Shaping a New NationShaping a New NationChapter Five

Section OneSection One: : Experiment Experiment with Confederation with Confederation

Colonists ….1.Fear strong central government2.Believe democracy gives too much

power to uneducated3.Prefer republican form of

government-citizens rule through representatives

State ConstitutionsState Constitutions

1. Limit power of the government2. Guarantee specific rights3. Stress liberty not equality

Important issues……..Important issues……..

1. Representation – by state or population?

2. Supreme Power – can it be divided?

3. Western Lands – who gets them?

RepresentationRepresentation

• Congress believed that it spoke for every state - each state gets one vote

Articles of Articles of ConfederationConfederation

• Articles of Confederation – 1st plan of government – Confederation – loose union of

states – power remains shared b/t state and central gov’t (alliance)

– National government handles war, treaties, weights and measures, mail

– No executive branch or court system

Western LandsWestern Lands

• Land Ordinance of 1785 creates plan for surveying western lands

• Northwest Ordinance of 1787 – plan for statehood out of territories

land_ceded.pdf

landord_1785.pdf

Weaknesses with the Weaknesses with the Articles of Articles of

Confederation…Confederation…Problems:1. Cannot unify states2. Large debt from the war

weaknessconfed.pdf

Section Two: Drafting the Section Two: Drafting the ConstitutionConstitution

• Articles of Confederation are too weak to hold the states together

Cannot levy or

collect taxes

No executive

All states must

agree to amendNo power to regulate trade

No court system to settle

disputes between states

One vote per state regardless of population

United States of America

Articles of Confederation

Why did the Articles of Confederation fail?

Courts (Judicial Branch)

• The nation lacked a national court system.

Supreme Court

Why did the Articles of Confederation fail?

President (Executive Branch)

• The nation did not have a President, or Chief Executive.

White House

Shays’s Rebellion Shays’s Rebellion (p.140)(p.140)

Q. What was Shays’s problem?A. Heavy debt that he blamed on

high taxes and he was about to lose his farm.

Q. What did he try to do about it?R. Led an army to close the courts and

to try to capture the arsenal to begin a revolt.

Q. What was the result?A. It failed, however, it did call

attention to the fact that the government (central) was too weak and needed to be changed.

A mob of discontents seizing a courthouse during Shays’s Rebellion, an uprising in western Massachusetts.

Call for a ConventionCall for a Convention

1. Draw a large circle

Focus

Constitutional convention

2. Read about the convention and highlights on page 141

3. Record facts in your focus

circle

Founding Fathers??Founding Fathers??

Delegates to the Constitutional Convention gatheringbefore the Pennsylvania State House (now, Independence Hall) in Philadelphia in 1787.

Strong Central Gov’t vs. Strong states

Central government should have more power than the states

The states should remain stronger than the central gov’t

Key Conflicts in the Key Conflicts in the

Constitutional ConventionConstitutional Convention

Key Conflicts in the Key Conflicts in the Constitutional ConventionConstitutional Convention

Big states vs. Small states

Congress – two houses based on population

Congress – one house based on equal representation

Virginia PlanVirginia Plan

Proposed ….• Bicameral legislature (2 house

Congress)• Membership based on population…….favored large states

New Jersey PlanNew Jersey Plan

Proposed…….• Unicameral legislature……(one

house)• Based on equal representation

(each state gets one vote regardless of population)

…….favored small states

The GREAT CompromiseThe GREAT Compromise

• Also known as the Connecticut Compromise….determines a state’s representation in Congress

• Proposed a two house legislature - House of Representatives – based on

population - Senate – based on equal

representation

Key Conflicts in the Key Conflicts in the Constitutional ConventionConstitutional Convention

North vs. South

• Slaves should not be counted for representation

• Slaves should be counted for taxation

•Slaves should be counted for representation•Slaves should not be counted for taxation

dist_slaves.pdf

Issue of SlaveryIssue of Slavery

The issue of abolition was avoided for fear that Southern states would walk out and the government would collapse?

Should slaves be counted for…..taxation?

…..representation?

Three-Fifths Three-Fifths CompromiseCompromise

• Proposed that 3/5 of each state’s slave population be counted for representation and taxation.

• Southern states still worried that Congress would find a way to end slavery

Constitution and Constitution and CompromiseCompromise

Respond to this statement……

“The Constitution is a result of compromises.”

Division of PowersDivision of Powers

Federalism….divides powers between the national government and state governments.

Federal State

Shared

Separation of PowersSeparation of Powers

Separated powers into three branches of government…Checks and Balances: no one branch becomes too powerful…

Checks and Balances Flow Chart from George Cassutto's Cyberlearning World

Legislative Branch –

Makes the laws

Executive Branch –

Enforces the laws Judicial Branch

–

Interprets the laws

Electing the Electing the President…..President…..

• What were the two main concerns about electing a President? P.144

Answer: The vote would be divided among regional candidates and the common people would vote the upper class out of power.

Section 3: Ratifying the Section 3: Ratifying the ConstitutionConstitution

• Required at least nine states to ratify….

• Federalists – supported the new Constitution

• Anti-Federalists – opposed the Constitution

The Arguments…..The Arguments…..

Contrast the arguments of the two groups…p.146

FederalistsFederalistsAntifederalistsAntifederalists

The Federalist PapersThe Federalist Papers

• The Federalist was a series of 85 essays defending the Constitution and appeared in New York newspapers b/t 1787-1788

The Bill of RightsThe Bill of Rights

• The Constitution did not protect individual rights….

• The Federalists promise the Anti-federalists a Bill of Rights will be added to the Constitution, guaranteeing individual rights

The Bill of RightsThe Bill of Rights

• Create a graphic organizer that illustrates the Bill of Rights……

• P.149, P. 166