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Chapter 2
Constructing a Government: The Founding and the Constitution
Copyright © 2018 W. W. Norton & Company
The Founding and the First Principle of Politics
All political behavior has a purpose.
The events of the Founding era were not primarily driven by philosophical debates.
Members of colonial society should be understood as pragmatic political actors with disparate interests.
The First Founding
There was a variety of interests in colonial America.
The notable political sectors included
• New England merchants.
• southern planters.
• royalists.
• shopkeepers, artisans, and laborers.
• small farmers.
The Founding and the History Principle
Prior to the 1760s, the British were preoccupied with wars with France across several continents, so colonists were largely left to manage their own affairs.
As the war with France ended, the British sought to extract revenue from the colonies and to regulate trade.
This history matters, as colonists had become used to greater autonomy.
British Taxes and Colonial Interests
When the war with France ended, the British Crown began imposing a series of modest taxes on the colonists, in part to pay some of the costs of imperial defense.
The particular types of taxes—levies on stamps and commercial goods, such as sugar and molasses—caused several of the colonial interests to begin to organize against the Crown.
Clicker Question 1: Rationality Principle
Which of the following sectors’ interests in colonial society were mostly likely to organize in opposition to taxes on commerce such as the Stamp Act and the Sugar Act?
a) New England merchants
b) southern planters
c) royalists
d) shopkeepers, artisans, and laborers
e) small farmers
Clicker Question 1: Rationality Principle (Answer)
Which of the following sectors’ interests in colonial society were mostly likely to organize in opposition to taxes on commerce such as the Stamp Act and the Sugar Act?
a) New England merchants – Correct
b) southern planters – Correct
c) royalists
d) shopkeepers, artisans, and laborers
e) small farmers
A Coalition for Revolt
Taxes and regulation began to move merchants and planters away from their royalist allies and toward the more radical interests in colonial society.
Events such as the Boston Massacre (1770) fanned the flames of anti-British sentiment.
Political Strife and the Radicalizing of the Colonists
A series of provocative acts and counter-acts radicalized the colonists and led to the Declaration of Independence.
• Boston Tea Party (1773)
• First Continental Congress (1774)
• Lexington and Concord (1775)
• Second Continental Congress (1776)
This is the collective action principle in action.
The Declaration of Independence
“All men are created equal.”
Governments derive their legitimacy from the consent of the governed.
When a government no longer serves the needs of the people, the people have aright to revolt.
The Declaration does not create a new government.
The Revolutionary War
The War of Independence was long and bloody, with tens of thousands of casualties.
It represented a significant challenge for the inexperienced and independent colonial militias, although they ultimately prevailed.
The Articles of Confederation
The Articles of Confederation became the first written American constitution.
In the Articles, America was 13 sovereign states with a weak central government.
• No standing army
• Weak executive
• No ability to tax and spend
• Problems of international standing
• Shays’s Rebellion
Constitutional Convention (1787): Key Issues
Key issues
• Revise or scrap the Articles of Confederation
• National power versus state power
• Extent of democracy
• Slavery
Constitutional Convention (1787): Some Answers
Some answers
• The Great Compromise provided states with equal representation in the Senate and representation based on population in the House.
• The Three-Fifths Compromise postponed the divisive issue of slavery by counting slaves as three-fifths of a person for the purpose of apportioning House seats.
Representation by State, 2010
Representation by State, 2010 (cont’d)
The Constitution
The Constitutional Convention produced a Constitution with seven articles.
• The first three articles outline the structure and power of the legislative, executive, and judicial branches.
• Other articles relate to national power, the amendment process, and the ratification process.
It is a brief document.
Article I: Legislative Branch
Bicameralism—division of a legislative assembly into two chambers or houses.
Expressed powers—powers explicitly granted to the federal government by the Constitution.
Necessary and proper clause—also referred to as the “elastic clause,” it provides Congress with the authority to make all laws needed and to employ all means “necessary and proper” to carry them out.
Article II: Executive Branch
Article II provides for an independent, stronger, and more “energetic” executive than in the Articles of Confederation.
The president is commander in chief, chief executive, and chief diplomat.
Other powers include the nomination of executive and judicial officials and the power to grant reprieves and pardons.
The president is indirectly elected.
Article III: Judicial Branch
Article III provides for a Supreme Court and other federal courts Congress can establish.
Judges have lifetime terms and are nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate.
Article III does not explicitly provide for judicial review—the power of the courts to declare actions of the legislative and executive branches unconstitutional.
