1. The Constitution VUS.5 Mr. Poley

2. Problems with Articles of Confederation Gave Congress no power to tax Gave Congress no power to regulate commerce among the states Provided for no common currency Gave each state one vote regardless of size Provided for no executive or judicial branch

3. Shays Rebellion Daniel Shays, a Mass farmer lead a rebellion to protest the rising taxes on poor farmers by Mass state governments Other states feared rebellions and wanted a national government to oversee state governments

4. Constitutional Convention 12 states met in Philadelphia in 1787 to change the Articles of Confederation Rhode Island did not attend because they believed smaller states would be overlooked in a stronger national government

5. Constitutional Convention Original plan was to change the Articles of Confederation but decided to throw it out and start a new government

6. George Washington Chosen as Chairman of the Convention Washington brought prestige and legitimacy to convention He stayed out of political arguments

7. James Madison “Father of the Constitution” Main author He was a federalist – a person who favored a strong national government

8. Problems with Articles of Confederation and Constitutional Solutions

9. Problem 1 States had too much power

10. Solution 1 Supremacy Clause – national law was supreme over state law; national law limited to those stated in Constitution

11. Problem 2 People feared a strong national government would have too much power and take away their rights

12. Solution 2 Separation of Powers – government divided into 3 equal branches (legislative, judicial, and executive)

13. Problem 3 People feared a strong national government would have too much power and take away their rights

14. Solution 3 Checks and Balances – each branch of government can check the powers of the other

15. Key Compromises at Constitutional Convention

16. Issue 1 Set up of legislature

17. Side 1 NJ Plan – wanted a unicameral (one house) legislature with equal votes per state; favored smaller states

18. Side 2 VA Plan – wanted a bicameral (two house) legislature with representation based on a states population; favored larger states

19. Compromise Great Compromise – a bicameral legislature (Congress) with an upper house (Senate) with two votes per state and a lower house (House of Representatives) with representation based on a states’ population

20. Issue 2 Determining representation in House of Representatives

21. Side 1 Southern view – slaves should be counted when determining number of representatives in Congress

22. Side 2 Northern view – slaves are property and should not be counted as citizens

23. Compromise 3/5 Compromise – only 3 out of 5 slaves would be counted in census

24. Issue 4 Presidential Election

25. Side 1 People were not educated enough to choose a President

26. Side 2 People should have the right to choose their own leader

27. Compromise Electoral College – group of electors who choose the President based on popular vote in their state

28. Constitution Preamble – introduction to the Constitution; mission statement for America 7 Articles – outlines set up for government and the jobs of each branch and the duties and procedures in the government Amendments – laws that govern the country

29. Ratification of Constitution

30. Nine States had to ratify or approve the Constitution before it could become law

31. Federalists Supported a strong national government and wanted Constitution ratified Felt people were protected because of checks and balances in the government and the separation of powers

32. Federalists Did not believe a national Bill of Rights was necessary Wrote Federalists Papers to encourage country to ratify Constitution

33. Anti - federalists Believed national government was too strong and limited states too much Wanted a national Bill of Rights added to protect their natural rights

34. Compromise Federalists agreed to have a national Bill of Rights added to Constitution if Anti- Federalists would ratify the Constitution James Madison wrote the bill of rights It was based on the VA Declaration of Rights (George Mason) and the VA Statute for Religious Freedom (Thomas Jefferson)

35. Articles Essay You are to write an essay detailing the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation. Explain why they are a weakness and then show how the constitution would fix those problems. This is to be a minimum of 5 paragraphs and to be more than one page in length. Read and follow these instructions. Failure to do so will result in deductions from your grade. You might use chapter 2 section 2 from the new book, as well as the Constitution page 65Also chapter 5 section 1 of the old textbook