Transcript Articles of Confederation vs. US Constitution

THE ARTICLES OF
CONFEDERATION VS. THE
UNITED STATES
CONSTITUTION,
BILL OF RIGHTS,
WAR OF 1812
4 th Grade
WHAT WERE THE ARTICLES OF
CONFEDERATION?
• They were written during the
Revolutionary War by the Continental
Congress in 1781.
• It was supposed to give the colonies
a sense of unified government.
WHAT WERE THE WEAKNESSES OF THE
ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION?
• But when the war ended, each state (colony) began
to act alone (make laws in their best interest).
• They had no executive branch with this form of
government.
• States had more power and the federal government
had very limited power over the states.
• No national currency.
• Judicial functions were limited because laws were
different from state to state.
WHAT HAPPENED NEXT?
• Because government was so weak
with the Articles of Confederation,
an assembly was called to make
changes to it. This was later known
as the Constitutional Convention,
which met in Philadelphia on May of
1787.
THE CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION
• At the convention, a new draft was written, the
United States Constitution.
• 12 of 13 states were represented at the
convention.
• It took 4 months for the delegates to write the
Constitution.
• Father of the Constitution was James
Madison. Other delegates, such as Benjamin
Franklin, also took part in the drafting of the
constitution.
THE US CONSTITUTION
• The writers of our Constitution wanted to
make sure that the new nation and its
citizens would be free and independent.
• They wanted to make sure that the
government of the United States would
protect the people from a government
that was too powerful and from the
autocratic rule of kings.
WHAT IT CONSISTED OF…
 The Preamble: opening statement to the Constitution
that explains the reasons our Founding Fathers
crafted our Republican form of government, to
replace the Articles of Confederation.
“We the People, of the United States, in Order to form
a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure
domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense,
promote the general Welfare and secure the Blessings
of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and
establish this Constitution for the United States of
America.”
http://const4kids.forums.commonground13.us/?p=19
WHAT IT CONSISTED OF…
• Each state would have state representatives
(depending of population and equal for each
state)
• A two-house (bicameral) legislature: a House
of Representative (population) and a Senate
(equal)
• Equal power of State and Federal governments
WHAT IT CONSISTED OF…
 3 branches of government:
 Legislative (makes laws)
 Judicial (reviews the laws)
 Executive (carries out the laws)
• Checks and Balances: by creating three branches of
government, the delegates built a "check and
balance" system into the Constitution. This system
was built so that no one branch of our government
could become too powerful.
RATIFYING THE CONSTITUTION
• Those that approved and supported the
constitution were called federalists. But,
there were still some that were not
convinced.
• Those that were not convinced wanted a
Bill of Rights added to the constitution to
make sure that each individual would be
protected from a federal government.
THE BILL OF RIGHTS
• James Madison wrote 12
amendments (changes or
additions) to the Constitution.
Only 10 were approved, ratified.
Those became known as the Bill
of Rights.
BILL OF RIGHTS: WHAT WERE THEY?
T h e F i r s t A m e n d m e n t - s t a te s t h a t C o n g r e s s s h a l l m a ke n o l aw p r ev e n t i n g t h e
e s t a b l i s h m e n t o f r e l i g io n o r p r o h i b i t i n g i t s f r e e ex e r c is e . A l s o p r o te c te d a r e f r e e d o m
o f s p e e c h , f r e e d o m o f t h e p r e s s , f r e e d o m o f a s s e m b l y, a n d t h e r i g h t to p et i t i o n t h e
G o v e r nm e n t f o r a r e d r e s s o f g r i eva n c e s .
T h e S e c o n d A m e n d m e n t - p r o te c t s c i t i z e n ' s r i g h t to b e a r a r m s .
T h e T h i r d A m e n d m e n t - p r ev e n t s t h e g o v e r n m e n t f r o m p l a c i n g t r o o p s i n p r i va te h o m e s .
