USG Chapter 02

Presentation Plus! United States Government: Democracy in Action

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Chapter Focus

Section 1

The Colonial Period

Section 2

Uniting for Independence

Section 3

The Articles of

Confederation

Section 4

The Constitutional

Convention

Chapter Assessment

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Chapter Objectives

• The Colonial Period Explain why colonists expected representative government . (Section 1) 

• Uniting for Independence Relate how colonists united against British laws, leading to the Declaration of Independence. (Section 2) 

• The Articles of Confederation Explain the weaknesses and achievements of the Articles of

Confederation. (Section 3) 

• The Constitutional Convention Describe the creation and ratification of the Constitution.

(Section 4)

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Chapter Concepts

• Section 1 Growth of Democracy 

• Section 2 Growth of Democracy 

• Section 3 Federalism 

• Section 4 Civil Liberties


Making It Relevant Transparency

The next slide is a modern political cartoonist’s view of equal opportunity at the Constitutional Convention.

Making It Relevant 2

End of Chapter Focus

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The Colonial Period

Key Terms

limited government, representative government, separation of powers 

Find Out

• What events of the early American colonial experience led colonists to believe they would have representative government?



• In what ways were the American colonies democratic? In what ways were they not democratic?

Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information. Additional lecture notes appear on the following slides.

The Colonial Period

Understanding Concepts

Growth of Democracy What elements of the English political heritage helped develop representative governments in the American colonies?



Section Objective

Explain why colonists expected representative government.

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Introduction

• Every year thousands of tourists flock to

Virginia to visit the remains of Jamestown, the first permanent English settlement in

North America, founded in 1607. 

• The legacy of self-government that began in Jamestown enables Americans today to…



– voice their opinions without fear of reprisal.



– choose their leaders.



– take an active role in shaping the nation in which they live.


An English Political Heritage

• Although people from many areas came to

North America in the 1600s, it was the

English who established and governed the original thirteen colonies along the Atlantic coast. 

• English principles of limited government and representative government greatly influenced the development of the United

States.


Limited Government

• The idea that government was not allpowerful was an accepted part of the

English system, beginning with the Magna

Carta , or Great Charter, of 1215. 

• The Magna Carta established the principle of limited government , in which the power of the monarch, or government, was limited, not absolute. 

• The Magna Carta provided for protection against unjust punishment and the loss of life, liberty, and property except according to law.


Petition of Right

• Although the Magna Carta limited the power of government, strong monarchs still dominated England for centuries. 

• When Charles I took the throne in 1625, he dissolved Parliament, lodged troops in private homes, and placed some areas under martial law. 

• In 1628 the Parliament forced him to sign the Petition of Right , severely limiting the king’s power.


Petition of Right

(cont.)

• Under the Petition of Right, English monarchs could not…



– collect taxes without Parliament’s consent.



– imprison people without just cause.



– house troops in private homes without the permission of the owner. 

– declare martial law unless the country was at war.


English Bill of Rights

• In 1688 Parliament removed James II from the throne and crowned William III and

Mary II in a move that became known as the Glorious Revolution. 

• Parliament also passed the English Bill of

Rights , which set clear limits on what a ruler could and could not do.



(cont.)

• The key ideas of the English Bill of Rights are: 

– Monarchs rule with the consent of the people’s representatives in Parliament –not by divine right. 

– The monarch must have Parliament’s consent to suspend laws, levy taxes, or maintain an army. 

– The monarch cannot interfere with parliamentary elections and debates. 

– The people have a right to petition the government and to have a fair and speedy trial by a jury of their peers.



(cont.)

– The people should not be subject to cruel and unusual punishments or to excessive fines and bail. 

• The English colonists in North America shared a belief in these rights with the people of England.


Representative Government

• The colonists had a firm belief in representative government , a government in which people elect delegates to make laws and conduct government. 

• The English Parliament was a representative assembly with the power to enact laws.


Representative Government

(cont.)

• Parliament consisted of an upper chamber, called the House of Lords, and a lower chamber, called the House of Commons. 

• American legislatures grew out of the

English practice of representation.


