The Constitution

1
Chapter 2

• The Constitution

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Colonial America

• Colonists establish English-based political
  systems and traditions
• House of Burgesses (1619)
• First elected Representative body in Virginia
• Mayflower Compact (1620)
• Social contract for common good/survival
• Not a Constitution
• Fundamental Orders of Connecticut (1639)
• First written constitution
• Outlined individual rights
• Despite various origins, colonists adapt to
  English-based political systems

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Colonial Resistance

• Ideological Arguments
• Taxation without representation
• Virtual representation
• First Continental Congress (1774)
• Declaration of Rights and Grievances
• Petition to the King
• Second Continental Congress (1775)
• Lexington and Concord - 1775
• Olive Branch Petition asked the king to stop
  hostilities
• Common Sense (1776) Thomas Paine
• Declaration of Independence (1776)
• Articles of Confederation (1777) A League of
  Friendship

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Declaration of Independence

• Based largely on Lockes ideas
• We hold these truths to be self-evident, that
  all men are created equal, that they are endowed
  by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights,
  that among these are Life, Liberty and the
  pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these
  rights, Governments are instituted among Men,
  deriving their just powers from the consent of
  the governed, That whenever any Form of
  Government becomes destructive of these ends, it
  is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish
  it, and to institute new Government, laying its
  foundation on such principles and organizing its
  powers in such form, as to them shall seem most
  likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.

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Basic Tenets of Democracy

• Personal Liberty
• Perhaps the most important characteristic
• Fourteenth Amendment due process
• Political Equality
• One man, one vote
• But not all are politically equal
• Popular Sovereignty
• The ultimate authority rests with the people
• Popular Consent
• We agree to be governed and accept majority rule
• Civil Society
• We can engage in open discussion either
  individually or in a group

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Articles of Confederation

• Americans wanted direct democracy the people,
  rather than elected officials, make the decisions
  - Republic
• Written in 1777 finally ratified in 1781
• Established a confederation or league of
  friendship among the states
• Unicameral national legislature NO executive or
  judicial branches
• Equal representation of each state with one vote
• 9 of 13 states required to pass legislation
• Unanimous votes to amend the Articles

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Articles of ConfederationPowers and Limits

• COULD
• Borrow money
• Create army and navy
• Declare war
• Establish post offices
• Form treaties

• COULD NOT
• Tax states, citizens, goods, income
• Institute a draft
• Regulate commerce
• Regulate national currency

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Weaknesses of AOC

1. One vote for each state regardless of size
2. Unicameral legislature
3. Congress powerless to lay and collect taxes
4. Congress powerless to regulate foreign and
   interstate commerce
5. No Executive Branch to enforce the acts of
   Congress
6. No Judicial Branch or national court system
7. Amendments only with the consent of ALL 13 states
8. A 9/13 majority required to pass laws
9. Only a firm league of friendship among states

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The Articles of Confederation1781

• Continued to be problematic
• WHY?
• The National Government was weak
• LACK OF CENTRAL POWER
• No unified currency (states had different
  currency)
• Taxes were confusing (states began taxing each
  other)
• Land disagreements between states
• Trade disputes between states

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Articles of ConfederationThe Good and The Bad

• Accomplishments
• Treaty of Paris
• Land Ordinance of 1785
• Northwest Ordinance of 1787

• Failures
• Economic conflicts between states
• Depressions
• Foreign trade
• Shayss Rebellion (1786-1787)
• Massachusetts farmers

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Shays Rebellion (1786)

• Daniel Shays organized group of farmers to close
  MA state supreme courts to avoid farm
  foreclosures due to heavy taxes
• Result Rebellion was put down by militia but
  awakened need for stronger central government
• Turning point proving new constitution was needed

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The Framers, Founders, Fathers

• Constitution Convention Philadelphia, Summer
  1787
• Who was there?
• men involved in public affairs, war veterans,
  wealthy
• not there Rhode Island refused to send delegates
  

