The First Attempt

at Democrac

y

“Is it better to exchange rule by one tyrant living

3,000 miles away for rule by 3,000 tyrants living one

mile away?”

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As you view this slide show, keep these questions in

mind. How did America’s pre-

Revolutionary relationship with England influence the structure of the first national government?

What weaknesses in the Articles of Confederation led to the effort to draft a new constitution?

During the Constitutional Era, the Americans made two attempts to establish a workable government based on republican principles.

The first one FAILED!

American political leaders, fearful of a powerful

central government like England’s, created the

Articles of Confederation, adopted at the end of

the Revolutionary war.

American political leaders, fearful of a powerful

central government like England’s, created the

Articles of Confederation, adopted at the end of

the Revolutionary war.

Our First Attempt: The Articles of ConfederationOur First Attempt: The

Articles of Confederation The leaders were

fearful of a powerful government- they had seen their liberties crushed by the King.

The first government was designed to be weak to prevent “tyranny”.

Most power would be shared with states.

The signing of the Declaration of Independence proved that Americans were opposed to a

powerful government.

The Articles Were WEAK! No power to

tax or regulate commerce

No ability to create common currency

Each state had one vote- regardless of size

No executive branch or judicial branch

Difficult to pass laws and impossible to amend

Shared too much power with states

The territory was too vast to govern with a weak government.

The economy was in terrible shape.

Small border fights were occurring between some states.

There was no standard currency.

“What a victory for our enemy to find we can not govern ourselves!”

U.S. in 1790

OOPS! Time to try again:

A convention was called in 1787 to make necessary changes.

All states except Rhode Island sent delegates.

What they created in the room above still works today!

GIVE AND TAKE:

Our Government Through

Compromise

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How did the delegates to the Constitutional Convention

balance competing interests?

What compromises needed to be made?

Key Leaders: George Washington

Washington presided at the Convention and, although seldom participating in the debates, lent his enormous prestige to the proceedings.

Key Leaders: James Madison

Virginian and a brilliant political philosopher, often led the debate and kept copious notes of the proceedings—the best record historians have of what transpired at the Constitutional Convention.

“Father of the Constitution”

James Madison: At the Convention,

Madison authored the “Virginia Plan”, which proposed a federal government of three separate branches (legislative, executive, judicial) and became the foundation for the structure of the new government.

He later authored much of the Bill of Rights.

“Father of the Constitution”

The Constitution of the United States of America established a government that shared power between the national government and state governments, protected the rights of states, and provided a system for orderly change through amendments to the Constitution itself.

The first words of the Preamble to the Constitution prove our belief that the power to govern comes from the people!

Key Issues and Resolutions:

Made federal law the supreme law of the land (Supremacy Clause), but otherwise gave the states considerable leeway to govern themselves

Balanced power between large and small states by creating a Senate - where each state gets two senators, and a House of Representatives - with membership based on population (the “Great Compromise”)

Key Issues and Resolutions:

Placated the Southern states by counting the slaves as three-fifths of the population when determining representation in the U.S. House of Representatives (Three-fifths Compromise)

Key Issues and Resolutions:Avoided a too-powerful central government by establishing three co-equal branches (separation of powers)

Legislative Branch

Executive Branch

J udic ial Branch

Makes the laws

Enforces the laws

Interprets the laws

Congress President Courts

*Numerous Checks and Balances are the rules that prevent any one branch from becoming too powerful!

This table shows the division of governmental responsibilities.

Key Issues and Resolutions: The Constitution limited the

powers of the federal government to those identified in the Constitution.

So that the government could adjust to changing times, an orderly method of changing the Constitution by adding amendments has been included.

The Bill of Rights

The Bill of Rights

Our Protections - Our Liberties

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The major principles of the Bill of Rights of the

Constitution were based on earlier Virginia statutes!

Virginia’s Influence:

The major principles of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights Came from the Virginia Declaration of Rights

This outlined basic human rights which the government should not violate.

Written by George Mason in 1776

Virginia’s Influence: The Virginia

Statute for Religious Freedom ended the practice of a government supported church

Separation of Church and State in Virginia

Written by Thomas Jefferson

Separation of Church and State was very important to Jefferson

The Bill of Rights: James Madison, a

Virginian, consulted the Virginia Declaration of Rights and the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom when drafting the amendments that eventually became the United States Bill of Rights.

The first 10 amendments to the Constitution define rights that can not be taken away!

Our Essential Liberties: 1st- Freedom of religion,

speech, press, assembly and petition

2nd- state militia - bare arms

3rd- quartering soldiers 4th- protections from

unlawful searches and seizures

5th- grand jury indictment, double-jeopardy, self-incrimination and due process

6th- speedy and public trial, jury trial, legal counsel and confront witnesses

7th- jury trial in civil cases 8th- cruel and unusual

punishment 9th- enumeration of rights 10th- Federalism (powers

not delegated to U.S. or denied to states belong to states or the people)

The Constitution and the Bill of Rights are the rules that the government must

follow.This framework limits the power of the government-

and effectively protects the liberties of the people!

The Constitution and the Bill of Rights are the rules that the government must

follow.This framework limits the power of the government-

and effectively protects the liberties of the people!

John MarshallJohn MarshallVUS5e

How did Chief Justice John Marshall, a Virginian, contribute to the growth of the U.S. Supreme Court’s importance in relation to the other branches of government?

Important legal precedents

established by the Marshall Court

strengthened the role of the U.S. Supreme

Court as an equal branch of the national

government.

Marbury v Madison (1803):

Established the doctrine of Judicial Review

The first time the court declared a law or act of government unconstitutional

This secured judicial review as a powerful tool for checks and balances.

In this case, Marbury sued Madison for an appointment as a federal judge. It was the first time the court declared a law “unconstitutional”.

McCulloch v. Maryland (1819) This established the

doctrine of implied powers for the federal government – the formation of the National Bank.

Powers that seem “necessary and proper” as related to specific powers granted in the Constitution are supported.

Specifically in this case, the different levels of government are not permitted to tax the other levels of government.

Gibbons v. Ogden (1824)

The court ruled on interstate commerce.

Established the court’s authority to mediate disagreements between branches of government, levels of government, and competing business interests.

This case involved competing claims of rival steam ship companies on the Hudson River.

The decisions of the John Marshall Court helped to strengthen the power of

the national government, while

defining the judiciary as an equal branch!