Copyright © 2012 Cengage Learning 2 Constitution AP PHOTO/CHARLES TASNADI NORTH WIND / NORTH WIND...

Copyright © 2012 Cengage Learning

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CHAPTER 2: LEARNING CHAPTER 2: LEARNING OBJECTIVESOBJECTIVES

The Beginnings of a New NationUnderstand the origins and causes of

the American RevolutionDescribe the first national government

under the Articles of Confederation, its weaknesses and struggles



The Constitutional ConventionCompare and contrast the various plans

for the new Constitution and obstacles to agreement among the colonies

The New ConstitutionUnderstand how sovereign powers were

divided in the new government



The Ratification BattleEvaluate the advantages enjoyed by

those seeking to ratify the new Constitution

Assess the role that the Federalist Papers played in ratification

Explain the origins of the Bill of Rights and its role in securing ratification



Changing the ConstitutionDescribe the process of amending the

ConstitutionAssess informal types of constitutional

change, including different forms of constitutional interpretation


THE POLITICS OF THE AMENDING THE POLITICS OF THE AMENDING PROCESS: NOW & THENPROCESS: NOW & THEN

The arduous process of changing the Constitution produces few outright amendments

It can however, provide political victories to those who advocate change



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NOW… FIRST AMENDMENT NOW… FIRST AMENDMENT PROTECTION OF FREE PROTECTION OF FREE

EXPRESSIONEXPRESSION In 1989 the Supreme Court ruled that

burning the U.S. flag in protest was protected by the First Amendment

Numerous unsuccessful attempts have been made to overrule this unpopular decision via constitutional amendment


THEN… THE FIRST AMENDMENT’S THEN… THE FIRST AMENDMENT’S ESTABLISHMENT CLAUSEESTABLISHMENT CLAUSE

National Reform Association: a Civil War Protestant coalition - argued the war was punishment for God’s omission from Constitution

Unsuccessfully sought an amendment acknowledging God, and professing that civil governments derive legitimacy from God in general, and Jesus in particular



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Senator Charles Sumner(R.-Mass), a key supporterof efforts to pass the so-called “Christianamendment.”

THE POLITICS OF THE AMENDING THE POLITICS OF THE AMENDING PROCESS: NOW & THENPROCESS: NOW & THEN

Amending the Constitution “is a delicate endeavor and should be done only on the basis of the most clear and convincing evidence that a proposed amendment is necessary.” Nebraska Senator Ben Nelson

On average there has been just one amendment every 13 years since 1791


THE BEGINNINGS OF A NEW THE BEGINNINGS OF A NEW NATIONNATION

Colonial political structures through the early 1760s roughly paralleled England’s: Royal Governor Governor’s Council, and General Assembly

Diverse histories and economies provided little incentive for colonies to join together to meet shared goals


THE FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR: THE FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR: 1754 - 631754 - 63

The French fought the British for control of the North American empire

Treaty of Paris (1763): Gave Britain all territory from the Arctic Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mississippi River

New Orleans was ceded to Spain, an ally of Britain during the war


BRITISH ACTIONSBRITISH ACTIONS

Imposed measures to help pay war debts and share costs of the empire

Proclamation of 1763: Restricted the colonial fur trade

Sugar Act (1764): Increased duties on sugar

New duties on textiles, coffee, indigo wines

Doubled duties on foreign goods from England


STAMP ACT (1765)STAMP ACT (1765)Taxed the purchase of newspapers,

pamphlets, almanacs, and commercial and legal documents

Angry colonists attacked stamp agents, destroyed stamps, and boycotted British goods

Repealed in 1766, after English merchants complained about their loss of revenue



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Patrick Henry, a leading revolutionary who coined the phrase “Give me liberty or give me death,” speaking before the Virginia House of Burgesses in 1775.

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COLONIAL RESPONSESCOLONIAL RESPONSES

Intercolonial Stamp Act Congress: Met in New York City in 1765

First congressional body in America

Declaration of Rights and Grievances: Acknowledged allegiance to the Crown, but

Objected to taxation without representation


ADDITIONAL BRITISH ACTSADDITIONAL BRITISH ACTS

Townshend Acts (1767): Imposed duties on various imported items, and created a collection and enforcement board

The Tea Act (1773): Relaxed export duties and allowed the British East India Company to sell its tea in the colonies, undercutting colonial merchants


BOSTON TEA PARTYBOSTON TEA PARTY

December 16, 1773: Colonists disguised as Mohawk Indians

boarded ships in the Boston Harbor, and threw their cargoes of tea overboard

Intolerable Acts (aka Coercive Acts): Closed the port of Boston Revised the Massachusetts government Required that colonists quarter British troops


FIRST CONTINENTAL CONGRESSFIRST CONTINENTAL CONGRESS

September 1774: fifty-six leaders from twelve colonies (no Georgia delegates) met in Philadelphia

