Constitutional Rights

Constitutional Rights — page 1

Constitutional Rights — page 2 — CHAPTER ONE THE MAKING OF THE US CONSTITUTION The American Revolution 1775 1783 Thirteen American colonies won their ended after an eight-year war independence from Britain The American colonists then established the United States of America Independence brought new struggles Now the leaders needed to create a new government General George Washington led the American colonies to victory over Britain 5

Constitutional Rights — page 3 — A group known as the Continental Congress developed the Articles of Confederation These articles established the new nation’s first government The articles had weaknesses though They gave the Congress no power to raise money to pay its debts The Articles gave power to the states rather than a central government This led to problems The Congress could not force the states to obey its laws It could not create an army The nation’s leaders realized the United States needed a stronger national government to survive The Constitutional Convention Delegates from 12 of the 13 states met in the summer of 1787 They gathered in Philadelphia Pennsylvania The meeting was called the Constitutional Convention The delegates planned to make changes to the Articles of Confederation They ended up writing an entirely new document The delegates discussed ideas throughout the summer They needed to figure out how the new 6

Constitutional Rights — page 4 — government would work Heated debates erupted Eventually the delegates reached compromises They created the US Constitution The Constitution spells out how the United States is to be run George Washington was the first to sign the document Of the 55 delegates 39 signed Each state had to ratify the Constitution before it became law The Anti Federalists The Constitution set up a strong central government Supporters of the document called themselves Federalists Critics became known as anti-Federalists They PERSPECTIVES Limiting Power Virginia delegate George Mason believed strongly in individual freedom and states rights He criticized early drafts of the Constitution He thought that it gave the federal government too much power He suggested starting the Constitution with a bill of rights His idea was defeated As a result Mason refused to sign the completed document But his influence was clear The Bill of Rights later became part of the Constitution Mason is often called the Father of the Bill of Rights 7

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