Chapter 3

State Governments

State Constitutions

• Colonists had been thinking about independence
• Second Continental Congress urged colonists to form governments
• New Hampshire was the first colony to draft a constitution

State Governments

• Most states had a bicameral legislature
• Each state had a governor
• Each state had courts and judges

Bills of Rights

• Most state constitutions contained a bill of rights
• Guaranteed basic freedoms and legal protections
• Trial by jury, protection of personal property

Articles of Confederation

• Each state had its own government
• 13 small governments could not fight one big war
• Articles of Confederation became the first constitution in the US
• One-house legislature in which each state had one vote
• Confederation Congress controlled the army and foreign matters

Northwest Ordinances

• Confederation Congress passed two laws, or ordinances
• Included Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota
• Ordinance of 1785 surveyed, divided, and sold land 
• Northwest Ordinance set up a government and a plan to admit new states
• "There shall be neither slavery nor involuntary servitude in said territory."

Weaknesses of the Articles

• Congress could not pass a law unless nine states voted for it
• Any attempt to amend the Articles required all 13 states to agree
• 13 states gave the Confederation Congress little power
• Confederation Congress also did not have the power to tax

Shays's Rebellion

• United States faced serious financial troubles - unable to collect taxes.
• Congress had borrowed money to pay for the American Revolution
• State governments had great debt - taxed their people heavily
• Many people lost jobs and business, economy slowed
• Riots broke out in several states

Shays's Rebellion

•  Daniel Shays owed money because of heavy state taxes
• Massachusetts courts threatened to take his farm to pay for his debts
• Shays felt the state had no right to punish him for a problem it had created
• Shays led about 1200 protesters in an attack on a federal arsenal 
• Warning to others - would the government be able to keep order?

Shays's Rebellion

• Rebellion prompted many people into action
• 1787 - Delegates from 12 states met in Philadelphia
• They wanted to revise the Articles of Confederation

Were You Listening?

• Which was the first colony to draft a constitution?
• What does bicameral mean?
• What was the document that came before the Constitution?
• What was the farmer's name that started the rebellion?

Constitutional Convention

The Delegates

• May 25, 1787 - 55 men gathered
• 8 had signed the Declaration, 41 were members of the Continental Congress
• Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, and James Madison were in attendance
• Thomas Jefferson and John Adams were in Europe as ambassadors

The First Decisions

• George Washington guided the meetings
• Each state had one vote, and majority rules
• Initial goal was to revise the Articles of Confederation
• They decided to scrap it and begin anew
• Two different plans for government soon emerged

The Virginia Plan

• The plan had a president, courts, and a congress with two houses
• State population would decide how many representatives were in each house
• Larger states would have more votes than smaller states
• Delegates from smaller states opposed the plan
• Larger states would overpower smaller states

The New Jersey Plan

• The plan kept the Confederation’s one-house congress
• Each state had one vote, but Congress could set taxes and regulate trade
• Instead of a president, Congress would choose a committee
• All states would have equal power
• Larger states opposed the plan

The Great Compromise

• Committee decided that Congress would have two houses
• Senate - each state would have two members
• House - the number of seats for each state reflected the state’s population
• The Great Compromise found a way to please both sides

The 3/5 Compromise

• States with slaves hoped to count them in their population
• North had few enslaved persons, and argued that slaves were property
• Delegates decided that every five slaves equaled three free persons
• 3/5ths of the enslaved population would be counted for representation
• 3/5ths was also used for taxation

Federalists

• Favored a strong central government
• Federal law should be supreme over state law
• Pointed out weaknesses of the Articles
• Strong central government could also protect the whole country

Anti-Federalists

• Anti-federalists were afraid of a strong central government
• Afraid that liberties would be taken away
• Government would become too strong and overpower the states
• Constitution contained no Bill of Rights

Bill of Rights

• Added the Bill of Rights to the Constitution
• Smaller states now ratified the Constitution
• Last state to ratify was Rhode Island in May 1790
• 13 independent states were now the USA

Structure of the Constitution

Parts of the Constitution

• Constitution has three main parts
• Preamble - states the goals and purposes of the government
• Seven articles - describe the way the government is set up
• 27 amendments - additions and changes to the Constitution
• Does not provide a lot of detail - very flexible

The Preamble

• "We the People of the United States ... do ordain and establish
• this Constitution for the United States of America"
• Six purposes of government: "form a more perfect Union, establish justice,
• insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote
• the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty"

The Seven Articles

• Article I - the Legislative Branch
• Article II - Executive Branch
• Article III - Judicial Branch
• Article IV - Relationship between the states and the national government
• Article V - When and how the Constitution can be changed

The Seven Articles

• Article VI - Constitution is the "supreme law of the land"
• Article VII - How the Constitution was to be ratified

The Amendments

• Amendments form the last part of the Constitution
• First 10 Amendments are the Bill of Rights
• Amendments are difficult to ratify
• Framers made it hard, but not impossible
• Thousands of amendments have been proposed, but only a few passed

Amendments

• Proposal of amendment - act of Congress
• Or, a national congress called by 2/3 of state legislatures
• 3/4 of states must ratify the amendment
• Ratification can be voted on by state legislature, 
• or by a special state convention

Interpreting the Constitution

• Loose interpretation - Congress can do what it has to do
• Constitution says Congress can "make all laws which shall be 
• necessary and proper" to carry out its duties
• Strict interpretation - Congress can only do what the Constitution states
• Supreme Court, president, and Congress all interpret the Constitution

Major Principles of Government

Five Guiding Principles

• Popular sovereignty
• Limited government and rule of law
• Separation of powers
• Checks and balances
• Federalism

Popular Sovereignty

• Article IV guarantees a "Republican Form of Government"
• Framers used the word republic to mean a representative democracy
• Power belongs to the people
• People state their will through elected representatives
• The will of the people is guaranteed through various parts of the C

Limited Government

• Government should be strong, but not too strong
• Government can only do what the people allow it to do
• Constitution limits what federal and state governments can do
• US government also limited by "rule of law"
• No one can break laws - not even government officials

Separation of Powers

• Framers divided the federal government into three sections
• Each branch has different tasks
• Executive, Legislative, and Judicial

Checks and Balances

• Each branch of government is able to check, or limit
• the power of the other two branches

Federalism

• Power is shared by the national government and the states
• Three types of powers: enumerated, reserved, concurrent
• Enumerated: Listed, or spelled out, in the Constitution for the government
• Reserved: for the states; trade within state borders, setting up schools 
• Concurrent: overlapping; collecting taxes, borrowing money, courts, prisons

Supremacy Clause

• Article VI
• Constitution, laws, and other treatises made by government are supreme
• Neither federal government nor state can go against those laws