Transcript The Constitution - Century High School

The Constitution
Constitution

Definition
– A nation’s basic law. It creates political
institutions, assigns or divides powers in
government, and often provides certain
guarantees to citizens.

Sets the broad rules of the game.
 The rules are not neutral- some participants
and policy options have advantages others
don’t.
Federalism

What is Federalism?
– Definition: A way of organizing a nation so that
two or more levels of government have formal
authority over the land and people.

Intergovernmental Relations – Definition: The workings of the federal system-
the entire set of interactions among national,
state and local governments.
Division of Powers

Delegated Powers: powers the Constitution grants or delegates to
the national gov’t
– Expressed/Enumerated Powers: those powers directly expressed or stated in
the Constitution
– Implied Powers: those powers that the national gov’t requires to carry out the
powers that are expressly defined in the Constitution

Necessary and Proper/Elastic Clause (Article I, Sec 8)
– Inherent Powers: those the national gov’t may exercise simply b/c it’s the
gov’t

Reserved Powers: those powers that belong strictly to the states
– Supremacy Clause (Article VI, Sec 2)


Concurrent Powers: those powers that both the national and state
gov’ts have
Denied Powers: the powers that the Constitution specifically denies
to all levels of gov’t
– Article I Sec 9 and 10
Defining Federalism
Defining Federalism

Why is Federalism So Important?
– Decentralizes our politics
 More opportunities to participate
– Decentralizes our policies
 Which government should take care of which
problem?
 States can solve the same problem in different ways.
The Constitutional Basis of
Federalism

The Division of Power
– Supremacy Clause:


McCulloch vs. Maryland
Gibbons vs. Ogden
– The U.S. Constitution
– Laws of Congress
– Treaties
– State Constitutions
– State Laws
The Constitutional Basis of
Federalism
Intergovernmental Relations
Today

Dual Federalism
– Definition: A system of government in which
both the states and the national government
remain supreme within their own spheres, each
responsible for some policies.
– Like a layer cake
– Ended in the 1930’s
Intergovernmental Relations
Today

Cooperative Federalism
– Definition: A system of government in which
powers and policy assignments are shared
between states and the national government.
– Shared costs
– Shared administration
– States follow federal guidelines
Intergovernmental Relations
Today
Intergovernmental Relations
Today

Fiscal Federalism
– Definition: The pattern
of spending, taxing,
and providing grants in
the federal system; it is
the cornerstone of the
national government’s
relations with state and
local governments.
Figure 3.2
Intergovernmental Relations
Today

Federal Grants to State and Local Governments (Figure 3.1)
Intergovernmental Relations
Today

Fiscal Federalism continued
– The Scramble for Federal Dollars


$400 billion in grants every year
Universalism - a little something for everybody
– The Mandate Blues

Mandates direct states or local governments to comply with
federal rules under threat of penalties or as a condition of
receipt of a federal grant.
– Funded mandate-given money to carry out the policy
– Unfunded mandates are requirements on state & local
governments - but no money
Understanding Federalism

Advantages for
Democracy

Disadvantages for
Democracy
– Increasing access to
– States have different
government
– Local problems can be
solved locally
– Hard for political
parties / interest groups
to dominate ALL
politics
levels of service
– Local interest can
counteract national
interests
– Too many levels of
government - too much
money
Understanding Federalism

Spending on Public Education (Figure 3.4)
Understanding Federalism
Understanding Federalism

Federalism and the Scope of Government
– Which level of government is best able to solve
the problem?
– Which level of government is best able to fund
solutions to the problem?
English Documents that
Influenced U.S. Government

Magna Carta or Great Charter (1215)
– Rebelling English nobles made King John sign it

At first the rights granted in the Charter only applied to nobles
– 63 articles limiting the King’s power and granting
rights to nobles

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Taxes could NOT be imposed unless council of nobles
approved
Property protected
Trial by jury of peers
Protection against unjust punishment and the loss of life
Prevents interfering with certain religious freedom

