Roots
7/4/1776 is the answer. What is the
question?
How about 9/17 1787?
Signing of the Constitution.
The first was the theory, the second the
written concept!
How did the US arrive at these ideas and
concepts?
The Greeks and Roman
Republics
Democracy and Representative
government
England – Magna Carta,
defined rights of people
nobles had to consent to taxation
Justice – “no free man can be
seized or imprisoned except by
the judgement of his equals or by
law…”
England – Bill of Rights
Right to petition
Trial by jury
Hold “free” elections
Enlightenment
England Hobbes and
Locke
France –
Montesquieu
and Rousseau
The Colonies
Mayflower Compact – agreement on how to
govern Massachusetts.
Town Hall meetings (democracy) Led to rights
given to all colonists
Colonial Rule developed 3 branches of
government:
Executive usually Governor appointed by the
King
Legislative usually bicameral. WHY?
Upper house appointed by the Governor, and
lower house elected by the colonists
Not exactly democratic. WHY?
Road to Rebellion
Until mid 1700s this was the way
America worked: - Britain provided
defense and a market for raw materials.
DID NOT INITERFERE IN DAY-TO DAY
BUSINESS IN AMERICA.
Changed with the French and Indian
War.
Britain won but needed cash to cover
the cost.
Who should pay?
1765 Stamp Act!!! Required all official /
printed documents have a stamp that
must be bought.
A TAX! WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT?
Road to Independence
“NO TAXATION WITHOUT
REPRESENTATION!”
What does this mean?
Where does it come from?
Boston Massacre 1770
Boston Tea Party 1773
Intolerable Acts
(quartering act) led to
First Continental
Congress 1774
Declaration of Independence
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all
men are created equal, that they are endowed
by their Creator with certain unalienable
Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty,
and the pursuit of Happiness. –That to secure
these rights, Governments are instituted among
Men, deriving their just powers from the
consent of the governed.
Where do you think the underlined bits come from?
Articles of Confederation
One major accomplishment –
process of admitting new states!
• First functioning Government
• Ratified in 1781
– While Revolution is in progress
• Most real power with the States
• Lots of quarrelling between the
states
• Just one Congress
– Unicameral (one house)
– each State had 1 representative
– it took 9/13 States to pass a law
– it took 13/13 States to approve
a treaty or amend the Articles
– No executive or judicial branch
– Could pass laws, make treaties,
declare war & peace, borrow
money, and create a postal
system
Who had most of the power in the
Articles of Confederation?
1.
2.
3.
4.
The President
The Congress
The States
The Army
Weaknesses of the A of C
1. Congress couldn't require States to obey national laws
(no Judicial branch)
2. The central government has little power over foreign
trade
3. The Confederation has no effective military force.
4. Each state issues its own coins and paper money
5. The Confederation must ask states for money to
support the federal Government
6. Changes in the Articles require a unanimous vote of the
thirteen, makes it impossible to change the constitution
7. At least nine states are required to decide major issues
Why are these issues?
We NEED a stronger Government!!!
Rebellion in Massachusetts
because the people are owed
money by the Government for
fighting in the Revolution.
Government cannot pay. WHY?
Their homes are foreclosed.
“Shays Rebellion” scares a lot of
people
Have a ‘Constitutional Convention,’
to rework the Articles
Philadelphia in May 1787
End up creating a new
Constitution
Where was the Constitutional
Convention held?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
New York
Baltimore
Washington, D.C.
Philadelphia
Richmond
Atlanta
Constitutional Convention
55 delegates from 12 states
meet ‘for the sole and express
purpose of revising the Articles
of Confederation’
“the well-bred, the well-fed, the
well-read, and the well-wed”
Average age is 42, 2/3 lawyers, 1/3
owned slaves
Had political experience, from
cities
No Rhode Island, John Adams,
Thomas Jefferson, Sam Adams,
John Hancock, or Patrick Henry!
Father of the Constitution
James Madison of Virginia
Constitutional Conflict!!!
Issues of Equality
Virginia Plan
Strong national government
Three branches of government
(legislative, executive, judicial)
Two houses of congress, based on population
Big states like it!
VA, Penn, NC, Mass, NY, MD
JUST before was voted on, NJ introduced a new plan
New Jersey Plan
Three branches (same three)
ONE house – equal representation
Two executives
The Philadelphia Convention
The U.S. Constitution was developed in 1787 at the Philadelphia Convention.
