 The Treaty of Paris of 1783 ended the
Revolutionary War and granted America its independence.
 Why did we revolt against the British?
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Independence
 During the Revolution, GA and each individual state had their own Congressional meetings to come up with individual state constitutions while the US was making one too. (We discuss this later!)

Mood in the Country ~
– “Tomas Paine said, ‘We have it in our power to begin the world all over again.’ Americans in this time were no longer ruled by a king across the sea, but now they could govern themselves
– EX right now, you’re governed by your parents, grandparents, etc. But when you become 18, you will have the power to govern yourself and you have every opportunity to do with life what you please… right now you have choices too. –
It was up to these leaders of America to either destroy what people had fought for (the opportunity to be free and choose) or to make
America the greatest nation on Earth.
• Many of these leaders were young~ in their teens or twenties!!

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About one-third of Georgians remained loyal to Great Britain; they were called
Tories
The Whigs (Patriots) influenced a state constitution
April 1776 – GA’s Provincial Congress adopted a set of “Rules and
Regulations” as a temporary constitution.
GA’s Constitution was completed and adopted in Feb. of 1777 in Savannah
• 8 counties were formed.

– Its preamble stated the main philosophy of their government which was popular sovereignty .
They agreed that the government is based on the will of the people
– The first article (section) of the GA
Constitution introduced a new principle called “separation of powers”

› Separation of powers
 Establishing the legislative,
executive, and judicial departments
 Separating the departments makes sure that everyone knows their job and they also can keep each other in check. (Checks and
Balances)

Problem?
 Although GA established the three branches in order to help keep government fair, they actually gave the most amount of power to the legislative branch.
 They made it an unicameral legislature – 1 house, instead of 2 like today to make sure that 1 house doesn’t make and pass laws too hastily or carelessly.
 The 1 house Legislature that they put in place was called the “House of Assembly” and it was given broad authority to enact laws and appoint officials in the executive and judicial branches.

 The Executive branch was given the least amount of powers and authority because of the harsh way that the
ROYAL GOVERNERS that ENGLAND put in place treated the people of GA.

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The governor’s power was limited
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Executive Council (12 legislators) held greatest power
Council could overrule the governor’s decisions
John Treutlen appointed Georgia’s first governor
Georgia’s 1777 Constitution changed in 1789

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Strengths Weaknesses
• Still have Legislative Branch
• Three Branches
• Three Branches had separate powers
• Established counties – replaced parishes
• Established local (county) governments
• Legislature Unicameral (one house)
• Not “Checks and Balances” –
No second house in Legislative
Branch
• Governor served only 1 Year
• Executive Branch (Governor) was weak – Couldn’t Veto Laws, grant pardons, “Chief Executive” only by name
• Legislative elected council – had power to veto the Governor
• Three Branches, but the
Legislative was more powerful than the others

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First Constitution of the United
States of America
Served as a formal basis for a union
Ratified (approved) on July 4, 1776
Went into effect in January 1781, when ratified by Maryland and
Virginia
Written during Revolution to prevent chaos just in case the Americans defeated the British

 It stated that there would be a strong central government but it didn’t read or was not carried out like that
 many didn’t like that because of the way they felt so oppressed by England
 People felt more allegiance to their state government then the national one.
 It had a unicameral legislature
 It could not levy (impose) taxes

 It could not regulate trade between the states.
 After the Revolution, the economy of the nation was not in great shape and states increased taxes on their trades in order to raise money.
 Problem: States had their own money which was practically worthless.
 There was no president to carry out the laws

 There wasn’t a court system to handle grievances
 No Bill of Rights
 Each state had equal representation/vote in Congress regardless of population… This made the Nation more of a Confederation
(partnership) of independent and equal states.
 Most powers remained with the states.

Strengths Weaknesses
• First written constitution – Articles of Confederation (Nov. 1777)
• Had a Legislature
• Strong State governments
• Weak central government
• No Executive or Judicial Branch – no one to enforce laws or hear disputes
• Did not allow the central (federal) government to levy (impose) taxes
• Weak Union, feared strong central government
• No “Checks and Balances”
• Central Government did not have taxes, so no military
• Central Government did not print money
•All power lied with the states
• Each state had an equal vote in
Congress – regardless of size or population