Transcript The Constitution of the United States of America

The Constitution of the
United States of America
What Is Important About
September 17?
The U.S.
Constitution
was signed by
39 delegates
in Philadelphia
on
September 17,
1787
Who Were the Delegates?
People (55) who represented
twelve of the thirteen states in
the U.S.
Guess which state did not send
delegates?
Thirteen Colonies
Rhode Island!
Some Famous Delegates
Benjamin Franklin
James
Madison
George Washington
Why were they meeting in
Philadelphia?
• Although the U.S. had won the
Revolutionary War, there was no central
government. Each state had its own
laws.
• U.S. was getting too big to let each
state have its own laws dealing with
other countries and trade.
• The U.S. was falling apart. The country
needed a strong national government.
Why were they meeting in
Philadelphia?
• A big meeting, or convention, was called
to create a plan for a central
government.
• This plan would be called “The
Constitution”
• The meeting became known as “The
Constitutional Convention”.
Interesting Facts
• Lasted 16 long weeks during a hot
summer at the State House in
Philadelphia
• George Washington elected by
delegates to be President of the
Convention
• Delegates became known as
“The Founding Fathers”
The State House in Philadelphia
Independence Hall
Liberty Bell
Interesting Facts
Delegates suffered
from a terrible heat
wave—they were
even hotter
because they kept
all the windows
closed so
everything would
be kept secret!
It took many days
for the delegates to
travel to
Philadelphia.
Eighty-one year old
Franklin was carried
there in a chair!
Two Plans = Big Fight
VIRGINIA PLAN
Gov’t would be made up
of 3 sections
(branches).
Executive: President: In
charge of the gov’t
Legislative: Congress: 2
house (House of Rep.
and Senate=make
laws)
Judicial: Courts: Made
sure laws were obeyed
NEW JERSEY PLAN
Smaller states thought gov’t
would pay more attention
to bigger states.
Each state would have an
equal vote which meant
that states would have
more control than the
President.
Three Branches of Government
The Great Compromise
Delegates voted for Virginia Plan,
but the two sides compromised.
House of Representatives:
Number of reps. would be based
on the population of the state
Senate:
Every state would have 2 senators (size doesn’t
matter)
Quiz
How many senators are there
in the Senate?
100
Which state has the most
representatives in the
House of Representatives?
California
Which states have only 1 person
in the House of Representatives?
STATE
AREA
(square miles)
POPULATION
Montana
147,046
909,453
North
Dakota
70,704
634,110
South
Dakota
77,121
761,063
Wyoming
97,818
498,703
Vermont
9,615
616,592
Delaware
2,489
807,385
Alaska
656,425
643,786
Constitution
• Decided how new states could join the
U.S.
• Decided how long terms of office should
be
• Made it possible to change Constitution
by adding amendments (changes)
Bill of Rights
• 10 Amendments added
very quickly (1791)
• Describes rights that the government
cannot take away from the people
• Examples: right to a trial by a jury,
freedom of speech, freedom of religion,
etc.
• 16 more amendments added (13th
ended slavery; 19th gave women right
to vote)
IMPORTANT
The Founding Fathers were
careful to create a
government where no one
branch had more power
than the other!
What is the Constitution?
The Constitution is the
supreme law of the United
States of America.
It tells how the government is
set up and the rules by
which all people must
abide.
What is the Preamble?
1 sentence
Explains why constitution was written
We the People of the United States, in order to form a
more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic
Tranquility, provide for the common defence, 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.
We the People