American Government and Politics Today

1
American Government and Politics Today

• Chapter 2
• The Constitution

2
The Colonial Background

• In 1607, the English government established
  Jamestown, Virginia, where colonists set up a
  representative assembly
• The separatists who sailed on the Mayflower fled
  the Church of England for the New World, where
  they could practice their religious beliefs
• Their Mayflower Compact (1620) set forth the idea
  of consent of the governed and was a prototype
  for American compacts to come
• The number of colonies increased, and each one
  created its own set of laws
• Colonists, separated from London by an entire
  ocean, exercised extensive self-government

3
British Restrictions and Colonial Grievances

• In the early 1760s the British Parliament began
  to levy taxes on the colonies as a unit, as a way
  to help pay off British war debt incurred during
  the French and Indian Wars (1756-1763)
• Sugar Act of 1764
• Stamp Act of 1765
• Further duties on glass, lead, paint, etc. in
  1767
• The Coercive (Intolerable) Acts of 1774

4
First Continental Congress

• The focus of this 1774 meeting was not on
  independence, but to pass a resolution asking
  colonies to send a petition expressing their
  grievances to King George III
• The Congress also required colonies to raise
  armies and boycott British trade
• Delegates declared that committees should be
  formed in every city and county to police
  citizens and report violators of the boycotts

5
Second Continental Congress

• Held in May 1775 with all colonies represented
• Established an army with George Washington as
  Commander-in-Chief
• Resulted in Congress members explicitly stating
  they did not wish for separation, but their
  actions and growing conflicts with British forces
  spoke differently

6
The Declaration of Independence

• Natural Rights
• Life, liberty, and property (the last was later
  referred to as the pursuit of happiness)
• Social Contract
• Based on the ideas of consent of the governed, in
  which citizens agree to form a government and
  abide by its rules

7
The Rise of Republicanism

• While republicans of the late 1700s were opposed
  to rule by the British, they were also opposed to
  rule by any strong central government
• As each state wrote or modified its constitution,
  the influence of the republican way of thinking
  led to increased legislative power

8
The Articles of Confederation The First Form of
Government

• States retained most of the power, so the weak
  central government had a very limited role in the
  governing process
• While the Congress of the Confederation could
  regulate foreign affairs and establish coinage,
  it lacked a source of revenue and the machinery
  to enforce its decisions across all states

9

• The Confederal Government Structure Under the
  Articles of Confederation

10
Accomplishments Under the Articles

• The first real pooling of resources by all of the
  American states was seen
• Claims to western lands were settled
• A pattern of government was established for
  territories to be formed as colonists expanded
  into new lands north of the Ohio River

11
Weaknesses of the Articles

• A lack of strong central authority to resolve
  disputes between the states, leaving the
  functioning of the national government dependent
  upon the goodwill and cooperation of the states
• An inability to raise funds for a militia
• The need for a stronger central government, as
  witnessed by Shays Rebellion

12
Drafting the Constitution

• The Constitutional Convention was convened in
  Philadelphia in May 1787
• Those who favored a weak central government
  attended with the single goal of revising the
  Articles of Confederation
• Those in favor of a stronger
  federal government had
  
  other goals

13
Factions Among the Delegates

• A majority of the delegates were nationalists who
  favored a stronger government
• Their beliefs ranged from near-monarchism to
  definite decentralized republicanism
• Some nationalists were more democratic and
  called for support of a central government, while
  others wanted a system based on narrowly defined
  republican principles

14
Politicking and CompromisesThe Virginia Plan

• Created a bicameral legislature featuring an
  elected lower chamber and an upper chamber
  appointed by the lower house
• This legislature was given the powers to elect a
  national executive and appoint a national
  judiciary
• Major weakness representation was set by
  population, to the disadvantage of small states

15
Politicking and CompromisesThe New Jersey Plan

• A one state, one vote plan, basically an
  amendment to the Articles, giving additional
  Congressional authority to levy taxes, regulate
  trade, and elect an executive body that would
  then appoint a judiciary
• It laid out the idea that acts of Congress would
  be considered the supreme law of the
  landresulting in the supremacy doctrine

