Sometimes we see news stories about new laws. Other times, we hear about the courts making decisions. A few times a year, the President gives an important speech. Do you ever wonder why the government can seem so complicated?
Today, our government is a lot like the one that was created in 1787. The Founding Fathers had good reason for writing the Constitution the way they did. Those choices are still a big part of how the American government works today.
The biggest problem people had was how much money they were paying in taxes. They sent the British a lot of money, but they didn't get to be part of the government. That meant they could not choose how their taxes were spent. Colonists started saying "taxation without representation" to talk about the problem. The phrase caught on, and was part of what started the American Revolution. In 1776, the colonists wrote the Declaration of Independence. The letter told the king that the colonies didn't want to be part of England anymore.
The British tried to stop the colonies from leaving by sending an army to end the rebellion. In the end, the Americans won the Revolutionary War and the British soldiers went back to England. By 1781 the states were finally free, but that was only the beginning.
In order to do that, the people made the Articles Of Confederation. This was a document that explained what the central government's job was. It also set the limits of what the state governments could do. The central government would have the power to start a war, but it wasn't allowed to make an army. The federal government also wouldn't be allowed to collect taxes. There wasn't even a president! Instead, those jobs were done by individual states. Each state was allowed to decide how to do them. People felt their rights would be safer if the states had the most power.
Unfortunately, this system caused a lot of problems. In Massachusetts, poor farmers started Shays' Rebellion. It was a serious conflict, but the government couldn't do anything to help. They did not have any power in the state. Another problem was trade deals, which could not be made for the whole country at once. Making separate agreements state by state was not working well. These kinds of problems kept happening for a few years.
Soon people realized that they were going to have to make a change. In 1786, Alexander Hamilton called for a meeting to fix the Articles. Leaders met in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to talk about how they would solve the problems.
The Great Compromise
One of the biggest arguments was about representatives. It was important to decide how many delegates each state would have in Congress. Congress is the main law-making group. The bigger states wanted the number of representatives to be based on the state's population. The smaller states worried that this would be unfair. They wanted every state to have the same number of delegates. In the end, they agreed on the Great Compromise. Congress would be split into two parts. The House of Representatives would be based on population. The Senate would have an equal number of representatives from each state.
The Three-Fifths Compromise
Slavery was another big issue for the Founding Fathers. States that had a lot of slaves thought they should count as part of their population. A bigger population would mean they could have more delegates in the House. States with fewer slaves didn't think they should count. Because they weren't citizens, slaves were not allowed to vote. Eventually, they came to a compromise. Every five slaves would count as three people when they counted the population. This rule stayed part of the Constitution until after the Civil War.
Separation of Powers
The leaders still remembered the problems they had as part of Great Britain. They never wanted to have their rights taken away again. However, the Articles of Confederation taught them that the central government needed to have some power.
They decided to split the government into three pieces. The Legislative branch, or Congress, makes the laws. The Executive branch, or the president, makes sure the laws are followed. The president is also in charge of relationships with other countries. The judicial branch interprets the laws and makes decisions about whether they're being broken. The judicial branch is made up of all of the federal courts and the Supreme Court.
Giving each branch different responsibilities made sure no branch could ever have too much power. This would make it harder to take away people's rights.
Checks and Balances
The Founding Fathers wanted to protect people even further. Beyond just splitting the government, they made it so each branch could stop other branches from making bad decisions. This is called a system of checks and balances.
For example, Congress writes all laws but it's up to the President to approve them. The Supreme Court can erase new laws if they go against the Constitution.
Federalism
The Founders also wanted to make sure the states still had some authority. The balance of powers between the central government and all the state governments is called federalism.
One example of this balance is the Senate. Every state has two representatives in the Senate, no matter how big it is. This makes all the states equally powerful. Another example is the presidential election. Each state gets to hold its own election. The results are mixed together later as part of the Electoral College.
James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay all wrote essays explaining how everyone's rights would be safe under the Constitution. These were called the Federalist Papers. They also talked about why a strong but small government was important. The papers worked. By 1790 all 13 colonies ratified the document.
The Bill of Rights is what protects our freedom of speech. It also grants Americans freedom of religion and the right to a fair trial. The 10th amendment tells us that anything the central government doesn't control is up to the states.
Today, our government is a lot like the one that was created in 1787. The Founding Fathers had good reason for writing the Constitution the way they did. Those choices are still a big part of how the American government works today.
COLONIZATION AND REVOLUTION
People started coming to North America in the 1600s. Those people were called colonists. They were from all over Europe, but the most people came from England. Soon the British were the strongest influence in America. Because of this, all of the colonies became part of Great Britain. For a while people liked being part of a very large kingdom. It meant that they would be protected by a strong government. Then, In the middle of the 1700s, that changed. People started getting uncomfortable with how much power the king had.The biggest problem people had was how much money they were paying in taxes. They sent the British a lot of money, but they didn't get to be part of the government. That meant they could not choose how their taxes were spent. Colonists started saying "taxation without representation" to talk about the problem. The phrase caught on, and was part of what started the American Revolution. In 1776, the colonists wrote the Declaration of Independence. The letter told the king that the colonies didn't want to be part of England anymore.
