The Constitution Chapter 2 Pearson Education, Inc., Longman © 2008 Government in America: People,...

The Constitution

Chapter 2

Pearson Education, Inc., Longman © 2008

Government in America: People, Politics, and PolicyThirteenth AP* Edition

Edwards/Wattenberg/Lineberry


Constitution

• Definition– A constitution is a nation’s basic law. It creates

political institutions, assigns or divides powers in government, and often provides certain guarantees to citizens.

• Sets the broad rules of the game• The rules are not neutral; some participants

and policy options have advantages over others.


Origins of the Constitution

• The Road to Revolution– Colonists faced tax increases after the French and

Indian War.– Colonists lacked direct representation in

parliament.– Colonial leaders formed the Continental Congress

to address abuses of the English Crown.


Origins of the Constitution• European Claims in North America (Figure 2.1)



• Declaring Independence– In May and June 1776, the Continental Congress

debated resolutions for independence.– The Declaration of Independence, which listed the

colonists grievances against the British, is adopted on July 4, 1776.

– Politically, the Declaration was a polemic, announcing and justifying revolution.



• The English Heritage: The Power of Ideas– Natural rights: rights inherent in human beings,

not dependent on government– Consent of the governed: government derives its

authority by sanction of the people– Limited Government: certain restrictions should

be placed on government to protect natural rights of citizens


Origins of American Government

• The writers of the Declaration were educated men, familiar with history and the important political philosophers of the age of enlightenment. The most influential philosopher was John Locke, who articulated his belief in natural rights. These are rights inherent in human beings, not dependent on governments. Natural rights include life, liberty, and property.


John Locke and Social Contract• “ IF man in the state of nature be so free, as has been said; if he be absolute lord of his

own person and possessions, equal to the greatest, and subject to no body, why will he part with his freedom? why will he give up this empire, and subject himself to the dominion and controul of any other power? To which it is obvious to answer, that though in the state of nature he hath such a right, yet the enjoyment of it is very uncertain, and constantly exposed to the invasion of others: for all being kings as much as he, every man his equal, and the greater part no strict observers of equity and justice, the enjoyment of the property he has in this state is very unsafe, very unsecure. This makes him willing to quit a condition, which, however free, is full of fears and continual dangers: and it is not without reason, that he seeks out, and is willing to join in society with others, who are already united, or have a mind to unite, for the mutual preservation of their lives, liberties and estates, which I call by the general name, property.”

• Sec. 123, Two Treatises on Government, John Locke

• Why did Locke think property motivated people to join a society (form a government)?


Locke’s Influence

• The sole purpose of governments to protect these rights. If a government fails to do that, the governed have a right to change the government. This was the colonists’ justification for independence.

• Government must be built on the consent of the governed. It must also be limited government, restricted by the governed in what it is allowed to do.


Locke and the right of revolution

• “But if a long train of abuses, prevarications, and artifices, all tending the same way, make the design visible to the people, and they cannot but feel what they lie under, and see whither they are going; it is not to be wondered, that they should then rise themselves, and endeavor to put the rule into such hands which may secure to them the ends for government was at first erected…’

• Second Treatise, §225• Based on the above statement by John Locke, what right do

the people have?•



• Winning Independence– In 1783, the American colonies prevailed in their war

against England.• The “Conservative” Revolution– Restored rights the colonists felt they had lost– *Americans truly had self-rule, but no long term major

change in the kinds of people who governed– Not a major change of lifestyles– No significant redistribution of wealth


United States?

• “We are one nation today and 13 tomorrow. Who will treat us on such terms.” What did George Washington mean by this?


The Government That Failed

• The Articles of Confederation– The first document to govern the United States, it

was adopted in 1777 and ratified in 1781.– It established a confederation, a “league of

friendship and perpetual union” among 13 states and former colonies.

– A confederation is a loose alliance of sovereign states.


The Government That Failed: The Articles of Confederation

– A confederation is a loose alliance of sovereign states.– 13 little republics– Congress had few powers; there was no president (no

single executive)or national court system.– Congress had only one house, and each state had an equal

vote.– Congress had no power to tax or regulate commerce.– Congress had no power to force the states to obey.– All government power rested in the states.



• What were some important changes that took place in the States in the years following the Dec. of Ind.?– Liberalized voting laws increased political participation

and power among a new middle class.– An expanding economic middle class of farmers and

craft workers counterbalanced the power of the old elite of professionals and wealthy merchants. The middle class were now dominating state legislatures in most northern states, and gaining a greater share of seats in the South. (The elites did not like this.)

– Ideas of equality spread and democracy took hold.


