Chapter 5 Creating the Constitution

Objectives

• Explain England’s government influenced the Set-up of the United States government

• List the powers and limitations of the Articles of Confederation

• Explain why land ordinances were put into effect.• List and explain the events that led up to the decision to

revise the Articles.• Compare and contrast the New Jersey Plan and the

Virginia Plan.• Examine the Three-Fifths Compromise and decide how

you think the states should be represented in Congress.

Objectives Continued

• To explain the roots of The Constitution

• To list the branches of government and their name some responsibilities of each

• To Describe how The Constitution prevents government from getting too powerful

Roots of Government

• Magna Carta (1215)- The King was no longer able to tax without the permission of nobles– This group of nobles evolved into a governing

body called Parliament– Parliament became a bicameral government

• House of Lords- Nobles who inherited their seat• House of Commons- Members elected by

commoners

English Bill of Rights

• King James II tried to rule without Parliament– Revoked colonial charters & replaced colonial elected

assemblies with crown appointed governors and councils

– Was overthrown during Glorious Revolution

• Replaced with King William and Queen Mary– Agreed to rule with Parliament and sign Bill of Rights

-Bill of Rights guaranteed many freedoms including Habeas Corpus

Two Big Responsibilities

• Once they had independence they had to keep it! The Americans had to constantly keep an eye on the British

• After independence the Americans also had to create their own government.

13 Separate Governments

• Americans were fearful of a single ruler or one group having too much power.

• In 1776 the Continental Congress asked states to make their own governments– Each state created governments and wrote

their own constitutions

State Constitutions

• Limited the power of the governor

• Power was divided between the governor and the legislature

• Most had bicameral legislatures

• Wanted the people to have power

POWER

• State constitutions limited the power of the governor – This made the legislator the most powerful

branch of government.

• Elections were held frequently– White males that were 21 could vote– Voters had to own property– Some free African Americans could vote

Forming a Republic

• Continental Congress gathered to design a plan for a new government in 1776.– The Americans needed a central government

to fight against Britain

• The Articles of Confederation was adopted 1777– Lead by John Dickison of Pennsylvania– Reflected Declaration of Independence and

rejected a strong centralized Government

The Articles

Could:

– Conduct foreign affairs– Maintain armed forces– Borrow money– Issue currency

Could not:

– Regulate trade– Force citizens to join the

army– Impose taxes

*If congress needed money or troops they had to ask the states but the states did not have to give them anything.

Under the Articles

• There was no president• Only a Congress with delegates selected by

state legislatures not voters • Each state had one vote• Changing the Articles:

– To pass a law at least 9 states had to vote “yes” for the suggested law.

– To change the articles all 13 states had to vote “yes” for the change.

• officially approved until March 1, 1781.

New Land Policies

• The Articles did not have provisions on how to add a new state

• The government decided to divide the western territories into districts – When the districts had a high enough

population they could petition for statehood

The Ordinance of 1785• Divided the land north of

the Ohio River into townships, and then into sections– A township was 6

miles long and 6 miles wide

– The township was divided into 36 sections at 640 acres a piece.

• The land was sold at public auction for cheap

The Northwest Ordinance

• Created the Northwest Territory • Contained a bill of rights for the settlers of

the territories • The ordinance also said that slavery was

not allowed in the territory. * Both the Northwest Ordinance and the

Ordinance of 1785 made the settlement of the Northwest Territory in an orderly manner.

Trouble on Two Fronts

• Financial Trouble

• International Trouble

$ Financial Difficulty $

• After the War the Country had a large debt– Congress could not tax to pay the debt

• Paper money– Was not backed by silver or gold which made

it worthless– The price of food and other goods

skyrocketed– Food riots broke out

NO R-E-S-P-E-C-T

• Even though the Americans won the Revolution, Great Britain did not respect their independence.

Great Britain thought the new American

government was weak and ineffective

American vs. British • After the war was over the Americans still

had to battle the British– The British ignored the Treaty of Paris and

kept their troops in American Territories – The British wouldn’t allow Americans to trade

in West Indies– The British refused to negotiate because the

Americans had not paid loyalists for the property they lost during the war.

Treaty of Paris

Problems with Spain

• Spain closed the Mississippi River to the Americans to prevent them from expanding further west. (1784)

• An agreement was made between the 2 countries in 1786 so that the US could use the River

• Spain also agreed to accept the border between Georgia and Spanish Florida.

Economic Depression

• Plantations were damaged during the war– Rice sales dropped

• Trade was slow because the British closed off trade with West Indies

• Farmers could not pay taxes so their lands were seized by state officials

Debt Rebellion

• Farmers were in debt because they could not sell goods or pay taxes.

• State officials seized their land to pay taxes

• Daniel Shays led farmers in rebellion to shut down courts.

• No court, no land seizure

Shay’s Rebellion 1787

• Daniel Shays led 1000 farmers toward federal arsenal for weapons

• State militia was called out• 4 farmers were killed• Rebellion ended• People feared more rebellions would

happen

Song, written by Marcia Albrecht

Shays’ Story(To the tune of the Beverly Hillbillies)

Come and Listen to a story ‘bout a man named ShaysPoor ol’ farmer whose debts weren’t gettin’ paid

So one day he rallied up his friends and that my dear is where it all begins

Well, Shays and his friends they stole a lot of gunsThey closed down the bank They shouted “Re-bell-yun” 

The wise men knew this Shay wasn’t a fool, they knew to others he’d seem really cool (Smart that is, John Locke, don’t ya' see?)

