Chapter 2 Notes and Review
Our Political BeginningsEnglish colonists brought with
them a rich history of political experiences and ideas
Those experiences and ideas would help to shape the political landscape of our nation, both then and now
Three Big Ideas1. Ordered Government
An orderly regulation of the relationship between themselves and their government
2. Limited GovernmentGovt. should not be all powerfulProtection of rights
3. Representative Govt.Govt. should “represent” the will of the
peoplePeople should have a voice in what
their govt. does
Landmark English Documents
Magna Carta (1215) First documents outlining basic individual
rightsTrial by juryDue process of lawProtection of life, liberty and property
Petition of RightFreedom to criticize the king; could not be
imprisoned without jury trialNo martial law during peacetimeNo quartering of soldiers
English Bill of RightsNo army during peacetimeFree electionsFair and speedy trialExcessive bail / cruel punishment
Unicameral and BicameralUnicameral – a one house
legislature (law making body)
Bicameral – a two house legislature
Taxation without representation etc.?
Do I need to explain the causes of the American
Revolution?
What was Accomplished at the First Continental Congress
(1774)Sent a declaration of rights to King
George IIIUrged all colonies to boycott
English goodsLocal committees to enforce the
boycott
What Was Accomplished at the Second Continental Congress
(1775)
First real National GovernmentContinental army and navy was
formedAdopted the Declaration of
IndependenceFought a warCreated a Monetary systemMade treaties with foreign powersAnd more
The Articles of ConfederationOur Nation’s first constitutionVery weak document and was not
effectiveHad no strong central government
to enforce policies between the states
A new constitution would be necessary
A New Constitution Was Necessary!
Problem: How should the States be represented in Congress?
Some States were large with many people and some were small with few people
What about slaves?
The Virginia PlanStates would be represented in
Congress based upon their population or the amount of money sent in support of the Central Govt. (Taxes)
Virginia loves the plan, they are a big state
Small states hate the plan
The New Jersey PlanAll States were to be equally
represented without regard to population or availability of money
New Jersey was a small state & loved the plan
Large States like Virginia, New York and Pennsylvania hated the plan
The Connecticut Compromise(AKA “The Great Compromise”)
A bicameral legislatureThe smaller Senate would be
represented equallyThe larger House of
Representatives, representation would be based on population
Oh NO!!! What about slaves? Are they to be counted as population? Another major battle!
The Three-Fifths CompromiseSouthern slave states wanted slaves to be
counted as population (even they had no rights)
Northern non-slave states objected
Compromise“All free persons are to counted, and so should
three-fifths of all other persons”Reality: A slave only counted as 3/5 of a person An ugly part of our history to be sure, but it
settled the dispute3/5 Comp. was abolished along with slavery
later on.
Now it had to be sold to the people for approval!
The New Constitution was completed!
Federalists and Their Main ArgumentFederalists – favored ratification
(formal adoption) of the new constitution
Stressed the weakness of the Articles of Confed.
All of those problems could be fixed by the new constitution
Anti-Federalists and Their Argument
Objected to the ratification (formal adoption) process
Objected to the absence of the word God
Denial of some previously held states rights
Two Main Issues Being Argued Over the New Constitution
1. The greatly increased powers of the central government
2. The lack of a Bill of Rights
Solutions:The “Federalist Papers” were distributed
to help explain the limited power of the new central government
The adoption of the first ten amendments; the Bill of Rights
Finally a New Constitution was Won and has lasted for over
200 years!!!