The Founding and the Constitution

Chapter 2

The Constitution

• It was not carved in stone. It was a product of political bargaining and compromise, formed very much in the same way political decisions are made today
• George Washington chosen to preside over the Constitutional Convention of 1787
• It firmly establishes rule of law
• This is a safeguard for citizens, protecting them from arbitrary action by government officials

Declaration of Independence

• In 1776, the 2^nd Continental Congress appointed a committee to draft a statement of American independence from British rule.
• Written by Thomas Jefferson, drew on ideas from British philosopher John Locke
• Asserted that certain rights, which it called “unalienable rights” including life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness could not be abridged by government
• Declaration was an attempt to identify and articulate a history and set of principles that might help to forge national unity
• Following the Revolutionary war and the signing of the Treaty of Paris, American colonies claimed their independence

Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union

• 1^st written Constitution of the United States
• It was adopted in November 1777
• It was the country’s constitution for almost 12 years
• Primary concern: Limiting the powers of the central government
• They created no executive branch
• Execution of laws was left to the states
• Flaws:
• Federal government was too weak to enforce any laws
• Central government could not prevent one state from discriminating against other states
• Weak international position

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The Great Compromise

• An agreement reached at the Constitutional Convention of 1787 that gave each state an equal number of senators regardless of its population but linked representation in the House of Representatives to population
• The Virginia plan- plan provided for a system of representation in the national legislature based upon the population of each sate or the proportion of each state’s revenue contribution, or both (very biased in favor of the large states)
• The New Jersey plan-each state should be equally represented
• The first branch of Congress-The house of representatives would be apportioned according to state’s population and the Senate would have an equal vote regardless of the state’s size

The Three Fifths Compromise

• Agreement reached at Constitutional Convention of 1787
• Every slave would be counted as 3/5 of a person
• Slaves would not be allowed tdo vote
• The issue of slavery was the most difficult one faced by the framers, and it nearly destroyed the Union
• This agreement was probably necessary to keep the South from rejecting the Constitution

The Constitution

• Framers wanted to prevent “excessive democracy” of the state and national government
• Bicameralism- The division of Congress into two chambers
• Checks and balances
• Staggered terms in office
• Indirect election- electoral college rather than by voters directly

The Seven Articles of the Constitution

• Review handout

The Separation of Powers

• Stated in Articles I,II,III
• Three separate branches of government
• Different methods of selecting the top personnel, so that each branch is responsible to a different constituency (to provide a “mixed regime”
• Checks and balances- a system under which each of the branches is given some power over the others
• Presidential veto power over legislation
• Power of senate to approve high level presidential nominations

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Federalism

• The sharing of powers between national and state governments
• With the hope that competition between the two would be an effective limitation on the power of both

The Bill of Rights

• Gives rights and further protection to citizens
• It is the first 10 amendments
• There are a total of 27 amendments
• Review handout

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• Over 100 countries around the world have used the U.S. Constitution as a model for their own

Fun Facts

• The U.S. Constitution has 4,400 words. It is the oldest and shortest written Constitution of any major government in the world.
• The oldest person to sign the Constitution was Benjamin Franklin (81). The youngest was Jonathan Dayton of New Jersey (26).
• When the Constitution was signed, the United States population was 4 million. It is now more than 324 million. Philadelphia was the nation's largest city, with 40,000 inhabitants.
• As evidence of its continued flexibility, the Constitution has only been changed seventeen times since 1791!

Federalists and Antifederalists

• Hurdle faced by the new constitution was ratification by state conventions
• Federalists- Supported the Constitution and preferred a strong national government
• Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay wrote 85 articles in the New York newspapers supporting ratification of the Constitution
• Antifederalists- Opposed the Constitution and preferred a more decentralized federal system of government
• Argued that the new Constitution betrayed the Revolution and was a step toward monarchy.
• They wanted a bill of rights to protect against government