Transcript Articles of Confederation - Orange County Public Schools

Articles of
Confederation
Who wrote the Constitution:
• 55 men
• experienced in politics
• men of wealth and
prestige (elite)
• most were formally
educated
• all were white
• owned property
• relatively young
James Madison = Primary Author
“Father of the Constitution”
Weaknesses of the
Articles of Confederation
Confederate system w/one branch at the national level
Unicameral Congress - one vote per state
National Congress powerless to tax
National Congress powerless to regulate foreign &
interstate trade
No executive branch to enforce acts of Congress
No national court to settle disputes between states
Amendment: ALL 13 states had to agree - unanimous
9/13 majority to pass laws
Solutions provided by the
U.S. Constitution
Federal System
Bicameral Congress: (Connecticut Compromise)
Senate – States are equally represented – 2 per state
House of Representatives – Based on population size
Congress given power to tax
Congress given power to regulate trade
Executive Branch to enforce laws
Judicial Branch to interpret laws & Constitution
Amendment: Proposed by 2/3 Congress
Ratified by ¾ of the state legislatures
50%+1 to pass laws
Articles of Confederation vs. the Constitution
Confederate system
Unicameral Congress - one
vote per state
Powerless to tax
Powerless to regulate foreign
& interstate trade
No executive branch to
enforce acts of Congress
No national court to settle
disputes between states
Amendment: ALL 13 states
had to agree - unanimous
9/13 majority to pass laws
Federal System
Bicameral Congress: Senate
& House of Representatives
Congress given power to tax
Congress given power to
regulate trade
Executive Branch to enforce
laws
Judicial Branch to interpret
laws & Constitution
Amendment: 2/3 Congress +
¾ State Legislatures
50%+1 to pass laws
The Constitution (1789)
Ratification - approval process:
Issues: Representation, tyranny of the majority,
governmental power
 Federalists
(James Madison, John Jay & Alexander
Hamilton)
• Representative of the people and have a
measure of autonomy from the people =
efficiency & competency
• Feared tyranny of the majority
• Favored strong national government
Ratification of the Constitution…
 Anti-Federalists (Thomas Jefferson, Robert Yates & Patrick
Henry)
• feared giving too much power to the
national government
• favored state power
• feared aristocratic nature of governments
• opposed the lack of a bill of rights
HW: Socratic Seminar prep
• See web page
• Due 8/28 A day & 8/29 B day: read pp. 90 – 112 and take
notes.
Necessary & Proper Clause
• Article I, Section 8, Clause 18
• Basis for the implied powers given to
Congress
• Must be tied to an expressed power
• Known as the Elastic Clause
• “To make all laws which shall be necessary
and proper for carrying into execution the
foregoing powers…”
Supremacy Clause
• Article VI, Section 2
• The Constitution and treaties of the United States are “the
supreme law of the land”
• U.S. Constitution
•
•
•
•
Acts of Congress & Treaties
State Constitutions
State Statutes (laws)
City & County Charters & Ordinances (laws)
• U.S. Supreme Court = highest court
Article IV: Provision for reciprocity among states and
among citizens of all states:
Full Faith & Credit Clause
• Each state had to give “full faith and credit” to the official acts of all
other states.
Privileges & Immunities Clause
Citizens of any state were guaranteed the
“privileges and immunities” of every other state,
as though they were citizens of that state

Commerce Clause
• The Congress shall have
power . . . To regulate
commerce with foreign
nations, and among the
several states, and with
the Indian tribes;
• Gibbons v Ogden
• Can a state regulate
interstate?
Which one of the steamboats
is correct?
Connecticut Compromise
• Compromise between New Jersey and Virginia Plans
• Bicameral Congress – two chambers
• House of Representatives – states are represented according to
the size of their population
• Senate – equal representation – each state receives two seats
Three-Fifths Compromise
• In Slave-owning states
• Every five slaves would be counted as three people for the
purposes of counting population size for representation in the
U.S. House of Representatives and for purposes of taxation
Bill of Rights
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
5th
6th
Freedom of Religion, Speech, Press, Assembly, Petition
Right to Keep and Bear Arms
Quartering of Soldiers
Security from Unwarrantable Search & Seizure
Rights of Accused Persons in Criminal Proceedings
Right to Speedy Trial, Witnesses, Trial by Jury in
Criminal Cases
7th Trial by Jury in Civil Cases
8th Ban Excessive Bail, Fines, and Cruel & Unusual
Punishment
9th Unenumerated Rights of the People
10th Reserved State Powers