BELLWORK



Read “A Revolutionary
Poem” and respond to the
following:
In whose favor was this
poem written – Patriot or
Tory? You must cite at least
FOUR examples from within
the poem as evidence!
THINKER: How should the
government be set up in the
newly independent United
States?
Important Things to Know….
Articles of Confederation: Document setting
up government for the U.S.; originally written
in the Second Continental Congress, but rewritten to form the U.S. Constitution.
 Republic: form of government in which the
people have control and the head is NOT a
monarch. (Representative Democracy)
 Civic Virtue: citizens were willing to set their
interests aside for a common good.
 Ratification: To confirm or approve

Life in colonies POST revolution
The rich were getting richer; the poor were
getting poorer (By 1770 – top 1% owned 44%
of land)
 Only 8% of the population could vote (PA)
 The top 10% of the white leaders in America
owned ½ the wealth and held as slaves 1/7 of
the countries people (Washington had 216
slaves)
 These were the leaders of state governments
 Most state constitutions ignored women,
slaves, and the poor

Wealth
distribution in
Colonial
America
City
Growth in
Colonial
America
The Constitution
 Before
the constitution, the 13 colonies
ruled separately from one another.
 State power > national government
 States dramatically raised taxes which
caused massive rebellions, but Congress
could not do anything about it.
 Convinced of the urgent need for reform,
12 states sent delegates to The
Constitutional Convention.
The Constitution
At the Constitutional Convention, delegates
produced The United States Constitution,
which has governed the U.S. for more than 200
years!
 Signed September 17, 1787
 George Washington was elected as the first
president.

“Our goal is to create a
new government instead of
fixing the existing one”
- James Madison
• Signers of the
Constitution included:
• George Washington
• Benjamin Franklin
• James Madison
• Alexander Hamilton
Government Structure under the Constitution
Federal System of Powers: power is shared among
state and national authorities (EX: education systems
are reserved for the states, while only the national
government can declare war.)
 Separation of Powers: 3 branches – legislative,
executive, and judicial.
 Checks and Balances: each branch has the power
to check each other.
 Set up terms and powers of Congress, the President,
and Federal Courts.


Split the legislative branch into two sections:
the Senate and the House of Representatives.
Political Parties
 During
the creation of the Constitution,
various political parties emerged.
 Federalists: supported the Constitution and a
a strong national government
 Anti-Federalists: opposed the Constitution,
and wanted individual rights and state
control
 Political Party: group of people who seek
to win elections and hold office in order to
control government policy and programs.
CLOSURE
 Turn
to your neighbor and explain the
following:
 The government before the ratification of
the U.S. Constitution
 How the new government was set up
under the U.S. Constitution.
 The difference between federalists and
anti-federalists.
Current Events
You will be broken up into groups of 4-5.
 To start, person #1 will talk about their event
and its importance.
 As a group, you will discuss #1’s article and
share any opinions, thoughts or ideas.
 After person #1 has shared, you will fill out
their section on the worksheet, and move onto
person #2
 After your entire group has shared, pick the
most interesting article from your group – that
will be the one we discuss as a class!

Anti-Federalists vs. Federalists
 These
two political parties had opposing
viewpoints, but gained popularity during
the ratification of the U.S. Constitution.
 The class will be divided in ½
 One group will read arguments for the
Anti-Federalists and fill out pg. 1
 The other group will read arguments for
the Federalists and fill out pg. 2
DEBATE
 After
researching your side, prepare
to defend or attack the following
statement:
 The people, by convention assembled
in each state, should adopt and ratify
this Constitution of the United States
of America.