1. The History of Our Constitution

2. The first plan for government was the Articles of Confederation
The first plan for government was the Articles of Confederation. It called for a weak national government because………
They didn’t want a strong central government because of their bad experiences under British control.

3. It was so weak that the national government couldn’t collect taxes
It was so weak that the national government couldn’t collect taxes. Therefore…..
It couldn’t pay the soldiers who
fought in the Revolutionary War.
This made them really angry with
the new government.
It couldn’t repay France and Spain
for the money they loaned us.
This made them really angry
with the new government. Sooo…..

4. The Constitutional Convention
Our “Founding Father” held another big meeting which they called the “Constitutional Convention.”
They held this convention in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
They elected George Washington to be the president of the convention.
What is a Constitution?

5. A Constitution is - A plan for how a government
will work to do its job.
There were 2 BIG DEBATES!
How much power should they give the
new national government.
2. How would they have small states
and large states represented that
would be fair?

6. James Madison to the Rescue!
James Madison came up with
a plan called “The Virginia Plan.”
(Guess where he was from.)
This plan divided the power of the government
between the national and the state governments.
This sharing of power was called
a Federal System.

7. A Federal System
The Constitution of the United States of America established a federal system of government based on power shared between the national and state governments.

8. Structure of the New National Government
How much power should they give the new national government? (#1)
Three Separate Branches of Government
Legislative – Makes the Laws
Executive – Enforces the Laws
Judicial – Interprets the Laws
(Decides if laws are constitutional)

9. Checks and Balances Each branch can check (or block)
the power of the other.
These checks keep any one branch
from gaining too much power.

10. The Great Compromise
How would they have small states and large states represented that would be fair? (#2)
The Legislative Branch would be divided into 2 parts (or “Houses”)
The Senate – Each state would have 2 senators
The House of Representatives – Based on population

11. Our government

12. Signed and Ratified The Constitution was signed
at the end of the convention.
George Mason would not
sign it until he was promised
that amendments would be made
to protect individual rights.
Nine of the 13 states had to vote in favor of the constitution for it to be ratified.
Ratified – Become the law.

13. Bill of Rights Bill of Rights
James Madison was the author of the Bill of Rights.
Based on George Mason’s
“Virginia Declaration of Rights”
and
Thomas Jefferson’s
“Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom.”
The first ten amendments
to the Constitution of the
United States of America
guarantee individual rights
(e.g., freedom of speech, freedom of religion).