The Petition of Right (1628)
– Gives more rights to Parliament, and further
limits the authority of King Charles the I
monarchy

King couldn’t arrest members of Parliament
– Members of Parliament were protected from the King if
they disagreed with him (Article 1, Sec 6, Clause 1)


Couldn’t imprison citizens without legal reason
Must have approval of the House of Commons to
impose taxes (Article 1, Sec 7, Clause 1)
– King Charles I decided to ignore the Petition
 War broke out and the common people won (Charles
I was beheaded)
 Parliament established their supremacy over the
King

English Bill of Rights (1688)
– The Glorious Revolution: Parliament chose new leaders (William
and Mary
– English Bill of Rights incorporated ideas from the Magna Carta
– Also applied to the American colonies


Set limits on monarchs
The monarch has no “divine rights” regarding ruling
– 1st Amendment: right to petition gov’t

Right to bear arms
– 2nd Amendment

Fair and speedy trial
– 6th Amendment

No cruel or unusual punishment or excessive bail
– 8th Amendment

Right of Parliament (not the monarch) to approve keeping a standing army
in peacetime
– Article 1, Sec 8, Clause 12, 13, 14) gives Congress the right to establish and
support a military

Right of free speech and debate in meetings of Parliament
– Article 1, Sec 6, Clause 1 gives Congress the same right

No interference with elections
Representative gov’t: the people elect
delegates to make laws and conduct gov’t
 British framework for a representative
gov’t:

– House of Lords (upper house)
 Contains aristocracy who dominated until 1700s
(Bishops and Nobles)
 Either appointed or position inherited
– Prince Charles and children
– No power and/or figurehead
– House of Commons (lower house)
 Contains merchants and property owners
 Elected by other property owners and merchants
– Today they have the real power

Gov’ts in the colonies all had:
–
–
–
–
–
–

Governors and courts
Legislature (Council of advisors)
Eventually a Legislature of elected reps
Separation of legislative and executive branch
Written constitution that limited govn’t
Need property to vote
Democracy in its current form didn’t exist
– Women and slaves couldn’t vote
– 9 of 13 colonies had an official church (religious
dissent not tolerated)

Mayflower Compact (1620): first written
agreement providing self-gov’t drafted by
colonists
Bowling for Columbine Media & Dowloads Clips.url
– Signed by 41 male pilgrims

Why was the Compact needed?
– Navigation errors pushed their ship off course
which forced them to land in an area outside the
original grant given by the Virginia Company
(jurisdiction)
– Pilgrim leaders knew they would need to set up
some form of gov’t to control all the people
Expanding Written Laws

Great Fundamentals (1636): meant the need for
more comprehensive laws as Mass Bay grew
larger around Plymouth
 Fundamental Orders of Connecticut (1638):
Puritans who left Mass Bay colonized Connecticut
and established America’s first formal constitution
or charter
– Gave people the right to elect the governor, judges, and
reps to make laws, and didn’t restrict voting rights to
church members
Representative Assemblies in
Colonies

Virginia House of Burgesses (1619): first
reps assembly in America
– Created a law that required every town of 50
families to hire a schoolmaster and every town
with 100 families must hire someone that can
teach Greek and Latin

Colonial legislatures dominated colonial
gov’t

John Locke
– Philosopher
– “Two Treatises on Government”
 Textbook on the American Revolution
– Revolutionary ideas in a time when monarchs
still claimed divine power
– “life, liberty, and property” (influenced
Jefferson)
State Constitutions

States saw themselves as “states”
– No higher authority

Common features
– Bill of Rights
– Separation of powers
– Limited government
Iroquois Confederation

5 nations: Mohawk, Onondaga, Oneida,
Cayuga, Seneca
– 1570
– Very organized plan of government

Each nation elected a representative
– 1 vote per nation
– Women’s representation
British Control and the Road to
Revolution

