your life that show how compromises are made in order to serve some purpose of a group?

3. Who were some of the important men at the Constitutional Convention? Tell what some of them had done before they came to the Convention.

4. What were some of the reasons that caused the thirteen States to want to join together in a better Union?

5. Where did the Fathers of the Constitution get ideas to use in writing the Constitution for the new Nation? What important idea did they copy from the State constitutions?

CHAPTER V

Putting the New Government to Work

"Let our object [purpose] be our country, our whole country, and nothing but our country."

-Daniel Webster.

The Constitutional Convention took only the first step in making a new Constitution. The delegates could not force the thirteen States to accept their work. They had been given authority to change the Articles of Confederation. But they had written a new Constitution. Would the people accept what they had done?

The Constitutional Convention decided to get the opinion of the people. It asked each State to call a convention and to elect delegates to vote "yes" or "no" on the new Constitution. The delegates were to be chosen by the people because the government under the new Constitution was to be a government of the people. A new government should be organized when nine States had accepted the Constitution.

THE CONSTITUTION GOES TO THE PEOPLE

Each State government asked its people to send delegates to a State convention. A convention was held in each State. The delegates were to study the Constitution. They were to vote for or against it.

Copies of the Constitution were printed in the newspapers. It was talked about at home and on the streets. The people seemed to like it. The businessmen wanted to trade in other States. They asked the delegates in their State conventions to accept the Constitution.

But many people doubted whether the Constitution was better than the Articles of Confederation. They said that

the President should be elected by a direct vote of the people. They did not want the President to appoint the judges of the national courts. Others said that the Constitution did not protect the rights of free speech and free press. Also, it did not guard their right to worship God as they pleased.

The Fathers of the Constitution did not think that it was perfect. But those who signed it believed that it was better than the Articles of Confederation. They wanted the delegates in the State conventions to vote on it before any changes were made in it. So the Fathers of the Constitution went home to urge the State conventions to approve the Constitution.

THE NEW CONSTITUTION IS ACCEPTED

The convention in Delaware voted first. It accepted the new Constitution without a single vote of "no." Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Georgia were next. Then came Connecticut.

The convention in Massachusetts wanted some changes made in order to protect the rights of the people. The other States agreed that the changes should be made later. Massachusetts then voted to come into the new Union. Maryland and South Carolina voted to accept the new Constitution. Early in the summer of 1788, the convention in New Hampshire approved it. That made nine States which had accepted the Constitution.

Three of the largest States had not voted "yes." They were Virginia, New York, and North Carolina. Also, Rhode Island had not voted to accept. If these States voted "no," the Union would not be solid. North Carolina and Virginia separated Georgia and South Carolina from Delaware and Maryland, each of which had accepted the Constitution. Virginia wanted a Bill of Rights added to the Constitution. The other States agreed that this would be added later. Virginia then entered the Union.

The States were anxious to have New York in the Union. If New York stayed out, Connecticut, Massachu

RATIFICATION OF THE

NATIONAL CONSTITUTION

Article Seven: "The ratification of the conventions of nine States ll be sufficient (enough) for the establishment of this Constitution ween the States so ratifying the same."

Vithin seven months from the date of ratification by the first State, States had voted to approve the Constitution. However, the government could not have gotten along very well without the large States, Virginia and New York. After New York had proved the Constitution, the city of New York was chosen as the seat of the National Government. It was there that George shington took the oath as President on April 30, 1789.

Figure 4

Ratification of the National Constitution

setts, and New Hampshire would be separated from the other States. Alexander Hamilton, who had signed the Constitution, made a special visit to the convention in New York. He explained the new Constitution to the delegates. He urged them to vote "yes." When the votes were counted, New York had accepted the new Constitution. The States would not be separated. The Union would be strong.

North Carolina and Rhode Island were too weak to stand alone. They agreed to the new Constitution. All of the States had accepted the Constitution. The new Union would be complete.

SETTING UP THE NEW GOVERNMENT

The next thing was to establish the new Government. The Constitution told how it should be done. The Members of the new Congress had to be chosen. The Constitution said that the Congress should be made up of a House of Representatives and a Senate. The people of each State elected Representatives. Each State legislature elected two Senators.

The Constitution said that there should be a President. It said that the people should vote for electors. The people elected good citizens to serve as electors. The electors in each State met and voted. George Washington was elected President. John Adams was elected Vice President.

The new Congress met in New York in March 1789. On April 30, 1789, Washington and Adams came to New York and took the oath of office. The people shouted: "Long live George Washington, first President of the United States."

The Congress then passed a law giving the President a Cabinet. The Cabinet was made up of a Secretary of State, a Secretary of Treasury, a Secretary of War, and an Attorney General. President Washington appointed men to these offices who had helped to write the Constitution. He appointed Alexander Hamilton to be Secretary of the Treasury. He made Thomas Jefferson Secretary of State. He selected other good men for the other offices.