The Young Nation: A Republic is Born

1. The Constitution Chapter 1, Section 4

2. The Young Nation • Big Ideas: • Americans made a choice to reject royal rule in favor of creating a republic. • In a republic all power resides with the people. • The colonies were very nervous about giving too much power to their new federal government.

3. The Young Nation • New State Constitutions • The constitutions of Virginia and Massachusetts divided power between 3 branches. • Other states followed this example

4. The Young Nation • Not all states had the same type of government. • Pennsylvania had the most democratic constitution. • They had no governor and a one-house legislature (unicameral) with representatives elected every year.

5. The Young Nation • Changes in Society • In an effort to break away from the traditions of English rule and increase individual freedom, states began to separate church and government. • It was common at the time for the government to collect taxes to support the church.

6. The Young Nation • Many states reduced the restrictions for voting. • Citizenship instead of land ownership became the general rule most states. • Blacks were still denied the vote, but many earned their freedom by serving during the war. James Armistead

7. The Young Nation • A Weak National Government • The Articles of Confederation served to loosely unify the colonies after the war. • Americans were nervous about giving the federal government too much power. • The government had no authority to regulate trade or impose taxes.

8. The Young Nation • Congress did have the power to pass legislation. • Their first major law was the Northwest Ordinance passed in 1787. • The ordinance carved new states out of the Western Territories. • It also granted residents the freedom of religion and freedom from slavery.

9. A New Constitution • Big Ideas: • The Constitution was based on compromises between the Federalists and Anti-Federalists.

10. The New Constitution • Debate & Compromise • Every state except RI sent delegates to fix the Articles of Confederation. • The delegates were the most distinguished figures of day and they chose George Washington as presiding officer. • Delegates quickly decided that the Articles of Confederation were beyond fixing.

11. The New Constitution • The problem of representation resulted in the first compromise. (The Great Compromise) • They divided Congress into two parts: The House of Representatives and The Senate. • The Three-Fifths compromise determined how the slave population would be counted.

12. The New Constitution • Framework of government: • The Constitution did not create a democracy, but a republic based on the principle of popular sovereignty: rule by the people. • To preserve the rights of the states, the Constitution include the idea of federalism. • Power is divided between the federal and state governments.

13. The New Constitution • Separation of Powers: • Delegates divided power among 3 branches: Executive – Legislative – Judicial. • A system of checks and balances prevents any one branch from being too powerful. • For example, a president can veto (reject) a law passed by congress.

14. The New Constitution • Amending the Constitution • Delegates recognized that the Constitution would need be revised over time, but they didn’t want it to be too easy. • They set up a two-step process for creating an amendment (change). • An amendment would need to be proposed by 2/3 of both houses of Congress or 2/3 of the states could call for a constitutional convention. • To be approved, legislatures in ¾ of the states or ¾ of state conventions would have to approve.

15. Ratification • Big Ideas: • The new Constitution mad many people nervous as it concentrated more power in the federal government. • The vote could go either way and no one was certain what would happen. • The promise of a Bill of Rights helped to reduce fears and resulted in ratification.

16. Ratification • Debating the Constitution • Supporters for the new Constitution called themselves Federalists. • Most of these people were people who owned a lot of land and merchants who favored a strong central government that would protect property rights and tax foreign goods.

17. Ratification • Opponents of the new Constitution called themselves Anti-Federalists. • All the Anti-Federalists were concerned that corruption would eventually lead to tyranny. • Most of these people actually favored a federalist government, but wanted to protect the power of individual states. • Many western farmers did not trust that the wealthy delegates had their interests in mind.

18. Ratification • Ratification or adoption of the Constitution required approval by 9 of the 13 states. • The new government plan dominated conversation across the states. • In many states, the vote was very tight and leaning towards defeat. • Federalists agreed to attach a Bill of Rights to the Constitution. This resulted in many delegates changing their “no” votes to “yes”.

19. Ratification • Virginia was the 9th state to vote for ratification. • Not wanting to be left out New York voted 30 to 27 for ratification. • People were still unsure of how or if the new government would work, but having George Washington as the first president helped alleviate those fears.