Confederation to
Constitution
1776-1791
What Do You Think?
 What
will be your main goal in creating a
new government?
 How will you get people at the convention
to agree on important issues?
 How do you, your friends, and families
make decisions?
What Do You Think?
 Think
about meetings you have attended
 How were those meetings conducted?
 Did everyone agree on decisions made at
the meeting?
 How did those people who presided over
the meeting make sure everyone had a
chance to express his or her own views on
a topic?
Timeline p. 203
 During
the 1780’s, large areas of the world
were still dominated by colonial powers
such as Great Britain, Spain, and France
 The young United States faced threats
from outside powers and tensions at home
over difficult issues like slavery and the
role of government
Do Now
 Take
out Shay’s Rebellion homework
 In your notebook, answer:
 What was significant about Shay’s
Rebellion?
 What recent event does it remind you of?
Do Now

Turn in test corrections (just the corrections not
the test, hold onto the test for final exam) & Take
out Articles handout from yesterday
 Answer in your notes:
what happened with Shays’s
Rebellion, why did leaders of the states
want a strong national government?
 What are the pros and cons of a strong
national government for a new United
States?
 No homework if classwork done
 Given
Do Now: Democratic Ideals
 Write
down homework
 Why do you think the states wanted to
form any national government at all?
 Why didn’t the states simply remain 13
independent nations?
 Given their experience struggling against
the British, what concerns did many
Americans have about forming a new
national government?
13 or 1?
Much of the world in the late 1700’s dominated
by powerful empires
 Many Americans feared that each state would
be too weak on its own to defend itself against
foreign domination
 Together, states could more successfully from
foreign military or economic threats
 Struggled to determine what form their national
government should take and how powerful it
should be

Moving West
 Wilderness
Road: trail into Kentucky that
Daniel Boone helped build
 Tensions between Native Americans and
settlers, 100,000 Americans live west by
1790’s
 Pioneers: Conquering the Wilderness
(unitedstreaming) (3:12)
New State Governments
 Wanted
to take colonial governments and
make them more democratic
 Some states experimented with different
branches, others will bill of rights (modeled
on English Bill of Rights (1689)
 All had republican form of government:
people choose representatives to govern
Articles of Confederation
 Final
plan of Continental Congress was
called the Articles of Confederation
 National government under Articles had
limited powers, Americans afraid of strong
government
 National government run by Confederation
Congress, each state with one vote
Articles of Confederation
 National
government with power to wage
war, make peace, sign treaties, issue
money
 States with more power, set taxes, enforce
national law
 Proposed to leave land west of
Appalachian Mountains in control of states
Articles of Confederation
 Continental
Congress passed Articles in
November 1777
 All states ratified by 1781 after decided to
place western lands under control of
national government
 United States now with official government
Articles of Confederation
 Successes:
Governed nation during
Revolutionary War
 Negotiated the Treaty of Paris
 Passed the Law Ordinance of 1785
 Passes the Northwest Ordinance
(1787)

Articles of Confederation
Failures:
 Lacked power to enforce laws
 Lacked power to levy taxes
 Lacked power to regulate trade among the
states
 Required all thirteen states to approve
changes to the Articles
Articles of Confederation
States
National Gov’t
Set Taxes
Wage war
Enforce laws
Make peace
Control western
lands
Have one vote in
Congress
Sign treaties
Issue Money
Articles of Confederation
 United
Streaming videos
Northwest Ordinance

Critical question of how to deal with western
lands
 Land Ordinance of 1785 called for surveyors to
stake out six mile square plots called townships
in Western lands
 These lands became known as the Northwest
Territory
 Northwest Territory became states of Ohio,
Indiana, Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin, and part of
Minnesota
Northwest Ordinance (1787)

