Roach v Beard Essay
The Founding Fathers ... were impelled by class motives ...
but they were also controlled ... by a statesmanlike sense of
moderation and a scrupulously republican philosophy.
Assess the merits of this statement with reference to all of
the following: the politics of the Constitution Convention in
1787, the specific provisions of the Constitution, and the
general structure of the government established by the
Constitution. (6 pts. total)
Politics of Convention
Roche: practical politicians, statesmanlike,
 shared belief in strong national gov. (republicanism) &
weakness of Articles of Confed.,
 recognized new gov. was absolutely necessary so they
had to compromise (maybe it wasn’t the best, but it had to
be done),
 needed to appease diverse interests of many people, all
had energy & talent & a genuine dedication to the
success of the new nation & some role for common man
Beard:
 convention itself was a secret, they were actually
supposed to revise the gov., not re-write it, they knew
they would be the men serving in gov. so they wrote it to
their personal liking, the most democratic politicians
(Jefferson, S. Adams, Paine & Henry) were absent
 the most elite politicians were present looking out for
their own self-interest,
 they were not actually majoritarian men, but rather
skeptics of common man & his abilities & interests, true
democracy was not established, ratification process was
not legal
Structure of Government:
Roche: separation of powers, checks & balances &
federalism allow power to be divided & shared among many,
 founders actually attempt to avoid tyranny of majority,
protection of minority rights under majority rule,
 power is not concentrated solely in the national
government & there is an opportunity to participate for
all citizens, ratification of document was determined by
special conventions elected by the people,
 no one branch can act without the other in most cases
Beard:
 separation of powers, checks & balances & federalism
are stable aspects of the document, but not popularly
elected at federal level (with the exception of
Representatives),
 larger states have more power (they have more land,
more money, more slaves, & more elitist views) in
Electoral College & House,
 Congress has ability to tax and has taken advantage of
that power, Supreme Court is too powerful, President
controls large army & directs military at his discretion,
 no specific provision that threatened slavery,
 ratification was actually illegal based on the law
(Articles of Confed.) b/c should have been unanimously
approved states
Specific Provisions:
Roche:
 House of Reps is closest to people & they are elected
popularly every 2 yrs.,
 compromise on representation led to bicameral
legislature which is fairly well-balanced,
 Senate is appointed by state legislatures who are
popularly elected,
 presidential candidate with popular vote wins election
normally,
 no property qualifications to vote(left to the states to
determine voter qualifications.)
 procedure for amendments is 3/4 rather than unanimous
so change is possible,
 ambiguity of language & compromises allowed for future
adjustments & reflections in changing society
Beard:
 not reflective of popular majoritarianism,
 Senate is appointed, Supreme Court is too powerful,
President appoints S.C. & then approval is by Senate (not
popularly elected),
 Electoral College is not direct vote,
 Senators are more powerful & serve 6 yr. terms,
 property qualification was absent b/c of lack of
agreement on the provision which was originally
proposed,
 3/5 Compromise helps plantation owners (many who were
delegates) with property (slavery),
 President has control of army & could use it to his
discretion,
 Congress has power to tax & could take advantage of
common person,
 Article VI guarantees all debts to paid (many of the
founding fathers had debts owed to them)