Unit III: The ConstitutionI. Creating the Constitution.II. The ConstitutionIII. The Bill of Rights

Key Terms & Vocabulary

1. Articles of Confederation- plan of government created by the colonies during the Rev. War

2. Territory- specific area owned by a country

3. Land Ordinance of (1785)- law dividing up land acquired after the Treaty of Paris

4. Northwest Ordinance (1787)- law that helped set the rules of how new territories would be governed

6. Constitutional Convention (1787)- Meeting of representatives from 12 states to discuss issues with the A.O.C

A. Articles of Confederation (A.O.C) 1781-1788

1. A Constitution is a written plan of government. It contains the powers & limits of the government.a. A.O.C. was created during the Revolutionary War to unite the 13 colonies.b. Congress ran the government c. Each state had 1 vote

1. StrengthsCongress can…

a. declare war or peaceb. Sign treatiestreatiesc. Raise an army & navyd. Print & borrow moneye. Organize a post office

B. Strengths & Weaknesses of the A.O.C

2. Land Ordinance of 1785

a. It was a law passed by Congress to help develop western lands

(between Appalachian Mountains & the Mississippi River into sections that could be purchased by settlers

3. Northwest Ordinance

a. Set the rules of how a territory would be governed & how it could become a state (5,000=law making body, 60,000=state)

b. It gave settlers same rights as citizens

c. Banned slavery in the Northwest territory

a. Could not require the states to pay

taxesb. Could not control interstate trade (commerce) (ex. state taxes)c. Difficult to pass laws or amend the A.O.C (all states had to agree)d. No power to draft soldiers

4. Weaknesses

5. Money Problems

a. Congress did not have gold & silver to make coins

b. Each state created its own paper money which was worthless

MassPenn

c. Shays’s Rebellion- led by Daniel Shay, Mass. farmers unable to pay their debts & afraid of losing

their homes stole weapons & shut down courthouses

6. The First Constitutional Convention

a. 55 delegates from 12 states gathered in Pennsylvania for the “express purpose of revising the A.O.C”.

b. ended up throwing out the A.O.C & writing a brand new constitution.

C. Inside the Constitutional Convention

1. James Madisona. Known as the ‘father of the Constitution’.

b. He kept notes describing what went on in the convention everyday

“If men were angels, no government would be

necessary”

2. Issue : Distribution of Political Power

How should the states be represented in the new government?

a. Larger states insisted that representation in Congress should be based on the population of a state.

b. Smaller states wanted representation to be the same for all states.

c. Virginia Plan: Part I

National government will have a…

- legislative branch (law making)

- executive branch (to carry out the laws)

- judicial branch (to enforce the laws)

House of Representatives Senate

Congress

d. Virginia Plan: Part II

Number of Law makers a state could send depended on the states

population

e. Virginia Plan: Part III

• Also called for 3 branches of government, however….

- 1 house in Legislative branch- Each state would have an equal vote

f. New Jersey Plan

=

- Small states were afraid of being crushed by the larger states.

g. Resolution: The Great Compromise

Congress

House of Representatives‘Represent The People’

Senate‘Represent the states’

# RepresentativesBased on state’s population

2 Representatives From each state.

h. Slavery IssueHow Should Slaves Be Counted when

determining state population for the H.O.R?

h. Since slaves made up a large part of the South’s population, Southern delegates proposed that slaves be counted as part of the population, but not for taxes (property).

i. Northern delegates proposed counting slaves for tax purposes but not for representation.

j. Resolution: The Three-Fifths (3/5) Compromise

• Count each slave as 3/5 of a person for representation & taxes

=

5 slaves

3 people

j. Issue: How should the national executive (president) be elected?

• Many delegates were afraid of having 1 leader because of King George

• Some argued that there should be 3 leaders, one for each branch of government

• Eventually, they agreed to have one leader, but still had to decide on how he would be elected.

k. Resolution: The Electoral College

# of Representatives

+

# of senators

Based on state population.

2 senators from each state

# of electors in the electoral college

3. Should we ratify (approve) the new Constitution?

a. Federalists• Articles Of

Confederation was weak

• The Constitution created a more effective government

• Government powers will be limited with 3 branches

b. Anti-Federalists• Congress would tax too

much

• President would rule like a king

• Worry that the Constitution did not address the rights of the people, only the rights of the states