THE CONSTITUTION

U.S. History
Standards

■ Investigate specific events and key ideas that brought

about the adoption and implementation of the United
States Constitution.
 Key Concepts
■ The Articles of Confederation ■ Federalist
■ Land Ordinance of 1785 ■ James Madison
■ The Northwest Ordinance of 1787 ■ Alexander Hamilton
■ Daniel Shays’ Rebellion ■ The Federalist Papers
■ The Constitution ■ Anti-Federalist
■ The Great Compromise ■ Thomas Jefferson
■ Limited Government ■ The Bill of Rights
■ Separation of Powers ■ First Amendment
■ Checks and Balances ■ Ninth Amendment
■ Three-Fifths Compromise ■ Tenth Amendment
■ Ratification
The Articles of Confederation (SSUSH5a)

■ Following the adoption of the Declaration of Independence, the

newly independent states were cautious about giving too much
authority to a central (national or federal) government.
■ They preferred a confederation, in which each state would
maintain its sovereignty while being loosely unified as a nation.
■ For this reason, Congress drafted the Articles of Confederation.
The Articles of Confederation became the first national
government in America.
The Strengths in the Articles of
Confederation
■ Two of the strengths of this new national government were the Land
Ordinance of 1785 and the Northwest Ordinance in 1787.
■ The Land Ordinance of 1785 set forth how the government of the
United States would measure, divide and distribute the land it had
acquired from Great Britain north and west of the Ohio River at the
end of the American Revolution.
■ The Northwest Ordinance of 1785 divided the area into smaller
territories and provided guidelines under which new states could be
admitted to the union.
The Strengths in the Articles of
Confederation
■ 4 Benefits of the Northwest Ordinance
– Government encouraged westward migration (Manifest
Destiny)
– Emancipated (freed) the slaves in the new territory
– Made laws for admitting new states into the Union such as
Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin.
– Mandated the establishment of public schools in the
Northwest Territory
The Strengths in the
Articles of Confederation

■ One negative of the Northwest

Ordinance was that is led to growing
sectionalism between the north and
south due to the issue of slavery.
 List three or more
items that might
cause rough sailing
for the Articles of
Confederation?
 Primary Source Analysis

■ “The consequences of a . . . [an] inefficient government are too

obvious to be dwelt upon. Thirteen sovereignties pulling against
each other, and all tugging at the federal head, will soon bring ruin
upon the whole. . . . Let us have [government] by which our lives,
liberty, and property will be secured or let us know the worst at
once.”
– Source: From a letter by George Washington to a friend
The Weaknesses in the Articles of
Confederation
■ The Articles of Confederation showed that Americans’ feared a
powerful national (Federal or central) government.
■ As a result, the Articles created a government that had
– no executive branch
– lacked the power to tax
– could not regulate commerce
– no ability to establish a national currency
– gave power to the states governments (not the national
government)
The Weaknesses in the
Articles of Confederation

■ The Articles of Confederation resulted

in a weak national (Federal or central)
government and convinces Americans
that then needed a new government.
Daniel Shays Rebellion

■ Daniel Shays led more than a thousand farmers who, like

him, were burdened with personal debts caused by
economic problems stemming from the Revolutionary War
debts. Shays and his men tried to seize a federal arsenal in
Massachusetts.
■ Without the power to tax, America and the Articles of
Confederation could not repair the national economy.
■ As a result of Shays’s Rebellion, Americans began to support
the establishment of a stronger national (Federal or Central)
government.
Review Questions
1. What were the Articles of Confederation?
2. List two benefits of the Articles of Confederation.
3. List four benefits of the Northwest Ordinance.
4. List three negative of the Articles of Confederation.
5. How did Daniel Shays Rebellion impact the Articles of
Confederation?
Primary Source Analysis
■ The diversity of opinions turns on two points. If a
proportional (population) representation takes place, the
small states contend that their liberties will be in danger. If
an equality of votes is to be put in its place, large states say
that their money will be in danger. . . . When a broad table is
to be made and the edges of a plank do not fit, the artist
takes a little from both sides and makes a good joint. In like
manner, both sides must part with some of their demands, in
order that they both join in some accommodating position.
– Source: Ben Franklin on the Great Compromise
First Constitutional
Battle

Why did the states

battle over
representation in
the government?
The Great Compromise

■ One great issue facing the delegates to the Constitutional

Convention was how different sized states could have equal
representation in the new government.
■ States with large populations supported the Virginia Plan. This plan
created a legislative branch in which representatives were assigned
based on each state’s population (Today: California has 55
representative, Georgia has 16 representatives).
■ States with smaller populations supported a New Jersey Plan. This
plan created a legislative branch in which all states were equally
represented (2 representatives for each state).
The Great Compromise