The Ideas of John Locke

• The ideas of John Locke, a seventeenthcentury English philosopher, have been called the “textbook of the American

Revolution.”



• Locke’s Two Treatises on Government , first published in 1690, spelled out his belief that all people were born free, equal, and independent.



(cont.)

• Locke believed that people possessed natural rights to life, liberty, and property and that they contracted among themselves to form governments to protect these natural rights. 

• Locke argued that if a government failed to protect these natural rights, the people could change that government.



(cont.)

• In his Second Treatise on Civil

Government , Locke said that government was legitimate only as long as people continued to consent to it. 

• Both the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution reflected Locke’s revolutionary ideas.


Government in the Colonies

• The present system of American government evolved from the thirteen

English colonies. 

• Democracy existed in the colonies, but not in its present form. Women and enslaved persons could not vote, and every colony had some type of property qualification for voting. 

• Many colonists remained intolerant of religious dissent.


Government in the Colonies

(cont.)

• Despite such shortcomings, the colonists established the following practices: 

– a written constitution that guaranteed basic liberties and limited the power of government 

– a legislature of elected representatives



– the separation of powers between the governor (the chief executive) and the legislature 

• Today the United States government embodies each of these practices.


Written Constitutions

• The colonial period featured government according to a written plan. 

• The first such plan was the Mayflower

Compact , written by the Pilgrims on the

Mayflower anchored off the New England coast. It was signed in 1620. 

• In 1636 Puritans who settled the

Massachusetts Bay Colony adopted the

Great Fundamentals , the first basic system of laws in the English colonies.


Written Constitutions

(cont.)

• In 1639 Puritans who had left the

Massachusetts Bay Colony to colonize

Connecticut drew up America’s first formal constitution, or charter, called the

Fundamental Orders of Connecticut . 

• This document laid out a plan for government that gave the people the right to elect the governor, judges, and representatives to make laws. 

• Soon after, other English colonies began drawing up their own charters.


Colonial Legislatures

• With the Virginia House of Burgesses, established in 1619, representative government became an established tradition well before the colonists declared their independence in 1776. 

• These legislatures dominated colonial government because the growing colonies constantly needed new laws to cope with new circumstances. 

• Colonial legislatures were examples of the consent of the governed because a large number of qualified men voted.


Separation of Powers

• Colonial charters divided the power of government into three branches: executive, legislative, and judicial. This principle of separation of powers was later incorporated into the Constitution. 

• The governor, the king’s agent in the colonies, had executive power. Colonial legislatures had the power to pass laws, and colonial courts heard cases. 

• Colonial legislatures became the political training grounds for the leaders who later would write the Constitution.


What events of the early American colonial experience led colonists to believe they would have representative government?

The signing of the Mayflower Compact, adoption of

Great Fundamentals and the Great Fundamental

Order of Connecticut, and the creation of representative assemblies led colonists to believe that they would have representative government.

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In what ways were the American colonies democratic? In what ways were they not democratic?

The colonies were democratic in a sense that they had representative government, some freedom of religion, written constitutions, and separation of powers. They were undemocratic in another sense because they had limited suffrage and limited freedom of religion.


End of Section 1

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Uniting for Independence

Key Terms

revenue, embargo 

Find Out

• What factors caused the British to allow the colonists to operate with little interference between 1607 and 1763?



• Why were the colonists and the British unable to compromise and settle their differences?


Additional lecture notes appear on the following slides.

Uniting for Independence


Growth of Democracy How did the colonial experience during the dispute with Britain help shape American ideals of constitutional democracy?




Relate how colonists united against British laws, leading to the Declaration of

Independence.



Introduction

• Until the mid-1700s Great Britain had allowed its colonies across the Atlantic to develop politically on their own. 

• By the 1760s, however, the British government felt a need to tighten its control over the colonies.


The Colonies on Their Own

• As with other parts of the British empire, in the eyes of the British crown, the American colonies existed for the economic benefit of

Great Britain. 

• In practice, the colonists–more than 3,000 miles away from Britain –did pretty much as they pleased during the 150 years following the settling of Jamestown. 

