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Alabama High School
Graduation Exam
The United States Government
and The Constitution
Foundations of the U.S. Government
• Magna Carta- 1215: Written document protecting the
rights of English Nobles and made the King answer
to all laws.
• John Locke: English philosopher who believed that
government should derive its power from the people
whom it governed.
• Jacques Rousseau: French philosopher who wrote
The Social Contract. His theory expressed the idea
that there should be an agreement between the
people and the government that limits the rights and
duties of each.
• Thomas Jefferson- Put the idea of the Social Contact
into the Declaration of Independence.
Foundations of the U.S. Government
(Continued)
• Baron de Montesquieu: In his book, Spirit of the
Laws in 1748, he suggested that government should
be made up of three separate but equal branches:
Legislative, executive, judicial and have a system of
checks and balances over each one.
• The Great Awakening- a general revival of
evangelical Christianity in the colonies during the
1740’s.
• Freedom of Religion- Example, the Pilgrims and the
Mayflower Compact an early Constitution of colonial
law.
• The House of Burgesses- In Colonial Virginia, the
first elected colonial legislative and example of self
government without the King.
Foundations of the U.S. Government
(Continued)
• The First and Second Continental Congresses 1774 1781: Brought together delegates from the 13
colonies to organize and was a model for forming
the United States Government.
• Declaration of Independence- Established general
principle of human rights and the idea that
government should exist with the consent of the
people.
Articles of Confederation
• In March, 1781 the Articles were written to create an alliance
between the 13 colonies.
• The Articles would eventually prove to be too weak to handle the
new nations problems:
• Weaknesses:
1. The legislature consisted of only one house of Congress.
2. Had no executive branch.
3. Amendments and laws must be approved by all states.
4. Only State governments had the right to tax.
5. No national currency.
6. DID NOT CREATE A STRONG NATIONAL GOVERNMENT
LIKE THE CONSTITUTION WOULD.
Constitutional Convention
• After Shay’s rebellion in Massachusetts in 1786, the
states realized a need to fix the Articles of
Confederation.
• In May 1787, 55 delegates from 12 of the 13 states met
in Philadelphia to fix the Articles. Rhode Island did not
attend.
• After discussing the problems, it was decided to do away
with the Articles and create a Constitution.
• There were many plans, problems and issues that had to
be addressed.
Constitutional Convention Plans of
Government
• The first plan was called the Virginia or large state plan.
• The plan called for the following:
1. A two house congress with its members based on
each states’ population.
2. An executive Branch.
• The large states favored this plan while the small states
did not.
• The second plan was the New Jersey or small state
plan. It called for:
1. One house congress with equal representation.
Constitutional Convention Plans of
Government
• In the end a Compromise plan was proposed called the
Great Compromise.
• This plan divided the Congress into two houses:
1. The Upper House or Senate with each state
receiving 2 Senators. 100 today.
2. The lower house or House of Representatives,
Each state will have a certain number of
representatives based on a States population.
Today there are 435 members in the House,
Alabama has 7.
Constitutional Convention Plans of
Government
• The Plan was approved but the Northern States did not
want the Southern states to count their slaves in their
population count.
• This would lead to the 3/5 Compromise or counting a
slave as 3/5 of a person.
• The issue of the slave trade would also be a factor.
• It was agreed that the importation of slaves into the
United States would end within 20 years. The South
already had a large number of slaves and thus agreed.
• The Great Compromise also created a powerful system
of government called Federalism.
Federalism
• The system of dividing the government into different
branches or levels.
1. National or Federal Level – Made up of the 3
branches of government. Legislature makes the
laws. Executive carries out the laws. Judicial,
Supreme Court interprets or explains them.
2. State level- Also three branches of government
and their own state constitutions.
3. Local level- County, city and state with its local
leaders.
Checks and Balances
• Each of the three branches as a check over the power of
the others.
• Example:
Legislature- Makes the laws.
Executive – Can veto a law made by Congress.
Judicial- can say if a law is unconstitutional or not.
Judicial Review established by the case of
Marbury verses Madison 1803.
The Constitution
• The Constitution is made up of 7
Articles and 27 Amendments. The
First 10 Amendments are called the
Bill of Rights because they protect the
rights of all Americans from the
Federal Government.
Constitution
• The Preamble- sets out the goals and purposes of the
Constitution.
• Articles
1. Article 1 establishes the Legislative Branch. This
includes establishing the rules for becoming a
Senator and Representative as well as the number
of years each can serve. Senator has a six year
term and Representative a two year term. Article 1
also contains the Elastic Clause which gives
Congress the right to make all laws necessary and
proper for doing its job now and in the future. This is
in section 8.
Parts of the Constitution
2.
Article 2 creates the Executive Branch which is the
office of the President and Vice President.
3. Article 3 creates the Judicial Branch which is the
Supreme Court and all lower Courts. Today the
Supreme Court is made up of 9 judges all appointed
by the President with the Approval by the Senate.
• Amendments- 27 Amendments. The first 10 were added
because of the debate over ratification or approval of the
Constitution. This was debated between two groups:
The Federalists and the Antifederalists.
Federalists and Antifederalist
• The Federalists included James Madison, Alexander
Hamilton and John Jay. They wrote a series of papers
called the Federalist that defended the Constitution.
• The Antifederalists opposed the Constitution because it
lacked a Bill of Rights that protected the people form
abuses of power by the Strong Federal Government.
• A Bill of Rights was added to the Constitution and it was
ratified by all thirteen states in 1788.
• Bill of Rights – First 10 Amendments
1st – Freedom of speech, press, assembly and
petition.
2nd- Right to keep and bear arms.
3rd- Forbids the quartering of troops in people’s homes
without permission.
4th – Search and seizure: Police need a warrant to
search your home.
5th –Rights of accused persons: To remain silent and
have a lawyer.
6th- Right to a speedy and fair trial.
7th- Right to a jury trial in civil cases.
8th- forbids cruel and unusual punishment and right to
bail.
9th Powers reserved to the people.
10th- Powers reserved to the states such as establishing
schools.
Other important amendments
• 13th 1865- Outlawed slavery.
• 14th 1868- Gave citizenship and civil rights
to all people born or naturalized
in the United States.
• 15th 1870- Gave all male citizens the right
to vote including blacks.
• 19th 1920- Gave women the right to vote.
Strict vs loose interpretation
• Alexander Hamilton believed in a loose interpretation of
the Constitution in that the government had more powers
then were actually listed in it. He based this on the
Elastic Clause mentioned in Article 1.
• Thomas Jefferson believed that a strict interpretation
should be used based on Amendment 10 saying that all
powers not listed in the Constitution belong to the States.
• This led to the formation of the first two political parties:
The Federalists and the Democratic –Republicans.
First Constitutional Tests
• Marbury vs. Madison 1803- Chief Justice John
Marshall ruled that the Supreme Court had the
right to declare whether laws passed by
Congress were Constitutional. This established
Judicial Review.
• Gibbons vs. Ogden 1824 – Supreme ruled that
Congress alone can regulate interstate and
foreign commerce. Roads, highways and canals
could be built without state interference.