THE ORIGINS OF THE
CONSTITUTION
What is a Constitution?
 Is a nation’s basic law that:
 1) Creates political institutions
 2) Assigns or divides governmental power
 3) Provides guarantees to citizens
 4) Includes unwritten accumulation of traditions
 5) Sets the broad rules for politics
The road to revolution
 Originally the crown left most to the discretion of the
colonial governments
 After F and I war, Britain obtained new territory in North
America
 Parliament passed new laws and taxes to pay to protect it
 Americans resented new taxes as tax with no representation
 Responded by forming 1st Continental Congress to discuss
future relation with Britain
Declaring Independence
 Continental Congress met almost
continuously in 1775 and 1776
 In May and June of 1776 Congress began to
debate resolutions of independence
 After 2 days of debates on the wording, the
Declaration of Independence was adopted on
July 4 , 1776
The English Heritage: the power of
ideas
 John Locke’s writings (Second Treatise) often called
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textbook of the American Revolution.
Philosophy based on Natural Rights, the belief that
people exist in the state of nature before governments
existed. Also:
1) Natural law brings natural rights
2) Natural law superior to human law
3) Government must be built on the consent of the
governed
4) Government should be limited
5) Sole Purpose of Government is to protect natural rights
6) Deep felt injustices could justify revolt
Jefferson’s Handiwork
 Close parallels between Locke’s thoughts and Jefferson’s
language in the Declaration of Independence.
 Although prominent at the constitutional convention,
the concept of property sanctity was absent from the
document.
 Jefferson altered Locke’s phrase “life, liberty and
property” to read “life, liberty and the pursuit of
happiness”
“Conservative” Revolution?
 Revolution was essentially a conservative movement
that did not drastically alter the colonists way of life
 Primary goal was to restore the rights the colonists felt
were already theirs as British subjects
The Government that Failed
 Articles of Confederation established a government
dominated by the states. It:
 A) Established a national legislature with one house- unicameral
 B) States could send up to 7 delegates to it but had only one vote
 C) Continental Congress had few powers- could not tax, regulate
commerce
 D) Had the power to raise and maintain an army and navy but no
money to do so.
 E) No president or national court system
 F) Weaknesses prevented it from dealing with problems
Changes in the States
 1) Dramatic increase in democracy and liberty (white
males)
 2) Expanded political participation brought new middleclass to power including artisans and farmers
 3) With voting power, farmers and craft workers were
now a force. Old colonial elite saw their power shrink-
and didn’t like it
Economic Turmoil
 Postwar depression left many farmers unable to pay
their debts
 State legislatures were now under the control of people
more sympathetic to debtors
 A few states passed policies to help debtors favoring
them over creditors such as “force acts”
Shays’ Rebellion
 In 1786, a small group of farmers in Western
Massachusetts led by Captain Daniel Shays rebelled
losing their land to creditors
 Shays’ Rebellion was a series of armed attacks on
courthouses to prevent judges from foreclosing on farms
 Spurred the birth of the Constitution- need stronger
government reaction and power
Aborted Annapolis Meeting
In September 1786, a small group of leaders gathered in
Annapolis, Maryland to discuss the problem of
commercial conflicts among the states.
Only five states sent delegates so a call came for a fullscale meeting in Philadelphia the following may.
Instructions in Philly..
 Delegates from 12 states came with Rhode
Island refusing.
 Told sole purpose was to revise the articles
 Not possible due to unanimous vote needed
 So- the 50 delegates ignored orders and
began writing a new document
Gentlemen in Philly…
 1) Select group of economic and political notables
 2)Men of wealth- many college graduates
 3) Although philosophical views differed, they all agreed
on:
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A) questions on human nature
B) the causes of political conflict
C) the object of a republican government
D) people were self-interested and government should take a
role in checking this self-interest
James Madison- “The Father of the
Constitution
 Most influential member of the convention
 Believed the distribution of wealth was the source of
political conflict
 Claimed factions arose from unequal distribution of
property
 1) One majority faction with little or no wealth
 2)Other minority faction had the wealth
 Delegates believed that any faction unchecked could be
tyrannical. Property must be protected from factions
 Government must be balanced so no faction could
completely take over
The Agenda in Philadelphia
 Constitution is silent on equality but many important
issues on the agenda revolved around it:
REPRESENTATION OF THE STATES:
A) New Jersey Plan- equal representation in congress
B) Virginia Plan- base representation on population
C) Connecticut Compromise- bicameral legislature
SLAVERY:
A) Did not forbid slavery but limit future imports (prohibited
it after 1808)
B) Escaped persons legally held to service must be returned
C) 3/5 compromise- made sense to them
The Agenda in Philadelphia- cont…
 POLITCAL EQUALITY:
 A)Some delegates wanted suffrage for all free, adult males
 B) Ultimately decided to leave issues to the states
 ECONOMIC ISSUES:
 A) Played a key role:
 1) Federalists stressed the weaknesses of the economy
 2) Anti-Federalists said these claims were not true
What did the Constitution do??
