Explain how the states’ new constitutionsreflected republican ideals.
• Describe the structure and powers of thenational government under the Articles.
• Summarize the Congress’s plan for thesettlement and governance of western lands.
• List the main weaknesses of the Articles.
Terms and People
republic
unicameral legislature
bicameral legislature
Articles of Confederation
John Dickinson
federal
Northwest Territory
Land Ordinance of1785
Northwest Ordinanceof 1787
Shays’ Rebellion
Understand the reasons leaders called for theConstitutional Convention.
• Summarize the rival plans of governmentproposed at the convention.
• Describe the compromises made in order toreach agreement on the Constitution.
Terms and People
Alexander Hamilton
James Madison
Virginia Plan
New Jersey Plan
Great Compromise
federalism
Three-FifthsCompromise
Summarize the arguments for and againstratification of the Constitution.
• Describe how the Constitution was ratified.
• Explain the principles of the Constitution.
Terms and People
ratification
Federalist
Antifederalist
The Federalist
John Jay
Bill of Rights – 1st 10 amendments
popular sovereignty –the people are the only source of govt.’s power
limited government- the govt. only has the specific powers the constitution provides – rule of law – nobody is above the law, even elected officials
separation of powers- the govts. Power is divided into 3 branches; legislative, judicial, executive; roles of each? Make the laws, carries out, interprets.
checks and balances- each branch of the govt has the ability to limit the actions of the others
electoral college- indirect representation
federalism – The federal govt and the state govt share power
Terms and People
1. Define unicameral legislature and bicameral
legislature. Which type of legislature did most states have?
2. What was the Land Ordinance of 1785? What groups of
Americans benefited from this land ordinance, and why?
3. What was the Great Compromise? What were its specific
details?
4. Define federalism. How did the introduction of federalism
affect the rights of the state governments?
5. What is the Bill of Rights? Who insisted on the creation of
the Bill of Rights?
Terms and People
1. A unicameral legislature has one
house, and a bicameral legislature
has two. Most states had bicameral
legislatures.
2. The Land Ordinance of 1785 provided
a grid system for dividing
and selling the public lands in the
West. The price and size of lots
favored wealthy land speculators.
3. It was a plan to please both large
and small states by basing representation
in the House of Representatives
on population and making
representation in the Senate equal
for all states.
4. Federalism is a system that divides
government power between the
federal and state governments. It
limits states’ rights to powers not
assigned to the federal government.
5. The Bill of Rights consists of the first
ten amendments to the Constitution,
and it protects the basic rights of all
citizens. The Antifederalists insisted
on creating a bill of rights.
Focus Questions
The focus question for this chapter is What led to the creation
of the United States Constitution, and what are its key
principles? Build an answer to this big question by answering
the focus questions for Sections 1 through 3 and the Critical
Thinking questions that follow.
Section 1
6. What form of national government did the Patriots create
initially, and what events revealed that a new government
was necessary?
Section 2
7. What new system of national government did the delegates
agree upon at the Constitutional Convention of 1787?
Section 3
8. How did Americans ratify the Constitution, and what are its
basic principles?
6. The new national government
consisted of a Congress with very
limited powers, no President or
executive branch, and no federal
court system. Spanish and British
restriction of U.S. trade, British
forts inside U.S. territory, failed
attempts to amend the Articles, the
weakening of the U.S. economy, and
Shays’ Rebellion indicated that a
new government was necessary.
7. The delegates agreed to adopt a
system that divided power between
the federal government and state
governments; the federal government
would have three branches:
legislative, executive, and
judicial. The legislative branch
would be bicameral, with one
house’s representation based on a
state’s population and the other
house’s representation equal for all
states. A strong President would
head the executive branch, and
federal courts would make up the
judicial branch.
8. In each state, a specially elected
convention debated ratification and
determined whether the state should
approve the Constitution. The
approval of nine of the thirteen states was
needed and obtained. The key principles of
the Constitution are popular sovereignty,
limited government, separation of powers,
federalism, checks and balances, and
representative government.
Critical Thinking
9. Democratic and conservative Patriots
disagreed about who would vote, with
democratic Patriots supporting equal
voting rights for almost all free men and
conservative Patriots supporting property
requirements for voting. Both groups
excluded slaves and women from voting.
10. The British kept frontier forts inside
American territory. The weak and
impoverished Congress could not raise
an army to drive out the British.
11. It did not have the power to levy taxes.
12. The Virginia Plan; it created three
branches of government, which included a
strong President in the executive branch
and more power for the legislative branch.
It also allowed the federal government to
veto state laws.