US VA History SOL Review:
Creating the Constitution
The Articles of Confederation
The nation’s first
government from 1781 –
1787, the Articles of
Confederation had helped
Americans to win their
independence and secure a
Treaty with England. It
organized the land ceded
by the English in the Treaty
of Paris of 1783, as well,
with the Northwest
Ordinance. But the
government had list of
weaknesses which
outnumbered its virtues.
The Articles of
Confederation was a
weak national government.
 No Power to Tax
 No Regulation of
Commerce or Trade
 No Common Currency
 Each state had one vote,
meaning Rhode Island
and Virginia were equally
represented.
 No Executive Branch
 No Judicial Branch

George Washington Presides…
After witnessing the disorder
which prevailed during an
incident known as Shays’
Rebellion in 1786, George
Washington came to favor a
Constitutional Convention to
provide the central government
more vigor and power. He
would preside over the
Constitutional Convention in
1787 in Philadelphia, giving the
entire meeting the air of
legitimacy. He contributed little
beyond his reputation, but that
was enough to make the
meeting productive, instead of
treason.
The Father of the Constitution:
James Madison of Virginia
The true brains behind this
project, however, was James
Madison. The diminutive and
ultra-intellectual Virginian came
to the Constitutional
Convention having studied up,
and his Virginia Plan was the
starting point of the discussion
that summer. Madison’s copious
notes are still used by historians
to study the Convention’s
proceedings. Madison would
become a most devoted
Federalist during the ratification
process; however, it was he who
penned most of the Bill of
Rights, later.
The Constitutional Convention
The United States Constitution
which was ratified in 1787 –
1788 would go on to become
the “supreme law of the land.”
This means that whenever the
Constitution comes into conflict
with state laws, it is supreme.
Whenever the Constitution fails
to mention a particular role,
however, the rights are reserved
to the states or the people of
the country. Under the Articles
of Confederation, the states had
held more powers over the
national government. Now, the
situation would be reversed.
The United States Constitution
became the Supreme law of the
land when it was ratified in 1788.
It’s rules are followed whenever
they are in conflict with the states.
Separation of Powers & The System
of Checks and Balances
In James Madison’s Virginia Plan, the
separation of powers was clearly
established as a preferred method of
government. In order to divide
power, three distinct branches of
government would be established: the
legislative (Congress), the executive
(Presidency), and the judicial
(Supreme Court.) Each branch of
government would have certain
checks over the other branches – and
thus, no one branch would become
dictatorial, usurp power, or attempt
to establish a tyranny.
The Separation of Powers and
System of Checks and Balances:
President – veto power, power
to appoint judges, Commanderin-Chief.
Congress – power of the purse,
power to override veto, power
to confirm appointments of
judges; power to declare war.
Supreme Court – lifetime
appointments, power to rule
laws unconstitutional.
Checks and Balances of the
United States Government
The Great Compromise
Large states favored the Virginia Plan, because it offered
“proportional representation.” States with large
populations, like Virginia, would received a higher number
of votes in the Congress. Small states, like Delaware or
Rhode Island, would receive fewer votes.
 Small states favored the New Jersey Plan, which offered
equal representation for all of the states. No matter the
population of the states, they would each receive one
vote.
 The Great Compromise was negotiated in order to
resolve this debate. It created the current bicameral
Congress of the United States. The lower house, or
House of Representatives, is elected by proportional
representation. Meanwhile, every state has equal
representation in the United States Senate, with each
state electing two Senators.

The Great Compromise
The House of Representatives:
The United States Senate:
Every state is represented
proportionally, so Virginia has
11 Representatives, while a
larger state like California has
53.
Every state has two Senators. Originally
selected by state legislatures, today,
thanks to the 17th Amendment, they are
elected by the people. Virginia’s are Tim
Kaine and Mark Warner, both Democrats.
The Three-Fifths Compromise
The Three-Fifths
Compromise was an
agreement to count enslaved
men and women as a part of
the population of Southern
states as three-fifths of a
person each. It gave the
Southern states greater
representation in Congress,
and lessened the states’ tax
burden. The Constitution
protected slavery in other
ways as well – with a fugitive
slave law and a provision
which forbid the banning of
the international slave trade
until the year 1808.
By counting enslaved people –
who had no political rights in the
South – as three-fifths of a
person, Southern states gained
greater power in Congress and
lessened their tax burden.
Enumerated Powers and Powers
Reserved to the States
Where the powers given
to the national
government – the
Federal Government we
say today – in the
Constitution are explicit
– it is the “supreme law
of the land.” However,
certain powers are
reserved for the states.
In fact, the 10th
Amendment to the
Constitution makes this
abundantly clear.
The Tenth Amendment:
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.
