 Articles of Confederation: rules that governed United States after the Revolutionary War Articles of Confederation  Weaknesses of the Articles:  congress could not pay soldiers  states could not be forced to pay  trade between states not regulated  trade with other countries not controlled  George Washington and other leaders agreed to gather to discuss the problems

 1787: Constitutional Convention met in Philadelphia  Fifty-five representatives attended  George Washington presided over the convention  Founding Fathers: James Madison  Most members well-educated and conservative  Delegates knew problems of the weak national government and sought solution  AssetId=5ef48da5-627b-44e0-acfb-dc30a player.discoveryeducation.com/index.cfm?guid AssetId=5ef48da5-627b-44e0-acfb-dc30a James Madison is considered the father of the constitution because of his note taking and early drafting at the convention.

 William Few and Abraham Baldwin represented Georgia at the 1787 Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia; George Washington presided Constitutional Convention  U.S. Constitution established three governmental branches: Executive, Legislative, and Judicial  Senate and House of Representatives established; only three-fifths of slave population would count toward representation

 Define Constitution?  A fundamental plan of operation for a government  Highest level of law telling what government can and can’t do.  Sets up different branches of government  Includes important rights and liberties of the people  on.com/index.cfm?guidAssetId = a-9fd b f38f5 on.com/index.cfm?guidAssetId = a-9fd b f38f5

 Large states and small states had different interests  Virginia Plan:  strong national government  three branches (legislative, judicial, executive)  legislative branch (House of Representatives and Senate) elected by proportional representation (large states get more votes)  Small states did not like Virginia Plan because they could be dominated by large states  New Jersey Plan: gave more power to small states, but had a weak national government; number of representatives would be the same for each state.

 Great Compromise, or Connecticut Compromise: House of Representative would have “proportional representation” and Senate “equal representation” 2 Houses would make up Congress aka the Legislative Branch, not 1:  The House of Reps – States would be represented according to population.  The Senate – Each state would have 2 senators, regardless of state population.

 Slaves were a large part of population in the South  Debate as to whether to count slaves in “proportional representation” of House of Representatives  Three-Fifths Compromise: States were allowed to count 3 of every 5 slaves in their census for purposes of representation  Agreed to stop importing slaves after 1808

 Should citizens or Congress elect the President?  Decided on electoral college system:  Each state’s legislature allowed to have as many “electors” as they had members of Congress  State representatives voted for the electors who would vote for President and Vice-President

 Delegates studied many types of government  republic: a form of government in which power resides with the citizens who elect representatives to make laws  James Madison described a government in which a large number of people voted for the representatives

 ratification: to approve or make valid  September 17, 1787: Constitution approvedConstitution  Federalists: people who wanted a strong national government  Antifederalists: wanted states to have more power than national government  By 1791, ten amendments approved – known as The Bill of Rights – to protect citizens’ rights The Bill of Rights  Delaware was first state to ratify; Georgia was the fourth state to ratify  June 1788 – Constitution ratified by 9 states and becomes the framework for US government

 Georgia was fourth state to ratify (approve) the new Constitution  Constitution could be amended (changed); first 10 amendments became Bill of Rights  George Washington became the first Presidentfirst President

 The Arts of Confederation failed to create an effective national government for the new nation.  Georgia needed the protection that a strong national government could provide against the aggressive Indian population.  They liked the Bill of Rights idea and the compromises in the constitution b/c individual liberties would be protected, and the national government would not be too strong.  Also, Spain was a potential threat, b/c they controlled East and West Florida b/c of the Treaty of Paris of 1783.

- In May of 1787, delegates from each state except Rhode Island got together again to draft the Constitution. - GA sent 4 delegates: William Pierce, William Houstoun, William Few, and Abraham Baldwin. - Few and Baldwin had the greatest influence and impact as they were the only 2 to stick around the Constitutional Convention to sign the final draft of the Constitution of America.

1. Sovereignty: supreme power of government rests with the people electorate (voters) choose leaders to make laws and run the country US is not a “democracy” but a representative democracy or republic 2. Constitutionalism: all representatives are bound by the rules of the Constitution lawmakers cannot just make up laws as they see fit 3. Federalism: national government and state governments share power and authority  c1eb504/The-Bill-of-Rights-Hand-Game c1eb504/The-Bill-of-Rights-Hand-Game Click to return to Table of Contents.

 Economy in ruin; government provided food basics as farmers tried to reestablish their farms  Capital moved to AugustaAugusta  Georgia delegates met in 1788 and 1789; adopted state constitution similar to national government, with three branches  General Assembly had two houses, Senate and House of Representatives; appointed governor and judges; controlled spending decisions Click to return to Table of Contents

 Essential Question  What was Georgia’s role in the Constitutional Convention?