E True Hollywood Story The First American Government

E! True Hollywood Story: The First American Government —The Good, The Bad, and the UGLY

Catalyst Respond in 1 paragraph: (10 minutes) What do you think Luella would be like if each teacher could make his/her own rules and Mr. Smith didn’t have central authority anymore? l Imagine each teacher operated his/her own room and was completely separate from the rest of the school

E! LHS: Articles of Confederation

With your host… Me!

The constitution we did not hear about… l Before there was the American Constitution…there were the Articles of Confederation!!!! l Let me tell you, they were more of a disaster than Justin Bieber!

Important Vocabulary Articles of Confederation: 1 st U. S. Constitution (1781 -1788) -States had more power than national (federal) government -Each of the 13 states had 1 vote in congress l Ratify: To sign, approve, and make valid l

A little timeline… l July 4, 1776: U. S. declares independence from Great Britain. The Declaration of Independence is published to the world.

A little timeline… l November 15, 1777: Congress completes the Articles of Confederation. The final version of the Articles of Confederation is adopted by Congress and submitted to the states for ratification. (Ratify means to approve!)

A little timeline… l March 1, 1781: Establishment of the U. S. Government. Maryland ratifies the Articles of Confederation, formally establishing the first government of the United States!

Good times… l It seems like the Articles of Confederation was the answer to everyone’s problem! l Problem 1: Fear of a strong government because of Great Britain SOLUTION: Weak national government, states have more power l Problem 2: States worried certain larger states would control congress SOLUTION: EVERY state (all 13 of them) had the same amount of votes in Congress- 1, no matter how big or small the state was!

The Articles of Confederation l Our first constitution came to life in 1781! The Articles of Confederation Born: 1781

A little timeline… l September 3, 1783: Signing of Treaty of Paris The Treaty of Paris establishes the terms of peace between the United States and Great Britain. FREEEEEEEEDOMMMM!

Hard Times… l Like all celebrities, the Articles of Confederation ran into some problems after its 15 minutes of fame… l Americans started to dislike the Articles of Confederation—because the national government didn’t have enough power and states started competing with each other (Shay’s Rebellion)

The Articles of Confederation… l It looks like Lindsay Lohan and Lamar Odom will have a new friend in rehab…

A little timeline… l May 25, 1787: First meeting of the Constitutional Convention Delegates from all states except Rhode Island meet in Philadelphia for the purpose of revising the Articles of Confederation.

A little timeline… l September 17, 1787 Draft of constitution submitted to the states The Constitutional Convention sends its draft of the U. S. Constitution to the states for ratification.

Once you are done categorizing the A. O. C. l Decide if the AOC were good or bad. Write a paragraph either supporting or criticizing the AOC using at least 3 pieces of evidence. l Look at your list of weaknesses and decide what was the biggest weakness.

The First American Government difficult to pass laws because 9 out of 13 states’ approval was needed no judicial branch to interpret laws difficult to change Articles because unanimous vote was needed WEAKNESSES OF THE ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION no executive branch to enforce laws lacked power to collect taxes no means to regulate trade with foreign countries

Up Next… l The Weakest Link! Don’t miss the newest episode on the Articles of Confederation!

WEAKEST LINK l In your groups, you must argue why your weaknesses is the most important weakness!

Exit Ticket 1. 2. 3. 4. What are the Articles of confederation? What does it mean to “Ratify” something? Who had more power under the AOCstates or the national government? What is one weakness of the AOC?

Journal Question l The U. S. government just came up with a way to eavesdrop on people using their own cell phones—even when their phones are turned off!! Do you think the U. S. government has too much power if they are able to do this? EXPLAIN.

Debate over Ratification l There was a debate whether or not the U. S. should ratify the Constitution. l Ratify= to approve.

Debate over Ratifaction l To have a strong government or not to have a strong government, that is the question.

The Federalists l The federalists supported the Constitution. l They wanted a strong national government.

The Antifederalists l The Antifederalists were against the Constitution. l The Antifederalists feared that the Constitution would create a government that was too strong and would end up just like King George of England—what a jerk he was!

Key Points Federalists l l l 1. Want a STRONG national government—support Constitution. 2. Want both state and national government—but National is stronger. Wanted federalism. 3. Want an executive branch (president) and other branches. 4. Want popular sovereignty—meaning government has to please people 5. Believe Bill of Rights unnecessary.

Key Points of Antifederalists l l l 1. They want limited government and rule of law. 2. They feared that a national government would have too much power. 3. Believed that state power should have more power than national government—because they’re closer. 4. Criticized the Constitution because it lacked the Bill of Rights which gave people their freedom. 5. They favored a weak national government of the U. S. —they wanted the A. O. C.

Key points of Federalists l l l 1. They believed the Bill of Rights was unnecessary because government had limited power. 2. They both wanted written Constitution that had limited government. 3. Wanted a republican government with a strong national government. 4. They wanted both state and national government but national government to be strong. 5. They wanted federalism—which is a division of power between states and national government.

Small States Unhappy l Small states were upset because they worried they would not get their voices heard because the large states would dominate the national government. Vs.

The Great Compromise l To make sure both large and small states were happy, they decided to: l Determine the number of representatives in the House of Representatives by the state’s population. (Makes big states happy) l Give EVERY state 2 representatives in Senate. (Makes small states happy)

Federalists l l l 1. Wanted a republican government (which means there are representatives) 2. Strong National Government 3. Believe that power in the national government should be split—with president and other branches of government. 4. Believe that the people should NOT vote for the president—only house of representatives 5. Believe the Bill of Rights was not necessary.

Antifederalist l l l 1. Believe that the constitution needed a Bill of Rights. --Because the bill of rights would prevent strong government from taking people’s rights. 2. Wanted a republic government. 3. Wanted a weak government. 4. Wanted states to have power. 5. Believe that state power should be stronger than national government. 6. Believe constitution gave too much power to the national government.

2 things to get our Constitution l 1. Great Compromise—made small states and large states happy. l 2. Bill of Rights—once the bill of rights was included in the constitution, the Antifederalists agreed to sign the Constitution. (Bill of Rights made Antifederalists happy because its citizens’ freedom—didn’t have to worry about too strong a government because their rights were protected. l

Independent Practice l You are to choose one of the following: A. Pretend you are a FEDERALIST. Write a letter convincing your friend why the Constitution is necessary and so great. Pretend you are an ANTIFEDERALIST. Write a letter convincing your friend why the Constitution is horrible and would ruin America. B.