The Bill of Rights was Influenced by George
Mason’s Virginia Declaration of Rights.
The Virginia Declaration of
Rights, written by George
Mason in 1776, inspired
many of the protections of
individual rights and liberties
which are in the Bill of Rights.
Both documents emphasize:
 Freedom of Speech
 Freedom of Religion
 Freedom of the Press
 The Right to a Speedy Trial
 The Right to Trial by Jury
The Bill of Rights was influenced by Thomas
Jefferson’s Statute of Religious Freedom.
Thomas Jefferson’s Statute
of Religious Freedom
influenced the First
Amendment to the
Constitution, which states,
“Congress shall make no
law respecting an
establishment of religion or
prohibit the free exercise
thereof…” Jefferson, a
deist, abhorred the idea of
being required to pay taxes
to religious institutions his
conscience did not support.
The Virginia Statute of Religious Freedom was written in the 1770s, but would
not become state law until the year 1786. Jefferson, who was not a practicing
Christian, admired the teachings of Christ, but preferred religious tolerance
above all. The first portion of the First Amendment reflects Virginia’s Statute.
FEDERALISTS Support the
Ratification of the US Constitution
After it was written, the US
Constitution had to be ratified by
nine of the original thirteen states.
People who wanted it to be ratified
were called Federalists. They
generally favored a strong central
government, and wanted the
government to influence economic
development and internal
improvements. George
Washington was a Federalist.
Three of the most famous
Federalists, Alexander Hamilton,
James Madison, and John Jay, wrote
The Federalist Papers to encourage
the ratification of the US
Constitution.
Federalists:
George Washington
John Adams
Alexander Hamilton
Ben Franklin
James Madison
John Jay
ANTIFEDERALISTS Opposition to
the Constitution
People who opposed the
ratification of the
Constitution were called
Antifederalists. They
generally feared that the
Constitution gave too much
power to the national
government, and most
favored a system more like
the Articles of Confederation,
which gave greater control to
the states. Many
Antifederalists insisted that
the Bill of Rights be added to
the Constitution before they
would support ratifying the
document.
Antifederalists in Virginia put up a
fierce resistance to the
Constitution. Fearing that the
document had no Bill of Rights,
George Mason refused to support
it. Patrick Henry refused even to
attend the Constitutional
Convention, stating “I smell a rat.”
James Madison was the principle
author of the Bill of Rights.
Although James Madison was a
staunch Federalist who believed
that the Constitution should be
approved with or without a Bill of
Rights, he was committed to
fulfilling many of the promises he
had made to Antifederalist
assembly men who were on the
fence about the Constitution. He
was the principle author of the
Bill of Rights, and introduced the
amendments before Congress in
1791. Ten of the twelve measure
he proposed passed immediately;
one, today’s 27th Amendment,
took over 200 years to be
ratified; however, it was!
Marbury V. Madison (1803)
In the case of Marbury V. Madison,
the Supreme Court ruled that
portions of the Judiciary Act of
1790 were in fact
unconstitutional. In doing so,
they established the principle of
judicial review. This meant that
henceforward, the Supreme
Court would determine if laws
passed by the Congress – and
the states for that matter – were
constitutional or not. Previously
this had been a point of
contention – some argued that
the states could determine
constitutionality of laws on their
own.
With his ruling in the case of Marbury V. Madison (1803), Chief Justice John
Marshall established the principle of judicial review and made the Supreme
Court relevant. The Court alone would determine constitutionality of laws.
McCullough V. Maryland (1819)
When the state of Maryland
attempted to put a tax on the
Bank of the United States, a
federal institution, the US
government sued. The US
government won the state and
Chief Justice John Marshall
ruled “the Constitution and the
laws made in pursuance thereof
are supreme…They control the
constitution and laws of the
respective states.” Federal
institutions were supreme to
the states; the National Bank,
therefore, could not be taxed
by Maryland.
States cannot tax national institutions
like the US National Bank, ruled
Chief Justice John Marshall in the
famous McCullough V. Maryland case
of 1819
Gibbons V. Ogden (1824)
The state of New York sold
Aaron Ogden the exclusive
right to run a ferry boat service
from New York to New Jersey.
The US Federal government
granted the same right to
Thomas Gibbons. Who’s license
was valid? The Supreme Court
determined that the US Federal
government’s powers were
supreme, once again. Because
the Constitution gave the
power to Congress to regulate
interstate trade, they were able
to grant licenses in this case.
Thomas Gibbons won, and
Aaron Ogden was out of luck!
In Gibbons V. Ogden (1824) the
federal government’s power
to regulate trade – and to
grant licenses for interstate
commerce – was affirmed as
superior to the states. US
Government 1, New York, 0.