I) Republicrepresentative democracy

A) Articles of Confederation

1st “constitution”—written in 1777

1) Northwest Ordinance

provided an orderly plan for statehood for the Northwest Territory

B) Failure of the Articles: Shays’ Rebellion

II) Constitutional Convention

1786 uprising of Massachusetts farmers that led to a call to “fix” the Articles

A) James Madison (“Father of the Constitution”)

B) Checks & Balances (Montesquieu)

divide government into branches

Legislative Executive Judicial

1) Three Branches

each branch would have something only they could do (separation of powers)each had a chance to keep another from doing something (checks & balances)

(Congress)(President)(Supreme Court)

Legislative Branch (passes)

Executive Branch

(enforces)

Judicial Branch

(interprets)

Separation of Powers

(passes) (vetoes)(overrides)

(judicial review)

Checks & Balances

2) Virginia Plan: representation based on population

3) New Jersey Plan: representation the same for each state4) “The Great Compromise”

combination of VA & NJ Plans—created a bicameral legislature

a) House of Representatives

population

b) Senate2 per state

5) Three-Fifths Compromise

5 blacks (slaves) = 3 whites (non-slaves)to ease southern concerns about representation in Legislative Branch

6) Supremacy Clause Constitution is the “supreme law of the land”

7) Federalism

power shared by the central government and the states

III) Ratification

A) Federalists vs. Antifederalists

Federalists: worried about anarchy without a strong central government

Antifederalists: worried a strong central government would trample on rights

1) The Federalist Papers (The Federalist)series of newspaper articles explaining the need for the Constitution

B) Bill of Rights

1st 10 Amendments to the Constitutionprotects individual rights from government abusewritten by James Madison to convince the Antifederalists to support the Constitution

IV) Writ of Habeas Corpus

“due process” rights (to see if you’re being held legally)

without it, you could be held indefinitely without trialV) Electoral College

each state’s electoral vote = number of members of Congress from that state, & they choose the President

The Housegathers evidence

Senate

holds a trial

VI) Impeachment