The colonies were expected to serve as a source of raw
materials and a market for British goods
– The colonists were allowed to govern themselves in
exchange for loyalty to the mother country and stopping the
expansion of the French in Canada


King George III was the leader of Britain in 1760
French and Indian War (1754-1763)
– Struggle between Fr. and Br. over land in OH river valley
(OH, PA)

British needed to finance the war so taxes were levied on the colonies
– Relations now changed and strained

Once the British win, they have more land to defend and need to
control the seas
– More items are taxed, which increase tensions b/w the colonies and
Britain
Colonies Try to Unite

Why unite:
– Develop an army and navy to stop Indian attacks and
attacks from other countries
– Levy taxes so the colonists can support themselves
– Regulate their own issues with NA b/c they are actually
living amongst the NA

Albany Plan of Union (1754): first attempt to
unify the colonists
– Ben Franklin came up with the plan
– The idea was rejected b/c it gave too much power to the
central gov’t
– British felt the plan gave too much power to their
subjects (colonists)
The Origins of the Constitution

The Road to Revolution
– Colonists didn’t like the way they were treated.
– In summer of 1776, a small group of men met
in Philadelphia and passed a resolution that
started a war

The colonists were some of the lowest taxed
members of the British Empire
-Many merchants felt the impact of taxes,
but most of the colonists felt no impact
what-so-ever by the taxes

Some call the Revolutionary War a “rich man’s war,
but a poor man’s battle.”
FINANCING THE EMPIRE

Protecting the colonists against attack was an expensive
service for the British Empire to provide
 Taxes
– Sugar Act (1764): create an import tax of foreign sugar, etc
– Stamp Act (1765): tax on printed matter of all kinds


This was the first direct tax on the colonists
The colonists felt they were being taxed without any of their input (“no
taxation without representation”)
– Stamp Act Congress (1765): tried to get the Stamp Act repealed

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Nine colonies sent delegates to this meeting in NY
First meeting organized by colonists to protest King George III actions
Petitions were sent arguing only colonial legislatures could impose taxes
– Results of the Stamp Act Congress:


Colonists passed a non-importation agreement (won’t buy British goods)
The stamp act was repealed but:
– Declaratory Act (1766): asserted the “full power and authority” of
the Parliament to make laws for America
Acts that tick off the Americans
– Townshend Acts (1767): import duties on common items (tea,
dyes, glass, etc)

Writs of assistance: special search warrants that allowed unlimited access
– Tea Act (1773): excused the British East India Company from
paying certain duties and gave the company exclusive rights to the
tea trade in America


American merchants were afraid the British East India Company would
acquire a monopoly on tea trade
Colonists were upset by the tax placed on tea
– Boston Tea Party (1773): colonists dressed up as Mohawk Indians
and dumped 342 chests of British tea into the Boston Harbor
– Coercive/Intolerable Acts (1774): a set of four laws designed to
punish the colonists for the Boston Tea Party

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Closed the port of Boston until colonists paid for the tea they dumped
Revoked Mass charter and didn’t allow the Mass colonists to hold town
meetings
Allowed royal officials charged with crimes to be tried in England
Quartering Act ordered local officials to provide food and housing, in private
homes if necessary, for British soldiers
The First Continental Congress
(1774)

Delegates from 12 colonies decided to meet in
Philadelphia
– Georgia didn’t send a delegate b/c they needed the help
of British soldiers to fend off the Indians that were
attacking

Colonists were trying to decide what should be
done about the bad relations with GB
– Embargo placed on GB
– Could not use any British goods in the colonies
– Proposed another meeting a year later if relations didn’t
improve
The First Battle in April 1775 and Beyond

British redcoats clashed with minutemen at
Lexington and Concord in Mass
– The clash was called “the shot heard round the world”

