After the War
 The 13 colonies are now free of British rule and are a
new country called The United States of America
 The Americans control all of the land from the
Atlantic to the Mississippi and from the Gulf of
Mexico and to the Great Lakes
 British still control Canada and Spanish are west of
Mississippi
Defining a Country
Following the American Revolution, the newly
established United States of America faced the
challenge of defining itself as a new country.
 At first, the Americans are worried about a strong
central government for the nation, leading to a
weak, ineffective one under the Articles of
Confederation
 The US Constitution creates a stronger central
government to replace the failed Confederation
 This new Constitution protects many American rights
and liberties with the Bill of Rights
Section 1 – The
Confederation Era
 Vocabulary
 Confederation Congress – national legislative body
created by the Articles of Confederation
 Articles of Confederation – plan for national
government in the US ratified in 1781
 Northwest Territory – lands northwest of the
Appalachian Mountains
 Northwest Ordinance – law that described how the
NW Territory would be governed
 Background
 Republic – state, country or nation in which people
elect representatives to govern them
 Ratification – an act of official conformation
 Neutral – not siding with one country or another
Framing a Government
 The new Americans wanted to fix some of the
things they thought were wrong with Britain,
so their new government:
 Was a republic that allowed people to vote on
representatives (but not everyone could vote)
 Had strong state constitution that outlined people’s
rights and defined the states powers
 Had a weak national (or central) government
 This government was formed under the
Articles of Confederation
Homework
 Read hand out about Articles of Confederation and be
prepared for a short quiz about the information
Quiz
1. What was the first government created by the Americans
called?
2. What was the name of the document that said how this
government would work?
3. True or false: The first government appointed a king for the
US.
4. True or false: This government had strong state
governments and a weak national government
5. Name one power of this national government
6. Name two weaknesses of this government
Powers of Confederation
Congress
Allowed by Congress
Denied to Congress
 Conduct foreign affairs

Establish executive branch
(president)
 Declare war and make
peace

Enforce national laws

Enact or collect taxes

 Control Western lands and
Indian affairs
Regulate trade between states or
other countries

Establish Federal courts
 Run postal service

Amend Articles
 Issue or borrow money
Why might the national government been weak
because of the powers it was denied?
Strengths and Weaknesses with
the Articles of Confederation
 The Land Ordinance of 1785 establishes how new
territories and states are created
 No slavery, rivers are free, freedom or religion and trial by
jury
 Limited national government’s ability to deal with
foreign countries
 Spain and Britain refuse to allow American trade in the
Caribbean and around Great Lakes
 Inability to levy taxes keeps national government poor
 Can’t pay debts from war (soldiers)
 States have to raise their own taxes which makes people mad
Homework
 Yellow words for section 2 on page 242 in notes or on
note cards
 Read “The Northwest Territory” on page 240-241 and
answer the 3 questions on page 241 “Connect
Geography and History”
Section 2 – Creating a
Constitution
 Vocabulary




Checks and balances – system in which each branch of government checks
the power of the other branches
Executive branch – part of government that enforces laws and leads country
Legislative branch – part of government that makes laws
Judicial branch – part of government that interprets laws
 Government





Constitutional Convention – 1787 meeting that created the US Constitution
Virginia Plan – proposal for legislature based on population or wealth
New Jersey Plan – proposal for legislature in which each state got 1 vote
Great Compromise – agreement that establishes 2 house legislature with 1
house having equal representation and 1 with representation based on
population
Three-fifths Compromise – agreement that slaves would count as 3/5ths of a
person for representation and taxation
 People