The British tried to stop the colonies from leaving by sending an army to end the rebellion. In the end, the Americans won the Revolutionary War and the British soldiers went back to England. By 1781 the states were finally free, but that was only the beginning.
NOW WHAT?
Now the Americans had to choose how they would run their new country. The people remembered what life was like under England's very powerful government. They wanted their new government to have less power. That way, the people would have most of the control.In order to do that, the people made the Articles Of Confederation. This was a document that explained what the central government's job was. It also set the limits of what the state governments could do. The central government would have the power to start a war, but it wasn't allowed to make an army. The federal government also wouldn't be allowed to collect taxes. There wasn't even a president! Instead, those jobs were done by individual states. Each state was allowed to decide how to do them. People felt their rights would be safer if the states had the most power.
Unfortunately, this system caused a lot of problems. In Massachusetts, poor farmers started Shays' Rebellion. It was a serious conflict, but the government couldn't do anything to help. They did not have any power in the state. Another problem was trade deals, which could not be made for the whole country at once. Making separate agreements state by state was not working well. These kinds of problems kept happening for a few years.
Soon people realized that they were going to have to make a change. In 1786, Alexander Hamilton called for a meeting to fix the Articles. Leaders met in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to talk about how they would solve the problems.
A CONVENTION OF COMPROMISES
The meeting of the Founding Fathers in May, 1787 was called the Constitutional Convention. The meeting took all summer. A lot of people disagreed on what needed to be done. Some delegates wanted to just make changes to the Articles. Others wanted to start from scratch. In the end, everyone had to make compromises.The Great Compromise
One of the biggest arguments was about representatives. It was important to decide how many delegates each state would have in Congress. Congress is the main law-making group. The bigger states wanted the number of representatives to be based on the state's population. The smaller states worried that this would be unfair. They wanted every state to have the same number of delegates. In the end, they agreed on the Great Compromise. Congress would be split into two parts. The House of Representatives would be based on population. The Senate would have an equal number of representatives from each state.
The Three-Fifths Compromise
Slavery was another big issue for the Founding Fathers. States that had a lot of slaves thought they should count as part of their population. A bigger population would mean they could have more delegates in the House. States with fewer slaves didn't think they should count. Because they weren't citizens, slaves were not allowed to vote. Eventually, they came to a compromise. Every five slaves would count as three people when they counted the population. This rule stayed part of the Constitution until after the Civil War.
THE CONTENTS OF THE CONSTITUTION
The meeting ended on September 17, 1787. The result was a document called the Constitution of the United States of America. It only had seven articles and was the shortest constitution in the world. It wasn't long, but it covered all the most important parts of our government.Separation of Powers
The leaders still remembered the problems they had as part of Great Britain. They never wanted to have their rights taken away again. However, the Articles of Confederation taught them that the central government needed to have some power.
They decided to split the government into three pieces. The Legislative branch, or Congress, makes the laws. The Executive branch, or the president, makes sure the laws are followed. The president is also in charge of relationships with other countries. The judicial branch interprets the laws and makes decisions about whether they're being broken. The judicial branch is made up of all of the federal courts and the Supreme Court.
Giving each branch different responsibilities made sure no branch could ever have too much power. This would make it harder to take away people's rights.
Checks and Balances
The Founding Fathers wanted to protect people even further. Beyond just splitting the government, they made it so each branch could stop other branches from making bad decisions. This is called a system of checks and balances.
For example, Congress writes all laws but it's up to the President to approve them. The Supreme Court can erase new laws if they go against the Constitution.
Federalism
The Founders also wanted to make sure the states still had some authority. The balance of powers between the central government and all the state governments is called federalism.
One example of this balance is the Senate. Every state has two representatives in the Senate, no matter how big it is. This makes all the states equally powerful. Another example is the presidential election. Each state gets to hold its own election. The results are mixed together later as part of the Electoral College.
CONSTITUTIONAL DISAGREEMENTS
The Constitution was carefully written. It protected the rights of the people and the states. However, not all of the colonies thought it was good enough. The first political party, Anti-Federalists, started to form. They thought the central government would still have too much power.James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay all wrote essays explaining how everyone's rights would be safe under the Constitution. These were called the Federalist Papers. They also talked about why a strong but small government was important. The papers worked. By 1790 all 13 colonies ratified the document.
THE BILL OF RIGHTS
The Founding Fathers' job was still not done. Many states requested that Congress also add a Bill of Rights to the Constitution. This resulted in 10 important amendments being made to the original document. The purpose of the Bill of Rights is to clearly say what the rights of every voting citizen in the United States are.The Bill of Rights is what protects our freedom of speech. It also grants Americans freedom of religion and the right to a fair trial. The 10th amendment tells us that anything the central government doesn't control is up to the states.