• Until the mid-1700s the British government was generally satisfied with this arrangement.


Britain Tightens Control

• The French and Indian War and the crowning of George III drastically changed the easy relationship between the colonies and Britain. 

• The French and Indian War, fought between 1754 and 1763 over lands in western Pennsylvania and Ohio, resulted in Great Britain’s complete control over what later became the eastern United

States.


Britain Tightens Control

(cont.)

• The defeat of France in America had two results: 

– The colonists no longer needed the British to protect them from the French. 

– The British government had a large war debt that the British expected the colonies to help repay.


Taxing the Colonies

• To help pay for the war, George III and the

Parliament passed the Stamp Act of 1765, which required the colonists to pay tax on legal documents, pamphlets, newspapers, and even dice and playing cards. 

• The Stamp Act was the first direct tax on the colonists. 

• Parliament also passed laws to control colonial trade in ways that benefited Great

Britain but not the colonies.



(cont.)

• Britain’s revenue –the money a government collects from taxes or other sources –from the colonies increased, but so did colonial resentment. 

• Political protests in the colonies led to the repeal of the Stamp Act, but other tax laws replaced it. 

• In 1773 a group of colonists, dressed as

Mohawk, dumped 342 chests of British tea into Boston Harbor. This protest against further taxes on tea became known as the

Boston Tea Party.



(cont.)

• In retaliation Parliament passed the

Coercive Acts, which the colonists called the Intolerable Acts . 

• One of these acts closed Boston Harbor.

Another withdrew the right of the

Massachusetts colony to govern itself. 

• By the early 1770s, events clearly showed that revolution was imminent.


Colonial Unity

• Before the mid-1770s most colonists thought of themselves as British subjects and as members of their respective colonies. 

• Thus, they were Virginians or New Yorkers or Georgians, but not Americans. 

• Responding to French attacks on the frontier, in 1754 Benjamin Franklin proposed an innovative plan for uniting the colonies –the Albany Plan of Union .

The colonies rejected the plan.


Colonial Unity

(cont.)

• By the 1760s harsh new British policies spurred American unity. 

• Colonists began thinking of themselves as

Americans, and colonial leaders began to take political action against what they felt was British oppression.


Taking Action

• In 1765 nine colonies sent delegates to the

Stamp Act Congress. Delegates to the

Congress sent a petition to King George, arguing that only colonial legislatures could impose direct taxes. 

• By 1773 organizations called committees of correspondence were urging resistance to the British. 

• This communication network consisted of colonists who wanted to keep in touch with one another as events unfolded.


The First Continental Congress

• The Intolerable Acts prompted the First

Continental Congress, a general meeting of the colonies (except Georgia), on

September 5, 1774. 

• The delegates imposed an embargo , an agreement prohibiting trade, on Britain, and agreed not to use British goods. 

• George III adopted stronger measures against the rebelling colonists. He said,

“Blows must decide whether they are to be subject to this country or independent.”


The First Continental Congress

(cont.)

• On April 19, 1775, the British Redcoats clashed with the colonial minutemen at

Lexington and Concord in Massachusetts. 

• This clash, later called the “shot heard

’round the world,” was the first battle of the

Revolutionary War.


The Second Continental Congress

• Within three weeks, delegates from the thirteen colonies gathered in Philadelphia for the Second Continental Congress. 

• This Congress assumed the powers of a central government, chose John Hancock as their president, and made George

Washington commander of a newly organizing Continental Army. 

• Although it had no constitutional authority, the Second Continental Congress served as the acting government of the colonies throughout the war.


Independence

• Thomas Paine’s pamphlet Common Sense and the patriotic words of Samuel Adams helped the American independence movement grow. 

• In June 1776, Richard Henry Lee of

Virginia introduced a resolution in the

Continental Congress “That these United

Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent states.”


The Declaration of Independence

• Congress promptly named a committee to prepare a written declaration of independence. The committee asked

Thomas Jefferson to write the draft. 

• On July 4, 1776, the Congress approved the final draft of the Declaration of

Independence. 

• A statement of the reasons for independence, the document actually was entitled The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America.


