Have your notebook out!
Unit 3 Government 10/26/17
Upcountry Vs. Lowcountry
Fighting over South Carolina After the war, Upcountry and Lowcountry fought for control over the government and power in South Carolina. Upcountry v. Lowcountry: Most major cities and the capital was in the Lowcountry, = the most power. Upcountry = larger population = fought to move the capital to Columbia in 1786. Balanced power and fixed many political problems.
Fighting over South Carolina Lowcountry planters = afraid to give equal representation to the upcountry farmers. Upcountry farmers did not support slavery. This changed after the invention of the cotton gin, b/c the need for slave labor in the upcountry increased. As the number of slaves in the Upcountry increased = the willingness of the Lowcountry to share power increased. Compromise of 1808 the legislature agreed to reapportionment representation based on the white population and taxable property (slaves)
Creating a New Nation
South Carolina s front row seat SC took an active role in the establishment of a new national government (Continental Congress). Henry Laurens of South Carolina served as president of Continental Congress during the negotiations of the Articles of Confederation.
Articles of Confederation - The Broken Government The Articles of Confederation: Ratified by the states in 1781 and became official law of the US. Set up a weak central government to avoid infringing on the rights of citizens like the British. Had no president to lead the country, or Judicial/Court System. Had a Unicameral, one-house, Legislature called Congress. Congress could not raise money by taxes so they requested that states donate money to the national government. Laws/rules could be approved by a 9 of 13 majority state vote and could be amended (changed or added to) by unanimous state vote.
Honey we got problems The Articles were effective during the war b/c the states agreed on the need to defeat Great Britain, but after the war the articles proved to be ineffective. A weak Congress and government struggled to pass new laws to regulate trade between the US and other nations. War debts were unable to be paid and the country lacked leadership without a president.
Articles of Confederation As you read each of the articles, use the graphic organizer to decide as a group if this describes: state power, national power, or weaknesses of the Articles For State Govt. Powers : you should have about 5 National Govt. Powers : about 6 Weaknesses of the Articles : about 8 (You can use your notes, too)
Out with the old and in with the new
Constitutional Convention 1787 Delegates met in Philadelphia to solve problems of the Articles of Confederation. Henry Laurens and Charles Pinckney were selected as delegates from SC, but Laurens was unable to attend. Pinckney was an early advocate for a stronger national government. He chaired a committee that recommended amendments to strengthen the government. Convention met in May of 1787 and debated over whether to amend the Articles or to write an entirely new Constitution. Delegates argued in a hot summer meeting room for several days, working over 10-16 hours a day. After debate, the decision was finally made to form a new government.
The fight for representation
Options for Representation Virginia Plan: New Jersey Plan: Supported by large states who wanted rep. based on population only. Supported by smaller who wanted rep. to be equal for every state. Arguments over each view almost ruined the Convention, until a compromise was made!
The GREAT Compromise aka the Connecticut Plan Proposed by Roger Sherman. House of Representatives = based on population(virgina plan) The Senate = equal for each state(new Jersey plan) (2 Senators for per state). South Carolina supported this plan
Compromise, Compromise, Compromise ⅗ Compromise: Southern states wanted slaves to be counted in the population & north did not. Every five slaves would be counted as three people. SC was disappointed with the change but agreed with the law! Commerce Compromise The federal government would not tax exports or attempt to regulate the international slave trade for at least 20 years.
SC at the Convention Supported a strong president with 6-7 yr. terms Believed in taxation as long as there were no taxes on exports (cash crops). Only property owners could hold office SC supported the Virginia Plan and the 3 new branches of Government Feared a strong central gov t that would limit commerce and outlaw the slave trade Charles Pinckney thought ending slavery would ruin the economy.
Ratifying the Constitution In September 1787 the Constitution was sent to each of the states for ratification. It would take 9 of the 13 states to approve the document and put it into action. SC s meeting was held in Charleston, despite the capital having already been moved to Columbia. Lowcountry had more representation than the Upcountry and their delegates influenced the voting.
Bell Work 10-31 1) Why would southern states be upset about the ⅗ Compromise? 2) What plan about how states are represented did the US settle on? What did it do?
Opposing views on Ratification Anti-Federalists. Opposed a strong government and feared the elite would have too much power and abuse the rights of the people. Federalists. Argued for a strong govt. that could be influential in Foreign Affairs, establish better trade relations, and fix the economy. Anti-federalists were outvoted and SC ratified the Constitution, making SC the 8th state to join the US.
Who said it? Federalist or Anti-Federalist Who said it?
The Bill of Rights The Constitution said nothing about the rights of individuals. Included 10 essential human rights that could not be denied to any person. First 10 Amendments to the Constitution. Anti-Federalists made sure these were included
Bill of Rights Scenarios Use the purple sheet to help you figure out if your scenarios are in violation. -Circle violation or No violation -Provide support: explain, using the purple sheet, why or why not Discussion Today: -Should taking a knee before NFL games be considered freedom of speech and should be protected? -Should there be any legal reaction to mass shooting occurring within the country? (Think Las Vegas)
11/1 Bell Work As you come in, grab a handout and a paper from the envelope(federalist vs. Anti-Federalist) Use your notes and the paper you put into your notebook to help you determine whether these people would be Federalists or Anti-Federalists: 1. 2. Tape or glue the small paper near the notes from yesterday. 3. 4. A small farmer in the Upcountry that is worried that the new government will charge him too much in taxes to raise a national army. A rich banker in New York that feels the new government will make friendships with new countries and get him profit. A SC man that liked the Articles of Confederation; he thinks the new government is too big/powerful. A shopkeeper that feels like a strong national government will set fair laws and policies to protect him and his business.
Principles of Government
Popular Sovereignty: The authority of the government comes from the people. Individual Rights: Unalienable rights guaranteed to all citizens.
Federalism: Divides governmental powers between the federal government and the state governments. https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=va3jpgjk7xs
Separation of Powers: The national government was divided into three separate branches to the limit the power of any one branch. Legislative Branch: Congress writes the laws Judicial Branch: Court (Supreme) Judges if laws are constitutional Executive Branch: President enforces the laws
Checks and Balances: Each branch checks the power of the other, to keep one branch from becoming too powerful.
Limited Government: Powers of the government was restricted by the Constitution and the Bill of Rights to protect the rights of individuals. Representative Democracy: We, the people Voters hold the power to elect representatives to exercise power for them.
Documents A & B -Start reading Document A & B today -Answer the questions on the bottom about each one (You can write on this, you may work with your table)
Bell Work Grab a slip of paper from the front. -You can use your notes for this! -Have Documents A+B out from yesterday