Encouraged colonial militias to arm themselves

Began to collect and store weapons in an arsenal in Concord, Massachusetts


LEXINGTON AND CONCORDLEXINGTON AND CONCORD

Massachusetts’ British governor general ordered troops to seize the weapons

Troops met a small force of colonial militiamen at Lexington

Shots were exchanged, then troops marched to Concord and encountered a much larger group of colonial militia

The American Revolution had begunCopyright © 2012 Cengage Learning


Top Ten Most Important Founders

SECOND CONTINENTAL SECOND CONTINENTAL CONGRESSCONGRESS

May 1775: All thirteen colonies were represented

Established a continental army and appointed George Washington as its commander in chief

Initiated independence for the colonies and the formation of a new nation, the United States of America.


THE DECISION FOR THE DECISION FOR INDEPENDENCEINDEPENDENCE

Common Sense: Thomas Paine’s publication which

converted many wavering Americans to the cause of independence

Declaration of Independence:Authored primarily by Thomas Jefferson Formally adopted on July 4, 1776Restated John Locke’s theories of

natural rights and social contractCopyright © 2012 Cengage Learning


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Declaration ofIndependenceFormal document listing colonists’grievances and articulatingthe colonists’ intention toseek independence; formallyadopted by the Second ContinentalCongress on July 4,1776.

THE FIRST NATIONAL THE FIRST NATIONAL GOVERNMENT: THE ARTICLES OF GOVERNMENT: THE ARTICLES OF

CONFEDERATIONCONFEDERATION Initially adopted in 1777, formally ratified

by all thirteen states in1781Created a “league of friendship” among

sovereign and independent statesThe sole body of the new national

government was a Congress, in which each state had one vote


LIMITATIONS OF THE ARTICLES LIMITATIONS OF THE ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATIONOF CONFEDERATION

Congress could wage war and make peace, coin money, make treaties and alliances with other nations, operate a postal service, and manage relations with the Native Americans

Congress had no power to raise troops, regulate commerce, or levy taxes, which left it dependent on state legislatures


ANNAPOLIS CONVENTIONANNAPOLIS CONVENTION

September 1786: only five states (New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Virginia) sent delegates

Called upon all thirteen states to attend a convention the following May “to render the constitution of the federal government adequate to the exigencies of the Union”


SHAYS' REBELLIONSHAYS' REBELLION

Daniel Shays was one of many debt-ridden farmers in Massachusetts, where creditors controlled the state government

Stormed two courthouses and a federal arsenal in protest against foreclosures on the farmers’ mortgages

Message: a weak and unresponsive government carried with it the danger of disorder and violence



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Daniel Shays leads a rebellion of farmers to a Massachusetts courthouse in 1786to protest the state legislature’s inaction.

THE CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION

May 25, 1787: delegates from 12 states met over four months

Primary concerns: 1. Foreign trade2. Economic radicalism3. Protection against Native American violence4. Worsening postwar economic depression



Washington was elected president of the Constitutional convention in Philadelphia.

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PLANS AND COMPROMISESPLANS AND COMPROMISES

Virginia Plan, aka “large states plan”New Jersey Plan Primary differences:

single vs. bicameral legislature

equal representation vs. representation based upon population

Both plans rejected a significant executive branch


THE GREAT COMPROMISE AKA THE GREAT COMPROMISE AKA THE CONNECTICUT COMPROMISETHE CONNECTICUT COMPROMISE Critical Features:

1. Bicameral legislature: Senate - two representatives from each

state House of Representatives - apportioned

by population

2. Guaranteed that all revenue bills would originate in the lower house


THE SLAVERY ISSUETHE SLAVERY ISSUEMaryland, Virginia, North and South

Carolina, each had over 100,000 slavesVermont, New Hampshire, Rhode Island

and Connecticut had 4000Maine and Massachusetts banned

slaveryAbolition advances were matched by a

slave population doubling every two decades



An iron slave coffle used to secure enslaved Africans in a chain gang

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COMPROMISESCOMPROMISES

Three-Fifths Compromise:Five slaves would be the equivalent of

three “free persons” for purposes of taxes and representation

Congress was forbidden from banning slave importation for at least twenty years



Figure 2.1 Concentration of Slavery (by County) circa 1790

Source: From the Web site for the “GIS for History” project at the University of Illinois at Chicago, http://gis.uchicago.edu/data.htm

THE NEW CONSTITUTIONTHE NEW CONSTITUTION

Governing principles: Popular Sovereignty Separation of Powers Checks and Balances Federalism Enumerated Powers Flexibility – a “living” Constitution



Figure 2.2 Checks and Balances in the U.S. Constitution


Benjamin Franklin at the time of the Constitutional Convention—statue, Franklin Institute, Philadelphia.

