From the Articles of Confederation to the Constitution

• First American government following the American Revolution
• Weak Central Government; Majority of power to the states.
• “States keep their sovereignty, freedom, and independence and every power, jurisdiction, and right not expressly delegated to the U.S. in
Congress.”
• Why?

• Unicameral Congress: Each State—
One Vote
• Why?
• No Executive or Judicial Branch
• Why?
• Impact?

• Army Dependent on State Militias…Why? Impact?
• Fear of Standing Army; Quartering Act
• Can’t Respond in crisis like Shay’s Rebellion
• No power to tax…why? Impact?
• No Revenue…No Power
• Request $16 mill…get $2 mill. (none from GA/NC)
• No power to regulate commerce (trade)…why? Impact?
• Exper. Under British (Brit. E. India); Intolerable Acts; Navigation Acts
• States tax each others goods; ban some trade; no credit; multiple currencies
• Economy on verge of collapse
• 9/13 states needed to ratify; 13/13 to amend
• Inflexible

• Shays Rebellion
• Exposes inherent weaknesses of the
Articles of Confederation
• Final straw that led to the calling for the Constitutional Convention & a stronger central government

• Revise Articles of Confederation
• I.D. Impfections; State Bill of Rights; No Rel. Requirements; Strong Legislature
• Goal: Balance need for strong central govt., to preserve order, but not threaten liberty
• AMAZING document, adaptable & flexible while providing structure & organization
• What were the big issues at the conventions?

Virginia (S)
Massachusetts (N)
Pennsylvania (N)
North Carolina (S)
New York (N)
Maryland (S)
South Carolina (S)
Connecticut (N)
New Jersey (N)
New Hampshire (N)
Georgia (S)
Delaware (S)
State
340,241
319,728
249,073
237,655
747,610
475,199
433,611
395,005
184,139
141,899
82,548
59,096
State Population
21,193
103,036
107,094
2,648
292,627
0
3,707
100,783
11,423
157
29,264
8,887
Slave Population
6%
24%
30%
1%
28%
0%
.7%
20%
6%
.1%
26%
13%
% of Population (Slaves)

• Connecticut/Great Compromise: Virginia Plan + New Jersey
Plan
• VA Plan: Leg. Rep. based on state population (bicameral, 3 branches)
• NJ Plan: Leg. Rep. based on equality (unicameral, 3 branches)
• Great Compromise: Bicameral Congress (House & Senate)
• House of Representatives: Based on population
• Senate: Equal Representation
• Who Benefits More?
• 3/5 Compromise: Settles Issue of Slave Population
• What’s the issue?
• Commerce & Slave Trade
• Restricts action on slavery for 20 years
• Congress regulate trade; but can’t tax exports

• Popular Sovereignty
• Separation of Powers
• Checks & Balances
• Judicial Review
• Federalism

• Popular Sovereignty:
• “We the People”
• People source of govt. power
• Guarantees a Republic
• Illustrated thru power to vote
• Limits: Why?
• Electoral College
• Selection of Senators
• Senators= 6 yr. terms

• Separation of Powers
• Division of power into 3 branches (Leg., Exec., Jud.)
• Goal: Limit government…How?
• Can be inefficient/fragment policymaking
• CONSULT ARTICLE I, SECTION 8 OF CONSTITUTION. HOW DOES IT DIFFER
FROM ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION?
Article I, Section 8—Powers of Congress
• Power to Tax
• Power to Regulate Trade
• Power to Coin Money
• Power to Declare War
• Power to Create Army and Navy
• Etc….

• Checks & Balances
• Each branch have powers that limit the powers of the other two
• No one branch becomes to powerful; limit government
• Examples?
• President can veto laws
• Judicial Review
• Congress can Impeach Officials
• Senate must approve treaties and appointments

• Judicial Review
• Power of courts to declare a law or executive action unconstitutional
• Established by the court case: Marbury v. Madison
Brown v. Board of Education

• Federalism:
• A system of government in which power is divided over an area between a national (federal) government and various state (regional) governments.
• 10 th Amendment: “Those powers not delegated to the federal government, nor prohibited to the states, are reserved for the states.”
• How does this limit the power of the federal government?

• Supremacy Clause:
• Constitution: Supreme Law of the Land
• Establishes that federal law are superior (take precedent) over state law.
• How is this different than Articles of Confederation?
• Necessary & Proper Clause:
• Congress shall have power to make all laws necessary and proper to carry out all other powers vested by Constitution in the government.
• How is this different than Articles of Confederation?
• Commerce Clause
• Congress’ power to regulate “interstate commerce” (trade b/n states)
• How is this different than Articles of Confederation?
• Power to Tax
• Full Faith & Credit Clause:
• Each State has to honor the civil rulings and laws from other states; doesn’t apply to criminal matters.

• Your group has 10 minutes to complete a double bubble comparing the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution.
• Each member of the group must complete their own double bubble.
• The members of the group that have the best, most complete double bubble, will each receive 1 entry into our “Test Day” Raffle.
• From this point, until the Unit 1 Exam, students will receive entry tickets for participation, quality of work, group collaboration, etc.
• On the day of the exam, I’ll draw two names in a raffle and those students will receive
5 bonus points on the exam.

•
•
• Federalists
• Those who favored ratifying the new constitution
• Anti-Federalists
• Against ratification; want strong state govt.; fear big govt…loss of civil liberties

• Group Collaboration:
• Step 1: 5 minutes
• Groups A, C, E, and G—complete the portion of the Double Bubble dealing with the
Federalists position
• Groups B, D, F, and H—complete the portion of the Double Bubble dealing with the Anti-
Federalists position
• Step 2: 10 minutes
• Students sitting at “even-numbered desks” rotate over to the next group and fill in the rest of the Double Bubble (there should now be 2 people with information on the
Federalists and 2 people with information on the Anti-Federalists in each group).
• Step 3:
• Report out as a class

• The Federalist Papers: James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, John Jay
• Articles in support of the Constitution
• Federalist #10
• A Republic is best form of govt: efficient, gives people a voice while allowing for a filter
• Large Republics…
• Check unworthy candidates…larger number of voters
• Smaller the # in a majority…more likely to have oppression
• Federalism is best (over unitary & confederate)
• Factions may kindle flames in states…but not at nat’l. level
• States: A laboratory for different policies
• Federalist 51
• Separation of Power, Checks and Balances, and Federalism will prevent government from becoming abusive

•
•
• No Bill of Rights
• Federal Government/Congress too strong
• Elastic Clause/Necessary and Proper Clause
• Supremacy Clause
• Elitist Rule
• Senate Selection, Electoral College
• Small Republics are best…

• 9/13 states ratified the Constitution…but then came the battle for the final 4 states… NY, VA, NC, RI
• Federalist Papers: Series of essays trying to convince delegates of NY and VA to ratify the Constitution
• What convinced these states to ratify the Constitution?
• Inclusion of a Bill of Rights
• 1 st 10 Amendments to the Constitution
• Protect individual rights from government abuse
• What is included in this list of Civil Liberties?

• Step 1:
• Each group should take their assigned amendment and put it into their own words.
• Also, give a specific example of what that amendment protects against
• 1 st Amendment: prevents newspapers from being censored by the government
• Step 2:
• Go around the classroom. Each group reports out to the class
• Step 3:
• Bill of Rights Scenarios: Race to be first
• Step 4:
• Daily Show Clip
• http://thedailyshow.cc.com/videos/iiculo/weak-constitution