Constitutional Ratification:

Balancing Liberty and

Order

Standard

SSUSH5: Investigate

specific events and key

ideas that brought about the

adoption and

implementation of the U.S

Constitution.

George Washington One month after the

British army left New

York, George

Washington gave up

power.

Many had expected him

to lead the new nation.

Some thought he might

be king.

Instead, he retired to

Mount Vernon.

The Law of the Land Which document is currently

“The Law of the Land” in the

USA?

The Constitution.

However, before the Constitution

was created, we had another

governing document—

The Articles of Confederation.

The FEDERAL GOVERNMENT

under the Articles was WEAK—

Political power was in the hands

of the STATES—

And each state essentially

operated as an INDEPENDENT

NATION.

The government established by the Articles of Confederation is

BEST described as...

A.) powerful and centralized.

B.) autocratic and militaristic.

C.) weak and loosely associated.

D.) dominated by the executive branch.

Strengths of the Articles

• The Land Ordinance of

1785 and Northwest

Ordinance of 1787

opened up land for

settlement.

• These land laws added

new states to the

country, prohibited

slavery, provided free

public education and

individual freedoms to

people residing there.

Problems with the Articles

There was one branch of government—Congress…

And it had no power to tax.

There was no PRESIDENT…

No ARMY…

No national court system…

No national MONETARY system—

Each state printed its own money…

And making any changes required a UNANIMOUSvote—

13/13 states.

Question: Why did so many

Americans tolerate the weak

government established by the

Articles of Confederation?

Answer: For most Americans,

respect for freedom was so great,

and fear of tyranny so intense,

that a strong national government

was an unacceptable risk!

The Nationalists Were a group of

Americans who wanted a stronger national government.

Most were very wealthy.

Included: George Washington, Ben Franklin, James Madison and Alexander Hamilton.

They predicted that with no army, no courts, and no economic policy, the US would have no respect in the world.

What was the PRIMARY view of the nationalist movement?

A.) that the US and Britain should form an

alliance.

B.) that the Articles of Confederation were

perfect and should not be changed.

C.) that Thomas Jefferson should be made

president of the United States.

D.) that the Articles of Confederation were too

weak and needed to be changed.

The Annapolis Convention► Held by the

Nationalists in 1786 to discuss economic problems that the Articles could not solve.

► Twelve delegatesfrom five states were present.

► They only came to one agreement…

► To meet in Philadelphia the following year.

Shays’ Rebellion

At the end of the war…

Massachusetts was BROKE.

And needed to raise money—how do governments raise money?

It created a new tax—that could only be paid in GOLD or SILVER.

Many farmers in the state were SUBSISTENCE farmers—

They ate what they grew—

And could not afford to pay the new tax…

So the Massachusetts governments began seizing their property and putting those farmers in prison.

Daniel Shays Daniel Shays was a

Revolutionary War veteran—

And one of those farmers facing prison time—

And in 1786, he organized a group of other FURIOUS FARMERS—

And began attackingtax collectors…

And torchinggovernment buildings.

Helpless… The Rebels—

Who called themselves “The Regulators”—

Quickly attracted a large following…

And just as quickly took over most of Western Massachusetts.

The Federal Government—with NOARMY—was helpless…

And it wasn’t until a group of rich Bostonians raised money for a private army…

That the rebellion was crushed.

Effects of the Rebellion The Nationalists, now led by

James Madison, were HORRIFIED—

A group of angry farmers had nearly taken over one of the largest and most important states in the country…

And a majority of Americans appeared to agree with Madison—

SOMETHING MUST BE DONE TO STRENGTHEN THE AMERICAN GOVERNMENT.

Luckily, another convention was on the calendar—

And this one got much more attention & participation.

The PRIMARY effect of Shays' Rebellion was...

A.) to cause the British to consider attacking the

northern United States.

B.) to bring about a dramatic strengthening of

the US military.

C.) to lead to the election of George Washington

as president.

D.) to convince many Americans that the

Articles of Confederation were dangerously

weak.

The

Constitutional

Convention

Was held Philadelphia in May, 1787.

Attended by 55 delegates from all states but Rhode Island.

George Washington was elected president of the convention.

Their goal was to amend the Articles of Confederation.

Two competing plans were presented…

The Virginia Plan (The Large State Plan)

Called for an executive branch—a PRESIDENT…

And a judicial branch—a SUPREME COURT…

And a LEGISLATIVE BRANCH—a CONGRESS…

That would provide population-based representation to each state.

