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Creating the Constitution. What document established our first National Government? . The Articles of Confederation was our first attempt at a National Government The articles failed for 5 major reasons Unicameral legislature (only one house, Congress) Weak central government
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What document established our first National Government? • The Articles of Confederation was our first attempt at a National Government • The articles failed for 5 major reasons • Unicameral legislature (only one house, Congress) • Weak central government • Congress couldn’t tax • Needed UNANIMOUS agreement to amend • Congress couldn’t regulate trade
What was Shay’s Rebellion? • Aseries of protests in 1786 and 1787 by American farmers against state and local enforcement of tax collections • farmers took up arms in states from New Hampshire to South Carolina, the rebellion was most serious in Massachusetts, where bad harvests, economic depression, and high taxes threatened farmers with the loss of their farms. • Named after the leader Daniel Shay’s • Shay’s Rebellion shows Americans turning on Americans, which let the founding fathers know SOMETHING had to change
What happened in 1786? • Delegates from 5 states met in Maryland to discuss ways to promote trade among the states
What was the original purpose of the Constitutional Convention? • For “sole and express purpose of revising the Articles of Confederation” • 55 delegates from 12 states – No Rhode Island – didn’t see anything wrong with Articles
When did the Constitutional Convention take place, and who was there? • May 25, 1787 in Philadelphia. 55 delegates including George Washington and James Madison were there. • George Washington was the president of the Constitutional Convention (and later became our first president)
Why was the Convention kept a secret? • To try to come up with a plan of government, without causing chaos, turmoil, and having too much input from too many directions.
Who is known as the father of the Constitution? • James Madison, because he wrote the Constitution.
Who are the founding fathers? • The people who were at the Constitutional Convention
Who did not attend the Constitution Convention? • Thomas Jefferson and John Adams were overseas • Patrick Henry refused to go
What two plans were looked at in regards to representation for Congress? • The Virginia Plan • The New Jersey Plan