Transcript SSChapter3 - Mrs. Henriksson iClassroom Wikispace

CHAPTER 3
CREATING THE CONSTITUTION
Section 1
Governing a New Nation
Government by the States
• Leaders in individual states began
creating governments.
• 11 of the 13 states wrote new
constitutions to support their
governments.
• A constitution is a document stating the
rules under which a government with
operate.
Writing State Constitutions
• Colonist had been unhappy with governors appointed
by the British Crown.
• The new constitutions minimized the powers of state
governors.
• Most of the power was given to the state legislatures
elected by the people.
• The governor served as the stated executive: the
person who runs the government and sees that the
laws are carried out.
• The new constitutions allowed more people to vote.
In order to vote, white males had to be 21 or over.
They also had to own a certain amount of property.
Protecting Rights
• To prevent abuses against the government,
states sought to protect individual rights.
• Virginia was the first state to include a bill of
rights in its constitution. It included freedom of
religion, freedom of the press, and the right to
trial by jury. It also barred “cruel and unusual
punishments.”
• Many other states followed Virginia’s lead.
Ex: Massachusetts included freedom of
religion.
The Articles of Confederation
• The continental congress created a plan
for the nation as a whole.
• It was called the Articles of
Confederation.
Form Of Government
• The government under the Articles had just
one branch-a one-house legislature called
congress.
• There was no executive and no system of
national courts.
• All states would be equal, and each had a
single vote.
• 9 states had to agree before a law could go
into effect.
Limited Government
• The new states did not want to risk giving too much
power to a central government far from the people.
• Most power remained in the hands of the states.
• Congress could not regulate trade or collect taxes
(ask the states for the money it needed).
• Congress could deal with foreign nations and with
Native Americans outside the 13 states. It could
make laws (but not enforce them), declare war, coin
or borrow money, and run a postal service.
Settling the Western Lands
• The Articles had to be approved by all 13
states.
• Some would not give their approval until other
states dropped their claims to vast areas of
land west of the Appellation Mountains.
• The western lands that the states had given
up were turned over to the national
government.
Land Ordinance of 1785
• Surveyors were to divide public lands into
townships, 6 miles on each side (grid of
squares).
• Within each township there would also be a
grid, 1 mile on each side.
• These 36 sections would be sold for no less
than $1 and acre.
• Within each township, one section was set
aside to support schools-reflected the belief
of the nation’s leaders that democracy
depended on education.
Northwest Ordinance of 1787
• Investors were eager to buy land in the Northwest Territory.
• This ordinance, passed by Congress, guaranteed basic
rights for settlers in the territory and banned slavery there.
• The Northwest Ordinance set a three-step process for
admitting new states.
• (1) When a territory was just starting to be settled,Congress
would appoint a governor, a secretary, and three judges.
• (2) Once the territory had 5,000 free adult male settlers, it
could elect a legislature.
• (3) When the free population reached 60,000, the territory
could ask to become a state.
• Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin were carved
out of the Northwest territory.
Growing Problems
• Under the Articles, the United States
had many successes.
• But the United States faced growing
problems.
• Many Americans concluded that the
Articles did not give the government
enough power to solve these problems.
Economic Problems
• Each state set its own trade policy.
• Each state tried to help its own farmers and
manufacturers by setting taxes on goods
brought in from other states-discouraged
trade between states.
• Each state printed its own money-made trade
harder.
• Central government did not have the power to
tax-little money to run the government.
Foreign Affairs
• Because the United States seemed to be weak,
powerful nations viewed it with scorn.
• British troops continued to occupy forts in the
Northwest territory, although the peace treaty
required that the forts be turned over to the United
States.
• The Spanish (controlled New Orleans) refused to let
Americans ship products down the Mississippi River.
• Western farmers had to send products along the
rigged trails over the Appellation Mountains (far more
costly).
Shays’ Rebellion
• An economic depression is a period when business activity slows,
prices and wages drop, and unemployment rises.
• The depression hit farmers in Massachusetts especially hard.
• As crop prices declined, many were unable to pay their taxes.
• The state government began seizing farms and selling them to get
back the taxes.
• Angry farmers demanded that the legislature stop the farm sales and
that the state issue more paper money to make it easier to get loans.
• Daniel Shays led an uprising of about 1,000 Massachusetts farmers.
