Do Now:
Pick a ticket from the bucket and sit at the appropriate tables.
Then go to Rebel Rule  Unit 2  Lesson 2  Click on the link with the number from
your ticket. Complete the worksheet that opens.
When you are done, download the Agenda (2:2) for today and log into Nearpod:
Basic Principles of the U.S. Constitution
• Limited Government
• Representative Government
• Federalism
• Separation of Powers
• Checks and Balances
Limited Government
Defined
• John Locke had grounded the case for limited government on
individual rights and popular sovereignty.
• The written constitution is an American invention. The Founders
believed that the key to a limited government is a written constitution
because it allows for a precise distribution and limitation of power
between and within the institutions and offices of government.
• Citizens could then watch to ensure that the powers neither
expanded nor move within the system.
Limited Government
Fear
• The new Constitution listed the powers of the national government.
The national government’s power is limited to that list. The national
government’s power is further limited by a list of things they cannot
do.
• However, many thought too much power was given to the national
government. Powers such as the power to tax and to control trade
between the states seemed excessive to those who feared the
possibility of their abuse (as was done under Great Britain).
• With all these powers going to the national government, then what
need do we have for state governments?
Limited Government
Which Federalist Paper talks about Limited
Government?
Limited Government
Federalist No.45
• James Madison
• The Constitution does not really increase the power of the national
government; it simply allows them to actually carry them out.
• The powers of the national government are still external powers –
important in times of war and danger.
• State powers are still internal powers – important in times of peace
and security.
• The additional powers (such as taxation, raising of military, and control
of interstate commerce) are necessary for a functioning government
and, in fact, were the problems under the Articles.
Limited Government
Federalist No.45
• If state governments want to govern without worry from, let’s say,
disputes with neighboring states and other things, then the national
government needs to have this level of power.
• But states are still necessary:
• They elect the President of the United States
• They select state Senators
Poll Question
To what extent should the federal government be involved in economic
issues?
• Position A: The federal government’s power over taxation as well as
international and interstate trade allow significant latitude in directing
economic policy.
• Position B: The federal government should only act to remedy
unfavorable economic conditions for business activity.
Representative Government
Defined
• In a country that numbered almost four million citizens and stretched from
New Hampshire to Georgia and from the Atlantic to the Mississippi,
representative institutions that would reliably produce stable and effective
decision was not entirely clear. Some worried that national institutions too
far removed from the real lives of individual citizens would be
unresponsive, whereas others worried that local institutions were
inherently unstable.
Representative Government
Fear
• What if a representative falls to a faction? Because that one
representative votes for a constituency, it is worrisome that a faction
may control that vote.
• Wouldn’t a direct democracy be better?
Representative Government
Which Federalist Paper talks about
Representative Government?
Representative Government
Federalist No.10
• James Madison
• Madison defines a faction as a group of citizens (majority or minority) united by some
common passion or interest adverse to the rights of other citizens or to the interests of
the community.
• There are two ways to take care of this:
• Remove Cause
• Destroy liberty essential for it to exist – this is worse than faction
• Give every citizen the same opinions, passions, and interests – this is impractical
• Control Effect
• This is our only option
• But to understand how to do this, we must first understand how factions work.
Representative Government
Federalist No.10
• Faction is part of the nature of man. As long as there are differences
of opinion on religion and government, as long as people have
ambitions and passions, there will be factions.
• The most common source of factions is the unequal distribution of
property. There will always be conflict between those who have and
those who don’t have. And so it is government’s job to figure out a
balance between these two factions.
Representative Government
Federalist No.10
• Republic vs. Pure Democracy
• A pure democracy is a society in which the citizens gather and administer
government themselves. This won’t prevent factions. It will be turbulent and
contentious. It will led to mob rule with the interests of the have-nots overriding
the interests of the haves.
• A republic is a government with representatives administering government. The
wisdom of our representatives should hopefully discern the true interest of their
country. Their patriotism and love of justice will make it less likely to sacrifice it to
temporary or partial considerations. Under this system, the public voice, as
pronounced by the representatives of the people, may be more in line with the
public good than if all the people gathered and spoke for themselves.
Representative Government
Federalist No.10
• Small Area vs. Large Area
• A Republic works best in large areas.
• The larger the nation, the better, because
• A larger pool of people will lead to more candidates.
• More candidates will make it more difficult for unworthy candidates to
successfully win through election fraud. And with wide voter freedom,
elections will more likely center on men who possess the most attractive merit
and the most established character.
• Large areas also make conspiracies harder so that even if a faction can gain control
over a representative or two, it is not enough to make a difference.
Poll Question
What should be the role of citizens in creating public policy?
• Position A: Public policy should reflect the opinion of voters.
• Position B: Public policy should be created by officials who are most
informed about the issues involved.
Federalism
Defined
• The distribution of power among levels of government is called
federalism (national vs. state).
• Federalism is a form of government in which some powers are
assigned to the national government, some to lower levels of
government, and some, such as the power to tax, are exercised
concurrently.
• However, attachments to the state governments were strong, and it
was clear to most delegates that a plan that leaned too obviously
toward a consolidated national government would have difficulty.
Federalism
Fear
• The national government has more power under the Constitution
than under the Articles of Confederation. So how can we make sure
that the national government won’t abuse their power?
• And won’t states disappear under this new government?