When a territory had 5,000 free males in an
area, men who owned at least 50 acres could
elect an assembly
 When there were 60,000 people, they could
apply to become a new state
 Stated that in Northwest Territory: slavery
outlawed, rivers open to navigation by all,
freedom of religion and trial by jury guaranteed
 set the pattern for orderly growth of the U.S.
Northwest Ordinance
 United
Streaming: Confed to Constitution:
To The Mississippi: Westward Expansion
and the Northwest Ordinance of 1787
(02:39)
 Northwest Ordinance game
http://athena.esu16.org/~visual/projects07/
pdf/Northwest%20Ordiance%20of%20178
7.isf.pdf
Weaknesses of the Articles of
Confederation
 Debt
a critical problem for the government,
Congress had borrowed a lot to fight the
war
 Much of it owed to soldiers, threaten
Congress in 1783 and force them to flee
 Did not have the power to tax, depended
on states to send money, they sent little
 Economy poor throughout the nation
Shay’s Rebellion
mid-1780’s, Massachusetts and other
states faced economic problems,
continued to levy high taxes
 Average family owed $200 in taxes a year,
more than most farmers made
 If could not repay debt, property auctioned
off, debtor jailed if money still owed
 Farmers asked Massachusetts legislature
for debt relief, they refused
 In
Shays’s Rebellion
 One
leader of the rebellious farmers was a
Revolutionary War veteran Daniel Shays,
led a group of 1,500 men
 In January 1787, Shays and his men
marched on a federal arsenal (a place to
store weapons)
 900 state militia defeated Shays’s
Rebellion
Shays’s Rebellion

Farmers earned sympathy of many people,
showed problems of working class
 Many are Revolutionary War veterans, now
oppressed by their new government
 America’s leaders, typically wealthy merchant
class, fear armed rebellion by “common man”
 Some leaders realized that a stronger national
government was needed, both to raise more
money and defend its interests
Thomas Jefferson
 Author
of the Declaration of
Independence, unlike other leaders, not
alarmed by Shays’s Rebellion
 “I hold it that a little rebellion now and then
is a good thing… the of liberty must be
refreshed from time to time with the blood
of patriots and tyrants. It is its natural
manure.”
Shay’s Rebellion
 Howard
Zinn, People’s History
Punishing the Rebels
 Sentences
of Shays and his followers
controversial
 After about a dozen rebels sentenced to
death, sheriff of Pittsfield found a note on
his door
 “he that condemns and he that executes
shall share alike”
 Two of the rebels hanged for looting, all
others including Shays pardoned
Articles of Confederation
 United
Streaming: Confed to Constitution
 America After the Revolution: The Roots
of Democracy (00:52) The Articles of
Confederation: 1781-1788 (01:26)
Do Now
 Take
out 8.2 hw for me to check
 Write down tonight’s hw
 Class: go over hw, Shays, notes, activity
 In your notes, answer:
 How were checks and balances
designed to limit the power of
government? How does this relate to
branches of government (executive,
legislative, and judicial)?
1. Which state would have the greatest interest in having slaves counted as part
of their population for purposes of representation?
2. Why did the North and the South have differing opinions on whether or not
slaves should be counted as part of a slave’s population?
Comparing Plans for Gov’t
Virginia Plan
New Jersey Plan
Legislative Branch
Two (branches):
representation
determined by state
population or wealth
Lower House: elected by
the people
Upper House: elected by
lower house
One house: one vote for
each state, regardless of
size
Elected by state
legislatures
Executive Branch
Appointed by Legislature
Appointed by Legislature
Judicial Branch
Appointed by Legislature
Appointed by Executive
Which plan appealed more to smaller states?
8.2 HW

