Unit 2 Creating Our Nation Chapter 7 A

Unit 2: Creating Our Nation Chapter 7: A More Perfect Union

Constitutions- Why bother? • Colonists thought written constitutions were important b/c they would: • 1. spell out the rights of all citizens the gov’t’s power • 2. set limits on

State Constitutions • In May 1776, Congress urged the colonies to replace the colonial charters they had with new constitutions

State Constitutions • These “state” constitutions would set the foundations for the local gov’ts, while Congress worked on a national blueprint for governing the whole country

• We’ll talk about The Constitution (for the whole country) and the national gov’t later • For right now, everything we talk about will focus on individual state constitutions & state gov’ts

What were the colonists’ main concerns as they wrote new state constitutions? • One was fear of giving too much power to a few people (gov’t leaders) • Why would they have been so concerned about this?

Their solution: • Divide power between 2 branches of gov’t: • Legislative & Executive

• Legislative Branch • Executive Branch • Writes laws • Enforces laws

The Legislative Branch of State Gov’ts • The lawmaking branch • The states’ voters directly elected their representatives

The Legislative Branch • All states except PA & GA created bicameral (2 house) legislatures • Members of each house represented geographic districts within the state • Let’s get a better idea of how it works

• Every state has its own Senate and its own H of R You get the idea

In the Connecticut Senate, • there are 36 members • Each member represents a district with about 94, 600 people living there • We live in District 34 and Len Fasano is our representative

In the Connecticut House of Representatives, • there are 151 members • Each member represents a district with about 22, 600 people living there • We live in District 87 and David Yaccarino is our representative

Interesting Legislation • Did you know that at one point in Alabama it was illegal to wear a false moustache in church if it made people laugh?

Did you know that… • at one point in Arizona it was illegal to kick a mule, but it was legal for a mule to kick a person?

What other weird laws were there? • In California, a person had to have a permit to set a mouse trap • Unbelievably cute

• In Colorado, it was illegal to throw shoes at a bridal couple

• In Florida, all residents had to wear clothes in the bathtub

• In Idaho, no one could buy a chicken after dark without permission from the sheriff • Yes, that’s a chicken

• In Illinois, an animal could be sent to jail

• In Louisiana, whistling on Sunday was forbidden

• It was illegal in parts of Maryland to mistreat an oyster

• In Michigan, a woman’s hair was property of her husband

• In Nevada, it was illegal to drive camels onto main highways

More weird laws will be in the next slideshow

The Executive Branch of State Gov’ts • Carried out (“executed”) laws the legislative branch made • A governor headed the branch in each state

What about the national gov’t? • Writing a blueprint for a national gov’t was especially hard b/c in 1776, few Americans felt like members of one nation they felt loyalty to their own states • Instead,

• The Articles of Confederation was finally finished in Nov. , 1777, & would go into effect after every state had ratified (approved) it

Most states ratified the Articles shortly thereafter • The exception was MD, which, b/c of disputes over land claims, didn’t ratify them until 1781

Procrastinating

The Articles of Confederation became… • the first constitution of the U. S. • It established a loose alliance of states, rather than a strong central gov’t

Under the Articles of Confederation, instead of… one strong, united country It was more like…

• The Articles made the Continental Congress the national lawmaking body, in which each state had one vote

Weaknesses of the Articles • Had no authority over individual citizens • Very little control over state gov’ts • Congress left it to the states to enforce laws

Weaknesses • There was no provision for a court system • If states disagreed, they had no place to resolve their differences

Weaknesses • The Articles didn’t require the states to send money to the national gov’t (pay taxes) • Money from wartime was worthless, and government had no power to collect from states or citizens

• George Washington called the Articles- “a shadow without substance, ” b/c it gave the gov’t no real national authority • Problems with other countries like Britain and Spain could not be resolved easily.

• This made for an unstable country that would struggle through many problems until a new constitution could be written

Section 1 From Independent States to a Republic The Articles of Confederation created a weak central government and strong state governments. New Land Policies As people moved west, the country needed a process for new states joining the Union. Trouble on Two Fronts Financial problems and disputes with Britain and Spain revealed serious weaknesses of the Confederation government.

Vocab 1 constitution a list of fundamental laws to support a government

Vocab 2 bicameral consisting of two houses, or chambers, especially in a legislature

Vocab 3 republic a government in which citizens rule through elected representatives

Vocab 4 petition a formal request

Vocab 5 ordinance a law or regulation

Vocab 6 depreciate to fall in value

Vocab 7 abandon  give up

Vocab 8 clause a condition added to a document