Creating the Constitution The Principles and the Compromises

The Principles of Government The following are the principles of government we have learned about. Your job is going to be to find out where the principles are inserted into the Constitution.

The Guiding Principles…

Card 1 Article IV, Section 2, Clause 1: Privileges and Immunities “The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all privileges and immunities of Citizens in the several states”

Card 2 Article II, Section 2, Clause 2: The Senate checks and balances the president’s power to make treaties and appointments to office. “He [the president] shall have Power, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, to make Treaties, provided two-thirds of the Senators present concur; and he shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint Ambassadors…Judges of the Supreme Court…”

Card 3 Article I, Section 7, Clause 2: The veto. “Every Bill which shall have passed the House of Representatives and the Senate, shall, before it becomes a Law, be presented to the President of the United States; If he approve, he shall sign it, but if not he shall return it.”

Card 4 Tenth Amendment: Powers reserved to the States. “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution… are reserved to the States, respectively, or to the people.”

Card 5 Article I, Section 2, Clause 1: Direct election of the House of Representatives. “The House of Representatives shall be composed of Members chosen every second Year by the People of the several states…”

Card 6 Article I, Section 8, Clause 3; Interstate Commerce Clause. “Congress has the power to regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes.”

Card 7 Preamble. “We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”

Card 8 Article IV, Section 2: Supremacy Clause. “This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be made in Pursuance thereof; and all Treaties made, or which shall be made, under the Authority of the United States, shall be the supreme Law of the Land…”

Card 9 Article IV, Section 4: Republican form of government and protection against invasion. “The United States shall guarantee to every State in the Union a Republican form of government, and shall protect each of them against invasion… and against domestic violence.”

Card 10 Article III, Section 1: Supreme Court, lower courts, judges serve for life or good behavior. “The judicial Power of the United States, shall be vested in one supreme Court, and in such inferior Courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain…The Judges … shall hold their offices during good Behavior…”

Before you leave for lunch… Answer the following question in your notebook: How do these six principles illustrate the framers’ concerns about a government with too much power?

The Compromises… There were several compromises that the framers of the Constitution had to make before the Constitution was finished. The main issues were about Representation in Congress Slavery Individual Rights

The Great Compromise

Disagreement between large states (Virginia Plan) and small states (NJ Plan) Virginia Plan said representation would be based on population of a state. More people in a state = more representatives. NJ Plan said representation would be equal for all states. 2 representatives per state, regardless of size.

The Great (Connecticut) Compromise Resulted in a BICAMERAL (two chamber) Congress. Senate – representation based on 2 reps/state House of Representatives- representation based on population. Each state gets at least one.

Three Fifths Compromise Small states did not want the large states (which were almost all slave states, too) to get more representation based on their slaves, because the slaves were not considered citizens. Small states were almost all against slavery anyway. Large states wanted representation for the slaves because they were a large part of the economy.

Three Fifths Compromise The large states and small states came to an agreement. Each group of five slaves would count as three “people.” Therefore, each slave counted as 3/5 of a “person.” Clear evidence of the prejudice and inequality of the time.

The Slavery Question Non-slave states wanted to end slavery with the Constitution. They wanted to make slavery illegal. Slave states refused that because their economies were based in slavery. They compromised by saying that they would set the issue aside for 20 years, and no law about slavery would be made by Congress during that time.

The next set of compromises… Came when it was time to ratify the Constitution…. Birth of the Bill of Rights