Constitutional Convention: meeting in
Philadelphia of 55 delegates with the goal of
creating a new national government
 Founders: along with other leaders, delegates
called Founders or Founding Fathers (Thomas
Jefferson, John Adams not present)
 James Madison: took detailed notes,
contributed greatly to the Constitution, promoted
the Virginia Plan, strong government, “Father of
the Constitution”
8.2 HW
 Legislative
branch: branch of
government that would create laws (House
of Representatives, Senate)
 Virginia Plan: proposal for government
with three branches (executive to enforce
laws, judicial to interpret laws and
legislative to make laws)
8.2 HW
 Checks
and balances: way of controlling
the power of government, in certain
circumstances, each branch could check
the power of the other branches
 New Jersey Plan: single house congress
in which each state had an equal vote,
supported by smaller states
8.2 HW
 Great
Compromise: to satisfy the smaller
states, each state with equal number of
votes in the Senate; for larger state votes
in House of Representatives based on
population; three branches of government
 Executive branch: enforces the law
 Judicial branch: interprets the law
8.2 HW
 Three-Fifths
Compromise: three-fifths of
the slave population of a state would count
towards representation in the legislative
branch and for taxation
3. What was the relationship between the
Annapolis Convention and the Constitutional
Convention? Delegates to the Annapolis
Convention wanted to create national trade
laws, which led to the call for a national
convention.
8.2 HW
4.Why did the Virginia delegates insist that the
new government have three branches? They
wanted a government strong enough to protect
peoples’ rights, but not so strong that it would
oppress the people. Each of the three branches
would limit, or check, the power of the others.
5. Under the Three-Fifths Compromise, how would
each state’s population be decided? By counting
the total free population plus three-fifths of the
slave population.
Constitutional Convention
 In
1786, states wanted to improve trade
with one another, but states placed high
taxes on goods from other states
 Would require changing Articles of
Confederation
 Urge for change also brought about by
Shays’s Rebellion
Constitutional Convention
 55
delegates sent to Constitutional
Convention in Philadelphia
 Later called Founding Fathers of U.S.
 Impressive group including Washington,
Franklin, James Madison
 “an assembly of demigods”, Jefferson
 Did not include women, Native Americans,
African Americans, or poor whites
Do Now
 Turn
in your letter or pictures on the
Virginia Plan/NJ Plan/Great Compromise/
Three-Fifths Compromise (homework)
 Write down tonight’s hw
 What was the purpose of the
Constitutional Convention?
 What was the most important decision
made by this group?
Independence Hall,
Philadelphia
Constitutional Convention
 Challenge:
how to set up a strong, but
limited federal government
 Washington elected president of the
convention, most respected American
 To be able to freely debate, change minds,
avoid pressured politics, sessions in secret
Do Now
 Take
out 8.3 homework
 In your notes, write/design a bumper
sticker for either Federalists or
Antifederalists while I check hw
8.3 Homework
Antifederalists, federalism, Federalists,
The Federalist papers, Bill of Rights
3. What arguments did the Federalists use
to convince people to support the
Constitution? What arguments did the
Antifederalists use against them?
 In your own words, compare the views of
the Federalists and Antifederalists.
1.
Virginia Plan
 Legislative,
executive, and judiciary parts
of government
 Legislature with two houses: number per
state to depend upon population or wealth
 Legislature with power to tax, regulate
commerce, and make laws
 Supported by larger states, would give
them greater representation
 Opposed by small states, fear domination
New Jersey Plan
 Legislature
with one house, each state
with one vote
 Legislature with power to regulate trade
and raise money by taxing foreign goods,
did not offer broad powers of Virginia Plan
 Virginia Plan won debate
Do Now
 Take
out James Madison homework
 What was the Great Compromise?
 Why did the founders want to divide
government into three branches rather
than just one?
 Debate tomorrow (Federalists vs.
Antifederalists), Review Friday for Chapter
8 test on Monday
Senate: 2 per state regardless of size House: number of reps. Depends on
population
Great Compromise
 To
satisfy small states, each state with
equal votes in Senate
 To satisfy larger states, representation in
House of Representatives according to
population
Slavery & The Constitution