The Government that Failed


The Articles of Confederation and the Critical Period

Problems with the states

• Congress had very little power over the individual states.

• Congress had no power to regulate foreign or interstate commerce. (This meant each state could enter into trade agreements with other nations as well as conduct trade as it saw fit with the other American states.)

• This led to trade disputes and the threat of war between several states.

• Congress could not settle disputes between states because there was no national court system.

Problems with foreign nations

• Because it was so weak, Congress had trouble taking advantage of the territory that the United States had won in the Treaty of Paris.

• The British did not leave their forts in the Great Lakes region.

• The British and their Native American allies kept American settlers out of the Northwest Territory.

• Negotiating with Spain about uses of the Mississippi and port of New Orleans was difficult.

European nations did not take the new nation seriously.

Spain forbade American trade with New Orleans.

Britain denied American ships access to the British West Indies and the right to export goods to Britain on American ships.

Britain kept soldiers in frontier forts located in the Northwest Territory.

Frustration and Concern among Nationalists

• “We are one nation today and 13 tomorrow. Who will treat us on such terms.” What did George Washington mean by this?


Frustration Among Nationalists• “We may indeed with propriety be said to have reached

almost the last stage of national humiliation. There is scarcely anything that can wound the pride, or degrade the character of an independent nation, which we do not experience…Do we owe debts to foreigners and to our own citizens contracted in a time of imminent peril..?...Have we valuable territories and important posts in the possession of a foreign power, which by express stipulations have ought long since to have been surrendered?...Are we entitled by nature and compact to a free participation in the navigation of the Mississippi?...”

• Alexander Hamilton, Federalist #15 (1788)



• Economic Turmoil–Postwar depression left farmers unable to

pay debts– State governments struggled to pay off

Revolutionary War debts; this included taxing already overburdened farmers– Some State legislatures were sympathetic

to farmers and passed laws that favored debtors over creditors



Colonial elites, most of whom were nationalists and also tended to be creditors, grew increasingly alarmed

–Congress had no power to tax or regulate trade, nor any power to force states to obey its laws



• Shays’ Rebellion–Massachusetts farmers, already struggling to pay their mortgages in the midst of a recession, were confronted with even higher taxes levied on them by the state legislature.–Farmers felt the state’s debt burden shouldn’t fall unfairly upon them.–Series of attacks on courthouses by a small band of farmers led by Revolutionary War Captain Daniel Shays to block foreclosure proceedings.–Economic elite concerned about Articles’ inability to limit these violations of individual’s property rights


Shays’ Rebellion

• In 1768, former revolutionary officer, Daniel Shays led an armed uprising of farmers.

• State troops finally ended the rebellion after rebels attacked state courts and a federal arsenal. Shays fled to Vermont.

Shays’ RebellionCauses of Shays’ Rebellion• In order to help pay off its large debts,

Massachusetts passed the heaviest direct tax ever. This tax had to be paid in specie, gold or silver coin, rather than paper money.

• A group of farmers led by Daniel Shays rebelled against these taxes in a crisis which came to be known as Shays’ Rebellion.

• Farmers drove off tax collectors and forced courts to close when their petitions were rejected. Soon, open conflict raged as angry crowds rioted.

What were the effects of Shays’ Rebellion?

• Congress had no money to raise an army to counter Shays’ Rebellion. It also could not force states to pay for one.

• The Massachusetts state government raised an army that quieted the rebellion.

• However, Shays’ Rebellion demonstrated to many prominent Americans that a stronger national government was needed to avoid civil unrest.


• The Aborted Annapolis Meeting– An attempt to discuss changes to the Articles of

Confederation in September 1786– Attended by only 12 delegates from 5 states– Called for a meeting in May 1787 to further

discuss changes—the Constitutional Convention


Constitutional Convention

• The Philadelphia meeting, held in 1787 to revise the Articles of Confederation, turned into the Constitutional Convention. Instead of revising the Articles, it would replace them with something new.– What significance might

this building have had for the Constitutional Convention?

Making a Constitution:The Philadelphia Convention

• Gentlemen in Philadelphia– 55 men from 12 of the 13 states– Mostly wealthy planters & merchants– Most were college graduates with some political

experience– Many were coastal residents from the larger

cities, not the rural areas– These men were instructed to “revise” the Articles

of Confederation


The Philadelphia Convention, continued

Philosophy into Action– Human Nature: The Framers had a cynical view of human nature. People, they

thought, were self-interested. They believed that government should play a role in containing the natural self-interest of the people.

– Political Conflict: Unequal distribution of wealth -which leads to factions – is the main source of political conflict. The Framers intended to check the power of factions (interest groups).

