Constitutional Period
Articles of Confederation
The Articles of Confederation, formally the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union, were an agreement among all thirteen original states in the United States of America.It served as the United States First constitution. Its drafting by a committee appointed by the Second Continental Congress began, on July 12, 1776, and an approved version was sent to the states for ratification in late 1777. The formal ratification by all thirteen states was completed in early 1781. Government under the Articles was superseded by a new constitution and federal form of government in 1789.
"The government created by the Articles of the Confederation was little more than the shadow without the substance.” - George Washington
Three-Fifths Compromise
The Three-Fifths Compromise was a compromise reached between delegates from southern states and those from northern states. It was during the 1787 United States Constitutional Convention. The debate was over whether the slaves would or would not be counted when determining a state's total population. It was for legislative representation and taxing purposes. Most of the southern states wanted to count them because of their small number of people.
3 Branches of Government
Bill of Rights
The bill of rights, sometimes called a declaration of rights or a charter of rights, is a list of the most important rights to the citizens of a country. The purpose is to protect those rights against infringement from public officials and private citizens.Bills of rights may be entrenched or unentrenched. An entrenched bill of rights cannot be modified or repealed by a country's legislature through normal procedure, instead requiring a supermajority or referendum.