 Spelled out the economic powers of congress:
 A) Chief economic policy maker
 B) Power to tax, borrow and appropriate funds
 C) Powers to protect property rights, punish counterfeiters,
issue patents, etc.
 Prohibited states from certain practices like:
 A) State monetary system
 B) Placing duties on other states’ goods
 C) Interfering with lawful debts
 FULL FAITH AND CREDIT AND A REPUBLICAN FORM OF
GOVERNMENT
What did the Constitution do??
 INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS:
 A) Felt preserving individual rights would be easy
 B) After all, they were creating a limited government
 C) powers were dispersed so each branch could check the
others
 D) Most felt states were already protecting rights
What did the Constitution do??
 Mentioned little about personal freedoms but it did
say:
 A) the writ of habeas corpus may not be suspended unless
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during war
B) Congress could not pass bills of attainder (punishment
without trial) or ex post facto laws
C) Religious qualifications could not be used to hold public
office
D) Treason is narrowly defined
E) The right to trial by jury in criminal cases is guaranteed
 THE ABSENCE OF A SPECIFIC BILL OF RIGHTS LED TO
ISSUES OVER RATIFICATION
The Madisonian Model
 Delegates were faced with a dilemma of reconciling economic
inequality with economic freedom
 James Madison and his colleagues feared all factions
 The Madisonian Model states:
 1) to prevent tyranny of the majority, most government needs to be
out of the control o the people
 2) voters’ electoral influence was limited and mostly indirect
 3) only the house was directly elected- senators and president
would be indirectly elected
 4) power would be separated into a system of checks and balances
to place power against power
“Check” this out..
 Executive:
 A) checks legislative with veto power
 B) checks judicial by appointing judges
 Legislative:
 A) checks executive with “purse” power
 B) checks judicial by confirmation of appointments
 Judicial:
 A) Checks executive and legislative through judicial review
Ratifying the Constitution
 Federalists verus Anti-Federalists
 FEDERALISTS:
 A) James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, John Jay- writing under
the name Publius, wrote 85 articles called the Federalist papers
 B) Defended the Constitution and called for its ratification
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ANTI-FEDERALISTS:
A) Questioned the motives of the framers
B) Believed it was a class-based document to serve the elite
C) Said the document would erode both personal freedom and the
powers of the states
Compromise and Ratification
 Federalists agreed to add amendments to the document to
assure personal freedoms
 A) James Madison introduced 12 potential amendments during the 1st
congress in 1789
 B) 10 of these amendments, the Bill of Rights, were ratified by the states
and took effect in 1791
 RATIFICATION:
1) Federalists specified ratification to be conducted through special
conventions in each state
2) 9 of 13 states had to ratify for it to take effect
3) Delaware was first and New Hampshire was ninth some six months
later
4) George Washington was the unanimous choice to be the 1st president
Constitutional Change
Formal Amendment:
 1) Changes the actual wording of the document
 2) Two stages to the process
 A) Proposal- by either a 2/3 vote in each of congress or by a national
convention called by congress at the request of 2/3 of state legislatures
 B) Ratification- approval of either legislatures of ¾ of the states or by
special conventions in ¾ of the states
 Note: All amendments have been proposed by congress
 Formal amendments have made the document more
democratic
Constitutional Change
Informal Amendment:
 1) Changes the spirit of the document
 May be done through:
 A) Judicial interpretation- how it is read
 B) Political practice- for example the electoral college is diiferent
today than was intended
 C) Technology- mass media, bureaucracy has grown,
communications and advanced weapons
 D) Power of the president has grown as a result of new demands
for public policy- (superpower and domestic policy)
Why be flexible?
 The United States has the oldest functioning constitution
inexistence today
 The framers sought to create a document that could change
with the times without sacrificing personal freedoms
Understanding the Constitution
 The Constitution and democracy:
 1) Democratic government was despised and feared among 18th
century elite
 2) The Constitution created a republic, modeled after Locke’s
tradition of limited government
 3) Major theme was the gradual democratization of the
document away from elitist model toward the pluralist one
 4) Today few people fear democracy
The Constitution and scope of government:
1) Separation of powers and checks and balances allow:
a) all groups to be heard
b) the politics of bargaining, compromise and an increase in
hyperpluralism- which some argue leads to gridlock