Chapter 2

The Constitution

Colonial Experience

Jamestown – first permanent English colony (1607) precedent for representative

assembly

Plymouth – Mayflower Compact (1620) precedent for social contract consent of governed adult males created, submitted to

authority of government

Selected Milestones Stamp Act (1765) First Continental Congress (1774) Second Continental Congress (1775) Revolutionary War (1775-1781) Declaration of Independence (1776) Articles of Confederation drafted (1777) Shays’ Rebellion (1786) Constitutional Convention (1787) U.S. Constitution (1788) Bill of Rights (1791)

Reading Exercise Consult the Declaration of

Independence (pages 359-360) What does Jefferson mean by

unalienable Rights? What are they? What is the purpose of government? What is the basis of government’s

legitimacy/authority? Under what conditions is Revolution

justifiable?

Key Ideas in Declaration

Natural Rights – individuals hold certain rights because they are human; governments cannot take away these “unalienable” (inalienable, can’t be transferred) rights; given to us by God Locke -- “life, liberty, and property” Jefferson -- “Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness”

Social contract – general agreement between people and government; people agree to give up some liberties so remainder are protected

Popular sovereignty/government by consent – all legitimate authority flows from consent of people

Right/Duty to revolt (Revolution) Adopted by 2nd Continental Congress (July 4, 1776)

Discussion Question

Why did Jefferson write, “…pursuit of happiness” rather than “property”? Let’s assume he wasn’t trying to cover

up plagiarism; Locke was widely read at the time, at least among the elite

What has been the effect of this phrase, “pursuit of happiness” on American politics?

Articles of Confederation Drafted by 2nd Continental Congress (1777) Article II guaranteed each state would

retain sovereignty Structure of government under Articles

Power flowed from the states to the Congress of the Confederation

Shays’ Rebellion (1786), although suppressed, illustrated the Confederation’s weaknesses, its inability to maintain order and provide security

Table 2-1: Powers of the Congress of the Confederation, 26

CONGRESS HAD POWER TO: CONGRESS LACKED POWER TO:

Declare war and make peace Enter into treaties and alliances Establish and control armed forces Requisition men and money from states Regulate coinage Borrow money and issue bills of credit Fix uniform standards of weight and measurement Create admiralty courts Create a postal system Regulate Indian affairs Guarantee citizens of each state the rights and privileges of citizens in the several states when in another state Adjudicate disputes between states on state petition

Provide for effective treaty-making power and control foreign relations; it could not compel states to respect treaties Compel states to meet military quotas; it could not draft soldiers Regulate interstate and foreign commerce; it left each state free to set up its own tariff system Collect taxes directly from the people; it had to rely on states to collect and forward taxes Compel states to pay their share of government costs Provide and maintain a sound monetary system or issue paper money; this was left up to the states, and monies in circulation differed tremendously in value

Constitutional Convention (1787)

Initially aimed at revising the Articles, but became much more…

55 delegates Secret proceedings Monarchist nationalists Democratic nationalists Delegates opposed to any national

government

Compromises in Drafting the Constitution Great Compromise – resulted in a

bicameral legislature, with one house based on equal representation (Senate), the other on population (House)

Three-Fifths Compromise – resulted in slaves being counted as “3/5” of a person for the purpose of determining population for representation in the House of Representatives

Discussion

Were the Great and 3/5’s Compromises necessary and appropriate? Congress outlawed the slave trade in

1808 (importation of slaves, not slavery; Article 1, Section 9)

What might have happened if the Constitution had not been ratified?

Constitution’s Key Characteristics Popular Sovereignty

Refer to Preamble, page 373 Republican/Representative democracy Limited government Separation of Powers and Checks and

Balances Dividing governmental powers between

legislature (makes laws), judicial (interprets laws), and executive (administers laws)

Providing checks on abuse of power Federalism

Separation of PowersBranch: Legislative Congress

Executive Presidency

Judicial Federal Courts

House Senate President Judges

Officials chosen by:

People

People (originally,

state legislatures)

Electoral College, whose members

are chosen by the people (originally,

by state legislature)

President, with advice and consent

of Senate

For term of:

2 years 6 years 4 years Life

To represent primarily:

Common people

Large states

Wealthy people

Small states

All people Constitution

Figure 2-1: Checks and Balances, 32

Ratification Federalists argued in favor of ratification;

supported strong central government Federalist Papers, Appendix C, pp. 391-

396 No. 10: argument for representative

democracy vs. direct democracy No. 51: Separation of Powers, Checks

and Balances, and Federalism Anti-Federalists opposed strong central

government Helped by promise of amendments protecting

individual rights – Bill of Rights (1791)

The Bill of Rights (1791)

First 10 amendments to the Constitution

Designed to protect individuals from a too powerful national government

Limited federal encroachments but not state violations until 14th amendment

Figure 2-2: Formal Constitutional

Amending Procedure, 37

Why Such a Difficult Amendment Process?

Two-step process: Proposal and Ratification

> 11,000 amendments considered by Congress

33 submitted to states; only 27 ratified

Fear of tyranny of the majority Oppression of groups or individuals

Modes of Constitutional Change

Formal amendment process Congressional legislation Presidential actions Judicial review Interpretation, custom, usage

Discussion

What are the strengths and weaknesses of: separation of powers? checks and balances? a difficult amendment process?

Hot Links to Selected Internet Resources:

Book’s Companion Site: http://politicalscience.wadsworth.com/schmidtbrief2004

Wadsworth’s Political Science Site: http://politicalscience.wadsworth.com

Emory University, School of Law, Constitution of the United States: http://www.law.emory.edu/erd/docs/usconst.html

National Constitution Center: http://www.constitutioncenter.org

Web Guide to the Constitution of the United States: http://tcnbp.tripod.com/webguid.htm