Transcript Chapter 2: The Constitution

Chapter 2: The
Constitution
Chapter 2: Lecture Outline
• The Constitution was
designed to last.
• Thousands of
amendments
proposed, but only 27
have passed.
– 10 of those were
passed early on to get
opponents to vote to
approve the document:
the Bill of Rights.
– Most recent
amendment passed in
the early 90s.
Chapter 2: Lecture Outline
• The amendment process is
intentionally long and difficult.
• Voting rights amendment first proposed in
1942, finally passed in 1971.
• Madison amendment, proposed in 1789,
stating that Senators and Representatives
couldn’t raise their own pay during a
session, passed in 1992.
Chapter 2: Lecture Outline
• Why has the Constitution been
amended so rarely and worked so
well?
• Is it because people are basically satisfied
with our system of government?
• Is it because it was a product of
compromise and therefore vague and
flexible?
• We need to look at history and the
document itself to find out.
The Origins of a New Nation
• Why did colonists
come to the New
World in the 1600s?
• Escape religious
persecution. Plentiful
land. A new start in life.
• Travel was hazardous, so
only the hardiest, most
adventurous, or most
desperate made the
attempt.
• Thus the colonists were
independent and
confrontational.
The Origins of a New Nation
• King James I
allowed colonial
assemblies.
– Virginia House of
Burgesses
• Inadvertent
encouragement of
independence
The Origins of a New Nation
• Colonists had significant liberties in terms
of self-government, religious practices,
and economic organization.
• Mid 1700s, ties to England weakened due
to distance and new traditions.
– Each of the 13 colonies had its own
constitution and liked its freedoms.
The Origins of a New Nation
• Trade & Taxation
• British pursued mercantilist economic policy
(monopolistic)
• Control/regulation of colonial trade difficult to
enforce
– Colonists tended to ignore/circumvent
The Origins of a New Nation
• Trade & Taxation
(cont’d.)
• French & Indian War (175663): more English
oversight & tougher laws
on trade.
• Treaty of Paris: British in
control of most of N.
America
• British decreed no further
westward expansion of
British subjects--cost of
protection v Indians.
The Origins of a New Nation
• Trade & Taxation (cont’d.)
• Parliament sought ways to pay the costs of the
war.
• Sugar Act of 1764 taxed sugar, wine, coffee, and
other common exports to the colonies
– Colonial resentment and “no taxation without
representation”
The Origins of a New Nation
• Trade & Taxation
(cont’d.)
• Stamp Act of 1765
requiring all documents to
pay a stamp tax and
Mutiny (Quartering) Act
forcing colonists to house
British soldiers brought
major protests
• Sons of Liberty organized
by S. Adams and P. Henry
to act out vs Crown
The Origins of a New Nation
• First Steps Toward Independence
• First step toward a unified country?
– Stamp Act Congress of 1765: representatives of 9
colonies list violations of fundamental rights by the
Crown
• 1767 Townshend Acts imposed duties on
products including tea
– Sons of Liberty boycott & the Boston Massacre
– 1772: Adams suggested the Committees of
Correspondence to enhance communications among
the colonists. 12 such committees by 1774.
The Origins of a New Nation
• First Steps Toward
Independence
(cont’d.)
• 1773: Parliament
passed another tea
tax
– Granted a monopoly to
East India Co.
• Boston Tea Party
The Origins of a New Nation
• First Steps Toward
Independence
(cont’d.)
• Parliament passed the
Coercive Acts (Intolerable
Acts), blockading Boston
Harbor and requiring
additional quartering.
– Sending troops and
implementing new laws
was very expensive
– Issue expanded from
taxes to control over
colonial
political/economic life
The Origins of a New Nation
• The First Continental
Congress
• 12 colonies agreed to send
delegates to communicate
with the King from a
unified stance.
• Met in Philadelphia in
Sept/Oct 1774
• 56 delegates from every
colony except Georgia
• Goal was solution via
compromise--not rebellion
The Origins of a New Nation
• The First Continental
Congress (cont’d.)