Look at each statement about the Convention below. Do you think it is true (T) or
false (F). Rewrite any false statements to make them true.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
____ Delegates from all thirteen states
attended the Philadelphia Convention.
____ Thomas Jefferson was the primary writer
of the Constitution.
____ The Three-Fifths Compromise dealt with
the question of how to count slaves for
representation.
____ The New Jersey plan proposed that
representation in a national legislature should
be based on a state’s physical size.
____ Most delegates to the Convention were
white wealthy male landowners.
____ The discussions of the Philadelphia
Convention were kept secret from the public.
____ Most delegates to the Convention had
little political experience.
Which plan favored a more powerful
central government?
1. Virginia Plan
2. New Jersey Plan
Constitutional Compromises
Connecticut Compromise
Roger Sherman of Conn presents the
compromise
House of Reps is based on population
Senate has two representatives per
state (equal representation)
“Upon what principal shall the states be
computed in representation?”
Issues of North v. South
South wanted slaves to be counted in
population.
Foreshadow of what is to come!
Slavery and the Constitution
Issue of Slavery
South Carolina and Georgia
threatened to leave the Union over
the issue. Slaves should be counted
for representation but not for
wealth and tax. Northern States
wanted the opposite
James Madison (Father of
the Constitution) comes up
with a compromise:
3/5 of slaves were counted, for
representation purposes
The Constitution
The Individual Rights Issues
Some were written into the
Constitution:
Prohibits suspension of writ of
habeas corpus
No bills of attainder
No ex post facto laws
Religious qualifications for
holding office prohibited
Strict rules of evidence for
conviction of treason
Right to trial by jury in criminal
cases
Some were not specified
Freedom of speech and
expression
Rights of the accused
What about the Executive Branch?
Chief Executive
One?
Two?/Three?
How long should the
President serve?
How to choose?
Should Congress pick the
President?
Should the People elect
him directly?
Electors from each state?
Constitutional Convention:
The Final Agreement
The Executive
Single chief executive
Electoral College to keep Congress and the
electorate out!
Clunky system
Intended to prevent the riff-raff from deciding election
4-year term of office
What issues might arise?
Electoral College
Has changed a lot since
1787
Number of electors from
each state determined by
the number of Senators
plus Representatives
Whoever gets 270, wins!
www.270towin.com
www.electoral-vote.com
The Madisonian Model
To prevent a tyranny of
the majority, Madison
proposed a government
Limiting Majority Control
Separating Powers
Creating Checks and
Balances
Establishing a Federal
System
Federalist Paper #51
The Madisonian Model
The Madisonian Model
The Madisonian Model
The Constitutional Republic
Republic: A form of government in which the
people select representatives to govern them and
make laws
Favors the status quo – change is slow
The End of the Beginning
The document was approved, but not
unanimously. Now it had to be ratified.
Amending the Constitution
Constitutional Change
The Informal Process of
Constitutional Change
Judicial Interpretation
Marbury v. Madison
(1803): judicial review
Changing Political
Practice
Technology
Increasing Demands on
Policymakers
Ratification
Anti-Federalist
Ratify – to approve
Against the constitution
Would create an overbearing central
government opposed to personal
freedoms
Would ruin the country with taxes
States could better represent their
citizens
Giving up state power to Federal
Government scared them – it was
what they had just defeated!
Patrick Henry
Aaron Burr
Sam Adams
Thomas Jefferson
Federalist
Supported the Constitution
In favor of ratifying
From larger states, cities, merchants
Alexander Hamilton
James Madison
John Adams
George Washington
Federalists vs. Anti-Federalists
Federalist Papers
Written to support the
ratification of the
constitution
Written in newspapers by
anonymous authors
(mostly A. Hamilton, J.
Jay, J. Madison)
Federalists vs. Anti-Federalists
Anti-Federalist view
Constitution was a document written by aristocrats, for
aristocrats (remember: “the well-bred, the well-fed, the wellread, and the well-wed” Average age is 42, 2/3 lawyers, 1/3
owned slaves.)
Wanted a list of guaranteed liberties, or a bill of rights
Said it weakened the power of the states!
Constitution Ratified
The Federalists win out, but agree to the creation
of a “Bill of Rights” specifically granting individual
liberties.
First President Washington (Who unanimously
chose him?)
Bill of Rights ratified 1791 (Ga, Ma and Ct did not
support it).
First 10 Ammendments.