Download The American Government

No bellwork today!
• With reference to origin, purpose and content
evaluate the value and limitations of the
Declaration of Independence.
• You will be divided into three groups. In your
group, you must prepare a brief explanation of
one of the following:
– Origin, value of origin, limitation of origin
– Purpose, value of purpose, limitation of purpose
– Content, value of content, limitation of content
The American Government
Problems POST revolution
• Uneven distribution of wealth and power!
– The rich were getting richer; the poor were getting poorer (By
1770 – top 1% owned 44% of land)
– Only 8% of the population could vote
• Most state constitutions ignored women, slaves, farmers,
and the poor
– The top 10% owned 1/7 of the countries people as slaves
(Washington had 216 slaves)
• State power > National government (Articles of
Confederation failed)
Wealth
distribution in
Colonial
America
City
Growth in
Colonial
America
The Articles of Confederation
• Articles of Confederation:
Document setting up
government for the U.S.;
originally written in the
Second Continental Congress
• Signed November 1777
• State power > national
government
Problems with the Articles of
Confederation
• States operated separately
– Each state had one vote (population???)
– Difficult to make decisions (needed 2/3 majority)
– Only states had power to tax (not federal government)
• Only one government body……no judiciary or
president
• Congressional powers were limited
– Debt!
• No unified military or leader
The Constitution
• States dramatically raised
taxes which caused
massive rebellions, but
Congress could not do
anything about it.
• Convinced of the urgent
need for reform, states
sent delegates to The
Constitutional
Convention.
The Constitution
• At the Constitutional Convention, delegates produced The
United States Constitution, which has governed the U.S.
for more than 200 years!
• Signed September 17, 1787
• George Washington was elected as the first president.
“Our goal is to create a new government instead of fixing the
existing one”
- James Madison
BELLWORK
1. List two social problems in post-revolution
America.
2. List two reasons why the Articles of
Confederation failed.
3. How did the political views of Jefferson and
Hamilton differ?
4. THINKER: Brainstorm a list of rights guaranteed to
U.S. citizens in the Bill of Rights.
Role of Founding Fathers Post-Revolution
Thomas Jefferson
• Virginia delegate
• Advocated a Committee of
the States (work together
as one to make decisions;
each had one vote)
• A large government could
become corrupt – give
people rights!
• Ohio territory should be
divided into 5 states
Alexander Hamilton
• NY Representative
• Frustrated with
decentralized power –
Strengthen national gov!
• Congress should have the
power to raise taxes and
demand money from the
states
• Established the nation’s
financial system
– Bank of the U.S.
– Secretary of the Treasury
Benjamin Franklin
• Delegate from Philadelphia
• Helped establish a postal
system
• First Postmaster General of
the United States
• Strong supporter of freedom
of speech, religion and press
• Integrate blacks into society
James Madison
• Virginia representative
• Slaves, as property, would
be protected by their
masters
• Nothing prevented
“excessive democracy”
• Father of the Bill of Rights
(originally 20)
Government Structure under the Constitution
• Federal System of Powers: power is shared among state and
national authorities (EX: education systems are reserved for the
states, while only the national government can declare war.)
• Separation of Powers: 3 branches
– Legislative: the Senate (100 – 6 yrs) and the House of
Representatives (435 – 2 yrs)
– Judicial: 9 Supreme Court justices; life terms
– Executive: President; 4 year terms (2 limit)
• Checks and Balances: each branch has the power to check each
other; stops one from becoming too powerful
The
Constitution
also establishes
the order of
succession for
the presidency
During the creation of the Constitution, two political
parties emerged……
Federalists
• supported the Constitution and a
strong national government
• George
Washington
• Alexander
Hamilton
• Benjamin Franklin
• James Madison
Anti-Federalists
• opposed the Constitution, and wanted
individual rights and state/local control
• “commoners,” farmers, middle class
• Thomas Jefferson
• Samuel Adams
• James Monroe
The Bill of Rights
• In 1791, ten amendments
were added to the
Constitution; these are
known as The Bill of
Rights.
• Amendment: An addition
or alteration made to the
Constitution.
• There are a total of 27
amendments today.
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Bill of Rights
1: speech, press, assembly, religion, petition
2: right to bare arms
3: no quartering troops
4: searches & seizures
5: private property, double jeopardy, self-incrimination
6: speedy/public trial, witnesses, lawyer
7: guarantees jury trial in federal cases
8: no cruel or unusual punishment
9: individual rights to the people; cannot be abused by
government
• 10: powers not in the Constitution are reserved for the states
Crash Course American History
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bO7FQsC
cbD8
Homework
• This week we will focus on Westward Expansion,
slavery, and the causes of the Civil War.
• For homework (due Thursday) you will read
chapter 7 from A People’s History of the United
States and create outline notes.
• Use Zinn ch. 1 worksheet as guidelines; needs to
be summarized!