U.S.

Government: The Constitution

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What will I Learn.

Some

of the historical developments that led to the colonists break with Great Britain and the emergence of the new American nation The key components of the Articles of Confederation and the reasons why it failed Issues and compromises that were central to the writing of the US Constitution Underlying principles of the US Constitution Conflicts that characterized the drive for ratification Methods for proposing and ratifying amendments
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Roots of the New American Nation

Starting in the early seventeenth century, colonists came to the new World for a variety of reasons: to escape religious persecution, seeking a new start on a continent where land was plentiful, seeking wealth, and some came as prisoners of the crown. By the early 1760s, physical separation, development of colonial industry and the relative self-governance let to weakening ties with the crown.

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Trade and Taxation

Mercantilism: an economic theory designed to increase a nations wealth through the development of commercial industry and a favorable balance of trade From 1650 until well into 1700s, Britain regulated colonial imports/exports Policies were difficult to enforce and were widely ignored by colonists Crown and Parliament had the authority to regulate trade and conduct international affairs Unwritten agreement allowed colonists the right to levy their own taxes Fragile arrangement was put to the test with the French and Indian War.
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First Steps toward Independence Act Congress: Meeting of Stamp

representatives of 9 of the 13 colonies held in New York City in 1765, during which representatives drafted a document to send to the king listing how their rights had been violated Townshend Acts cause Sons and Daughters of Liberty to announce boycott, and almost all colonists gave up their favorite drink, tea, in a united show of resistance Boston Massacre: British troops opened fire on an unruly mob that included disgruntled dock workers, whose jobs had been taken by British soldiers, and members of the Sons of Liberty Tea Act grants a monopoly to the financially strapped East India Company, colonists rebel with the Boston Tea Party (similar tea parties were held in other colonies) King George III retaliated with the Coercive Acts of 1774, which were called the Intolerable Acts in the colonies
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The Continental Congress

Cumulative impact of all British taxes, acts, and actions unite the colonists

Committees of Correspondence: organizations in each of the American colonies created to keep colonists abreast of developments with the British; served as powerful molders of public opinion against the British
First Continental Congress: Meeting held in Philadelphia from September 5 to October 26, 1774, in which 56 delegates (from every colony except Georgia) adopted a resolution in opposition to the Coercive Acts Fighting breaks out at Lexington and Concord on the morning of April 19, 1775, with what Ralph Waldo Emerson called the shot heard round the world; eight colonial soldiers, called Minutemen, were killed and 16,000 British troops besieged Boston Second Continental Congress: Meeting that convened in Philadelphia on May 10, 1775, at which it was decided that an army should be raised and George Washington of Virginia was named Commander in Chief

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The Declaration of Independence

In January of 1776 Thomas Paine, with the support and encouragement of Benjamin Franklin, issued Common Sense, a pamphlet forcefully arguing for independence from Great Britain. On July 2, 1776 12 of 13 colonies voted for independence Declaration of Independence: Document drafted by Thomas Jefferson in 1776 that proclaimed the right of the American colonies to separate from Great Britain. On July 9, 1776 the Declaration, now with the approval of New York, was read aloud in Philadelphia

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1763: Treaty of Paris

1770: Boston Massacre

1775: Second Continental Congress 1776: Declaration of Independence 1777: Articles of Confederation

1765: Stamp Act Congress

1773: Boston Tea Party

1767: Townshend Acts

1774: First Continental Congress

Timeline: Key Events to Independence

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The First Attempt at Government: The Articles of Confederation

The British had no written constitution. The delegates to the Second Continental Congress were attempting to codify arrangements that had never before been put into legal terminology. Complicating the situation further, the delegates had to arrive at these decisions in a wartime atmosphere
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The Articles of Confederation

Articles of Confederation: The compact among the thirteen original colonies that created a loose league of friendship, with the national government drawing its powers from the states. Articles were ratified by all 13 states in March of 1781 Deliberately designed a weak National Government in response to Great Britains unitary system of government National government is weaker than the sum of its parts

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Problems Under the Articles of Confederation