When the farmers tried to seize arms from a state warehouse, they
were arrested.
• This event frightened some leading Americans. They believed a
stronger central government would protect against popular unrest.
• Congress asked the states to send delegates to a convention in
Philadelphia to revise the Articles of Confederation.
1. Which state was the first to provide protections through a bill of rights?
CORRECT: Virginia
EXPLANATION: Virginia was the first state to provide individual protections through a bill
of rights.
2. Under most state constitutions, which of the following were NOT allowed to vote?
CORRECT: women
EXPLANATION: In most states, only white male property owners over the age of 21 could
vote.
3. The government of Massachusetts responded to Shays's Rebellion by
CORRECT: using the state militia to arrest leaders of the rebellion.
EXPLANATION: Massachusetts used the state's militia to put down the rebellion and arrest
its leaders.
4. When did individual states begin creating their own governments?
CORRECT: before the Continental Congress
EXPLANATION: The states wrote constitutions before and during the Continental
Congress, when the United States was moving toward independence.
5. What made the passage of the Land Ordinance of 1785 and the Northwest Ordinance
possible?
CORRECT: states turning over their western land claims to the national government
EXPLANATION: The national government could not pass the ordinances until it was able to
lay claim to those lands that the ordinances specified.
Section 2
The Constitutional Convention
The Constitutional
Convention Begins
Aims of the Convention
• Many delegates argued that revising the
Articles would not be enough.
• The delegates voted to keep their
debates secret (public kept out).
• The delegates would be free to speak
their minds-even if their discussions
took the convention far beyond its
original aims.
The Delegates
• 55 delegates from 12 states took part in the
convention.
• Rhode Island did not send any representatives.
• George Washington (who was quickly voted
president of the Convention), and Ben Franklin had
been respected leaders of the Revolution.
• Alexander Hamilton of New York was only 32.
• Another influential delegate was James Madison of
Virginia (36).
• James Madison took careful notes during the
meetings. His notes became a rich source of
historical information.
The Virginia Plan
• Edmund Randolph of Virginia proposed
a plan for a new, strong central
government.
• James Madison was the Principal
author of this Virginia Plan.
Three Branches of Government
• Congress would continue to be the
legislative branch. But two additional
branches would be created.
• The executive branch would carry out
the laws. This would be one person-the
president.
• The judicial branch would consist of a
system of courts to interpret the law.
A Two-House Legislature
• Rather than a single legislative body, it would
consist of two parts-a lower and a upper house.
• Roger Sherman of Connecticut said the people
“should have as little to do” with the selection
process as possible because they can be misled.
• James Wilson of Pennsylvania warned against
shutting people out of the process. Election of
the legislature by the people was “not only the
cornerstone, but the foundation of the fabric.”
The Great Compromise
• One part of the Virginia plan nearly tore
the convention apart.
• The plan called for representation
based on population.
• This idea drew support from the bigger
states.
The New Jersey Plan
• They wanted each state to have the same
number of votes in Congress.
• William Patterson of New Jersey introduced a
modified plan on behalf of the small states.
• It called for a single house of Congress, with
equal representation for each state.
• It expanded the powers of Congress to raise
money and regulate commerce.
Terms of the Compromise
• A compromise is an agreement in which each
side gives up part of what it wants.
• Roger Sherman of Connecticut worked out a
compromise that he hoped would satisfy both
the large and the small states.
• Delegates narrowly voted to accept Sherman’s
proposals with a two-house Congress.
• The lower house (House of Representatives)
was to be based on population.
• The upper house (Senate) would give each
state two seats.
Debates Over Slavery
Three-Fifths Compromise
• Southern delegates said that slaves should
be counted in calculating how many
representatives a state should have in
Congress.
• Northern delegates said that because
enslaved people could not vote, they should
not be counted.
• Each enslaved person would be counted as
three-fifths of a free person.
• Northern delegates agreed in order to keep
the South in the Union.
Slave Trade
• Some northern delegates wanted to ban the
buying and selling of people anywhere in the
country.
• Southern delegates protested that a ban
would ruin the South’s economy.
• Ships would be allowed to bring enslaved
people into the county for a period of 20
years.
• Then Congress could bar the importation of
enslaved people. But the slave trade within
the United States was not effected.
A New Constitution
• Gouverneur Morris, a gifted writer was
largely responsible for writing the
Preamble.
