Chapter 2 The Constitution
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Looking forward… The Colonial Mindset Men (King George) will seek power because they are ambitious, greedy, and easily corrupted Colonists sought “natural rights” Unalienable rights Copyright © 2015 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. What is the meaning of liberty?
LC-DIG-ppmsca-02949/Library of Congress Even before the Revolutionary War, many felt some form of union would be necessary if the rebellious colonies were to survive. In 1774, the Massachusetts Spy portrayed the colonies as segments of a snake that must “Join or Die.” p. 20
Copyright © 2015 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. Figure 2.1 North America in 1787
Articles of Confederation 1781 – 1789 – RIP Confederate System – power concentrated in political subunits (states) with a weak central government (typically unite for a common goal)
The Problem of Liberty Important weaknesses within the Articles of Confederation League of friendship – no real unity between states No strong central government No control of taxation, commerce between states or with foreign nations, money system Copyright © 2015 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. In 1785, John Hancock was elected to the meaningless office of “president” under the Articles and never showed up to take the job.
Weaknesses Continued.. Article II – “Each state retains its sovereignty, freedom, and independence.” Gov’t has no control Unicameral Congress (one house) with one vote per state Copyright © 2015 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.
Shays Rebellion Colonies were in debt after the war, central gov’t tried to raise taxes Farmers in western Massachusetts rebelled against tax they could not afford Rebelled against foreclosures, forced judges out of court, freed debtors from jail Main Idea: Rebellion showed that national gov’t needed a central military to address security of the nation
The Constitutional Convention Original desire was to just revise the articles of confederation Ended up creating a brand new system of government! Copyright © 2015 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.
The Challenge The Virginia Plan–proposal to create a strong national government 3 branches of government Executive (president) chose by congress (2 houses) National legislature has power of states The New Jersey Plan–proposal to create a weak national government Left articles virtually unchanged Copyright © 2015 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.
The Solution The Great Compromise (Connecticut) Popularly-elected house based on state population State-elected senate, with two members for each state Making Congress bicameral = 2 parts Electoral college – new system would select the president Copyright © 2015 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. Also known as the Great Compromise or the Connecticut Compromise
The Constitution and Democracy Created a republic Representative Democracy Key principles Federalism: federal/state sharing power Separation of powers of three branches Enumerated powers Reserved powers Concurrent powers Copyright © 2015 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. What is the difference between a direct democracy and a representative democracy? Why did the Framers prefer a republic?
The Constitution and Democracy Checks and Balances: each branch of government has the power to check or limit the actions of the other two. each branch of gov't has a certain number of checks it can use to ensure the other branches do not become too powerful. Copyright © 2015 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2015 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.
Separation of Powers Separation of Powers: dividing the government among different branches of government. to prevent one branch of government from gaining too much power (usurping) Copyright © 2015 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.
The Constitution and Slavery Needed southern states for ratification (approval) of constitution Three-Fifths Compromise Slave populations would help add to population for house of representatives Slaves can only count as 3/5ths a person though Copyright © 2015 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. Deck of a slave ship captured in 1860. Thousands of slaves died on such ships. Image: North Wind Picture Archives/Alamy
The Constitution and Liberty Federalists “Nationalists” Strong national government View liberty as protected by large republic Moderate coalitions Antifederalists States’ rights advocates Prefer small republic or confederation Need to limit central powers Bill of rights Copyright © 2015 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.
Ratification of the Federal Constitution by State Constitutions, 1787–1790 Copyright © 2015 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. Figure 2.2
Copyright © 2015 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.
How to amend (change) the constitution Most common method used 2/3 vote of both houses of congress must approval the amendment language ¾ of all state legislatures must also ratify the amendment Very difficult threshold to meet… Copyright © 2015 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.
Federalist 10 vs. Brutus 1 Ratification was a struggle between various states with close votes Many contentious issues as previously stated Various political leaders including Alexander Hamilton (Federalists) and unknown authors (Brutus/Ant-Federalists) attempted to persuade sides to vote yes or no against ratification… Copyright © 2015 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.
Brutus and Federalist 10 Quick Write: Which one of these founding documents above support either participatory democracy or elite democracy? Explain your reasoning… Copyright © 2015 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.
Brutus 1 and Fed 10 Summary Federalist 10: focused on the superiority of a large republic in controlling the “mischiefs of faction,” delegating authority to elected representatives and dispersing power between the states and national government. Answer: Elite Brutus 1: adhered to popular democratic theory that emphasized the benefits of a small decentralized republic while warning of the dangers to personal liberty from a large, centralized government. Answer: Participatory Copyright © 2015 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.
Federalist 10 vs. Brutus 1 Essay Copyright © 2015 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.