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PPTsBythePeopleChapter03.pptxThe Constitution
Chapter 3
CHAPTER 3: THE CONSTITUTION
In this chapter you will:
Discover the roots of the Constitution in colonial and revolutionary America.
See why Americans declared independence from England and learn about their first constitution, the Articles of Confederation.
Follow the arguments that shaped the Constitution and get an overview of the final document.
Read about the great national debate over whether to adopt it.
Learn how Americans have changed the Constitution—and how the Constitution has changed America.
CHAPTER 3: THE CONSTITUTION
Colonial Roots of the Constitution
Colonies three thousand miles away from the king and his army, able to ignore orders:
Salutary neglect
Colonies developed political institutions
Every colony had its own legislature.
Plentiful land created opportunities.
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More Colonial Roots
Some colonies began with mutual agreements between the settlers
Compacts or covenants
New World was somewhere to practice religion in peace
Different religions flourished
Border areas were violent and insecure
Native American wars
French (North and West)
Spanish (South and West)
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War Brings Changes French and Indian War
British army defeated French in 1763
Two changes:
Ten thousand English troops remained in the colonies
England could enforce its policies
Days of neglect over
England ran up debt during war
Colonists required to pay debt
Americans’ reaction explosive
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Colonial Complaint Representation
Americans used to making their own decisions
When England violated the American idea of self-rule it created an unusual revolution
Americans fought to preserve rights that they had been exercising while neglected
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Colonial Complaint Mercantilism
British began enforcing trade policies.
American ships had to bypass traditional partners:
Do business only with English colonies
Higher prices, lower profits
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The Declaration of Independence
Second Continental Congress wrote and Congress adopted
Two Parts
Statement of Principles
List of Grievances
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Declaration of Independence Principles
All people are equal
Endowed with rights that cannot be taken away
Include life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness
Governments formed to protect rights
Governments derive power from the consent of the governed
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Declaration of Independence Grievances
Violations of the right of representation
Maintenance of a standing army not under civilian control
Loss of an independent court
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Articles of Confederation An Alliance of Independent States
State governments
Reflect popular desires
Annual elections
Extended right to vote
Public legislative deliberations
National government
Continental Congress approved Articles
Weak and dependent on states
No executive or central authority
No central power to tax or muster an army
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Articles of Confederation Success
Power close to the people
Defeated British military
Population grew rapidly
Economy expanded
Stopped squabbling over western land
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Articles of Confederation Some Problems
Congress could not raise taxes and had no money of its own.
Unanimity required to amend made it difficult to amend.
State governments were dominated by their legislatures.
Weak national government had a difficult time standing up to foreign powers.
CHAPTER 3: THE CONSTITUTION
Problems Come to the Surface Shays’ Rebellion
Western Massachusetts
August 1786
Protested high taxes and interest rates
Shut down courthouses to stop foreclosures
Strategy then changed from rebellion to politics
Won seats in the legislature
Changed laws
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Constitutional Convention Balancing Two Political Dangers
Powerful central government could strip people of their rights.
Weak government could fail to protect their rights.
Six themes (which follow) dominated attention to form new government.
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1. How Much Power to the People?
The delegates developed a view of representation that Madison called filtration, or indirect elections.
The public would vote for men (and later women) who would, in turn, vote for public officials—Electoral College.
Over time citizens would win more control
over electing presidents
voting directly for senators (with the Seventeenth Amendment in 1913)
women won the right to vote with the Nineteenth Amendment in 1920
African Americans won the right to vote with the Fifteenth Amendment, ratified in 1870 and finally guaranteed by the Voting Rights Act in 1965
18 year olds won the right to vote in 1971
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2. National Government Versus State Government
Delegates compromised on a system that included both national and state power.
The federal government took over many functions of government—but far fewer than Madison had originally proposed.
The states kept many other duties—but far fewer than the state advocates would have liked.
This mixed system, with a stronger national government that nevertheless leaves considerable power with the state governments, is called federalism.
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3. Big States Versus Small States
The most intense debate at the Constitutional Convention revolved around a division we rarely think about today: the large states (led by Virginia and Pennsylvania) versus the small states (led by New Jersey and Delaware).
Large states argued that representation in the national government should be based on population.
Small states wanted each state to have an equal voice.
That debate led to two different plans put forward by Virginia (a big state) and New Jersey (on behalf of the small states).
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4. The President
Committee or individual? Many delegates worried that a single executive would grow powerful and become, as Governor Randolph put it, “the foetus of monarchy.”
