Chapter 2
Constitutional Foundations
Key Terms
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Anti-Federalists
Articles of Confederation
Connecticut Compromise
Consent of the governed
Constitution
Declaration of Independence
Democratic Republicans
Federalist Papers
Federalist Party
Great Compromise
Limited Government
Natural Rights
New Jersey Plan
Second Treatise of Civil Government
Shay’s Rebellion
Three-Fifths Compromise
Unalienable Rights
Virginia Plan
Chapter Overview
 The Constitution provides the basic framework of government.
 It is the supreme law of the land.
 It evolved from a political philosophy which, although
democratic in origin, was cynical and had economic interests in
mind when the document was finalized.
 To understand the Constitution, one must look at what events
occurred prior to its ratification.
 History of British rule in the colonies
 American Revolution
 Failed first attempt at creating a workable constitution
 These factors all contribute to the creation of what has been
called a living document-the Constitution of the United States.
The Declaration of Independence
 A powerful heritage created a climate that influenced our
forefathers to turn toward a rocky and risky road of revolution.
 Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger
Sherman, and Robert Livingston included philosophers in the
Declaration of Independence.
 Locke
 Rousseau
 Montesquieu
 In Locke’s Second Treaties of Civil Government, one can notice
the similarities between the language Locke used and the
phrases used in the Declaration of Independence.
 Life, liberty, and property
 Consent of the governed
 Concept of limited government
The Declaration of Independence
 Declaration of Independence announced that “all men
are created equal”.
 The Declaration of Independence used many of the
concepts from English Common Law related to the
rights of the accused and the institution such as
representative colonial assemblies as the rationale why
the colonists wanted to revolt against Great Britain.
Declaration of Independence
Summary of Major Parts
 The Philosophical Basis
 Establishes “unalienable rights”
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Cornerstone of natural rights
Consequence of these rights, limited government are formed receiving
their powers from “the consent of the governed”
 The Grievances
 The second part of the Declaration of Independence makes the case
against Great Britain.
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Taxation without representation
Unjust trials
Quartering of British soldiers
Abolition of colonial assemblies
Policy of mercantilism
 These created a logic for drastic change.
Declaration of Independence
Summary of Major Parts
 The Statement of Separation
 Announcing to the world that the colonists had no choice but
to revolt.
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Jefferson stated that it is not only the right but the duty of the
colonists to change the government.
 The American Revolution was far from certain.
 England had superior power
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Navy was supreme
Resources that could support the war effort
 Colonists not as well organized
 Resort to guerrilla tactics
 They had had vast knowledge of their land
 Had leadership and a desire for freedom
Declaration of Independence
 Called a “conservative revolution” new leaders tried to
create a government based on the idea of the consent
of the governed.
 Individual state governments guaranteed their citizens
the rights they had under British rule.
 Power was not centralized and the new nation made
sure that the new constitution, the Articles of
Confederation, could not end up as a government with
a king.
Declaration of Independence
 Even though the Declaration of Independence stated that all
men are created equal, the societal structure did not reflect
equality.
 “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness”
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Applied to white, rich, property owning male colonists.
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Property as an indicator of wealth, was a requirement for political office.
 Rights of slaves and women were not addressed.
 States and individual legislatures became the dominant force.
 Economic problems immediately faced the new nation.
 Repayment of war debts to the central government
 Individuals facing economic recession caused by war.
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Shay’s Rebellion
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Signaled the newly formed government had serious problems
The Articles of Confederation
 The Articles of Confederation were doomed from the
onset.
 Under the Article of Confederation, the national
government had two levels of government.
 A weak national government with a one-house congress and
dominant state governments.
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Congress was given limited power to declare war, make peace, and
sign treaties.
The national government could borrow money, but it had no power
to tax the individual states.
 The Articles of Confederation created a national army and
navy, but the government had no power to draft soldiers.
The Articles of Confederation
 The Articles of Confederation had no chief executive
or national court system. Legislation had to be passed
by two-thirds majority.
 States could easily cause problems by;
 Printing their own money
 Refusing to amend the Articles of Confederation
 Refusing to recognize treaties made by the national
government.
 Foreign policy was virtually non-existent.
The Articles of Confederation
 There were some successes with the Articles of
Confederation.
 Northwest Ordinance
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Abolished slavery in the newly acquired Northwest territories.
 A new middle class was developing on the state level.
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Farmers etc. began getting involved in state politics.
Help to develop opposing parties
 Federalists and Anti-Federalists
Constitutional Convention
 With the exception of Rhode Island, the rest of the states
sent 55 delegates to the Constitutional Convention in 1789.
 Some of the Founding Fathers did not believe abolishing
the Articles was the answer to the countries problems and
did not attend.
 Thomas Jefferson
 Thomas Paine
 Patrick Henry
 John Adams
 John Hancock
 Anti-Federalists
Constitutional Convention
 Those in attendance did not feel that revisions would
go far enough to correct the problems with the
Articles.
 Alexander Hamilton
 George Washington
 James Madison
 These Founders fought for a new Constitution
 Ben Franklin was the oldest delegate at the
convention, he was 81. He was the only delegate to sign
both the Declaration of Independence and the
Constitution.
Constitutional Convention
 Delegates were split on the organization of the new
government.
 Political conflict will occur without checks and
balances.
 With the difference in economic make-up of the
delegates, factions would arise.
 Federalists 10
 Federalists 47
 A structure of government that stressed a separation of
powers became the fiber of a new Constitution.
The Constitution
 The framers of the Constitution believed that inequalities of wealth were a
principal source of political conflict, but they did not try to eliminate them
from the Constitution.
 There would have to be compromise at the convention in order to develop a
constitution.
 Voting
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The individual states could set the criteria for voting qualifications.
 Representation
 The New Jersey Plan (favored smaller states)
 The Virginia Plan (favored larger, more populous states)
 Connecticut Compromise (resulted in a bi-cameral legislature)
 Senate (2representatives from each state)
 House of Representatives (Representation based on population)
 Slavery
 Three-fifths compromise
 Representation and tax purposes.
 Trade
 Agreed to only tax only imports
The Constitution
 Congress was given specific “delegated” powers .
 Power to tax
 Regulate interstate Commerce
 Coin money
 States could not duplicate any of these powers.
 “necessary and proper clause”
 Established a chief executive and court system
The Birth of Political Parties
 The first political parties were born during the fight to ratify the
new Constitution. Because the philosophy of each party
reflected an economic base, it became apparent that the issue of
individual rights could.
 Federalists 10
 “Tyranny of the Majority” could threaten the economic fiber of the
nation.
 Separation of powers would force compromise.
 Full Faith and Credit
 A Republican form of government
 Bill of Rights
 Federalists (upper class) The Federalists Papers
 Anti-Federalist (middle class) Pennsylvania Packet, Letters from the
Federal Farmer