Virginia argued that it had more PEOPLE than, for example, Rhode Island—

So it should have more SEATS in Congress.

The New Jersey Plan (The Small State Plan)

The New Jersey Plan called

for an EXECUTIVE BRANCH—

And a JUDICIAL BRANCH—

And a LEGISLATIVE

BRANCH…

That would provide EQUAL

representation to every state.

NJ argued that even though it

had a smaller population—

It was JUST AS IMPORTANT

as Virginia—

And should have as many

seats as Virginia in Congress.

Which constitutional plan called for PROPORTIONAL representation,

and was seen to be sympathetic to the interests of LARGE STATES?

A.) New Jersey

B.) Virginia

What type of representation was suggested by the New Jersey Plan?

Why?

A.) proportional representation; as a large state, New Jersey felt it deserved more power than smaller states.

B.) equal representation; as a small state, New Jersey demanded a voice that was equal in power to that of the large states.

The Great Compromise Was the COMBINATION of

the NJ and VA plans.

It established an executiveand a judiciary…

And a legislature with TWO HOUSES—

One with EQUAL REPRESENTATION—

The SENATE—

Good for the small states…

And one with PROPORTIONAL REPRESENTATION—

The HOUSE OFREPRESENTATIVES…

Good for the large states.

According to the Great Compromise, which congressional house was established as a result

of the demands of the small states?

A.) the Senate.

B.) the House of Representatives.

According to the Great Compromise, what type of

representation was established by the creation of the House of

Representatives?

A.) equal.

B.) proportional.

The

Three-Fifths

Compromise

One difficult question remained…

When calculating population, should slaves be included?

Since there were nearly as many slaves in the South as there were white people, the Southern delegation said YES.

Northern delegates argued that slaves were PROPERTY, and did not need Congressional representation.

Finally, it was agreed that every five slaves would be counted as three people.

What was the purpose of the 3/5 compromise?

A.) to settle the issue of how to determine the

size of the population in the South.

B.) to make slave states more powerful than

free states.

C.) to make free states more powerful than

slave states.

D.) to divide representation between the Senate

and the House of Representatives.

Constitutional Federalism (Limited

Government)

The founders were greatly SUSPICIOUS of the government power…

So the Constitution establishes a FEDERALISTsystem—

Which means that power is shared between…

The Federal Government…

And the StateGovernments.

This system is also meant to avoid having too much power concentrated in one place.

Ratifying the Constitution

Nine of the thirteen states needed to ratify (approve) the Constitution.

Conventions were set up in each state, bypassing the state legislature.

This process was, technically, “treason”.

Opposing Views: The Federalists

The Federalists wanted a

strong national

government…

And SUPPORTED the

Constitution.

They were led by George

Washington, James

Madison (the Father of the

Constitution) and

Alexander Hamilton….

And they produced “The

Federalist Papers”, which

explained how the

government would work.

What was the goal of the Federalists?

A.) the continuation of the Articles of

Confederation.

B.) the formation of a military alliance with Great

Britain.

C.) the ratification of the Constitution.

D.) the elimination of the 3/5 compromise from

the Constitution.

Who was the "Father of the Constitution"?

A.) Thomas Jefferson.

B.) George Washington.

C.) Alexander Hamilton.

D.) James Madison.

The Anti-Federalists

Led by Patrick Henry and Thomas Jefferson.

They thought the Constitution was a betrayalof the American Revolution.

They feared the President would become King.

They also feared the loss of individual rights…

And they thought the government would come under control of one particular group (a faction).

The Bill of Rights In order to sooth the fears of the anti-

Federalists…

The Federalists offered several

amendments to the original text.

The first TEN amendments are called

the Bill of Rights.

They are designed to protect the rights

of individual citizens.

The US Bill of Rights is unusual

because it is not a list of rights that the

people have (which the founders

believed were NATURAL RIGHTS, from

GOD, and not something that

governments have the power to grant)…

Rather they are a list of things that the

government is NOT ALLOWED to do.

Ratification First approved by

Delaware, then Connecticut and New Jersey.

Followed by Georgia…and Pennsylvania…

Massachusetts, Maryland, South Carolina…

New Hampshire was the ninth and finalneeded vote.

Rhode Island became the last.

How the Federalists Won

Convinced many people the Articles had serious flaws.

Were united around a single idea.

Were well-organized and well-connected…

And RICH… And they had the

support of George Washington.