Founders – people who helped create the US Constitution
James Madison – important advisor to the Constitutional Convention
Calling for a Convention
 What: a group meeting to discuss changes that the
national government needed
 Who: the Founding Fathers (Madison, Hamilton,
Washington and others)
 When: starting on May 25, 1787
 Where: Philadelphia PA
 Why: they recognized the Articles of Confederation were
not strong enough and the US might fail
 How: Each state sent representatives to the convention
including many famous men of the time
 John
Adams
Samuel
Adams
 Ben
Franklin
John
Hancock
• James
Madison
Challenges at the
Convention
 There were many things to discuss at the convention
and many delegates were still worried about creating a
national government that was too strong
 Two issues they had to agree on were:
 Representation and
 Slavery
Representation in
Government
Virginia Plan
New Jersey Plan
 Favored states with large
populations
 Favored states with small
populations
 Two houses with the
number of votes based on
the population of the state
 One house with one vote
per state regardless of
population
• Both plans created an executive and judicial branch and proposed
system of checks and balances to keep one branch form getting too
much power
• Eventually, The Great Compromise solves the conflict by creating
two houses in the legislature, one with equal votes and one with
representation based on population
Questions about Slavery
 What: deciding who “counted” in a states population
 Who: African-American slaves
 When: during the Constitutional Convention
 Where: debate between the Northern and Southern delegates
 How: Southern states wanted slaves counted so they had larger
populations while Northern states did not
 Why: The delegates agree on the Three-Fifths Compromise
which counted 3/5ths of a state’s slaves in the population for
representation and taxation. The Compromise also protected
slavery in the South
 Slave population in 1790
Powers of State and
National Government
Homework
 Yellow word vocabulary for chapter 8 section 3 on
page 248
 Section assessment questions for section 2 on page 247
#s 4, 5 & 6
 Quiz on the first 10 amendments (the Bill of Rights)
next week
 See handout – we will be talking about them next week
but start to work on memorizing them now
Section 3 – Ratification and the
Bill of Rights
 Vocabulary
 Federalism – system of government in which power is shared
between the national government and the states
 Federalists – people who supported the Constitution
 Anti-federalists – people who opposed the Constitution
 The Federalists Papers – essays published in newspapers
about the Constitution
 Amendment – an addition to a document
 Bill of Rights – the first ten amendments to the Constitution
 Majority rule – system in which of more than half the group
agrees, the decision binds the whole group
Arguments Over
Ratification
 After the Constitution was written, two different
groups emerged; those that were for the Constitution
and those against it.
 The most important difference was what role the
national government would play and how it related to
state government
 Those in favor of the Constitution and national (or
federal) government were called Federalists
 Those against it were called Anti-federalists
Concerns of the Federalists
and Anti-federalists
Federalists
Anti-federalists
 Federalism is a system of
government in which the
national and state
governments share power
 Thought the Constitution
took too much power from
the states
 Also, the 3 branches and
checks and balances would
keep things equal
 Supported by rural areas
and large population states
 Federalists James Madison,
Alexander Hamilton and
John Jay wrote essays called
The Federalists Papers to
support their cause
 Patrick Henry, Samuel
Adams and James Monroe
were important Antifederalists
Protecting People’s Rights
 The Anti-federalists wanted a list of rights that were
guaranteed to be protected and that the national
government could not take away
 They wanted a Bill of Rights
 Eventually, the Federalists agree to this demand and
the Bill of Rights is added at the end of the
Constitution making the first 10 amendments to it
The Bill of Rights
1.
Religious and political freedom
2.
Right to bear arms
3.
No Quartering troops
4.
No illegal search and seizure
5.
Rights of accused people
6.
Right to speedy, public trial
7.
Right to jury trial
8.
Limits fines and punishment
9.
Rights of people
10.
Powers of states and people
Ratification
 The Constitution still needed to be ratified and had to
be approved by 9 of the 13 states according to the
Articles of Confederation
 Nine states approve it between December 1787 and
June 1788
 However, Virginia, New York and North Carolina do
not and many are worried that is will fail without the
large states support
Ratification continued
 Both Virginia and New York eventually ratify it after
the states agree to adding a Bill of Rights
 North Carolina does not ratify it until AFTER George
Washington is sworn in as the first president
Improvements to the US
Government (pg. 253)
Confederation Weakness
Constitution Strength

National government could not
collect taxes
 Could collect taxes

Could not regulate trade
 Allowed to regulate trade

No national courts
 Established national court

No president
 Established president

One state, one vote (no
population
 Proportional representation

Laws approved by 3/4th of states
 Simple majority needed

Amendments must be
unanimous
 Only 2/3rds needed
Homework
 Section assessment questions on page 254 #s 3, 4, 6 & 7
 Review Day – 7-1 Thursday 17th
7-2 Friday 18th
 Test Day – Tuesday 22nd
Review
 Democracy – government of the people, everyone gets
to vote on laws
 Republic – a bunch of smaller groups together forming
one big government, elect representatives to vote on
laws