1. Georgia Constitution and The Articles of Confederations

2. Standards
The student will describe the impact of events that led to the ratification of the United States Constitution and Bill of Rights
Analyze the strengths and weaknesses of both the Georgia Constitution of 1777 and the Articles of Confederation and explain how weaknesses in the Articles of Confederation led to a need to revise the Articles
Describe the role of Georgia at the Constitutional Convention of 1787; include the role of Abraham Baldwin and William Few, and reasons why Georgia ratified the new constitution.

3. Word Review Ratify- To approve or make valid
Unicameral - Consisting of a single branch, chamber or house, as a legislative assembly.
Bicameral - having two branches, chambers, or houses, as a legislative body.
Confederation - local/state governments make their own laws. A weak overlying central government.

4. Reading Guide AOC
1. What problem did the colonists face after gaining independence from Great Britain?
They did not know what kind of government that should have?
2. How did their experience with heavy-handed British rule effect the establishment of the new form of government?
They wanted a government that couldn’t do much
3. How many governments did they have under the Articles of Confederation?
13 Each state had their own government.
4. What was the Congress of the Confederation?
A group of representatives that make laws.
5. How many branches of government did they have?
1 Congress was the only branch of government.

5. Reading Guide AOC – Part II
6. How was voting determined among the states?
each state got one vote.
7. What were the PROS of the government established by the AOC?
1) for a not too strong (weak) government;
2) states could keep their power and independence;
3) the power to create a military to protect all the states.
8. What were the CONS of the government established by the AOC?
Did not give congress the power to enforce laws
No power to collect taxes for the military
Every single state had to agree to the changes
9. What made this very difficult to resolve?
Each state had different needs based on economy, population, and size of the state. People had different opinions – some wanted more government others wanted less.

6. Reading Guide: Georgia’s Constitution
1. Citizens of Georgia had two opinions regarding who should have power in the New Government. Explain the two sides.
The power was in the hands of a few wealthy landowners
To give all the people of Georgia a chance to govern themselves
In the Georgia constitution of 1777, the Parish system was eliminated. What was it replaced with?
County system
What type of legislature did the Georgia Constitution of 1777 create?
Unicameral (one house)
What powers did the legislature have?
They had the power to make appointments for the judicial branch (the courts) and the executive branch (the governor).
5. According to the Georgia Constitution of 1777, what group had the most power?
The 12 lawmakers from the legislature who served as an executive council. They could accept or reject any proposals initiated by the governor.

7. The Georgia Constitution of 1777
1777 – 1789 (12 years)
Based on the principles of the Declaration of Independence
Not capable of meeting the needs of governing the state.
Three Branches of Government

8. Legislative Unicameral, or one branch Powers
Appoint members of the judicial and executive branch

9. Executive Branch Governor Appointed by legislative branch
Limited to a ONE year term
Very little power

10. Judicial Branch All Courts
Legislature appointed the positions for this branch

11. Freedoms of the People Freedom of :
Press
Religion
Trial by jury
The people were not given the opportunity to ratify the constitution

12. Articles of Confederation
1776 – 1789
America’s first constitution, but not the same as we have today
Provided a very WEAK central government
Due to their experience with Britain’s monarchy, so their goal was to give as much power as they could to the people through “autonomy” of the states.
Too many limitations caused the government not to function smoothly

13. National Government’s
Powers
Did not have Power
Declare War
Coin Money
Establish post offices
Send and recall Ambassadors
Could not impose tax
Could not regulate the trade of goods between the states (states could put taxes on each other)

14. Overall Weakness of the AOC
Strong legislative branch
No Executive branch
No Judicial branch
Each state had its own currency
All 13 states had to approve a law for it to pass
ONE vote per state no matter the size of the population

15. AOC Video
Link

16. The Articles of Confederation
QUICK QUIZ!
The Articles of Confederation

17. Under the Articles of Confederation, a President would lead the country.
Think
About It
 True
 False 

18. Under the Articles of Confederation, states would be independent.
Think
About It 
 True
 False

19. The Articles of Confederation were easy to change.
Think
About It
 True
 False 

20. Under the Articles, states with more people got more votes in Congress.
Think
About It
 True
 False 

21. Under the Articles, Congress did not have the power to collect taxes.
Think
About It 
 True
 False

22. Under the Articles, Congress could pass laws and force states to follow them.
Think
About It
 True
 False 

23. The Articles of Confederation created the first American government.
Think
About It 
 True
 False

24. Creating a New U.S. Constitution
Government

25. Problems with the Articles of Confederation
The Articles of Confederation were purposefully designed to provide the people with as much power as possible.
After their recent history, they wanted to limit taxes.
(1)This created a very weak central government and lead to many problems including:
Fighting over land and sea rights
(2)Lack of funds meant they could not maintain an Army or Navy and they could not build roads or canals
(3) Difficulty passing laws because all 13 states had to agree

26. Constitutional Convention
(4) The convention was held at Independence Hall in Philadelphia in There were 55 delegates in attendance, representing every state except Rhode Island.
(5) The initial intention of the meeting was to simply revise the Articles of Confederation, but it resulted in an entirely new government and constitution.

27. Georgia in the Constitutional Convention
(6) Georgia, and other Southern delegates, were unified in their relentless support of slavery.
This lead to:
(7) Three-Fifths Compromise- a compromise agreed upon by the North and the South which allowed for slaves to count toward a state’s overall population by counting slaves as “3/5 of a person.”

28. Georgia in the Constitutional Convention
Georgian, Abraham Baldwin, is given credit for changing his vote to side with the “small states” in the Congressional representation debate. This decision evened the numbers for and against the Virginia Plan and allowed for the Great Compromise.
(8) The Great Compromise- created a bicameral legislature where each state had two members in the Senate but representation in the House of Representatives was based on the state’s population.

29. (9) Abraham Baldwin One of four Georgians at Constitutional Convention
Served FIVE terms as U.S. Congressman
Served TWO terms as U.S. Senator
(10)Most famous for his role in the creation of the University of Georgia and served UGA’s first president.

30. William Few
(11) He did not make a major impression at the Constitutional Congress
(12) But- he later served as a senator, a representative, and a judge in the state of Georgia
(12) In New York he became a member of the legislature and a bank president.

31. Georgia Stories
Video Link