Constitution Review

Constitution Review

America's First Government

• Articles of Confederation (1781-1789)

• Created a weak government - no power to tax, each state only had one vote, no judicial branch, no executive branch, no power to regulate commerce, no common currency between states

Open Ended

Name one thing that made the Articles of Confederation weak:

The Constitutional Convention

• A meeting held to revise the Articles of Confederation

• Delegates wrote a whole new document called the Constitution

• The Constitution was ratified in 1789

Multiple Choice

What does the word ratify mean?

• to approve a document

• to disagree with the majority

• to send a document back for revision

• to change something to make it better

Multiple Choice

When was the Constitution ratified?

• 1777

• 1789

• 1781

• 1607

Separation of Powers

The founders separated our government into 3 branches so one person could not get too powerful

Legislative Branch - Creates laws

Executive Branch - Enforces laws

Judicial Branch - Interprets laws

Multiple Choice

Which branch of government enforces laws?

• Legislative

• Executive

• Judicial

Multiple Choice

Which branch of government interprets laws?

• Legislative

• Executive

• Judicial

Multiple Choice

Which branch of government creates laws?

• Legislative

• Executive

• Judicial

Representation in Congress

• Big states (states with large populations) thought representation in Congress should be based on the number of people living in each state (states with larger populations would have more representation in Congress)

• Small states (states with low populations) thought representation should be equal for all states

Multiple Choice

Which states wanted representation in Congress to be based on the state's population?

• Big states

• Small states

The Great Compromise

• Congress would be divided into 2 houses to solve the argument between big and small states

• Senate - each state gets 2 representatives (makes small states happy)

• House of Representatives - representation is based on the state's population (makes big states happy)

Fill in the Blank

How many representatives does each state get in the Senate?

Ratifying the Constitution

• The Constitution was finished in 1787

• People debated for 2 years over ratification

Federalists

• Wanted to ratify the Constitution as it was written

• Liked the strong government created by the Constitution

• James Madison (Father of the Constitution) and George Washington

Anti-Federalists

• Thought the Constitution gave the government too much power

• Wanted a Bill of Rights added to the Constitution to protect people's rights

• Patrick Henry and George Mason

Multiple Select

Who were Federalists?

• James Madison

• Patrick Henry

• George Mason

• George Washington

Multiple Select

Who were Anti-Federalists?

• George Mason

• Patrick Henry

• George Washington

• James Madison

The Bill of Rights

• Written by James Madison

• Borrowed ideas from Thomas Jefferson (Virginia Statute of Religious Freedom) and George Mason (Virginia Declaration of Rights)

• The first ten amendments to the Constitution

Multiple Choice

Who wrote the Virginia Statute of Religious Freedom?

• James Madison

• George Mason

• Thomas Jefferson

• Patrick Henry

The Bill of Rights

• First Amendment: Protects people's right to speech, assembly, press, petition, and religion

• Other amendments deal with things like the right to a fair trial if you are accused of a crime...

Marshall Court

• John Marshall was Chief Justice of the Supreme Court from 1801-1835

• Made many decsions that helped strengthen the role of the federal government

Marbury v. Madison

• 1803

• Established the power of judicial review

• Judicial review is the power of the Supreme Court to declare a law unconstitutional

McCulloch v. Maryland

• 1819

• Federal law is supreme over state law

• Congress has implied powers (powers that are not written out exactly in the Constitution, but given to them by the necessary and proper clause)

Gibbons v. Ogden

• 1824

• The Federal government controls interstate trade

• Interstate trade is the business between 2 or more different states

Multiple Choice

Which Supreme Court case decided that Congress has implied powers?

• Marbury v. Madison

• McCulloch v. Maryland

• Gibbons v. Ogden

Multiple Choice

Which Supreme Court case decided that the federal government has control over interstate trade?

• Marbury v. Madison

• McCulloch v. Maryland

• Gibbons v. Ogden

Multiple Choice

Which Supreme Court case established the power of judicial review?

• Marbury v. Madison

• McCulloch v. Maryland

• Gibbons v. Ogden

Open Ended

What questions do you have about Module 3?