The Constitution
Articles of Confederation
• The first written plan of government for the
United States.
• Ratified in 1781
• Under this plan a Continental Congress
governed and a president acted as the
executive officer.
• Over time several weaknesses became
evident with this plan of government.
Weaknesses in Articles of Confederation
• The national government could not force the states to
obey its laws.
• It did not have the power to tax.
• It did not have the power to enforce its laws.
• There was no national army or navy.
• There was no system of national courts.
• Each state could issue its own paper currency.
• Each state could put tariffs on trade with other states.
Shays’s Rebellion
• Daniel Shays leads a
group of farmers in
Massachusetts in a
rebellion against the state
government in 1786.
• The farmers attempt to
shut down the state
courts and seize the state
arsenal in Springfield
• They were upset with high taxes that put them in debt
and led to state courts seizing their property.
Shays’s Rebellion
• Massachusetts
had to seek
assistance in
putting down the
rebellion.
• The national
government had
no troops to help.
• Massachusetts borrowed money to hire an army to put
down the rebellion.
Shays’s Rebellion
• The inability of Massachusetts to quickly suppress the
rebellion and the inability of the national government
to provide assistance made many Americans fearful
that the new nation was on the brink of collapse.
• As a result, a meeting was set to take place in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in May of 1787 to revise
the Articles of Confederation and address the
weaknesses that had become evident.
The Constitutional Convention
Constitutional Convention
• Meeting began on May 14, 1787.
• Meeting held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
• 55 delegates from 12 states were present.
• Rhode Island did not send a delegation as
they did not want to revise the Articles of
Confederation.
• What began as a meeting to revise the AOC
became a meeting to draft a new
constitution.
Delegate Demographics
• All 55 were white males
• Average age – 42
• Some were wealthy, most were of moderate means;
none were poor
• 31 had attended college in a time when higher
education was difficult to obtain
• 2 were college presidents
• 3 were college professors
Delegate Experiences
• Most played important roles in the Revolution
• Three-quarters served in the Congress under the
Articles of Confederation
• 8 signed the Declaration of Independence
• 5 signed the Articles of Confederation
• Many had helped write the constitutions of their
states
• 7 had served as governors of their states
Key Player – George Washington
• 55 at the time; only participated
after others convinced him his
presence might mean the
success of the convention.
• As the most revered delegate
he was chosen to preside over
the convention
• He contributed mostly in the
informal discussions during the
convention.
Key Player – James Madison
• 36 at the time of the
convention.
• Known as the “Father of
the U.S. Constitution”
due to his many
contributions to its
writing.
• Kept a detailed diary,
published 50 years after
the ratification that has
served as the primary
source of constitutional
scholarship
Procedures
• 7 out of 13 state delegations would constitute
a quorum.
• Each state got one vote.
• A rule of secrecy was adopted. A record was
kept and was to be released to the public 30
years after ratification.
Initial Agreement
• The delegates to the constitutional
convention agreed on a few points early on.
• Limited Government
• Separation of Powers
• Stronger National Government
• Limitation of States’ rights to coin money
Great Compromise
•
Virginia Plan
•
New Jersey Plan
•
Bicameral legislature
based on either states’
population; Lower house
elected by popular vote;
Upper house chosen from
lists provided by states’
legislatures to lower house
•
Unicameral legislature with
equal representation for each
state
•
Favored by smaller states
•
Favored by larger states
Great Compromise
• Also known as the Connecticut Compromise
• Congress will be bicameral
• Seats in the lower house (House of Representatives)
will be apportioned based on the population of the
states’ to be determined in a decennial census
(minimum of 1). Members will be popularly elected.
• Seats in the upper house (Senate) will be based on
equal representation for each state (2) Members
will be appointed by states’ legislatures.
3/5 Compromise
How might the demographics below lead to a conflict
between slaveholding and non-slaveholding states
whenever seats in the House of Representatives are
apportioned?
3/5 Compromise
3/5 Compromise
• North vs. South
• North did not feel slaves should count in census since
they were not legally free citizens and could not vote.
• South argued they were still represented through the
votes of their owners.
• North argued that if slaves are property they are
subject to be taxed.
• South did not want slaves to be taxed.
3/5 Compromise
• This compromise was introduced on the same day as
another compromise dealing with the slavery issue.
• In the census all free men would be counted as 1
person.
• All other persons (slaves) would be counted as 3/5 of
a person.
• In other words 5 Slaves = 3 People
• This way the south got to pad their representation in
the House some while not having to pay taxes on
every slave.
Commerce and Slave Trade Compromise
•
Issues involving trade caused conflict at the Constitutional
Convention.
•
The main issues were the taxation of exports, the regulation
of interstate commerce and the slave trade.
•
Sectional differences appeared on the issue; the North wanted
the national government to have greater power to control
trade and the South feared the national government would
regulate the slave trade out of existence.
•
The Southern state delegations agreed to allow the national
government to have the power to regulate interstate
commerce (but no taxing of exports).
•
The Northern state delegations agreed to ban any government
action on slavery for 20 years from the date of ratification.
Key Concepts
• Checks and Balances (AOC, State Const.)
• Separation of Powers (State Const.)
• Popular Sovereignty (Locke, Rousseau)
• Limited Government (Rousseau)
• Judicial Review (Locke)
• Federalism
Popular Sovereignty
• The power to rule belongs
to the people.
• “Consent of the governed”
• “We the People of the
United States …do ordain
and establish the
Constitution for the United
States of America.”
Limited Government
Government can only do the things the people have given it
the power to do. Government and its officials are subject to
the law, never above the law.
Separation of Powers
Checks and Balances
Judicial Review
An independent judiciary serves as a check on the power of all
levels and all branches of government across the nation.
Federalism
•
Power is shared between
levels of government.
•
Enumerated Powers are
those that belong solely to
the federal (national)
government.
•
Reserved Powers are those
that belong solely to the
state governments.
•
Concurrent Powers are
those that are shared
between federal and state
governments.
Federalists vs. Antifederalists
•
The Constitution of the United States was approved by the
convention and signed by 39 of the delegates on Sept. 17, 1787.
•
According to Article VII, the Constitution was to be ratified in
conventions held in each state. Once 9 states had ratified the
Constitution it would become the official plan of government
for the United States.
•
Not all Americans, or all of the delegates to the convention,
approved of the final document. This lead to a heated debate
across the nation between proponents of the plan and opponents
of the plan.
•
Federalists – supporters of the Constitution.
•
Antifederalists – opponents of the Constitution.
Federalists vs. Antifederalists
•
There were several points of contention between these two
groups.
•
Self Interests and Common Welfare
•
Central Authority and Active Participation
•
Supremacy Clause and Abuse of Power
•
Necessary and Proper Clause and Abuse of Power
•
Individual Liberties
•
Executive Power