What Is the Proper Role of Government?

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v h W o f Go e l o R Topic #4 Establishing the New Nation Opposing views that influence government ideas View: Government should be in the hands of the people versus Democracy Ideas Unicameral (single house) Legislature

Members are elected by the people Weak or no governors View: Common people cant govern and the colonial system needs to be preserved Bicameral (two house) Legislature A counter balance system Senate and House of Representatives Power mostly in hands of the people https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n9defOwVWS8 Union Under the Articles of Confederation In 1777, the Continental Congress drafted the Articles of Confederation (a league of states that work together). Federal Foreign Policy Taxation

Commerce Government Made Congress the governing body of the federal government. Gave Congress the power to issue bills of credit. Gave Congress the power to sign treaties. Gave Congress the power to declare war Gave states the power to tax. Gave states the

power to impose duties and tariffs on trade with other states. Gave states the power to regulate commerce. Gave states, rather than federal government, the power to settle disputes. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ML8qtTpVuDs Northwest Territory (north of Ohio River, west of Pennsylvania to the Mississippi River) In the Land Ordinance of 1785, the Congress designed a system for dispensing and distributing, public lands using grid lines and creating townships. Northwest Territory (north of Ohio River, west of

Pennsylvania to the Mississippi River) In the Land Ordinance of 1785, the Congress designed a system for dispensing and distributing, public lands using grid lines and creating townships. The Northwest Ordinance 1787- A government for these territories was created based on Thomas Jeffersons ideas. Congress would appoint a governor until the territory had a population of 60,000 at which time the people could request admission to the Union. It also barred slavery from the territories which meant that the 5 new states would enter the Union as free states rather than as slave states.

Articles of Confederation The Constitutional Convention (led by George Washington) By 1787, most Americans agreed that the Articles of Confederation were flawed and needed at least two major changes: 1. Almost everyone wanted Congress to have the power to regulate interstate and International commerce. 2. Most Americans also supported granting Congress the power to tax people l a n o ti s u t e

s ti i s n rom o C p m o C https:// www.youtube.com/wat ch?v=kCCmuftyj8A Compromising on Slavery During the debates over the Constitution, the delegates discovered that their greatest division pitted the southern against the northern delegates. The south feared a nation dominated by northern, free states.

The Result: 1. The Constitution forbade Congress from blocking the importation of slaves for 20 years. 2. The Three Fifths Compromise was to count each slave as 3/5th of a person when counted in representation for the House of Representatives. (This gave the South more representation) 3. The Constitution committed all states to return fugitive slaves to their owners. In other words, running away to a free state did not free a slave. Ratification of the Constitution James Madison John Hamilton John Jay Samuel Adams John Hancock George Clinton Patrick Henry

Passing of The Constitution = Federalist Victory Passing of the Bill of Rights ( 1789)= Anti-Federalist Victory Constitutional Principles The Constitution of the United States became a symbol of freedom to not only Americans but also to countries in Europe and Latin America. It established a representative government. The Constitution abides by the principle of popular sovereignty, in which all government power comes from the people. The Constitution mandated the separation of powers within the federal government and created a system of checks and balances. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HuFR5XBYLfU The Constitution created the Electoral College System- a group of persons chosen from each state that would indirectly elect the President. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9H3gvnN468 The Constitution became the supreme law of the land but remained a living, flexible document that can and has been amended over time.