Constitution

The Constitution of the United States

Bellwork:

Compromise: A settlement or agreement reached between two sides, where each side gives something to the other side.

Journal: Describe a time when you had to compromise with someone. Who did you compromise with and what was the compromise?

The Great Compromise

Essential Question

What were the results of the Great Compromise?

Upcoming Change

By the mid 1780’s most political leaders agreed the Articles of Confederation need to be changed

Confederation Congress invited each state to send delegates to a convention in Philadelphia

Would discuss ways to improve Articles of Confed.

Meeting was called The Constitutional Convention

12 states sent 55 delegates to the convention

Would lead to the creation of the U.S. Constitution

Constitutional Convention

Key figures present:James Madison

Benjamin Franklin

George Washington

Key figures absentJohn Adams

Thomas Jefferson

How is our country being represented?

The Great Compromise

Some members wanted to make small changes to the Articles of Confederation

Some wanted to rewrite the Articles completely

There were also disagreements between: small and large states; based on how they would be represented in the new government

about slavery

Economic issues such as tariffs

How strong to make the national government

Virginia Plan

Large-state planWritten by James Madison

Would give sovereignty-supreme power, to the national government

Divided the gov’t into three branches:Executive, Judicial, Legislative

Legislature would be bicameral- two houses# of representatives of the legislature would depend on state population

This would benefit large states, giving them more representatives

New Jersey Plan

Small-state plan

Proposed keeping Congress’ structure the same

Unicameral-one house legislature

This would give each state an equal # of votesThis would benefit smaller states, as large population had no effect on the # of votes

Convention could not agree after months of debate

A compromise was reached

Great Compromise Cont’d

The Great Compromise-

Broke the government into 3 Branches of Government

Bicameral legislature:Every state, regardless of its size would have an equal vote in the upper house of the legislature

Senate

Each state would have a # of representatives based on its population in the lower house of the legislature

House of Representatives

The Three-Fifths Compromise

The debate over representation (how to count people) also led to problems

Some Southern delegates wanted to count slaves as part of their state populations

Northern delegates disagreed, thought it was unfair

Delegates accepted the Three-Fifths compromise.

Each slave would count as 3/5 of a person (100 slaves = 60)

Main ConceptsMost of the delegates wanted

a strong national government

Popular Sovereignty- idea that political authority belongs to the people

Balance power of national government with power of the states

Federalism- sharing of power between a central government and the states

Federal gov’t has power to enforce laws

States must obey authority of Federal gov’t

Federal gov’t has the power to use the military to enforce laws

Troops are under the command of the president

States have control over areas not assigned to Federal gov’t

Balance of Power

Legislative Branch: CongressProposes and passes laws

2 houses: Senate and House of Representatives

Executive Branch: PresidentEnforces laws, assures they are carried out

Commander-in-Chief of the military

Judicial Branch: CourtsInterprets laws, punishes criminals

Settles disputes between states

Checks and Balances

Kept one branch from gaining too much power

Ex:Congress proposes and passes laws

President can veto, or reject, that law

Congress can override veto with a 2/3 majority vote

Judicial Branch interprets laws to keep other branches from abusing power

Supreme Court reviews laws passed by Congress

Federalists vs. Antifederalists

Antifederalists- those that opposed the constitution

Felt the central gov’t had too much power

Upset that no Bill of Rights was included

Federalists- supported the constitutionFelt it offered a good balance of power

Federalist Papers- essays written supporting the Constitution

Many written by James Madison and Alexander Hamilton

Propaganda supporting the Constitution

Ratification

The Constitution needed approval of 9 states to become ratified

Each state held conventions to give citizens the chance to discuss the Constitution

They could then vote whether or not to ratify it

June 1788, Constitution was ratified

Bill of Rights

Amendments- official changes, corrections, or additions

The Bill of Rights would appear as a series of Amendments to the Constitution

The first 10 amendments to the Constitution are known as the Bill of Rights

Made sure the abuses listed in the Declaration of Independence would be illegal

Would protect citizens’ individual rights

Constitution’s flexibility

Has clear guidelines and principles

Can be changed and updated to stay current with new times and challenges

Often called a “living constitution”