The Beginnings of Our Government

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The Beginnings of Our Government
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3 Ideas

• Ordered Government
• Limited Government
• Representative Government

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Ordered Government

• English saw need for an orderly regulation of
  their relationships with one another (need for
  government)
• Created local governments based on the ones they
  had known in England

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Limited Government

• Colonists had the idea that government is not
  all-powerful.
• Limited Government government is restricted in
  what it may do and each individual has certain
  rights that government cannot take away

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Representative Government

• Government should serve the will of the people.
• People should have a voice in deciding what
  government should and should not do.

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Articles of Confederation

• Complete Anticipation Guide at this time

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Creating the Constitution
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Weakness of the AOC

• One vote per state regardless of population.
• Congress cannot collect taxes
• Congress cannot regulate trade
• No executive branch
• No national court system
• Unanimous vote in order to amend (make changes)

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Framers

• Group of delegates who drafted the Constitution
• Characteristics
• Educated
• Political Experience
• Wealthy

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Virginia Plan

• Mostly written by James Madison
• 3 branches of government
• Bicameral Congress
• Representation based on population

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• Members of the House would be popularly elected.
• Senate would be chosen by members of the House
• Small states did not like this plan

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New Jersey Plan

• Wiliam Patterson wrote it.
• Unicameral congress
• Each state represented equally
• Larger states did not like this plan

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Connecticut Compromise

• AKA Great Compromise
• Congress composed of 2 houses.
• Senate States represented equally
• House Representation based on population

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3/5 Compromise

• Question came about Should slaves be counted
  in the population?
• South YES because it meant more representation
  in Congress.
• North NO because it would make the South too
  powerful (VA and SC almost 43 of the population)
• Compromise All free people count in population
  all others count as 3/5 of a person. This
  formula would also be used to calculate taxes
• No longer exists (13th Amendment)

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Constitution RatifiedSeptember 17, 1787
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