Final answer:
The early U.S. government under the Articles of Confederation had a unicameral legislature, later replaced by a bicameral Congress in the Constitution to create an effective national government. The state constitutions aimed to form republican governments based on popular consent.
Step-by-step explanation:
After the United States declared independence, the government operated under the Articles of Confederation with a unicameral legislature. However, this structure was deemed ineffective, and eventually, the framers established a bicameral Congress, comprising both the House of Representatives and the Senate, as part of the new Constitution.
As the independent colonies transformed into states, they aimed to create republican governments that were based on the consent of the governed. This was a fundamental principle of the new American political system, ensuring that power was derived from the people rather than inherited or granted by a monarch.