– Object of Government: The Framers saw the preservation of property as main object of government.

– Nature of Government: The secret to good government is “balanced” government. This means gov’t where power is set against power so that no one faction rises above and overwhelms another . A system of separation of powers & checks and balances was set up.


The Agenda in Philadelphia

The Equality Issues– Equality and Representation of the States

• New Jersey Plan—equal representation in states• Virginia Plan—population-based representation• Connecticut Compromise (Great Compromise) – bicameral

legislature; House of Representatives (proportional); The Senate (equal representatives for each State) Each state would have at least one representative in the House and 2 Senators regardless of population. (Bills must pass both houses of Congress in identical form before going to the President.)

– Slavery• Three-fifths compromise

– Political Equality and voting left to states



• The Economic Issues– States had tariffs on products from other states– Paper money was basically worthless– Congress couldn’t raise money– Actions taken:• Powers of Congress to be strengthened• Powers of states to be limited



• The Individual Rights Issues– Some were written into the Constitution:

• Prohibits suspension of writ of habeas corpus• No bills of attainder• No ex post facto laws• Religious qualifications for holding office prohibited• Strict rules of evidence for conviction of treason• Right to trial by jury in criminal cases

– Some were not specified• Freedom of speech and expression• Rights of the accused


The Constitution

• Did the Constitution “stop” the democratic impulses of the revolution, or was it a continuation of the democratic spirit unleashed by the struggle for America independence?

• Was the Constitution more about protecting the wealth of the elites who were behind its creation than it was about creating good government for all?

• Which best fulfilled the principles for which the Revolutionary War was fought – the Articles of Confederation or the Federal Constitution?


Framers’ Philosophy

• Voices of Freedom p. 258 Federalist #51 • “If men were angels, no government would be necessary … In

framing a government … the great difficulty …first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place control itself.”

• • The Madisonian System• How does the Constitution reflect the Framers’ concern that

“Liberty may be endangered by the abuses of liberty as well as the abuses of power”?


The Madisonian Model

• Madison was concerned that the people themselves, as a majority, could become just as much a threat to liberty as one man or a group of men in power. To prevent a tyranny by the people – the majority (abuse of some peoples’ liberty by others ), as well as a tyranny of the government (abuse of liberty by those with authority), James Madison proposed a government of:– Limiting Majority Control– Separating Powers– Creating Checks and BalancesThis (Madisonian System) is “balanced” government. It is also a

system which makes change very difficult.


The Madisonian Model/System

• Limiting Majority Control: Madison believed that to prevent tyranny by the majority, it was essential to keep most of the government beyond their control. His plan placed only one element of government, the House of Representatives, within the control of the majority.

• Separating Powers: Our Constitution follows Madison’s belief that the powers of government should be separated and each branch, legislative, executive, and judicial, are relatively independent of one another so that no single branch could control the others.


The Madisonian Model/System

• Checks and Balances: Because powers are not completely separate, each branch requires the consent of the others for many of its actions. A system of checks and balances follows Madison’s goal of setting power against power to constrain government actions.

• A Federal System: While not called for by Madison, the final Constitution established a federal system of government that divided the power of government between a national government and the individual states. Most day to day activity occurs in the states. This is an additional check on the national government.


The Madisonian Model• The Constitution and the Electoral Process: The Original

Plan (Figure 2.2)



• The Constitutional Republic– Republic: A form of government in which the people select

representatives to govern them and make laws– Balanced government: a government which sets one

power against another; the principles of separation of powers and checks and balances prevents concentrated power and serves as a check on the majority’s ability to impose its will on the minority

– Favors the status quo – change is slow


Ratification of the Constitution

• The End of the Beginning– The Constitution was approved by the delegates, but not

unanimously. Now it had to be ratified (formally approved). This required approval by ¾ of the states in special ratifying conventions. (That’s 9 out of 13 states.)

– Opposition to the Constitution was strong; ratification was far from assured.


The Debate Over the Constitution “The Federalist”

• To generate support for the Constitution James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay composed a series of 85 essays that appeared in newspapers under the pen name Publius and were gathered as a book, The Federalist in 1788.

• Hamilton and Madison repeated again and again that rather than posing as a danger to Americans’ liberties, the Constitution in fact protected them.


The Debate Over the Constitution “The Federalist”

• Hamilton argued that government power was not to be feared. One had more to fear from the instability that resulted from weak government. Government was an expression of freedom, not its enemy.

• Any government could become oppressive, but with checks and balances and separation of powers, the Constitution made political tyranny almost impossible.