■ Delegates to the Constitutional Convention settled the issue

of representation in Congress by approving the Great
Compromise.
■ The Great Compromise called for the creation of a
legislature with two chambers (Bi-cameral): a House of
Representatives, with representation based on population,
and a Senate, with equal representation for all states.
 Second
Constitutional Battle

Which states would

like to count slaves
as part of their
population?
Three-Fifths Compromise

■ Though slavery existed in all the states, southern states depended on slave
labor because their economies were based on producing cash crops.
■ When it became clear that states with large populations might have more
representatives in the new national government, states with large slave
populations demanded to be allowed to count their slaves as a part of their
population. Northern states resisted.
■ Both sides compromised by creating the Three-Fifth Compromise.
■ The Three-Fifth Compromise: allowed the states to count three-fifths of their
slaves when calculating their entire population.
 Limits on the
Power of the
Constitution and
Federal
Government
Federalism

■ Federalism: Power is divided between the national and state

governments.
 Primary Document Analysis

■ “The individual can be free only when the

power of one governmental branch is balanced
by the other two.”
– Source: Baron de Montesquieu, 1735
Limits on the
Power of the
Constitution
and Federal
Government
Checks and Balances

■ Checks and Balances: limits the national government by

balancing the power between the legislative, executive and
judicial branch by giving each branch certain powers of the
other branches.
– For example, the legislature can override a presidential
veto of a bill, and the Supreme Court can rule that a bill
signed by the president is unconstitutional.
Limits on the
Power of the
Constitution
and Federal
Government
Separation of Power

• Created by French political thinker Charles de Montesquieu.

• Separation of Powers limits the federal government’s power
by creating a legislative, executive, and judicial branch of
government.
Review Questions

6. What was the purpose of the Constitution?

7. How did the Great Compromise solve the issue of state
representation in the new federal government?
8. How did the Three-Fifths Compromise solve the issue of state
representation in the new federal government?
9. List two limits to the power of the federal government in the
Constitution.
10. Define: Separation of Powers
11. Define: Checks and Balances
The Constitution

■ In May of 1787, George Washington was

elected president of the Constitutional
Convention in Philadelphia, where he
and the Founding Fathers created the
United States Constitution.
■ The United States Constitution created a
new national (Federal or Central)
government.
Role of the Anti-Federalist

■ As soon the Constitution were published, the Federalist and the anti-Federalist
began to argue of the contents of the document
■ The Federalist wanted the Constitution and a strong national (federal or
central) government.
■ The anti-Federalists and Thomas Jefferson: believed the government
created by the Constitution would be too powerful and would eliminate the
power of the states.
■ The anti-Federalist also argued that the Constitution did not have a Bill of
Rights to describe the rights guaranteed to the states and to each citizen.
 Why was the
ratification of
the
Constitution so
significant?
Role of the Federalist
■ To counter these claims of the anti-Federalist. James Madison, Alexander
Hamilton, and the Federalist wrote The Federalist papers that supported
ratification of the Constitution and explained the intent behind its major
provisions.
■ James Madison also wrote the Bill of Rights to be added to the Constitution
after it was ratified.
■ Madison also believed federalism should be used as a tool to limit the power of
the federal government.
■ The Constitution was eventually ratified and became the basis for all law, rights,
and governmental power in the United States.
Review Questions

12. What were the political beliefs of the Anti-Federalist?

13. List two famous Anti-Federalist
14. What were the political beliefs of the Federalist?
15. List two famous Federalist.
16. Define: Ratification
17. What was the purpose of the Federalist Papers?
 Primary Source Analysis
■ “I do not like the omission of a bill of rights providing clearly and
without the aid of sophisms for freedom of religion, against
monopolies, the eternal and unremitting force of the habeas
corpus laws, and trials by jury....A bill of rights is what the people
are entitled to against every government on earth, general or
particular, and what no just government should refuse or rest on
inference....I hope therefore bill of rights will be formed to guard
the peoples against the federal government, as they are already
guarded against their state governments in most instances.”
– Source: Letter from Thomas Jefferson, Virginia landowner, to
James Madison:
The Bill of Rights

■ The Bill of Rights is the first 10 amendments to the Constitution

and they guarantee states’ rights and individuals’ rights.
■ 1st Amend: Guarantees freedom of religion, of speech, and of the
press, and the right to petition the government
Review Questions
18.What did the Anti-Federalist want added to the
Constitution, in exchange for ratifying the
Constitution?
19.What was the purpose of the Bill of Rights?