The American Constitution Constitution Test 10/24/2014

Republic Republic: A government in which citizens rule through elected representatives Monarchy: A government in which….

Weaknesses of Articles of Confederation States had too much power Congress was too weak No national army/navy Only white people count (pop.) President only has 1 year term Executive is WEAK 9/13 need to agree No federal court system NOT united “Confederacy”

(Pg. 140) Big Question: Why was the Constitution drafted? Topic: Why did Nationalists want to strengthen the government? Sub-Topic: Call for Convention VIP: Only 5 states went to the first convention VIP: Shay’s Rebellion convinced more states to attend Sub-Topic: Convention Highlights VIP: Held in Philly in 1787 VIP: 55 delegates—well educated men

Groups for textbook VIPs (Pg ) #1: Big States Versus Small States #2: Slavery-Related Issues #3: Division of Powers #4: Separation of Powers #5: Creating the Constitution

Textbook Review Big States vs. Small States Delegates from the small states objected to the Virginia Plan because it gave more power to states with large populations Great Compromise offered a 2- house Congress to satisfy both big and small states

Textbook Review Slavery and Related Issues Questions about whether slaves are counted as people 3/5 Compromise: slaves count as 3/5 of a person A division between North & South

Textbook Review Division of Powers Federalism divided power between national government and state governments Powers that control foreign affairs, national defense, regulating trade, and money  national gov’t Power to control education, marry people, and trade within the state  state gov’t

Textbook Review Separation of Powers Created 3 branches: Legislative, Executive, and Judicial Established a system of checks and balances to prevent one branch from dominating the others Delegates in Congress protected the rights of the states

Textbook Review Creating the Constitution Delegates provided a means to change the Constitution: amendment process GW was uncertain about the Constitution They sent the final draft to Congress for approval

8 th Period

Textbook Review Big States vs. Small States Madison’s Virginia Plan favored large states (representation based on population) The New Jersey Plan favored small states (equal representation regardless of population) Great Compromise made a bicameral legislature

Textbook Review Slavery Related Issues Representation based on population raised the question—are slaves counted as people? 3/5 Compromise said 3/5 of slaves would be counted

Textbook Review Division of Powers Federalism: political system that divided power between national government and state government National Government: Foreign affairs, money, trade State Government: Trade within state, education, marriages, LOCAL issues

Separation of Powers Made the 3 branches of government: Executive, Legislative, Judicial Checks and balances—so one branch can’t dominate Electoral college would decide elections

Creating the Constitution 4 months of debate GW didn’t think it would last Constitution sent to Congress for approval (ratification)

Problems of Population 1. What problems will population differences cause in the new government? 2. Why does the slave population matter in terms of the new government? What was the 3/5 Compromise? How did it help to solve the issue of determining state population? 3. What was the Great Compromise? How did the Great Compromise help to solve the issue of different populations in states?

Population Population  different levels of representation *voting* in Congress PROBLEM: need to settle the NJ vs. VA Plan debate for representation SOLUTION: Great Compromise *BICAMERAL LEGISLATURE* PROBLEM: slaves didn’t count as people, but Southern states had many slaves SOLUTION: 3/5 Compromise *3/5 of slaves count toward population*

Homework: Read and complete the VIP outline process for pages Big Question: What were the main issues Americans debated about the proposed Constitution Topic: Who were the federalists and antifederalists? Sub-Topic: Controversies over the Constitution VIP Sub-Topic: The Opposing Forces VIP

Federalists vs. Anti-Federalists: Use your notes to answer the following questions 1. What does ‘ratification’ mean? 2. Who were the Federalists? What did they believe? 3. Who were the Anti-Federalists? What did they believe? 4. Who wrote the Federalist Papers? What did the papers say?

Bill of Rights (Pg. 147) Why was this necessary for ratification? Bill of Rights: formal statement of the rights of the people This allowed anti-federalists and federalists to agree to ratify (approve) the new Constitution

The Legislative Branch Turn to Page Read the Sections ARTICLE 1 to answer the questions in the packet ARTICLE 1 is about the LEGISLATURE

#21: Bill vs. Law Bill is a draft/proposal Law is made official

#22: Veto Power Executive check on the legislature

#23: Steps to make a bill into a law Overview: Bill arises in Congress Both houses of Congress discuss/debate Both houses agree on one draft Both houses send the one draft to the President President approves or vetoes

#24: Sections 8-9 of Article 1 The Elastic Clause: (clause 18) “necessary and proper” Declaration of War: Congressional power Habeas Corpus: “you have the body”—you can’t be arrested or jailed without reason; you can appear in court to plead your case Ex Post Facto law: after the fact

Constitution Review Sessions Wednesday in 317 (Mr. Bouchard) Thursday in 318 (Ms. Cantacessi)