Colonial America
-Under the British from 1607-1775
-1765, Stamp Act, poses a tax on all legal documents and paper, Stamp Act Congress met in
New York to come up with a Declaration of Rights and Grievances but was ignored by the king
-1767, Townshend Duties, indirect tax (glass, paper, tea)
-1770, Boston Massacre, group of 60 colonists attack redcoats, which takes away the
Townshend Duties
-1774, Intolerable Acts cause the First Continental Congress in which 5 delegates were elected
-1775-1783, American Revolution
-1776, Thomas Paine’s Common Sense
John Locke, “Constitution of Carolina”
● The Fundamental Constitutions of Carolina were implemented in 1669 -1698 by the 8
Lords Proprietors; Locke was secretary to Lord Ashley Cooper (aka Lord of Shaftesbury)
● The proprietors represented/reported back to King George II; also collected taxes and
maintained order
● Created 120 laws including, mostly land division, hierarchy of Lords, elections, and
religious toleration (a new American experiment proposed by Locke)
● Problems= failed early on, split of North and South Carolina, a bloodless military coup
that overthrew the lords, colonists didn’t obey authority, feudal aristocracy was never
going to work in America (the regime must match the people)
● Afterwards, government structure= Governor sent by the King, Upper House
(Senate/Council) elected by the governor, Lower (Commons/Assembly) elected by the
people
Cofc Founding Documents
● Founded in 1770 under Governor William Bull
● Chartered in 1785
● Carolina Day is established on June 28 after the British siege on Sullivans, Bishop Robert
Smith fought as the 1st Anglican Priest to support the American Revolution
Politics and Education
● “Old Deluder Satan Law” (1647) , under Massachusetts colony, after a town reaches 100
families they must set up a grammar school
● Thomas Jefferson, “A Bill for the More General Diffusion of Knowledge” (1779)
● Harvard Laws (1742); examination by the President, knowledge of ancient greek and
latin works/language
● Thomas Jefferson and John Adams heavily supported classical learning
● Robert Dodsley- "The Preceptor" is a collection of essays on various subjects, including
literature, science, and morality. It was first published in 1748 and was intended as a
guide for young people seeking to improve their education and knowledge. was popular
as a textbook in schools for many years. Dodsley was a prominent English writer,
bookseller, and publisher, and "The Preceptor" was one of his most successful works.
The Regulators
● William Pitt; born in 1759, one of the 1st British Prime Ministers to come from the lower
house (House of Commons), during the French and Indian War, british officers ruled
over colonial, gained huge support with pro-colonial stance (has a statue, st. name)
● John Wilkes; Populist journalist who heavily denounced British government, first elected
to Parliament in 1757 keeps getting elected by Parliament rejects him each time, elected
while in jail
● SC Regulators; (started in 1767) vigilantes, unsustainable/unreliable, people of the
upcountry were from Pennsylvania and were much different from the Lowcountry
● The Remonstrance (1767); Rev. Charles Woodmason, Anglican/Loyalist, issues with
enforcing laws in the Backcountry, free men/British subjects not born slaves, regulators
were too expensive, long and dangerous trips to court, only 1 magistrate office became
corrupt, can arrest anyone for anything, he was a leader in the SC regulator movement,
(Remonstrance=protest/disapproval)
● North Carolina Regulators: an uprising from 1766-1771 led citizens to rise against leaders
the felt were corrupt, wanted a more equal political process, more of the poor against the
rich
● Green Mountain Boys- militia created in 1770 in what is now Vermont to resist New
York’s control over the area, Vermont became a state in 1791, leader- Ethan Allen
The Boston Pamphlet (1772)
● A transcript of a town hall meeting between the members of the Boston Committee of
Correspondence, Samuel Adams was a member
● Violations from the crown: legislation without consent, tax without representation,
search policies, denying trial by jury, threatening religious freedom (like a mini DOI,
used as inspiration)
● Virtual Representation= elected officials are supposed to represent the needs of
everyone, instead Parliament was all aristocracy which did not correspond to the
demographic
Boston Pamphlet (Grievances against Parliament) v. DOI (Grievances
against the King)
Declaration of Independence (07/04/1776)
● Last straw from colonists being denied rights by the King
● Only able to gain help from Spain and France if they had a written declaration
● 5 writers: Thomas Jefferson, Ben Franklin, Robert Livingston, John Adams, Roger
Sherman
● Major risk; if they lost, they would be convicted of treason
● American Revolution= a secession movement
● Samuel Adams= a founding father, delegate at the Continental Congress, leader in the
