Unit 4 Writing a Constitution

1. Unit 4Writing a Constitution QUICK FACTS

2. Daniel Shay organized a rebellion to protest the unfair treatment of farmers • The Articles of Confederation was the first written document of self-government in North America • The purpose of the Federalist Papers was to defend the Constitution • James Madison is often called the “Father of the Constitution”. • A territory could ask Congress to be admitted as a new member when it had a population of 60,000 free settlers

3. The Great Compromise assured there would be two houses in Congress • Nine (9) states had to ratify the Constitution before it could go into effect • One of the rights granted to Congress by the Articles of Confederation was the ability to declare war • Anti-Federalist objected to the Constitution because it did not include a Bill of Rights • The Northwest Ordinance of 1787 provided a way to admit new states to the Union • Virginia was the only state to have a Bill of Rights in their Constitution

4. Small states wanted a legislature that gave each state the same number of members • The First Amendment in the Bill of Rights protects freedom of speech • Three delegates refused to sign the Constitution for fear it gave to much power to the National Government • The 3/5s Compromise benefitted southern states by allowing them to have more representatives in the House • The nation’s first capital was located in New York City

5. The original goal of the Constitutional Convention of 1787 was to revise the Articles of Confederation • The Constitution can be changed by amendments • Most of the 13 states formed the new governments by writing constitutions • The Articles of Confederation did not create a strong national government