THE
CONSTITUTION
OF THE UNITED
STATES OF
AMERICA
A Constitution
A Constitution is a broad
allegiance to a set of universally
known rules. The supreme law of
the land.
Constitutionalism
The belief in limiting government powers of
infringing on the rights of the individual
Purposes of a
Constitution
Describes the
structure of
Government
Describes the arrangement
of the institutions of governance
Defines the
powers of
government
What are the respective powers
of the
institutions of government
Describes the rights of the people
that government may not
infringe on
Limits the
Powers of
Government
Limits the power of government to
infringe on individual liberties and
freedoms
1773: Boston Tea Party: led by Samuel
Adams; protested British taking over
the domestic tea trade in the colonies
1773-1774: The Intolerable Acts: the
British retaliation for the Boston Tea
Party
The Revolution
1774: First Continental Congress: the
colonies sought reconciliation with
Britain
1776: Second Continental Congress:
produced Declaration of Independence
1781: Articles
of
Confederation
and Perpetual
Union
The Articles did not have a
president or presiding officer
The entire national government
was vested in Congress
Each state had 1 vote in Congress
Execution of Congressional laws
were left to the States
Gen. Cornwallis
surrenders
British troops to
Gen. Washington
at Yorktown
(October 1781)
The Treaty of Paris
The Treaty of Paris (1783) ended the
American Revolutionary War with
Great Britain.
1787 The
Northwest
Ordinance
A major statute enacted under the Articles of
Confederation providing for development of
government lands west of Pennsylvania towards
future statehoods
Established public school system
Banned slavery in that territory
1787 Shay’s
Rebellion
Massachusetts
Restructuring
the Nation:
Moving
Beyond the
Articles
The Constitutional Convention was convened
after Shay’s Rebellion. The government of the
Articles was unravelling from within and
without. From within, the states were
experiencing rebellions as taxes rose and
farms were being foreclosed by banks. From
without, the states were stressed defending
themselves from indigenous attacks and
foreign meddling.
If the great American experiment with
democratic republicanism was going to
survive, the nation and its government would
have to be elaborated into new structures
that were both effective at dealing with
immediate crises and be sustainable over
time.
Constitutional
Convention
1787
(Philadelphia)
Making a Congress
Problem of how to structure and
populate the national legislature
– Virginia Plan favored large states
– New Jersey Plan favored small states
– The Great Compromise (Connecticut
Compromise) produced a bicameral
congress comprised of a 2-chamber
national assembly that reconciled the
differences between the Virginia and
New Jersey plans
The lower chamber or House of
Representatives would represent the people.
The House of Representatives represents the
American people.
Bicameralism
The upper chamber or Senate would
represent the states. The Senate represents
geography.
A debate ensued during the
Convention of whether to include
slaves in the population. The
stalemate between free states and
slave-owning states was reconciled
by the “Three-fifths Compromise.”
The Three-fifths
Compromise
Every slave would be counted as
three-fifths of a “person.” Or put
another way, every five slaves
would be counted as three white
men for the purpose of
apportioning each state’s
respective representatives in the
national legislature.
Hamiltonian Model of
American Democracy
Alexander Hamilton advocated for a federal
system.
Federalism: a sharing of power between the
national governments and state
governments, where national laws
supersede state laws.
Hamilton advocated for a strong national
government, along with John Jay, James
Madison, George Washington and a
majority of founding fathers.
The federalists favored a
strong national government
and supported the
Constitution proposed at the
Constitutional Convention of
1787.
The Federalists
The Federalist Papers:
88 Essays in support of
federalism. Authors: James
Madison, John Jay, and
Alexander Hamilton used the
pseudonym “Publius.”
The anti-federalists opposed
the creation of a strong
national government and
instead advocated for strong
state governments
The Anti-Federalists
The anti-federalists were
opposed to the constitutional
proposal at the Constitutional
Convention of 1787.
The Anti-Federalists: George Mason, Patrick Henry, and Samuel Adams
Madisonian Model of
American Democracy
James Madison, the Architect of
Liberty
Madison advocated for a system of
separation of powers with checks
and balances. Structured the U.S.
government to prevent pernicious
factions or interests from
monopolizing political power and the
total control of government.
Legislative (law-making) powers are held by
the national legislature or Congress. The U. S.
Congress is “bicameral,” comprised of a lower
house (U.S. House of Representatives) and
upper house (Senate)
Separation
of Powers
Executive (policy-making and enforcement)
powers are held by the President. The
President’s Constitutional uniqueness: a single
and independently elected chief executive
Judicial (court) powers are held by the
Supreme Court and federal courts. The
Supreme Court has the power to determine
what is constitutional and to declare any act of
government or act of a government official as
unconstitutional. Federal judges are appointed
for life.
The System
of Checks
and
Balances
Each branch of government has the power
to check the powers of the others.
This arrangement of powers of
government creates institutional balance
among the functions of government and
prevents the concentration of power in
the hands of any one person, group, or
institution of government
Judicial Review refers to an
independent court system that
has the power to declare any act
of a public official
unconstitutional and therefore
illegal.
Judicial Review
Judicial Review is an important
core value of American
republicanism, political
democracy, and
constitutionalism.
The Supreme Court asserted
their power as the final arbiter of
the Constitution in Marbury v
Madison (1802).
