7 Principles of GovernmentWhat big ideas were the founding fathers thinking about when they made the Constitution?

RepublicanismRepresentative Government--- People vote for

who they want in office

Popular Sovereignty A government in which the people rule

Limited GovernmentEverybody has to follow the same laws, even

members of the government.

FederalismPowers are shared by the federal and state

government

Individual RightsPersonal liberties and privileges that people are

born with and can not be taken away.

Separation of PowerDivides the role of government into 3

branches: Legislative, Executive and Judicial

Checks and BalancesEach of the 3 branches of government has a

little control, or check, on the other 2 branches.

The Preamble of the US Constitution

“We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish

justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the

general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty for ourselves and our posterity, do

ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”

6 goals of the Constitution:

1. in order to form a more perfect union,

2. establish justice,

3. insure domestic tranquility,

4. provide for the common defense,

5. promote the general welfare

6. secure the blessings of liberty for ourselves and our posterity GIVE SOME

EXAMPLES OF HOW THESE ARE SHOWN TODAY?

Class Constitution Activity

Remember, the goals stated in the preamble were to be accomplished by what was written in the Constitution. Today you’ll pretend you are writing a Constitution for our school, what goals would set for JWJ?

We the students of JWJ in order to form a more perfect classroom, establish ___________, insure _____________, provide ________________, promote ______________, secure _________________, do ordain and establish this Constitution for JWJ.

Ratifying the Constitution

FederalistsFederalism is a system of government in which power is shared between the central (or federal) government and the states.

Linking themselves to the idea of federalism, the people who supported the Constitution took the

name the Federalists.

Antifederalists

People who opposed the Constitution

were called Antifederalists.

• They thought the Constitution took too much power away from the states and did not guarantee rights for the people.

• Some were afraid that a strong president might be declared king.

• Others thought the Senate might turn into a powerful aristocracy.

Antifederalists published their views about the Constitution in newspapers and pamphlets.

The Federalist PapersFederalists essays to answer the Antifederalists

attacks.The best known of the Federalists essays

are known as the Federalist Papers.• Essays first appeared as letters in

New York newspapers.• They were later published

together in a book called The Federalist.James Madison, Alexander Hamilton,

and John Jay wrote the Federalist Papers.

Most newspapers supported the Constitution.

The Battle for RatificationBy June 1788, nine states voted to ratify the Constitution.

New York and Virginia still had not ratified.

George Mason of Virginia would not consider voting for the Constitution until a bill of rights was added.

A bill of rights is a set of rules that defines people’s rights.

Important because Virginia was the largest state, and New York would divide the states geographically.

The Bill of RightsSeveral states asked that the constitution

be amended to include a bill of rights.

They believed it was needed to protect people against the power of the national government.

¾ of the states had to ratify the amendments for them to take effect.

These ten amendments to the Constitution became known as

the Bill of Rights.

1791 The Bill of Rights was ratified.