Key Parts of the Declaration

• The Declaration of Independence stirred the hearts of the American people. 

• The purpose of the Declaration was to justify the Revolution and put forth the founding principles, such as human liberty and consent of the governed, of the new nation. 

• The Declaration has three parts. It begins with a statement of purpose and basic human rights.


Key Parts of the Declaration

(cont.)

• The middle section of the Declaration lists specific complaints against George III.

These were designed to justify the break with Great Britain. 

• The conclusion states the colonists’ determination to separate from Great

Britain. Their efforts to reach a peaceful solution had failed, leaving them no choice but to declare their freedom.


The First State Constitutions

• One of the most important changes taking place in the colonies was their transformation from colonies into states subject to no higher authority. 

• Within a few years after the Declaration of

Independence, every former colony had a new constitution or had converted the old colonial charters into state constitutions. 

• Seven of the new constitutions contained a bill of rights defining the personal liberties of citizens.


What factors caused the British to allow the colonists to operate with little interference between 1607 and 1763?

The distance from Britain made it necessary for colonists to handle their own daily affairs and the

British needed the colonists’ loyalty to counter the

French threat in Canada.


Why were the colonists and the British unable to compromise and settle their differences?

The colonists were unwilling to be governed without representation. King George remained rigid in his belief that he could dictate to the colonists.




The Articles of Confederation

Key Terms

ratify, unicameral, cede, ordinance 

Find Out

• What weakness of the Articles of

Confederation made enforcing the laws of Congress impossible?



• What evidence shows that financial problems were the main cause of the call to amend the Articles of Confederation?



The Articles of Confederation


Federalism What deficiencies in the

Articles of Confederation made them too weak to ensure the peace and tranquility of the United States?




Explain the weaknesses and achievements of the Articles of Confederation.



Introduction

• When Richard Henry Lee proposed his resolution for independence in June 1776, he also proposed that a “plan for confederation” be prepared for the colonies. 

• In 1777 a committee appointed by

Congress presented a plan called the

Articles of Confederation. 

• By March 1781, all 13 states had ratified , or approved, the Articles of Confederation.


Government Under the Articles

• Under the Articles, the plan for government was simple. It included: 

– a unicameral , or single-chamber, Congress in which each state had one vote 

– no executive branch or federal court system



– a Committee of the States made up of one delegate from each state to manage the government when Congress was not assembled 

• Every state legislature selected its own representatives to Congress.


Government Under the Articles

• Congressional powers included the powers to…



(cont.)

– make war and peace. 

– send and receive ambassadors. 

– enter into treaties. 

– raise and equip a navy. 

– maintain an army by requesting troops from the states. 

– appoint senior military officers. 

– fix standards of weights and measures. 

– regulate Indian affairs. 

– establish post offices. 

– decide certain disputes among the states.


Weaknesses of the Articles

• Because each state had no intention of giving up its sovereignty to a central government, the Articles had weaknesses. 

1. Congress did not have the power to levy or collect taxes. It could raise money only by borrowing or requesting money from the states, and could do little if a state refused to provide the money. 

2. Congress did not have the power to regulate domestic or international trade.



(cont.)

3. Congress could not force anyone to obey the laws it passed or to abide by the Articles of

Confederation. 

4. Laws needed the approval of 9 of the 13 states, which was very difficult to obtain. Usually, delegates from only 9 or 10 states were in

Congress at any time. 

5. Amending, or changing, the Articles required the consent of all states, which was nearly impossible.



(cont.)

6. The central government did not have an executive branch, which made unity and coordination among the many congressional committees difficult.



7. The government had no national court system, which made it difficult for the central government to settle disputes among the states.


Achievements

• Despite its weaknesses, the Confederation accomplished much. 

• The greatest achievement was the establishment of a fair policy for the development of the lands west of the

Appalachians. The individual states ceded , or yielded, their claims to these territories. 

• To organize these territories, the

Confederation enacted two land ordinances , or laws.


Achievements

(cont.)

• The Northwest Ordinance of 1787 established the principle that the territories owned by the government were to be developed for statehood on an equal basis with the older states. 

