The ConstitutionThe Constitution

FOCUS and EXIT tickets

FOCUSFOCUS

Knowing the situation for the American colonies prior to their independence, answer the following questions regarding the United States first plan for government.

1. How do you think the American leaders wanted their government to differ from the British government?

2. Thinking about the Declaration of Independence, what ideals do you think the leaders wanted to include in the new government?

3. What challenges do you think they faced?

In this picture, you see some of the leaders o the Continental Congress (John Adams, Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson)

The Articles of ConfederationThe Articles of Confederation

• Prior to the war ending, the Continental Congress adopted the Articles of Confederation in 1777 as the colonies’ first form of centralized government

• The Articles were a plan for a loose union, or confederation, which would be under the authority of the Continental Congress

-The Articles were designed to be weak because the colonies did not want a powerful central government

• WHY??

The Articles of ConfederationThe Articles of Confederation

• There were some strengths• Adding new states-- Northwest Ordinance

• BUT…there were more weaknesses• The central government was EXTREMELY WEAK•Could not raise taxes•Could not regulate trade•Could not enforce treaties•Very difficult to pass laws and amendments

How did we know…enough is enough?How did we know…enough is enough?

Shay’s Rebellion• Prior to the war ending,

the Continental Congress adopted the Articles of Confederation in 1777 as the colonies’ first form of centralized government

• The Articles were a plan for a loose union, or confederation, which would be under the authority of the Continental Congress

-The Articles were designed to be weak because the colonies did not want a powerful central government (Why?)

Shays’ Rebellion and changes to the Articles

Shays’ Rebellion and changes to the Articles

• Though unsuccessful, Shays’ Rebellion caused concern for those in power that states might take property away from the wealthy

• Shays’ Rebellion, and the weaknesses of the Articles, convinced the Confederation Congress that a convention of the states needed to be called in order to revise the Articles

• In May 1787, delegates met in Philadelphia at the Constitutional Convention to revise the Articles

EXIT!EXIT!

1.How did the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation drive the country’s leaders to draft the Constitution?

2.How did Shay’s Rebellion impact the entire nation?

FOCUS!FOCUS!

1. What are the 3 branches of government in our national gov?

2. What are the 3 branches of government in our state gov?

3. How is the national government similar to the state governments?

4. How is the national government similar to the local governments?

5. How are the national, state, and local governments similar?

6. What is federalism?7. What is separation of

powers?

= Federalism= Separation of Powers

Constitutional ConventionConstitutional Convention

• After Shay’s Rebellion, a meeting was called to revise the Articles of Confederation

• The delegates in Philadelphia decide not to revise the Articles, but rather to write an entirely new document

• The delegates kept the meetings a secret as not to have outside pressure and opinions put upon them

Creating the United States Constitution

Creating the United States Constitution

• The Great Compromise: settled how states would be represented in the new government, setting up the House of Representatives, which appeased the larger states, and the Senate, which appealed to the smaller states

The Great Compromisewas a merger of the Virginia Plan and the New JerseyPlan

Limited GovernmentLimited Government

• The framers of the Constitution feared misuse/abuse of power

• The framers listed what powers the federal government does and does not have in Article I of the Constitution

• Limited government also appears in the Bill of Rights

Federalism: The national government shares power with the state and local governments

Separation of Powers (seen below): Created the 3 branches of government to prevent the concentration of power and provide for checks and balances

There are 2 ways that we limit the power of government: federalism and separation of powers

Constitutional ConventionConstitutional Convention

• Once all of the compromises were decided on (Great Compromise, 3/5ths), the Confederation Congress approved the new Constitution

The task now was to convince at least nine of the thirteen state

governments to ratifythe document in order for it to take effect

Ratifying the ConstitutionRatifying the Constitution

• After the delegates of the Constitutional Convention approved the new Constitution, the state governments had to vote on formal approval (ratification)

• According to the ratification process 9 out of 13 states had to approve it

• Two groups emerged in the ratification debate:

1 -The Federalist, who supported ratifying the Constitution

2-The Anti-Federalist, who opposed the Constitution

EXIT!!EXIT!!

1.How does the Constitution include the ideas of a limited government? (meaning, how did the Constitution limit the power of government?)- EXPLAIN each

FOCUS!FOCUS!

