Ch. 3 The Road to the Constitution

A Distinguished Gathering After years of living under the Articles of Confederation, (which were flawed in various ways) it was time to switch from a loose confederation of states to a strong, unified national government Each state was asked to send delegates to a convention in Philadelphia, PA

A Distinguished Gathering Only Rhode Island refused to send delegates, because it strongly opposed a stronger central government. The Convention began on May 25, 1787 The delegates were extraordinary men with a vast array of background

A Distinguished Gathering Most of the 55 men were well-educated and experienced in politics, law, business, military, and medicine. - 41 were part of the Continental Congress - 8 had signed the Declaration of Independence - 2 would become President of the United States - 19 would become U.S. Senators - 13 would become U.S. House of Reps. - 4 would become Federal judges - 4 would become Supreme Court justices - 7 would become Governor of their states

A Distinguished Gathering Of these distinguished men, not one was a - Native American - African American - woman Benjamin Franklin, delegate from PA, was the oldest delegate present at the age of 81.

A Distinguished Gathering A few notable people were not in attendance at the Convention: - Thomas Jefferson (Paris) and John Adams (London) were representatives of the American government in Europe - Patrick Henry, elected as a delegate from VA, refused to attend because he was against the convention.

A Distinguished Gathering One of the first key decisions that was made early was to unanimously select George Washington to preside over the convention. Washington was chosen to make sure the meetings ran in a orderly, efficient manner

A Distinguished Gathering Washington chose a committee to set rules for conducting the convention: Any decisions would be made by majority vote: - each state having one vote, no matter how many delegates represented that state. - a simple majority would be sufficient ( 7 votes would decide an issue)

A Distinguished Gathering All work done by the delegates at the convention would be kept secret: - this made it possible for the delegates to speak freely - public not allowed to attend; doors guarded, windows kept tightly shut - no outsiders were allowed to know what was going on.

A Distinguished Gathering No formal records were kept - most of what is known of the convention comes from a personal notebook from James Madison Once discussions began, it was quickly decided that just changing the Articles of Confederation was not enough. Too weak to deal with the challenges of a newly formed nation.

A Distinguished Gathering A new plan had to be drafted from the ground up and this meeting would come to be known as the Constitutional Convention

Creating the Constitution Roger Sherman was determined to come up with a framework of government that all states could accept. May 29, 1787, shortly after the convention began, James Madison and delegates from Virginia designed a plan for government called the Virginia Plan

The Virginia Plan The Virginia Plan called for a government with: - 3 branches of government: legislative branch (makes laws), executive branch (enforces laws), and judicial branch (interprets laws) - legislature would be bicameral - states represented by basis of population

The Virginia Plan This plan appealed to large states such as Massachusetts, New York, Virginia, and Pennsylvania. Large states would have more votes than smaller states Small states feared a government dominated by large states would ignore their interests

The New Jersey Plan After two weeks, William Patterson came up with an alternative plan called the New Jersey Plan Also called for a government with: - 3 branches of government: legislative, executive, and judicial - legislature would be unicameral; each state gets one vote - equal representation and power to both large and small states

The New Jersey Plan Each state gets one vote in the legislature The same as it was in the Articles of Confederation States such as Delaware, New Jersey, and Maryland liked this plan; more power to the smaller states

The Great Compromise After six weeks of negotiations, Roger Sherman, delegate from Connecticut, came up with a plan of his own. The Connecticut Compromise or Great Compromise took parts of both plans and created a plan that both sides could live with

The Great Compromise This plan consisted of: - 3 branches of government - legislature would be bicameral - states would have equal representation in the Senate (small states) - In the House, representation would be based on population of the state (large states)

Roger Sherman Sherman’s greatest contribution--and the best known--was the “Connecticut Compromise” he proposed at the Constitutional Convention: by proposing that Congress have two branches, one with proportional, one with equal representation, he satisfied both the small and the large States, providing a solution to one of the most stubborn problems of the Convention.