In 1784, just one year after the Revolutionary Army was disbanded, governing the new nation under the Articles of Confederation proved unworkable. Needed to raise money to pay off war debt, but Congress had no power to tax Although the national government could coin money, it had no resources to back up the value of its currency; trade between states became chaotic as some states began to coin their own money. Congress had no power to regulate commerce among the states or with foreign nations Had no provision for an executive branch or a judicial system to handle the growing number of economic conflicts and boundary disputes among individual states (Pennsylvania and Virginia even went to war with each other) Lack of Strong Central Government! Each state had sovereign status and was unwilling to give up rights, such as the power to tax, to an untested national government. Consequently, the government was unable to force the states to abide by the provisions of the second Treaty of Paris, signed in 1783.
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Writing the US Constitution

On February 21, 1787, in the throes of economic turmoil and with domestic tranquility gone haywire, the Congress passed an official resolution. It called for a Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia for the sole and express purpose of revising the Articles of Confederation.
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The Characteristics and Motives of the Framers

55 delegates to the Constitutional Convention were property-owning, white men; they are often referred to as the Founding Fathers or Framers Framers brought with them a vast amount of political, educational, legal, and business experience Constitution: a document establishing the structure, functions, and limitations of a government In 1913 Charles Beards Economic Interpretation of the Constitution of the United States argued that the merchants at the convention wanted a strong national government to promote industry and trade, to protect private property, and ensure payment of public debt 1961 The Anti-Federalists by Jackson Turner Main posited that while the Constitutions supporters may not have been the united group of merchants, suggested by Beard, they were wealthier, came from higher social strata and had greater concern for maintaining the prevailing social order Gordon S. Woods 1969 work The Creation of the American Republic concluded that the Framers were representative of a class that favored order and stability over some of the more radical ideas that had inspired the Revolutionary War

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The Virginia Plan: First general plan for the Constitution offered in Philadelphia. Proposed by Edmund Randolph and written by James Madison

The New Jersey Plan: A framework for the Constitution proposed by a group of small states (including New Jersey and Connecticut)

Creation of a powerful central government with three branches- the legislative, executive, and judicial A two-house legislature with one house elected directly by the people, the other chosen from among persons nominated by the state legislatures A legislature with the power to select the executive and the judiciary

Strengthening the Articles, not replacing them Creating a one-house legislature with one vote for each state and with representatives chosen by state legislatures Giving Congress the power to raise revenue from duties on imports and from postal service fees

Creating a Supreme Court with members appointed for life by the executive officers

The Virginia and New Jersey Plans

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Constitutional Compromises
Final draft of Constitution was shaped by a series of compromises Great Compromise: taking ideas from both the Virginia and New Jersey Plans it offered:

A two-house, or bicameral, legislature In the lower house (later called the House of Representatives), there would be 56 representatives- 1 rep/30,000 inhabitants. Representatives would be elected directly by the people. Upper House (later called Senate), each state would have an equal vote, and representatives would be selected by the state legislatures Made national law Supreme

Three Fifths Compromise: stipulates that each slave was to be counted as 3/5s of a person for purposes of determining the population for representation in US House of Representatives

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The US Constitution
We the People, ended, at least for a time, the question of from where the government derived its power: it came directly from the people. The line in Order to form a more Perfect Union indirectly acknowledged the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation.
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Basic Principles of the Constitution

Federal System: system of government where the national government and state governments share power and derive all authority from the people Separation of powers: a way of dividing the power of government among the legislative, executive, and judicial branches, each staffed separately, with equality and independence of each branch ensured by the Constitution Checks and balances: a constitutionally mandated structure that gives each of the three branches of government some degree of oversight and control over the actions of the others- idea derived from Montesquieu

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The Articles of the Constitution

Article I: Vests all legislative powers in the Congress and establishes a bicameral legislature, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives.
Enumerated Powers: Seventeen specific powers granted to Congress under Article I, section 8, of the Constitution Necessary and Proper clause: the final paragraph of Article I, section 8 gives Congress the authority to pass all laws necessary and proper to carry out the enumerated powers Implied powers: powers derived from the enumerated powers and the necessary and proper clause. These powers are not stated but reasonably implied through exercise of delegated powers

Article II: Vests the executive power,

that is, the authority to execute the laws of the nation, in a president of the United States. Section 1 establishes term of office at 4 years and explains the Electoral College. Limits the presidency to natural-born citizens. Articles IV-VII: remainder of the articles attempted to anticipate problems that might occur in the operation of the new national government.
Article IV begins with the full faith and credit clause that ensures judicial decrees and contracts made in one state will be binding and enforceable in any other state Article VI contains the supremacy clause which mandates that national law is supreme to all other laws passed by the states or by any other subdivision of government

Article III: Establishes a Supreme Court and defines its jurisdiction.

