1. Chapter 7: Creating the Constitution

2. Chapter 7 Section 1: "Governing a New Nation" (pages 204-209)
Government by the States
- individual states began creating their own governments in 1776
- 11 of the 13 states (not RI or CT) wrote new constitutions
 o constitution- a document stating the rules under which a government  will operate
- the state governments minimized the powers of state governors (like  kings)
- gave most of the power to state legislatures elected by the people
- the governor served as the state’s executive
 o executive- person who runs the government and sees that the  laws are carried out
- new state constitutions allowed more people to vote than ever before
 o not African- Americans or women
 o in order to vote, you had to be a white male and own property
- states wanted to protect individual rights
 o Virginia- first state to have a bill of rights
§ Included: freedom of religion, freedom of the press, right to a trial by  jury, barred “cruel and unusual punishment”

3. o called the Articles of Confederation o was adopted in 1777
- while states wrote their constitutions, the Continental Congress 
created a plan for  the nation as a whole
 o called the Articles of Confederation
 o was adopted in 1777
- under the Articles, the government had one branch (Congress)
 o no executive (leader)
 o no national court system
 o all states were considered equal and had a single vote in 
 Congress
 o 9 states had to agree before a law could go into effect
- this was a very weak central government
 o  no power to establish taxes or regulate trade
 o the founders didn’t want it to get too powerful (like Britain’s 
 government)
 o so, most of the power was given to individual states

4. Settling the Western Lands
- the Articles had to be approved by all 13 states
- some states wouldn’t approve it until all states gave up their claims to western 
 lands
- land was given to national government and was sold off
- Land Ordinance of 1785
 o public land was divided into 6 mile X 6 mile townships
 o resulted in 36 1 mile X 1 mile sections that were sold for no less than $1 an  acre
 o within each township, 1 section was set aside for schools
- Northwest Ordinance of 1787
 o investors wanted to buy land in the Northwest Territory
§ land north of the Ohio River
 o the investors wanted to know how the area would be governed
§ so, Congress passed the Northwest Ordinance of 1787
 it guaranteed basic rights for settlers and banned slavery there
 o set up a 3-step process for admitting new states
 1) Congress would appoint a governor, secretary, and 3 judges
 2) elect a legislature once the territory had 5,000 free adult male settlers
 3) ask to become a state once the free population reached 60,000
- 5 states were carved out of the Northwest Territory: Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin

5. Growing Problems
- the U.S. faced growing problems during the 1780s
- many Americans concluded that the Articles of Confederation didn’t give the  
 government enough power to solve these problems
 1) Economic Problems
 - each state had its own trade policy (discouraged trade among states)
 - each state printed its own money
 - the national government had no power to tax (little money to run the country)
  ) Foreign Affairs
 - U.S. looked weak- other countries didn’t want much to do with the 
 new nation
3) Shay’s Rebellion
 - took place in August of 1786 in Massachusetts after the state  
 government seized many farmers’ farms because they couldn’t afford them
- Daniel Shays led about 1,000 Massachusetts farmers to seize arms from a   state warehouse
- the state called out the Massachusetts militia
- Shays and other leaders were arrested
- people believed a stronger central government was needed
 o in response, Congress asked the states to send delegates to a convention in Philadelphia in 1787
 o their task was to revise the Articles of Confederation

6. Chapter 7 Section 2: "The Constitutional Convention" (pages 212-217)
- the sole purpose of the convention was to revise the Articles of Confederation
- there were 55 delegates from 12 states (G. Washington, B. Franklin, A. Hamilton,  J. Madison)
Virginia Plan
- Edmund Randolph proposed a plan for a new, strong central government 
(written by James Madison)
- The plan called for 3 branches of government (legislative, executive, judicial)
 o Legislative branch- makes the laws
 o Executive branch- carries out the laws
 o Judicial branch- interprets the laws
- Many delegates thought a strong executive was necessary to correct the 
 weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation (some said needed 3, but voted 
 on 1  executive (president))
- Also called for a two-house legislature (lower house= House of 
 Representatives, upper house= Senate)
- Plan said that representation was based on population
 (bigger population =  more representatives)
- big states liked the Virginia Plan

