1. Chapter 2 Notes and Review

2. Our Political Beginnings
English colonists brought with them a rich history of political experiences and ideas
Those experiences and ideas would help to shape the political landscape of our nation, both then and now

3. Three Big Ideas 1. Ordered Government 2. Limited Government
An orderly regulation of the relationship between themselves and their government
2. Limited Government
Govt. should not be all powerful
Protection of rights
3. Representative Govt.
Govt. should “represent” the will of the people
People should have a voice in what their govt. does

4. Landmark English Documents
Magna Carta (1215)
First documents outlining basic individual rights
Trial by jury
Due process of law
Protection of life, liberty and property

5. Petition of Right English Bill of Rights
Freedom to criticize the king; could not be imprisoned without jury trial
No martial law during peacetime
No quartering of soldiers
English Bill of Rights
No army during peacetime
Free elections
Fair and speedy trial
Excessive bail / cruel punishment

6. Unicameral and Bicameral
Unicameral – a one house legislature (law making body)
Bicameral – a two house legislature

7. Do I need to explain the causes of the American Revolution?
Taxation without representation etc.?

8. What was Accomplished at the First Continental Congress (1774)
Sent a declaration of rights to King George III
Urged all colonies to boycott English goods
Local committees to enforce the boycott

9. What Was Accomplished at the Second Continental Congress (1775)
First real National Government
Continental army and navy was formed
Adopted the Declaration of Independence
Fought a war
Created a Monetary system
Made treaties with foreign powers
And more

10. The Articles of Confederation
Our Nation’s first constitution
Very weak document and was not effective
Had no strong central government to enforce policies between the states
A new constitution would be necessary

11. A New Constitution Was Necessary!
Problem: How should the States be represented in Congress?
Some States were large with many people and some were small with few people
What about slaves?

12. The Virginia Plan
States would be represented in Congress based upon their population or the amount of money sent in support of the Central Govt. (Taxes)
Virginia loves the plan, they are a big state
Small states hate the plan

13. The New Jersey Plan
All States were to be equally represented without regard to population or availability of money
New Jersey was a small state & loved the plan
Large States like Virginia, New York and Pennsylvania hated the plan

14. The Connecticut Compromise (AKA “The Great Compromise”)
A bicameral legislature
The smaller Senate would be represented equally
The larger House of Representatives, representation would be based on population
Oh NO!!! What about slaves? Are they to be counted as population? Another major battle!

15. The Three-Fifths Compromise
Southern slave states wanted slaves to be counted as population (even they had no rights)
Northern non-slave states objected
Compromise
“All free persons are to counted, and so should three-fifths of all other persons”
Reality: A slave only counted as 3/5 of a person
An ugly part of our history to be sure, but it settled the dispute
3/5 Comp. was abolished along with slavery later on.

16. The New Constitution was completed!
Now it had to be sold to the people for approval!

17. Federalists and Their Main Argument
Federalists – favored ratification (formal adoption) of the new constitution
Stressed the weakness of the Articles of Confed.
All of those problems could be fixed by the new constitution

18. Anti-Federalists and Their Argument
Objected to the ratification (formal adoption) process
Objected to the absence of the word God
Denial of some previously held states rights

19. Two Main Issues Being Argued Over the New Constitution
1. The greatly increased powers of the central government
2. The lack of a Bill of Rights
Solutions:
The “Federalist Papers” were distributed to help explain the limited power of the new central government
The adoption of the first ten amendments; the Bill of Rights

20. Finally a New Constitution was Won and has lasted for over 200 years!!!