Second Continental Congress (May 1775)
– All 13 colonies sent delegates to Philadelphia
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John Hancock was elected the President of the Congress
They assumed the power of the central gov’t
George Washington was placed in command of the colonial
army
The Declaration of Independence was developed
Olive Branch Petition (July 5, 1775): for the final
time—appealed to their king to redress colonial
grievances in order to avoid more bloodshed
– Aug 1775 - King George declared a state of rebellion
and “Traitors should be brought to justice”
– Dec 1775 - Parliament (GB) prohibited all trade with
colonies
Declaration of Independence

Committee of 5 to write Declaration of
Independence
–
–
–
–
–
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T. Jefferson
J. Adams
B. Franklin
R. Sherman
R. Livingston
T. Jefferson - wrote
B. Franklin aided Jefferson
– Elder statesman (oldest member)
Declaration of Independence

Richard Henry Lee introduced his opinion about
why the colonists should break away from GB on
June 7, 1776
– Delegate from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Thomas Jefferson was appointed to write a rough
draft of the Declaration of Independence
 Thomas Paine wrote a pamphlet called Common
Sense
– It was used to rally support from the colonists for
breaking away from GB

On July 4, 1776 Congress approved the final draft
of the Declaration of Independence
Declaration of Independence
July 4, 1776

Declaring Independence
– The Declaration of Independence listed the
colonists grievances against the British.
– The founding fathers officially engaged in an
act of treason that was punishable by death

The “Conservative” Revolution
– Restored rights the colonists felt they had lost
– Not a major change of lifestyles
The Origins of the Constitution
Declaration of Independence
Five Parts to the Declaration
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States human/natural rights
Justify the colonists’ revolt
Lists 27 grievances against King George
III
What the colonists have done to resolve
the issue peacefully
Statement of determination to separate and
gain independence
The Government That Failed

The Articles of Confederation
– The first document to govern the United States
– Congress had few powers (Article 1. Section 8)
– States could engage in foreign trade (Article 1, Sec, 8,
Clause 3 is the opposite)

Changes in the States
– Expanded political power for some
– Expanding economic middle class
– Ideas of equality spreading
The Government that Failed
Strengths

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Kept the states together effectively enough to win the
Revolutionary War
All states had written constitutions
People had power; gov’t existed to serve people’s needs
States had 3 branches of gov’t
– Executive
– Legislative
– judicial

Had Bill of Rights
– Free speech, press, religion; jury trial


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State put more power in legislature and less in executive
Could be amended (changed)
Northwest Ordinance (1787): outlined a plan for settling lands
west of the Appalachians
– Est the principle that newly formed states are = to older states
– Guaranteed religious freedom and prohibited slavery in the new territories

Treaty of Paris (1783): GB recognize3d American independence
Weaknesses

One-house legislature (unicameral Congress) of delegates
from all states
 Each state had one vote
 9/13 states to approve laws
 Could not tax (could ask for $)
 Could not regulate trade
 Could not control currency (states printed own money)
 No executive or judiciary (no one to enforce or carry out
laws)
 Congress only had the powers expressly given to them in
the Articles (lawmaking and military decisions)
 A very weak central gov’t was created, but had strong state
gov’ts
– Makes sense since the colonists feared the strong central gov’t of
GB, so why create the same thing
Powers

Wage war
 Make peace treaties/alliances
 Create army/navy
 Borrow money
 Create a post office
 Settle disputes between states
Problems with Articles
State Issues, Money Issues, and Rebellion after the WAR

States quarreled amongst themselves
– Boundary disputes and tariffs


Farmers had to pay a tax to sell their produce in another state
Money problems after the War
– $40 million owed to foreign gov’ts and American soldiers that
fought in the War

Shays’ Rebellion (Daniel Shays, 1776)
– A series of attacks on courthouses by a small band of farmers
led by Revolutionary War Captain Daniel Shays to block
foreclosure proceedings


State legislatures would not help farmers in debt
Land, tools, livestock were taken to pay debt (some were jailed)
– Marched on county courthouses; moved to take arsenal; stopped
by state militia
The Government That Failed

