Chapter 7 Section 3

A new plan of governmentpp. 207-213

This section outlines the responsibilities and limits of the national government.Key terms:Enlightenment * ratifyFederalism * FederalistArticle * AntifederalistLegislative branch * amendmentJudicial branchChecks & balances

Roots of the ConstitutionThe delegates studied and discussed the history of political development- so that their new government would avoid past mistakes.

1. What influenced the Constitution?Magna Carta- 1215- Limited the power of the king.English Bill of Rights- 1689- listed individual rights. John Locke (English philosopher)- believed all people have natural rights- life, liberty, and property.Baron de Montesquieu- powers of the government should be separated and balanced.

2. What ideas did the Enlightenment promote?The idea of knowledge, reason and science.

The Federal System3. What is Federalism?Sharing of power between the federal and state governments.

Federal Govt.State Govt.Power

Federal Government4. Power to:TaxIssue MoneyRegulate tradeRaise an armyDeclare warPass laws

State Government5. Power to:Pass and enforce laws.Regulate trade within their borders.Establish local governments, schools,

Shared Powers6. The federal and state governments shared the power to 1) TAX and2) to BUILD ROADS.

The government was divided into 3 branches.Legislative BranchExecutive BranchJudicial Branch

7. Legislative Branch-Law making branch. House of Rep. Senate*the # of representatives is * the # of rep. isbased on the population. equal- 2 for each state.

Powers of Congress (legislative branch)Collecting taxesCoining moneyRegulating tradeDeclaring warRaising and supporting an armyMakes all the laws!!!

8. Executive Branch- headed by the President- carries out laws and policies.President is the Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces.Conducts relations with foreign countries.The president and vice-president are elected by the Electoral College.

9. Judicial Branch- court systemMade up of the Supreme Court and all lower courts.Supreme Court hears cases involving the Constitution.

Define:Article a partElectoral College Special group that elects the president and vice-presidentAmendment something added to a document

10. Checks and Balances- keeps any one branch from having too much power.Both houses must pass a bill before it becomes a law.The president can veto a bill.The judicial branch makes sure laws do not conflict with the constitution.

Checks and Balances- (cont.)Congress can override a veto with 2/3 vote of both houses.The President appoints Supreme Court members. The Senate must approves the justices.

11. Adopting the Constitution states needed to ratify, or approve the plan.

Those that supported the Constitution were called Federalists. A series of essays were written by Madison, Hamilton and Jay called the Federalist Papers. Federalists feared disorder without a strong central government.

11. continuedThose opposed to the constitution were called Antifederalists. They feared oppression more than disorder.

11. Continued Delaware was the 1st state to ratify.New Hampshire was the 9th state to ratify.Virginia was hesitant to ratify the Constitution because it lacked a Bill of Rights.

James Madison- Father of the Constitution

Adopting the ConstitutionThe first ten amendments, Bill of Rights, was added to the Constitution in 1791.