1 / 20

The U.S. Constitution

The U.S. Constitution. Review the following presentation to help clarify your understanding of the Constitution. The Critical Period. 1781 – 1789 The Articles of Confederation had established a loose relationship between the states There was no strong central authority to settle disputes

vin
Download Presentation

The U.S. Constitution

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. The U.S. Constitution Review the following presentation to help clarify your understanding of the Constitution

  2. The Critical Period • 1781 – 1789 • The Articles of Confederation had established a loose relationship between the states • There was no strong central authority to settle disputes • States were reluctant to surrender power to a strong national government

  3. The Articles of Confederation • Adopted in 1781 • Which branch is responsible for enforcing laws and judging law breakers? • How would trade between states be conducted? • What if a state decided to act independently of the others?

  4. 1786 The Massachusetts legislature voted the heaviest direct tax in its’ history They insisted in payment by gold or silver which were very scarce Daniel Shay led a rebellion against these taxes. The National government was unable to help Massachusetts. The Nationalist’s used Shay’s rebellion as an example of civil unrest They argued that a strong national government was needed to settle such disputes Shay’s Rebellion

  5. The Second Continental Congress • Convened in May of 1787 to correct the problems of the Articles of Confederation • Shay’s rebellion demonstrated the need for major change • A debate ensued • Liberty or Order, How could we keep both?

  6. Federalists called for a strong Central Government They claimed that liberty unchecked meant chaos Organization and the Common good were paramount They included lawyers and businessmen Anti-Federalists feared a strong Central Government They claimed that a strong Central Government would take away their liberties Individual rights were paramount, and should be protected from a powerful government They included farmers, laborers, and some politicians Who was Right?

  7. The Three Main Compromises • The Great Compromise • The 3/5 Compromise • The Slavery Compromise

  8. The Great Compromise • Answered the question of Representation • Set up a Bicameral Legislature • In The House of Representatives send representatives proportionate to their population • In The Senate each state sends two representatives • As you can see, the House favors the states with the larger population, the Senate favors those with a smaller population

  9. The 3/5 Compromise • Southerners wanted to count slaves towards representation in Congress • Northerners realized that this would allow the south to dominate Congress • Northerners argued that slaves were not free and therefore could not be counted • A compromise was reached: every 5 slaves would be counted as the equivalent of three white men for the purpose of representation

  10. The Slavery Compromise • The South could control Congress simply by importing more slaves • A limit on the importation of Slaves was agreed upon • Slaves could be imported until 1808 • Each imported slave would have a $10.00 tax levied upon the transaction

  11. The Father of the Constitution • James Madison came to be known as the Father of The Constitution • A wealthy Virginian, he was among 55 delegates present at Convention • Well educated, articulate, and 36 - he was the most active member of the Convention

  12. The Basic Principles of the Constitution

  13. Separation of Powers • Powers are divided between 3 branches of government • A Legislative Branch makes laws • An Executive Branch enacts the laws • A Judicial Branch interprets the laws

  14. Checks and Balances • No one branch is allowed to become too powerful • Each Branch can check the power of another branch • This helps to prevent and unequal distribution of power • Study the next slide to see how the branches interact

  15. So What is Federalism?

  16. The Electoral college Each state receives a number of Electoral votes equal to its’ total number of representatives.

  17. Proposing Amendments 2/3 of each house of Congress Convention called by 2/3 of the state legislatures Ratifying Amendments ¾ of the state legislatures ¾ of special conventions held in each state Amending the ConstitutionArticle V

  18. What do we know? • Exactly what is Federalism? • Why was the Great Compromise necessary? • What are the specific duties of the 3 branches? • What is the fewest number of electors any state can have? • Why do you think there are so few amendments? • How many amendments are there?

More Related