states would have more]

The 3/5ths Compromise  Slave states wanted to include slaves in their population counts even though slaves were not considered citizens.  If allowed, this compromise would boost population count and grant more representatives to slave states in the federal legislature (Congress).  This compromise could benefit large population states such as Virginia.  This would create more voting power in the Congress.  States with large slave populations struck a deal with Northern states and accepted the compromise.  For every 5 slaves states were allowed to count 3 for purposes of population.

 The result of the Philadelphia Convention was a ratified federal U.S. Constitution.  All 13 states, except Rhode Island, ratified (passed and accepted) the U.S. Constitution in 1787 and it became the framework of our government.  The document is often a living document because the Framers wrote it with knowledge that it future Americans would have use it. " There are several parts of this Constitution which I do not at present approve, but I am not sure I shall never approve them.... I doubt too whether any other Convention we can obtain, may be able to make a better Constitution.... It therefore astonishes me, Sir, to find this system approaching so near to perfection as it does; and I think it will astonish our enemies..." --Benjamin Franklin What did Benjamin Franklin mean by this?

Group work: Create posters  Group 1 N.J. Plan  Group 2 Virginia Plan  Group 3 The Connecticut Plan a.k.a The Great Compromise  Group 4 The 3/5ths Compromise  Students will assemble into groups and each group will create a poster that will promote one of the above plans or compromises as if they were to present it to the Constitutional Convention to convince people to support it. Include specific details and creative reasons why people should support this plan or compromise.

321 Closure Assignment [Be prepared to discuss this in class when I return] 3 lessons learned from the Constitutional Convention- 2 things you would ask either side in the Federalist/Anti-Federalist debate- 1 decision you would have handled differently [why?]-

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