Constitution Deck Flashcards
What was their goal and what was their inspirations?
GOAL= To form a new government
Inspirations
1) Magna Carta
2) Bill of Rights
Magna Carta
A document signed by King John of England and 1215 that made the king subject to law
Bill of rights
1689- kept the monarchs from passing or changing laws without parliamentary consent
Virginia statue for religious freedom
Declared that no person could be forced to attend a particular church would be required to pay for a church with tax money
What is suffrage?
The right to vote
What are the articles of Confederation
1) Laid the base for the first national government
2) became the new national Constitution
3) Congress became a single branch of the national government but it had limited powers
4) The government did not have a president or national court system
What was the Enlightenment
1) John Locke-social contract
2) Baron de Montesquieu- separation of powers
What is a constitution
A set of basic principles and laws that states the powers and duties of the government
• State constitutions were written to keep individual leaders from getting too much power
What would the constitution do?
- each state had one vote in Congress
- Congress could settle conflicts issue coins borrow money and make treaties with other countries and with Native Americans
- Congress could also ask the states for money and soldiers
What is ratification?
An official approval from states
What should we do with the Western lands?
The land was split into townships
What is the land ordinance of 1785?
It’s set up a system for surveying and dividing Western lands
Northwest ordinance of 1787
- The ordinance establish the Northwest territory ( Illinois Indiana Michigan Ohio Minnesota and Wisconsin)
- The ordinance created a system for bringing new states into the union
- this law protecting civil liberties required public education and banned slavery in the territory
Relations with other countries
- The new nation needed an army
- British troops slow to withdraw
- Britain closed tradeports with the US
- Britain forced American merchants to pay high tariffs
Trade with Spain
- Spanish officials close the lower Mississippi river to US shipping
- this heart pharmacies river as transportation
- Congress tried to work out agreement but Plan failed
- State leaders believed the national government needed to be stronger
Impact of closed markets
- US economy was affected
- US merchants forced to pay British ships to export their goods
- British merchants could sell manufactured products in the US at much lower prices than locally made goods which hurt American businesses
- States did not band together to combat trade tariffs and Congress did not have the authority to correct the problem
Economic problems
1) States follow their own trade interest since Congress had no power to regulate interstate commerce
2(States also had large amounts of debt they begin printing large amounts of paper money which resulted in inflation
3)debtors versus creditors
4)lots of trade with Britain plus inflation equals depression
Shays rebellion
- Massachusetts did not print paper money so it taxed farmers land
- Farmer shut down quarts equals no one’s property could be taken
- an uprising of farmers to protest high taxes and heavy debt
- 14 sentenced to death but freed
- New convention to revise the articles of convention called for change
Weaknesses of the articles of Confederation
• most power held by states • what branch of government • legislative branch has few powers (no power to tax and no power to regulate foreign and interstate commerce) • no executive branch (President) • amendments need unanimous vote, laws need 9/13 • no judicial system •That system of checks and balances
3/5 compromise
- regional debate over slavery lead to the 3/5 compromise
- Southern delegates wanted slaves to be counted as part of the state populations but Northerners disagreed
- delegates that agreed to count each slave as 3/5 of a person when determining representation
- delicates also agreed to in the international slave trade in 20 years rather than immediately
Constitution
- The constitution would protect popular sovereignty
- delegates also created federalism
- under the constitution each state must obey the authority of the federal government
- The constitution also balance is the power among three branches: executive legislative and judicial
Constitution branches
Legislative:
• Congress, responsible for proposing and passing laws, made up of two houses
Executive:
• President, make sure the laws carried out
Judicial:
•All national courts, interpreting loss punishing criminals and settling disputes between states
Constitution continued
- framers created a system of checks and balances
- Final draft was completed in September 1787
- The sign constitution was it first to Congress and then to the states for ratification
- delegates believe they had protected the ideas of republicanism
Ratifying the Constitution
• federalists versus anti-Federalist
Thought there needed to be a section guaranteeing individual rights
Who are Federalists
People who supported the constitution
Who are anti-Federalists?
People who opposed the Constitution
Federalist papers
- essay supporting the Constitution written anonymously under the name Publius
- Made authors: Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay
- tried to reassure Americans that the federal government would not over power of the states
Bill of rights
• 10 amendments added to the constitution to protect citizens rights
• requirements to amend the constitution:
1) approved by a two thirds majority in both houses
2) ratified by three fourths of the states
