c. 1783-1789:
Constitution
Essential Questions
- Why did the new states prefer a republic rather than a democracy for their government?
- In what ways was the confederation too weak to handle the nation’s problems?
- What issues and events led to the Constitutional Convention?
- In what ways did compromise play a critical role in the drafting of the Constitution?
- How were the various powers of government separated by the Constitution?
- What were the arguments for and against ratifying the Constitution?
- Why does the legislative branch of the government represent the people most directly?
- What powers does Congress have? What powers are denied to Congress?
- What is the main function of the executive branch?
- Who elects the president of the United States? How can the president be removed from office before the next election?
- How are Supreme Court justices appointed? What kinds of cases go before the Supreme Court?
- How many states must ratify an amendment for it to become part of the Constitution?
- How does Article 6 establish the supremacy of the Constitution?
- Does the First Amendment allow complete freedom of speech anytime, anywhere?
Key Terms
The Articles of Confederation
Another John Trumbull piece commissioned for the Capitol in 1817, this painting depicts what would be remembered as the moment the new United States became a republic. On December 23, 1783, George Washington, widely considered the hero of the Revolution, resigned his position as the most powerful man in the former thirteen colonies. Giving up his role as Commander-in-Chief of the Army insured that civilian rule would define the new nation, and that a republic would be set in place rather than a dictatorship. John Trumbull, General George Washington Resigning His Commission, c. 1817-1824
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The Articles of Confederation
A debtor wrestles a tax collector by the courthouse at Springfield, Massachusetts. The inability of the government to restore order during Shays' Rebellion demonstrated the weakness of the Articles of Confederation.
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The US Constitution
Delegates to the Constitutional Convention assembled, argued, and finally agreed in this room, styled in the same manner as during the Convention. Photograph of the Assembly Room, Independence Hall, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
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James Madison was a central figure in the reconfiguration of the national government. Madison’s Virginia Plan was a guiding document in the formation of a new government under the Constitution. John Vanderlyn, Portrait of James Madison, 1816
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Assignments and Readings
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Anatomy of the Constitution
Primary Sources
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Objections to the Constitution - George Mason
- How was the Constitution later changed to address Mason's concerns in the first paragraph?
- Explain Mason's concerns regarding members of the House and Senate.
- What is Mason's objection regarding the Supreme Court?
- What effect does Mason's anticipate the lack of a constitutional council will have on the presidency?
- What concern does Mason express regarding the role of the Vice-President?
- Which objections, alluded to in the first paragraph, does Mason specify in the next to last paragraph?
- What is Mason's prediction for the future of the United States?
| george_mason_-_objections_to_the_constitution.pdf |
Slideshows
Videos
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Digital History Textbook
The Critical Period
Having won the Revolutionary war and having negotiated a favorable peace settlement, the Americans still had to establish stable governments. Between 1776 and 1789 a variety of efforts were made to realize the nation's republican ideals. New state governments were established in most states, expanding voting and officeholding rights. Lawmakers let citizens decide which churches to support with their tax monies. Several states adopted bills of rights guaranteeing freedom of speech, assembly, and the press, as well as trial by jury. Western lands were opened to settlement. Educational opportunities for women increased. Most northern states either abolished slavery or adopted a gradual emancipation plan, while some southern states made it easier for slaveowners to manumit individual slaves. Concern for the new nation's political stability led leading revolutionary leaders to draft a new Constitution in 1787, which worked out compromises between large and small states and between northern and southern states.
The Constitution & The Bill of Rights
Between 1776 and 1789 a variety of efforts were made to realize the nation's republican ideals. New state governments were established in most states, expanding voting and officeholding rights. Lawmakers let citizens decide which churches to support with their tax monies. Several states adopted bills of rights guaranteeing freedom of speech, assembly, and the press, as well as trial by jury. Western lands were opened to settlement. Educational opportunities for women increased. Most northern states either abolished slavery or adopted a gradual emancipation plan, while some southern states made it easier for slaveowners to manumit individual slaves.Concern for the new nation's political stability led leading revolutionary leaders to draft a new Constitution in 1787, which worked out compromises between large and small states and between northern and southern states. The federal system balanced power between the national government and the state governments; within the national government, power was divided among three separate branches in a system of checks and balances. In addition to listing the powers of the national government-which include the power to collect taxes, regulate trade, and declare war-the Constitution enumerates the powers forbidden to the states and to Congress; and the procedures for electing and appointing government officials as well as procedures for amending the document. The Bill of Rights, the first ten amendments to the Constitution, was ratified in 1791. These amendments, which were originally intended to protect individual liberties from the power of the central government, guarantee freedom of speech, the press, religion, petition, and assembly; and specify the rights of the accused in criminal and civil cases.
Having won the Revolutionary war and having negotiated a favorable peace settlement, the Americans still had to establish stable governments. Between 1776 and 1789 a variety of efforts were made to realize the nation's republican ideals. New state governments were established in most states, expanding voting and officeholding rights. Lawmakers let citizens decide which churches to support with their tax monies. Several states adopted bills of rights guaranteeing freedom of speech, assembly, and the press, as well as trial by jury. Western lands were opened to settlement. Educational opportunities for women increased. Most northern states either abolished slavery or adopted a gradual emancipation plan, while some southern states made it easier for slaveowners to manumit individual slaves. Concern for the new nation's political stability led leading revolutionary leaders to draft a new Constitution in 1787, which worked out compromises between large and small states and between northern and southern states.
- Introduction
- Articles of Confederation
- The Threat of a Military Coup
- Economic and Foreign Policy problems
- The Tyranny of the Majority
- Shays' Rebellion
The Constitution & The Bill of Rights
Between 1776 and 1789 a variety of efforts were made to realize the nation's republican ideals. New state governments were established in most states, expanding voting and officeholding rights. Lawmakers let citizens decide which churches to support with their tax monies. Several states adopted bills of rights guaranteeing freedom of speech, assembly, and the press, as well as trial by jury. Western lands were opened to settlement. Educational opportunities for women increased. Most northern states either abolished slavery or adopted a gradual emancipation plan, while some southern states made it easier for slaveowners to manumit individual slaves.Concern for the new nation's political stability led leading revolutionary leaders to draft a new Constitution in 1787, which worked out compromises between large and small states and between northern and southern states. The federal system balanced power between the national government and the state governments; within the national government, power was divided among three separate branches in a system of checks and balances. In addition to listing the powers of the national government-which include the power to collect taxes, regulate trade, and declare war-the Constitution enumerates the powers forbidden to the states and to Congress; and the procedures for electing and appointing government officials as well as procedures for amending the document. The Bill of Rights, the first ten amendments to the Constitution, was ratified in 1791. These amendments, which were originally intended to protect individual liberties from the power of the central government, guarantee freedom of speech, the press, religion, petition, and assembly; and specify the rights of the accused in criminal and civil cases.
- What Americans Don't Know About the Constitution
- The Oldest Written National Framework of Government
- Was the Constitutional Convention legal?
- The Delegates
- Philadelphia in 1787
- The Convention
- Republicanism
- Drafting the Constitution
- Compromises
- Completing a Final Draft
- The U.S. Constitution and the Organization of the National Government
- The Constitution and Slavery
- Ratifying the Constitution
- The Bill of Rights
- Amending the Constitution
- Why has the Constitution survived? How has the constitutional system changed?
- Constitutional Quiz