Download The Constitution of the United States (1776–1800)

Unit 4
The American
Constitution
Fill-In-The-Notes
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Early Government
• In the years following the Revolution,
Americans thought of themselves as
___________________, not of a common
_________________________________.
• The United States was not a nation as
much as it was a confederation, an
______________________________ that
work together.
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• ________________________________________
_____________________________________.
• Individual __________________________ were
important during this period.
• A constitution is a plan of government that
describes the different parts of the government and
their duties and powers.
• In 1777, the Continental Congress adopted a set of
laws to govern the United States.
• These laws were called the ________________
______________________________________.
• Approved in 1781, the Articles established a limited
national government, in which most of the power
lay with ___________________________.
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The Articles of Confederation
Compared and contrasted to today’s national
government
Today’s National Government
• Consists of three branches of government:
– The legislative branch, or Congress, is responsible for
____________________________________________.
– The executive branch, headed by the President,
____________________________________________.
– The judicial branch is made up of the courts and judges
who ________________________________________.
• The judicial branch forms a national court system.
• Congress has the power to _________________.
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The Articles of Confederation
• Consisted of only one branch of
government: the legislative branch, or
Congress.
• Congress carried out the duties of both the
legislative and executive branches.
• No national court system existed.
• __________________________________
__________________________________
_________________________________.
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Opposition to the Articles
• Americans generally agreed that their
new nation should be a democracy, a
_________________________________.
• Specifically, they desired a republic, a
government _______________________
their elected representatives.
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Economic Problems
• Huge amounts of public and private
debt were creating economic chaos in
the new republic.
• Many upper-class critics of the Articles
felt that this problem was due to
__________________________________
_________________________________.
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Concerns About Weak
Government
• A group called the ______________ felt
that a weak national government could
not keep order.
• They argued that European history had
demonstrated that people were not
__________________________________
__________________________________
_________________________________.
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The Annapolis Convention
• In 1786, Nationalists held a conference
in Annapolis, Maryland, to discuss
economic problems.
• Although the conference itself
accomplished little, delegates agreed to
call _________________ in Philadelphia
in 1787.
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Shays’ Rebellion
Causes of Shays’ Rebellion
• In order to help pay off its large debts, Massachusetts
passed _____________________.
• This tax had to be paid in specie, gold or silver coin, rather
than paper money.
• A group of farmers led by Daniel Shays rebelled against
these taxes in a crisis which came to be known as Shays’
Rebellion.
• ________________________________________________
_________________________________.
• Soon, open conflict raged as angry crowds rioted.
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Effects of Shays’ Rebellion
• Congress had no money to raise an army
to counter Shays’ Rebellion.
• It also could not force states to pay for
one.
• The Massachusetts state government
raised an army that quieted the rebellion.
• __________________________________
__________________________________
_________________________________.
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The Convention Assembles
• In May 1787, delegates from 12 of the 13
colonies met in Philadelphia to try to ____
_________________________________.
• This meeting, known as the
_________________________, produced
the United States Constitution, the
document that has governed the United
States ____________________________.
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• One particularly influential delegate at the
Constitutional Convention was ___________
___________________________ of Virginia.
• Before the convention, Madison spent a year
thinking about how to create a new
government.
• At the convention, he took detailed notes that
would __________________________ of the
proceedings.
• For his role, he became known as “________
___________________________________.”
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Divisions at the Convention
• The convention in Philadelphia had been
empowered only to amend, or revise, the
Articles of Confederation, not to ________
them.
• However, __________________________
_________________________________.
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The Virginia Plan
• Proposed a bicameral, or two-house, national
legislature
• ______________________________________
______________________________________.
• The new legislature would have the power to
tax; the right to regulate foreign and interstate
commerce; to ______, or prohibit from becoming
law, any act of a state legislature; and to use
force against a state, should that state defy
national authority.
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The New Jersey Plan
• Proposed a unicameral, or one-house,
national legislature, and the creation of
__________________________________
• Each state would send the same number
of representatives to the legislature.
• The new legislature would have the right
to ________________________________
_________________________________.
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Reaching Agreements
• In the Great Compromise, delegates
agreed to __________________________
_________________________________.
• One house, the Senate, would have the
same number of representatives from
each state.
• In the other house, the House of
Representatives, representation would be
based on _________________________.
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• Another difficult issue was whether or not to
include ______________ when determining a
state’s population and therefore its representation.
• According to the Three-Fifths Compromise,
________________________________________
________________________________________
_______________________________________.
• After further debate, the convention approved the
final draft of the United States Constitution on
September 17, 1787.
