THE GREATEST WHY...

FOUNDING FATHERS CONSTITUTION

• "The articles created a loose confederation of sovereign states and a weak central government"
• "Congress had no authority to enforce its request to the states for money or troops"
• "Division among the states and even local rebellions threatened to destroy the fruit of the Revolution"

WRITING THE PREAMBLE

• To guide the implementation of each specific part or any apparent conflict between the parts
• To represent a statement of principal, sharp contradiction to the compendium of "DO's" and "DONT's" which compromise many others
• To outline the reasons why the U.S Constitution was written and the values it represents

CONGRESS DIVIDED INTO TWO BRANCHES

• "The larger states favored the Virginia plan under which population would determine the number of representatives a state could send to the legislature
• The smaller states favorite the New Jersey plan which proposed that all states would have an equal number of representatives
• As a compromise by the Connecticut delegates that settled the problem. their plan provided for equal representative in the senate, along with representative in proportion to population in the House of Representatives

WHY WE HAVE A PRESIDENT

• After a fizzled attempt to run the country through disparate committees in individual states did the creators of the U.S Constitution decided, at a historic convention in 1787, that there needed to be a strong national government with a leader on top
• Things were not really efficient without an executive that has a certain amount of power
• When we broke away from England king James was so horrible to the colonists that we swore we would never have a king again so we came up with the president

ARTICLE 3

• They wanted to limit the power the federal courts would have
• Because they wanted/needed a judicial system
• Conviction

WHY WE HAVE STATES

• So the people could live peacefully without the fear of tyranny or being oppressed like with Britain
• It's easier to govern a great body of land when individual parts can take care of themselves
• The Articles of Confederation created a weak central government and people didn't trust central government.

NEW STATES FROM EXISTING STATES

• New States may be admitted by the Congress into this Union; but no new States shall be formed or erected within the Jurisdiction of any other State; nor any State be formed by the Junction of two or more States, or Parts of States, without the Consent of the Legislatures of the States concerned as well as of the Congress." Article IV, Section 3, Clause 1

WHY WAS THERE STILL SLAVERY?

• Southern colonies depended on slavery for cash crops: tobacco, indigo, and rice
• The Founding Fathers were slave holders and it created controversy
• The Articles of Confederation made no mention of slavery

CHANGING OR AMENDING THE CONSTITUTION

• To allow it to adapt to the changing times, and reflect the views of the current America
• Article V (how the Constitution can be changed)

MASON, GERRY, AND RANDOLPH

• George Mason didn't believe that the Constitution established a wise and just government
• Elbridge Gerry thought the final document lacked sufficient checks and balances and because it didn't have a Bill of Rights
• Edmund Randolph thought it lacked a Bill of Rights

SECOND AMENDMENT

• Rights to keep and own guns
• All males between 16-60 yrs old were required to be part of a militia
• There was no standing military for a long time

FOURTH AMENDMENT

• Protects citizens from being searched or having their things taken away for no reason
• Warrants are needed before searches can be performed or conducted.
• Must have probable cause to support claim.

FIFTH AMENDMENT

• Protect citizens from being held for committing a crime unless you have been indicted correctly by the police
• No one can be forced to testify against oneself
• A person can't be charged for a crime, serve time and be charged for the same crime again

SIXTH AMENDMENT

• Rights to a speedy trial
• Guarantees an attorney
• Right to confront the accuser

EIGTH AMENDMENT

• Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed
• No cruel and unusual punishments inflicted
• Some punishments are completely forbidden under the Eighth Amendment, such as taking away a person’s citizenship, or painful and hard labor.

NINTH AMENDMENT

• Stops the government from expanding their power

TENTH AMENDMENT

• Every state would keep their freedom, independence, jurisdiction, rights, and sovereignty

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