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STANDARD US1.7a
Weak
Government Under Articles of Confederation |
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The student will demonstrate knowledge of the
challenges faced by the new nation by
a) identifying the weaknesses of the government established by the Articles
of Confederation. |
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What were the basic weaknesses of the
Articles of Confederation? |
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The Articles of Confederation was a constitution written
during the American Revolution to establish the powers of the new national
government |
Articles of Confederation
• Provided for a weak national government
• Gave Congress no power to tax or regulate commerce among the states
• Provided for no common currency
• Gave each state one vote regardless of size
• Provided for no executive or judicial branch |
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STANDARD US1.7b
Basic Principles of our
New Government Established by Constitution |
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The student will demonstrate knowledge of the
challenges faced by the new nation by
b) identifying the basic principles of the new government established by the
Constitution of the United States of America and the Bill of Rights. |
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What were the basic principles of
governments stated in the Constitution of the United States of America and
Bill of Rights? |
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The Constitution
established a federal system
of government based on power shared between
the national and state governments. |
Federal system of government:
A system that
divides governmental powers between national government and the governments
of the states
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The Bill of Rights
provided a written guarantee of individual rights. |
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Basic principles of government
Separation of
powers
• The structure of the new national government was based on James Madison’s
“Virginia Plan,” which called for three separate branches of government:
– Legislative Branch (Congress) makes the laws. Congress is a two-house
legislature in which all states are represented equally in the Senate (two
Senators per state) and people are represented in the House of
Representatives (number of a state’s representatives is based on state’s
population).
– Judicial Branch (Supreme Court) determines if laws made by Congress are
constitutional.
– Executive Branch (President) carries out the laws. |
Checks and balances
• Each branch can check the power of the other.
• These checks keep any one branch from gaining too much power.
Bill of Rights
• James Madison was the author of the Bill of Rights.
• The first ten amendments to the Constitution of the United States of
America provide a written guarantee of individual rights
(e.g., freedom of
speech, freedom of religion). |
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