1. Northwest Ordinance
1.1. Structure
1.1.1. The Northwest Ordinance An Ordinance for the Government of the Territory of the United States, North-West of the River Ohio, and also known as the Freedom Ordinance or The Ordinance of 1787 was an act of the Congress of the Confederation of the United States
1.2. When?
1.2.1. adopted by the Confederation Congress on July 13, 1787.
1.3. Who?
1.3.1. the principles outlined by Thomas Jefferson in the Ordinance of 1784, the authors of the Northwest Ordinance Nathan Dane and Rufus King
1.4. Reason why?
1.4.1. The Northwest Ordinance, officially titled An Ordinance for the Government of the Territory of the United States North West of the River Ohio
1.5. Top 5
1.5.1. Before the ink had dried on the U.S. Constitution, representatives of the thirteen colonies tried to figure out how new states might be added to their union.
1.5.2. he Northwest Ordinance specified four principal things
1.5.3. The survey of Wisconsin began in 1832 at an initial point on the Wisconsin-Illinois border about ten miles east of the Mississippi, and it concluded in 1866 in the north woods.
1.5.4. The survey created by Jefferson, Dane, and King called for teams of surveyors to hike across the land,
1.5.5. The most powerful effect of the Ordinance of 1787 on Wisconsin came from the last provision, concerning the survey of public lands
2. Constitution
2.1. Structure
2.1.1. The Declaration begins with a short introductory statement called the Preamble that explains the reason for the document, which is to "declare the causes" that have created the need for the colonies to dissolve the political bands with England and reinvent itself as an independent nation
2.1.2. Their are four more sections that go more in depth
2.2. When?
2.2.1. It was signed on September 17, 1787, by delegates to the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, passed over by George Washington.
2.3. Who?
2.3.1. James Madison alongside Alexander Hamilton wrote down the words and letters of the document.
2.3.2. Many of the United States Founding Fathers were at the Constitutional Convention, where the Constitution was hammered out and ratified.
2.4. Reason why?
2.4.1. The U.S. Constitution established America’s national government and fundamental laws, and guaranteed certain basic rights for its citizens.
2.4.2. The Constitution was written because many of the country's leaders at the time had become dissatisfied with the structure of government created by the Articles of Confederation, which had been in effect since 1781.
2.5. Top 5
2.5.1. Before the constitution was passed, The document needed to be ratified by the 13 states.
2.5.2. Many of the United States Founding Fathers were at the Constitutional Convention
2.5.3. The Bill Of Rights took a long time to get ratified in the constitution.
2.5.4. Rhode Island, the last holdout finally ratified the Constitution on May 29, 1790.
2.5.5. The Federal Convention convened in the State House in Philadelphia on May 14, 1787
3. Bill of Rights
3.1. Structure
3.1.1. The Bill of rights was added into the constitution into 10 amendments.
3.1.2. Amendment 1 freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly, petition Amendment 2 right to bear arms Amendment 3 quartering soldiers Amendment 4 right of search and seizure regulated Amendment 5 protection against double jeopardy. No self-incrimination Amendment 6 right to a speedy trial. Jury trial for a criminal case Amendment 7 right to a trial by jury. Civil case Amendment 8 no cruel and unusual punishment. no excessive bail required Amendment 9 rules of construction of constitution Amendment 10 state - reserved powers
3.2. When?
3.2.1. The 10 amendments that are now known as the Bill of Rights were ratified on December 15, 1791, thus becoming a part of the Constitution.
3.3. Who?
3.3.1. Mason had drafted the Virginia state constitution in 1776, asserting the principle of inalienable right
3.4. Reason why?
3.4.1. the government decided to create the Bill of rights mainly to satisfy the needs of the people Another reason for it's creation was to accurately define what freedom would look like in the United States
3.5. Top 5
3.5.1. three through twelve were adopted by the states to become the United States
3.5.2. James Madison proposed the U.S. Bill of Rights.
3.5.3. Bill of Rights was influenced by George Mason's 1776 Virginia Declaration of Rights.
3.5.4. Only the final ten articles were ratified quickly and correspond to the First through Tenth Amendments to the Constitution.