Three-Fifths Compromise The Great Compromise settled the structure of Congress, but there was question still about how you calculate population for representation Southern states wanted to count enslaved African Americans as part of their population in determining representation in the House of Representatives If this were allowed to occur, the Southern states would increase their voting power in the House. The Northern states did not have as many slaves so naturally they opposed this plan.

Three-Fifths Compromise In the Three- fifths compromise, delegates agreed that every five enslaved persons would count as three free persons for determining congressional representation.

Other Compromises Northern states wanted Congress to be able to regulate foreign trade and trade between the states. Southern states feared this would lead to taxation of exports Also feared that the slave trade would be tampered with.

Other Compromises Southern plantations depended on the labor of slaves; Congress would stop slave traders Eventually agreed to let Congress regulate trade on two conditions: - Congress could not tax exports - would not interfere with slave trade before 1808.

Other Compromises Delegates disagreed on whether Congress or the voters should choose the President of the United States The solution was the Electoral College, a group of people named by each state legislature to select the President and Vice President Today, the voters in each state, not the legislators, choose electors

Approving the Constitution The last gathering in Philadelphia took place Sept. 17, 1787. Ideas had to be put on paper and be signed for the U.S. Constitution to be the law of the land. Ratification, or approval required at least 9 of 13 states to vote yes.

Approving the Constitution Americans reacted to the proposed Constitution in different ways. Supporters of the Constitution called themselves Federalists to emphasize that the Constitution would create a system of federalism, a form of government in which power is divided between the federal government and the states Argued for a strong, central government

Approving the Constitution Federalists wanted to remind Americans of the flaws in the Articles of Confederation. In a series of essays known as The Federalist, Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay argued that the U.S. could not survive without a strong central government. Madison argued in The Federalist, No. 10, that a large republic would better guard against “factions” or special interests than smaller republics or individual states

Approving the Constitution Opponents of the Constitution, the Anti-Federalists, wanted more power for the states and less for the national government. Also wanted a bill of rights to protect the people’s individual freedoms that were gained during the Revolutionary War

Approving the Constitution Both sides agreed that a bill of rights was necessary. Federalists promised that if the new Constitution was adopted, the new government would add a bill of rights to it. The promise turned the tide, The Constitution took effect on June 21, 1788, when New Hampshire became the ninth state to ratify it. Rhode Island, the last state to sign 1790 States are United

The Structure of the Constitution The main purpose of the U.S. Constitution is to provide a framework for government, but it is also the highest authority in the nation The powers of all the branches come from it It has three main parts: the Preamble, Articles, and the Amendments

Preamble The Preamble states the goals and purposes of the government The first part makes clear that government gets its powers from the people and exists to serve them. The Preamble states six purposes

Preamble “To form a more perfect Union” “To establish Justice” “To ensure domestic Tranquility” “To provide for the common defense” “To promote the general Welfare” “To secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity”

Articles The seven Articles (I – VII) in the Constitution explain how government is to work. The first 3 articles describe the powers and responsibilities of the three branches of government.

Articles Article I describes the legislative branch as 2 houses with law making authority It describes how members will be chosen lists specific powers that they do and do not have

Articles Article II establishes the executive branch, headed by a president and vice president explains how these leaders will be elected and can be removed describes their powers and duties

Articles Article III establishes the judicial branch to interpret and apply the laws calls for Supreme Court and lower courts describes the powers of federal courts; lists the cases they have jurisdiction over

Articles Article IV explains how states must respect one another’s laws or court decisions. explains the process of creating new states

Articles Article V specifies how the Constitution will be amended as the world changes, people knew that laws would have to be changed as well.

Articles Article VI Declares that the Constitution is the “supreme Law of the Land” states how if federal law and state law conflict with one another, federal law will always prevail over state law

Articles Article VII states that the Constitution would take effect when nine states ratify it.