• The Preamble highlights a major
difference between the Constitution and
the Articles of Confederation.
1. Which region benefited most from the Three-Fifths Compromise?
CORRECT: the southern states
EXPLANATION: The Three-Fifths Compromise counted three free people for every five slaves,
providing more Congressional seats to the South.
2. What decision did the delegates to the Constitutional Convention make about the slave
trade?
CORRECT: to not restrict slaves from being brought into the country for another 20 years
EXPLANATION: One of the Founders' compromises about slavery was to continue the slave
trade for at least 20 years.
3. Which of these resolved the conflict between the two plans of government proposed during
the Constitutional Convention?
CORRECT: the Great Compromise
EXPLANATION: The Great Compromise provided for two houses of Congress and included
elements of both the New Jersey Plan and the Virginia Plan.
4. What might be true about the United States government today if the Virginia Plan had been
adopted?
CORRECT: Legislation favoring large states would be passed.
EXPLANATION: The Virginia Plan allocated representation according to population and gave
large states an advantage in Congress.
5. Which group argued that the Constitution must spell out ways to protect the basic rights of
citizens?
CORRECT: Antifederalists
EXPLANATION: The Antifederalists worried that a strong central government might trample on
individual liberties.
Section 3
Debating the Constitution
Federalists Versus Antifederalists
• The convention had set a process for
states to ratify, or approve, the
Constitution.
• Each state was to hold a convention.
• The Constitution would go into effect
once it was ratified by nine states.
The Federalist Position
• They favored a strong federal, or national,
government.
• James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and
John Jay published the Federalist Papers, a
series of 85 newspaper essays in support of
the Constitution.
• For the Union to last, they argued, the
national government had to have powers
denied to it under the Articles .
The Antifederalist Position
• Leading Antifederalists, such as George
Mason and Patrick Henry of Virginia, agreed
that the Articles were not strong enough.
They felt that he Constitutional Convention
went too far.
• Reasons for opposing the Constitution:
• (1) Weakening the States
• (2) No Bill of Rights
• (3) President may easily become a king.
The Ratification Debate
• Delaware acted first. They approved the Constitution.
Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Georgia, and Connecticut quickly
followed.
• Antifederalists hoped to win in Massachusetts, but a major
campaign by Constitution supporters won ratification.
• Maryland and South Carolina had ratified-8 states only 1 more
was needed.
• If large and powerful Virginia rejected the pact, New York and
other remaining states might do do too. But Virginia approved.
• Meanwhile, while Virginia was debating, New Hampshire
became the 9th state to ratify. New York and North Carolina
followed.
• Rhode Island became the lat of the original 13 states to ratify
the Constitution.
The Bill of Rights
• Congress began taking steps to prepare for a new
government.
• George Washington was elected the first president,
with John Adams as VP.
• Many of the states had insisted that a bill of rights be
added. This became one of the first tasks of the new
Congress that met.
• The first Congress passed a series of Amendments.
These amendments are known as the Bill of Rights.
• The Bill of Rights aims to protect people against
abuses by the federal government.
1. Which of the following was one of the arguments put forth by the Antifederalists?
CORRECT: The Philadelphia Convention had exceeded its powers in writing a new
Constitution.
EXPLANATION: Antifederalists criticized the Philadelphia Convention by saying that it had
not been given the power to write a new Constitution, as its original task had been only to
revise the Articles of Confederation.
2. Which of the following would NOT be protected by the Bill of Rights?
CORRECT: a business owner raising prices
EXPLANATION: The Bill of Rights guarantees freedom of speech, religion, and rights of the
accused; it does not protect against business owners raising prices.
3. The basic purpose of the Bill of Rights was to
CORRECT: guarantee individual rights.
EXPLANATION: The Bill of Rights was concerned with protecting individuals, not
government.
4. Which of these statements best describes the ratification of the Constitution?
CORRECT: In key states, the tide slowly turned in favor of ratification.
EXPLANATION: Some states were initially reluctant to ratify the Constitution, but one by
one they did.
5. Which of the following states do you suppose was NOT considered to have a crucial vote?
CORRECT: Rhode Island
EXPLANATION: The decisions of the large states were important. If Pennsylvania,
Massachusetts, Virginia, or New York had not chosen to ratify the Constitution, the United
States might have fallen apart.