1. Historical Roots of American Government
Word.
Chapter 2
Historical Roots of American Government

2. Leading Up to the Declaration
The Magna Carta (1215)
First document to limit the power of a king
Guaranteed some rights– king could not punish someone without jury trial

3. Leading Up to the Declaration
John Locke’s 2nd Treatise on Government
Natural Rights – men had rights given to them by God before governments were ever created.
John Locke

4. Leading Up to the Declaration
Man’s natural rights are:
LIFE
LIBERTY
PROPERTY
Government’s purpose is to protect these, not take them away!

5. Britain Messes with the Colonies
The Stamp Act 1765
Required every published piece of paper to receive a British stamp of approval, and pay a tax with it
NO TAXATION WITHOUT REPRESENTATION

6. Colonial Unity Stamp Act Congress (1765)
9 colonies joined together to protest England’s Stamp Act, and England repealed it

7. Colonial Unity First Continental Congress (1774)
Trying to repair relationship with Britain
Sent a “Declaration of Rights and Grievances” to the king, boycotted trade with England

8. Colonial Unity Second Continental Congress (1775)
Trying to defeat Britain
Convened in the middle of the Revolutionary War

9. Colonial Unity Second Continental Congress (1775)
Elected George Washington Commander-in-Chief of the Army

10. The Declaration of Independence
July 4th, 1776

11. Fundamentals of the Declaration
Men have unalienable natural rights
Governments exist by the consent of the governed
Abusive governments must be changed or replaced
Author: Thomas Jefferson

12. The Articles of Confederation: America’s First Official Government
Articles Confederation
The ___________ of _____________ ( )
-This government only lasted for a few years. It was our country’s _________ form of government. It’s main problem was that it didn’t give the national government enough ______. It was too _______ of a system.
-The power of the Articles of Confederation was given to all the individual ________ and that led to some major problems.
-In the Articles, the national government would be run by a legislative body called the __________ ____________.
-Each state had only ______ vote.
first
power
weak
states
Confederation Congress
one

13. Features of the Articles Government
Legislative Branch (Congress)
Unicameral (One House)
States could send as many or as few Reps. as they wanted
Each state gets 1 vote regardless of number of Reps.

14. The Weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation
national/federal
A weak _____________________ government caused the following weaknesses:
Laws hard to pass (Needed approval of ____ out of ____ states)
No power to _______ (Could only request)
No power to regulate (control) ________ between the states
Multiple _____________floating around
NO _________________branch-to decide laws
NO _________________branch-to enforce laws
Any changes or amendments required the agreement of all ____ states 9 13
tax
trade
currencies
Judicial
Executive 13

15. No power to tax
No power to regulate trade
No courts to settle disputes
Multiple currencies

16. The Constitutional Convention
May 25th to September 17th, 1787

18. Washington: Okay, any suggestions on how to fix this thing?

20. Madison: Ain’t gonna happen, Georgie.

22. Hamilton: Yeah, it’s time to smack it up, ballaz!

24. Washington: You know, I really like the Articles, guys.

26. Washington: j/k, dawgs.

27. lol :)

28. lol ;->
lol :)
Ben Franklin: Holla!

29. The Framers
The Framers are really just men who created the Constitution
They fought with one another on every issue, and forming compromises to resolve the fights

30. The Constitutional Convention55
On May 25, 1787 ___delegates from 12
states went to Philadelphia, Pa. to discuss
the problems with the A of C.
Only _____ ____ did not attend.
The first thing the delegates did
was elect ________ ________
the President of the Convention.
They also agreed that all of their
discussions and opinions would
remain ________. They would
not be opened for another 30 years.
Rhode Island
George Washington
secret

31. The Constitutional Convention
It was immediately decided by the delegates to not revise the Articles of Confederation but rather throw them away and start a new government called the ______________.
Constitution

32. The Constitutional Convention
Who was there?
______ ___________ (Va.)
- Wrote detailed ______ about
all the discussions. Much of what we know today is because of him.
- Author of the ________ ______. This plan was important because we took many of its ideas and put them into the Constitution.
-His contributions were so great we call him the ___________ of the _________
James Madison
notes
Virginia Plan
Father Constitution

33. The Constitutional Convention
Who was there?
________ ___________ (Pa.)
-He was the oldest delegate at _____ years old.
-He was wise and would often help differing sides reach a ___________.
-He told amusing stories to ease
the tension.
Benjamin Franklin 81
compromise

34. The Constitutional Convention
Who was there?
________ _____________ (Va.)
-He was the _____ of the American
Revolution.
-He was elected _________ of the
Constitutional Convention.
George Washington
hero
President

35. The Constitutional Convention
Who was NOT there?
________ __________
Thomas Jefferson
John Adams
Patrick Henry

36. The Constitutional Convention
Who was NOT there?
No ______
No ______ __________
women
native peoples
African Americans

