Creating The Constitution

Creating a Government for the New Nation

Implementing the Constitution

After Independence was declared…

• each of the states set out to create its own government.

• While they were all different, many states experimented with different “branches” of government.

• This was done in an attempt to make sure that the government did not become too powerful.

Republic

• a system where the people choose people to represent and govern them

• All of the states chose this type of system.

Articles of Confederation

• served as the first plan of government for the new nation

• approved by the Second Continental Congress in November, 1777…

• but did not become officially ratified by the states until 1781

What the Articles did

• 1. Formed a loose union of the states, BUT left most of the governing power to the states, themselves.

• 2. The national government had the power to wage war, make peace, sign treaties, and issue money.

Weaknesses of the Articles

• Debt was a large problem facing the new nation.

• Much had been spent fighting the war.• Much of the money owed was to soldiers that

had fought in the Revolution. • Despite violent protest to Congress, they did

NOT have the power to levy taxes to help pay the soldiers.

Shays’s Rebellion (1787)• Daniel Shays led a

rebellion of farmers to protest the lack of support given to the former soldiers.

• The Rebellion was quickly put down but many empathized with the situation of the farmers and felt sorry for them.

• Was a key event that led to the revision of the Articles and ultimately the Constitution.

Creating the Constitution

Founding Fathers: name given to the men that constructed the

Constitution

Challenges faced in writing the Constitution

• 1. Creating a strong, but limited, federal government

• 2. Balancing the interests of large and small states.

• 3. Determining representation in Congress• 4. Determining how slaves would be

counted in the population.• 5. Creating a balance of power within

government

The Virginia Plan

• This plan addressed the issue of balance of power within government.

• It created the three branches of government that we have today…– A. Legislative Branch: passes the laws– B. Executive Branch: enforces the laws– C. Judicial Branch: interprets the laws

The plan also called for….

two houses of Congress that would both have representation based on population and wealth.

The Great Compromise• The smaller states were VERY concerned

that the Virginia Plan would leave almost all of the power in the larger states.

• In the end, the Great Compromise settled the situation.

• The Senate: Each state would have EQUAL representation

• The House of Representatives: Representation would be based on population.

• This system is still in place today!

The Three-Fifths Compromise

• This addressed the issue of how slaves would be counted in a state’s population for representation in the House and for tax purposes.

• The delegates agreed that for every 5 slaves a state had, 3 would be counted in that state’s population.

Selecting the President

• It was decided that electors chosen by the states would select the President.

• This is the basis for the Electoral College system that we still use today.

The Bill of Rights

• Bill of Rights: a set of rules that defines peoples’ rights

• Those fearing that the federal government would become too powerful insisted on a Bill of Rights being added to the Constitution.

• The Bill of Rights became the first ten amendments to the Constitution.