The Constitution and Bill of Rights
SS8H4 The students will describe the impact of events that
lead to the ratification of the United States Constitution and the
Bill of Rights. a. and b.
We sent the king our Declaration of
Independence, what do we do now?
• At the Second Continental Congress
the delegates also created the Articles
of Confederation, our new country’s
first government constitution.
• This was adopted in November, 1777
and finally approved by the states in
March of 1781.
• It formed a loose partnership among
the equal states
New nation, new government
• Articles of Confederation
– Because of the experience of the American
Revolution, Americans were frightened by a
strong central government and showed more
loyalty to their states
– The new government contained only a one
branch (unicameral) legislature with no power to
enforce laws or settle disputes
– Each state had its own court system
Why did the Articles of Confederation fail?
• Congress had no money and could not levy taxes; it
could only ask states for “voluntary contributions”
• Congress had no power to regulate trade between
states or with foreign nations
• Congress failed to protect citizens from state
discrimination and economic difficulties after the
war
• Congress was very weak with no real power, one
representative from each state
Shay’s Rebellion
 1786- America was in financial trouble: it had business
failures, people in debt, trade problems, war debt and
soldiers salaries not paid
 Massachusetts farmers blamed state taxes and politicians
in the eastern part of the state for their financial problems
 Daniel Shays led a revolt against the state government,
trying to capture arms at the state militia arsenal and
closing the courts
 Neither state nor Confederation government had the power
to stop the rebellion
 How could a country exist if it could not keep law and
order?
Use this link/website to analyze and look up
the summary of this historical print.
http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2008661778/
Federalism v
Anti-federalism
Problems and Compromises
– The need for a stronger Federal government
soon became apparent, Congress approved a
plan to hold a convention in Philadelphia to
revise the Articles of Confederation and
eventually led to the Constitutional Convention
in 1787.
– May to October 1787
– 55 delegates from 12 states; Georgia sent 4,
but only William Few and Abraham Baldwin
would sign the final document.
Examine the building.
The meeting was conducted
in secrecy with
the doors and windows closed
to any eavesdroppers.
Why would they do that?
Problems and Compromises
Six compromises were needed to create the
new Constitution and a stronger national
government:
Federalism
Separation of Powers
Checks and Balances
Representation
Guarantees to the States
Amending the Constitution
1. Federalism
On the issue of a stronger national government
with strong state powers, the compromise
consisted of distributing the powers:
 National government is in charge of national matters
ex. foreign policy; money
 In matters of both national & state government
concern, they share power
ex. highways; taxes
 In some matters, states are free to govern without
national interference; local governments are arms of
the state
ex. education programs; traffic violations
2. Separation of Power
Divided into 3 branches
• To prevent a national government from becoming a dictatorship, the
framers of the Constitution laid out a plan for shared powers.
– The National government would be divided into three branches, all
based on the voters.
– Both the leaders of the Legislative Branch and the Executive
Branch would be voted on by the people, and the
– leaders of the Judicial Branch would be selected by the Executive &
Legislative Branch.
5. Judicial BranchInterprets the laws
and settles disputes
3. Legislative Branchmakes the laws
2. Our Constitution“supreme law of the
land”
4. Executive Branchcarryout, enforce
and administer
the laws
1. Our Government
gets it’s power from
the people
Separation of Power=Branches of Government
3. Checks and Balances
To further balance the power,
each of the three branches could check the powers of the others
Executive Branch
Impeach and propose amendments
Interpret laws, determine constitutionality
Legislative Branch
Judicial Branch
4. Representation in Congress
“The Great Compromise”
Large states (Virginia Plan)
wanted representation
based on population
Small states (like Delaware)
wanted equal representation
They created the Congress
with 2 houses(bicameral)- the
House of Representatives
with numbers based on
population and the Senate
with 2 representatives from
each state
Abraham Baldwin, who was from Georgia, forced
the Compromise because he cast the tie vote.
Representation
• Another compromise concerning
representation was the Three-Fifth
Compromise
States with many slaves
wanted to count slaves into
population totals, but not be
taxed on them
Non slave states did not want to
count slaves into population
totals; wanted Congress to
regulate slave trade
3/5 of the slave population
would be counted for population
and taxes; Congress could not
regulate the slave trade for 20
years (1808)
5. Guarantees to the States
How would the Constitution protect the states
and guide their relationships?
The National government will protect the states from foreign
invasion or domestic violence
Moving from state to state will not deny a citizen his rights
There will be an orderly process for a territory to become a
state, with equal rights and powers as other states (no colonies)
Every state is guaranteed a republican form of government, but
lets the people of each state shape that government
6. Amending the Constitution
How easy would it be to change this document on
which the government was built?
• Two-thirds of both houses of Congress or twothirds of state legislatures must propose an
amendment or call a convention to propose
one; ¾ of the states would have to approve the
proposed amendment for it to pass. (In 200
years this has happened only 27 times)
• Not so easy so as to be altered by a temporary
change in Congressional emotions
• Must be flexible to grow with a changing nation
Will the States Approve the
Constitution?
Fearing danger to individual
liberties in the new
Constitution, opponents to
the Constitution got a
promise to add guarantees
in order to get their states to
ratify it. They are known as
The Bill of Rights (first 10
Amendments):
I.
Bill of Rights
Freedom of religion, expression,
press, & assembly
II. Right to bear arms
III. No quartering of soldiers
IV. No unreasonable searches or seizures
V. Right to due process of law (rights of persons
accused of a crime), right to not incriminate yourself
VI. Right to a fair trial, right to a trial by jury,
VII. Standard for Civil Court jury trials
VIII. Fair bail and punishments
IX. Rights to be retained by the people
X. Powers reserved to the states and people (powers
not listed by The Constitution are reserved to the
people or the state.)
James Madison, father of the
Constitution
• “The Federalist Papers were
a series of eighty-five
newspaper essays published
anonymously but were in
fact written in defense of the
Constitution by James
Madison, John Jay (1745–
1829), and Alexander
Hamilton. This collected
volume was once owned by
Hamilton’s wife, Elizabeth
Schuyler, whose sister gave
it to Thomas Jefferson.”
(Library of Congress,
Creating the United States)
GA state Constitution of 1777
• Counties replaced the Parishes
• Unicameral legislature, with extensive
powers including the power to appoint the
governor and justices to the courts
• Governor’s proposals subject to approval by
the legislature(executive council)
• Allowed for revisions when called by a
majority of the people or counties
The war is over, people are
looking to return home and
start planting for the next
harvest. Can their new
government protect them?
GA’s State Constitution Changes in 1789
to be more like the US Constitution
• The Revolutionary War hurt the economy and
divided its citizens
• The state had committed to give land grants to
the war veterans for their service
• Legislature now called the General Assembly,
which became bicameral and members were
elected by popular vote
• Separated the power into three branches just
like the federal constitution but did not balance
the powers equally
Birth of a powerful new document
And so through compromise, our Enduring
Constitution was formed
Review
• Due to weaknesses in the Articles of Confederation a
Constitutional Convention is called
• There is much debate over the new constitution from the
two sides, federalist who wanted a strong central
government and anti-federalist who opposed this.
• After months of debates, discussions, and compromises a
new Constitution is created and includes a Bill of Rights
• Georgia makes changes to its constitution too