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Constitutional Convention

• Shays Rebellion accentuated the weaknesses of
  the Articles of Confederation
• Annapolis Convention in 1786 called for a
  delegation of all states in Philadelphia
• 55 delegates from all states except Rhode Island
• Well-educated men of means
• Designed to modify or rectify the Articles of
  Confederation
• Eventually decided to discard the AOC entirely
  for a new constitution establish a federal
  republic with the separation of powers and checks
  and balances

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The Fundamental Tension in Government What do
you value?
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vs
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How will Congress be divided?
SOLUTION Connecticut Compromise SENATE2 per
state HOUSE population based
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Virginia Plan New Jersey PlanBig
State Small State

• Unicameral Legislature
• State legislatures chose representatives
• Equal representation
• Congress chose executives
• Executives appointed judges

• Bicameral Legislature
• Lower house elected by people
• Upper house chosen by lower house nominated by
  state legislatures
• Proportional representation in each house
• Single one-term executive chosen by Congress
• Congress chose judges

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The Great Compromise akaThe Connecticut
Compromise

• Bicameral Legislature
• Lower House - House of Representatives
• Proportional representation based on states
  population
• Popularly elected
• Upper House - Senate
• Equal representation with two senators per state
• Elected by state legislatures

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• Next debate was should slaves be counted in the
  population?
• Southern states demanded that slaves be counted
  so they would have more representatives in the
  House of Representatives
• Northern states wanted slaves counted for
  taxation purposes but not for representation
• 3/5 Compromise 3/5 of slaves would be counted
  for representation and taxation
• (Disappeared in Constitution in 1865 with 13th
  Amendment)
• Slave Trade Compromise
• Slave trade would be banned after 20 years in
  1808

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Purpose of the United States Constitution
Created September 17, 1787
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Big Ideas Behind
US CONSTITUTION
1. Popular Sovereignty Govt can only govern w/
consent of people
2. Limited Government Govt is not all powerful,
must act within law
3. Separation of Powers Power is divided among
govt branches
4. Checks and Balances Each branch of gov.
checks the power of another
5. Judicial Review The courts decide whether
govt acts according to the Constitution
6. Federalism Division of power between national
and local governments
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Guarantees to the States

• The Constitution guarantees three things to the
  states1. Each state must have a republican form
  of government (elect representatives)2. Each
  state must be protected from invasion3. The
  national government must respect the territorial
  integrity of each state

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Constitutional Breakdown

• Article I - Congress
• Article II - President
• Article III - Judiciary
• Article IV - Federalism
• Article V - Amendments
• Article VI - Supremacy
• Article VII - Ratification

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The Preamble

• Lists the Reasons the Constitution was written
• We the People of the United States, in order to
  form a more perfect Union, establish justice,
  insure domestic tranquility, provide for the
  common defense, promote the general welfare, and
  secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and
  our posterity, do ordain and establish this
  Constitution of the United States of America.

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United States ConstitutionArticles I, II, III
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Article I

• The Legislative Branch
• Can raise and spend revenue
• Can borrow money (Bonds)
• Naturalization (citizenship)
• Can coin money
• Can establish Federal courts
• Declare war
• All legislative powers herein granted shall be
  vested in a Congress of the United States, which
  shall consist of a Senate and a House of
  Representatives.

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Article II

• The Executive Branch
• Discusses the basics of the Presidency
• Veto power
• Commander-in-chief of the military
• Appointments (must be approved by two-thirds of
  the senators present)
• Can grant pardons
• Must give an annual State of the Union address
• The Executive power shall be vested in the
  President of the United States of America.

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Article III

• The Judicial Branch
• Lists the functions of the branch Interpretation
• Judicial Review power to strike down laws and
  govt. actions
• Checks both Congress and the president
• The judicial power of the United States shall be
  vested in on Supreme Court, and in such inferior
  courts as Congress may from time to time ordain
  and establish. The judges, both of the Supreme
  and inferior courts, shall hold their offices
  during good behavior, and shall, at stated times,
  receive for their services a compensation, which
  shall not be diminished during their continuance
  in office.