• From the Ratification debate assignment (#5)• “…Our affairs seem to lead to some crisis,

some revolution—something that I cannot foresee or conjecture. I am uneasy and apprehensive; more so than during the War. Then we had a fixed object, and thought the means and time of obtaining it were often problematic, yet I did firmly believe we should ultimately succeed, because I was convinced that justice was with us. The case is now altered; we are going and doing wrong, and therefore I look forward to evils and calamities [problems]…”

-- John Jay to George Washington – June 27, 1786

FOCUS!FOCUS!

•Why was John Jay more relaxed during the Revolutionary War?

•What is making him “apprehensive” and “uneasy?” (Hint: look at the DATE !)

•What does John Jay say will happen if we don’t change?

•Is he an anti-federalist or a federalist?

• Each state voted separately on whether or not to approve the Constitution

• We needed at least 9 states to approve the Constitution

• Which states were the first to approve the Constitution?

The FederalistThe Federalist

• The Federalist were a collection of 85 essays written by James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay

• Published in NY newspapers, The Federalist were a way of explaining to the people how the Constitution worked, and why it was needed

Ratifying the ConstitutionRatifying the Constitution

• Five states ratified the Constitution within a month, however many Anti-Federalists were holding out

• They thought the National would still have too much power in the Constitution

• They wanted the Constitution to mention the PEOPLE…what about the people’s rights?

• They wanted a….• BILL OF RIGHTS• To sway Anti-Federalist, Federalists promised to add a bill of rights if the Constitution was ratified

• By May 1790 all thirteen states had ratified the Constitution

Exit!Exit!

1.What ideas did the Federalists and Anti-federalists support?

2.Why were the Bill of Rights added onto the Constitution?

FOCUS!FOCUS!

Match the appropriate section of the Constitution with its appropriate contents:

1. Bill of Rights A. carries out laws2. Legislative Branch B. interprets

laws3. Executive Branch C. States

peoples rights4. Judicial Branch D. makes the

laws

George WashingtonGeorge Washington

• Washington- elected 1789

• The Electoral College• First Actions

• Bill of Rights• Create a cabinet

• Two of key members of Washington’s cabinet were Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton

Washington’s CabinetWashington’s Cabinet

• His cabinet, or his advisers, worked with George Washington to put this new government into place

• Now that we have the Constitution, how is it going to be implemented?• That is the question that Washington and his advisors had to address…

• The first major problem: DEBT!• EVERYONE in the Cabinet supported one solution, the Tariff of 1789• Tariff = tax on imports

Washington’s CabinetWashington’s Cabinet

• The other solutions were offered by Washington’s Treasury Secretary (a member of his cabinet), Alexander Hamilton

• Hamilton’s plan• Issue bonds- loans for the federal government

• Create a National Bank• Tax the production of whiskey

The Whiskey RebellionThe Whiskey Rebellion

• In 1791, Congress imposed a direct tax on the manufacture of whiskey

• Western farmers, the main manufactures of whiskey, rebelled against the tax in 1794

• Washington orders 15,000 troops to put down the rebellion

• The rebels disperse without fighting, ending the rebellion

What message did the new government send by ordering troops to put down the rebellion?

Hamilton’s OpponentsHamilton’s Opponents

• The whiskey tax was not the only part of Hamilton’s plan that angered people

• Many people WITHIN Washington’s Cabinet opposed Hamilton’s suggestions• Thomas Jefferson• James Madison

• Thomas Jefferson was very OUTSPOKEN against Hamilton’s ideas

• This conflict within the cabinet was the foundation for political parties in America

HAMILTON v. JEFFERSONHAMILTON v. JEFFERSON

• Manufacturing, he said, would give inventors outlets for their genius, open up entrepreneurial opportunities, generate markets for farmers' products, and create jobs for the idle, including women and children.

-- Alexander Hamilton

• The mobs of great cities add just so much to the support of pure government, as sores do to the strength of the human body." Farmers, by contrast, embodied American virtue. "Put a question to a professor and a plowman," he said, and you'd get the better answer from the plowman”

-- Thomas Jefferson

EXIT!EXIT!

1.How did political parties develop in America?

2.What were the major beliefs of the first two political parties in America?