• Called for rights of
petition, assembly, trial by
peers, freedom from a
standing army, and
selection of representative
councils to levy taxes
• If King didn’t agree,
Congress would meet
again in May, 1775.
The Origins of a New Nation
• The Second
Continental Congress
• King George refused
Congress demands.
• Second Congress set for
May, 1775
• Before they could meet,
fighting broke out in
Lexington and Concord,
MA
• Convened May 10, 1775:
members united in
hostility toward Britain
The Origins of a New Nation
• The Second
Continental
Congress (cont’d.)
• King George sent 20k
more troops. The
Revolutionary War
had begun.
– Thomas Paine
published Common
Sense in Jan. 1776,
arguing for colonial
independence.
The Declaration of
Independence
• Virginia was the first colony to call for
independence.
• Second Continental Congress was suspended so
delegates could go home and consider the issue
carefully.
• Demanding independence was treason and
punishable by death!
The Declaration of
Independence
• Committees were formed
to consider Virginia’s
proposal.
– One such began work on
a declaration of
independence
• July 2, the colonies voted
for independence (ex. NY
which abstained).
• July 4, the Congress
adopted the Declaration of
Independence.
The Declaration of
Independence
• A Theoretical Basis for a
New Government
• Jefferson the primary
author.
• Drew heavily on John
Locke, among others:
• “Life, liberty, and the
pursuit of happiness” v
“life, liberty, and property”
• Locke’s right to rebel
against unjust rulers also
a key component
The Declaration of
Independence
• A Theoretical Basis for a New Government
(cont’d.)
• Jefferson: believed government s/b based on
consent and so followed the social contract
theorists.
– Felt Britain had violated colonists’ rights & was
therefore no longer legitimate
– A new government that could gain the people’s consent
was in order
The Declaration of
Independence
• A Theoretical Basis for a
New Government (cont’d.)
• Britain did not agree
• Gen. Wm. Howe demanded
the colonists revoke their
declaration
• Refusal brought the formal
beginning to the
Revolutionary War
• While the war raged, the
Congress worked to
fashion a new government
The First Attempt at Government:
The Articles of Confederation
• Britain did and does not have a written
constitution.
• Colonists wanted a constitution--a document
defining rights and obligations and putting limits
on government.
– The original attempt was the Articles of Confederation
The First Attempt at Government:
The Articles of Confederation
• Under a confederacy:
– the central government
is very weak
– the component parts-the states--have the
majority of the power
and the sovereignty.
• Very much the
opposite of the British
unitary system
– all power and
sovereignty vested in
the central government.
The First Attempt at Government:
The Articles of Confederation
• Key provisions under the Articles
included:
– A national government and national legislature (Congress).
– Congressional power to coin money, make peace, appoint
officers to the military, run the post office, and negotiate with
Indian nations.
– Each state in the Congress had equal representation, one vote.
– A super-majority (9/13) was required for passage of any
legislation and amendments must be unanimous.
– Members of Congress would be chosen and paid for by the
state legislatures.
The First Attempt at Government:
The Articles of Confederation
• Problems Under the Articles of
Confederation
• The greatest weaknesses of the Articles of
Confederation were:
• A weak central government
– Congress had
• no power to tax
• no power to regulate commerce among the states or
with foreign countries
• no ability to ensure the value or unity of money
• no power to post or regulate duties and tariffs
The First Attempt at Government:
The Articles of Confederation
• A weak central government (cont’d.)
– no executive
• no one to implement and enforce laws
• no one to coordinate foreign policy
• no one to ensure compliance with the Treaty of Paris
(1783) that ended the Revolutionary War
– no judiciary
• disputes among states about borders could not be
addressed adequately in state courts
• neither could trade disputes
• neither could disputes about the frontier and lands to
the west
The First Attempt at Government:
The Articles of Confederation
• Problems Under the Articles of
Confederation (cont’d.)
• Colonial economy began to deteriorate.
– Farmers in debt.
• Washington and Hamilton worried about
questions of defense, trade, and frontier
expansion.
• By 1786, several states had called for a
convention to discuss ways to strengthen
the national government.
The First Attempt at Government:
The Articles of Confederation
• Problems Under the Articles of
Confederation (cont’d.)
