Section 3:Main Idea: In 1777, the Second Continental Congress drafted the Articles of Confederation, thereby creating a weak national government. By 1780, all 13 of the original states had written constitutions.

Early State Constitutions:•New Hampshire was the first colony to organize as a state and craft a written plan for government, or constitution.

•Other states formed similar systems of government.•Most state legislatures were bicameral – divided into two parts or houses.

•Each state had an elected governor to carry out the laws and judges and courts to interpret the laws.

•Most state constitutions included a bill of rights.

•The Massachusetts constitution was different from the others.

•It distributed power more evenly among the legislature, governor, and courts.•It gave the governor and the courts the authority to check the legislature.

•The state constitution itself was not created by the legislature but by a convention of elected delegates.

•The Massachusetts constitution would later become the model for the U.S. Constitution.

Question: Under the state constitutions, what were the jobs of the legislature, the governor and the courts?

The legislature created the laws, the governor carried out the laws, and the courts interpreted the laws.

(7) The Articles of Confederation

•Separately, the states could not maintain a large army to fight the British.

•For this and other reasons, the Second Continental Congress made a plan for union called the Articles of Confederation.

•A confederation is a group of individuals who band together for a common purpose.

•The Articles set up a one-house legislature.•As a result of bad experiences with the British government, the states refused to give Congress the power to tax or enforce its laws.

•Congress could not require the states to give money or do anything else.•The states ratified, or approved the Articles.

•9/13 states were required in order to pass a law and all the states were required in order to amend the Articles. This made it very difficult for Congress to accomplish anything.

•Even when it passed laws, Congress could not enforce them.•States could just ignore the laws.

•The Treaty of Paris was signed in 1783, ending the Revolutionary War.•Unable to collect taxes, Congress had borrowed to pay for the war.•The states had also run up deep debts.

•To pay their debts, the states overtaxed their citizens and even taxed goods from other states and foreign countries.

•Daniel shays, an indebted farmer, felt the state had not right to take his farm away because of a problem the state had created.•He led an uprising known as Shay’s Rebellion

•The unrest swayed leaders toward revising the Articles of Confederation to create a stronger national government.

Question: What problems did the tax practices of the states cause for their citizens after the Revolutionary War?

•To pay their deep debt, state governments taxed their citizens heavily, driving many farmers out of business and sparking widespread resentment. The states also taxed goods from other states and foreign countries, hurting trade.

Matching:A. constitutionB. BicameralC. ConfederationD. RatifyE. amend

Identify: What was the first written constitution of the United States?

Articles of Confederation

Contrast:How did the Massachusetts state constitution (1780) differ from most of the other state constitutions?

Most other state constitutions made the legislature supreme. Massachusetts divided power among the three branches of government.

Drawing Conclusions: Why do you think most early state constitutions made the legislature supreme?

Legislatures were elected by the people. They feared the executive branch (governor) would become too powerful.

(7). Virginia Statute of Religious Freedom

A. Written by Thomas Jefferson

1. James Madison pushed to get it passed in 1786

B. Before the Revolution tax money had been used to support the Anglican Church, the main church of England.

C. Jefferson said religion should be voluntary and free from interference from the State. Church and state should be separated.

Question: What concept from the Virginia Statute of Religious Freedom was incorporated in the Constitution of the United States?

Separation of Church and State