Were Free Now What Georgia Constitution of 1777

We’re Free!!! Now What?

Georgia Constitution of 1777 It is based upon the Principles of the Declaration of Independence It was not a constitution capable of supporting the realistic needs of governing a state. It had three branches of government: Legislative Executive Judicial

Georgia Constitution of 1777 Features of the Constitution Most Power was given to the Unicameral (onehouse) legislature. The legislature appointed the members of the executive branch, including the state governor The legislature also appointed members of the judicial branch

Georgia Constitution of 1777 Governor served a one-year term. A superior court was created for each county Georgia citizens had many freedoms: Freedom of the press Freedom of Religion Trial by jury

Georgia Constitution of 1777 Strengths Separation of the government branches Protection of basic rights

Georgia Constitution of 1777 Weaknesses Legislature has too much power. Electing the governor, his council, and all state officials The legislature had only one house - No check on its power A one-year term limited the governor’s effectiveness.

Georgia constitution of 1777 The constitution was not ratified by a vote of the people; therefore, it did not represent their interests. With all of its weaknesses, it was still the state’s constitution for 12 years

Question? The Constitution of 1777 gave a lot of power to the legislature (which typically upholds the rights of the people), and not to the governor. Why do think that was such an important issue in 1777?

Articles of Confederation Foundation of the new government Written at first with a strong central government Many states apposed this idea They just got their freedom; they didn’t want to give it away to a controlling national government.

Articles of Confederation So… they provided a weak central government and gave the states a lot of authority over their own affairs. This was based upon their experience with the British monarchy. It had too many limitations that kept the government from running smoothly.

Articles of Confederation Power the government had under the Articles of Confederation. Declare war Coin money Establish Post Offices Send and recall Ambassadors

Articles of Confederation Power the government did not have under the Articles of Confederation. Levy (impose) taxes to fund the government (they had to ask the states for support. ) Could not regulate the trade between states. (States could put tariffs on each other. ) Could not raise an army without the states’ permission, leaving the country defenseless.

Articles of Confederation Group Activity: On your desk you will find instructions for each team member, 4 incidents report case studies, 4 incident reports, and 4 graphic organizers. Each member of the team needs to read one incident report and complete the case study. Each member needs to share with the rest of the team what he/she discovered in his/her case study. As a team, the members will fill out the graphic organizer, using what you learned through the case studies. Individually, each member will answer the question on the instruction sheet.

Articles of Confederation Serious weaknesses of the AOC: Strong legislative branch, no executive or judicial branch (no court system to settle disputes. ) Each state had its own currency Congress could make laws but could not force the states to comply with them One vote per state no matter the size of the state’s population.

A Limping Government It soon became clear that the national government was too weak. “a half-starved, limping government” - George Washington States argued over borders and trade, and Congress had no power to stop them Foreign governments did not know who to deal with – USA or individual states. It became clear; we needed something else

Constitutional Convention In September of 1786, Alexander Hamilton and James Madison called a meeting for the states to discuss their disagreements. Only 5 representatives came Another meeting was scheduled for May 1787

Constitutional Convention Their intention was to revise the AOC, but they wound up throwing it out altogether They wrote the Constitution of the United States. Georgia appointed six delegates to the Constitutional Convention.

Constitutional Convention Two did not attend Two left early Two stayed and signed Abraham Baldwin William Few

Constitutional Convention Compromises during the constitutional convention Three-fifths Compromise: agreed upon by the north and south which allowed for slaves to count toward a state’s overall population by counting slaves as 3/5 of a person Why?

Constitutional Convention Great Compromise: created a bicameral (two-house) legislature where each state had two members in the Senate but representation in the House of Representatives is based on the state’s population. Abraham Baldwin helped develop the Great Compromise

Constitutional Convention Smaller states were worried that they would not get equal representation. The Great Compromise made it fair for both the larger and smaller states.

Georgia’s Role at the Constitutional Convention Georgians supported a strong central government. To protect them from a threatened Indian war and from the Spanish who had regained possession of Florida. To ensure that a centralized government would improve trade regulations (Savannah and coastal regions)

Georgia’s Role continued… William Few represented Georgia well by casting important nationalist votes during critical times at the convention. He also worked hard to make sure the U. S. constitution was approved by the Constitutional Congress and by his home state. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the U. S. Constitution on January 2, 1788.

Georgia’s Role continued… Abraham Baldwin, one of 4 Georgia delegates sent to Constitutional Convention Baldwin and William Few were the only 2 delegates to sign the Constitution Help decide state representation for the legislature Helped bring about the “Great Compromise” Baldwin considered this greatest accomplishment