The Aborted Annapolis, Maryland Meeting
(Sept 1786)
– An attempt to discuss changes (amending) to
the Articles of Confederation.
– Attended by only 12 delegates from 5 states.
– Wanted to also discuss commerce and trade
among states
– Called for a meeting in May 1787 to further
discuss changes.
Making a Constitution:
The Philadelphia Convention

Gentlemen in Philadelphia May 25, 1787
– George Washington presided over the meetings
– James Madison, from Virginia, took detailed notes

Father of the Constitution (basically adopted his plan)
– 55 men from 12 of the 13 states
– Mostly wealthy planters & merchants
– Most were college graduates with some political
experience
– Many were coastal residents from the larger cities, not
the rural areas
– Rhode Island didn’t send delegates

Supported individual freedom and states’ rights
The Philadelphia Convention,
continued

Philosophy into Action
– Human Nature
– Political Conflict
– Objects of Government
– Nature of Government
Organization

George Washington presided over the
meetings
 One vote for each state on all questions
 Simple majority vote of states would make
decisions
 Keep public and press uninformed so
delegates could talk freely
The Agenda in Philadelphia
Key Agreements
All favored limited gov’t and representative
gov’t
 Powers divided among leg, exe, and jud
branch
 Limited power of states to coin money and
interfere with creditors’ rights
 Must strengthen the national gov’t

The Agenda in Philadelphia

Equality and Representation of the States
– Virginia Plan
 Edmund Randolph (Virginia) introduced 15 resolutions James
Madison drafted
– Strong national legislature with two chambers
• Lower chosen by the people, upper chosen by lower chamber
• Legislature could decide if state laws unconstitutional
– Strong national executive chosen by national legislature
– National judiciary appointed by legislature
– Delegates of small states realized large states (large populations) would
control the national gov’t
The Agenda in Philadelphia

Equality and Representation of the States
– New Jersey Plan
 William Paterson (New Jersey) made a counterproposal that
kept major features of Articles of Confederation (Amend
Articles)
– Unicameral legislature with one vote for each state
• Strengthened to have power to impose taxes and regulate trade
– Weak executive consisting of more than one person elected by Congress
– National judiciary with limited power appointed by executive
– Deadlocked over representation of states in Congress
• Rep based on population (favors large states) or rep be equal
(favors small states)
The Agenda in Philadelphia

Equality and Representation of the States
–
Connecticut Compromise

Roger Sherman and delegates from Connecticut developed the idea
–
–
–
House of Rep based on pop of states
• All revenue laws-taxing and spending money-begin in House
Senate equal for each state
• State leg would elect two Senators
• Amendment 17 (1913): directly elected by Senators
Slavery and the Three-Fifths Compromise

How is representation in the House determined when looking at slave
population (1/3rd slave in South)
–
–
–
Southern states want slaves to = free people when determining rep in the
House
Southern states don’t want slaves to = free people when determining taxes
• Northern states took the exact opposite view on these issues (few slaves)
Settles by counting only 3/5ths of enslaved people for taxes and representation
Commerce Compromise
Northern states wanted gov’t to completely control
trade with other nations
 Southern states feared business interests in North
may have enough votes to est trade agreements
that would hurt them

– South also feared North would interfere in slave trade
Delegates decided Congress couldn’t ban slave
trade until 1808
 Congress could regulate both interstate commerce
(trade among states) and foreign commerce

– To protect the South, Congress couldn’t tax exports
Slave-Trade Compromise

Constitution only notes that slaves escaping
to a free state could be returned to owner
(Article IV, Section 2)
 Many Northern states outlawed slavery
 Delegated knew Southern states wouldn’t
accept the Constitution if it interfered with
slavery
– Slavery was one of the issues brought to the
forefront during the Civil War
Other Compromises

