Transcript Constitution Convention of 1787

A fundamental mistake of the Americans has been, that they considered the revolution as
completed, when it was but just begun. Having raised the pillars of the building, they
ceased to exert themselves, and seemed to forget that the whole superstructure was then to
be erected. Noah Webster 1790
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55 delegates from 12
states (Rhode Island
refused to show)
They were highly
educated and some of
the best known names in
American history:
Washington, Madison,
Franklin, Pinkney,
Hamilton
Products of the
Enlightenment, but
shrewd politicians
A unique assembly of
men at any one time
George
Washington
3 did not sign
Paying my
respects to
the father of
the
Constitution
 Framers met on May
25th-September 17th
1787
 Worked in secret to
protect themselves
from outside pressure
 Washington
designated President
of the Convention
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1. Unique/Necessary
• No true precedent for a
written constitution
• Legitimate authority
derived from the people
• Articles too weak to
work-”What a triumph
for our enemies to find
that we are incapable of
governing ourselves.” G. Washington
• No national identity
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2. Boring, but rational
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No Declaration of Independence
An instrument of action
Full of precautions
Vague-necessary and proper, high crimes and misdemeanors,
others
3. Blueprint for Federal Government
• 4,000 words, provided a framework for government while
leaving the “brushstrokes and detail” to later generations
• 7 Articles
 Preamble-Purpose of government
 Power Map-Articles I, II, III
 Relationship with States-Article IV
 Amendments-Article V
 National Supremacy-VI
 Ratification-VII
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4. Bundle of
Compromises
• How shall representation be
decided in government?
(Great Compromise)
• How much authority shall the
federal government have?
(Article Section 8, 9)
• What will protect people and
the government from other
branches? (checks and
balances)
• Shall Congress have the
power to regulate commerce
and how? (can tax imports,
but not exports, and can
regulate interstate trade)
• How should states be
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formed in the frontier?
How can Constitution be
changed?
What will we do about
slavery? (can’t interfere
with slave trade until
1808)
How much democracy?
(House directly elected,
Senators chosen by
states, President through
Electoral College,
judges by President and
Senate)
How much political
equality?
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5. An experiment in
government seen
through several cases
such as Marbury v.
Madison, McCulloch v.
Maryland, the Civil War
(no Confederate was
brought to trial for no
one knew if the states
had a right to secede.
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6. Conservative
document achieved
through liberal means.
• Conservative because is
protected property and
provided stability, social
classes didn’t change as
a result of the
Constitution
• Liberal because it
attempts to achieve
status quo and equality
through checks and
balances, separation of
powers, elastic clause
7. Supreme law of the
land as established
through Article VI“This
Constitution…shall be
the supreme Law of the
Land”
 8. Generational: a
flexible document that
can not be changed on
a whim, but contains
ambiguous phrases to
allow for simple
changes
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9. Store of values
discussing ideas such
as representation, no
factions, limited
government
10. Imperfect
because it does not
end slavery, no Bill of
Rights, vague
phrases,
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Congress has 2 houses or is
bicameral
• House of Representatives chosen
every two years by people and
proportional to state population
(435)
• Senators chosen every 6 years by
state legislatures (until 1913) with
Article I, Section 8 lists the enumerated
2 per state (100)
powers of government, but Section 8 also
• The House represents the people,
contains the elastic clause or necessary and
all revenue bills start here; the
proper clause allowing the government to
Senate represents states, all
grow over time
treaties and presidential
appointments approved by them
• All laws must pass both chambers
before sent to president
 Section
9-Powes
Denied to Congress
 Section
10-Powers
Denied to States
• Suspending Writs of
• Enter a Treaty, Coin
Habeas Corpus
• No Bills of Attainder or
Ex post facto laws
passed
• No money spent
without an
appropriations law
Money, pass Bills of
Attainder
• Raise an army or navy
• Tax Imports or Exports
•The President serves a 4 year term and is chosen through the
Electoral College, not the people at large
•The president has power, but how much is open to interpretation
•His primary job is to enforce the laws, which today is a vast
bureaucracy of over 2 million people
Shortest of the articles
and vaguest
 Judges serve life terms,
but must be appointed
by the President and
approved by the
Senate
 Designed to interpret
the Constitution and
determine what
powers belong to the
federal government
and state governments
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A complicated procedure, but doable: the process allows for necessary
changes to be made, but not easily (only 27 amendments, 10,000 proposed)
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1. Popular sovereignty: The people
are the source of the government’s
power, although indirectly. The
government acts in response to the
what the people want.
2. Federalism: the power of the
government is divided between the
national and state governments (this
will be examined later). This idea is
important because it allows the US to
be united (which the Articles did not
provide) and give the states the ability
to govern themselves according to
their needs. In other words, the states
handle the small things, the federal
government deals with the big picture.
Legislative Executive Judicial
Branch
Branch
Branch
•Make laws
•Declare war
•Spend
money
(borrow
money)
•Impeach
•Enforce
laws
•Veto bills
•C-I-C of
military
•Appoint
officials
•Represent
the US
•Interpret
laws
•Create
uniformity
in the law
 3.
Separation of
powers: Each of the 3
branches of
government has its
own responsibilities
in order to prevent
not only tyranny, but
also the growth of
factions, limiting
pluralism (political
parties).
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4. Checks and
balances: Each
branch of
government
holds some
type of control
over the other
branch
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5. Judicial Review: The
power of the courts to
determine what laws are
constitutional or not. In
the case of Marbury v.
Madison (1803), the
Supreme Court
determined that Article
III gives them the power
to decide “what the law
is”. This opinion can
only change if Court
membership changes or
an amendment is passed.
 6.
Limited
government:
the
Constitution
limits the
powers of
government
by only
giving it
certain
authority.