Establishment of Federal Government

In 1776, in April, the 2nd Congress had asked the colonies to form Governments and to draw (=r¨¦diger) constitution. This was before the Declaration of Independence in July. For its part, Congress wrote a constitution to unify the colonies: The Articles of Confederation: it was voted in 1777 and ratified by the colonies in 1781.It established a single Chamber national Congress: the House of Representatives. Each colony (state) would send 1 representative. Congress could not levy taxes …

…number of the Senators would be 2 for each State. This was called the Great Compromise. Representatives (les D¨¦put¨¦s) are elected every 2 years in November. Senators are elected for 6 yrs with one third to stand reelection every 2 yrs. A system of checks and balances was established to prevent any branch of government from appropriating too much power. The President appoints ambassadors and high officials and signs treaties, which cannot be approved by the Senate