Federalism
Which Federalist Papers talks about
Federalism?
Federalism
Federalist No.51
• James Madison
• State governments are still necessary to prevent the usurpation of
power on the national level. And within each level are different
branches. So the interests of everyone is covered somewhere.
Federalist No.45
• (See Limited Government above)
Poll Question
How should power be divided between the federal government and
the states?
• Position A: The federal government should retain the most power
because it is best positioned to insure fair treatment, safety and equal
protection for all Americans.
• Position B: The states should retain the most power because they are
closer to the people, better informed on local issues and best
positioned to exercise authority for their residents.
Separation of Powers
Defined
• The basic insight behind separation of powers if very old.
• Separation of powers is the idea that distinctive types of governmental
power, most obviously the legislative and executive powers, and later the
judicial powers, should be placed in separate hands.
• The Roman Republic had been organized to give two social classes – the few
rich and the many poor – separate institutions and officers to protect their
distinct interests.
• In the 18th century, Montesquieu argued that distinct governmental tasks –
most critically the legislative task of making laws and the executive task of
enforcing laws – needed to be in separate hands.
Separation of Powers
Defined
• Only with the American founding did the judicial function come to be
seen as a third distinctive governmental task.
• The problem with a simple separation of powers, as no less an
authority than John Locke had pointed out, was that it made the lawmaking power supreme. The power to make the law is simply a more
fundamental power than the power to enforce the law. If political
power is dangerous, and the Founding generation thought that it was,
then power concentrated in the legislature is a problem.
Separation of Powers
(See argument under Checks and Balances)
Poll Question
Once Congress declares war and the President assumes the role of
Commander-in-Chief, who decides how the war ends?
• Position A: Congress, the policy making branch which represents the
people, should determine peace terms.
• Position B: The President as Commander-in-Chief is in the best
position to determine appropriate actions.
Checks and Balances
Defined
• Checks and balances is the idea that government powers should be
distributed to permit each branch of government to check and balance
the other branches.
• Although the ideas of checks and balances and separation of powers
frequently occurred together in the founding period and still do today,
they are distinct.
• In fact, checks and balances provide a solution to the problems
associated with a pure separation of powers.
Checks and Balances
Defined
• Checks and balances blur a separation of powers by giving the actors of
one branch a role in or leverage over the activities of the other
branches.
• The executive veto of legislative, the legislature’s participation in
treaty making and appointing senior executives, and the right of the
judiciary to declare acts of the legislature and the executive
unconstitutional all are checks that violate an institutional separation
of powers.
• Bicameralism, the idea of dividing the legislative power between two
separate houses, is a check that does not violate the principle of
separation of powers.
Checks and Balances
Fear
• A separation of the different powers of government is essential to the
preservation of liberty. Each branch should have a will of its own.
• Consequently, government should be designed so members of each branch
have as little input as possible in the appointment of the others.
• However, if these principles was rigorously adhered to, all appointments
would have to be made by the same authority – the people – with no
communication with the other.
• This is both expensive and very difficult.
• A pure separation of powers is unwise.
Checks and Balances
Which Federalist Paper talks about Checks
and Balances?
Checks and Balances
Federalist No.51
• James Madison
• “Ambition must be made to counteract ambition. The interest of the man must be
connected with the constitutional rights of the place. It may be a reflection on
human nature that such devices should be necessary to control the abuses of
government. But what is government itself but the greatest of all reflections on
human nature? If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels
were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be
necessary. In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men,
the great difficulty lies in this: you must first enable the government to control the
governed; and in the next place oblige it to control itself. A dependence on the
people is, no doubt, the primary control on the government; but experience has
taught mankind the necessity of auxiliary precautions.”
Checks and Balances
Federalist No.51
• Judiciary
• To have the people choose the judiciary is unwise
• Members of the judiciary should specific qualifications that should
not be based on the whim of electors.
• Judges hold their position for life which destroys their dependence
on the electorate.
• So the judiciary must be chosen by some other element – by some
other branch(es) in government.
Checks and Balances
Federalist No.51
• Legislative
• In republican government, the legislative authority predominates the
others.
• The remedy for this is to divide the legislature into two different
houses and make them by different by modes of election and
different principles of action.
• But even then we need further precautions – the veto. (Although
this in itself is not sufficient and needs a further check – veto
override.)
Poll Question
When the President makes a nomination, what should be the nature of
the Senate’s “advice and consent”?
• Position A: The Senate should defer to the President’s choice of who
he wants working under him.
• Position B: It is the Senate’s duty to make an independent judgment
of a nominee’s suitability for a position serving the American people,
even if that means denying the President his choice.
Poll Question
Should voter ballot initiatives be allowed to overturn laws passed by
legislative bodies?
• Position A: Yes. Ballot initiatives allow voters to directly participate in
their government.
• Position B: No. Voters already express their views through election of
public officials.
Conclusion
• The U.S. Constitution is based on five fundamental principles: Limited
Government, Representative Government, Federalism, Separation of
Powers, and Checks and Balances.
• The purpose of a limited government is the protection of the rights of the
people from the abuse of government power. The Founding Fathers
limited the government through the use of a written constitution.
• A representative form of government is the best way to control the effect
of factions.
• Federalism further protects us from the abuse of government power and
necessitates the need for states.
• A separation of powers with a system of checks and balances ensures the
basic controls needed for governing both the people and the government.