16
Politicking and Compromises The Great Compromise

• Compromise between more populous states (which
  advocated representation based on population) and
  smaller states (which advocated equal
  representation for each state)
• Also known as the Connecticut Plan, it provided
  for a bicameral legislature, featuring one house
  based on population and the other based on equal
  representation for each state

17
Politicking and Compromises The Three-Fifths
Compromise

• Slavery was illegal in most northern states, but
  it was essential in the South
• Southern states wanted slaves counted in their
  populations, as this determined the number of
  members sent to the House of Representatives
• The Three-Fifths Compromise provided that 3/5 of
  the slaves would be counted (i.e., each slave
  would count as 3/5 of a person)

18
Working Toward the Final Agreement

• The Madisonian Model
• Separation of powers the legislative,
  executive, and judicial powers were to be
  independent of each other
• Checks and balances the new government had been
  given considerably more power, but the three
  branches over which the power was spread acted as
  controls over one another

19
Working Toward the Final Agreement (continued)

• Proposals that Congress select or elect the
  executive were eventually rejected
• Likewise, proposals for a plural executive were
  abandoned in favor of a single officer
• The creation of the Electoral College meant that
  the president would be insulated from direct
  popular control and from Congressional control

20
(No Transcript)
21
The Final Document

• A summary of the results
• Popular sovereignty
• A republican government
• Limited government
• Separation of powers
• A federal system

22
The Difficult Road to Ratification

• Federalists those who favored a strong central
  government as set out in the Constitution
• Anti-Federalists those against ratification and
  for the status quo
• The Federalist Papers an attempt to persuade
  the public to support the new government
• Federalist 10 deals with the nature of groups,
  or factions, as Madison called them

23
The Difficult Road to Ratification (continued)

• The Anti-Federalists claimed that the
  Constitution was written by aristocrats, did not
  guarantee any liberties to citizens, and would
  weaken the powers of the states
• In the march to the finish, some states came
  through with strong majorities while others
  struggled or lagged
• Nine states ratified, putting the Constitution
  into effect, but until the populous Virginia and
  New York signed on, this ratification meant little

24
(No Transcript)
25
Did the Majority of Americans Support the New
Constitution?

• Beards thesis historian Charles Beard argued
  that the Constitution was put through by an
  undemocratic elite intent on the protection of
  property
• Delegates to the state ratifying conventions were
  elected by a strikingly small segment of the
  total population
• Popular opinion indicated that support was
  probably widespread
• Still, the defense of property was a value not
  limited to the elite
• And the belief that the government under the
  Articles was dangerously weak was widespread

26
The Bill of Rights

• A Bill of Limits the package was assembled by
  Madison, who culled through almost 200 state
  suggestions
• There were no explicit limits on state government
  powers
• The Bill of Rights was applicable only to the
  national government until the Fourteenth
  Amendment incorporated some of these rights

27
Altering the Constitution The Formal Amendment
Process

• Every government must be able to cope with new
  and unforeseen problems
• However, any Constitutional change should be
  approached with extreme caution
• If the process to amend the Constitution is
  rigorous, ample time is needed to consider the
  merits of such a change

28
(No Transcript)
29
Altering the Constitution (continued)

• Many amendments proposed, few accepted - although
  11,000 amendments have been considered by
  Congress, only 33 have been submitted to the
  states after being approved, and only 27 have
  been ratified since 1789
• Limits on ratification - recent amendments have
  usually been accompanied by time limits for
  ratification
• The National Convention Provision - if two-thirds
  of states request a national convention, such a
  convention could be called and could propose new
  amendments or, potentially, do as the
  Constitutional Convention did and rewrite the
  entire Constitution and while 400 requests have
  been received, no national convention has been
  held since 1787

30
(No Transcript)
31
Informal Methods of Constitutional Change

• Congressional legislation
• Presidential action
• Judicial review
• Interpretation, custom,
  and usage

32
Questions for Critical Thinking

• Why did the British place restrictions on the
  colonies?
• How was the term people, as used in the
  Declaration of Independence, defined? Did the
  members of the Second Continental Congress mean
  all people? What about the rights of women?
  Native Americans? Slaves?

33
Questions for Critical Thinking

• What would have occurred if one or more of the
  states had rejected the Constitution? Could a
  single state have managed to survive outside the
  union of states?
• What do you believe Madison would think about
  interest groups in modern society?