The Enlightenment
 The English Heritage: The Power of Ideas
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› Natural rights: rights inherent in human beings,
not dependent on government
› Consent of the governed: government derives its
authority by sanction of the people
› Limited Government: certain restrictions should
be placed on government to protect natural
rights of citizens
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Winning Independence
› In 1783, the American colonies prevailed in their
war against England.
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The “Conservative” Revolution
› Restored rights the colonists felt they had lost
› Not a major change of lifestyles
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The Articles of Confederation
› The first document to govern the United States, it
was adopted in 1777 and ratified in 1781.
› It established a confederation, a “league of
friendship and perpetual union” among 13
states and former colonies.
› Congress had few powers; there was no
president or national court system.
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No money, no power to get it
No national currency
States no longer under Britain’s protection nor
could they trade with them
Congress had few powers
No executive or judicial branches
Governmental power rested with the states
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Economic Turmoil
› Postwar depression left farmers unable to pay debts
› State legislatures sympathetic to farmers and passed
laws that favored debtors over creditors
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Shays’ Rebellion
› Series of attacks on courthouses by a small band of
farmers led by Revolutionary War Captain Daniel
Shays to block foreclosure proceedings.
› Economic elite concerned about Articles’ inability to
limit these violations of individual’s property rights
Decided to revise the Articles
 Proceedings supposed to be secret, did not
want outside pressure
 Some, including James Madison and
Alexander Hamilton wanted something new
 After five days they realized they needed to
start all over again
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8 signed Declaration of Independence
30 served in the Continental Congress
6 signed the Articles of Confederation
8 part of constitutional conventions in own states
7 had been or were still state governors
39 had been members of Continental Congress,
Congress of Confederation, or both
31 had attended college (rare)
4 over sixty years old
Nearly half were in their thirties
5 under the age of thirty
James Madison
Alexander Hamilton
George Washington
Benjamin Franklin
Gov. Morris
and…
Patrick Henry
Thomas Jefferson
George Mason
John Adams
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Proposed by Edmund Randolph
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Bicameral legislature
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Representation based on population
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Voters choose members of the House
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Choose members of the Senate from a list of people nominated by their
State legislature
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Congress keeps powers it had under the Articles, but also get…
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Power to make laws for states, override state laws, force states to obey
national laws
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Congress chooses members of judicial branch and the President
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William Patterson proposed
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Three branches
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Unicameral legislature
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Equal representation in Congress, just like under the Articles
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Congress chooses several people to serve in the executive
branch
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Kept many features of the Articles of Confederation
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AKA the Connecticut Compromise
Proposed by Roger Sherman of Connecticut
Bicameral legislature
Representation in the House based on population
In the Senate, each state gets two senators
Southerners wanted slaves counted in the
population to increase representation
 Northerners protested
 3/5 of the number of slaves counted in the
population figures (taxation and representation)
 Became known as the 3/5 Compromise
 Battled over whether slavery could continue
 Agreed not to interfere for at least 20 years
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To prevent a tyranny of the majority,
Madison proposed a government of:
› Limiting Majority Control
› Separating Powers
› Creating Checks and Balances
› Establishing a Federal System
Great because everyone gets something they
want.
 Bad because no one gets everything they
want.
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Took some time to work out the details
 Final document signed on September 17, 1787
 Now the plan had to be submitted to the states for
approval
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Ratification
› Lacking majority support, the Federalists
specified that the Constitution be ratified by
state conventions, not state legislatures.
› Delaware first ratified the Constitution on
December 7, 1787.
› New Hampshire’s approval (the ninth state to
ratify) made the Constitution official six months
later.
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Done in secret, meetings closed to the public.
Undermine a republican form of government.
Too much power to national government, took power
from the state governments.
Too much power to executive branch, less to the other
branches.
Allowed for a standing army in peacetime.
No bill of rights.
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Strong nat’l government threatens people’s natural
rights.
Constitution was created by an elite and privileged group
who wanted to protect their own interests.
National government too far away from the states to know
what they needed.
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Only the House of Reps chosen directly by the people.
Federal government could use their power to violate
citizens’ rights.
Federal government’s powers vague, give almost
unlimited power (necessary & proper clause).
If people’s rights aren’t addressed, the government can
violate them more easily.
Became the main argument against ratification.
The Revolutionary War which was fought to secure rights
for the people was still fresh in their minds.
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Knew states would not agree to give up their powers.
Decided to ask voters if Constitution should be ratified.
Ratifying conventions would be held in every state with
delegates elected by popular vote.
The people were asked how they felt about the
Constitution (social contract, consent of the governed).
Debate fierce in New York
“The Federalist” were essays written by James Madison,
Alexander Hamilton & John Jay. Tried to convince New
Yorkers to support ratification.
