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Philosophy of the American Government: From the Articles to the Constitution
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Mr. Bennett- P.I.G. 2015
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What was the American Revolution really about?
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Ideas- freedom, personal liberty. Legitimate government.
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Liberty comes from god, governments can not take it away.
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Enlightenment ideas- Rousseau, Locke, Voltaire.
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Consent of the governed, different branches, federalism.
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Influences on American Government
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Old and New Testaments
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Idea of a covenant- an agreement between people and government.
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Limited government- government’s power was not absolute.
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Magna Carta- limited rights of the king.
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English Bill of Rights
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Monarchs rule with the consent of the people
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Monarchs must have Parliament’s consent to suspend laws, levy taxes or maintain an army
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Monarchs cannot interfere with parliamentary elections and debates.
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The people have a right to petition the government and the right to have a fair and speedy
trial by the jury of their peers.
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The people should not be subjected to cruel and unusual punishments or to excessive fines
and bail.
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American Colonists
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Would have loved to have these rights but the king, however, had a different perspective—he
saw colonists as subjects of the British Empire without the same rights as those living in
Britain.
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******Cause of the Revolution.
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Representative Government
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Colonists favored this type of government because it most closely resembled the British
Parliament.
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Had two houses- House of Lords, House of Commons
Social Contract/Natural Rights
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Occurred during the Enlightenment: Rejection of church ideas for that which could be proven
rationally or by science.
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Thomas Hobbes- proposed a social contract between people and the government.
People need this government to maintain order because they are inherently selfish and
greedy. In exchange, the government would provide peace and order.
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John Locke- government acts to protect natural rights- life, liberty, and property. If
government fails to protect these rights, people were justified in rebelling.
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Social Contract/Natural Rights
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Jean-Jacques Rousseau- freedom of speech and religion came from people living together and
working cooperatively.
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Charles-Louis de Montesquieu- separation of powers.
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Comprehension Questions
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The Articles of Confederation
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During the Revolution, the new United States needed a functioning government
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Modeled after colonial governments
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States would retain sovereignty
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Founders were fearful of concentrated power due to past experience with the British
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A Limited Government
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Articles established a firm league of friendship among the states
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Bills were passed on nine of thirteen votes
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Amending the Articles took unanimous consent of the states
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Structure of Government
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Unicameral (single house) legislative body
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Each state had one vote regardless of population size
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Congress given sole authority to govern the country
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An executive committee oversaw government when Congress was not in session
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Congress would establish temporary courts to hear disputes among the states
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Powers Granted to Government under the Articles of Confederation
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Declare war and make peace
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Make treaties with foreign countries
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Establish an army and navy
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Appoint high-ranking military officials
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Requisition, print, and borrow money
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Establish weights and measures
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Hear disputes among the states related to trade or boundaries
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Powers Denied to Government
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No power to raise funds for an army or navy
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No power to tax, impose tariffs, or collect duties
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No executive branch to enforce laws
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No power to control trade among the states
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No power to force states to honor obligations
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No power to regulate the value of currency
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Accomplishments of the Articles of Confederation
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Administered the seven-year war effort
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Negotiated the Treaty of Paris with Britain in 1783
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Established the Northwest Ordinance of 1787
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Why a new government?
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Articles Of Confederation were weak- could not raise an army, could not tax citizens.
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Britain and other European nations were still a threat.
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Government could not raise money
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States had all the power.
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Washington and Hamilton thought a stronger national government was necessary to protect
itself. Remember, Britain and France are at this point much stronger countries than we were in
the late 1700s.
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Problems Facing the New Nation
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Trade with foreign nations
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Financing the nation
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Foreign relations
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Interstate relations
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Creating the Constitution
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Constitutional Convention
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Philadelphia, Pennsylvania- 1787- original goal to make changes to the AOC
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Objective- to have a government that would protect life, liberty, and property.
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Problems from history- Madison studied other governments and concluded that no one
government was perfect. They felt that Confederations of states were too weak to govern and
collapsed from internal dissention. And stronger governments trampled on individual liberties.
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The Constitutional Convention: Agreements and Compromises
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States sent 55 delegates to Philadelphia.
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Chose George Washington to preside over the meetings.
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Each state would have one vote on all decisions.
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Public and press were prohibited from attending.
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Agreed on representative government with 3 branches and to limit power of the states to coin
money.
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Disputes over Slavery
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Many Northern states wanted to abolish slavery
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Southern states would not accept the new government if it interfered with slavery.
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Resolution- no mention of slavery in the Constitution.
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How to count enslaved persons in matters of taxation and representation in congress.
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3/5 Compromise- only 3/5 were to be counted for tax purposes and representation.
Would last until 1868.
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The Virginia Plan
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Strong national legislature with two houses, upper and lower.
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Number of legislators per state would vary based on population.
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Strong executive, chosen by national legislature.
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National judiciary, chosen by the legislature.
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Smaller states opposed this plan because they wanted a less powerful government with more
independence for the states.
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The New Jersey Plan
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Small state counterproposal to Virginia Plan.
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Wanted a unicameral legislature with one vote for each state.
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Nation would continue as a confederation of states.
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Bitter debate between big states and small states almost brought an end to the convention.
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The Connecticut Compromise
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Bicameral legislature.
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House would be based on population
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Senate equal representation.
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Electoral college would determine the Presidency.
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Feeding the Need for new Government
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Shay’s Rebellion (1787)- ex-Revolutionary War soldiers attempted to prevent foreclosures on
their farms due to high interest rates and taxes.
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Led to the fear that state governments could not protect themselves.
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Jefferson commented- “A little rebellion is good from time to time. The tree of liberty
must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.”
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Convention part II
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Did not revise the articles, created an entire new government unlike any before it.
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Key questions facing the framers:
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What powers do the states retain?
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What powers should the federal government get?
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What about slavery?
All these questions would be solved the way politics is still conducted today------Compromise!
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Influence of John Locke
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Most important- protect individual liberty which philosopher John Locke saw as a natural right.
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New question of those attending the convention:
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How do we create a government that is strong enough to preserve order but not so
strong that it would threaten liberty?
James Madison- Federalist papers
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“If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither
external nor internal controls on government would be necessary. In framing a government
which is to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this: you must first
enable to control the governed: and in the next place oblige it to control itself”
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Compromises- It’s what politics is all about!
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Virginia Plan- strong national government organized into three branches: legislative, executive,
and judicial. Legislative broken into two houses.
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New Jersey Plan- wanted to create a weak national government for fear that small states like NJ
would lose influence to larger states.
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The Great Compromise- A House of Representatives that would be based on population. A
Senate consisting of two senators to be chosen by the state legislatures. Big states happy, little
states happy.
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Did the constitution set up a democracy?
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In short, no, they created a Republic or a government in which elected representatives make
the decisions.
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Created some democracy (House of Representatives), left many issues to the states
(federalism).
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Federalism- government authority shared by national and state governments.
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Who’s got the POWER? And how is it restricted? Article 1-Section 8
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Enumerated powers- powers given to the national government alone.
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Reserved powers- powers given to the states alone.
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Concurrent powers- powers shared by the national and state governments.
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Checks and Balances
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Separation of powers- constitutional authority is shared by three different branches of
government.
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Theory proposed by the political philosopher Montesquieu.
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Each branch would keep the other from becoming too powerful.
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This would be a response to factions- a group with a distinct political interest.