Sec. 3- A New Plan of Government
Roots of the Constitution- Ideas and thinkers of the past influenced the creation of the United States Constitution
What ideas influenced the Framers? Magna Carta-Had placed limits to the power of the British monarch.
British Parliament-The king had to depend on to pay for wars and to finance the royal government.
English Bill of Rights (1689)-Framers of the constitution got many ideas on the nature of the people and government from european writers of the Enlightenment.
Enlightenment Thinkers
Enlightenment - was a movement of the 1700’s that promoted knowledge, reason, and the science as the means to improve society.
Locke -An english philosopher, believed that all people have natural rights.
Montesquieu -Declared that the powers …show more content…
Other powers-Headed by the president, to carry out the nation's laws.
The Judicial Branch- primary job-Is a Court system, of the United States.
Other powers-Hears cases involving the Constitution, laws passed by the congress, and disputes between states.
System of Checks and Balances
An important distinctive feature of our government is the separation of powers. checks and balances - The three branches of government have roles that check, or limit, the others so that no single branch can dominate the government.
The Debate Over Ratification- Americans reacted to the proposed Constitution in different ways. ratify-To approve something. Rhode Island-By late 1787 these conventions started to meet, while Rhode Island had stood apart.
Federalists
definition- Supporters of the new Constitution. Federalist Papers-Series of essays explaining and defending the Constitution.
Antifederalists
definition- People who opposed the ratification. Why were they against it?-They thought it lacked a bill of rights to protect individuals