Framing the Constitution

We started with the Articles of Confederation: Strengths Set up Congress as Federal Government Gave states more power than before

We started with the Articles of Confederation: Weaknesses Federal govt. could not enforce laws Federal govt. could not levy taxes Federal govt. could not regulate interstate trade It required all 13 states for ratification

Led to the Constitutional Convention of 1787 Abraham Baldwin and William Few represented Georgia Decided we would be a democratic republic – people choose who will govern them Unicameral became a bicameral government (two houses) called the Senate and House of Representatives Debate over balance of power between large and small states

Some states had a greater population, so this led to… The Great Compromise – In the Senate, states would have the same number of votes; in the House of Representatives, votes would be based on the state’s population

But how do we count people? There were more slaves in the Southern states Slave owners wanted them to count for representation but did not want to pay taxes on them as “property”

So, This led to …… The Three-Fifths Compromise – Every five slaves would count as three people for representation in the House of Representatives

Government Power was divided into three branches Legislative Branch makes the laws Executive Branch enforces the laws Judicial Branch interprets the laws based on the Constitution This provided a system of Checks and Balances so that one branch does not have too much power

To ratify or not to ratify? States debated the Constitution Georgia was the third state to ratify (or approve) the Constitution Georgia ratified it quickly because a Bill of Rights was added and the ban on slavery was removed from the document

The Framers of the Constitution James Madison served as note-taker and wrote the Bill of Rights; also known as the “Father of the Constitution” The “Founding Fathers” worked on the Constitution and Thomas Jefferson was chosen to write it. The Bill of Rights are the first ten amendments in the Constitution

One More Interesting Fact… The capital of Georgia was changed to Louisville in Jefferson County at this time because it was more centrally located to the largest population of people in Georgia

Your Turn 1. Use pages 182-183 in your text book or look online to read the Bill of Rights. Notice the items listed and think about how they reflect their previous experience as English colonists. 2. On the last page of your Graphic Organizer, list neatly a list of 10 rights that ALL staff and students should have here at Fairplay Middle School. Be sure that each right is reasonable and likely to be voted in by the majority of the staff and students here. You will share your work with a peer later.