• The strengths of the Constitution have helped it
endure for more than 200 years.
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Government Structure
Federal and State Powers
• The Constitution created a federal system
of government, in which power is shared
___________________________________.
• In a federal system of government, powers are divided into
three categories:
– ____________________________________________.
– Others are delegated to the federal government only.
– Still others, called concurrent powers, are held by both the federal
government and state governments.
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Separation of Federal Powers
• Within the federal government, a separation
of powers was created to _______________
___________________________________
___________________________________
___________________________________.
• Each branch has its own area of authority,
but no one branch has _____________ over
the government.
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• The Constitution also set up a system
of checks and balances, in which
______________________________
______________________________
_____________________________.
• This system prevents the misuse of
power by any one branch.
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Congress, the President, and the
Federal Courts
Congress
• “__________________________________”
• Each of the two houses of Congress was
granted different powers.
• Each was also designed with different
methods of election and different term
lengths, making the House more receptive
to public opinion and the Senate more
stable.
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The President
• “__________________________________”
• The President would be chosen by a group
of electors from each state.
• The candidate with the majority of votes in
the electoral college, or group of electors,
would become President.
• The President was granted enormous
powers, including the power to veto acts of
Congress and to appoint judges for the
federal courts.
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The Federal Courts
• “______________________________”
• The Constitution calls for one Supreme
Court and several lesser courts,
although the details of the federal court
system were intentionally left vague.
• Supreme Court justices would be
appointed _____ by the President with
the consent of ___________________.
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The Federalist View
• For the Constitution to become law, 9 out of the 13
states had to __________________, or approve, it.
• Special conventions called in each state would
decide whether or not to ratify the Constitution.
• Those who favored the Constitution were called
_________________________________.
• The Federalists included many Nationalists, such
as __________________________________, and
________________, who favored a strong national
government.
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• To make their case for the Constitution, the
Federalists wrote a series of 85 essays,
collectively known as __________________.
• One issue addressed in these essays was
that one powerful ______________, or group
concerned only with its own interests, could
not control the government under the
Constitution.
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The Anti-Federalist View
• Those who opposed the Constitution were called
______________________________________.
• Anti-Federalists believed that the Federalists’ plan
threatened __________________________
__________________________________.
• The anti-Federalists included older revolutionary
figures such as ___________, people in isolated
areas who had less need for a strong national
government, and some former Nationalists who
wanted a national government but were unhappy
with the Constitution.
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• According to the anti-Federalists, a
___________________________________
___________________________________
___________________________________.
• Anti-Federalists also objected to the
proposed ___________________________.
• While the Federalists feared the _________
more than __________, the anti-Federalists
feared _____________________________.
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Why the Federalists Won
• The Federalists had several
advantages over the anti-Federalists.
• These included:
1. The Federalists drew on the widespread feeling that the Articles of
Confederation had serious flaws.
2. The Federalists were a __________________________ group,
while the anti-Federalists tended to consist of local politicians who
did not coordinate their activities on a national level.
3. The Federalists had ____________________________
_____________________________________________________
___________________________________.
4. ____________________________________________.
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• Delaware, New Jersey, and Connecticut
quickly ratified the Constitution.
• In June 1788, ______________________
__________________________________
__________________________________
_________________________________.
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For and Against the Bill of
Rights
For the Bill of Rights
• ____________________________________________
____________________________________________
__________________________________.
• In September 1789, Congress proposed twelve
constitutional amendments, largely drafted by James
Madison and designed to protect citizens’ rights.
• Ten of these amendments were ratified by the states.
• ____________________________________________
_____________________________________.
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Against the Bill of Rights
• Most Federalists saw no need for these
amendments.
• ___________________________________
___________________________________
___________________________________.
• Therefore, the people needed no additional
statements to protect their rights.
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The Bill of Rights
1st Amendment
• ___________________________________:
– Guarantees freedom of speech
– Freedom of the press
– Freedom of religion
– The right to assemble peacefully
– Guarantees that Congress can pass no laws
that would restrict those freedoms
– The right to complain about whatever they
choose to any government official
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2nd Amendment
• ___________________________________:
– The exact meaning is unclear – does it mean
everyone has the right to own any kind of
gun they want to?
– Or does it mean the country has the right to
organize a “well regulated Militia” and those
people can have guns?
– Both Congress and state legislatures have
passed laws regulating the private ownership
and use of weapons by individuals.