• Before that convention could meet, unrest
broke out.
– Banks in MA foreclosed on farms
– MA legislature passed a law requiring all debts
be paid in cash
The First Attempt at Government:
The Articles of Confederation
• Problems Under
the Articles of
Confederation
(cont’d.)
– Shays’s Rebellion:
Daniel Shays, a Rev.
War vet, led a group of
1500 disgruntled
farmers to Springfield,
MA forcibly preventing
the state court from
foreclosing on their
farms.
The First Attempt at Government:
The Articles of Confederation
• Problems Under the Articles of
Confederation (cont’d.)
• Congress authorized the Secretary of War to call
in the national militia to respond.
– Every state except Virginia refused.
– A private army put down Shays’s Rebellion.
• Failure of Congress to protect citizens and
property was yet another example of the
weakness of the Articles.
The Miracle at Philadelphia:
Writing a Constitution
• On Feb. 21, 1787,
Congress called for a
Constitutional
Convention in Phil.
“for the sole and
express purpose of
revising the Articles
of Confederation.”
The Miracle at Philadelphia:
Writing a Constitution
• The Virginia & New Jersey Plans
• VA: large, populous, agricultural, slaveowning state, presented the first plan for a
new government, thus setting the agenda
for the convention.
• Smaller states proposed the New Jersey
Plan.
• The following table briefly summarizes the
two plans and the Connecticut
Compromise.
Plans Presented at Philadelphia
In Brief
VA Plan
NJ Plan
CT
Compromise
Legislature
Bicameral
Unicameral
Bicameral
Representation
Executive
By Population
Equal by state
Lower: popul.
Upper: equal
Size undetermin. Multiple exec.
Elect by legis.
State removable
Single exec. elec.
college
Judiciary
Life tenure
Veto state leg.
No power over
states
Inter-state
jurisdiction
Ratification
By the people
By the states
By special nom.
Conv.
Presented by
Randolph &
Madison
Paterson
Sherman
The Miracle at Philadelphia:
Writing a Constitution
• Constitutional Compromises
• Biggest issues were conflict between
large and small states over Congressional
representation and the argument between
North & South over slavery.
• Slavery question was whether and how
slaves were to be counted in population
figures and how slaves would be dealt
with for taxation purposes.
The Miracle at Philadelphia:
Writing a Constitution
• Constitutional Compromises
• Representation? See Chart.
• House of Reps. Would have responsibility for all
money bills.
• Both houses had to pass all legislation so both
small and large states were satisfied.
• In order to gain North’s aquiescence to
continuing the slave trade for 20 years and for a
20 year ban on taxing cotton exports, South
agreed to allow national government to regulate
commerce and for the Senate to pass treaties
with a 2/3 majority vote.
The Miracle at Philadelphia:
Writing a Constitution
• Constitutional Compromises
• How to determine the population of the states?
• Slave states wanted slaves counted for purposes
of representation.
– Free states were opposed.
• Compromise: the Three-Fifths Compromise.
– Slaves would be counted as 3/5 of a person.
The Miracle at Philadelphia:
Writing a Constitution
• Unfinished Business
• Executive Branch: Term of office? Method of
selection? Worried about tyranny if the executive
was too strong. Worried about direct election
and the power of the masses.
• Solution: 4 year term with the possibility of
reelection. Created the Electoral College to give
states a role in selection and limit the power of
the masses. Also devised the process of
impeachment and removal.
The U. S. Constitution
• Basic Principles
• 1. Federalism:
– power divided vertically
among the states and
national government.
– Enumerated Powers
– Concurrent Powers
– Reserved Powers
The U. S. Constitution
• 2. Separation of
powers:
– Framers feared
government.
– Power divided
horizontally among the
3 branches.
– Each branch
independent and equal
with different staffs and
functions.
The U. S. Constitution
• 3. Checks &
Balances:
– Branches’ powers
are checked/limited
by powers held by
other branches.
– No one branch can
tyrannize the other
branches or
people.
The U. S. Constitution
• 4. Supremacy
Clause:
– Article VI says
federal law is
supreme. If state
and federal laws
conflict, federal law
prevails.
