The Birth of a New NationAnd a the New State of

GEORGIA

MISS ADAMS IS THE GREATEST TEACHER ON

THE PLANET AND MR. BARRETT KNOWS IT.

The Birth of a New Nation

• The USA does not have an official date of its birth. The transition from 13 separate colonies to a United States of America – spanned a decade and created quite a bit of growing pains.

Definitions

• Constitution: Similar to a charter in that it is a plan of operation for a government. It is the highest level of law. It spells out what the government can and can not do and sets up the different branches of government.

• Confederation: A union of independent and equal states where most power resides with the state.

• Ratify: To approve of a constitution. If a state ratifies it – they have given consent for it to be used.

• Bicameral: 2 houses• Unicameral: 1 house

Timeline of Events

• On p. 173 in the Blue Book, please copy down the timeline up to 1800. Separate

the timeline from Nation and State. Include these 4 dates

• April 1776 – 2nd Continental Congress• July 1776 – Declaration of Independence

is signed.• November 1777: USA begins writing first

constitution (Goes into effect 1781)• February 1777: Georgia begins writing

first constitution (Goes into effect 1777)

The Articles of Confederation

• First constitution of the Unites States of America

• It created a structure for the government of the USA for 9 years.

• It created a mess and had to be thrown out because of it.

• Here are the reasons it created a mess.

““T” Chart T” Chart Articles of ConfederationArticles of Confederation

Strengths Weaknesses

• First written constitution – Articles of Confederation (Nov. 1777)

• Had a Legislature

• Strong State governments

• Weak central government

• No Executive or Judicial Branch – no one to enforce laws or hear disputes

• Did not allow the central (federal) government to levy (impose) taxes

• Weak Union, feared strong central government

• No “Checks and Balances”

• Central Government did not have taxes, so no military

• Central Government did not print money

•All power lied with the states

• Each state had an equal vote in Congress – regardless of size or population

Georgia Constitution of 1777

• Georgia’s first constitution

• It created a structure for the government of Georgia for 11 years.

• It created a mess and had to be thrown out because of it.

• Here are the reasons it created a mess.

““T” Chart T” Chart Georgia Constitution of 1777Georgia Constitution of 1777

Strengths Weaknesses

• Still have Legislative Branch

• Three Branches

• Three Branches had separate powers

• Established counties – replaced parishes

• Established local (county) governments

• Legislature Unicameral (one house)

• No “Checks and Balances” – No second house in Legislative Branch

• Governor served only 1 Year

• Executive Branch (Governor) was weak – Couldn’t Veto Laws, grant pardons, “Chief Executive” only by name

• Legislative elected council – had power to veto the Governor

• Three Branches, but the Legislative was more powerful than the others

Compare / Contrast these documents

Back to the Drawing Board

• Constitutional Convention of 1787• William Few and Abraham Baldwin represented

Georgia at the 1787 Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia; George Washington presided.

• They wrote a new constitution for the USA called The United States Constitution

• Georgia is the 4th state to ratify the new constitution

• Georgia revises its 1777 Constitution to be more similar to the US Constitution. The new one is called Georgia State Constitution of 1789

Abraham Baldwin

• After writing the charter for the University of Georgia, Abraham Baldwin served as the college's first president from 1786 to 1801. In 1787 he was chosen as one of four Georgia delegates to the Constitutional Convention. During his long political career, Baldwin also served in the Georgia General Assembly, the U.S. House of Representatives, and the U.S. Senate.

Abraham Baldwin & the Great Compromise

• The debate over equal representation in Congress became a major issue during the writing of the Constitution.

• Large State = # of representative to be based on population

• Small States = all states have only 2 representatives

• When they voted = it came down to Abraham Baldwin. He voted with the small states – which created a tie. They turned the matter over to a committee.

• By his decision – he gave the delegates the chance to fashion the Great Compromise.

The Great Compromise

• Every state now sends• 2 Senators to the Senate• # (based on population) of House of

Representative to the House of Representatives.

• Bicameral Congress today.

William Few• In 1787 William Few Jr.

represented Georgia at the constitutional convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Subsequently, Few was a signer of the U.S. Constitution. He later served four years as a U.S. senator, one term as a state representative, and three years as judge of the Second Judicial District in Georgia. He was an outspoken opponent of the infamous Yazoo land fraud, though his political enemies tried to implicate him in this scam.

United States Constitution

Articles of Confederation

1. Major powers held be individuals states

2. National gov’t had no power to tax, no power to enforce laws

3. At the national level – unicameral legislature

US Constitution1. Powers shared

between states and central government

2. National gov’t had power to tax and regulate trade

3. Three branches at the national level – executive, legislative, judicial

Georgia is the 4th State to Ratify US Constitution

• Why did Georgia choose to ratify the US Constitution?– 1. It allowed slavery.– 2. It supported a strong central

government because Georgia wanted help defending its colonists from native attacks. (In other words – it created a national military.)

Georgia Constitution of 1789

Georgia Constitution of 17771. Legislature Unicameral (one

house)2. No “checks and balances”

on legislature 3. Governor served only 1 Year4. Executive Branch

(Governor) was weak – Couldn’t Veto Laws, grant pardons, “Chief Executive” only by name

5. Legislative elected council – had power to veto the Governor

6. Three Branches, but the Legislative was more powerful than the others

Georgia Constitution of 17891. Bicameral Legislature2. Gave equal “checks and

balances” power to executive., judicial and legislative branches

3. In doing so gave more power to the Governor and the rest of the executive branch

4. Gave power to veto to Governor

5. Gave power to address constitutionality of laws to judicial branch

6. 3 branches have equal power