Chapter 2 Section 3

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Our Nations First Government

• Chapter 2 Section 3

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I. State Constitutions

1. Constitution written plan for government
2. By 1780, each state had a constitution, a
   bicameral legislature, a governor to enforce
   laws, and a court system to interpret laws. Some
   states had a Bill of Rights to protect individual
   rights.

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C. Massachusetts Constitution

1. It was the basis for the U.S. Constitution.
2. It distributed power among a Legislative Branch,
   Executive Branch, and Judicial Branch.
3. The governor and the courts were able to limit
   the power of the legislature.
4. The Massachusetts Constitution was written during
   a convention and approved by Massachusetts'
   citizens.

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II. Articles of Confederation, 1777

1. The colonies were afraid of a powerful
   centralized government, but they could not
   survive as individual countries.
2. The colonies formed a Confederation or a League
   of Friendship called the Articles of
   Confederation.
3. The colonists did not want a strong government
   because they were afraid the government would
   abuse its power!

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III. Weaknesses in the Articles of
Confederation Governmentrefer to the diagram
on page 41 (I-books pg.16)

1. Congress could not pass a law unless nine states
   voted in favor of the law.
2. The government had no power to regulate trade
   between states.
3. To amend the Articles of Confederation, all of
   the 13 states had to approve.
4. There was no executive branch or judicial branch.
5. The federal government could not tax or demand
   money from state governments.

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• IV. 1783 Treaty of Paris
• A. The peace agreement between Great
• Britain and the United States that
• ended the Revolutionary War.
• B. Great Britain recognized the United
• States as an independent country.
• V. War Debt
• A. The Articles of Confederation
• government was deeply in debt
• because of the Revolutionary War. The
• government raised taxes to pay off the
• debt. The colonists were hurt badly by
• the taxes, especially the farmers.

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VI. Shays Rebellion

1. Daniel Shays was a Massachusetts farmer. The
   courts tried to take his farm because he could
   not pay the new taxes.
2. He led a rebellion of 1,200 farmers onto a
   federal arsenal. The rebellion was stopped by
   colonial militia because the Articles of
   Confederation Government was not strong enough to
   stop the rebellion.

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• VII. The Constitution
• In 1787, twelve states sent delegates to a
  meeting in Philadelphia. They were supposed to
  revise the Articles of Confederation Government.
• The delegates chose to throw out the Articles of
  Confederation and create the Constitution, though
  they were only authorized to change the Articles
  government.