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Marbury v. Madison (1803)

• The Marshall Court under Chief Justice John
  Marshall, a Federalist
• Judicial question of an Act of Congress
  (Judiciary Act of 1789) and the Constitution
  (Article III)
• Marshall ruled an Act of Congress cannot trump
  the Constitution
• Established the concept of JUDICIAL REVIEW
• Supreme Court determines the constitutionality of
  a law or official act
• Judicial Review is nowhere found in Article III
  regarding the Judicial Branch nor anywhere else
  in the Constitution

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Article IV

• Full Faith and Credit Clause
• States must recognize laws of other states
• Privileges and Immunities Clause
• No discrimination of non-resident citizens
• Interstate travel permitted
• Interstate Rendition Clause
• Extraditions
• Interstate Compacts
• Commercial or legal relationships between states
  with congressional approval

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Article V

• Amending the Constitution
• 4 methods
• Proposed in Congress by a 2/3 majority in BOTH
  Houses and ratified by ¾ of States (26/27)
• Proposed in Congress by a 2/3 majority in BOTH
  houses and ratified by ¾ State Conventions (21st)
• Proposed by a National Convention called by
  Congress when requested by 2/3 of State
  Legislatures
• Proposed by a National Convention and ratified by
  Conventions

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Amendment ProcessArticle V
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Article VI National Supremacy

• Supremacy Clause
• The Constitution is the supreme law of the land
• McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)
• Bank of the United States constitutional under
  Necessary and Proper Clause
• Maryland could not tax the Bank
• Gibbons v. Ogden (1824)
• Expanded Commerce Clause
• Court upheld Congressional power over interstate
  commerce
• Abelman v. Booth (1859)
• State courts cant overrule Federal laws states
  could not stop U.S. Marshalls enforcing the
  Fugitive Slave Act

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Ratification

• Ratification of the Constitution required 9 of 13
  states
• Led to the debates between the Federalists and
  the Anti-Federalists
• Eventually, the Constitution was ratified on June
  21, 1788
• Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Georgia,
  Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maryland, South
  Carolina, New Hampshire, Virginia, New York,
  North Carolina, Rhode Island

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GREAT DEBATE DEVELOPS OVER RATIFICATION

• The Federalists
• VS.
• The
• Anti-federalists
• AKA
• Pro-Constitution
• Vs.
• Anti-constitution

• Leaders
• Feds
• Alexander Hamilton
• James Madison
• John Adams
• John Marshall
• Anti-Feds
• Thomas Jefferson
• James Monroe
• Patrick Henry

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FEDERALISTS

• Anglophiles Hamilton, Adams
• Very strong in the north and east
• Favored trade, especially with Britain
• Rule of the elite
• Believed a STRONG NATIONAL government was needed
  to control anarchy, protect new nation from
  enemies abroad, and solve nations problems
• AOC was too weak
• In favor of new constitution (vs AOC)

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ANTI-FEDERALISTs

• Francophiles - Jefferson
• Strong in the west and the south
• Believed economic success was from farmers
• Opposed ratification process
• Rule by the common man
• No mention of God
• Feared too much power given to central government
• Wanted a BILL OF RIGHTS!!

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How did it Pass?

• 2/3 of the States had to RATIFY the constitution
• NY and Virginia do not ratify until later
• Problem because they were large, powerful states
• The Federalist Papers
• 85 essays written by John Jay, Alexander
  Hamilton, and James Madison to convince the
  larger states to pass the Constitution
• Federalists promised to add B.O.R. if ratified

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Federalists Papers

• Federalist 10
• Madison argued that the new government would be
  too large to be controlled by any one interest
  group or faction
• Federalist 51
• The separation of powers would prevent any one
  branch from dominating

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How did it Pass?

• Ratification
• The Constitution was ratified in 1789
• Delaware was the first state to ratify before the
  large states could change their mind about equal
  representation
• Washington elected first president 1789
• The Amendment process was intentionally made a
  complicated process, so people couldnt alter the
  Constitution (listed in Article V)
• BILL OF RIGHTS (First 10 Amendments) added in
  1791
• Only 17 other Amendments have been added