Should the president be elected directly by
the people, by Congress, or by state
legislatures?
– Electoral College created, which allows each of
the major parties to select electors that will cast
the official vote in D.C. once the popular vote
is tallied in each state
The Agenda in Philadelphia
The Agenda in Philadelphia

The Economic Issues
– States had tariffs on products from other states
– Paper money was basically worthless
– Congress couldn’t raise money
– Actions taken:
– Powers of Congress to be strengthened
– Powers of states to be limited
The Agenda in Philadelphia

The Individual Rights Issues
– Some were written into the Constitution:
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Writ of habeas corpus
No bills of attainder
No ex post facto laws
Religious qualifications for holding office prohibited
Strict rules of evidence for conviction of treason
Right to trial by jury in criminal cases
– Some were not specified

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Freedom of speech / expression
Rights of the accused
The Madisonian Model

Limiting Majority Control
 Separating Powers
 Creating Checks and Balances
 Establishing a Federal System
The Madisonian Model

The Constitution and the Electoral Process: The Original
Plan (Figure 2.2)
The Madisonian Model
Figure 2.3
The Madisonian Model

The Constitutional Republic
– Republic: A form of government in which the
people select representatives to govern them
and make laws.
– Favors the status quo - changes are slow

The End of the Beginning
– The document was approved, but not
unanimously. Now it had to be ratified.
Ratifying the Constitution

Needed 9 of the 13 states to ratify it
– The Constitution went in to effect on June 21,
1788 when New Hampshire was the ninth state
to ratify it
– Unanimously ratified May 29, 1790 when
Rhode Island ratified it
Ratifying the Constitution
Federalists vs. Anti-Federalists

Federalists
– Claimed anarchy or political disorder would triumph without a
strong national gov’t

Strong central gov’t could only protect the new nation
– Bill of Rights not needed since the state constitutions already
had a bill of rights

Anti-Federalists
– Feared a strong national gov’t (power taken from the states)
– Felt it was drafted in secrecy
– Document extralegal, not sanctioned by law since the
Convention had been authorized only to revise the old Articles
– Constitution lacked a Bill of Rights (Patrick Henry)

The Federalists promised to add a Bill of Rights to gain the support of
the Anti-Federalists
Ratifying the Constitution
Ratifying the Constitution

Without Virginia and New York approving the Constitution,
the new gov’t wouldn’t survive
– James Madison, George Washington, and Edmund Randolph
helped convince Virginia to accept the document on June 25, 1788
– Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison published 80
essays (Federalist Papers) supporting the Constitution in New York
(accepted July 26, 1788)


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A collection of 80 articles written by Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and
James Madison under the name “Publius” to defend the Constitution
Federalist #10 and #51
New York City was the location of the nations’ first capital,
Washington was elected President, and John Adams was the
Vice
– March 4, 1789 Congress met for the first time in Federal Hall in
New York
– Congress approved 12 of James Madison’s amendments and the
states ratified 10 of them in 1791 (Bill of Rights)
Structure
PREAMBLE
“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”
SEVEN ARTICLES
AMENDMENTS
– (see “Student Review Outline Of The Constitution”)
Major Principles

Popular sovereignty
 Federalism
 Separation of powers
 Checks and balances
 Judicial review
 Limited government
Take the Test
Separation of Powers
Checks and Balances
Constitutional Change
Figure 2.4
Constitutional Change

The Informal Process of Constitutional
Change
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–
–
–
–
–
–
Changing Political Practice
Technology
Increasing Demands on Policymakers
Congressional laws
Congressional practices
Presidential practice
Judicial review (judicial activism v. judicial
restraint)
– Custom and Usage
Understanding the Constitution

The Constitution and Democracy
– The Constitution itself is rarely described as
democratic.
– There has been a gradual democratization of the
Constitution.

The Constitution and the Scope of Government
– Much of the Constitution limits government.
– The Constitution reinforces individualism, yet
encourages hyperpluralism.