Chapter 9 - The Confederation & the Constitution, 1776-1790 (Course Notes)
Essential Questions
How did America’s pre-Revolutionary relationship with England influence the structure of the first national government?
What weaknesses in the Articles of Confederation led to the effort to draft a new constitution?
How did the delegates to the Constitutional Convention balance competing interests?
What are the underlying principles of the American system of government?
What is the relationship between the three branches of government? Between the national government and the states?
How was the Bill of Rights influenced by the Virginia Declaration of Rights and the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom?
What were the major arguments for and against the Constitution of 1787 in leading Federalist and Anti-Federalist writings and in the ratification debates?