7. New Jersey Plan
- The small states came up with it because they thought the  Virginia Plan  was unfair
- The plan called for a single-house legislature and equal 
 representatives for all states (not based on population)
The Great Compromise
- July 16, 1787 the delegates agreed on a compromise 
 between the two  plans
- There would be a two-house legislature
 o Lower house= House of Representatives: based on 
 population
 o Upper house= Senate: each state gets two senators  regardless of population
- The Great Compromise made the small states willing to 
 support a strong  central government

8. Debates over Slavery
- divided the delegates (North and South)
- Southern delegates said slaves should be counted in calculating a 
 state’s population and representatives
- Northern delegates disagreed, said they can’t vote, they shouldn’t 
 count
- Three-Fifths Compromise- each slave counts as three-fifths of a free  person
- This was a gain for the South, they gained more seats in the House  of Representatives
- This was a blow to African Americans- it helped preserve slavery by  making a distinction between free persons and “all other persons”
- The Three-Fifths Compromise was overturned when slavery was 
 banned in 1865
- Slave trade- The North wanted to end it, but South said it would 
 destroy their  economy
o They compromised, said ships could bring slaves into the country 
 only for 20 years
o This did not affect the slave trade within the United States

9. `
New Constitution
- The Committee of Style was appointed to draw up the 
 final wording of  the new Constitution
- Preamble= the introduction to the document that 
 highlights the major  differences between the 
 Constitution and the Articles of Confederation
o “We the People……..”= the Constitution gets power from 
 the people as a whole, not separate states, like the 
 Articles of Confederation did
Signing the Document
- Ben Franklin was sick, but said “I agree to this 
 Constitution with all its faults.”
- He urged the other signers to do the same

10. Chapter 7 Section 3: "Debating the Constitution" (pages 218-221)
Federalists vs. Antifederalists
- each state needed to have a convention to ratify, or 
 approve, the  Constitution
- the Constitution would go into effect once it was ratified by 
 9 states
- Federalists: people who supported the Constitution
-  they favored a strong federal, or national, government
- Antifederalists: people who opposed the Constitution
-  their arguments:
 1) weakened the states
 2) no bill of rights
 3) president or king?

11. The Ratification Debate
- 8 states had ratified (approved) the Constitution- needed 1 more
 o DE, PA, NJ, GA, CT, MA, MD, SC
- all eyes turned to Virginia
 o if Virginia rejected it, the remaining states might reject it too
- while Virginia still debated, New Hampshire ratified it
- Virginia finally ratified it
 o followed by New York, North Carolina, and Rhode Island
- July 4, Philadelphia celebrated the ratification of the 
 Constitution
- Benjamin Rush (Philadelphia doctor)- “Tis done. We have become a 
 nation.”
- George Washington was elected to be president
- John Adams was elected to be vice president
The Bill of Rights
- many states wanted a bill of rights to be added to the Constitution
- first 10 amendments (changes) to the Constitution = Bill of Rights
- aims to protect people against abuses by the federal government

12. Branches of Government
- Power is separated among 3 branches
A) Legislative Branch
 - Congress
 - House of Representatives
 - Senate
 - MAKES LAWS
B) Executive Branch
 - President
 - CARRIES OUT THE LAWS
C) Judicial Branch
 - Supreme Court
 - INTERPRETS THE LAWS
*page 256

13. Branch
Branch
Branch
Laws
Laws
Laws

14. Branch Branch Branch Senate Laws Laws Laws Executive Judical
Legislative
Branch
Branch
Branch
President
Supreme Court
Congress
Carries out
Laws
Interprets
Laws
House of 
Representatives
Senate
Makes
Laws

15. Answer the following questions.
Read pgs
Answer the following questions.
1. Why is it revolutionary to think power came from the 
 people?
2. What is popular sovereignty?
3. Where did the idea of limited government come 
 from?
4. How many branches were created to separate the 
 powers of government?
5. What is checks and balances?
6. What is the purpose of checks and balances?
7. What is federalism?
8. Give an example of federalism.
9. How does the Constitution reflect the principle of 
 separation of powers?
10. How can the judicial branch check the powers of the 
 executive and legislative branches?

16. Checks and Balances - America Book pg. 257
1. The Legislative Branch can impeach and remove a 
 President.
2. The Executive Branch can grant pardons to federal 
 offenders.
3. The Judicial Branch can declare executive actions 
 unconstitutional.
4. The Executive Branch can call special sessions of 
 Congress.
5. The Judicial Branch can declare acts of Congress 
 unconstitutional.
6. The Executive Branch can negotiate foreign treaties.
7. The Legislative Branch controls funding.