Ch. 2- The Constitution
What is Government?
 Government- institution by
which a society makes &
enforces its public policy
 Public Policy- actions the
government makes
Purposes of the U.S. Government
 Set Forth in the Preamble of the U.S. Constitution:
 Form
a more perfect union
 Establish justice
 Insure domestic tranquility
 Provide for the common defense
 Promote the general welfare
 Secure the blessings of liberty
Which Purpose is Most Important in Your Life?
Form a More
perfect Union
Establish
Justice
Insure
Domestic
Tranquility
Provide for
the Common
Defense
Promote the
General
Welfare
Secure the
Blessings of
Liberty
Documents Building the American Government
 Magna Carta-
first attempt to limit the power of
the British Monarch, establishing the
power of the monarchy was not
absolute
 Petition of Rightextended the rights from the
Magna Carta to commoners
 English Bill of Rights- prevented monarchs from
abusing their powers
Foundations of American Rights
Magna Carta
English Bill of Rights
Colonial Experiences
 Colonial Charters
 each charter operated with executive, legislative, and judicial
roles
 The authority of the governors, legislatures, and judges
depended on the type of colony
Royal- subject to the direct control of the king (8/13)
 Proprietary- organized by a proprietor appointed by the king
(3/13)
 Charter- based on the Mayflower Compact charter in 1662,
governors were elected, with the King’s approval (2/13)

QUIZ…Name the 13 Original Colonies!
13 Colonies Song
First Attempts @ Government
 New England Confederation- 1643
 Plan for intercolonial cooperation by William Penn
 The Albany Plan
 First Continental Congress
 Second Continental Congress
Declaration of Independence
Too Late to Apologize: A Declaration
 Written mainly by Thomas
Jefferson
 Principles: based on philosophy
of John Locke
 Divided into three parts

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A theory of government based on
social contract
A list of grievances against the king
Statement of colonial unity and
separation from Britain
 Ideas that all men are created
equal and the government is not
all powerful
To Form a More Perfect Union
 Between 1774-1789, 13 individual colonies became a
nation- The United States of America
 Independence: how could 13 independent selfgoverned states unite?

First attempt= Articles of Confederation
Homework: read pages 17-27, and explain the weaknesses of
the Articles of Confederation, and how the creation of the
Constitution corrected these weaknesses.
Articles of Confederation
 Written by the Second Continental Congress
 Became the first national Constitution for the United

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


States
Created a “league of friendship” among the states
Created a weak unicameral legislature
Did not want to replicate the too-powerful government
of Britain
Congress had limited powers: creating an army and
navy, borrowing money, declaring war, creating post
offices
Signing treaties with foreign governments
Weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation
 No power to tax
 No power to draft soldiers for military service,
 No power to regulate commerce
 No central government to control the states
 Each state was equal, with one vote in the
legislature, regardless of size & population
 9 of 13 states were required for legislation to pass
 Amending the A.O.C. required a unanimous vote
Weaknesses of the A.O.C.
Shays' Rebellion
Weakness of the A.O.C.
Articles created a “league of friendship”
between the states
Congress could not tax, it could only request
contributions from the states
Congress could not regulate interstate trade or
foreign commerce
No separate executive to enforce acts of
Congress
No national judiciary to handle state disputes
Each state had one vote, regardless of size or
population
States and the national government had the
authority to coin money
Unanimous consent required to amend the
Articles of Confederation
Nine of thirteen states required to pass
legislation
How the Constitution “fixed” it
Constitutional Convention
 Philly, 1787
 Purpose: revise the Articles of
Confederation
 Decided to write a new
Constitution instead of revising
the AOC
 Decided the new government
would be a republic, a federal
system, and would be composed
of three branches
 Several plans were proposed and
presented
The Constitutional Convention
The Framers
 55 men from all 13 states except __________
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
James Madison- greatest influence on creation of national gov.
Absent: Thomas Jefferson (in France), John Adams (in Great
Britain), Patrick Henry “smelt a rat” (against strong national
government)

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An entirely new constitution was written
“Lockean” influence
Results: “a delicate problem”; need for a strong government
to preserve order but not threaten liberty

Major Themes at the Constitutional Convention
The Virginia Plan
*Created by Madison
 Strong national government organized into three branches
(legislative, executive, and judicial)
 Bicameral legislature (House and Senate)
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
Lower house elected by the people
Upper house chosen by lower house from nominees submitted by state
legislatures
 Representation is each house based on population &/or
monetary contributions to the national government
 Members of the national judiciary were chosen by legislature
 Single executive chosen by legislative branch, limited to one term
one term only, could veto legislative acts, removal by Congress
*Who’s happy, large states or small states? Why?
The New Jersey Plan
 Generated from a fear that legislative
representation would be based on population,
allowing the more populated states to always outvote the less populated states
 Unicameral legislative

Representatives chosen by state legislatures

Each state receives one vote
 Representation in the house would be equal among
the states
 Plural executive chosen by legislative branch, no
veto powers, removal by states
 Judges appointed for life by the executive
*Who’s happy, large states or small states? Why?
The Debate Is On!!
The Great Compromise
(AKA Connecticut Compromise)
1.
House of Representatives based on population
and directly elected by people
2.
Senate composed of two members per state and
elected by state legislatures (now?!?!)
3.
Reconciled interests of large and small states
 large dominates the House of Representatives, small the Senate
*Both large and small states satisfied! 
Slavery & the Constitution
 The Issue:
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Southern States: wanted slaves counted as
population in representation, but not
taxation
Northern States: opposite
 Three-Fifths Compromise

Each state would count three-fifths of its
slave population for purposes of
determining both representation and
taxation
 Commerce & Slave Trade Compromise

Congress was prohibited from banning the
slave trade for a period of 20 years
Why wasn’t
slavery
abolished in the
Constitution?
Ratification of the Constitution
 Federalists- for the ratification of the Constitution
 The Federalist Papers- NY
 In favor of a strong, national government
 Led by Madison & Hamilton
 Checks & Balances would protect from abuse
 Anti-Federalists- against the ratification of the
Constitution
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Wanted strong state governments
Feared a strong, national government
Wanted a Bill of Rights
Signing of the Constitution