• Another accomplishment was the peace treaty with Great Britain wherein Britain recognized American independence.


Achievements

(cont.)

• Congress also set up various national departments, setting a precedent for the creation of cabinet departments under the

Constitution. 

• To encourage cooperation among the states, the Articles provided that each state give “full faith and credit” to the legal acts of the other states and treat one another’s citizens without discrimination.


Need for Stronger Government

• Despite its achievements, the structure of the central government could not coordinate the actions of the states effectively.


Growing Problems

• Soon after the war, the states began to quarrel, mainly over boundary lines and tariffs. 

• The new nation faced serious debt to foreign nations and to American soldiers still unpaid after the Revolutionary War. 

• By 1786 an economic depression in the states left many farmers and small merchants angry and in debt.


Shays’s Rebellion

• In 1787 these economic troubles led to armed rebellion. 

• Unable to pay their mortgages, some farmers in western Massachusetts were jailed or had their property taken from them. 

• To force the state to pass laws to help them, several hundred men, led by Daniel

Shays, marched on the Springfield arsenal to get weapons and then threatened to lay siege to Boston.


Shays’s Rebellion

(cont.)

• The Massachusetts militia put down the rebellion, but the unrest frightened

American leaders. 

• Led by Henry Knox, later the first secretary of war, American leaders called for a strong national government.


The Annapolis Convention

• The Constitutional Convention was the result of two previous meetings. 

• In 1785 George Washington invited delegates from Maryland and Virginia to his Mount Vernon estate to discuss differences over their currencies, import duties, and navigation on the Potomac

River and Chesapeake Bay.



(cont.)

• The success of this meeting inspired

Virginia’s representatives to call all states to another meeting –a convention at Annapolis, Maryland, to discuss commerce. 

• With Shays and his followers threatening the government of

Massachusetts, Alexander Hamilton persuaded the other delegates to call for another convention in Philadelphia in May 1787.



(cont.)

• Its purpose would be to regulate commerce among the states and to propose changes that would make the national government more effective. 

• The Confederation Congress gave its consent to hold the Philadelphia convention “for the sole and express purpose of revising the Articles of

Confederation.”


What weakness of the Articles of

Confederation made enforcing the laws of Congress impossible?

Congress could only advise and request states to comply, it could not enforce laws.


What evidence shows that financial problems were the main cause of the call to amend the Articles of Confederation?

The Constitutional Convention resulted from concern regarding differences over currencies, import duties, and commerce, all emphasizing the need for a more efficient government.




The Constitutional Convention

Key Terms

interstate commerce, extralegal, anarchy 

Find Out

• How did the Connecticut Compromise settle the most divisive issue among members of the Constitutional

Convention?



• What were the key arguments presented by the Federalists and Anti-Federalists?



The Constitutional Convention


Civil Liberties Why do you think many people insisted on a Bill of Rights in the Constitution?




Describe the creation and ratification of the

Constitution.



Introduction

• The Constitutional Convention began its work on May 25, 1787, with 55 of the appointed 74 delegates in attendance. 

• All states except Rhode Island were represented.


The Convention Begins

• The delegates to the Convention were very experienced in politics, and the presence of men like George Washington and Benjamin Franklin gave the

Convention legitimacy. 

• James Madison, a brilliant advocate of a strong national government, is called the

Father of the Constitution because he was the author of the basic plan of government that the Convention eventually adopted.


Organization

• The Convention unanimously chose

George Washington to preside over the meetings. 

• The delegates also decided that each state would have one vote on all questions, and a simple majority vote of those states present would make decisions. 

• The sessions were closed to the public and press, making it possible for the delegates to talk freely.


Key Agreements

• While the delegates originally came together to revise the Articles, they eventually decided to abandon the former government and begin again. 

• They agreed on many basic issues, including…



– the idea of a limited and representative government. 

– a division of powers among three branches of government. 

– the national government must be strengthened.


Decisions and Compromises

• After the rules were adopted, the Virginia delegation presented a plan for a strong national government.


