The Constitution
Chapter 2
OConnor and Sabato
American Government:
Continuity and Change
The Constitution
In this chapter we will cover
The Origins of a New Nation
The Declaration of Independence
The First Attempt at Government: The
Articles of Confederation
The Miracle at Philadelphia: Writing a Constitution
The U.S. Constitution
The Drive for Ratification
Formal Methods of Amending the Constitution
Informal Methods of Amending the
Constitution
The Origins of a New Nation
Colonists came to the
New World during the 1600s for a variety of reasons including
to escape religious
persecution,
to find plentiful land,
and to seek a new start
in life.
The colonists were
allowed significant liberties in terms of self-government, religious practices,
and economic organization.
Trade and Taxation
The
British followed a national policy of mercantilism.
The
colonists were outraged. Violent protests began.
The
Sons of Liberty were organized by Samuel Adams and Patrick Henry to act out
against the Crown.
First Steps Toward Independence
Stamp
Act Congress: Included nine of the
thirteen colonies in New York, 1765; representatives drafted a document for the
king detailing how their rights had been violated.
Committees
of Correspondence: Organizations
set up in each of the colonies to provide information about the British and to
help shape public opinion.
The First Continental Congress
The Continental Congress
met in Philadelphia in September and October 1774.
They were not yet
thinking of open rebellion.
They called for colonial
rights of petition and assembly, trial by peers, freedom from a standing army,
and the selection of representative councils to levy taxes.
The Second Continental Congress
King George refused the
demands of the Continental Congress.
Thus, the Second
Continental Congress convened on May 10, 1775.
Members were united in their hostility toward Britain.
King George sent 20,000
more troops and the Revolutionary War had begun.
The Declaration of Independence
On
July 2, 1776 the colonies voted for independence (except
New York, which abstained).
On
July 4, 1776 the Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence penned by
Thomas Jefferson.
The
philosophies that shaped the Declaration of Independence formed the theoretical
basis for the new government.
The First Attempt at
Government: The Articles of
Confederation
Described
a national government with a Congress empowered to make peace, coin money,
appoint army officers, control the post, and negotiate with Native American
tribes.
Retention
of each states sovereignty.
One
vote in the Continental Congress per state.
Nine
states needed to pass any measure.
The
selection and payment of delegates to Congress by their respective state
legislatures.
Problems Under the
Articles of Confederation
The
Congress had no power to tax. States coined their own money and trade wars
erupted.
Congress
had no power to regulate commerce among the states or ensure a unified monetary
system.
States
conducted foreign relations without regard to neighboring states' needs or
wants. Duties, tariffs, and taxes on trade proliferated with different ones in
each state.
More Problems Under the
Articles of Confederation
No
provision for an executive branch responsible for implementing laws of
Congress.
No
provision for a judicial system applicable to all the states.
Failure
to create a strong central government.
Daniel Shayss Rebellion
In
1780, Massachusetts adopted a constitution that appeared to favor the wealthy.
Property-holding
requirements for voting and office holding excluded the lower and middle
classes. State then enacted law
requiring payments of all debts in cash.
Outraged,
former Revolutionary War captain Daniel Shays gathered 1,500 armed men and
marched on the state court to prevent the loss of their farms.
More on Shayss Rebellion
Congress authorized the
Secretary of War to call up a national militia to respond and appropriated
$530,000 for the purpose. Every state except Virginia refused.
Finally, a private
army put down Shays's Rebellion.
This failure of Congress
to protect the citizens and property of Americans was a glaring example of the
weakness of the Articles.
The Miracle at Philadelphia: Writing the Constitution
On
February 21, 1787, Congress called for a Constitutional Convention in
Philadelphia for the sole and express purpose of revising the Articles of
Confederation.
In
May, the convention met and the Virginia delegation suggested they throw out
the Articles and devise a new system of government!
This
act could be considered treason, so they adopted a pledge of secrecy.
The Virginia and New Jersey Plans
The delegates submitted
plans for a new government.
The Virginia Plan
proposed that sovereignty be vested in the people and not the states.
The New Jersey Plan
would have primarily strengthened the Articles by giving Congress the ability
to raise revenues and would have kept a unicameral legislature chosen by state
legislatures.
Constitutional Compromises
The Great Compromise: gave each
state the same number of representatives in the Senate regardless of size.
Three-Fifths
Compromise: stipulated that each slave was to be counted as three-fifths of a
person for purposes of determining population as a basis for representation.
The U.S. Constitution
Federalism
- power is divided among the states and the national government.
Separation
of Powers power was divided vertically through federalism and
horizontally through separation of powers among the three branches of
government.
Checks
and Balances - The power of each branch of government is checked or
limited and balanced by powers held by other branches.
The Articles of the Constitution
Article I - establishes
the legislative branch.
Article II - establishes
the executive branch headed by the president.
Article III - establishes
the judicial branch.
Articles IV establishes
the "full faith and credit clause" that mandates that states honor
the laws and proceedings of another state.
Articles IV
through VII - also include rules on the admission of new states to
the union, how amendments can be added
to the Constitution, prohibits religious tests for holding office, and set out
procedures for the ratification of the document.
The Drive for
Ratification
Federalists: favored a strong national government.
Anti-Federalists: favored strong state governments and a weak
national government.
Formal Methods of Amending the
U.S. Constitution
Article V creates a two-stage process for amending the Constitution:
proposal and ratification.
An amendment can be
proposed by two-thirds of both houses of Congress or
by two-thirds of state
legislatures requesting Congress to call a national convention to propose
amendments.
An amendment can be
ratified by a favorable vote in three-fourths of all state legislatures or by
such a vote in specially called ratifying conventions called in three-fourths
of the states.
Informal Methods of
Amending the Constitution
Judicial
Interpretation: in Marbury v. Madison (1803) the Supreme Court
declared that the federal courts had the power to nullify actions of the
national government if found to be in conflict with the Constitution.
Social,
cultural and legal change