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3rd Amendment
• ___________________________________:
– The result of the constant takeover of
citizens’ homes by the British during the
Revolutionary War.
– Protects individual homes from the military
and says that, during peacetime or wartime,
“no Soldier shall . . . Be quartered in any
house, without the consent of the owner.
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4th Amendment
• ___________________________________:
– Requires the use of search and arrest
warrants from a judge to search either a
person or a home.
– Warrants must be issued by a judge
– Warrants must be issued on the basis of
probable cause
– Warrants must detail what exactly will be
searched and where
– The Supreme Court has ruled that items
seized without a warrant cannot be used in
court.
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5th Amendment
• ___________________________________
___________________________________
___________________________________
– Also says that a person cannot be tried for
the same crime twice
– Says that a person cannot be denied due
process of law.
– Due process of law – guards individual
rights from infringement by state or federal
governments.
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6th Amendment
• ____________________:
– Gives the right to every
defendant to be aware of
any charges against him
– As well as the right to an
attorney, regardless of
whether the defendant
can afford one
– And the right to a jury
trial
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7th Amendment
• __________________:
– Establishes the right to
a federal trial in which
one person sues
another over anything
more than $20.00
– Not all civil cases are
brought before a
federal court, however
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8th Amendment
• _________________________________:
– Guards against any excessive bail, fines,
or cruel and unusual punishment for
alleged criminals and criminals
– The interpretation of this amendment has
been expanded by Supreme Court rulings
to prevent the securing of confessions
through such “cruel and unusual
punishment.”
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9th Amendment
• _________________________________:
– Dictates that the rights retained by the
people can be contradicted by the
Constitution.
– Added to ensure fundamental rights of the
people that are not included in the
Constitution
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10th Amendment
• _____________________________:
– Protects states from the federal
government.
– Establishes that powers not given to
the national government – or denied
to the states – by the Constitution
belong to the states or to the people.
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The New Leaders
• ___________________________________
___________________________________
___________________________________
___________________________________.
• Washington’s inauguration, or official
swearing-in ceremony, was attended by
thousands.
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• Leading Federalist ___________________
of Massachusetts became Vice President.
• Washington also selected a Cabinet, _____
___________________________________
___________________________________
__________________________________.
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• Washington’s Cabinet included many
prominent Americans.
• He named Edmund Randolph of Virginia to
the post of Attorney General and kept Henry
Knox as Secretary of War.
• ___________________________________
___________________________________
___________________________________
___________________________________.
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Jefferson and Hamilton
Secretary of State Jefferson
• After serving several years as ambassador
to France, Thomas Jefferson returned to the
United States in 1789.
• He quickly became involved again in
domestic affairs, or the country’s internal
matters.
• In addition to being a politician, Jefferson
was a ______________________________.
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• His interest in architecture led him to build
several homes, including his most famous,
_________________________________.
• Jefferson was not a strict Federalist and
later became one of Washington’s
_________________________________.
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Treasury Secretary Hamilton
• Alexander Hamilton was chosen to head the
government’s largest department, the
___________________________________.
• Hamilton had been an officer in the
Continental Army during the Revolution,
where he had carried out important military
missions.
• In contrast to Jefferson, Hamilton believed
that _______________________________,
___________________________________.
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Washington’s Government
• Washington knew that during his first
administration, or term of office, he and his
officials were ______________________ for
how to govern.
• A precedent is _______________________
___________________________________
___________________________________
___________________________________.
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• Washington worked to establish a tone of dignity
in his administration.
• ______________________________________
______________________________________
______________________________________.
• Although he felt that such pomp was necessary
to command respect, others saw these activities
as reminiscent of a king and his court.
• In 1792, Washington won unanimous reelection.
• His second term, however, became marked by
______________________________________.
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Planning a Capital City
The Need for a Capital City
• During Washington’s first year in office, the
government resided in ______________________.
• In 1790, the capital was moved to Philadelphia while a
new capital could be planned and built.
• The Residence Act of 1790 specified a 10-square-mile
stretch of land on the border between Maryland and
Virginia for the new capital.
• This area, to be called the District of Columbia, would
be governed by federal authorities, not by either state.
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Planning the District of Columbia
• _________________________________________
________________________________________.
• French architect Pierre-Charles L’Enfant developed
the city plan.
• The District of Columbia, later renamed
____________________________________, was
designed to echo the beauty and structure of
________________________________________.
• The federal government moved there in 1800.
• Today, Washington, D.C., remains the most visible
legacy of the Federalists’ belief in the power and
dignity of the new government.
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