The Constitution
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
•
•
•
•
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
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
• 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 (with safeguards!!)
• 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
Separation of Powers
•
1.
2.
3.
Prevents an all-powerful ruling body
Legislature – passes law (Congress)
Executive – enforces law (President)
Judiciary – interprets law (Supreme
Court)
Amending the
Constitution
• Meant to be difficult
• Require action from national and state
governments
• Has only happened 27 times, of which 10
were combined as the Bill of Rights and
one (XXI) was used to repeal an earlier
amendment (XVIII)
PROPOSAL
• By two-thirds
vote of BOTH
houses of
Congress
• By a national
constitutional
convention called by
Congress at the
request of two-thirds
of the state
legislatures
• This method has
never been used
RATIFICATION
• By legislatures • By conventions in
in three-fourths three-fourths of
the states
of the states
• This method was
only used once
(21st Amendment)
Informal Change
• Legislation from Congress
– Created federal court system, the cabinet and
agencies, the Commerce Clause
• Executive Actions
– War powers, executive agreements
• Judicial Review
– Not specified in the Constitution
– Marbury v. Madison
Informal Change
• Actions of Political Parties
– POLITICAL PARTIES ARE NOT mentioned in
the Constitution
– Parties have taken over the presidential
nomination process, reducing the influence of
the Electoral College
• Unwritten Tradition
– Senatorial Courtesy
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)
• Unequal division of property is the “most
durable source” of factions
• 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
Bill of Rights
• 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