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Presentation Plus! United States Government: Democracy in Action Copyright © by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Send all inquiries to: GLENCOE DIVISION Glencoe/McGraw-Hill 8787 Orion Place Columbus, Ohio 43240 Chapter Focus Section 1 The Colonial Period Section 2 Uniting for Independence Section 3 The Articles of Confederation Section 4 The Constitutional Convention Chapter Assessment Click on a hyperlink to go to the corresponding content area. Press the ESC (escape) key at any time to exit the presentation. The Colonial Period Key Terms limited government, representative government, separation of powers Find Out • What events of the early American colonial experience led colonists to believe they would have representative government? • In what ways were the American colonies democratic? In what ways were they not democratic? Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information. Additional lecture notes appear on the following slides. Representative Government • The colonists had a firm belief in representative government, a government in which people elect delegates to make laws and conduct government. • The English Parliament was a representative assembly with the power to enact laws. Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information. Government in the Colonies • The present system of American government evolved from the thirteen English colonies. • Democracy existed in the colonies, but not in its present form. Women and enslaved persons could not vote, and every colony had some type of property qualification for voting. • Many colonists remained intolerant of religious dissent. Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information. Government in the Colonies (cont.) • Despite such shortcomings, the colonists established the following practices: – a written constitution that guaranteed basic liberties and limited the power of government – a legislature of elected representatives – the separation of powers between the governor (the chief executive) and the legislature • Today the United States government embodies each of these practices. Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information. Written Constitutions • The colonial period featured government according to a written plan. • The first such plan was the Mayflower Compact, written by the Pilgrims on the Mayflower anchored off the New England coast. It was signed in 1620. Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information. Separation of Powers • Colonial charters divided the power of government into three branches: executive, legislative, and judicial. This principle of separation of powers was later incorporated into the Constitution. Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information. Taxing the Colonies (cont.) • In retaliation Parliament passed the Coercive Acts, which the colonists called the Intolerable Acts. • One of these acts closed Boston Harbor. Another withdrew the right of the Massachusetts colony to govern itself. • By the early 1770s, events clearly showed that revolution was imminent. Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information. Colonial Unity (cont.) • By the 1760s harsh new British policies spurred American unity. • Colonists began thinking of themselves as Americans, and colonial leaders began to take political action against what they felt was British oppression. Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information. The First Continental Congress • The Intolerable Acts prompted the First Continental Congress, a general meeting of the colonies (except Georgia), on September 5, 1774. Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information. The First Continental Congress (cont.) • On April 19, 1775, the British Redcoats clashed with the colonial minutemen at Lexington and Concord in Massachusetts. • This clash, later called the “shot heard ’round the world,” was the first battle of the Revolutionary War. Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information. The Declaration of Independence • Congress promptly named a committee to prepare a written declaration of independence. The committee asked Thomas Jefferson to write the draft. • On July 4, 1776, the Congress approved the final draft of the Declaration of Independence. • A statement of the reasons for independence, the document actually was entitled The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America. Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information. The Articles of Confederation Key Terms ratify, unicameral, cede, ordinance Find Out • What weakness of the Articles of Confederation made enforcing the laws of Congress impossible? • What evidence shows that financial problems were the main cause of the call to amend the Articles of Confederation? Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information. Additional lecture notes appear on the following slides. The Articles of Confederation Understanding Concepts Federalism What deficiencies in the Articles of Confederation made them too weak to ensure the peace and tranquility of the United States? Section Objective Explain the weaknesses and achievements of the Articles of Confederation. Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information. Additional lecture notes appear on the following slides. Government Under the Articles • Under the Articles, the plan for government was simple. It included: – a unicameral, or single-chamber, Congress in which each state had one vote – no executive branch or federal court system – a Committee of the States made up of one delegate from each state to manage the government when Congress was not assembled • Every state legislature selected its own representatives to Congress. Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information. Government Under the Articles (cont.) • Congressional powers included the powers to… – make war and peace. – send and receive ambassadors. – enter into treaties. – raise and equip a navy. – maintain an army by requesting troops from the states. – appoint senior military officers. – fix standards of weights and measures. – regulate Indian affairs. – establish post offices. – decide certain disputes among the states. Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information. Need for Stronger Government • Despite its achievements, the structure of the central government could not coordinate the actions of the states effectively. Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information. Growing Problems • Soon after the war, the states began to quarrel, mainly over boundary lines and tariffs. • The new nation faced serious debt to foreign nations and to American soldiers still unpaid after the Revolutionary War. • By 1786 an economic depression in the states left many farmers and small merchants angry and in debt. Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information. The Constitutional Convention Understanding Concepts Civil Liberties Why do you think many people insisted on a Bill of Rights in the Constitution? Section Objective Describe the creation and ratification of the Constitution. Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information. Additional lecture notes appear on the following slides. The Convention Begins • The delegates to the Convention were very experienced in politics, and the presence of men like George Washington and Benjamin Franklin gave the Convention legitimacy. • James Madison, a brilliant advocate of a strong national government, is called the Father of the Constitution because he was the author of the basic plan of government that the Convention eventually adopted. Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information. Key Agreements • While the delegates originally came together to revise the Articles, they eventually decided to abandon the former government and begin again. • They agreed on many basic issues, including… – the idea of a limited and representative government. – a division of powers among three branches of government. – the national government must be strengthened. Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information. The Three-Fifths Compromise • A second compromise settled a disagreement over how to determine how many representatives each state would have in the House. • A debate between the Northern and Southern states was settled by counting three-fifths of the enslaved population for both tax purposes and for representation in Congress. Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information. Ratifying the Constitution • For the new Constitution to become law, 9 of the 13 states had to ratify it. • It went into effect on June 21, 1788, when New Hampshire became the ninth state to ratify it. Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information. The Federalists and Anti-Federalists • The great debate over ratification quickly divided people in the states into Federalists, who favored the Constitution, and anti-Federalists, who opposed the Constitution. • The Anti-Federalists feared a strong national government and claimed the document was extralegal, not sanctioned by law, since the Convention had been authorized only to revise the old Articles. Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information. The Federalists and Anti-Federalists (cont.) • The Federalists, led by many of the Founders, argued that without a strong national government, anarchy, or political disorder, would triumph. • They claimed that only a strong national government could protect the new nation from enemies abroad and solve the country’s internal problems. Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information. The Federalists and Anti-Federalists (cont.) • To gain the necessary support, the Federalists promised to add a Bill of Rights as the first order of business under a new government. Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information. Progress Toward Ratification • With the promise of a Bill of Rights, the tide turned in favor of the Constitution. • Many small states ratified it quickly because they were pleased with equal representation in the new Senate. • Ratification, however, was difficult to win in New York and Virginia. Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information. • End of Part 1