American Revolution, helped frame the Massachusetts Constitution, was governor of
Massachusetts during the 1790s
John Adams, Thoughts on Government (1776)
● An essay in response to Common Sense, said that Paine just wanted to tear down the
government
● Happiness of man= end of government, Happiness of society= end of gov
● Happiness is in virtue
● Political virtues= humility, patience, moderation
● Government cannot be in one assembly
➢ corruption/too much power
➢ Cannot give up their duties
➢ Annual election
➢ Representative assembly cannot exercise executive power (secrecy)
➢ Too numerous, too slow, and too little skilled in the laws to have judicial power
➢ Special interest
● Fear is the foundation of most government
● Doesn't want to tear down the government, just reorder it, giver power to the most wise
and good; power should reflect the people
● Where election ends, slavery begins
● Judges should serve for life so they wont be easily influenced/bought to keep their jobs
● Militia Law
● The Essex Result- Most states wrote their constitutions in 1776, but process was delayed
in a few states, including Massachusetts. When its legislature—the General Court—finally
proposed a constitution to the state’s towns in 1778, it was rejected. To conduct an initial
evaluation, a collection of Essex County towns convened a county convention to assess
the constitution. The Essex Result summarized its proceedings. Theophilus Parsons,
author; defense of bicameralism. The Essex Result reflected an alternative perspective,
one that viewed popular legislative authority with equal suspicion to other kinds of
power and would influence the next constitution to be proposed in Massachusetts in
1780 (approved).
● Massachusetts Convention (1780)- first state constitution to be ratified by the people
directly rather than by the people's representatives, drafted by John Adams, It created a
Senate designed to check the abuses of the more democratic lower house, And it created
an independent judiciary.
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Constitution (created-1787)
● The only way not to repeat the Articles of Confederation was to give up some of the states
rights
● Foreign Policy is now a federal issue; Native Americans are referred to like foreign
nations
● US has NOT is a democracy; because of the House (only federal body elected by the
people)
● Legislative Branch because they are tied to the people and need consent when making
laws
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Article 1: Section 1
➢ Lists all Legislative Powers; Enumerated Powers (gov can only act in these ways,
if they listed what they couldn't do that would leave room for corruption; only
branch with this)
➢ No Bill of Rights because that would be listing what they cant do
➢ Amendment process
➢ (gov can do what is…)Necessary and Proper Clause: created under Washington to
create a Federal Bank (with Hamilton’s push); very vague/takes away the point of
enumerated powers
➢ If it doesn't fit the clause, Gov can cut funding to state agencies to gain influence
Section 2 (House) & 3 (Senate)
➢ ⅗ Clause: slaves get ⅗ of a vote put also pay that in taxes, a trade-off; never
actually use the word slavery
➢ Washington spoke on representatives having jurisdiction over too many people
➢ House has proportional representation and Senate gets 2 representatives because
they represent the state and not the people
Article 2: Section 1
➢ The Executive Branch
➢ Electoral college/proportional representation
➢ VP takes over if president dies/leaves office (25th amendment)
Section 2
➢ President is the Commander in Chief; foreign conduct, treaties, power to
declare war with a ⅔ Senate vote (able to get around this in the Vietnam War)
Section 3
➢ Veto power
Section 4
➢ Able to be impeached for high crimes and misdemeanors that go against the oath
of the constitution
Article 3: Judiciary
➢ Only establishes the Supreme Court
➢ Implemented James Madison’s Virginia Plan (strong national government with
three branches)
➢ Must be separate from the legislative branch but connected to the executive
➢ Establish jury courts
Article 4: States
Article 5: Amendments
Article 7: Ratification; needed 9 out of 13 states
13th Amendment (1865)- no slavery or involuntary servitude except when as
punishment for a crime, this only got rid of chattel slavery (slaves as property; bought
sold, and owned)
14th Amendment (1868)- cannot deprive anyone of life, liberty, or property without
the due process of law; cannot deny equal protection; cannot make/enforce laws that
deprive any privilege or immunities
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15th Amendment (1870)- cant deny the right to vote based on race, color, or previous
servitude
Federalist Papers (1788)
● Jay, Madison, and Hamilton wrote under the name Publius, founder of the Roman
Republic
● 85 total
● Comments on the Constitution
● 10- written by Madison, danger of factions, majority factions are the problem (to solve- 1.
