Origins of American Government

The English colonists in America brought with them three main

concepts:

Basic Concepts of Government

• The need for an ordered social system, or government.

• The idea of limited government, that is, that government should not be all-powerful.

• The concept of representative government—a government that serves the will of the people.

Important English DocumentsThe way our government works today can be traced to

important documents in history:

Why did the Americans want a new government in 1775?

Failure of English Constitution (collection of laws not 1 document)

Failure to grant liberties Based on Common Law Corruption was evident Nation of men restrictive of American

Rights

The Declaration

Document that declared freedom and grievances toward the King

Basis of authority should come from the governed (the Legislative should be more powerful than the executive)

Inalienable Rights

The Articles of Confederation

The Articles of Confederation

established “a firm league of friendship” among the States.

Powers

Congress was given the

power to declare war, deal

with national finance issues,

and settle disputes among

the States.

Obligations

The States promised to obey

Congress, and to respect the

laws of the other States.

Most other powers were

retained by each State.

What new government did they create?

Articles of Confederation Shay’s Rebellion-(revolutionaries that didn’t want to lose

their property) Rebelled against high interest and tax rates Governor wanted troops to quell rebellion, didn’t happen,

and he didn’t have a state militia Created a volunteer army that suppressed the revolution problem of internal security only exacerbated concerns

of external security

Articles needed revision

Federal vs. Confederate vs. Unitary Solution: Federal system that is democratic Problem with true democracies (mob rule) Majority becomes like a mob ignoring minority rights-you

still have to control those in power-laws are key how to limit the majority from abusing power “Tyranny of the Majority” Electoral College to control tyranny of the majority

Weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation

Common Features of State Constitutions

Common Features of State Constitutions

Civil Rights and Liberties

Popular Sovereignty

Limited Government

Separation of Powers and Checks and Balances

Separation of Powers

enumerated powers-national government powers, print money, make treaties, regulate foreign affairs

reserved powers-state powers, licensing, state commerce

concurrent powers-both state and national powers

A Call for a Stronger Government

• Representatives from Maryland and Virginia met at Mount Vernon, Virginia, in 1785 to discuss trade issues.

• This meeting became the constitutional convention

Creating the Constitution

Who were the Framers of the Constitution? What were the differences between the Virginia

Plan and the New Jersey Plan? What were some of the compromises on which

the Constitutional Convention agreed? What sources did the delegates draw on and

how did they react when they completed the Constitution?

Different Constitutional Plans

The Virginia Plan

• Three branches of

government

• Bicameral legislature

• “National Executive”

and “National

Judiciary”

The New Jersey Plan

• Unicameral Congress

• Equal representation for

States of different sizes

• More than one federal

executive

Constitutional Compromises The Connecticut Compromise

Delegates agreed on a bicameral Congress, one segment with equal representation for States, and the other with representation proportionate to the States’ populations.

The Three-Fifths CompromiseThe Framers decided to count a slave as three-fifths of a person when determining the population of a State.

The Commerce and Slave Trade CompromiseCongress was forbidden from taxing exported goods, and was not allowed to act on the slave trade for 20 years.

Influences on and Reactions tothe New Constitution

Influences The Framers were

familiar with the political writings of their time, such as works by Jean Jacques Rousseau and John Locke.

They also were seasoned, variously, by the Second Continental Congress, the Articles of Confederation and experiences with their own State governments.

Reactions

• When the Constitution was

complete, the Framers’ opinions of

their work varied.

• Most agreed with Ben Franklin’s

thoughts when he said,

“From such an assembly [of

fallible men] can a perfect

production be expected? It…

astonishes me, Sir, to find this

system approaching so near to

perfection as it does…”

What about individual liberty?

Who should be supreme as far as rights? Anti-federalists local gov with direct local control is better more expansive liberty and democracy small geographical region annual elections antifeds were disorganized and not unified

The Federalists

summed their views in a series of 85 essays, “The Federalist Papers” written under the pen name “Publius” (chief man)-Jay, Madison and Hamilton

national government is better to protect individual because unique ideas will be squashed by a majority

more ideas lead to more improvements (Madison) institutional safeguards against tyranny of the majority-

indirect election of senators and president, federalism, separation of powers

So why was there no Bill of Rights in the Federal Constitution?

Habeas Corpus-arrested person must go before a judge to know why they are being held

Bill of Attainder-law that declares a person without a trial to be guilty (not allowed) (Article I, section 9, clause 3 )

Ex Post Facto-law that makes an act criminal although it was legal when committed (Art. I, Secs. 9 (Cl. 3) & 10)

No religious qualifications for public office Trial by jury States also had bill of rights in their Constitution Bill of Rights could also be constraining (Establishment

Clause vs. Free Exercise)

Does the Anti-Federalist vs. Federalist debate still rage today?

States Rights vs. Augmentation of he Federal Government

The Constitution is Ratified Nine States ratified the

Constitution by June 21, 1788, but the new government needed the ratification of the large States of New York and Virginia.

Great debates were held in both States, with Virginia ratifying the Constitution June 25, 1788.

New York’s ratification was hard fought. Supporters of the Constitution published a series of essays known as The Federalist.

Amendments to the ConstitutionCollectively, the first ten amendments are known as the Bill of

Rights. They set out many of our basic freedoms.

Amending the Constitution

The Amendment process allows for peaceful revolution and reconstitution of the government in a specific fashion

Article V sets out two methods for the proposal and two methods for the ratification of constitutional amendments, creating four possible methods of formal amendment.

Formal Amendment Process

Details on the Amendments…

All 27 except for the 21st Amendment were proposed by Congress and ratified through state legislatures

21 was ratified through state conventions

Current Criticisms of the Constitution

Government too weak-causes gridlock Government too strong-tax dollars limit,

balanced budget

Is the Constitution a timeless document that should be continually protected?