The Virginia Plan

• The Virginia Plan, introduced May 29, proposed a government based on three principles: 

– a strong national legislature with two chambers 

– a strong national executive to be chosen by the national legislature 

– a national judiciary to be appointed by the legislature


The Virginia Plan

(cont.)

• The introduction of the Virginia Plan was a brilliant political move on the part of the nationalists. By offering a complete plan from the start, the nationalists set the agenda for the rest of the Convention. 

• The Virginia Plan eventually became the basis of the new Constitution. 

• Delegates from the smaller states realized that their states would lose power under the Virginia Plan, and they wanted a less powerful government with more independence for the states.


The New Jersey Plan

• On June 15 the delegates from the small states made a counterproposal, which included the following ideas: 

– There would be a unicameral legislature, with one vote for each state. 

– Congress would have the power to impose taxes and regulate trade. 

– Congress would elect a weak executive consisting of more than one person. 

– The executive would appoint a national judiciary with limited power.


The New Jersey Plan

(cont.)

• After some discussion delegates rejected the New Jersey Plan and continued debate on the Virginia Plan. 

• Soon the Convention was deadlocked over the question of the representation of states in Congress.


The Connecticut Compromise

• The Connecticut Compromise, which was adopted after long debate, suggested that the legislative branch have two parts: 

– A House of Representatives would have representation based on state population.

The larger states would have an advantage. 

– A Senate would have equal representation from each state. Two senators from each state would be elected by the state legislatures. The smaller states would be protected in the Senate.


The Three-Fifths Compromise

• A second compromise settled a disagreement over how to determine how many representatives each state would have in the House. 

• A debate between the Northern and

Southern states was settled by counting three-fifths of the enslaved population for both tax purposes and for representation in

Congress.


Compromise on Commerce and the Slave Trade

• Another dispute between the Northern and

Southern states involved trade. 

• The Northern states wanted the government to have complete power over trade with other nations. 

• The Southern states feared that the

Northern states would set up unfavorable trading practices for the South, including banning the slave trade.


Compromise on Commerce and the Slave Trade

(cont.)

• To settle the issue, delegates decided that

Congress could not ban the slave trade until 1808. 

• Delegates also gave Congress the power to regulate both interstate commerce , or trade among the states, and foreign commerce. 

• To protect the South’s exports, Congress was forbidden to impose export taxes.


The Slavery Question

• Beyond the compromises just discussed, the Constitution dealt with slavery only by noting that those escaping to free states could be returned to the slaveholders

(Article IV, Section 2). 

• Whatever their personal beliefs about slavery, the delegates knew that the

Southern states would never accept the

Constitution if it interfered with slavery. 

• Thus, in order to create the badly needed new government, the Founders compromised on the slavery question.


Other Compromises

• The delegates compromised on several other issues to complete the Constitution. 

• The Electoral College system, in which each state selects electors to choose the president, was the result of a compromise between states wanting direct elections of the president and those wanting to leave the selection to the state legislatures.


Other Compromises

(cont.)

• On September 8, 1787, a Committee of

Style and Arrangements began polishing the final draft of the Constitution, and by

September 17 the document was ready to be signed. 

• Thirty-nine delegates signed the

Constitution.


Ratifying the Constitution

• For the new Constitution to become law,

9 of the 13 states had to ratify it. 

• It went into effect on June 21, 1788, when

New Hampshire became the ninth state to ratify it.


The Federalists and

Anti-Federalists

• The great debate over ratification quickly divided people in the states into

Federalists, who favored the Constitution, and anti-Federalists, who opposed the

Constitution. 

• The Anti-Federalists feared a strong national government and claimed the document was extralegal , not sanctioned by law, since the Convention had been authorized only to revise the old Articles.




(cont.)

• The Anti-Federalists’ strongest argument was that the Constitution lacked a Bill of

Rights. Without a Bill of Rights, a strong national government might take away the human rights won in the Revolution. 

• Patrick Henry , a strong opponent of the

Constitution, said, “If you intend to reserve your unalienable rights, you must have the most express stipulation; for . . . if the people do not think it necessary to reserve them, they will supposed to be given up.”




(cont.)