T h i s w a s a r e a l p r o b l em d u r i ng t h e A m e r i c a n Rev o l ut i o n a r y Wa r.
T h e Fo u r t h A m e n d m en t - t h i s a m e n d m e n t p r ev e n t s t h e g o v e r n m e n t f r o m u n r e a s o n a b le
s e a r c h a n d s e i z ur e o f t h e p r o p e r t y o f U S c i t i z e n s . I t r e q u i r e s t h e g o v e r n m e n t to h av e a
warrant that was issued by a judge and based on probable cause.
T h e F i f t h A m e n d m e n t - T h e F i f t h A m e n d m e n t i s f a m o us f o r p e o p l e s ay i n g " I ' l l t a ke t h e
F i f t h ". T h i s g i v e s p e o p l e t h e r i g h t to c h o o s e n o t to te s t i f y i n c o u r t i f t h ey f e e l t h e i r o w n
te s t i m o ny w i l l i n c r i mi n a te t h e m s e l ve s . I n a d d i t i o n t h i s a m e n d m e n t p r o te c t s c i t i z en s
f r o m b e i n g s u b j e c t to c r i m in a l p r o s ec ut i o n a n d p u n i s hm e n t w i t h o ut d u e p r o c e s s . I t
a l s o p r ev e n t s p e o p l e f r o m b e i n g t r i e d f o r t h e s a m e c r i me t w i c e . T h e a m e n d m e n t a l s o
e s t a b l i s h e s t h e p o w e r o f e m i n e n t d o m a i n , w h i c h m e a n s t h a t p r i va te p r o p e r t y c a n n o t
b e s e i z e d f o r p u b l i c u s e w i t h o ut j u s t c o m p e n s a t i o n .
BILL OF RIGHTS: WHAT WERE THEY?
T he Sixth Amendment - guarantees a speedy trial by a jur y of one's peer s.
Also, people accused are to be informed of the crimes with which they are
charged and have the right to confront the witnesses brought by the
government. The amendment also provides the accused the right to
compel testimony from witnesses, and to legal representation (meaning
the government has to provide a lawyer).
T he Seventh A mendment - provides that civil cases also be tried by jur y.
T he Eighth Amendment - prohibits excessive bail, excessive fines, and
cruel and unusual punishments.
T he Ninth Amendment - states that the list of rights described in the
Constitution is not exhaustive, and that the people still have all the rights
that are not listed.
T he Tenth Amendment - gives all power s not specifically given to the
United States government in the Constitution, to either the states or to
the people.
THE CONSTITUTION WAS PASSED!
With these 10 amendments added
to the Constitution convinced the
rest of the states to ratify the
constitution.
THE WAR OF 1812
• The British were still picking on the new
nation (United States).
• The British were then fighting France to
gain more land and control.
• British wanted to limit the trade between
the U.S. and France, so they would take
over American ships going to France.
THE WAR OF 1812
• Britain was also working with the
American Indians to stop the United
States from expanding west.
• The United States, with Madison as
president, declared war on Britain on
June 18, 1812.
PROBLEMS DURING THE WAR
• The United States had a tiny military army, because
Madison did not think it was necessary to have a big
military power. This back-fired during the war.
America was loosing battles.
• There was no federal bank to finance the war. It was
difficult to pay for the war with no money in reserve
funds. The funds had to come from the states.
• The British were stopping ships at ports, which
started damaging economy.
DURING THE WAR
• The British burned the White House and
the Capitol.
• There were ships that were bombed and
taken over by the British at the ports.
• During one of these fights, Francis Scott
Key wrote the Star Spangled Banner, our
national anthem.
HOW IT ENDED…
• Both sides were weary of the war.
• Britain was fighting America and France, which was
costing them a lot of money.
• The United States were trying to hold off as long as
they could.
• But they had negotiators from both sides meet to
sign the Treaty of Ghent.
• Although there was not a definite winner, the United
States found PRIDE in their country because they
had stood ground against the world’s greatest
military power. This built a lot of Patriotism for the
new country.