3.5.5. The United States Bill of Rights plays a central role in American law and government
4. Articles of Confederations
4.1. Structure
4.1.1. Weak National Government Structure of the Articles of Confederation Each State had 1 Vote Structure of the Articles of Confederation Congress only had 1 house Structure of the Articles of Confederation No excutive branch to enforce laws. Structure of the Articles of Conderation Congress had limited powers Structure of the Articles of Confederation States had a lot of powers Structure of the Articles of Confederation To pass a law, 9 out of 13 states had to approve it Structure of Articles of Confederation To amend the Articles of Confederation, all 13 States had to approve. Structure of Articles of Confederation
4.2. When?
4.2.1. The Continental Congress established the Articles of Confederation, the first constitution of the United States, on November 15, 1777
4.3. Who?
4.3.1. John Dickinson became part of the committee assigned to author the first draft of the Articles of Confederation.
4.4. Reason why?
4.4.1. To have a long lasting constitution that would establish a strong state goverment
4.5. Top 5
4.5.1. The Articles of Confederation represent the first constitutional agreement made between the 13 American states
4.5.2. the apportionment of taxes according to the population the granting of 1 vote per state the right of the federal government to dispose of public lands in the West
4.5.3. led to several revisions and the document was adopted by the Congress on November 15, 1777
4.5.4. the Articles of Confederation were comprised of a preamble and 13 articles
4.5.5. The document maintained the aspect of voting done by states
5. Declaration of Independence
5.1. Structure
5.1.1. The Declaration of Independence is organized into several sections, each serving a different purpose. There are considered to be five parts of the Declaration of Independence.
5.1.2. 1. The Introduction. This is the opening paragraph 2.The Preamble. The second paragraph 3.The Indictment of King George III, The list of wrongs the King did. 4. The Denunciation of the British people 5.Conclusion.
5.2. When?
5.2.1. The Declaration of Independence wasn't signed on July 4, 1776. On July 1, 1776, the Second Continental Congress met in Philadelphia
5.3. Who?
5.3.1. Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence.
5.4. Reason why?
5.4.1. The Declaration of Independence was written to explain why the colonists had a right to revolt against and become independent from England. The colonists largest complaint was that rules were being passed in England that affected their life in the colonies.
5.5. Top 5
5.5.1. Robert Livingston never signed it. He believed that it was too soon to declare independence and therefore refused to sign.
5.5.2. After Jefferson wrote his first draft of the Declaration, the other members of the Declaration committee and the Continental Congress made 86 changes to Jefferson’s draft.
5.5.3. One of the most widely held misconceptions about the Declaration of Independence is that it was signed on July 4, 1776. In fact, independence was formally declared on July 2, 1776.
5.5.4. When writing the first draft of the Declaration, Jefferson primarily drew upon two sources
5.5.5. Jefferson was unhappy about some of the edits made to his original draft of the Declaration of Independence.
6. Anti-Federalist Papers
6.1. Structure
6.1.1. The Anti-Federalist papers were written in 85 essays
6.2. When?
6.2.1. Anti-Federalist Papers. During the period from the drafting and proposal of the federal Constitution in September, 1787, to its ratification in 1789 there was an intense debate on ratification
6.3. Who?
6.3.1. major authors include Cato likely George Clinton Brutus likely Robert Yates Centinel Samuel Bryan, and the Federal Farmer eitheors r Melancton Smith, Richard Henry Lee, or Mercy Otis Warren.
6.4. Reason why?
6.4.1. The Anti-Federalist papers were written to address the possible problems with the constitution and how the uinuon didn't have the right kind of power.
6.5. Top 5
6.5.1. there was an intense debate on ratification.
6.5.2. They contain warnings of dangers from tyranny that weaknesses in the proposed Constitution did not adequately provide against
6.5.3. they were not as widely read as numerous independent local speeches and articles
7. Federalist Papers
7.1. Structure
7.1.1. The Federalist Papers are a series of 85 articles and essays written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay
7.1.2. Alexander Hamilton 51 1, 6–9, 11–13, 15–17, 21–36, 59–61, and 65–85 James Madison 26 articles 10, 14, 37–58 and 62–63 John Jay 5 articles: 2–5 and 64. 18–20 were the result of a collaboration between Madison and Hamilton
7.2. When?
7.2.1. Seventy-seven were published serially in The Independent Journal and The New York Packet between October of 1787 and August 1788.
7.3. Who?
7.3.1. Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay
7.4. Reason why?
7.4.1. the Federalist papers were written to get public support for the constitution in all of the states
7.5. Top 5
7.5.1. They weren't originally known as the Federalist Papers, but just The Federalist.
7.5.2. Once the Federal Convention sent the Constitution to the Confederation Congress in 1787 the document became a target of criticism
7.5.3. John Jay was the author of five of the Federalist Papers
7.5.4. James Madison wrote 29 of the Federalist Papers
7.5.5. Nearly all of the statistical studies show that the disputed papers were written by Madison