Principles of democracy and the Constitution, all the way to civil liberties and equal protection
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PowerpointChapter2_TheConstitution.pptxChapter Two:
The U.S. Constitution
Question of the day: Why is the US Constitution the way it is (and why should I care?)
Magna Carta and the Constitution
Question: What do you remember learning about the Declaration of Independence?
Declaration of Independence
Why we were justified in separating ourselves from Britain
A long list of grievances
Policy disagreements—Britain overplayed its hand
Final Straw=Stamp Act: required that all legal documents have to have a stamp on them which has to be purchased
TAXATION without REPRESENTATION
Thomas Paine’s Common Sense
The first work to openly ask the colonists for independence
Convinced many people to favor independence from Great Britain
Over 120,000 copies were circulated
Many reasons why it was only “common sense” to make independence the reason to fight the Revolutionary War
“Society in every state is a blessing, but government even in its best state is but a necessary evil; in its worst state an intolerable one; for when we suffer, or are exposed to the same miseries by a government, which we might expect in a country without government, our calamity is heightened by reflecting that we furnish the means by which we suffer...”
The Declaration -2
--By 1776, Britain had sent troops over to keep the colonists under control
--Separation was the only option, and the Declaration was a statement of justification.
--The Declaration also invoked the ideas of democracy, equal rights, and individual liberty.
Influences of the Declaration of Indep.
The Declaration of Independence -3
Key Ideas
-Human beings possess rights that cannot be legitimately given away or taken from them.
-People create government to protect these rights.
-If government fails to protect people’s rights or itself becomes a threat to them, people can withdraw their consent from that government and create a new one.
Articles of Confederation 1781-1789
A loose confederation of independent states
-Weak central government
One-house Confederation Congress, each state had one vote
Every 13 states argued their own individual sovereign power
No executive but presiding leader
No judiciary
Needed unanimity to amend the articles
NO POWER OF THE PURSE
Indebtedness and inability to finance its activities
Couldn’t TAX=had no financial source of power, only voluntary contributions from states (which often did not pay)
-Economy was hurting after the Revolutionary War=CHAOS and the central government could not do anything
Shortcomings of the AoC-1
Shortcomings of the Articles-2
From 1781 to 1783 the national legislature requested $10 million from the states and received only $1.5 million.
Given the foreign debts the United States had accumulated during the Revolution, this problem was particularly troublesome, esp. to the wealthy class.
Shortcomings -3
Commercial warfare among the states
Could coin money but could not keep states from doing the same
Couldn’t REGULATE COMMERCE= states engaged in trading practices that hurt one another economically . i.e., each state had its own tariffs and trade barriers which led to trade wars between states.
13 economies not one
Shortcomings -4
Foreign Trade
Lacked any concrete way to regulate foreign commerce, treaties between the United States and other countries were of limited value.
Some European nations imposed restrictions on trade that made it difficult for America to export goods
Shortcomings -5
NO POWER OF THE SWORD: Inability to defend American interests in foreign affairs
Foreign relations, could declare war but couldn’t raise its own army, only ask states for militia help
Crash Course: The Articles, the Constitution, and Federalism
Aftermath of Shays’ Rebellion
Shays’s Rebellion reinforced the fears of national leaders about the dangers of ineffective state governments and of popular democracy out of control.
Delegates to the Philadelphia convention were instructed to propose revisions for the Articles of Confederation, but they wrote an entirely new constitution instead.
The Republican Beliefs of the Founders
Belief in limited government based on popular consent
Belief in protections against majority tyranny
Property rights were a priority
Elitist concerns about popular democracy=distrust of the masses
The Constitutional Convention
-By 1787, most of America’s leaders were convinced that the new nation was in great danger of failing.
-Of the 74 delegates from 12 states (RI refused) only 55 showed up. Of these, 39 signed the Constitution
-Delegates secretly met in Philadelphia from May 25 -September 17, 1787
Constitutional Convention -2
The original purpose of the meeting was to revise the Articles of Confederation.
The delegates agreed on four things
1. Throw out the articles.
2. Each state had one vote regardless of the number of delegates in attendance.
3. Keep it secret for 25 years.
4. George Washington would be in charge.
Who were the delegates to the Convention?
Wealthy, white men who were
Well-educated
Young, but with broad experience in American politics (average age was 41)
Familiar with the great works of Western philosophy and political science
80% had served in the Continental Congress
Who was not at the Convention?
Jefferson was in Paris serving as minister to France
John Adams was also abroad, serving as minister to Great Britain
Patrick Henry, “Gimme Liberty or Gimme Death” fame turned down an invitation because he “smelt a rat in Philadelphia, tending toward the monarchy”
Samuel Adams, John Hancock
“An assembly of demigods” --Jefferson
33 had served in the Revolutionary war
42 had attended the Continental Congress
Six had signed the Declaration of Independence
Two would go on to serve as U.S. Presidents
Sixteen as Governors
Two as Chief Justices of the Supreme Court while many served on the Supreme Court
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Two were college presidents (William S. Johnson and Abraham Baldwin).
