Comparing it to the Articles of Confederation U.S. Constitution Comparing it to the Articles of Confederation

Articles of Confederation 1777-1781 Our 1st form of government Had many problems Congress from 13 states

Articles of Confederation Weak central government No national courts No power to tax No money meant no army Important laws had to be approved by at least 9 states

Articles of Confederation No executive officer to enforce laws No way to control trade between states No way to settle quarrels between states

Articles of Confederation States had more power They could tax They had courts States could make currency

to write a new Constitution It was necessary to write a new Constitution Constitution Convention - 1787 Held in Philadelphia Independence Hall George Washington was president of the convention The Constitution was written to solve the problem of a weak national government and give the responsibility of government to the people.

Basic Ideas of the Constitution Government comes directly from the people who elect the people to represent them( This is stated in the Preamble) Set up a Federal System of Government: Government powers need to be shared by State and National Governments 3 branches of government were needed – Executive, Legislative, Judicial No one branch of government could have more power than the others

Article I – Legislative Branch Purpose - Make laws 2 houses or bodies of Congress House of Representatives – based on states population (the more people, the more representatives – S.C. has 6) Senate – each state gets 2 senators (100 in all)

Article 2 – Executive Branch Purpose - Enforce laws President Vice President 15 cabinet members

Article 3 – Judicial Branch Purpose-to interpret laws and decide on if the laws support the constitution Federal court system - 3 levels of courts Supreme Court of Appeals District

In Summary The Constitution provided: 3 separate branches of government including a president and courts No branch could have too much power A federal system of government A government run “By the people”