1. Civic virtue can’t be relied to protect basic rights.
 Hard to get people or governments to put aside what
they want for the common good.
2. How government is organized will protect basic rights.
 Separation of powers and checks and balances have
built in protections.
3. Representation of different interests in the government
will protect basic rights.
 Different branches have different expertise and focus.
Complexity of the government and the diversity of
the nation protect rights.
 Constitution does protect certain rights (trial by
jury, bills of attainder, ex post facto laws).
 Don’t need a bill of rights when the people are in
charge of running the nation.
 Government has specific powers, no need to list
the rights the government has no power to
violate.
 Most state constitutions had bills of rights, but
the states violated citizen’s rights anyway.
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Federalist Papers
› A collection of 85 articles written by Alexander Hamilton,
John Jay, and James Madison under the name “Publius”
to defend the Constitution
 Bill of Rights
› The first 10 amendments to the U.S. Constitution, drafted
in response to some of the Anti-Federalist concerns about
the lack of basic liberties
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By June 1788 nine states had voted to ratify, but not
Virginia or New York.
Compromise - if the Constitution ratified, during the first
meeting of Congress a bill of rights would be created.
Bill of rights was to list rights of citizens the government
couldn’t violate.
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After a heated debate, Virginia voted to ratify on June 25,
1788. It passed by ten votes.
New York ratified in late July and won with only a three
vote majority.
By the time Rhode Island & North Carolina voted to ratify
the Constitution it had taken effect over a year earlier.
On March 4, 1789 the new Congress held its first
session in New York City.
 George Washington took the oath of office and
became the nation’s first president on April 30,
1789.
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The Constitution sets out the basic principles upon
which government in the United States was built.
 The Constitution is a fairly brief document.
 The Constitution is organized into eight sections:
1. The Preamble
2. 7 articles
3. 27 amendments
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The Constitution is short, with fewer than
8,000 words.
 It does not prescribe every detail.
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› There is no mention of congressional committees or
independent regulatory commissions.
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The Constitution is not static, but flexible for
future generations to determine their own
needs.
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To
To
To
To
To
To
establish a more perfect union
establish justice
ensure domestic tranquility
provide for the common defense
promote the general welfare
secure the blessings of liberty
Section
Preamble
Subject
States the purpose of the Constitution
Article I
Legislative branch
Article II
Executive branch
Article III
Judicial branch
Article IV
Relations among the States and with the National
Government
Amending the Constitution
Article V
Article VI
Article VII
National debts, supremacy of national law, and oaths of
office
Ratifying the Constitution
People are the only source of governmental power.
(aka popular sovereignty)
John Locke
The government may
only do those
things that the
people have given
it the power to do
John Locke
Thomas Hobbes
National Government
May not:
 violate the Bill of Rights
 impose export taxes among states
 use money from the Treasury without the
passage and approval of appropriations bills
 change state boundaries
State Government
May not:
 enter into treaties with other countries
 print money
 tax imports or exports
 impair obligations of contracts
 suspend a person's rights without due process
Government is divided into three branches- executive,
legislative, and judicial.
Baron de Montesquieu
A government
structure whereby
each branch of
government
exercises some
control on the others
Powers are divided between the national and state
governments
The Constitution of
the United States of
America is supreme
and all individuals
are accountable
under the law

The Informal Process of Constitutional
Change
› Judicial Interpretation
 Marbury v. Madison (1803): judicial review
› Changing Political Practice
› Technology
› Increasing Demands on Policymakers
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The Constitution and Democracy
› The Constitution is rarely described as democratic.
› There has been a gradual democratization of the
Constitution.
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The Constitution and the Scope of Government
› Much of the Constitution reinforces individualism
and provides multiple access points for citizens.
› It also encourages stalemate and limits government.
 The
Constitution provides for its own
amendment—that is, for changes in its
written words.
 Article V sets out two methods for the
proposal and two methods for the
ratification of constitutional
amendments, creating four possible
methods of formal amendment.
Collectively, the first ten amendments are known as the Bill of
Rights. They set out many of our basic freedoms.
Political Cartoon
Title: Flag Burning Amendment
Gary Markstein, Wisconsin, The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel , July 18, 2005 ,
http://www.politicalcartoons.com
Informal amendment is the process by which over
time many changes have been made in the
Constitution which have not involved any changes in
its written word.
The informal amendment process can take place by:
(1) the passage of basic legislation by Congress;
(2) actions taken by the President;
(3) key decisions of the Supreme Court;
(4) the activities of political parties; and
(5) custom.
Executive Action
Presidential actions have
produced a number of
important informal
amendments, such as the
use of the military under
the power of commander
in chief.
 An executive agreement is
a pact made by the
President directly with the
head of a foreign state.
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Court Decisions
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The nation’s courts,
most importantly the
United States Supreme
Court, interpret and
apply the Constitution in
many cases they hear.