Constitutional Democracy:
Promoting Liberty and
Self-Government
Chapter 2
Before the Constitution: Colonial and
Revolutionary Experiences

The Rights of Englishmen

Rights including life, liberty and property to
which all people are entitled
 Repeal of the Stamp Act: a tax on colonial
newspapers and document
 Enactment of the Townsend Act: tax on tea
© 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.
2
Before the Constitution: Colonial and
Revolutionary Experiences

Declaration of Independence
call to revolution  liberty, equality, individual
rights, self-government, lawful powers
 John Locke: “Two Treatises of Government”
A
 Inalienable (natural) rights: Life,
liberty, and property
 Government has responsibility to preserve rights
 Thomas
Jefferson:
 “All
men are created equal”
 Just powers derive from the consent of the governed
© 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.
3
Before the Constitution: Colonial and
Revolutionary Experiences

Articles of Confederation
 Adopted
during the Revolutionary War
 Created weak national government
 States retained “sovereignty, freedom and
independence”
 Prohibited Congress from interfering in states’
commerce policies
 Prohibited Congress from taxation
© 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.
4
Before the Constitution: Colonial and
Revolutionary Experiences

Shays’s Rebellion
 Raised
fears about the weakness of the national
government
 Weakened Congress  nation dissolving
 Farmers, led by Daniel Shays, marched to prevent
foreclosures on their land
 Congress unable to raise army to quell rebellion
 Motivated Congress to authorize a convention in
Philadelphia to revise Articles of Confederation
© 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.
5
Negotiating Toward a Constitution

The Great Compromise



Virginia (large-state) Plan
 Representation based on population number
 Greater power to larger states
New Jersey (small-state) Plan
 Each state would have one vote
 Equal power to large and small states
Great Compromise: two-chamber Congress
 House of Representatives: proportional representation
 Senate: equal representation
© 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.
6
Negotiating Toward a Constitution

North-South compromise: the issue of slavery
 Congress
agreed not to tax exports, only imports
 Congress agreed not to outlaw slavery
 Three-Fifths Compromise: three-fifths of enslaved
population counted for apportionment of taxes and
political representation
© 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.
7
Negotiating Toward a Constitution

A strategy for ratification
 Constitution submitted
directly to the states
 Federalists: proponents of the Constitution
 Anti-Federalists: against a strong national
government
 The Federalist Papers: Alexander Hamilton,
James Madison, John Jay
© 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.
8
Negotiating Toward a Constitution

The Framers’ goals
 Government
strong enough to meet the country’s
needs
 Government not threatening existence of the
separate states
 Government not threatening liberty
 Government based on popular consent
© 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.
9
Major Goals of The Framers of
the Constitution
© 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.
10
Protecting Liberty: Limited Government

Grants and denials of power
 Grants:
 Limit
government by stating specific powers in the
Constitution
 Total of seventeen powers
 Denials:
 Limit
government by stating specific prohibitions in the
Constitution
 Constitution difficult to amend
© 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.
11
Protecting Liberty: Limited Government

Sharing Power
 Separation
of powers: divide the authority of the
government
 Shared institutions  checks & balances
 Shared
legislative powers: Congress checked by the
President, Supreme Court
 Shared executive powers: President checked by
Congress, Supreme Court
 Shared judicial powers: Courts checked by the
President, Congress
© 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.
12
Protecting Liberty: Limited Government

Bill of Rights
 First
ten amendments to Constitution
 Protects rights of citizens, such as:
 Freedom
of speech
 Trial by jury of peers and legal counsel
 Freedom of religion
 Limits
power of government
© 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.
13
Protecting Liberty: Limited Government

Judicial Review
 Courts
determine if governmental institution is
acting within its constitutional powers
 Established by Chief Justice John Marshall in
Marbury v. Madison (1803)
© 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.
14
Providing for Self-Government

Democracy versus republic
 People
rule, either directly or through elected
representatives
 Majority rule is limited to protect minority rights

Limited popular rule
 People
participate indirectly in process of
government through election of officials
 Indirect election of president and (initially) Senators
 Federal judiciary appointed, not elected
© 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.
15
Providing for Self-Government

Altering the Constitution
 Jeffersonian
democracy
 Government
 Jacksonian
 States
 The
belonged to all, not just elite
democracy
give electoral votes to winner of the popular vote
Progressives
 Direct
election of senators
 Delegates carry out wishes of the voters
© 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.
16
Constitutional Democracy Today

Constitutional: provides for minority rights
and rule by law

Democracy: provides for majority influence
via elections
© 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.
17