CIVICS, Ch2, Sec. 3

EARLY STATE CONSTITUTIONS

• Even BEFORE the Declaration of Independence was signed, the states began making preparations to govern themselves.

• Jan. 1776: New Hampshire was the first state to write a constitution, a written plan for a government.

• By 1780, all the 13 states had had written constitutions.

EARLY STATE CONSTITUTIONS• Each state constitution was a little different, but all

were similar. • Each state set up 3 branches of government:– Legislative Branch-a legislature to make laws. Most of these

legislatures were bicameral (had 2 houses) like the English Parliament . The two houses were chosen by different methods

– Executive Branch: a governor to carry out the laws. In some states the governor was elected by the people, in some he was chosen by the state legislature;

– Judicial Branch: Judges & Courts to interpret and apply the law to actual cases.

EARLY STATE CONSTITUTIONS

• Most of the early state constitutions also contained a BILL OF RIGHTS, a section of the constitution guaranteeing certain basic freedoms & legal protections. Examples: – Right to trial by jury– Protection of personal property • Both can be traced back the MAGNA CARTA, the

document signed by King John in 1215

1780 Massachusetts Constitution

• The 1780 Massachusetts Constitution is the only one still in effect today. It had 3 unusual characteristic, that would make it a model for the U.S. Constitution later: – Power was distributed evenly among the 3 branches of

government (in the others the legislature was much more powerful than the other branches)

– The Executive branch (governor) & the courts were given “checks” over the legislature;

– It was created by a special convention of delegates, and then approved by a vote of the citizens.

ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION

• Each state had a government but there was a need for a central government. Why? A war was going on. 13 small separate forces could not win against the British Army. They needed one army.

• 1777: the Second Continental Congress wrote the Articles of Confederation, a plan for a central government, our 1st constitution

ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION

• Confederation: a group of individuals who band together for a common purpose

• The ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION established a system of cooperation among the independent states. The states remained mostly independent.

ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION• The Articles of Confederation set up a one-house

legislature, in which each state had one vote. This body had control over the army & authority to deal with foreign countries.

• It had: – No Executive Branch (no president or governor) – No Judicial Branch (no courts)

• It had: – No power to collect taxes (had to ask the states for

money) – No power to enforce its laws (it had to ask the states to

enforce its laws)

A SHAKY NATIONAL GOVERNMENT

• This central government was weak. The state governments had much more power than the central government.

• Nevertheless, the United States managed to win the Revolutionary War. – We (the United States) were barely hanging on for 6

years. It looked like we would loose. Then France agreed to help us. We won --G. B. decided the war was more trouble than it was worth.

– The Treat of Paris was signed in 1783

A Shaky Nation Government

• We (the U.S.) had problems!!!– The National Government was deeply in debt. It

had no way to collect taxes. – The State Governments were also in debt. They

imposed heavy taxes on their citizens, and that drove many farmers out of business and caused much resentment.

– There was fear that neither the State governments nor the National Government could protect their safety or their property. There were riots.

A Shaky Government

• “Shays’s Rebellion”– A Massachusetts farmer named Daniel Shays was in

debt, and a Mass. Court was about to take his farm as payment for his debts.

– Shays said the state had caused the problem. He raised an “army” of 1200 Massachusetts farmers and tried to take a federal arsenal.

– George Washington was sent to put down the rebellion & succeeded, but this convinced many people that the U.S .needed a stronger central government.

A Shaky Government

• George Washington quote: “I do not conceive we can exist long as a nation without having lodged somewhere a power which will pervade the whole Union”.

• There was a decision to revise the Articles of Confederation to make the National Government stronger.

• 1787: 12 of the 13 states (only Rhode Island did not send delegates) sent delegates to a meeting in Philadelphia to attend a meeting to revise the Articles of Confederation.