Chapter 9, Lesson 4

ACOS #9: List inadequacies of the Articles of Confederation and struggles over the ratification of the Constitution.ACOS #9a: List powers granted to Congress, the President, and those of the people.ACOS #9b: Discuss major ideas of the Constitution, including powers of the three branches of government.ACOS #9d: Describe the process by which territories achieve statehood under the Constitution.

The First PresidentThe First President•In 1789, states chose representatives for a group called the electoral college.•It was the job of the electoral college to select a president.

•Everyone in the electoral college agreed that George Washington was the one for the job.

•George Washington became the first President under the Constitution.

Washington’s Government

• Congress created 3 departments to help Washington run the executive branch.

• An inauguration is an official ceremony to make someone President.

• His inauguration was held in New York City.

Washington’s Appointees• Thomas Jefferson became

Washington’s Secretary of State; Alexander Hamilton became Secretary of Treasury; General Henry Knox became Secretary of War; Edmund Randolph became Attorney General.

• Together these men became known as the President’s Cabinet.

• A cabinet is a group chosen by the President to help run the executive branch and give the President advice.

Arguments in the Cabinet• Jefferson and

Hamilton disagreed so often that followers of each formed political parties.

• A political party is a group of people who share similar ideas about government.

A National Bank• Hamilton supported a

National Bank. • Washington agreed and set up a National

Bank. The bank controlled the money of the United States.

• Customers could keep money in savings accounts. The bank borrows from savings accounts and makes loans.

• The bank earns money on the loans by charging interest.

• Interest is what people pay to borrow money.

The New Capital• Hamilton supported Jefferson’s idea to

build a new capital on the Potomac River.• A capital is the city where the government

meets.• President Washington chose the exact location. The

city was named Washington after the President.

• Pierre L’Enfant designed the city.

• After 8 years as President, Washington retired.

In Review for Chapter 9 Test…1. The states did not want a strong central government.2. The Articles of Confederation gave the state more power than the national

government.3. In 1787, Congress called a meeting about the Articles of Confederation to

make the national government stronger.4. Congress can print and borrow money.5. Congress cannot force states to obey its laws.6. Only white men who owned land were represented at the Constitutional

Convention.7. some delegates to the Constitutional Convention thought a republic would

protect citizens rights.8. The three branches of government are: executive, legislative, and judicial.9. The system of checks and balances keeps each branch of government

from becoming stronger than the others.

10. The Bill of Rights protects freedom of speech and religion.11. In a federal system of government, the states share power with the

central government.12. The states compromised about slavery by saying every five enslaved

people counted as three free people.13. The Continental Congress created a plan for a national government.

The plan was called the Articles of Confederation. It created a weak national government that left most power with the states.

14. Small states did not like the Virginia Plan because it gave more power to large states.

15. Some of the powers granted to congress in the Constitution are: to raise money through taxes or borrowing, coin money, make laws, maintain an army and navy.

16. Some of the powers granted to the President in the Constitution are: grant pardons, make treaties, fill vacancies in the Senate, commission all officers of the armed forces, power to veto.

17. A territory may be admitted to the Union as a state after its officers petition Congress for an enabling act, establish a constitution, and meet certain requirements as set forth by the U.S. Congress.

Describe the role of each branch of the national government:Legislative (Congress = Senate and House of Representatives):

LAWS—Can write and enact laws, can declare warExecutive (President): may veto laws, wages war, appoints judges,

oversees the running of the countryJudicial (Courts): JUDGES-interpret the law, determines if laws are

unconstitutional

Bill of Rights TestThe first 10 amendments to the Constitution are called the Bill of Rights. An

amendment is an official change or addition to a law. The Bill of Rights is like a promise to the people of the United States. It lists many of the individual promises to protect.

1. Freedom of religion, speech, petition and assembly, and the press.2. Right to bear arms.3. People do not have to allow solders to live in their homes (quartering).4. Police cannot search people or their homes without good reason (warrants).5. People accused of a crime have the right to a fair trial, and cannot be charged for the same crime twice

(double jeopardy). Accused people do not have to speak against themselves at a trial.6. People have the right to a speedy, public trial by jury. You also have the right to a lawyer, and be told what

crime they are accused of.7. If people have a disagreement about something worth more than $20, they have the right to a trial by jury.8. Accused people can remain out of jail until their trial on bail (in most cases). Bail cannot be too high and

you cannot punish people in cruel ways.9. People have other rights besides those slated in the Constitution.10. Any powers the Constitution does not give to the federal government belong to the states or the people.

Key Vocabulary Words**An official ceremony

to make someone President.

inauguration

**A group chosen by the Presidentto help run the executive branch

cabinet

Key Vocabulary Words**A group of people who share similar ideas about

government.

political party

**What people pay to borrow money

interest

**City where the government meets

capital