A More Perfect Union
Legislature
• a group of people with the power to make, change, or repeal laws for a state or country
Weaknesses of the Articles
• Could not regulate trade• Could not force citizens to join the army• Could not deal with the nation’s finances• Could not impose taxes• Did not have an established leader
Confederation Congress
• American Congress under the Articles of Confederation
• Established an arrangement for handling new states in the west
Northwest Territory
• Territory established by the Confederation Congress of all the land north of the Ohio River and east of the Mississippi River
Shay’s Rebellion
• A pair of civilian attacks led by Daniel Shays on a court house and a federal arsenal
• Forced courts to close so they could not confiscate the land of farmers
• Helped point out that the newly formed government needed to be improved
Constitutional Convention
• a meeting of state delegates in 1787 leading to the adoption of a new Constitution
Constitutional Convention
• Every state except Rhode Island sent delegates to fix the flaws of the Articles of Confederation.
• Rhode Island opposed a stronger central government and did not attend the Convention
• Meeting took place in Philadelphia at the Independence Hall
• George Washington unanimously selected to preside over the convention
Constitutional Convention (continued)
• Patrick Henry was elected as a delegate, but he opposed the Convention and did not attend
• Ben Franklin, 81, was the oldest delegate at the convention
• Thomas Jefferson did not attend because he was in Europe representing the American government
James Madison
• Convention was secret, so there is no official record of the things discussed.
• Most information from the meeting comes from James Madison’s notebook of daily events.
• Known as the “Father of the Constitution” since it was his basic plan for government that the convention used
Virginia Plan
• designed by James Madison called for a legislature with two houses with representation in each house based on population and an executive and judicial branch selected by the legislature
• Larger states liked this plan• Smaller states felt it would ignore their
interests
New Jersey Plan
• Proposed by William Patterson• called for a single legislative house with equal
representation for each state.• Smaller states liked this plan• Larger states felt they should have more
power than the smaller ones
Compromise
• An agreement between two or more sides in which each side gives up some of what it wants
Great Compromise
• Headed by Roger Sherman• Agreement providing a dual system of congressional
representation• Broke a deadlock between the large and small states• Senate representation would be equal for each state
(New Jersey Plan); this pleased the small states • House of Representatives representation would be
based on population (Virginia Plan); this pleased the large states
Three-fifths Compromise
• Agreement providing the amount that enslaved persons would count as in determining representation in Congress
George Mason
• Proposed a bill of rights during the Constitutional Convention
• He and other delegates feared the new government might abuse its power without one
• The proposal was defeated
Magna Carta
• Placed limits on the power of the monarch• The king had to rely on Parliament to pay for
wars and fund the royal government
Enlightenment
• A movement in the 1700’s that promoted knowledge, reason, and science as the means to improve society
John Locke
• English philosopher who influenced the Framers of the Constitution
• Believed all people have natural rights• Believed that government is based on a
contract between the people and the ruler
Baron de Montesquieu
• French philosopher who influenced the Framers of the Constitution
• Believed that the powers of the government should be separated and balanced against each other
Federal Powers Under the Constitution
(Expressed Powers)
• Tax the entire nation• Regulate national and international trade• Control national currency• Raise an army• Declare war• Pass laws “necessary and proper” to carry out
responsibilities
State Powers Under the Constitution
(Reserved Powers)
• Regulate trade within state borders• Establish local governments and schools• Collect taxes within the state
Legislative Branch
• Defined in Article I of the Constitution• The law making branch of the government• Called Congress• Consists of the House of Representatives (like
the Virginia Plan) and the Senate (like the New Jersey Plan)
Executive Branch
• Defined in Article II of the Constitution• The branch of government that carries out the
laws• Headed by the President
Electoral College
• A special group of voters selected by their state’s voters to vote for the president and vice president
Judicial Branch
• Defined in Article III of the Constitution• The branch of government that interprets the
nation’s laws• Headed by the Supreme Court
Checks and Balances
• System of government where each branch is able to restrain the power of the other two branches
The Federalist Papers
• A book, using a series of essays written by James Madison, Alexander Hamilton and John Jay supporting the Constitution
State Ratification
• Delaware was the first state to ratify the Constitution
• Rhode Island was the last state to ratify the Constitution