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Ratification
The Congress of the Confederation immediately accepted the work of the convention and forwarded the proposed Constitution to the states for their vote. It was by no means certain, however, that the new Constitution would be adopted. From the fall of 1787 to the summer of 1788, the proposed Constitution was debated hotly around the nation.
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Federalists

Anti-Federalists

Made up of property owners, landed rich, merchants Elitist; saw themselves and those of their class as most fit to govern (others were to be governed) Favored the new strong national government Supported the proposed US Constitution

Made up of Small farmers, shopkeepers, and laborers Believed in the decency of the common man and in participatory democracy; viewed elites as corrupt; sought greater protection of individual rights Favored strong state governments Opposed the ratification of the US Constitution

Federalists Versus Anti-Federalists

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The Bill of Rights

Virginia and New York recommended the addition of a Bill of Rights The Bill of Rights is made up of the first ten amendments to the US Constitution, which largely guarantee specific rights and liberties The First Ten Amendments:

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.

Freedom of religion, speech, press, and assembly Right to bear arms Prohibition of quartering of troops in private homes Prohibition against unreasonable searches and seizures Rights guaranteed to the accused: requirement for grand jury indictment; protections against double jeopardy, self-incrimination; due process Right to speedy and public trial before an impartial jury, to cross-examine witness, and to have counsel Right to a trial by jury in civil suits Prohibition against excessive bail, fines, and cruel and unusual punishment Rights listed in the Constitution are not exclusive States or people reserve those powers not denied to them by the Constitution or delegated to the national government

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Methods of Amending the Constitution

The Framers did not want to fashion a government that could be too influenced by the whims of the people. Therefore, they made the formal amendment process a slow one to ensure that the Constitution was not impulsively amended. The only amendment that might be considered impulsive is the 18th Amendment which was repealed only 14 years later.
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Formal Methods of Amending

Methods of Proposal
By two-thirds vote in both houses of Congress
Usual Method

Methods of Ratification
By legislatures in three-fourths of the states

By national Constitutional convention called by Congress at the request of two-thirds of the state legislatures. (This method has never been used to propose an amendment).

Used Once (21st Amendment)

By Conventions in three-fourths of the states

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Informal Methods of Amending

Judicial Interpretation- in Marbury v. Madison the Supreme Court declared that the federal courts had the power to nullify acts of the nations government when they were found to be in conflict with the Constitution President Woodrow Wilson called the Supreme Court a constitutional convention in continuous session. Social and Cultural Change- even the most far-sighted in attendance at the Constitutional Convention could not have anticipated the vast changes that have occurred in the US; for example, even though many attendees hoped for the abolition of slavery, none could have imagined that an African American would one day become president of the US Social change has caused changes in the way institutions of government act; for example, the Great Depression necessitated Congress to take on more and more power at the expense of the states

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Resources
O'Connor, K., Sabato, L. J., & Yanus, A. B. (2011).Essentials of American government, roots and reform, 2011. (2011 ed.). New York: Longman. Revere, P. (Artist). (1770). The bloody massacre. [Print Graphic]. Retrieved from http://loyalistcommons.synthasite.com/bostonmassacre.php Treaty of Paris of 1763. (2012). Retrieved from http://www.realmagick.com/treaty-of-paris-of-1763/ Yonge , C. (2009). The boston tea party clipart. Retrieved from http://etc.usf.edu/clipart/29900/29900/bostn_tea_29900.htm Founders' Library. (2002). Founding.com. Retrieved from http://www.founding.com/the_declaration_of_i/ Hott. (1999). Constitution of the united states of america. Retrieved from http://www.hourofthetime.com/constitu.htm

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