Remove the cause 2. Make sure everyone has the same opinion 3. Control the effects),
first two will not work
● Meant to increase support for the Constitution
● Took inspiration from the Achaean League for a unified central government
● Lycian League- cited by the founders, 1st to use idea of proportional representation, like
our Electoral College
● Madison's Dilemma= if humans were all good, then we wouldn’t need government
● Voting requirements based on each state’s legislature
● Oligarchic= laws are too long, not understandable, change too quickly; we see this today
● 84- Hamilton emphasizes a lack of BOR because some states like NY dont have one
(rights: habeas corpus, cant be put in jail forever; bill of attainder, law aimed at one
individual; ex-post facto, can't be convicted of a crime if done before illegals)
● Hamilton's new republican principles:
➢ Separation of powers
➢ Legislative checks and balances (2 houses, veto); actually from the Greek
➢ Life Tenure for judges is critical for individual liberty
➢ Votes shouldnt be direct but by elected representatives
● Others argued that each state should have a BOR no a federal one, because they don't
have enumerated powers
● 78- Life Tenure for judges; only way to secure their independence from other branches,
can only be fired for illegal acts
● Montesquieu- 18th century French philosopher, overcome the increase in population
through a Confederate Republic/Federalism
● Confederacy- central gov acts on states; Consolidation- central gov acts on liberty; need
both to operate
The Bill of Rights (created-1789, ratified-1791)
● An absence of a Bill of Rights led to a delay in ratifying the constitution
● Drafted by Madison
● Limits the powers of the federal government and makes the constitution easier to
understand
● 1- Freedom of Speech, Press, Religion, and Assembly
● 2- Right to Bear Arms
● 3- No quartering of soldiers
● 4- Unreasonable search & seizure
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5- Right to due process, self-incrimination, no double jeopardy
6- Speedy and public trial
➢ To prevent the process from becoming the punishment
7- Trial by jury in civil cases, different from a bench trial which is just decided by a judge
8- No excessive bail, cruel and unusual punishment
9- Rights outside the Constitution
➢ Written laws don't overrule implied rights, because we are unable to write down
everything
10- Powers not listed are reserved for the states and people
Whiskey Rebellion- 1791-1794, violent tax protest, 1st tax by the newly formed government, needed
to pay off the war debt, Washington showed that you can suppress resistance to laws without resorting
to tyranny
Benjamin Constant
● A speech on liberty
● Political to philosophical system
● People will only care about economics if politics is stable
● Modern man is an economic, not political animal
● After the French Revolution (1789) Europe needed to explain why implementing
democracy failed so largely
● Ancient- giving up individual liberties for the common good, Modern- individual liberty;
a larger, more diverse confederation would make it harder for a confederation, which is
very different from Montesquieu and Aristotle
“What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?” (1852)
● Frederick Douglas; born into slavery
● Was invited to give a speech in NY, he felt mocked because slaves were not free on the
day we are celebrating, uses the words “you” and “your” to explain freedom in America
● Points out contradictions in the Constitution
● Slave is a man, man is born with liberty, therefore slavery is wrong
● Douglas= progressive/optimistic (universal publicity now makes it harder to ignore
issues, technological revolutions aid in moral education, abolition is inevitable, able to
use the Constitution to your advantage)
● Douglas says we don't need to change the Constitution because it never mentions
slavery; still praises the founders
● DOI is not mentioned in politics until Lincoln and Douglas, now cited in the Supreme
Court
The Emancipation Proclamation (1863)
● written in 1863 to take effect in 1864
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Lincoln announces that all slaves are free, a few days after the Union’s victory at the
Battle of Antietam, slaves are not actually free until the 13th amendment in 1865
This was a military measure in it only applied to the states that seceded, but African
Americans were accepted into the Union Army and Navy
Plato’s Republic: Book 8
● 375 B.C.
● Ends with “What is Justice?”
● The effect of the regime on the soul
● The Democratic Man, description fits the struggles we have today; bad, takes in all
pleasures
● Democracy leads to Tyranny; Principle of Opposites- if government swings one way it
will eventually swing the opposite, never moderate
Essay?