NAME______
Chapter 7 A More Perfect Union(1777-1790) Section 3 A New Plan of Government
Roots of the Constitution
• After ______months the Constitution was written
• It was a unique American document, but had ______in many other civilizations
• They looked at ______so they could avoid mistakes made in the past
• The Framers of the Constitution were familiar with Parliamentary system of ______
• Many Framers were in the colonial ______and state assemblies
• They valued individual ______
• They respected many of the British traditions (cultural beliefs and practices)
English Influences
• Magna Carta- Placed ______on the monarchs
• Parliament controlled the ______for wars and the government
• The colonial assemblies worked the same way
• The assemblies had some control over the colonial ______
• The English Bill of ______- 1689
• During the Enlightenment philosophers John Locke and baron de Montesquieu had ideas that the Framers used
John Locke
• Locke believed people should have natural ______
• Including ______, liberty, and property
• Government is based on an ______between the people and the ruler
• Americans interpreted natural rights as the rights of Englishmen defined in the Magna Carta and English Bill of Rights
• Protected the peoples rights by ______the government’s power
Baron De Montesquieu
• Said the powers of government should be separated and ______against each other
• This would keep any one person or group from gaining too much ______
• Powers of government should be clearly defined and limited to prevent ______
• Following Montesquieu’s ideas the Framers specified and ______the powers of government
The Federal System
• The Constitution divided powers between national (federal) government and the ______
• Federalism- ______power between federal and state governments
• Under the Constitution, the federal government ______powers
• ______, regulating trade, controlling currency, raising an army, and declaring war
• Also can pass any ______that is “necessary and proper”
• Important powers were also left to the ______
The Supreme Law of the Land
• The Constitution and the laws that Congress passed were to be “ the ______law of the land”
• No state can make a ______against the Constitution
• Disputes between the federal government and the states would be settled by ______courts
• On the basis of the ______
Branches of Government- Legislative Branch
• Article ____ established Congress as the legislative branch
• Law ______branch
• House of ______and the ______
• Powers of Congress include: collecting ______, coining money, and regulating trade
• Can also declare war and “raise and support ______”
Branches of Government- Executive Branch
• Article _____ established the Executive Branch
• Headed by the ______to carry out the nations laws and policies
• Commander in chief of the ______forces
• Conducts relations with other ______
• President and Vice President are chosen by the ______College
• Each state’s voters select electors to cast their ______for the president and vice president
• Each state gets the same number of electors as it has ______and representatives in Congress
• President and Vice President serve a ______year term
Branches of Government- Judicial Branch
• Article _____ deals with the judicial branch (court system)
• The nations judicial power resides in “one Supreme ______”
• And any other lower courts the Congress might establish
• The Supreme Court and the federal courts hear cases involving the Constitution, laws passed by Congress, and ______between states
System of Checks and Balances
• The Framers built in a system of checks and ______
• Each branch has ways to check (______) the power of the others
• No branch can ______the government
• This system has kept a balance of power among the branches and has limited ______
National Citizens
• The Constitution created citizens who ______their officials
• Officials answer to the ______
• The new government pledged to protect the personal ______of the citizens
• The world watched to see if this experiment in ______would really work
Debate and Adoption
• _____ of the 13 states had to ratify the Constitution
• Supporters of the Constitution were called ______- Included George Washington and Benjamin Franklin
• Madison, Hamilton, and Jay wrote essays called the ______Papers
• People opposes were called ______- Also wrote essays called the Antifederalist Papers
• Antifederalists argued that the strong national government created by the Constitution would take away American ______
• Antifederaists favored ______government
Protecting Rights
• The biggest criticism about the Constitution was that it lacked a ______
• Many states refused to ______with out a Bill of Rights
• Federalists feared ______without a strong central government
• Antifederalists worried about ______that might result from a strong central government
Adopting the Constitution
• New Hampshire became the ______state to approve on June 21, 1788
• The new government could go into effect, but ______and ______had not ratified
• Virginia ratified after being assured a Bill of Rights would be added
• The Bill of Rights was added in ______
• The final three states (NY, NC, and RI) approved the Constitution by May ______
Essential Question
• What ideas and features are found in the United States Constitution?
Ideas- Enlightenment ideas about natural rights limiting government power, separation of power
Features- the Constitution shares power between a central government and state governments; establishes branches that make laws, carry out laws, and interprets laws; is the supreme law of the land, protects individual rights