Republicanism
A government made of
representatives elected by
the people to make decisions
for them in an assembly that
meets regularly and has
regularly scheduled
elections.
The consent of the governed
is manifested in a
representative democracy
Aristotle’s
Classification of
Governments
Aristotle believed that the
best form of government was
republicanism. Aristotle
classified the forms of
government and divided
them into their “true” and
“perverse” forms.
True Forms
Monarchy: rule by one for the benefit of all
Aristocracy: rule by the best for the benefit of all
Polity: rule by all for the benefit of all
Aristotle's
Classifications
Perverse Forms
Tyranny: rule by one for the benefit of one
Oligarchy: rule by the few for the benefit of the few
Democracy: rule by the “common” people (demos)
for the selfish benefit of people. (Aristotle believed
common people were envious of the rich and
would steal everything from rich if allowed to rule
Republicanism
combines the true
forms of each
classification of
government by
Aristotle into one
political system
The monarchy is embodied by a single
executive or president
The aristocracy is embodied by the upper
chamber (Senate) and by the Supreme
Court and federal judges
The polity is embodied in the lower
chamber (House of Representatives)
A government whose powers are defined
and limited by a constitution.
Limited
Government
Constitutionalism
The first 10 amendments of the U.S.
Constitution, the Bill of Rights, limits the
power of government to infringe on the
freedoms and liberties of the people
There are other guarantees of individual
freedoms and liberties that limit the
power of government found in the body
of the Constitution
Indirect
Democracy
A democracy where the people elect
individuals to represent them in a
legislative assembly, also referred to as
republicanism
Indirect
Elections
When the people do not
directly vote in an election for
a public official. For example,
the Electoral College, not the
popular vote ultimately
selects the President.
The Electoral College is found
in Article II Section 1 and
amended by XII Amendment
(1804).
Another
example of
indirect
elections
In the past, state legislatures
selected and appointed U.S.
senators for their respective
states.
Direct
Elections
A popular election where the people
directly vote, in an election, an individual
into public office.
Example: Congressional elections
Note: The 17th Amendment (1913)
allowed for the direct popular election of
U.S. senators by their respective states.
Direct
Democracy
A democracy where the people participate
in the decisions of government by directly
proposing laws and then voting to ratify or
defeat those laws by voting on a ballot.
Examples:
– Initiatives
– Referendums
– Recalls
A direct democracy ballot is called a
plebiscite.
Direct
Democracy
in the
States
The Constitution guarantees a
republican form of
government for national and
state governments. Initiatives,
referendums and recalls are
unconstitutional at the
national level.
States may choose to use
plebiscites based on the 10th
Amendment that gives states’
power to determine their
respective state government
electoral systems.
Constitutional
Amendments
An amendment is a national
law added to the
Constitution. There are 27
Constitutional Amendments.
The Bill of Rights is the first ten amendments
to the Constitution. It was ratified in 1791,
four years after the ratification of the U.S.
Constitution.
The Bill of
Rights
The Bill of Rights guarantees individual
liberties, freedoms, and rights, and the rights
of the criminally accused. The Bill of Rights
also provides for other rights that are not
explicitly expressed in the Bill itself. These are
called unenumerated rights.
There are two methods of
proposing an amendment to
the Constitution.
Proposing
Amendments
By 2/3 vote in both houses (usual)
By a national convention convened by
Congress upon petition of 2/3 of the
states (never used)
There are two methods of
ratifying an amendment to
the Constitution
Ratifying
Amendments
By legislatures of 3/4ths
of the states (usual)
By conventions in 3/4ths
of the states (used once)
Electoral
College
The inclusion of the electoral college
avoided electing the president by a
popular vote or by Congress or by state
legislatures.
The electoral College allows the election
of the president by specially chosen
electors chosen in each state.
The U.S.
Constitution
The written document of America’s
supreme law of the land: comprised of 7
articles and 27 amendments
Brevity
The U.S. Constitution has fewer than
6,000 words, only 7 articles and 27
amendments. The less said during
ratification process helped to avoid
intractable opposition – fleshing out
details were left to future generations
through interpretation and practice.
Elasticity
The language in the Constitution is
purposely rife with ambiguity and
imprecise meanings in its wording and
phrasing. The Founders were heavily
pressed for time. Debating all the detail
and nuance of every legal term,
reference, and concept would have
risked its ratification before the entire
experiment unraveled.
Constitutional
Interpretations
The neoclassical liberal
interpretation of the
Constitution
versus
The welfare liberal
interpretation of the
Constitution
Textualism,
Originalism,
Strict
Constructionism
Neoclassical liberals are
advocates of Originalism,
Textualism, Strict
Constructionism
These are different terms
referring to the same idea:
the belief that the
Constitution should be
interpreted as intended by the
author’s who wrote it.
The Living
Constitution
Welfare liberals are advocates of “the living
Constitution” concept: the belief that the U.S.
Constitution must be interpreted in the context
of changing historical and social circumstances.
Procedure
over
Substance
The U. S. Constitution exalts procedure
over substance. The Constitution does
express certain Liberal values, but for the
most part it acts as a guide to the
structure, powers, operation, and
procedures of government.
The U.S. Constitution discusses more
about the means of how government
must work and how to get something
done rather than saying what the ends of
government actions ought to be.