Alabama High School Graduation Exam The United States Government and The Constitution

Foundations of the U.S. Government Magna Carta- 1215: Written document protecting the rights of English Nobles and made the King answer to all laws. John Locke: English philosopher who believed that government should derive its power from the people whom it governed. Jacques Rousseau: French philosopher who wrote The Social Contract. His theory expressed the idea that there should be an agreement between the people and the government that limits the rights and duties of each. Thomas Jefferson- Put the idea of the Social Contact into the Declaration of Independence.

Foundations of the U.S. Government (Continued) Baron de Montesquieu: In his book, Spirit of the Laws in 1748, he suggested that government should be made up of three separate but equal branches: Legislative, executive, judicial and have a system of checks and balances over each one. The Great Awakening- a general revival of evangelical Christianity in the colonies during the 1740’s. Freedom of Religion- Example, the Pilgrims and the Mayflower Compact an early Constitution of colonial law. The House of Burgesses- In Colonial Virginia, the first elected colonial legislative and example of self government without the King.

Foundations of the U.S. Government (Continued) The First and Second Continental Congresses : Brought together delegates from the 13 colonies to organize and was a model for forming the United States Government. Declaration of Independence- Established general principle of human rights and the idea that government should exist with the consent of the people.

Articles of Confederation In March, 1781 the Articles were written to create an alliance between the 13 colonies. The Articles would eventually prove to be too weak to handle the new nations problems: Weaknesses: 1.The legislature consisted of only one house of Congress. 2.Had no executive branch. 3.Amendments and laws must be approved by all states. 4.Only State governments had the right to tax. 5.No national currency. 6.DID NOT CREATE A STRONG NATIONAL GOVERNMENT LIKE THE CONSTITUTION WOULD.

Constitutional Convention After Shay’s rebellion in Massachusetts in 1786, the states realized a need to fix the Articles of Confederation. In May 1787, 55 delegates from 12 of the 13 states met in Philadelphia to fix the Articles. Rhode Island did not attend. After discussing the problems, it was decided to do away with the Articles and create a Constitution. There were many plans, problems and issues that had to be addressed.

Constitutional Convention Plans of Government The first plan was called the Virginia or large state plan. The plan called for the following: 1.A two house congress with its members based on each states’ population. 2.An executive Branch. The large states favored this plan while the small states did not. The second plan was the New Jersey or small state plan. It called for: 1. One house congress with equal representation.

Constitutional Convention Plans of Government In the end a Compromise plan was proposed called the Great Compromise. This plan divided the Congress into two houses: 1.The Upper House or Senate with each state receiving 2 Senators. 100 today. 2.The lower house or House of Representatives, Each state will have a certain number of representatives based on a States population. Today there are 435 members in the House, Alabama has 7.

Constitutional Convention Plans of Government The Plan was approved but the Northern States did not want the Southern states to count their slaves in their population count. This would lead to the 3/5 Compromise or counting a slave as 3/5 of a person. The issue of the slave trade would also be a factor. It was agreed that the importation of slaves into the United States would end within 20 years. The South already had a large number of slaves and thus agreed. The Great Compromise also created a powerful system of government called Federalism.

Federalism The system of dividing the government into different branches or levels. 1.National or Federal Level – Made up of the 3 branches of government. Legislature makes the laws. Executive carries out the laws. Judicial, Supreme Court interprets or explains them. 2.State level- Also three branches of government and their own state constitutions. 3.Local level- County, city and state with its local leaders.

Checks and Balances Each of the three branches as a check over the power of the others. Example: Legislature- Makes the laws. Executive – Can veto a law made by Congress. Judicial- can say if a law is unconstitutional or not. Judicial Review established by the case of Marbury verses Madison 1803.

The Constitution The Constitution is made up of 7 Articles and 27 Amendments. The First 10 Amendments are called the Bill of Rights because they protect the rights of all Americans from the Federal Government.

Constitution The Preamble- sets out the goals and purposes of the Constitution. Articles 1.Article 1 establishes the Legislative Branch. This includes establishing the rules for becoming a Senator and Representative as well as the number of years each can serve. Senator has a six year term and Representative a two year term. Article 1 also contains the Elastic Clause which gives Congress the right to make all laws necessary and proper for doing its job now and in the future. This is in section 8.

Parts of the Constitution 2.Article 2 creates the Executive Branch which is the office of the President and Vice President. 3.Article 3 creates the Judicial Branch which is the Supreme Court and all lower Courts. Today the Supreme Court is made up of 9 judges all appointed by the President with the Approval by the Senate. Amendments- 27 Amendments. The first 10 were added because of the debate over ratification or approval of the Constitution. This was debated between two groups: The Federalists and the Antifederalists.

Federalists and Antifederalist The Federalists included James Madison, Alexander Hamilton and John Jay. They wrote a series of papers called the Federalist that defended the Constitution. The Antifederalists opposed the Constitution because it lacked a Bill of Rights that protected the people form abuses of power by the Strong Federal Government. A Bill of Rights was added to the Constitution and it was ratified by all thirteen states in 1788.

Bill of Rights – First 10 Amendments 1 st – Freedom of speech, press, assembly and petition. 2 nd - Right to keep and bear arms. 3 rd - Forbids the quartering of troops in people’s homes without permission. 4 th – Search and seizure: Police need a warrant to search your home. 5 th –Rights of accused persons: To remain silent and have a lawyer. 6 th - Right to a speedy and fair trial. 7 th - Right to a jury trial in civil cases. 8 th - forbids cruel and unusual punishment and right to bail. 9 th Powers reserved to the people. 10 th - Powers reserved to the states such as establishing schools.

Other important amendments 13 th Outlawed slavery. 14 th Gave citizenship and civil rights to all people born or naturalized in the United States. 15 th Gave all male citizens the right to vote including blacks. 19 th Gave women the right to vote.

Strict vs loose interpretation Alexander Hamilton believed in a loose interpretation of the Constitution in that the government had more powers then were actually listed in it. He based this on the Elastic Clause mentioned in Article 1. Thomas Jefferson believed that a strict interpretation should be used based on Amendment 10 saying that all powers not listed in the Constitution belong to the States. This led to the formation of the first two political parties: The Federalists and the Democratic –Republicans.

First Constitutional Tests Marbury vs. Madison Chief Justice John Marshall ruled that the Supreme Court had the right to declare whether laws passed by Congress were Constitutional. This established Judicial Review. Gibbons vs. Ogden 1824 – Supreme ruled that Congress alone can regulate interstate and foreign commerce. Roads, highways and canals could be built without state interference.