Chapter 2: The Constitution
-Goal of American Revolution was solely liberty
-American colonist sought to protect traditional liberties they believed they were entitled to as British
subject when signing the Declaration of Independence
-^^ Right to bring legal cases before truly independent judges, to be free of the burden of having British
troops quartered in their home and to pay no taxes levied by a British parliament in which they had no
direct representation
-No longer had confidence in the English constitution → these liberties were regularly violated
-Unalienable: a human right based on nature or God
-Knowing human liberty existed before organized government, the emerging thought in the colonies that
the legislative branch should be the superior force in the government
-Articles of Confederation: A weak constitution that governed America during the revolutionary war
-Under of A of C amendments had to be supported by all 13 states
-The national government could not levy taxes under of A of C
-The colonists believed that political power should be granted on the basis of a written constitution
-Constitutional Convention: a meeting in Philadelphia in 1787 that produced the new constitution
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- Fall '15
- Diane Bourque
- Articles of Confederation