Southern states wanted to count slaves,
Northern states argued slaves not citizens, not
counted for population but for taxes
Three-Fifths Compromise: 3/5 of slave
population counted towards taxes on states and
determining representation
Fierce debate on slave trade
Compromise: Congress could not ban slave
trade until 1808
Slavery issue fatal weakness of founding
Regulating Trade
 Native
Americans not part of states or
considered foreign countries
 To satisfy South, exports not taxed
 Few restrictions on regulating trade
Activity
With your group:
 Look over the article and answer the
questions
 Come up with an image and way to
describe your topic to the class
 If you finish ahead of other groups, work
together on the homework
Skit
 Write
a scene in which the founding
fathers are debating the Virginia Plan,
New Jersey Plan, Great Compromise,
and the Three-Fifths Compromise
 William Patterson: suggests NJ Plan;
Madison the Virginia Plan; Roger Sherman
of CT, the Great Compromise
Ratifying the Constitution
 January
1788, in a church in Hartford, CT,
168 delegates meeting to decide whether
or not to ratify the U.S. Constitution
 Controversial, issue of states rights
 Federalism: system of government in
which power is shared between the central
or federal government and the states
 Federalists: supported the Constitution
Antifederalists
 Opposed
to the Constitution, thought it
took away too much power from states,
not enough guarantees for individual rights
 Would president be like a king?
 Would senate be a powerful aristocracy?
 Liberties won during hard fought
Revolution might be lost
Federalist Papers
 Essays
supporting federalists
(Constitution) that appeared in
newspapers
 Published together in Federalist book
 Written by James Madison, Alexander
Hamilton, and John Jay
Federalists
Antifederalists
More power to national
gov’t, take some from
states
Wanted important political
powers to remain with
states
Favored dividing powers
among different branches
Wanted legislative branch
to have more power than
executive
Proposed a single person
to lead executive branch
Feared that a strong
executive might become
king or tyrant
Believed a bill of rights
needed to be added to
Constitution to protect
people’s rights
AntiFederalist Arguments
 Too
much power given to the national
gov’t at expense of state gov’ts
 There was no bill of rights
 National gov’t could maintain an army
during peacetime
 Congress, because of the “necessary and
proper” clause had too much power
 Executive branch had too much power
Federalist Arguments
of gov’t into three branches
protected the rights of the people
 Each branch represented a different
aspect of the people, with all three equal,
no one branch could dominate
 A listing of rights could be dangerous,
national gov’t could violate rights not
included
 Separation
Battle for Ratification
 Federalists
with an advantage: most of the
newspapers supported the Constitution
 Strong opposition to ratification in
Massachusetts, North Carolina, Rhode
Island, New York, and Virginia
 If some of these states failed to ratify the
Constitution, the United States might not
survive
Battle for Ratification
 By
late June 1787, nine states had ratified
the Constitution
 New York and Virginia had not yet voted
 Patrick Henry in Va. Fought ratification,
George Mason opposed it
 Wanted a bill of rights, with this likely,
Virginia ratified it, then NY
 Rhode Island the last to ratify
 Compare
Debate
your hw packet with a parnter,
while I check hw
 Class: packet, debate prep, debate
 Take the next ten minutes to prepare your
position with your partners
 Fill out the chart, prepare talking points
and questions
 Everyone has to talk, take turns
 Everyone on your side will receive the
same grade  counts as a small quiz
Bill of Rights
 Make
a list of the rights you think the new
Constitution should include (quietly on
your own)
 Think about property, speech, religion,
police, press, weapons, etc.
Bill of Rights
 James
Madison proposed a set of
changes to the Constitution, edited by
Congress
 Sent to states to ratify
 Ten of the amendments ratified in 1791
 Ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution
became known as the Bill of Rights
 P. 250-2
Amendment 1
 Religious
and Political Freedom
 Congress shall make no law respecting an
establishment or religion or prohibiting the
free exercise thereof, or abridging the
freedom of speech, or of the press, or the
right of the people to peaceably assemble,
and to petition the Government for a
redress of grievances
Freedom of Religion Example
 Public