37. Who’s your Bubba?.

38. Psst ! hey ! Is Hillary off the property yet?

39. Two Competing Ideas The Virginia Plan The “Big State Plan”
3 Branches – Legislative, Executive, Judicial, each with checks and balances against the others
Bicameral legislature with representation based on population alone

40. Two Competing Ideas The New Jersey Plan The “Small State Plan”
Agreed w/ having 3 branches
Unicameral legislature with all states represented equally
Executive would be three presidents, who chose the Judicial branch

41. Challenges and Compromises
ISSUE # 1:
The Problem:
Disagreements over ____________ in the legislative branch.
-Large States (Population): Wanted
representation based on ___________
of your state. (Virginia Plan)
-Small states (Population): Wanted
Representation for each state to be
________. (New Jersey Plan)
representation
population
equal

43. Challenges and Compromises
Solution: The ________ ___________(The Connecticut Compromise)
A committee led by ______ _________ of Connecticut proposed a compromise that they felt would please both big and small states (population). The solution was:
Great Compromise
Roger Sherman
Big States
(Rep. based
on population)
Small States
(Rep. should be
Equal)

44. The Great Compromise
There would be ______ parts or houses. This is known as a _________ legislature.
1. The ______ __ ___________:
Representation is based on population.
Satisfies large states.
2. The __________:
Each state is given ____ no matter
their size. Satisfies small states. 2
bicameral
House of Representatives
Senate 2

45. 3 Branches of Government

46. How the Great Compromise Works
State
Population
# in House
# in Senate
California
38 million 53 2
Arizona
6.6 million 9
Wyoming
0.5 million 1

47. Challenges and Compromises
ISSUE #2:
The Problem:
Should _____ be counted as part of the _________ when determining representation?
North: Slaves should ___________.
South: Slaves should ___________.
Why Important? If slaves are counted it would give the south more reps. in the House of Representatives thus giving them more voting _________.
slaves
population
NOT BE COUNTED
BE COUNTED
power

48. Challenges and Compromises
3/5ths
Solution: The _______ Compromise
Slaves would be counted as _______ of a person for purposes of ____________.
3/5ths
representation

49. Challenges and Compromises
Issue #3:
The Problem: The slave trade is cruel and should be banned.
North- Many northern states had already banned slavery and didn’t like the idea that slaves were ________ into the country and sold at slave auctions.
South- Slavery and the slave trade are too __________ to the southern economy. It must continue
imported
important

50. Challenges and Compromises
Solution: _________ could not ban the slave trade until the year ________. Congress would eventually ban the slave trade in 1808 but it didn’t do much. Slaves were still being __________ in illegally as late as the 1860s.
Congress
1808
smuggled

51. Sources of the Constitution
Framers pulled from a number of places to get the final product:
Ancient Greece: Democracy
Ancient Rome: Republic
John Locke’s 2nd Treatise on Government: Social Contract & Natural Law

52. Sources of the Constitution
Baron de Montesquieu’s ideas about separating the powers of government
Great Britain’s parliament

53. Bicameral Legislature (House and Senate)
New Constitution
Bicameral Legislature (House and Senate)
Strong Executive (President)
Supreme Court System
Federal Government
British Government
Bicameral Legislature (House of Lords and Commons)
Strong Executive (King)
Royal Court System
Federal Relationship w/ Colonies
Articles of Confederation
Unicameral Legislature
No Executive
No Court System
Confederation of States

54. Ratification of the Constitution
Americans had been debating the Constitution for months, eventually _____ political groups/parties emerged. They were the: 2
Federalists
___________ the Constitution and a stronger _________ government.
Antifederalists
Were concerned the Constitution took too much ________ away from the _______. Would only support the Constitution if changes were made.
Supported
power
national
states

55. Ratification of the Constitution
The Federalists:
Wrote a series of essays called the
___________ ___________ in which they answered their critics and supported the idea of the Constitution.
Authors:
__________ ____________
Federalist Papers
Alexander Hamilton
John Jay
James Madison

56. Ratification of the Constitution
The Antifederalists:
Wanted ___________ guarantees that the people would have rights. They called for a:
_______ ___ ___________
They would not agree to the Constitution unless this was included.
The Bill of Rights are _____________ 1-10 of the Constitution. It includes freedom of ______, _________, and a right to a trial by _________.
written
Bill of Rights
amendments
speech
religion
jury

57. Famous Anti-Federalists:
Patrick Henry, John Hancock, Samuel Adams, Richard Henry Lee

59. Ratification of the Constitution
The Federalists agreed to the Bill of Rights as long as the Antifeds. supported the ______________.
In December, 1787: __________became the first state to ________ or approve the Constitution.
_____ out of ______ states were needed to approve it.
The first 3 states were:
___________________
The 9th state to ratify it and make it officially our new government was _______________________
The last to state to ratify the Constitution was ___________
in 1790.
Constitution
Delaware
ratify
Delaware
Pennsylvania
New Jersey
New Hampshire (June 21, 1788)
Rhode Island

60. Ratifying the Constitution
Did someone say “Rat”ify?