Chapter 2
The United States declares it’s
Independence!!
Declaration of Independence
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In 1776 Congress named 5 people to prepare a
proclamation of independence.
Ben Franklin, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson,
Robert Livingston, and Roger Sherman.
However, Thomas Jefferson did almost all of the
writing.
After the Declaration of Independence was
created the colonies began drafting their own
constitutions.
Constitutions
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Constitutions shared these four concepts
1) popular sovereignty
2) Limited government
3) Civil Rights
4) Separation of powers; checks and
balances
Chapter 2
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The Articles of Confederation became the first
National Constitution and was created by those
involved in the 2nd Continental Congress.
However, the Articles of Confederation proved to
be very weak which eventually called for the
Founding Fathers to get rid of it and replace it with
the U.S. Constitution
In 1783 the Treaty of Paris was signed officially
ending the Revolutionary War
Articles of Confederation
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were so weak, chaos broke out in the colonies.
Meetings began to try and restore order and form
some sort of national government
Delegates from 12 of the 13 colonies met in
Philadelphia to try and solve these problems.
This Convention was called the Constitutional
Convention
The Framers began to debate ….
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Virginia Plan- government would have 3
branches . The legislature would be
bicameral and the lower house( House of
Representatives) would be voted in by the
people
New Jersey Plan- called for a unicameral
legislature in which each colony would be
represented equally no matter the size
Summary of two plans….
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New Jersey Plan = each state represented
equally
Virginia Plan= each state would have
representation based on population
So what have we learned that the Framers
had to do????
COMPROMISE
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Connecticut Compromise also known as
the Great Compromise said there would be
two houses. One house of the legislature
would be with equal Representation,
whereas the other house would be based
on a state’s population
COMPROMISE
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After the Connecticut Compromise the
delegates also debated about whether or
not slaves should count in the state’s
population
3/5’s Compromise said that all free people
would count and that 3 out of every 5
slaves would count toward a state’s
population.
Write this down!!!!!
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Those who supported the ratification of the
Constitution were called Federalists and
those who opposed it were called AntiFederalists.
Ratification
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Means to give formal approval.
In May of 1790 Rhode Island was the last
state to ratify the Constitution
Quiz…..
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Q1) This term refers to the belief that
government is not all powerful and people
have certain rights that cannot be taken
away.
Q2) This document signed in 1215 by King
John gave the upper class rights such as
trial by jury, due process of law, and rights
of life, liberty or property
Quiz continued
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Q3) This is a written grant of authority from the
king. Hint: all of the colonies were established on
this basis.
Q4) Where (in what city) did the First and Second
Continental Congress meet?
Q5) Name one event that occurred that stirred up
unrest among the colonists due to their treatment
of the British. (Answers will vary)