Government and the
Constitution
By Mrs. Farr
GPS Standards
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SS8H4 The student will describe the impact of
events that led to the ratification of the United
States Constitution and the Bill of Rights.
a. Analyze the strengths and weaknesses of both the
Georgia Constitution of 1777 and the Articles of
Confederation and explain how weaknesses in the
Articles of Confederation led to a need to revise the
Articles.
b. Describe the role of Georgia at the Constitutional
Convention of 1787; include the role of Abraham
Baldwin and William Few, and reasons why Georgia
ratified the new constitution.
The Articles of Confederation
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The Articles of Confederation was the first
constitution of the United States.
It was created during the American
Revolution to help bring stability to the 13
colonies (states).
The Articles = Weak
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The Articles of
Confederation,
however, was
very weak!
It had several
problems that
surfaced after the
war.
The AoC
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The AoC did not establish a president, and
it only had a unicameral (one house)
Congress.
In the legislature, each state only received
one vote.
This was unfair for states that held larger
populations than smaller states.
$$$$$
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Each state was governing itself!
It was establishing its own money, taxes
and tariffs.
Each state was working like 13 little mininations as opposed to one big nation with
13 states.
The Articles limited the power of national
government.
Articles of Confederation
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Weaknesses
No president
No court system
States have more or
equal power to a nation
Could not pay soldiers
Each state was making its
own money
Each state had different
taxes/tarriffs
There was no
representation in
Congress based on
population
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Strengths
Each state
represented equally
Creation of a postal
service
Congress had the
power to wage war
Because the strengths outnumbered
the weaknesses, the government would
have to change...
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But the leaders of our government did not
want to alarm the public of the
government’s change.
They planned for a meeting in Annapolis,
Maryland and then planned for another
meeting in May of 1787 in Philadelphia.
George Washington presided over the
meeting.
Georgia
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Georgia attended the Constitutional
Convention of 1787, too. It sent two
delegates (or representatives), Abraham
Baldwin and William Few, to attend the
meeting.
Abraham Baldwin
William Few
There were two plans discussed
at the convention...
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The Virginia Plan is the first plan we will
talk about.
This plan is similar to the Constitution we
have today. It broke the government into
three branches.
However, representation in the Senate
and the House were based on population.
The other plan
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Was the New Jersey plan. This plan had
more of a state-based sentiment.
It had a one house (unicameral)
legislature and said that Congress could
levy (impose, enforce) taxes.
The Congress was based on state
representation.
The debate
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...raged on and on....
Should the US use the Virginia Plan or the
New Jersey Plan? The Virginia Plan or the
New Jersey Plan? The Virginia Plan or the
New Jersey Plan?
Finally, the delegates did what all great
politicians do...
They compromised!
The Great Compromise
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Made the Senate (upper portion of
Congress) based on state representation
and the House (lower portion of Congress)
based on population.
There was also the 3/5ths compromise,
that made 3/5ths of the African-American
population count toward representation.
Finally,
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The framework of the Constitution was in
place.
Let’s talk a little about the our government
and Constitution, shall we?
3 Branches of Government
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We have three branches of government:
the Executive, the Legislative and the
Judicial branches.
These branches are all balanced, so one
branch doesn’t take over the other.
This is called Checks and Balances.
The Executive Branch
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This branch has the President, the Vice
President, and the Cabinet
The President is the Commander-in-Chief
of all armed forces.
The President also approves law and
makes treaties.
Georgia’s Executive Branch
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Georgia’s executive branch contains the
Governor, Lieutenant Governor, and other
executive agencies.
The Legislative Branch
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This branch contains Congress. Congress
is divided into two sessions: the House
and the Senate.
The House is based on population. This
group of representatives contains over
400 members.
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The Senate is based on state
representation. There are 100 members
in the Senate, two for each state.
(Remember the Great Compromise? This
is how both states and population are
represented in Congress!)
The job of Congress is to make laws for
the nation. The House creates bills (or,
proposals to create a new law), and must
pass them on to the Senate. If the bill
passes, it goes to the President. If he
signs it, it can become a new law.
Georgia’s Legislative Branch
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Georgia’s legislative branch is called the
Georgia General Assembly (or GGA by
Mrs. Farr…)
The GGA makes bills (or laws) for our
state.
The Judicial Branch
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The Judicial branch interprets the law.
This branch contains the Supreme Court
and other federal court systems.
These courts are the deciding factors as to
what is legal or constitutional.
Georgia’s Judicial Branch
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Georgia’s judicial branch consists of the
Georgia Supreme Court, and the state
court system.
Federal (National) Government
Legislative
Executive
Judicial
• Congress
(House
and
Senate)
• President
and Vice
President
• Supreme
Court
State Government
Legislative
Executive
Judicial
• Georgia
General
Assembly
(House and
Senate)
• Governor
and Lt.
Governor
• Georgia
Supreme
Court
Checks and Balances
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Our government has a system to keep a
branch from taking over the government.
This system is called checks and balances
(and no, I’m not talking about the bank...)
The President can veto any bill that
Congress approves.
Congress can impeach a President if he is
committing an illegal or unconstitutional
act.
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The Supreme Court can rule if a law
passed by the Congress is constitutional or
not.
Congress can impeach and appoint judges
in the Judicial branch.
The President nominates people for the
Supreme Court.
Makes perfect sense, right?
The Constitution
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The Constitution forms our government.
It has three sections: the Preamble,
Articles and Amendments.
The Preamble tells about why the
Constitution was needed. It is basically an
introduction to the Constitution.
QUICK!
A piece of candy goes to who
can tell me what the first three
words of the Constitution are!
Mmmm..... Candy.
Right!
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We the People! Good job!
The articles of the US
Constitution
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The articles basically talk about the three
branches and what powers they have.
They list the powers of Congress, the age
required to serve in public office, and the
basic rules and regulations for our
country.
Georgia
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Georgia liked the 3/5ths Compromise, as
well as the Great Compromise. Because
of this, it was the 4th state to ratify (or
approve) the new U.S. Constitution.
This is why you may hear Georgia
described as the “4th State.”
However...
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There were issues with the Constitution.
Even today, there are issues with the
Constitution.
A document that was written so long ago
needed to be updated (and still needs to
be updated from time to time).
These updates are called amendments.
Amendments
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Some of the amendments that you may
have heard of include the first
amendment, which grants you freedom of
speech, religion and of the press.
Women, an amendment that you may
have heard of is the 19th amendment,
which gave women the right to vote in
1920.
There are Amendments...
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...covering everything from slavery to the
way Congress should spend its money.
There is also an amendment (number 3)
about the quartering of soldiers - civilians
could no longer house soldiers - the days
of the Quartering Act are looong gone!
Amendments cover issues that are not
covered in the Constitution.
Some other amendments...
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5 - can’t testify against yourself - double
jeopardy
18 - prohibition
24- poll taxes
26- the right to vote at 18 (it used to be
21).
The End.