The Constitution

 Big Ideas:  Americans made a choice to reject royal rule in favor of creating a republic. ▪ In a republic all power resides with the people.  The colonies were very nervous about giving too much power to their new federal government.

 New State Constitutions  The constitutions of Virginia and Massachusetts divided power between 3 branches. ▪ Other states followed this example

 Not all states had the same type of government.  Pennsylvania had the most democratic constitution. ▪ They had no governor and a one-house legislature (unicameral) with representatives elected every year.

 Changes in Society  In an effort to break away from the traditions of English rule and increase individual freedom, states began to separate church and government. ▪ It was common at the time for the government to collect taxes to support the church.

 Many states reduced the restrictions for voting. ▪ Citizenship instead of land ownership became the general rule most states.  Blacks were still denied the vote, but many earned their freedom by serving during the war. James Armistead

 A Weak National Government  The Articles of Confederation served to loosely unify the colonies after the war. ▪ Americans were nervous about giving the federal government too much power. ▪ The government had no authority to regulate trade or impose taxes.

 Congress did have the power to pass legislation.  Their first major law was the Northwest Ordinance passed in ▪ The ordinance carved new states out of the Western Territories. ▪ It also granted residents the freedom of religion and freedom from slavery.

 Big Ideas:  The Constitution was based on compromises between the Federalists and Anti-Federalists.

 Debate & Compromise  Every state except RI sent delegates to fix the Articles of Confederation.  The delegates were the most distinguished figures of day and they chose George Washington as presiding officer. ▪ Delegates quickly decided that the Articles of Confederation were beyond fixing.

 The problem of representation resulted in the first compromise. (The Great Compromise) ▪ They divided Congress into two parts: The House of Representatives and The Senate.  The Three-Fifths compromise determined how the slave population would be counted.

 Framework of government:  The Constitution did not create a democracy, but a republic based on the principle of popular sovereignty: rule by the people.  To preserve the rights of the states, the Constitution include the idea of federalism. ▪ Power is divided between the federal and state governments.

 Separation of Powers:  Delegates divided power among 3 branches: Executive – Legislative – Judicial.  A system of checks and balances prevents any one branch from being too powerful. ▪ For example, a president can veto (reject) a law passed by congress.

 Amending the Constitution  Delegates recognized that the Constitution would need be revised over time, but they didn’t want it to be too easy.  They set up a two-step process for creating an amendment (change). ▪ An amendment would need to be proposed by 2/3 of both houses of Congress or 2/3 of the states could call for a constitutional convention. ▪ To be approved, legislatures in ¾ of the states or ¾ of state conventions would have to approve.

 Big Ideas:  The new Constitution mad many people nervous as it concentrated more power in the federal government. ▪ The vote could go either way and no one was certain what would happen.  The promise of a Bill of Rights helped to reduce fears and resulted in ratification.

 Debating the Constitution  Supporters for the new Constitution called themselves Federalists. ▪ Most of these people were people who owned a lot of land and merchants who favored a strong central government that would protect property rights and tax foreign goods.

 Opponents of the new Constitution called themselves Anti- Federalists. ▪ All the Anti-Federalists were concerned that corruption would eventually lead to tyranny. ▪ Most of these people actually favored a federalist government, but wanted to protect the power of individual states. ▪ Many western farmers did not trust that the wealthy delegates had their interests in mind.

 Ratification or adoption of the Constitution required approval by 9 of the 13 states.  The new government plan dominated conversation across the states.  In many states, the vote was very tight and leaning towards defeat. ▪ Federalists agreed to attach a Bill of Rights to the Constitution. This resulted in many delegates changing their “no” votes to “yes”.

 Virginia was the 9 th state to vote for ratification. ▪ Not wanting to be left out New York voted 30 to 27 for ratification.  People were still unsure of how or if the new government would work, but having George Washington as the first president helped alleviate those fears.