By: Mrs. Nicholson

1. Creating a New Government By: Mrs. Nicholson

2. Virginia Declaration of Rights • Written by George Mason • It was an introduction to the Virginia Constitution. It lists the rights of the people. • Freedom to worship as they wished • Freedom of the press • People accused of breaking the law have the right to a trial. This is the basis for the Bill of Rights

3. Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom • Written by Thomas Jefferson • This law separated church and state and established religious freedom. • Before this, everyone belonged to the English church. They had to attend its services and support the church by paying taxes.

4. The Need For A Plan After the American Revolution, the United States of America was a free and independent nation. But, they had a challenge: • How would they set up their new nation? • How would they protect the rights of each citizen?

5. Constitutional Convention 1787 @ Independence Hall in Philadelphia, PA • This lasted about 4 months. It was very hot and the windows were kept closed to keep the discussions secret. • Delegates (representatives) were sent. George Washington, Governor Edmund Randolph, George Mason and James Madison were some of the key Virginians.

6. Constitutional Convention 1787 • George Washington was the President of the Constitutional Convention • James Madison is called the “Father of the Constitution” • The ideas of the Virginians were the basis for the principles of the new government for the USA.

7. The Men of the Constitution

8. James Madison • One of the youngest members. • Wrote down some ideas that became known as the Virginia Plan. • Madison helped to convince delegates that a constitution was needed Constitution- a document explaining how a country should be governed.

9. The New Government Virginia Plan • 3 Branches of Government • 2 Houses of Lawmakers • Congressmen based on population of the state New Jersey Plan • 1 House for Lawmakers • All states have the same number of congressmen. The Great Compromise Lawmaking branch will have 2 Houses SENATE Each state will have the same number of lawmakers HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES The number of lawmakers will be based on the states’ population

10. 3 Branches of the Government

11. Checks and Balances Each branch can limit what the other branches do.

12. The Delegates of the Convention signed the new Constitution in September 1787. • States had to ratify (approve) it to be law. • Patrick Henry and George Mason opposed (against) the new plan because they thought it gave too much power to the national government. • George Mason thought it should have a Bill of Rights. • James Madison and others agreed to work for amendments (additions) to the Constitution. This would create the Bill of Rights. • On June 25, 1788 Virginia lawmakers voted to accept the Constitution. Virginia became the 10th State to join the union.

13. THE CONSTITUTION The Constitution is organized into 3 parts: • Preamble: Introduces the Constitution. It starts with “We the People” • Articles: Establishes how the government is structured and how the Constitution can be changed. There are seven articles. • Amendments: Changes to the Constitution; the first ten are called the Bill of Rights.

14. Bill of Rights • Added in 1791 • Based on the VA Declaration of Rights • Made of the first ten amendments The First Amendment Listed 5 Freedoms: • Freedom of Religion • Freedom of Speech • Freedom of the Press • Freedom of Assembly • Freedom of Petition We want a new playground!