What basic concepts were held by American colonists?

1. The need for an ordered social system, or government.

2. The need for a limited government, it should not be all-powerful.

3. The concept of limited government- a government that serves the will of the people.

How were the thirteen governments organized?

1. The Royal Colonies were ruled directly by the English Monarchy.

2. The King granted land to the people in North America who then formed proprietary colonies.

3. The charter colonies were mostly self-governed, and their charters were granted to the colonists.

How did the colonists react to Britain’s early colonial policies?

1. Early attempts: in 1643, several New England settlements formed the New England confederation.

2. The Albany Plan: In 1754, Ben Franklin proposed the Albany Plan, in which annual congress of delegates for each of the 13 would be formed.

3. a. The Stamp Act Congress: in 1756, a group of colonies sent delegates to the Stamp Act Congress in New York.

b. The delegates prepared the Declaration of rights and Grievances against British policy.

What common features did the first constitutions share?

1. Popular sovereignty

2. Limited government

3. Civil rights and liberties

4. Separation of powers and checks and balances

What were the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation?

1. One vote for each state, regardless of size

2. Congress was powerless to lay or collect taxes

3. Congress was powerless to regulate foreign and interstate commerce.

4. No Executive branch to enforce acts of congress.

5. No rational court system

6. Amendment only with consent of all states

7. A 9/13 majority required to pass laws

8. Articles only a “firm league of friendship.”

What were the differences between the Virginia Plan and the New Jersey Plan?

The Virginia Plan:

1. Three branches of government

2. Bicameral legislature

3. “National Executive” and “National Judiciary”

The New Jersey Plan:

4. Unicameral Congress

5. Equal representation for States of different sizes

6. More than one federal executive

What are some of the compromises on which the Constitutional convention agreed?

1. The Connecticut Compromise: Delegates agreed on a bicameral Congress, one segment with equal representation for States, and the other with representation proportionate to the States’ populations.

2. The Three-Fifths Compromise: the Framers decided to count a slave as three-fifths of a person when determining the population of a State

3. The Commerce and Slave Trade Compromise: Congress was forbidden from taxing exported goods, and was not allowed to act on the slave trade for 20 years.

Who were the Federalists and the Anti-Federalists?

1. Federalists thought that the Articles of Confederation were weak, and argued for the ratification of the Constitution

2. Anti-Federalists objected to the Constitution for many reasons, including the strong central government and the lack of a bill of rights.