CH 5 NOTESFORMING A GOVERNMENT

Ideas about Government

•Declaring independence was a bold move

•Next step was to create new government

•They would gather ideas from many sources

• They took ideas from:• The English Bill of Rights• Magna Carta• John Locke• The Mayflower Compact• British Parliament• Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom

State Constitutions

•Were created to keep individual leaders from gaining too much power

•Protected rights of citizens•Some banned slavery•Some protected those accused

of crimes

• Strengths:•Congress could settle conflicts

among states•Make coins•Borrow money•Make treaties with other countries•Make treaties with Native Americans•Ask states for money and soldiers

Articles of Confederation

• Weaknesses:•Most power was held by the states•Only one branch of government•Legislative branch had few powers•No executive branch•No judicial branch•No system of checks and balances

Ratification of the Articles

• Conflicts over land claims slowed the ratification

• Maryland refused until other states gave up their land claims

• Western lands would be made into new states instead of increasing the size of existing states

Northwest Territory

• States handed over their land claims to the government

• Congress passed Land Ordinance of 1785

• System for surveying and dividing the western lands

•Split into townships of 36 square miles

•Divided into 36 lots of 640 acres

•1 lot reserved for public school•4 lots for veterans•Remaining lots sold to public

Northwest Ordinance of 1787

• Established the Northwest Territory• Included areas that are now:

• Illinois• Indiana• Michigan• Ohio• Wisconsin• Minnesota (part of)

• These future states were called territories

• When population reached 60,000 they could make a constitution and become a state

• Required public education to be provided

• Slavery was banned in Northwest Territory

Relations with Other Countries

• Great Britain closed off many ports to the U. S., preventing trade in Britain and West Indies

• Britain forced Americans to pay higher tariffs

• Now businesses would have to raise their prices

• Spain closed off Lower Mississippi River, cutting off American trade with the West

• Farmers could not export• British goods were now cheaper than

American• Congress did not have the power to fix

the problem

Economic Problems

• States began to pass their own trade laws, which were all different

• This made it difficult to trade from state to state

• States had a hard time paying for the war, so they started printing large amounts of money

• The result was inflation

• Money had different values from state to state

• Problems with trade and inflation caused an economic depression

Shays’s Rebellion

• Massachusetts tried something different

• Raised taxes on land, causing farmers to be hit hard

• If farmers could not pay, the land would be taken and farmer would be put in jail

• The land would then be sold at 1/3 of the original price or less

• Farmers began to revolt• Shays’s Rebellion• Led by Daniel Shays, the rebels

were defeated at a federal arsenal in Springfield, MA

• “A little rebellion now and then is a good thing…” Thomas Jefferson

• Shays’s Rebellion made Congress take a second look at Articles of Confederation

Constitutional Convention

• The convention was held in Philadelphia, PA.

• Main purpose = to improve the Articles of Confederation

•Facts:• Benjamin Franklin was the oldest:

81• Jonathan Dayton was the

youngest: 26• George Washington came out of

retirement to be president of the Convention

• Each delegate was sworn to secrecy

• Doors and windows were locked• Boards were nailed over the

windows• Women, African Americans, and

Native Americans were not allowed

• Two plans were introduced.

• Edmund Randolph presented Virginia Plan

• William Paterson presented New Jersey Plan

Virginia Plan

• Gave more power to central government

• Congress would be made up of two houses

• Representatives would be chosen based on state populations

New Jersey Plan

• Gave more power to state governments

• Congress would have one house

• Representatives would be equal for each state

Great Compromise

• After a month of debate, a decision was still not made

• Roger Sherman proposed the Great Compromise

• The Virginia and New Jersey Plans would be combined

• Congress would have two houses

• Each state would have two representatives in the Senate

• In House of Representatives, the number of representatives would be based on the state’s population

Three-Fifths Compromise

• The debate on representation also involved enslaved Africans

• Southern delegates wanted slaves counted as part of their population

• Northerners disagreed

• A compromise was made

• 3/5 of a state’s slave population would be counted

The Constitution

• Delegates hoped to protect popular sovereignty Videos - Free video downloads and streaming video - CNET TV

• That means the power belongs to the people

• They created federalism to keep a balance of power between the central and state governments

Checks and Balances

• The constitution balances power among three branches

• Legislative

• Executive

• Judicial

• Legislative Branch – Congress; makes and passes laws

• Executive Branch – President and cabinet. Makes sure the law is carried out

• Judicial Branch – Courts; interprets laws, punishes criminals, and settles disputes between states

• The delegates created a system of checks and balances

• This keeps any branch of government from becoming too powerful

• EXAMPLE:• Congress passes a bill• President can veto the bill• Congress can override veto with 2/3

vote• Supreme Court can kill the bill if it

violates the Constitution

Ratifying the Constitution

•Antifederalists – people who opposed the Constitution

• Felt the main problem was: Constitution did not provide a section for individual rights

•Federalists – supported the Constitution

• Felt the Constitution balanced all views

Federalist Papers

• One of the most important defenses of the Constitution was a series of essays knows as the Federalist Papers

• The essays were signed anonymous, but were actually written by Hamilton, Madison, and Jay.

• Tried to reassure Americans that the central government would not overpower the states

•Federalist Paper No. 10 is the most widely known, written my Madison

Bill of Rights

• The Bill of Rights were added to the Constitution as amendments

• Amendments = official changes• Amendments must be approved by

2/3 of both houses and then ratified by ¾ of all states

• The Bill of Rights are 10 amendments intended to protect the rights of the citizens