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What form of government did the founders choose and why?

When the Second Continental Congress met in 1776 to declare independence from Great Britain, there wasn’t enough time to build a government completely from scratch. Colonial leaders agreed that adapting an existing system would be best because it would allow the new country to focus on defending and establishing itself. By modern standards, all of the Founding Fathers were revolutionaries and libertarians--there were no Tory supporters of Britain among the state representatives in Philadelphia. Still, delegates at the Continental Congress thought it reasonable to adopt parts of the British system, such as a House of Commons and provisions for civil, as well as criminal, law.

There was much more for the founders to decide, however. They had to choose the best form of democratic government from among the known possibilities. In 1776, these were their options.
Team of paper doll people holding hands

Unitary

During the colonial period, Great Britain relied on a unitary government to help control the far-flung territories in its empire. Since the United States had 3,000 miles of bordering lands to expand into, the founders considered a centralized government to be the best approach, but they were wary of locating too much power there. They knew that some sovereignty would need to be allowed the states. In the unitary approach used by the British Empire, the central government in London made all of the important decisions for colonial governments, and that was not a system that American colonists would tolerate.

Paper people on the orange paper background

Confederate

For the first years of the nation's history, the former colonies operated under an informal confederation: Political power was vested almost entirely in the states, who simply agreed to help defend each other. Then in 1789, the Constitution created a more centralized government. One thing that made the transition from a confederate to a unitary system difficult was that small and large states had very different ideas about representation. Smaller states wanted all states to have equal representation in Congress, while larger states, like New York, favored proportional representation with the  number of delegates based on a state's population.

Paper doll people holding hands

Federal

From its beginnings, the American experiment in democracy involved combining various parts of different governmental systems by selecting those that seemed most likely to accomplish the founders' goals. Although the U.S. is technically a federalist government and the modern United Kingdom is considered unitary, the mechanisms of constitutional electoral democracy operate similarly in the two nations. When the founders adopted a federal system of government, they created a new form of federalism that included aspects of the other two forms.

When the founders of the United States met to select a form of government, what were their choices? Use the activity below to review.

Which form would allow a central authority to control regional, as well as national, policy?
unitary

confederate

federal

At the time of the American Revolution, Britain had maintained a unitary government throughout its history.
At the time of the American Revolution, Britain had maintained a unitary government throughout its history.
Which form would distribute authority between regional governments and a central government?
unitary

confederate

federal

The founders eventually chose a form that combined aspects of unitary and confederate systems.
The founders eventually chose a form that combined aspects of unitary and confederate systems.
Which form would establish a weak central government with most authority located in regional governments?
unitary

confederate

federal

The United States began as a confederation but transitioned to a federal system before 1800 as the Constitution was ratified and implemented.
The United States began as a confederation but transitioned to a federal system before 1800 as the Constitution was ratified and implemented.

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