Well the next thing you know the rich folks got all scaredMadison said “Let’s get out of here!” 

He said “Philadelphia is the place we oughta be” So they saddled up the horse and they rode off to Philly 

(PA that is, making rules, changing laws)And that my friends was really just the start

Those 55 men were really very smartThey made a constitution for you and me

And it has lasted for two-20 (years that is)

Issue of Slavery

• Some People worked to end slavery– Between 1776-1786 all states except

South Carolina and Georgia outlawed or taxed the importation of Slavery

• In 1774 Quakers in Pennsylvania set up the first American antislavery society

• Pennsylvania passed a gradual end to slavery law in 1780.

• Massachusetts ruled slavery illegal in 1783

• NY, NH, RI, CT, & NJ abolished slavery between 1783 and 1804.

• Free African American’s still faced harsh discrimination and segregation

• Free African Society Formed in Philadelphia (1787)

A Call for Change

• The Articles of Confederation were weak and unable to deal with the needs of the nation

• Many people called for change– Some wanted to fix the Articles of Confederation– Others wanted a stronger new government

Constitutional Convention• Met in May 1787 to discuss a change in

government

• 55 delegates were present– George Washington– Benjamin Franklin– James Madison– Governor Morris

• Doors were locked and windows nailed shut so they could talk freely and secretly

• Two plans were proposed

Virginia Plan

• Proposed by Edmund Randolph

• Wanted strong national gov’t• Throw out Articles• Two house legislature

– Number of representatives based on population

• President• Court System

New Jersey Plan

• Proposed by William Patterson

• Wanted to Change Articles

• Kept the one house legislature

– One vote for each state

• Congress could tax and regulate trade

• Incorporated executive branch

– Had more than one president

The Great Compromise

• Roger Sherman (CT) proposed that the government have a two house legislature– House of Representatives

• the number of reps would be based on population

– The Senate• each state would have 2 senators

Three-Fifths Compromise

• Determined how slaves would be counted in the representation controversy between the north and south

• Decided to count each slave as three fifths of a person when counting population.

• The States also compromised saying congress could not interfere in the slave trade for 20 years.

The Bill of Rights

• George Mason (Va) proposed a Bill of Rights to protect rights of the people

• Most thought it was not needed

Approval

• September 17, 1787 delegates met to sign The Constitution

• Sent document to the states for approval

• 9 out of 13 states needed to approve

The Roots of The Constitution

*The Constitution used ideas from other forms of government

•British political Institutions and political writers

•The Enlightenment

•British system of government

•Magna Carta

•English Bill of Rights

The Enlightenment

•Promoted knowledge, reason and science as a way to improve society

•John Locke (English)

•Believed all people had natural rights

•Live, Liberty, and Property

•Baron de Montesquieu-(Balance of Powers)

•Said powers of government should be separated and balanced against one another

Fitting into The Constitution

• The Constitution protected people’s natural rights by limiting the power of the government.

• The Constitution divided the government into 3 branches and had a checks and balance system.

Shared Powers•Taxing

•Building Roads

The Federal System

States Powers

•Pass & enforce laws

•Regulate trade w/in borders

•Establish local governments, schools

Federal Powers

•Regulate Trade

•Control currency

•Raise an army

•Declare war

* Powers were Divided between the Federal Government and the State Governments

Separation of Powers

Federal Government3 branches

Executive Legislature Judicial

Executive Branch

• Headed by the President

• Commander in Chief of military

• Conducts foreign relations

• President & Vice President elected by the Electoral College

• Serves for 4 years

Legislative Branch

Responsibilities of Congress

• Collect taxes

• Coin money

• Regulate trade

• Declare war

• Raise and support armies

• Makes Laws

Congress has 2 houses

House of Representatives Senate

Judicial Branch

• Supreme Court and other Federal Courts

• Hears cases regarding The Constitution, laws passed by congress, and disputes between states.

Checks and Balances

• Balances the power between each branch of government

• Each branch has a role to check other branches:– President can Veto a congressional act– Congress can override a veto– Both houses of congress must pass a bill for it

to become a law

The Constitutional Debate

• 9 out of 13 States had to ratify the constitution

• States held ratifying conventions

Federalists

• Supporters of the Constitution– George Washington– Benjamin Franklin– James Madison– John Jay– Alexander Hamilton

• Wrote The Federalist Papers which were essays that explained and promoted the Constitution

Federalist Papers

• http://thomas.loc.gov/home/histdox/fedpapers.html

Anti-federalists

• People who opposed The Constitution

• Wrote Anti-federalist Papers explaining their stance– Against Strong National Government– Preferred local government close to home– Wanted a Bill of Rights Added

The Bill of Rights

• It was believed by Anti-federalists that no government could be trusted to protect the freedom of the citizens

• James Madison drafted the Bill or Rights– It was passed by congress in 1789 – The first 10 Amendments of the Constitution

Adopting the Constitution • Delaware became the first state to

approve The Constitution in Dec. 1787

• Strong Anti-federalist groups slowed the ratification in New York and Virginia – Virginia finally ratified in June 1788– New York narrowly ratified in July 1788

• Rhode Island was the last of the 13 to ratify in 1790.

• Bill of Rights added in 1791

Song Activity• With your partner pick a topic related to

the Articles of Confederation- The Creation of the Constitution

• Write song Lyrics that relate to your topic– ( your song can follow the tune of a popular

song)

• Turn your song in ( 30 points ) not optional• Sing your song in front of the class

(optional) worth an extra 30 points!