After much back and forth, they settled on a 4-year term and permitted reelections.
Electoral College: Each state would select individuals known as electors—the delegates hoped that the electors would be well-known individuals with sound judgment; the electors would then elect the president.
How many electors per state? Another compromise: Each state would have the same electors as it had members of Congress.
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5. Separation of Powers
Checks and balances: Each power the Constitution gives to Congress is balanced by a power it gives to the president.
President over Congress:
Congress passes legislation but needs the president to sign the law.
The president can veto (reject) the bill (checking Congress).
Congress over president:
The president is commander in chief, but the Constitution gives Congress the power to declare war and set the military’s budget.
Congress can override the veto by two-thirds vote of both chambers (balancing the president).
The president negotiates treaties, but the Senate must ratify them by two-thirds vote.
The president appoints ministers and Supreme Court justices, but Congress must approve (or confirm).
Congress has the ultimate power over all federal officers. The House can impeach (or formally accuse) the president.
CHAPTER 3: THE CONSTITUTION
5. Separation of Powers
Court over Congress and president:
The authority to strike down acts of Congress or the president for violating the Constitution
The French political philosopher Montesquieu wrote an influential treatise, The Spirit of the Laws (published in 1748), which argued that to avoid tyranny, the executive, legislative, and judicial functions of government must be separated from one another.
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6. “A Principle of Which We Were Ashamed”
The men and women in bondage were a source of wealth and power—especially for Georgia, South Carolina, and Virginia.
The Philadelphia convention faced a stark choice—protect slavery or form a union without these states.
In the end, the delegates wanted a strong union more than they hated slavery.
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An Overview of the Constitution: Preamble
The Constitution begins with a preamble, the most elegant sentence in the entire document:
We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.
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Article 1: Congress
Article 1 is the longest in the Constitution and describes what Congress may or may not do.
Section 8 is the most important passage in article 1. Its 17 short paragraphs tell Congress what it may do, including the “power to lay and collect taxes,” declare war, regulate interstate commerce, coin money, and raise an army. The final paragraph is known as the necessary and proper clause.
Section 9 lists the things Congress may not do.
Habeas corpus means that government cannot hold prisoners without formally charging them with a crime.
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Article 2: The President
The president must be a natural-born American at least 35 years old who is chosen by electors for a 4-year term.
Each state decides who elects the electors—today the people make the choice in every state.
Section 4 allows for removing a president “on impeachment for, and conviction of, treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors.”
Three presidents have faced formal impeachment proceedings, although only one, Richard Nixon, was forced to resign his office.
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Article 3: The Courts
Article 3 creates the Supreme Court and authorizes Congress to organize additional courts.
Alexander Hamilton later called the Supreme Court “the least dangerous” branch of government.
The justices are selected by the president, approved by the Senate, and have tenure for life.
Chief Justice John Marshall, in deciding a case called Marbury v. Madison, ruled that the Court could strike down an act of Congress.
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Article 4: Relations between the States
Article 4 defines the relationship between the states and describes the process for adding new states.
Article 5: Amendments
Two-thirds of both House and Senate must approve any amendments.
Article 6: The Law of the Land
Article 6 makes the Constitution the supreme law of the land.
Article 7: Ratification
Three-fourths of the states must ratify—either through the state legislature or through state conventions.
It also specifies that there must be no religious test for holding any federal office.
Some states, however, had religious tests for holding office and even voting until the 1830s.
Article 7 announced that the Constitution would go into effect after nine states had ratified—a controversial move because the United States was still operating under the Articles of Confederation, which could be amended only by all thirteen states.
The Constitution Today
Americans disagree about how to read the Constitution. One view, called originalism, or strict construction, insists that Americans are bound to the literal meaning of the Constitution and its amendments, as the people who wrote and ratified understood them.
The other view, of an evolving Constitution, is known as pragmatism. We cannot help but bring our own background, ideas, and judgments to bear as we think about the meaning of the document.
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Conclusion: Does the Constitution Still Work?
Does the world’s oldest constitution still work? Almost all politicians—and most Americans—would surely say yes.
But some disagree; Robert Dahl, a leading political scientist, argues that the Constitution is not democratic enough.
The checks and balances are sometimes too cumbersome, making it too difficult to pass needed laws.
Regardless of whether you’re an originalist, a pragmatist, or someone in between, you should check to see what the Constitution says every time you study another feature of American politics.
CHAPTER 3: THE CONSTITUTION
