The Constitutional Era American leaders, fearful of a powerful central like Britain s, created the Articles of, adopted at the end of the war.

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1 Standard VUS.5a a) explaining the origins of the Constitution, including the Articles of Confederation. During the Constitutional Era, the Americans made two attempts to establish a workable government based on republican principles. How did America s pre Revolutionary relationship with Britain influence the structure of the first national government? What weaknesses in the Articles of Confederation led to the effort to draft a new constitution? The Constitutional Era American leaders, fearful of a powerful central like Britain s, created the Articles of, adopted at the end of the war. The Articles of Confederation 1. Provided for a weak national 2. Gave no power to tax or regulate among the states 3. Provided for no currency 4. Gave each one vote regardless of 5. Provided for no or judicial

2 Standard VUS.5b Constitution of the United States and how the principles of limited government, consent of the governed, and the social contract are embodied in it by b) identifying the major compromises necessary to produce the Constitution, and the roles of James Madison and George Washington. The Constitution of the United States established a government that shared power between the national government and state governments, protected the rights of states, & provided a system for orderly change through amendments to the Constitution itself. The U.S. Constitution Key issues and their resolutions How did the delegates to the Constitutional Convention balance competing interests? What compromises were reached at the Constitutional Convention? 1. Made law the supreme law of the land when, but otherwise gave the states considerable leeway to themselves 2. power between large and small states by creating a, where each state has two senators, and a House of, where membership is based on 3. Placated the states by counting slaves as three fifths of the when determining representation in the United House of Representatives 4. Avoided a too powerful central by establishing three co equal legislative, executive, and judicial with numerous and balances among them 5. Limited the of the federal to those identified in the Key leaders 1. George, president of the 1. Washington presided at the and, although seldom participating in the, lent his enormous prestige to the. 2. James Madison, of the Constitution 1. Madison, a and a brilliant political philosopher, often led the debate and kept copious of the proceedings the best record have of what transpired at the Constitutional. 2. At the Convention, he authored the Plan, which proposed a federal of three separate branches (legislative,, judicial) and became the for the structure of the new. 3. He later much of the Bill of.

3 Standard VUS.5c c) examining the significance of the Virginia Declaration of Rights and the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom in the framing of the Bill of Rights. The major principles of the Bill of Rights of the Constitution were based on earlier Virginia statutes. The Bill of Rights Virginia Declaration of Rights (George Mason) How was the Bill of Rights influenced by the Virginia Declaration of Rights and the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom? 1. Reiterated the that basic human should not be violated by Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom (Thomas Jefferson) 1. the established church that is, the practice of support for one favored Bill of Rights 1. James consulted the Virginia Declaration of and the Virginia Statute for Religious when drafting the that eventually became the United States Bill of.

4 Standard VUS.5d d) assessing the arguments of Federalists and Anti Federalists during the ratification debates and their relevance to political debate today. Elements of Federalist and Anti Federalist thought are reflected in contemporary political debate on issues such as the size and role of government, federalism, and the protection of individual rights. What were the major arguments for and against the Constitution of 1787 in the leading Federalist and Anti Federalist writings and in the ratification debates? Who were the leading Federalists and Anti Federalists in the pivotal ratification debate in Virginia? Federalists v. Anti Federalists advocated the importance of a strong government, especially to promote economic and public. Today, those who see a primary role for the federal in solving national are heirs to this tradition. Anti Federalists feared an overly central government destructive of the of individuals and the prerogatives of the. Today, the more thinkers echo these concerns and champion, individual initiative, and free. The leading opponents of ratification were Patrick and George Mason; the leading proponents of ratification were Washington and James.

5 Standard VUS.5e e) appraising how John Marshall s precedent setting decisions established the Supreme Court as an independent and equal branch of the national government. Important legal precedents established by the Marshall Court strengthened the role of the United States Supreme Court as an equal branch of the national government. How did Chief Justice John Marshall, a Virginian, contribute to the growth of the United States Supreme Court s importance in relation to the other branches of the national government? The Marshall Court The doctrine of judicial set forth in Marbury v., the doctrine of implied set forth in McCulloch v., and a broadly national view of economic set forth in Gibbons v. Ogden are the foundation blocks of the Court s authority to mediate between branches of, levels of government, and competing business.