The United Statesconstitution

The United StatesConstitution

I. Constitutional Convention, 1787

A. The Articles of Confederation were intentionally ______in order to protect state & individual ______...
But, the inability of the national gov’t to ______& unify the states led to problems like ______Rebellion

B. In May 1787, 55 delegates held a ______in Philadelphia to discuss ways to ______the national government…but instead of ______the Articles of Confederation, they replaced it with the ______

C. The Constitution was a ______from the AOC because it gave more ______to the national gov’t than to the state gov’ts

1. The ______ establishes the Constitution (not the states) as the "the ______of the land"

2. The ______government under the Constitution would have ______features & powers that the Articles of Confederation did not have

a. Rather than a single unicameral Congress, the new national government would be divided among ______equal branches of government

i. Like the AOC, the gov’t had a ______(legislative branch) to make laws…Unlike the AOC, Congress had the power to ______& coin money

ii. Unlike the AOC, the new gov’t had a ______(executive branch) to lead the nation and ______laws passed by Congress

iii. Unlike the AOC, the new gov’t had a ______system (judicial branch) to ______laws and prosecute federal crimes

3. Delegates at the Constitutional Convention agreed on some major philosophical ideas for the new national gov’t

a.Popular Sovereignty: the people have power by ______for leaders

b. Limited gov’t: even though the national government was stronger, citizens’ ______was still protected

c. Federalism: the national gov’t ______with state gov’ts

d. Separation of powers: ______with defined powers

e. Checks & balances: each branch can ______of the others

II. Compromises at the Constitutional Convention:

A. The delegates at the convention had to negotiate a series of ______in order to agree on a framework for gov’t

B. Many of these compromises dealt with how ______would be chosen from the ______to serve in Congress

1. Representation in Congress

a. The ______states supported the Virginia Plan which proposed adding a president to lead the nation and a bicameral congress in which larger states have ______

b. The ______states supported the a New Jersey Plan which called for a unicameral congress in which states are ______just like the AOC

c. The ______resolved the differences between the large & small states by creating a ______

i. In the Senate each state has ______who serve 6-year terms

ii. In the House of Representatives, the number of reps is determined by each state’s ______

2. Counting Slaves

a. Northern & Southern states could not agree whether or not to count slaves towards ______size

b. If______are counted, ______states would have more votes and power in the House of Representatives

c. The______Compromise allowed states to count ______slaves toward taxation and population size

3. Compromising with Slavery

a. Many Northerners wanted to use the Constitutional Convention to ______, but ______threatened to ______the USA anytime slavery was discussed

b. As a compromise for the South, the ______could continue for ______more years & ______slaves would be returned to slave masters

C. ______negotiated and wrote much of the framework of the new government and is referred to as the “______of the Constitution”

Ratification of the Constitution

I. Ratification of the Constitution

A. From May to September 1787, the delegates at the Constitutional Convention worked out a framework for a new federal government

B. But, this plan for government had to be ______by ______states if it was to replace the Articles of Confederation

C. Many Americans were concerned about the possibility of ______because the Constitution gave more power to the national government over the ______

1. Anti-Federalists

a. Those who ______the Constitution, ______a stronger national gov’t , and wanted states to remain power were called ______

b. The Anti-Federalists were led by Patrick Henry and Samuel Adams

2. The Federalists

a. Those who supported the new Constitution and a stronger national gov’t were called the ______

b. Federalist leaders ______, ______, and John Jay wrote a series of essays called the ______to counter the arguments of the Anti-Federalists

D. Ratification

1. Some states ratified the Constitution quickly, but states with large majorities of Anti-Federalists ______without a ______to protect their liberty

2. New Hampshire was the 9th state to ratify the Constitution which went into effect in ______, but the Federalists wanted all 13 states to ratify the new gov’t

3. In 1789, the Bill of Rights was introduced and the last two states ratified the Constitution by 1790

4. The Bill of Rights was approved in ______

E. Today, the Constitution is the ______existing ______gov’t in the world and is a model for other nations

The Bill of Rights