AgendaPartner work on the basic principles

A little history . . .RNC – Chris or Ann?

Homework – read the Time article “One Document, Under Siege”

How did we get i t?

THE US CONSTITUTION

The Establishment, Ratifi cation and Implementation

THE US CONSTITUTION

The Framers of the Constitution created a document that addressed the major concerns of the States attending the Philadelphia Convention. By reaching compromise on items about which they disagreed, the Framers created a new National Government capable of handling the nation’s problems.

WHY IT MATTERS

How was it created?

THE ESTABLISHMENT

55 men "an assembly of demi-gods" said Thomas Jeff erson

THE FRAMERS

May 25, 1787 toSeptember 17, 1787 Independence Hall in

Philadelphia, PN

TIME FRAME

Elected George Washington president of the convention

Rules: one vote per state, majority winsWorked in secretDecided to scrap the Articles of Confederation in

order to create a new gov't James Madison = "The Father of the Constitution"

(contributions and Notes)

ORGANIZATION AND PROCEDURE

PhilosophiesPlansCompromises

IDEAS

The Framers' BackgroundWell educated and widely readKnowledgeable in Greek and Roman lawExperienced in current European politics Intimately familiar with the Continental Congress, Articles of Confederation and their own State gov'ts

PHILOSOPHIES

THE VIRGINIA PLAN

Main Ideas:3 Branches of Gov't - legislative,

executive and judicialCongress - bicameral (2 houses)Checks and Balances would

ensure oversightStrong national gov't

Edmund Randolph presented it.

More conservative than the Virginia PlanMain Ideas: Kept Congress as one body with

equal representation Congress had limited powers to

tax and regulate trade Called for a "federal executive"

with more than one person chosen by Congress

Created a "federal judiciary" composed of a single "supreme Tribunal“

William Patterson presented it.

THE NEW JERSEY PLAN

Senate = equal representation of all statesHouse of Representatives = representation based on

populationAKA as the Great Compromise because it settled the

Convention's biggest dispute.

CONNECTICUT COMPROMISE

Counted slaves ("other persons") as 3/5 of a whole vote

Made southern states happy because of numbers of representatives

Made northern states happy because slaves counted for more taxes

THREE-FIFTHS COMPROMISE

RATIFICATION

Federalists – supporters of ratification James Madison, Alexander Hamilton – main supporters Stressed weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation and

that the new nation needed new lawsAnti-Federalists – did not support ratification

Patrick Henry, Richard Henry Lee, John Hancock and Samuel Adams – main supporters

Attacked almost all of the document Did not like the ratification process Did not like the lack of God Did not like that States didn’t have more power and thought the

central gov’t had too much Did not like that it did not include a Bill of Rights

Delaware was the fi rst and New York was the last of the nine states needed to ratify.

Eventually all thirteen would do so, but Rhode Island finally did AFTER George Washington became President of the US.

BUT RATIFY IT DID

Looking at the six basic principles of the Constitution, how do you think each of them plays in to the idea of liberty and/or security?Popular sovereigntyLimited governmentSeparation of powersChecks and balances Judicial reviewFederalism

See handout for further instructions.

LIBERTY V. SECURITY