1. Creating A Constitution
Constitution = a document stating the rules under which a government will operate
Leaders of the new nation remembered what they had hated about British rule
Americans sought to create a republic in which the states had more power than the central government
Explain different levels of government…state and national
As the Continental Congress began moving towards independence in 1776, leaders in the individual states began creating governments
11 of 13 states created new constitutions

2. Creating a Constitution Targets
I can determine the strengths and weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation.
I can evaluate and debate why the Constitutional Convention decided to create an entirely new framework of government.
I can describe what shaped the outcome of the Constitutional Convention in 1787
I can explain how compromises solved crises in the Constitutional Convention.

3. Articles of Confederation
Form of Government
Single branch: a one house legislature called Congress
Each state had one vote
9 states had to agree before a law could go into effect
In the last section we studied the challenges of the government under the Art of Confed
Single branch- what happens when you have no executive or judicial branch? Cannot enforce the laws
Some state thought it was unfair to have each state with equal votes- they thought the number of votes should be decided by the population total- conflict arose between large and small states….population not size

4. Population of the 13 original states from the official census of 1790
Connecticut 237,946
Delaware 59,096
Georgia 82,548
Maryland 319,728
Massachusetts 378,787
New Hampshire 141,885
New Jersey 184,139
New York 340,120
North Carolina 393,751
Pennsylvania 434,373
Rhode Island 68,825
South Carolina 249,073
Virginia 691,737
<300,000 = SMALL
>300,000 = LARGE
When we talk to today about the size of states is has nothing to with the physical size…it is about the number of people …lets look at what would be large state and what would be a small state
Counting people is important
decision-makers to determine which communities, schools, hospitals and roads need federal funding.
The census ensures that each community gets the right number of representatives in government."
The number of people you have in your family determines how much tax you pay…the amount we have to pay is reduced when you have children…

5. Michigan 9,883,640
California 37,253,956
Alaska ,231

6. what if someone owned slaves…

7. Slave population-1790 census
Connecticut 237,946 2, %
Delaware 59,096 8, %
Georgia 82,548 29,264 35%
Maryland 319, ,036 32%
Massachusetts 378, %
New Hampshire 141, <1%
New Jersey 184,139 11,423 6%
New York 340,120 21,324 6%
North Carolina 393, ,572 25%
Pennsylvania 434,373 3,737 <1%
Rhode Island 68, %
South Carolina 249, ,094 43%
Virginia 691, ,627 42%
Slave owners did not want to pay taxes on their slaves (remember they were property…not a deduction on your taxes)
They did want to count slaves when it meant that they could have more representatives in Congress though…if they have more votes they could protect or expand slavery...they don’t want to be out voted and have slavery outlawed
These population questions and issues are going to play a huge in roll in the decisions that are made at the meeting

8. Articles of Confederation
Limited Government
Limited central government; most power held by the states
Congress could not enforce laws
These are challenges that caused huge problems in the early years of our government

9. Time to start over…we need a new plan
Articles of Confederation
The state governments had most of the power
Americans were afraid of a strong central government because of their experience with the British monarchy and Parliament
This system was NOT working
Constitution
The national government has more power than the states
Added three branches (parts) to keep the government from having too much power (check on each other)
Summer of 1787
Congress plans to meet “for the sole and express purpose of revising the Art of COnfed”
Many argued that that would not be enough to fix our problems