Foundations: Background
to American History
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What do the Declaration of Independence, U.S.
Constitution, and the Bill of Rights say?
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The Declaration of Independence
• Signed in 1776 – written by Thomas
Jefferson
• When sent to the colonies the only signature
was that of John Hancock, which he made so
large that King George III could read it
without glasses.
• Freed colonies from Britain and put forward a
theory of government.
• The Declaration explained that the purpose of
government should be to protect its citizens’
unalienable rights – rights that cannot be taken
away – “life, liberty, and the pursuit of
happiness”
• Ordinary citizens have the right to overthrow
an oppressive government that failed to
protect these unalienable rights.
The U.S. Constitution
• Signed in 1787 – established the
basic structure of our national
government, the power is with the
people who elect their own
representatives
• Created an elected President, a
Congress with two houses, and a
Supreme Court
• The Constitution made federal law
supreme over state law.
The U.S. Constitution
• Limited government: the powers of the federal
government were limited to those specifically
provided in the Constitution.
• Republicanism: Americans created a republican form
of government – a democratic government of
representatives elected by the people.
• Popular Sovereignty: the people are “sovereign” –
they hold supreme power. The powers of the
government thus come from the consent of the
governed.
• Federalism: the authors of the U.S. Constitution
created a “federal republic.” The powers of
government were divided between the national
government and the states. State governments
continued to enjoy control over local matters, such as
education and the passing of laws defining most
crimes.
The U.S. Constitution
• Checks and Balances: to prevent any one branch
from becoming too powerful, the Constitution
gave each branch ways to stop or “check” the
other branches. The Supreme Court turned out to
be especially important because it made sure that
the other branches respected the Constitution.
• Separation of Powers: The authors of the U.S.
Constitution decided to divide the powers of the
federal government among three separate
branches: the Congress, the President, and the
Supreme Court.
• Amendments: The Constitution could be amended
to take into account important changes. This
allowed the Constitution to adjust to changing
times and attitudes.
The Bill of Rights
• First Amendment: Freedom of religion, speech, the
press, right to assembly, right to petition.
• Second Amendment: right to “bear arms” (carry
weapons)
• Third Amendment: prohibits government from
placing troops in people’s homes without their
permission.
• Fourth Amendment: protect individuals from
“unreasonable” searches and seizures by
government officials. (search warrant)
• Fifth Amendment: citizen cannot be deprived of
life, liberty. Or property without “due process of
law” – double jeopardy, self-incrimination,
eminent domain.
The Bill of Rights
• Sixth Amendment: guarantees a fair and
impartial trial to all persons accused of a
crime.
• Seventh Amendment: guarantees the right to a
trial by jury in many civil disputes.
• Eighth Amendment: federal courts cannot
require unusually high bail.
• Ninth Amendment: citizens hold rights other
than those listed in the Constitution
• Tenth Amendment: federal government has
only those powers specifically given to it in the
Constitution.
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What factors led to America’s exceptional success as
a democratic republic?
Alexis de Tocqueville
• 1831 sent to America by French
government to study our prisons in order to
help the French government reform its
own prison system.
• He wonders how it was that the American
system of democracy had survived so well,
when France had undergone a series of
revolutions and restorations during the
same years and still unstable.
• 1835 – published Democracy in America –
Historians studying his book identified five
values that he found crucial to America’s
success.
Alexis de Tocqueville
• Egalitarianism: refers to a society of equals.
Two exceptions were slavery and Native
Americans.
• Populism: (popular sovereignty) participation
of the common people in political life.
• Liberty: protection against a tyrannical
government. Federal system to prevent the rise
of a an over-powerful government.
• Individualism: free to flourish without
hereditary distinctions, individuals organized
into their own private associations.
• Laissez-faire: government took a “hands off”
approach to the economy.
The Evolution of Mid-Nineteenth Century America,
1830-1865
• After Tocqueville’s visit the U.S. continued to
grow in both area and population.
• Early 19th century there were three main sections
– North, South, and West – each affected
differently by the rise of industry.
• These differences led to the Civil War (18611865)
• In the period following the Civil War a group of
amendments were passed.
• 13th Amendment – abolished slavery
• 14th Amendment – guaranteed all citizens “due
process rights” and “equal protection” of the laws
from state governments.
• 15th Amendment – prohibited denying individuals
their right to vote on the basis of race
The Evolution of Mid-Nineteenth Century America,
1830-1865
• The Great Plains were open to settlement, new railroad lines crisscrossed the nation, the Northeast accelerated its industrial growth as
people began to move from the country side into the cities.
Alexis de Tocqueville
• De Tocqueville gave us 5 values he felt
were crucial to the success of our nation’s
government.
• ON A SEPARATE SHEET OF PAPER
In 5 sentences tell me which TWO you
believe were the most crucial to our
nation’s government being a success and
why?