The Constitution and Constitutional Democracy
(Constitutional Underpinnings)
AP U.S. Government
(Chapter 2 in text)
Goals of the Framers
• Framers of the Constitution sought to create a
limited government in terms of power.
– The government cannot threaten people’s liberty.
• They wanted a system of self-government.
– The people have the ultimate voice and are the
authority in voting.
Before the Constitution
• American desire for limited government came from the
British.
– Parliament – represented the people in lawmaking.
– Each colony had representative assembly.
– Protestant colonists believed in self-government.
• “No taxation without representation.”
• In 1774, the First Continental Congress had their
demands rejected by King George III.
– Councils to impose taxes, local trials, end of British military
occupation of colonies.
• April 19, 1775 – American Revolution Begins.
The Declaration of Independence
• Americans declared independence from Britain
(7/4/1776).
• Dec. of Independence features John Locke’s ideas.
• The Declaration of Independence was a call for
revolution, not a framework for government.
– Its ideas later became basis for U.S. Constitution.
• Liberty, equality, individual rights, self-government, lawful
powers.
The Articles of Confederation
• The first U.S. government was based on the Articles
of Confederation.
– Very weak national government, subordinate to the
states.
– Articles of Confederation had many problems.
Shay’s Rebellion
• Shays’ Rebellion added urgency to the need for a
national government.
• Farmers, who faced losing their land and going to jail for
unpaid debts, violently marched on county courthouses.
– Massachusetts governor asked for help in stopping rebellion, but
Congress didn’t have money or power to aid him.
• Realizing the need for change, a constitutional convention was
scheduled to revise Articles of Confederation.
The Constitutional Convention (1787)
• Delegates ignored the instruction of Congress to
amend Articles of Confederation.
– They scrapped the articles and began drafting a plan for
a new form of government based on stronger central
government.
Issue: Congress
Virginia (Large State) Plan
• Three branches of government
(legislative, executive, judicial);
legislative most powerful because
it chose people to serve in other
two branches.
• Two houses (bicameral). The House
of Representatives was elected by
the people and the Senate was
elected by the state legislatures.
Both were represented based on
population.
• The legislature could regulate
interstate trade, strike down laws
deemed unconstitutional and use
armed forces to enforce laws.
New Jersey (Small State) Plan
• Three branches of government;
legislative, executive, and judicial.
The legislature appoints people to
serve in the executive branch, and
the executive branch selects the
justices of the Supreme Court.
• One house (unicameral). States
would be represented equally, so
all states had the same power.
• The national government could
levy taxes and import duties,
regulate trade, and state laws
would be subordinate to laws
passed by the national legislature.
Issue: Congress
• Debate over the two plans went on for weeks.
– It was solved by the Great (Connecticut) Compromise.
• Great Compromise called for bicameral legislature.
– Senate was based on equal representation, House of
Representatives was based on population.
Issue: Representation
• Who counts toward a state’s population? How often
is population counted?
Result – Three-Fifths Compromise
The Ratification Debate
• 9 of 13 states needed to ratify Constitution for it to
become law.
• Anti-Federalists argued against the Constitution.
– Claimed the national government would be too powerful.
– It was a threat to state self-government and liberty of the
people.
• Many Americans distrusted centralized power.
• Constitution lacked bill of rights.
– Felt central government would be controlled by political
elites (aristocracy).
– Feared president would become an “American monarch”.
Prominent Anti-Federalists
Patrick Henry
George Clinton
George Mason
The Ratification Debate, cont.
• Federalists supported the Constitution.
– It would correct defects of Articles.
– It would provide the power to create a secure and
prosperous nation.
– The government would not endanger state or personal
liberties because of the restrictions placed on its powers.
James Madison, John Jay, and
Alexander Hamilton – three
prominent Federalists.
The Federalist Papers
• The Federalist Papers – A series of 85 essays written
in support of ratification of the Constitution.
– Written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and
John Jay.
• They appeared in New York newspapers.
• The papers highlighted benefits of the new government’s
structure.
– Anti-Federalists responded with anti-Federalist Papers,
trying to sway public opinion against ratification.
Protecting Liberty through Limited Government
– Popular Sovereignty – power to govern belongs to the
people, gov’t based on the consent of governed.
• The framers limited the government’s power
through grants and denials of power.
– Grants of power (Article I, Section 8) specifically list
Congress’ lawmaking power.
• Powers not granted to government are in theory denied to it.
– Denials of power prohibited certain practices.
• ex. Imprisoning subjects indefinitely without charge.
Protecting Liberty through Limited Government
• Government is also limited through separation of
powers.
– The concept of separated institutions sharing power led
to an elaborate system of checks and balances.
• No institution can act decisively without the support of the
other institutions.
– Each of the three branches can check the power of the
others with powers of their own.
• In The Federalist no. 51, Madison argues for the separation of
powers between government branches.
Amending the Constitution
• Constitution is difficult to amend, making it hard for those
in office to increase their power.
– Requires action from national and state governments.
– Amendment proposed by 2/3 vote in each house of
Congress and ratified (accepted) in at least ¾ of state
legislatures.
• Informal methods of altering the Constitution also
exist.
– The Supreme Court can nullify acts of the gov’t if they
find them to be unconstitutional.
• This has made the Judicial Branch more powerful than the
Constitution intended.
– Social and Cultural changes also impact the Constitution.
• Ex. Abolition of slavery means that 3/5 compromise is no
longer valid.
– Technological changes also impact the Constitution.
• Ex. Regulation of airwaves and the impact on the First
Amendment.
• The Constitution is a flexible document that has
evolved over the last 200 years to reflect current
issues.
Limiting Government
• Constitution did not originally have a Bill of Rights.
– Americans believed Bill of Rights was necessary to
safeguard from government restricting liberty.
• Anti-Federalists demanded a Bill of Rights.
• James Madison introduced ten amendments, which were
quickly ratified by the states.
– Judicial Review allows courts to decide whether a
governmental institution acted within its constitutional
powers, and if not, declare the action null and void.
• Marbury v. Madison (1803) – foundation for judicial review.
Providing for Self-Government
• The framers feared that popular government would
lead to tyranny of the majority.
– The framers believed a republican government rather
than a democratic one would diminish this threat.
– They felt democracy would not limit the power of the
majority.
– A republic would be responsive to the majority but not
captive to it.
• In a republic, representatives act as trustees.
Limited Popular Rule
• Fearing the majority gaining unchecked power, the
framers came up with differing methods to select
officeholders.
Changes to the Constitution
• Thomas Jefferson - national government institutions
as belonging to all, not just the privileged few.
• Andrew Jackson - involve the public more fully in
government.
– Jackson encouraged states to award electoral votes to
the presidential candidate who wins that states’ popular
vote.
– This placed the election of the President in the voters’
hands, not in the hands of the electors, who previously
were chosen by each individual state.
Changes to the Constitution, cont.
Changes during the Progressive Era (Early 1900s)
– Representatives were viewed as delegates, not trustees.
• Delegates are obligated to carry out the opinions of the people
they represent.
– Initiative and referendum – enable citizens to vote
directly on legislative issues.
– Recall election – use of petition to force officeholder to
submit to re-election before end of term.
– Primary elections – gives voters the power to select
party nominees.
– 17th Amendment – direct election of U.S. Senators.