1. Articles of Confederation/Constitution

2. Articles of Confederation
Ratified in 1781
Set of rules designed to form a union between the states, but they were VERY WEAK!
2/3 of the states had to approve any important decision.
Congress had little power

3. Articles….very little power but….Congress could
Declare war
Coin money
Establish post offices
Send and recall ambassadors

4. Congress could not Levy (impose) taxes to fund the national government
Could not regulate or control trade between the states
Make people obey the laws that they had passed
Give each state equal representation( articles only gave one state each vote, regardless of population)
Raise an army without the states’ permission, leaving the nation defenseless

5. It just isn’t working out….
A meeting has to be held…..
Where….guess? Only every other meeting has been held there….
Guess who was there?
Franklin, Madison, Hamilton

6. The Great Compromise
Congress couldn’t agree on how states should be represented
One proposal was the Virginia Plan (bicameral)
Another proposal was the New Jersey Plan (unicameral)

7. 3/5 Compromise
Dealt with the issue of counting slaves for taxation and not for representation
Which states would this have been an issue for?
This issue will not go away, we will see it again in history

8. The Constitution
Based on a federal system, balancing power between the national government and state government.
Strong central system.
Created three branches of government: Legislative, Executive and Judicial
Has checks and balances
Supreme law of the land
Can be amended

9. The Constitution Ratified on September 17, 1787
Signed by 39 of the 42 present
George Mason of Virginia refused to sign until a bill of rights were included
Georgia was the 4th state to ratify it on January 2,1788
Georgia appointed 6 delegates to the convention. Two didn’t attend and two left early.
Abraham Baldwin and William Few signed the Constitution.

10. Parts of the Constitution
Preamble (Introduction)
Articles (7)
Amendments(changes made to the document, first 10 are known as the Bill of Rights)