Chapter 2 Notes and Review

Our Political BeginningsEnglish colonists brought with

them a rich history of political experiences and ideas

Those experiences and ideas would help to shape the political landscape of our nation, both then and now

Three Big Ideas1. Ordered Government

An orderly regulation of the relationship between themselves and their government

2. Limited GovernmentGovt. should not be all powerfulProtection of rights

3. Representative Govt.Govt. should “represent” the will of the

peoplePeople should have a voice in what

their govt. does

Landmark English Documents

Magna Carta (1215) First documents outlining basic individual

rightsTrial by juryDue process of lawProtection of life, liberty and property

Petition of RightFreedom to criticize the king; could not be

imprisoned without jury trialNo martial law during peacetimeNo quartering of soldiers

English Bill of RightsNo army during peacetimeFree electionsFair and speedy trialExcessive bail / cruel punishment

Unicameral and BicameralUnicameral – a one house

legislature (law making body)

Bicameral – a two house legislature

Taxation without representation etc.?

Do I need to explain the causes of the American

Revolution?

What was Accomplished at the First Continental Congress

(1774)Sent a declaration of rights to King

George IIIUrged all colonies to boycott

English goodsLocal committees to enforce the

boycott

What Was Accomplished at the Second Continental Congress

(1775)

First real National GovernmentContinental army and navy was

formedAdopted the Declaration of

IndependenceFought a warCreated a Monetary systemMade treaties with foreign powersAnd more

The Articles of ConfederationOur Nation’s first constitutionVery weak document and was not

effectiveHad no strong central government

to enforce policies between the states

A new constitution would be necessary

A New Constitution Was Necessary!

Problem: How should the States be represented in Congress?

Some States were large with many people and some were small with few people

What about slaves?

The Virginia PlanStates would be represented in

Congress based upon their population or the amount of money sent in support of the Central Govt. (Taxes)

Virginia loves the plan, they are a big state

Small states hate the plan

The New Jersey PlanAll States were to be equally

represented without regard to population or availability of money

New Jersey was a small state & loved the plan

Large States like Virginia, New York and Pennsylvania hated the plan

The Connecticut Compromise(AKA “The Great Compromise”)

A bicameral legislatureThe smaller Senate would be

represented equallyThe larger House of

Representatives, representation would be based on population

Oh NO!!! What about slaves? Are they to be counted as population? Another major battle!

The Three-Fifths CompromiseSouthern slave states wanted slaves to be

counted as population (even they had no rights)

Northern non-slave states objected

Compromise“All free persons are to counted, and so should

three-fifths of all other persons”Reality: A slave only counted as 3/5 of a person An ugly part of our history to be sure, but it

settled the dispute3/5 Comp. was abolished along with slavery

later on.

Now it had to be sold to the people for approval!

The New Constitution was completed!

Federalists and Their Main ArgumentFederalists – favored ratification

(formal adoption) of the new constitution

Stressed the weakness of the Articles of Confed.

All of those problems could be fixed by the new constitution

Anti-Federalists and Their Argument

Objected to the ratification (formal adoption) process

Objected to the absence of the word God

Denial of some previously held states rights

Two Main Issues Being Argued Over the New Constitution

1. The greatly increased powers of the central government

2. The lack of a Bill of Rights

Solutions:The “Federalist Papers” were distributed

to help explain the limited power of the new central government

The adoption of the first ten amendments; the Bill of Rights

Finally a New Constitution was Won and has lasted for over

200 years!!!