Clicker Question 2: Articles I, II, and III
Which of the first three articles is longest and most specific in its grant of governmental power?
a) Article I—legislative branch
b) Article II—executive branch
c) Article III—judicial branch
Clicker Question 2: Articles I, II, and III (Answer)
Which of the first three articles is longest and most specific in its grant of governmental power?
a) Article I—legislative branch – Correct
b) Article II—executive branch
c) Article III—judicial branch
Articles I, II, and III: The Separation of Powers
Articles IV and VI: National Unity and Power
Article IV provides reciprocity among the states through the “full faith and credit” clause and the “privileges and immunities” clause.
Article VI promotes national power through the national supremacy clause—a clause stating that laws made by the federal government are supreme and superior to state or local laws.
Article V: Amending the Constitution
Article V sets forth the procedures for amending the Constitution.
Article VII: Ratification
Article VII calls for ratifying conventions in each of the 13 states.
The Constitution is deemed ratified when 9 of the 13 states vote to ratify.
Constitutional Limits on the National Government’s Power
Separation of powers—division of governmental power among several institutions using checks and balances.
Federalism—division of power between a central government and regional governments.
Bill of Rights—first 10 amendments to U.S. Constitution ensuring certain rights and liberties to the people.
The Fight for Ratification
The Fight for Ratification: Federalists versus Antifederalists
Federalists favored ratification and a stronger national government.
Antifederalists opposed ratification but disagreed among themselves about what the alternative should be.
At issue:
Nature of representation
Threat of tyranny—unjust rule by those in power
Scope and location of governmental power
Clicker Question 3: Contemporary Comparisons
Which contemporary group’s ideas do the Antifederalists’ ideas resemble?
a) Occupy Wall Street
b) Tea Party
c) Green Party
d) Libertarian Party
Clicker Question 3: Contemporary Comparisons (Answer)
Which contemporary group’s ideas do the Antifederalists’ ideas resemble?
a) Occupy Wall Street – Correct
b) Tea Party – Correct
c) Green Party – Correct
d) Libertarian Party – Correct
The Fight for Ratification: The Bill of Rights
The Bill of Rights is one key result of the fight for ratification.
Federalists were forced to agree to adopt a series of amendments to the Constitution immediately after ratification.
Spells out protections for individuals and states from Congress, the executive branch, the courts, and the national government
The Bill of Rights: Analysis of Its Provisions
Beyond the Constitution: Limiting Governmental Power 1
The Federalists and Antifederalists agreed that governmental power had to be checked; they also agreed that “mere parchment barriers” would not be enough.
In Federalist 10, James Madison outlines the strongest argument from the Federalist camp for why popular government will succeed in the new United States.
Beyond the Constitution: Limiting Governmental Power 2
In Federalist 10, James Madison argues
• The key problems of democracy are instability and factionalism.
• We must control the effects of factionalism: • Representation and “filtering” of public opinion.
• “Extend the sphere”—take in a greater variety of interests.
The American “solution” is that we will agree to disagree!
Amending the Constitution
There have only been 17 amendments to the Constitution since 1791.
Two of these cancel each other out (Prohibition).
The remaining 15 amendments primarily involve:
• Expansion of the electorate
• Change in elections
• Expansion/limitation of government power
Expansion of the Electorate
Changing Elections
Expanding and Limiting the Power of Government
Discussion Question: Lincoln, King, and Rule of Law
Should a law be followed if it is immoral or unjust?
a) yes
b) no
Lincoln, “The Perpetuation of Our Political Institutions”
Lincoln argues for the rule of law.
The perpetuation of our political institutions requires that citizens must not tolerate any violation of the law, no matter how small.
We should work to change unjust laws, but they must be observed while they are in force.
King, “Letter from a Birmingham Jail”
King argues for civil disobedience in the face of unjust or immoral laws.
Individuals have a moral duty to break an unjust law.
Individuals must accept the consequences “openly and lovingly” in order to arouse the conscience of the community.
Discussion Question: Lincoln, King, and Rule of Law (Revisited)
Should a law be followed if it is immoral or unjust?
a) yes
b) no
Additional Information
Following this slide, you will find additional images, figures, and tables from the textbook.
Representation in Congress: States’ Ranks
Representation in Congress: States’ Ranks (cont’d)
The Constitution and Policy Outcomes
Analyzing the Evidence: How Many Veto Gates?
Copyright © 2018 W. W. Norton & Company