Amending the Constitution Any change to the U.S. Constitution is called an amendment. Since 1787, the Constitution has only been changed 27 times. The first ten amendments are known as the Bill of Rights

Amending the Constitution It has only been changed 27 times because the founding fathers wanted to make sure that Constitution could not be altered without overwhelming support of the people. Changing even one small detail could have dramatic effects throughout the government. It is a very delicate, balanced document

Amending the Constitution Sometimes though amendments have to be made for the good of the country Ex. 15th Amendment, 16th Amendment, 19th Amendment Very important for the running of our country

Amending the Constitution The amendment process actually involves two steps: proposal and ratification Most commonly an amendment is proposed by 2/3 of both houses of Congress (Senate and House of Rep.) Ratified or approved by 3/4 of 50 state legislatures

Amending the Constitution Proposal 2/3 of both houses of Congress Ratification 3/4 of 50 state legislatures MOST COMMON Proposal by National Convention called by 2/3 of 50 state legislatures Ratification 3/4 of ratifying state conventions held in 50 states Only done once (21st amendment)

Interpreting the Constitution The founders knew that the world would change in ways they could not predict This is why the Constitution was made as a general document and open to interpretation.

Interpreting the Constitution Article I, section 8, clause 18 gives Congress the power to “make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper” to carry out its duties This “necessary and proper” clause allows Congress to exercise implied powers not specifically listed in the Constitution

Interpreting the Constitution Americans disagree on what laws are “necessary and proper” People with loose interpretation believe Congress should be allowed to make laws not specifically forbidden by the Constitution People with strict interpretation believe Congress can only make the kinds of laws mentioned by the Constitution

Interpreting the Constitution The Supreme Court has the final authority on interpreting the Constitution Any new interpretation, whether strict or loose, changes our government

Interpreting the Constitution Actions by the Legislature and the President have also caused new interpretations of the U.S. Constitution Ex. William Henry Harrison---25th Amendment Customs have also changed the interpretation of the Constitution Ex. political parties

Principles Underlying the Constitution The framers had a common vision for government: It should be representative of the people and limited in scope Power should be divided among different levels; not in a single authority

Principles Underlying the Constitution To achieve these ends, the framers embraced 5 principles as the backbone of the Constitution: Popular sovereignty Rule of law Separation of powers Checks and balances federalism

Popular Sovereignty popular = the population or public Sovereignty = the right to rule Article IV guarantees a republic, in which supreme power belongs to the people. The people express their will through elected representatives Provisions such as the right to vote, ensure popular sovereignty

Rule of Law The framers believed that government should be strong but not too strong The Constitution sets limitations by stating what government may and may not do. Government is also limited by rule of law, which means that the law applies to everyone even those who govern; no one can escape the laws reach

Separation of Powers To keep any one person or group from becoming too powerful, the framers divided government into three branches with different functions They were influenced by an enlightenment philosopher from France, Baron de Montesquieu He agreed that the best way to protect liberty was through the separation of the functions of government This split of authority among the legislative, executive, and judicial branches is called separation of powers

Checks and Balances Checks and Balances keep any one branch from becoming too powerful. Each branch can check or restrain the power of the others The president can veto laws Congress can block presidential appointments Supreme Court can overturn laws if they are contrary to the Constitution

Federalism Under Federalism, power is shared by the national government and the states. Americans must obey the laws of both In setting up a federal system, the writers of the Constitution divided the powers of government into 3 types…

Enumerated Powers Enumerated powers, or expressed powers are powers the Constitution specifically grants to the national government Ex. Raise and support an army Coin and print money

Reserved Powers Powers not given to the national government and kept by the states are reserved powers ex. Establish public school system conduct elections

Concurrent Powers Powers that both levels of government can exercise are called concurrent powers Ex. Establish courts collect taxes

Federalism When national and state laws conflict, the Constitution is the final authority. Article VI Constitution “shall be the supreme law of the land” Neither national or state governments may act in violation of it.

Federalism The U.S. Constitution is both durable and adaptable. It provides the government sufficient power to keep order, protect, and defend, yet sets limits to avoid tyranny.