The United States Constitution

Strengths of Articles Allowed states to remain separate to make their own laws Allowed for creation of an Army under one command Established government to bargain for peace after war Gave some sense of cohesion as a country, while keeping state identities

Weaknesses of Articles of Confederation No power to collect taxes No power to regulate trade No power to enforce laws No uniform currency No single executive or leader No national court system ¾ of states needed to pass a law Unanimous agreement to amend Articles One vote per state, regardless of size

Beginning of Convention First established George Washington to preside One vote would remain per state Majority would decide an issue (7 states) All proceedings would remain secret Many attendees has governing experience Jefferson and John Adams were not present

The Virginia Plan First plan of government presented Was favored by large states Three branches of government: Executive, Legislative and Judicial Legislative Branch with 2 houses, both based on population, one elected by people, one by state legislatures Legislature would select other 2 houses Small states feared they would have no voice with all power based on population

The New Jersey Plan Second plan presented 2 weeks after Virginia Plan Would strengthen Articles of Confederation One house legislature with 1 vote per state Congress could raise revenues with tariffs and postal fees Creates a Supreme Court with life appointments Congress selected by state legislatures

The Great Compromise Connecticut, led by Roger Sherman, offered a compromise between the two plans 3 Branches of Government Bicameral legislature Upper House with 2 members per state, chosen by state legislatures Lower House based on population, elected directly by the people Executive branch would appoint Judiciary

Other Compromises Problem arose with counting slaves as population, as it would give South more representation 3/5 Compromise allowed southern states to count 3/5 of slaves toward popluation Taxing of exports and slave trade was another sticking point North agreed not to touch slave trade for 20 years, and not to tax exports; South allowed federal government to regulate all foreign trade (Slave Trade Compromise)

Ratification Other sticking points remained over executive branch, but these were remedied with the Electoral College Final passage was done on September 17, Would go into effect after 9 states ratified it. Fight over how much control federal government would have vs. state governments Would divide the leaders of the country

Federalists and Anti-Federalists Federalists sought to pass Constitution as is. Were led by Alexander Hamilton and James Madison Published 85 articles in support of the Constitution, known as “The Federalist Papers” Highlighted the need for the new government and its benefits

Federalists and Anti-Federalists Anti-Federalists felt Constitution gave too much power to the national government Were led by Thomas Jefferson Feared a tyrannical government would overrule the states Noted that there was no Bill of Rights to protect the people from the government Worried national army would overrun state militias

Federalists and Anti-Federalists

Ratification Eventually, agreement was reached to pacify the Anti-Federalists Federalists would agree that the first action of the new Congress would be to pass a Bill of Rights as an amendment to the Constitution New Hampshire was 9 th state to ratify in June, 1788 New York and Virginia followed soon after.

Constitutional Principles – Popular Sovereignty Constitution is a document about popular sovereignty, the idea that ultimate authority comes from the people Begins with the phrase We the People Elections are found throughout House is directly elected Senate and Electoral College originally elected by representatives in state legislatures

Constitutional Principles - Federalism The defining relationship between national and state governments of shared power Certain powers given to national government (Enumerated Powers) found in Article I Certain powers to be shared, like taxation, court systems (Concurrent Powers) Certain powers held back to states if not given to national government (Reserved Powers)

Constitutional Principles – Limited Government Federal government does not have unlimited power Some power reserved to the states, like Marriage/Divorce, Education, State laws Some things denied to government: Bills of Attainder, Ex Post Facto, Habeas Corpus Certain rights given to the people in the Bill of Rights to not be taken away

Constitutional Principles – Separation of Powers In order to keep any branch from becoming too powerful, powers were divided up Legislative can only pass laws Executive to only enforce laws Judicial to only interpret laws Each has a separate role, and checks & balances were included to make sure that no branch would become too powerful

Checks and Balances

Constitutional Principles – Rule of Law All branches must abide by the law Congress can impeach a president or federal judge who breaks the law Constitution is Supreme Law – states may not disregard it, federal laws must agree with it. Government cannot take away certain rights

The Preamble States the goals of the Constitution 1. “to form a more perfect union” than under the Articles of Confederation 2. To “establish justice” by creating a federal court system 3. To “ensure domestic tranquility” by maintaining a military and enforcing federal law 4. To “provide for the common defense” by being able to raise taxes to pay for a military

The Preamble 5. To “promote the general welfare” by being able to do things to protect the well-being of its citizens 6. To “secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity,” the freedoms to be enjoyed not only by that generation, but for all future generations of the country as well.

Article 1 Legislative Branch Establishes the House and Senate Sets the qualifications for them Establishes procedure for passing a bill into law and for elections to be held Section 8 lists Enumerated powers Section 9 lists powers denied to the national government Section 10 lists powers denied to the states

Article 2 Executive Branch Outlines powers and qualifications of the president and vice president Describes the Electoral College and how it functions Explains how impeachment can occur Describes roles and duties the president must fulfill

Article 3 Judicial Branch Outlines structure of Supreme Court All lower courts to be created by Congress Defines the jurisdiction of the Judicial branch Describes how judges are chosen and approved Defines treason and allows Congress to set punishment

Article 4 The States Requires Full Faith and Credit for legal proceedings from other states Says laws must apply equally to citizens from other states Defines how new states will be admitted to Union Guarantees a republican form of government and protection against invasion

Article 5 Amendment Process States the 2 part process for amending the Constitution Proposal by either 2/3 vote of Congress or 2/3 of State Legislatures Ratification by ¾ of State Legislatures or ¾ of State Ratifying conventions

Article 6 Supremacy States that the Constitution is the Supreme Law of the Land Requires that all National and State laws must agree with the Constitution and its Amendments There shall be no religious test applied for any offices

Article 7 Ratification States that the Constitution will become effective when 9 of the 13 states at that time ratified it in their legislatures

Adaptability and Amendment Process Constitution was written to adapt over time Amendments are not easy to add, but can be done Allows for interpretation by Supreme Court to adapt to changing conditions Includes Necessary and Proper Clause in Article I to allow changes to be made and adapted to changing times in Enumerated Powers