The Constitution
Chapter 2
You think you know…
Build up to Declaration
• Weakened bonds to the Crown
• French and Indian War 1756-63
– Excise taxes resulting from F&I War
– Stamp Act of 1765
– Boston Tea Party
– Tea Act, Coercive Act/Intolerable Act
• Boston Massacre March 5, 1770
• Thomas Paine and Common Sense
Declaration of
Independence
• Written by Thomas Jefferson
• Inspired by John Locke
• D of I opens with Jefferson
invoking Locke philosophy…
“Life, liberty, pursuit of
happiness”
• Jefferson continues by listing
grievances against George III
for violating inalienable rights
• declares US independence
British Colonial Rule
Unitary System – all power flows from one central government
Powerful British
Government
Political Subunits
(Colonies)
Articles of Confederation
1781 – 1789 – RIP
Confederate System – power concentrated in political subunits (states)
with a weak central government (typically unite for a common goal)
Constitution
Federal System – powers are divided and/or shared between state
and central governments (Current gov’t designed by framers)
Central US government
State governments
Articles of Confederation
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1781-1789
Original American gov’t system
Weak central gov’t
Individual and state liberties not
threatened
• No executive (they hated kings)
• Confederacies are usually unstable
A of C – Weaknesses
• Article II – “Each state retains its sovereignty,
freedom, and independence.” Gov’t has no control
• Unicameral Congress (one house) with one vote per
state
– Supermajority (9 of 13) to pass a law
– Supermajority (13 of 13) to amend
• No Executive (No President), no central authority
• No Federal Judiciary (No Supreme Court), no central
law
• No control of taxation, commerce between states or
with foreign nations, money system, couldn’t pay off
debt
• Driven out of Philadelphia by own unpaid army
Shays’s Rebellion
• Colonies were in debt after the
war, central gov’t tried to raise
taxes
• Farmers in western
Massachusetts rebelled against
tax they could not afford
• Rebelled against foreclosures,
forced judges out of court, freed
debtors from jail
• Showed that national gov’t was
weak, needed to seek a stronger
national gov’t
The Constitutional
Convention
• 1787
• Revising the A of C
• Demographics of Delegates
-55 delegates (none from RI)
-33 Lawyers
-half were college graduates
-7 former governors
-7 plantation owners
-8 business leaders
-age 26-81 (avg. age 42)
-all male, all white
Two “Revision” Plans
• Virginia Plan
– Favored large states
– Strong central government
– Bicameral (two house) legislature – larger
house elected by the people (House of
Representatives, and a smaller house that
was selected by larger house (Senate)
• (This would change in the 17th Amendment)
Two “Revision” Plans
• New Jersey Plan
– Agreed with strong central
government…BUT
– Congress would be unicameral
(one house) with states having
equal votes
– Did not want large population
states to dominate the
legislature
Great Compromise
• A bicameral legislature in
which the House of
Representatives membership
apportioned according to the
state populations, plus 3/5 the
slave population
• An upper house, the Senate,
which would have two
members from each state,
elected by the state legislature
(popularly elected today)
Three-fifths Compromise
• South wanted to count slaves as
part of the population but didn’t
want to count towards taxation
• North wanted to count slaves
towards taxation but not towards
population
• Agree to allow the South to count
3/5 the population in each state
to balance the power of North
and South
Madisonian Principles of
Gov’t in the Constitution
• Popular Sovereignty – power to govern belongs to
the people, gov’t based on the consent of
governed
• Separation of Powers – division of gov’t between
branches: executive, legislative and judicial
• Checks and Balances – a system where branches
have some authority over others
• Limited Government – gov’t is not all-powerful, and
it does only what citizens allow
• Federalism – division of power between central
government and individual states
Fed vs. Anti-Fed
• Ratification – formal approval
• Federalist – in favor of adoption of US
Constitution creating a federal union and
strong central government
• Anti-Federalist – opposed to ratification in
1787, opposed to strong central
government
Federalist Papers
• Annoyingly hard to read
• Best political theory ever written in US
• Written by Alexander Hamilton, James
Madison, and John Jay
• Publius
• Convince public for ratification
Federalist #10
• Madison addresses biggest fear of gov’t
• Faction – a group in a legislature or political
party acting together in pursuit of some
special interest (think fraction – ½, 1/3, etc)
• Founding fathers were concerned that our
government would be ripped apart
• Madison defends our national Constitution
Federalist #10
• Separation of Powers check the growth of
tyranny
• Each branch of government keeps the
other two from gaining too much power
• A republic guards against irresponsible
direct democracy or “common passions”
• Factions will always exist, but must be
managed to not severe from the system.
Anti-Fed Response
• Central gov’t would threaten liberty
• Aristocratic tyranny could happen
• Demanded a guarantee of individual rights
and liberty
• States power was too limited
• 10 amendments to the
Constitution
• guaranteed individual
freedoms and rights
• limited power of national
government, guaranteed
rights to states
• Ratified in 1789, Bill of
Rights added 1791
Separation of Powers
•
Prevents an all-powerful
ruling body
1. Legislature – passes law
(Congress)
2. Executive – enforces law
(President)
3. Judiciary – interprets law
(Supreme Court)
Amending the
Constitution
• Meant to be difficult
• Require action from national and state gov
• Amendment proposed by 2/3 vote in each
house of Congress and ratified (accepted)
in at least ¾ of state legislatures