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THE RATIFICATION BATTLETHE RATIFICATION BATTLE

Federalists versus Anti-Federalists

Federalists’ tactical/structural advantages: Nonunanimous consent

Special “ratifying conventions”

The rule of secrecy

Winter conventions limited rural participation


THE FEDERALIST PAPERSTHE FEDERALIST PAPERS

77 essays James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay wrote explaining and defending the new Constitution and urging its ratification

Signed under the name “Publius,” and printed in newspapers and magazines

Collected, printed, and published in book form titled, The Federalist



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Portrait of James Madison, the “Father of the Constitution.”

AMERICAN GOVERNMENT AMERICAN GOVERNMENT IN IN HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE:HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE:

THE CONTINUING CALL TO THE FEDERALIST PAPERS

1905: Lochner v. New York - Advocates on both sides cited the Federalist Papers to bolster their arguments

1996: Clinton cited Federalist No. 51 to defend a controversial welfare reform bill



President Bill Clinton listens to former welfare mother Rhonda Costa in 1998. Two years earlier, Clinton signed a major welfare bill that shifted primary responsibilities for overseeing welfare to the 50 state governments.

JOYCE NALTCHAYAN/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

TABLE 2.3: RATIFYING THE TABLE 2.3: RATIFYING THE CONSTITUTION CONSTITUTION


BILL OF RIGHTSBILL OF RIGHTS

Thomas Jefferson and many others stressed the need for amendments to the Constitution expressly protecting fundamental individual rights

Ten of twelve proposed amendments were ratified by the required nine states by December 15, 1791, and comprise the Bill of Rights


CHANGING THE CONSTITUTION

The Formal Amendment Process Proposal:

1. Two-thirds vote of both houses 2. Two-thirds of the state legislatures request a

special national convention Ratification:

1. Three-fourths of the state legislatures 2. Special ratifying conventions held in three-fourths

of the states



Figure 2.3 How an Amendment Gets Proposed and Ratified

YOUR PERSPECTIVE ON YOUR PERSPECTIVE ON AMERICAN GOVERNMENTAMERICAN GOVERNMENT

University of Texas student Gregory Watson’s 1982 government assignment

Chose the amendment proposed in 1789, to forbid Congressional pay raises from taking effect until an intervening election had occurred

Given a “C”, but began his quest for ratification which was realized in 1992


YOUR PERSPECTIVE ON YOUR PERSPECTIVE ON AMERICAN GOVERNMENTAMERICAN GOVERNMENT

What amendments to the Constitution would you like to see implemented?

Would you be willing to sacrifice your own time, energy, and resources to organize interest group activities on its behalf?


INFORMAL PROCESSES OF INFORMAL PROCESSES OF CHANGECHANGE

How much discretion is justified in the process of constitutional interpretation?

Loose construction Open-ended interpretations utilizing

implied powersStrict construction A fixed constitution that can be changed

only by formal amendment, not by congressional action or judicial ruling


AMERICAN GOVERNMENT . . . IN AMERICAN GOVERNMENT . . . IN POPULAR PERSPECTIVEPOPULAR PERSPECTIVE

State of the Union 1/27/2010:48 million Americans watched live

coverage on one of 11 major TV and cable networks

Now that the speech is broadcast on the Internet and elsewhere, is this type of wall-to-wall coverage necessary?



Given increased polarization of the two major political parties, should the president use his address to build bridges, or to announce new (and potentially controversial) policies?

What would you like to see the president emphasize in his State of the Union Address?



Currently the opposition party is afforded a brief “response to the State of the Union Address” by one of its leaders live on all the networks -

Would you prefer a more direct give-and-take (i.e. a debate) between party leaders? Or is our current tradition of “duelling addresses” sufficient?



Obama giving the State of the Union Address with Biden and Pelosi behind him.

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NOW & THEN: MAKING THE NOW & THEN: MAKING THE CONNECTIONCONNECTION

The Constitution is the cornerstone of a political system that encourages discussion, debate, and sometimes conflict … while only occasionally being subject to formal change

How has the federal Constitution survived so long, and in nearly the same exact form as the original?



Secretary of State Hillary Clinton greets India’s Foreign Minister

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POLITICS INTERACTIVE!POLITICS INTERACTIVE!

Constitutional Technicalities ... Meet Political Reality:

Senator Hillary Clinton’s appointment as secretary of state: Salary increased from $186,600 to $191,300

Did this violate Article One, Section 6 of the Constitution and bar Clinton’s appointment?



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Former Attorney General William Saxbe

POLITICS INTERACTIVE!POLITICS INTERACTIVE!

www.cengage.com/dautrich/americangovernment/2e

December 2008, Congress passed legislation cancelling all salary increases made during Clinton’s Senate term

Is this Constitutional?

Are there any victims of this type of effort used to circumvent plain constitutional language?


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