APS Day 7 Agenda
Goal – to understand that the Constitution was created by a series of
compromises. The Constitution embodies 5 key principles of government.
Warm-up – Define federalist and anti-federalist. Describe their basic
arguments.
1.
Review compromises
2.
On Connecting American Political Ideals handout
1.
define all 5 principles for the final exam essay
2.
Use text and Constitution to identify the ways in which the
Constitution includes and reflects these principles. Constitution found
on pp758-771.
3.
4.
For each principle, in your notebook, explain the purpose for each.
Why is each principle important?
In research groups, create a colorful comic poster of each of the 5
purposes. The poster must visually represent the key points of
each of the 5 principles.
Plan
Virginia Plan
New Jersey Plan
Kind of State
benefited
Provisions
“Large States”
Basically the framework for the
Those with the most US Constitution: 3 branch
people
government with a 2 chamber
Congress, 1 President and courts.
Powers to tax and regulate trade.
Significantly more powerful than
under AofC. All representation is
proportional (all votes to make
laws is based on the size of a
state’s population)
“Small states” Those 1 Chamber Congress, with a plural
with fewer people
Executive chosen by Congress and
removable by States’ governors.
Fairly weak government with
limited tax and trade regulation
authority. Representation for
states in Congress would be equal
Compromise
States benefited
provisions
Both large and small States would be equally represented in the
Connecticut “Great”
Senate and proportionally represented in
Compromise
the House.
3/5 Compromise
Commerce and
Slave Trade
Compromise
Slave states and
non-slave states
Slave importing
states and
manufacturing
states
Representation in the House was
determined by population. To this number
was added 3/5 of the number of slaves
(gaining slave states more representatives in
the House) But the slaves would counted
also as 3/5 for tax payments to the federal
government
Slave trade could not be outlawed for 20
years, but the newly imported slaves could
be taxed up to $10 each. Also, Congress
could tax other imports to protect US
manufacturers (mainly in the North) but
could not tax exports (mainly Southern farm
good) and could otherwise regulate trade
between states and between the US and
foreign countries
Ratifying the Constitution
Ratification:
1. a. Federalists were those like Hamilton,. Madison and Jay who
argued for the Constitution.
b. Anti-federalists were opposed to the Constitution, like John
Yates and Patrick Henry who argued against its ratification
2. Issues for ratification:
a. Central government too powerful
b. no Bill of Rights.
c. no mention of god
d. no power of the states to print money
e. the ratification process itself
3. Ratification really depended on Virginia and New York, which is
why the Federalist Papers were written – to convince New Yorkers
and Virginians to vote to ratify the Constitution.
4. First Capital was New York but moved to Philadelphia in 1790
5. George Washington and John Adams
Unitary – like Great Britain
Like the government under King and
Parliament of England – all power
located in…
London – the
Capital city.
Confederal – like A of C
Very weak central government –
weakness causes lots of problems
Federalism
Final Essay definitions
• Federalism – a system of government
where power is shared by the national
and sub-national (states in the US)
governments, but where the national
government is supreme and the states
have a broader area over which they
have authority
Checks and balances
&
Final Essay definitions
• Checks and balances – working together
with a separation of powers, each
distinct branch of government has the
power and authority to prevent the two
other branches from misusing or gaining
to much power.
Separation of Powers
Enforces
and carries
out laws
adjudicates
Makes laws
Final Essay definitions
• Separation of powers – structure of
government where the powers to make
laws, adjudicate laws and enforce/ carry
out laws are exercised by three distinctly
different branches of government
Limited Government
Final Essay definitions
• Limited government – the government is
prohibited from taking certain actions
and must follow the rule of law.
Popular Sovereignty
Power
Power
The People
Final Essay definitions
• Popular Sovereignty – the people have
the ultimate political power and are the
source of the political power that the
state uses to govern
How did the Constitution address the 3 actions all
governments must take in order to govern?
– Make laws – the act of legislating – done by the
legislative branch of government. The
Constitution created the bicameral Congress to
legislate
– Enforce and execute laws – the process of making
sure that laws are followed and that the actions
the government needs to take are taken – the
Executive branch headed by the President of the
United State
– Adjudicate – interpret and apply laws to specific
cases – the Judicial branch of government headed
by the Supreme Court of the US and its Chief
Justice.