The Constitution and Bill of Rights

The Constitution and Bill of Rights

SS8H4 The students will describe the impact of events thatlead to the ratification of the United States Constitution and theBill of Rights. a. and b.

We sent the king our Declaration of Independence, what do we do now?

• At the Second Continental Congress the delegates also created the Articles of Confederation, our new country’s first government constitution.

• This was adopted in November, 1777 and finally approved by the states in March of 1781.

• It formed a loose partnership among the equal states

New nation, new government

• Articles of Confederation– Because of the experience of the

American Revolution, Americans were frightened by a strong central government and showed more loyalty to their states

– The new government contained only a one branch (unicameral) legislature with no power to enforce laws or settle disputes

– Each state had its own court system

Why did the Articles of Confederation fail?

• Congress had no money and could not levy taxes; it could only ask states for “voluntary contributions”

• Congress had no power to regulate trade between states or with foreign nations

• Congress failed to protect citizens from state discrimination and economic difficulties after the war

• Congress was very weak with no real power, one representative from each state

Shay’s Rebellion 1786- America was in financial trouble: it had business

failures, people in debt, trade problems, war debt and soldiers salaries not paid

Massachusetts farmers blamed state taxes and politicians in the eastern part of the state for their financial problems

Daniel Shays led a revolt against the state government, trying to capture arms at the state militia arsenal and closing the courts

Neither state nor Confederation government had the power to stop the rebellion

How could a country exist if it could not keep law and order?

Use this link/website to analyze and look up the summary of this historical

print.http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2008661778/

Federalism vAnti-federalism

Problems and Compromises

– The need for a stronger Federal government soon became apparent, Congress approved a plan to hold a convention in Philadelphia to revise the Articles of Confederation and eventually led to the Constitutional Convention in 1787.

– May to October 1787– 55 delegates from 12 states; Georgia sent

4, but only William Few and Abraham Baldwin would sign the final document.

Examine the building. The meeting was conducted in secrecy withthe doors and windows closed to any eavesdroppers. Why would they do that?

Problems and CompromisesSix compromises were needed to

create the new Constitution and a stronger national government:

FederalismSeparation of PowersChecks and Balances RepresentationGuarantees to the StatesAmending the Constitution

1. FederalismOn the issue of a stronger national government

with strong state powers, the compromise consisted of distributing the powers:

National government is in charge of national mattersex. foreign policy; money

In matters of both national & state government concern, they share powerex. highways; taxes

In some matters, states are free to govern without national interference; local governments are arms of the state

ex. education programs; traffic violations

2. Separation of PowerDivided into 3 branches

• To prevent a national government from becoming a dictatorship, the framers of the Constitution laid out a plan for shared powers. – The National government would be divided into three

branches, all based on the voters.– Both the leaders of the Legislative Branch and the

Executive Branch would be voted on by the people, and the

– leaders of the Judicial Branch would be selected by the Executive & Legislative Branch.

Separation of Power=Branches of Government

1. Our Government gets it’s power from the people

2. Our Constitution-“supreme law of the land”

3. Legislative Branch-makes the laws

4. Executive Branch-carryout, enforce and administerthe laws

5. Judicial Branch-Interprets the laws and settles disputes

3. Checks and BalancesTo further balance the power,

each of the three branches could check the powers of the others

Confirms

appointm

ents

Impeach, ov

erride

veto

Power

to

Veto

Impeach and propose amendments

Executive Branch

Judicial Branch

Determines if laws

Are constitutionalMakes

appointments

Interpret laws, determine constitutionality

Legislative Branch

4. Representation in Congress“The Great Compromise”

Small states (like Delaware) wanted equal representation

They created the Congress with 2 houses(bicameral)- the House of Representatives with numbers based on population and the Senate with 2 representatives from each state

Large states (Virginia Plan) wanted representation based on population

Abraham Baldwin, who was from Georgia, forced the Compromise because he cast the tie vote.

Representation• Another compromise concerning

representation was the Three-Fifth Compromise

3/5 of the slave population would be counted for population and taxes; Congress could not regulate the slave trade for 20 years (1808)

States with many slaves wanted to count slaves into population totals, but not be taxed on them

Non slave states did not want to count slaves into population totals; wanted Congress to regulate slave trade

5. Guarantees to the States

How would the Constitution protect the states and guide their relationships?

The National government will protect the states from foreign invasion or domestic violence

Moving from state to state will not deny a citizen his rights

There will be an orderly process for a territory to become a state, with equal rights and powers as other states (no colonies)

Every state is guaranteed a republican form of government, but lets the people of each state shape that government

6. Amending the Constitution

How easy would it be to change this document on which the government was built?

• Two-thirds of both houses of Congress or two-thirds of state legislatures must propose an amendment or call a convention to propose one; ¾ of the states would have to approve the proposed amendment for it to pass. (In 200 years this has happened only 27 times)

• Not so easy so as to be altered by a temporary change in Congressional emotions

• Must be flexible to grow with a changing nation

Will the States Approve the Constitution?

Fearing danger to individual liberties in the new Constitution, opponents to the Constitution got a promise to add guarantees in order to get their states to ratify it. They are known as The Bill of Rights (first 10 Amendments):

Bill of RightsI. Freedom of religion, expression,

press, & assemblyII. Right to bear armsIII. No quartering of soldiersIV. No unreasonable searches or seizuresV. Right to due process of law (rights of persons accused of a crime), right to not incriminate yourselfVI. Right to a fair trial, right to a trial by jury, VII. Standard for Civil Court jury trialsVIII. Fair bail and punishmentsIX. Rights to be retained by the peopleX. Powers reserved to the states and people (powers not listed by The Constitution are reserved to the people or the state.)

James Madison, father of the Constitution

• “The Federalist Papers were a series of eighty-five newspaper essays published anonymously but were in fact written in defense of the Constitution by James Madison, John Jay (1745–1829), and Alexander Hamilton. This collected volume was once owned by Hamilton’s wife, Elizabeth Schuyler, whose sister gave it to Thomas Jefferson.” (Library of Congress, Creating the United States)

GA state Constitution of 1777

• Counties replaced the Parishes• Unicameral legislature, with

extensive powers including the power to appoint the governor and justices to the courts

• Governor’s proposals subject to approval by the legislature(executive council)

• Allowed for revisions when called by a majority of the people or counties

The war is over, people are looking to return home and start planting for the next harvest. Can their new government protect them?

GA’s State Constitution Changes in 1789 to be more like the US

Constitution• The Revolutionary War hurt the economy

and divided its citizens• The state had committed to give land

grants to the war veterans for their service• Legislature now called the General

Assembly, which became bicameral and members were elected by popular vote

• Separated the power into three branches just like the federal constitution but did not balance the powers equally

Birth of a powerful new document

And so through compromise, our Enduring Constitution was formed

Review• Due to weaknesses in the Articles of

Confederation a Constitutional Convention is called

• There is much debate over the new constitution from the two sides, federalist who wanted a strong central government and anti-federalist who opposed this.

• After months of debates, discussions, and compromises a new Constitution is created and includes a Bill of Rights

• Georgia makes changes to its constitution too