Three were or had been college professors (George Wythe, James Wilson, and William C. Houston).
Four had studied law in England.
Thirty-one were members of the legal profession, several of them being judges.
Nine had been born in foreign countries and knew the oppressions of Europe from firsthand experience.
Twenty-eight had served in Congress, and most of the rest had served in state legislatures.
Nineteen or more had served in the army, 17 as officers, and 4 on Washington's staff.
When the Constitutional Convention opened on May 14, 1787, only delegates from Pennsylvania and Virginia were present. It wasn’t until May 25 that a quorum of seven states was achieved. Weather—ever the convenient excuse—was blamed for the tardiness, but the convention was plagued throughout with attendance issues.
While James Madison boasted that he never left the proceedings for more than “a casual fraction of an hour,” his fellow delegates were not as fastidious.
Nineteen of the 74 delegates to the convention never even attended a single session, and of the 55 delegates who did show up in Philadelphia, no more than 30 stayed for the full four months. New Hampshire’s delegation arrived two months late, by which time two of New York’s three delegates had left in opposition to the proceedings, leaving just Hamilton behind and depriving the state of a quorum to vote. Thus, Washington wrote that the Constitution was signed by “11 states and Colonel Hamilton.”
Biases?
Self-serving? The Constitution is an economic document set to protect the property interests of those who wrote it.
Equality? We the people excluded most Americans. Equality wasn’t a value
Consensus Among the Delegates
Agreement that a new constitution must replace the Articles of Confederation
Support for a substantially strengthened national government
Concern that a strong national government is potentially tyrannical (needed separation of powers and checks and balances)
Disagreement Among the Delegates
Representation of the states in the legislature
Status of slavery
Selection of the President
Overall, Conflict Often Centered Around Disagreements Between Large and Small States
Conflicts and Compromises at the Constitutional Convention
Conflict #1:Representation in Legislative Branch
-Virginia Plan
-New Jersey Plan
-Great Compromise
CONFLICT #2: Slavery
Three-fifths Compromise
2. Return of runaway slaves required
3. Prohibition of Congress debating any enactments against the slave trade or importation of slaves until 1808. Only a tax or duty on such importation was permitted.
Conflict #3 Electing the President
A single executive
Indirect election by an
electoral college
The House of Representatives would choose a president if no one received a majority of electoral votes.
Principles of the Constitution -1
1) Separation of Powers with Checks and Balances
-Executive, legislative, and judicial powers are different branches (separation of powers).
-No branch can control all powers or dominate the other branches.
-Legislative, executive, and judicial powers check one another and share power (checks and balances)
The legislative branch makes laws, but the President in the executive branch can veto those laws with a Presidential Veto.
The legislative branch makes laws, but the judicial branch can declare those laws unconstitutional.
The executive branch, through the Federal agencies, has responsibility for day-to-day enforcement and administration of Federal laws. These Federal departments and agencies have missions and responsibilities that vary widely, from environmental protection to protecting the Nation’s borders.
The President in the executive branch can veto a law, but the legislative branch can override that veto with enough votes.
Examples of Checks and Balances
Principles in the Constitution -2
2) Federalism
-Relatively strong central government.
-Supremacy clause (Article VI, Section 2)
-Important powers assigned to the national government
-Elastic clause (Article I, Section 8)
-States remain important
Principles in the Constitution -4
3) Limited Government
-The Constitution lists specific powers of the national government (Article I, Section 8) and specifically denies others (Article I, Section 9).
-The Bill of Rights imposes restraints on the national government by protecting fundamental rights of citizens.
Principles in the Constitution -4
4) Checks on majority rule
The people rule only indirectly
Bicameral legislature, with varying terms of office and different constituencies
Indirect election of the President and Senate (changed by Amendment XVII)
Presidential appointment of judges and confirmation by the Senate
Cumbersome and difficult amendment process
Principles in the Constitution -8
5) Free Enterprise Economy
Concern that a system “too much upon the democratic order” would threaten private property
-Constitutional protections for property rights
Provisions aiding the emergence of a free enterprise economy
The Struggle to Ratify the Constitution
Ratification was a difficult process.
Nine out of 13 states had to ratify the Constitution.
It was signed by the delegates on September 17, 1787.
Federalists supported the Constitution. They wrote a series of essays called the Federalist papers that were published in newspapers across the country.
James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay were the writers defending the Constitution.
Anti-federalists were those that opposed the Constitution. That felt that too much power was given to the National government. They wanted a bill of rights.
June 21, 1788, New Hampshire became the ninth state to ratify the Constitution. Rhode Island was the 13th state to ratify it in 1790
The Bill of Rights
1=Freedom of religion, speech, and press; rights of petition and assembly.
2=Right to keep and bear arms.
3=No forced quartering of troops.
4=No unreasonable searches and seizures.
5=Right to due process of law, no double jeopardy or self-incrimination.
6=Rights of the accused: speedy and public trial by jury, clear charges, witnesses in defense and attorney.
7=Right to trial by jury in civil case.
8=No cruel or unusual punishments.
9=Other rights not included in Constitution.
10=State rights and powers.
