The First Continental Congress (1774)

• Delegates from 12 colonies met in Philadelphia to discuss problems with Britain

• Sent a Declaration of Rights to complain to King George III about his colonial policies

• Wanted the taxes and regulations repealed (taken back, cancelled)

Second Continental Congress (1775-1776)

• All 13 colonies sent delegates to Philadelphia --> became our first national government

• Britain would not repeal their policies or compromise (made laws harsher) = time for colonies to declare independence !

The Declaration of Independence

• Main writer: Thomas Jefferson• Lists the offenses of King George and why we

are breaking away from Britain• Debated and passed by the delegates on July

4, 1776• the colonies became free and independent

states from England and so created the United States of America

• ALL 13 colonies had to declare independence or it meant nothing

The Articles of Confederation

• The Continental Congress wasn’t based on any law; our gov’t needed a law to run the country and manage the states

• The Articles of Confederation were our first “rough draft” government– Formed a “league of friendship” between

the states

Gov’t Setup Under the Articles

• Each state kept its own power, but they would join with other states for the good of the country

• the national government = a unicameral Congress with state delegates– Congress made all the nation’s decisions,

even enforced laws and judged them

Powers of Congress Under the Articles

• Could declare war and make peace• Make treaties• Borrow money• Set up a money system• Raise an army by asking for volunteers from

the states• Settle fights between the states

Weaknesses of the Gov’t Under the Articles

• Did not have the power to tax (had to ask states for money or borrow it)

• Couldn’t control trade between the states• Couldn’t make the states obey the Articles• 9 out of 13 states had to agree on anything

the gov’t did

Problems with the States

• The states grew jealous of each other and began fighting

• taxed each other’s goods and banned trade with certain states

• made foreign alliances

• Each state acted like a little country

Shays’ Rebellion

• Because the economy was bad, farmers lost their land because they couldn’t pay taxes

• Rebellions in Massachusetts to shut down courts and free debtors

• Daniel Shays leads a mob to attack an arsenal and get guns

Ch. 2 Quiz

• royal colony• proprietary colony• charter colony• delegate• boycott

• Magna Carta• bicameral• unicameral• repeal• charter

Fix the Articles

• In a small group, create your own NEW government to replace the Articles of Confederation– Think about the problems in the Articles

that need to be fixed and address them– How does your (better) government work?

Who is responsible for doing what? How are the people represented?

The Constitutional Convention (1787)

• We needed a better system of gov’t --the Articles of Confederation were too weak

• They originally met to fix the Articles• 55 delegates from 12 states attended• These men were known as the Framers

(they “built” the Constitution)

Organization of the Convention

• George Washington was elected president of the Convention

• 1.) A majority vote was needed to decide issues

• 2.) Each state got one vote

• 3.) The meetings were done in secrecy

The Virginia Plan

• Author: James Madison• 3 branches of government (legislative,

executive, and judicial)• bicameral Congress (two houses: House of

Representatives and Senate)• Each house was based on state population

(bigger states got more representatives) or on how much money they gave the national gov’t (more money = more reps)

• Congress would choose who was in the executive and judicial branches

• Military force could be used to make the states obey national laws

• This plan would mostly replace the Articles

The New Jersey Plan

• Author: William Paterson• 3 branches of government (same)• unicameral Congress (one house) - each

state had equal representation• Congress would choose the executive

branch, and the executive branch would choose the judicial branch

• Wanted to make small changes/fixes to the Articles

The Connecticut Compromise

• By Roger Sherman

• 3 branches of government

• Congress would be bicameral (House and Senate)– House based on state population– Senate based on equal representation

3/5 Compromise

• The South wanted to count their slaves as their population, but slaves were considered property

• Compromise: For every five slaves, three counted as people

Commerce and Slave Trade Compromise

• (The South is afraid the North will interfere with their trade)

• Congress cannot tax state exports (goods shipped out)

• Could not interfere with the slave trade for 20 years

A Constitution is Born

• September 17, 1787: Constitution signed in its final form

• Now it’s up to the states to approve it

Ratifying the Constitution

• Ratification - to pass, approve

• The Constitution couldn’t go into effect until the states ratified it

• Led to debate between two groups: the Federalists and the Anti-Federalists (became like our first political parties)

The Federalists

• (ex: James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, John Adams)

• Believed: – a strong national gov’t would unite and keep

states under control– the common people aren’t fit to rule

(educated men should be in power)– Didn’t need a bill of rights to be written down– The Articles of Confederation were weak

The Anti-Federalists

• (ex: Thomas Jefferson, Richard Henry Lee, Patrick Henry)

• Believed:– State governments knew the needs of the people

better– A strong national government would abuse the

people’s rights (common people could rule)– A bill of rights was needed to protect the people

from the gov’t– The Articles just needed to be fixed

Ratification

• 9/13 states were needed to ratify the Constitution• Big states like New York and Virginia needed to be

convinced• The Federalist Papers - a series of essays arguing in

favor of the Constitution (by Madison, Hamilton, and Jay)

• Constitution ratified and took effect March 1789• Main author: James Madison (Father of the

Constitution)

Ch. 2 Political Cartoons

• Interpret the cartoon:

Write 3-5 sentences about what is going on in the cartoon, why it is drawn the way it is, and what message the artist is trying to send.