schools
School prayer
Religious holidays Student religious practices
Released time Teaching about religion Pledge of
Allegiance & religious liberty in public schools
Religious clubs Public schools & religious
communities Teachers' religious liberties Bible in
school Distributing religious literature Graduation
ceremonies Evolution & creation
Amendment 2
 Right
to Bear Arms
 A well-regulated militia, being necessary to
the security of a free state, the right of the
people to keep and bear arms, shall not be
abridged
Amendment 3
 Quartering
Troops
 No soldier shall, in time of peace, be
quartered in any house, without the
consent of the owner, nor in time of war,
but in a manner to be prescribed by law
Amendment 4

Search and Seizure
 The right of the people to be secure in their
persons, houses, papers, and effects, against
unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not
be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but
upon probable cause, supported by oath or
affirmation and particularly describing the place
to be searched, and the persons or things to be
seized
Amendment 5

Rights of Accused Persons
 No person shall be held to answer for a capital,
or otherwise infamous crime unless on a
presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury… nor
shall any person be subject for the same offense
to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor
shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a
witness against himself; nor be deprived of life,
liberty, or property, without due process of
law…
Amendment 6: Right to a Speedy &
Public Trial

In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall
enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an
impartial jury of the State and district wherein the
crime shall have been committed, which district
shall have been previously ascertained by law,
and to be informed of the nature and cause of
the accusation; to be confronted with the
witnesses against him; to have compulsory
process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and
to have the assistance of counsel for his
defense
Amendment 8: Limits of Fines
and Punishments

Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines
imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted
Examples – 8th
 http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials
/conlaw/cruelunusual.html
Amendment 10: Power of
States and People



The powers not delegated to the United States by the
Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are
reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.
Most court, police, education, and other powers at state
level
Marriage
10th Amendment
Bill of Rights
 United
Streaming: Bill of Rights
Seven Principles of Government
Seven main ideas or building blocks of
our system of government
 Foundation of United States Constitution
1. Popular Sovereignty 2. Republicanism
3. Federalism 4. Separation of Powers
5. Checks and Balances 6. Limited
Government
7. Individual Rights

Popular Sovereignty
 “We
the people of the United States…
establish this Constitution for the United
States”
 Source of government’s power is the
people, broad range of people shared in
power to govern themselves
Republicanism
 Not
the political party!
 People exercise political power by
voting for representatives who in turn
make decisions
Federalism: How is Power Shared?
 System
of government in which power is
divided between a central government and
smaller political units, such as states
 Delegated powers: given by Constitution
to national government
 Reserved powers: powers kept by states
 Concurrent powers: shared by both
national and state governments
Powers delegated
To
National
Gov’t
Shared
Concurrent
Powers reserved
Powers
For state
Gov’ts
Separation of Powers: How is
Power Divided?
 Founding
fathers concerned that too much
power might fall into hands of one group
 Division of government into branches
 No one power is given all the power
 Legislative Branch: makes laws
 Executive Branch: President enforces the
law
 Judicial Branch: Supreme Court
interprets the law
Checks and Balances: How is
Power Evenly Distributed?
 Each
branch of government can exercise
checks or controls over other branches
 Branches are separate but depend on
each other to perform work of government
 Congress makes laws; President can veto
law; Supreme Court can declare law
passed by Congress and signed by
president as against the Constitution
Limited Government: How is Abuse
of Power Prevented?
 Power
of government restricted
 Everyone must obey the law, rich,
powerful, those in government
 Article 1 Section 9 of the Constitution lists
powers denied to Congress
 Article 1 Section 10 forbids states to take
certain actions
Individual Rights: How are personal
freedoms protected?
 Bill
of Rights guarantees certain individual
rights
 Later amendments also advanced cause
of individual rights