• Hamilton argued that the problems that afflicted the nation resulted from the weakness of the national government under the Articles of Confederation.


“Extend the Sphere”

• James Madison also argued that the Constitution was structured to prevent abuses of authority.

• Madison argued that the very size of the United States was a source of stability, not, as many feared, weakness.

• “Extend the sphere,” he wrote. • In a nation as large as the USA, so many distinct factions (special interest

groups) – economic, regional, and political – would arise, that no single one would ever be able to take over the government and oppress the rest.

• Madison argued that the Constitution set up an “extended republic” – one where pluralism would prevail.


Anti-Federalists – Opponents of the Constitution

• Anti-Federalists insisted that the Constitution shifted the balance between liberty and power too far in the direction of the latter.

• Anti-Federalists repeatedly predicted that the new government would fall under the sway of merchants, creditors and others hostile to the interests of ordinary Americans.

• They argued that popular self-government flourished best in small communities, where rulers and ruled interacted daily.

• Some feared that the new president could become a king.• Some were upset that the Constitution protected slavery, while others

feared that Congress’s powers were so broad that it might abolish slavery one day.

• Finally, Anti-Federalists pointed to the lack of a Bill of Rights, which left unprotected such rights as trial by jury and freedom of expression.


Ratifying the Constitution



• Federalist Papers– A collection of 85 articles written by Alexander Hamilton,

John Jay, and James Madison under the name “Publius” to defend the Constitution

• Bill of Rights– The first 10 amendments to the U.S. Constitution, drafted

in response to some of the Anti-Federalist concerns about the lack of basic liberties



• Ratification– Lacking majority support, the Federalists specified

that the Constitution be ratified by ¾ of the 13 States in special state conventions, not state legislatures or certainly not by a direct vote.



– Delaware first ratified the Constitution on December 7, 1787.

– New Hampshire’s approval (the ninth state to ratify) made the Constitution official six months later.

– Virginia and New York had still not ratified.– They followed in June and July 1788, but by very

narrow votes. (The promise of a Bill of Rights was needed to win NY’s approval.)


Constitutional Change


Constitutional Change

• The Informal Process of Constitutional Change– Judicial Interpretation• Marbury v. Madison (1803): judicial review

– Changing Political Practice– Technology– Increasing Demands on Policymakers


The Importance of Flexibility

• The Constitution is short, with fewer than 8,000 words.

• It does not prescribe every detail.– There is no mention of congressional committees or

independent regulatory commissions.

• The Constitution is not static, but flexible for future generations to determine their own needs.


Understanding the Constitution

• The Constitution and Democracy– The Constitution is rarely described as democratic.– There has been a gradual democratization of the

Constitution.– Amendments were added which expanded both

the right to vote and protection of civil rights and liberties. (ex. 13th, 14th, 15th, 17th, 19th, 23rd , 24th, and 26th)


Understanding the Constitution

• The Constitution and the Scope of Government–Much of the Constitution reinforces individualism and provides multiple access points for citizens.–It also encourages stalemate and limits government.


Motivation in History: Charles Beard and the Founding Fathers

• In 1913 historian Charles Beard published An Economic Interpretation of the Constitution of the United States. “Whereas earlier writers saw a group of patriots, Beard saw a group of men who were personally interested in the fruits of their labor. As merchants, creditors, and public security holders, he concluded, the framers of the Constitution stood to gain materially from a strong government that would protect private property and pay off depreciated public securities.”


Motivation in History: Charles Beard and the Founding Fathers

• “Beard also argued that the clash over the Const. reflected a struggle between economic classes. On the one side were holders of ‘paper’ wealth-creditors; on the other side were the holders of ‘real’ or landed wealth-farmers and debtors. The Constitution was thus backed by a minority of Americans. Women, blacks, Indians, and those lacking sufficient property had no voice. More to the point, Beard contended that no more than 1/6 of qualified voters supported the Const. Thus it was hardly a democratic document, but rather was created by a propertied elite who sought protection from popular majorities.” (Thinking Through the Past, Hollitz, Third ed., p.86)


What Motivated the Framers?:The Bottom Line

• “The Framers were motivated by a number of factors, including political ideals and principles, a belief that the status quo was unacceptable, concerns about what would be politically palatable to the States, and likely some political and economic self-interest as well…”


Summary

• The Constitution was ratified to strengthen congressional economic powers, even with disagreements over issues of equality.

• Protection of individual rights guaranteed through the Bill of Rights.

• Formal and informal changes continue to shape our Madisonian system of government.


The Constitution Chapter 2 Pearson Education, Inc., Longman © 2008 Government in America: People,...

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