• The Federalists, led by many of the

Founders, argued that without a strong national government, anarchy , or political disorder, would triumph. 

• They claimed that only a strong national government could protect the new nation from enemies abroad and solve the country’s internal problems.




(cont.)

• To gain the necessary support, the

Federalists promised to add a Bill of Rights as the first order of business under a new government.


Progress Toward Ratification

• With the promise of a Bill of Rights, the tide turned in favor of the

Constitution. 

• Many small states ratified it quickly because they were pleased with equal representation in the new

Senate. 

• Ratification, however, was difficult to win in New York and Virginia.


Progress Toward Ratification

(cont.)

• To help win ratification in New York,

Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay published more than 80 essays defending the new Constitution.

Later they were collected in a book called The Federalist .


Launching a New State

• With ratification in Virginia and New York, the new government began. 

• New York City was selected as the nation’s temporary capital. 

• George Washington was elected president and John Adams vice president.


Launching a New State

(cont.)

• Congress met for the first time on

March 4, 1789, with 22 senators and

59 representatives. 

• To fulfill the promises made during the fight for ratification, James Madison introduced a set of amendments during the first session of Congress. 

• Ten of them were ratified in 1791 and later became known as the Bill of Rights.


How did the Connecticut Compromise settle the most divisive issue among members of the Constitutional Convention?

The Connecticut Compromise created a bicameral legislature, one house with equal number of state representatives and the other with the number based on population.


What were the key arguments presented by the Federalists and Anti-Federalists?

Federalists claimed that only a strong national government could prevent anarchy. Anti-

Federalists protested the lack of a Bill of Rights.




What are the key ideas found in the

English Bill of Rights?

1. The monarch must rule with consent of the governed.

2. The monarch must have legislature’s consent to suspend laws, levy taxes, or maintain army.

3. The monarch may not interfere with legislative elections or debates.

4. People have the right to petition the government and to fair and speedy trials by juries of peers.

5. No cruel and unusual punishment or excessive fines or bails could be rendered.


According to John Locke, what fundamental element made government legitimate?

John Locke believed that consent of the people made governments legitimate.


Describe the practices established by colonial governments that became a basic part of our system of government.

1. Separation of powers between the governor and legislature

2. Legislature of elected representatives

3. Written constitution guaranteeing basic liberties and limiting the power of government


What tasks did the Second Continental

Congress accomplish?

The Second Continental Congress…

–acted as a central government.

–organized an army and navy.

–issued money to pay for a war.

–named George Washington as commander of the army.

–purchased supplies.

–negotiated treaties with other countries.

–rallied support for colonists’ cause.


Why was the Declaration of Independence a revolutionary document?

It called for a country whose government was founded on principles of human liberty and consent of the governed, the world’s first such country.


What achievements were made under the Articles of Confederation?

1. Established fair policy for development of western lands

2. Concluded peace treaty with Great Britain

3. Established departments of Foreign Affairs,

War, Marine, and Treasury

4. Provided that states recognize legal acts of other states and treat one another’s citizens without discrimination


State the position of the small states in the debate on the issue of representation in

Congress.

Small states favored equal representation with large states, but large states wanted representation based on population.


What issue did the Convention delegates refuse to settle in 1787?

The delegates did not settle the issue of slavery.


How do you account for the contradiction between the constitutional acceptance of slavery and the ideals set forth in both the

Declaration of Independence and the

Constitution?

People who favored slavery did not consider slaves to be entitled to the same rights as whites. People who opposed slavery compromised their beliefs in order to establish a much-needed government.


Chapter Bonus Question

The Liberty Bell in Independence Hall cracked during the funeral of which chief justice of the United States?

It cracked during John Marshall’s funeral.


End of Chapter Assessment


Use the MindJogger videoquiz as a preview, review, or both.

Disc 1

Side 1

Chapter 2

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MindJogger video if you have a videodisc player attached to your computer.

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Troubleshooting section in the Help system.

Click the Videodisc button to play the MindJogger video if you have a videodisc player attached to your computer.

Powers of the Congress

Elements of Government

This segment explores elements that form the basis for establishing government.

