Chapter 2
The
Constitution
Impact of Colonial
Experience
 Jamestown – first permanent
English colony (1607); set precedent
for a representative assembly
 Plymouth – Mayflower Compact
(1620) set precedent for social
contract based on the consent of the
governed; adult males agreed to
create and submit to authority of
government
Selected Milestones in the
Colonial/Early American Era
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Stamp Act (1765)
First Continental Congress (1774)
Second Continental Congress (1775)
Revolutionary War (1775-1781)
Declaration of Independence (1776)
Articles of Confederation drafted (1777)
Shays’ Rebellion (1786)
Constitutional Convention (1787)
U.S. Constitution (1788)
Bill of Rights (1791)
Reading Exercise
 Consult the Declaration of
Independence (pages 371-372)
 What does Jefferson mean by
unalienable Rights? What are
they?
 What is the purpose of government?
 What is the basis of government’s
legitimacy/authority?
 Under what conditions is Revolution
justifiable according to Jefferson?
Key Ideas in the Declaration of
Independence
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Natural Rights – individuals hold certain rights because
they are human; governments cannot take away these
“unalienable” (inalienable, can’t be transferred) rights;
they are given to us by God
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Locke describes these rights as “life, liberty, and property”
Jefferson describes these rights as “Life, Liberty, and the
Pursuit of Happiness”
Social contract – general agreement between the people
and the government; people agree to give up some of
their liberties so that the remainder are protected
Popular sovereignty/government by consent – all
legitimate authority flows from consent of people
Right/Duty to revolt (Revolution)
Adopted by 2nd Continental Congress (July 4, 1776)
Discussion Question
 Why did Jefferson write, “…pursuit
of happiness” rather than
“property”?
 Let’s assume he wasn’t trying to cover
up plagiarism; Locke was widely read at
the time, at least among the elite
 What has been the effect of this
phrase, “pursuit of happiness” on
American politics?
Articles of Confederation
 Drafted by 2nd Continental Congress (1777)
 Article II guaranteed each state would
retain sovereignty
 Structure of government under Articles
 Power flowed from the states to the Congress of
the Confederation
 Shays’ Rebellion (1786), although
suppressed, illustrated the Confederation’s
weaknesses, its inability to maintain order
and provide security
Table 2-1: Powers of the Congress of the Confederation, 26
CONGRESS HAD POWER TO:
CONGRESS LACKED POWER TO:
 Declare war and make peace
 Enter into treaties and alliances
 Establish and control armed forces
 Requisition men and money from
states
 Regulate coinage
 Borrow money and issue bills of credit
 Fix uniform standards of weight and
measurement
 Create admiralty courts
 Create a postal system
 Regulate Indian affairs
 Guarantee citizens of each state the
rights and privileges of citizens in the
several states when in another state
 Adjudicate disputes between states on
state petition
 Provide for effective treaty-making
power and control foreign relations; it
could not compel states to respect
treaties
 Compel states to meet military
quotas; it could not draft soldiers
 Regulate interstate and foreign
commerce; it left each state free to set
up its own tariff system
 Collect taxes directly from the people;
it had to rely on states to collect and
forward taxes
 Compel states to pay their share of
government costs
 Provide and maintain a sound
monetary system or issue paper money;
this was left up to the states, and
monies in circulation differed
tremendously in value
Constitutional Convention
(1787)
 Initially aimed at revising the Articles,
but became much more…
 55 delegates
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Secret proceedings
Monarchist nationalists
Democratic nationalists
Delegates opposed to any national
government
Compromises in Drafting the
Constitution
 Great Compromise – resulted in a
bicameral legislature, with one house based
on equal representation (Senate), the other
on population (House)
 Three-Fifths Compromise – resulted in
slaves being counted as “3/5” of a person
for the purpose of determining population
for representation in the House of
Representatives
Discussion
 Were the Great and 3/5’s
Compromises necessary and
appropriate?
 Congress outlawed the slave trade in
1808 (importation of slaves, not slavery;
Article 1, Section 9)
 What might have happened if the
Constitution had not been ratified?
Constitution’s Key
Characteristics
 Popular Sovereignty
 Refer to Preamble, page 373
 Republican/Representative democracy
 Limited government
 Separation of Powers and Checks and
Balances
 Dividing governmental powers between
legislature (makes laws), judicial (interprets
laws), and executive (administers laws)
 Providing checks on abuse of power
 Federalism
Separation of Powers
Branch:
Executive
Presidency
Judicial Federal
Courts
Senate
President
Judges
Electoral College,
whose members
are chosen by
the people
(originally, by
state legislature)
President, with
advice and consent
of Senate
4 years
Life
All people
Constitution
Legislative Congress
House
Officials
chosen by:
People
People
(originally,
state
legislatures)
For term
of:
2 years
6 years
To
represent
primarily:
Common
people
Large
states
Wealthy
people
Small states
Ratification
 Federalists argued in favor of ratification;
supported strong central government
 Federalist Papers, Appendix C, pp. 391396
 No. 10: argument for representative
democracy vs. direct democracy
 No. 51: Separation of Powers, Checks
and Balances, and Federalism
 Anti-Federalists opposed strong central
government
 Helped by promise of amendments protecting
individual rights – Bill of Rights (1791)
The Bill of Rights (1791)
 First 10 amendments to the
Constitution
 Designed to protect individuals
from a too powerful national
government
 Limited federal encroachments but
not state violations until 14th
amendment
Figure 2-2: Formal Constitutional
Amending Procedure, 37
Why Such a Difficult
Amendment Process?
 Two-step process: Proposal and
Ratification
 > 11,000 amendments considered by
Congress
 33 submitted to states; only 27
ratified
 Fear of tyranny of the majority
 Oppression of groups or individuals
Modes of Constitutional
Change
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Formal amendment process
Congressional legislation
Presidential actions
Judicial review
Interpretation, custom, usage
Discussion
 What are the strengths and
weaknesses of:
 separation of powers?
 checks and balances?
 a difficult amendment process?
Hot Links to Selected Internet
Resources:
 Book’s Companion Site:
http://politicalscience.wadsworth.com/schmidtbri
ef2004
 Wadsworth’s Political Science Site:
http://politicalscience.wadsworth.com
 Emory University, School of Law, Constitution of
the United States:
http://www.law.emory.edu/erd/docs/usconst.html
 National Constitution Center:
http://www.constitutioncenter.org
 Web Guide to the Constitution of the United
States: http://tcnbp.tripod.com/webguid.htm