The U. S. Constitution
• The Articles of the Constitution
• Article I:
– Establishes the legislative branch. Bicameralism.
Qualifications for office, methods of selection, terms of
office, operating procedures, officers of each house.
• Section 8 enumerates powers of Congress: taxation,
regulation of commerce, etc...
• Congress also has implied powers--the “elastic clause”-make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for
carrying into Execution the foregoing powers.”
The U. S. Constitution
• The Articles of the Constitution
• Article II:
– Establishes the executive branch headed by
the president. Sets term of office and explains
the electoral college. Qualifications for office,
mechanism for replacement/removal.
• Powers and duties of the presidency are set out in
section 3, including his role as commander-in-chief
and authority to make treaties with Senate consent.
• Also told to report to Congress “from time to time.”
The U. S. Constitution
• The Articles of the Constitution
• Article III:
– Establishes the judicial branch. Congress authorized to
set up “such inferior courts as them deem necessary”,
but the article does not outline a federal judiciary
beyond the Supreme Court.
• Does not specify number of SC judges or their
qualifications. Sets term of “good behaviour” or life. Goal
was independence from political motives.
• Judicial Review: The power of the Court to determine
whether a law or regulation is constitutional. This most
important power of the SC is NOT mentioned in the
Constitution.
– Marbury v. Madison (1803): Chief Justice John Marshall
The U. S. Constitution
• The Articles of the Constitution
• Article IV through VII:
– Article IV begins with the “full faith and credit clause”
that mandates states to honor the laws and proceedings
of another state.
• Ex., marriage and divorce laws.
– Also include rules on the admission of new states to the
union, how amendments can be added to the
Constitution, prohibits religious tests for holding office,
and set out procedures for ratification.
The Drive for Ratification
• Ratification debate polarized around the ideas of
two groups: Federalists and Anti-Federalists.
• Federalists were pro-ratification while AntiFederalists were opposed.
• Primary concern of Anti-Federalists was the
power of the central government.
– Feared higher taxes, a standing army, a tyrannical exec.,
and the absence of a bill of rights.
The Drive for Ratification
• Much of the debate
took place in
newspapers and
pamphlets written
under pseudonyms.
• Federalist Papers: writings
of Madison, Hamilton, Jay.
• Anti-Federalist Papers:
writings of Henry, George
Clinton, John Winthrop,
George Mason.
The Drive for Ratification
• 9 states ratified by June 1788, but the 2 largest
states, VA and NY (together=40% of the
population), had not.
• VA’s decision to ratify forced NY’s hand. Risk
was being left out of the new union.
– Ratification was conditional on Congress’s first order of
business being a bill of rights.
• NC didn’t ratify until Sept. 1789.
• RI stayed out of the union until 1790.
Formal Methods of Amending the
Constitution
• Once ratification was completed, elections were
held, and the new Congress seated, 12
amendments were immediately sent to the states
for ratification.
• First 10 = Bill of Rights. Ratified by 3/4 of the
states in 1791.
• Article V of the Bill of Rights created a 2-stage
process for amending the Constitution: proposal
and ratification.
– An amendment can be proposed by 2/3 of both houses
of Congress or by 2/3 of state legislatures requesting
Congress to call a national convention to propose
amendments.
Formal Methods of Amending the
Constitution
– Ratification requires a favorable vote in 3/4 of all state
legislatures or by such a vote in specially called
ratifying conventions called in 3/4 of the states.
• This process is intentionally very difficult.
– More than 10k amendments have been introduced in
Congress.
– Only 33 got beyond the first hurdle.
– 27 were ratified and 6 defeated including the Equal
Rights Amendment.
Informal Methods of Amending the
Constitution
• Informal changes through judicial interpretation
and through cultural and social change.
• First “informal” amendment was Marshall’s
interpretation that granted the SC the power of
judicial review.
• SC has drastically changed its interpretation of
the Commerce Clause, the Supremacy Clause,
the First Amendment, and the Fourteenth
Amendment.
• Social and cultural changes: Anti-discrimination
legislation, Americans with Disabilities Act, large
and activist government of the 30s & 40s.