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Side 2

Chapter 3

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Powers of the Congress

Articles of Confederation

This segment explores the

Preamble to the Articles of

Confederation.

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Help system.

Side 1

Chapter 4

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Your Heritage When you go to sleep tonight, you may take for granted that government officials will not break in to perform an unreasonable search of your house. The security provided by government and the protection from government are a heritage of the colonial period.

The Chapter 2 video lesson The Creation of the

Federal Government will help you learn more about the federal government and its origins.

Click the forward button or press the space bar to access the Democracy In Action preview and activities.

The Creation of the

Federal Government

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Disc 1

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Chapter 2

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Click the Forward button to view the discussion questions and other related slides.



Objectives

• Better understand how the Constitution was drafted. 

Disc 1

Side 1

Chapter 2

• Recognize the changing standards concerning the requirements to inform the public. 

• Be familiar with government initiatives such as the Sunshine Act and the Freedom of

Information Act.




Activity

What societal factors make it unlikely that the Founders would feel pressured to carry out their debates in public?

Disc 1

Side 1

Chapter 2

There was no real tradition of open deliberations.

People were not accustomed to participating in government. Education was limited and few people knew how to read.




Activity

What key governmental actions have opened American government up to more public scrutiny?

Disc 1

Side 1

Chapter 2

1. Sunshine Act of 1977

2. Broadcasting congressional debates

3. Freedom of Information Act

4. Town meetings and policy summits




Activity

What is C-SPAN and what does it do?

Disc 1

Side 1

Chapter 2

C-SPAN stands for the Cable Satellite Public

Affairs Network. It is a cable television network that has been covering the House since 1979 and the Senate since 1986.


End of Why It’s Important

Click the mouse button to return to the Contents.

Explore online information about the topics introduced in this chapter.

Click on the Connect button to launch your browser and go to the

United States Government: Democracy in Action Web site. At this site, you will find interactive activities, current events information, and Web sites correlated with the chapters and units in the textbook. When you finish exploring, exit the browser program to return to this presentation. If you experience difficulty connecting to the Web site, manually launch your Web browser and go to gov.glencoe.com

Section Focus Transparency 2-1

(1 of 2)

1. the British monarch and Parliament as well as the colonial council and colonial assembly

2. The colonial voters elected the assembly which helped make the laws.

3. the British monarch and Parliament


(2 of 2)


(1 of 2)

1. the British government

2. the Stamp Acts and the Townshend Acts

3. one year


(2 of 2)


(1 of 2)

1. Congress could borrow or request money from the states.

2. weak, because they gave very little power to the national government

3. Congress could wage war and make treaties and alliances with other nations.


(2 of 2)


(1 of 2)

1. the New Jersey Plan

2. the Electoral College compromise

3. large states because they had more people to vote for the lower house


(2 of 2)

By the end of the 1600s, several colonies had at least one printing press which published broadsides, almanacs, pamphlets, and books. During this time the most widely read authors were clergy who published sermons.

Armed Forces Under the Articles

Shays’s Rebellion

Each state in the new nation had its own army, and nine states had a navy under the Articles.

Shays’s Rebellion was not the only act of defiance at this time. Unrest also occurred in New Jersey and

Rhode Island where riots broke out because storekeepers would not accept the unreliable, stateissued paper money.

John Locke

Locke’s purpose for writing Two Treatises on

Government was to show that the English people had a right to dethrone James II in 1688. He argued that God gave people reason so they would know their natural rights and so they could devise a government to protect these rights. Today’s citizens still base their notions of government on Locke’s ideas.

Celebrating

Independence

In 1776, Americans celebrated their independence by pulling down a statue of King George III. In the

1990s people in former Soviet republics and satellites celebrated their independence from the

Soviet Union or from Communist rule by pulling down statues of Lenin, a former Communist leader.

The Eagle

Long known as a symbol of strength and military might in other countries and cultures, the eagle was adopted as an American symbol during the Revolution.

Apparently the first use was on copper pennies minted in 1776. The American bald eagle gained official status in 1782, when Congress proclaimed it the national emblem and included it on the Great Seal of the United

States.

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