The U.S. Constitution

2. The U.S. Constitution What is a Constitution? • Document or set of documents that set forth the basic rules and procedures for how a society shall be governed • The United States did not start out as a Constitutional Democracy, rather the end of the Revolutionary War brought about a confederacy consisting of 13 independent states. • A Confederacy is where the people give power to the individual states who in turn give limited authority to a central authority.

3. Toward Independence Before the United States of America came into existence, colonial America was under the control of the British. • What led events led to the Revolutionary War? • Colonial citizens believed they had all of the rights of British subjects back home, however they were facing a variety of taxes and ordinances that were passed without their consent and that they considered oppressive. • Sugar Act of 1764 • Stamp Act of 1765 • Townshend Acts

4. Boston Tea Party • As taxes were raised as a result of the Townshend Acts, protests became commonplace in the colonies. • In 1773, the King granted the exclusive rights to sell tea to the colonies to the East India Company. • Angered over the taxes and the tea monopoly, colonists disguised as Indians dumped a ship load of tea in the Boston Harbor (Boston Tea Party). • The British reacted by passing the Coercive Acts and by sending more troops to the colonies to enforce the law, oftentimes violently.

5. The First Continental Congress In an attempt to present a united front about colonial grievances, Benjamin Franklin proposed a Continental Congress, which was held in Philadelphia in 1774. • Rejected reconciliation and sent King George III a list of grievances. • Adopted a compact to boycott the importation of British goods. • Agreed to hold a Second Continental Congress in May of 1775.

6. The Second Continental Congress The Second Continental Congress began with the thought of a possible reconciliation with Great Britain still in mind. • However, as a result of increased violence by British soldiers, reconciliation no longer seemed a viable option, and instead, an army under the command of George Washington was raised.

7. “Common Sense” • “Common Sense” by Thomas Paine • In order to get loyal British citizens to rebel against their country, Thomas Paine was commissioned to write a letter to be published in the colonial papers and distributed throughout the colonies. • “ These are the times that try men’s souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stand by it now deserves the thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. . .Heaven knows how to put a proper price upon its goods; and it would be strange indeed if so celestial an article as FREEDOM should not be highly rated.”

8. The Declaration of Independence The Declaration of Independence was written by Thomas Jefferson in 1776, and ratified by the Continental Congress on July 4th of that year. • Jefferson borrows heavily from Locke, including Locke’s notion of “natural rights” with the slight modification of “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness”.

9. The Articles of Confederation The newly independent countries would need a new rule of law to guide them. The Continental Congress set up the Articles of Confederation. •  National government with a congress able to make peace, coin money, control the post office and negotiate with Indian tribes • Maintenance of state sovereignty •  One vote per state in a unicameral congress  • Vote of 9 states to pass any measure  • Unanimous vote for an amendment  • State legislatures select and pay own representatives

10. Problems With the Confederacy The Confederacy would not last long, mostly due to inherent problems with the Articles. • Could not get 9 votes to conduct business  • Could not raise taxes to pay debts  • No central treasury to back currency  • No regulation of commerce  • No leadership  • No federal judiciary to deal with economic or boundary disputes 

11. Shays’s Rebellion (1786)  Revolt by Massachusetts farmers against heavy debts; helped convince states that neither the state nor federal governments were functioning properly. • Led to the Constitutional Convention in 1787 • Meeting by twelve states to revise the Articles of Confederation; ended up proposing an entirely new Constitution. • 55 delegates including James Madison, George Washington, Benjamin Franklin and, eventually, Thomas Jefferson.

12. Shays' Rebellion (1786) Daniel Shays led a protest movement of debt-ridden farmers facing foreclosures on their homes and farms. Demanding lower taxes and an issuance of paper money, they engaged in mob violence to force Massachusetts courts to close.

13. Large vs. Small States • The Virginia Plan • Madison’s proposal at the Constitutional Convention to radically strengthen the national government. • Bicameral legislature with proportional representation • National executive and a national judiciary, both chosen by the legislature • The New Jersey Plan • Counterproposal to the Virginia Plan, aimed to strengthen the Articles of Confederation but left the basic workings of the Articles intact. • One house Congress with equal representation in Congress • Congress given the authority to tax and regulate commerce • National executive chosen by the legislature, but national judiciary chosen by the executive.

14. Connecticut Compromise The Connecticut Compromise offered a third solution whereby legislative representation in the lower chamber is based on population and the upper chamber provides equal representation of the states.

15. Northern States vs. Southern States Compromises over the issue of slavery came in three forms. • The importation of slaves was permitted until 1808 but then prohibited thereafter • The three-fifths compromise said that while slaves were not considered people, they would be counted as three-fifths of a person for the purposes of determining representation in the House of Representatives • the Northwest Ordinance prohibited slavery in the western lands north of the Ohio River (eventually the states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, and parts of Minnesota), but also provided that fugitive slaves who escaped to the territory would be returned to their owners.

16. The Impact of Counting Slaves for Purposes of Representation

17. The Ratification Process Ratifying the Constitution was not easy as many voices emerged in opposition both to a strong national government and to the specific provisions (or lack thereof) in the Constitution. • Federalists were those who supported the Constitution and a strong national government during the ratification process. • Antifederalists were those who opposed the Constitution and a strong national government during the ratification process.

18. Federalists The Federalists included men like James Madison and Alexander Hamilton, who, along with John Jay, wrote the Federalist papers. • The Federalist papers are a series of 85 essays written by James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay arguing for the ratification of the Constitution.

19. Antifederalists The Antifederalists included men like Patrick Henry and Thomas Paine who had serious concerns about the Constitution. Two provisions in particular disturbed the Antifederalists. • General Welfare Clause • Gives Congress the power to tax to provide for the general welfare • Necessary and Proper Clause • Found in Article I Section 8, it gives Congress the power to pass all laws necessary and proper to the powers enumerated in Section 8

20. The Ratification Process continued The states selected special representatives to vote at ratification conventions. • The Constitution was signed by 39 delegates to the Constitutional Convention • It became effective in the states that ratified it after 9 of the 13 ratifying conventions passed it.

21. The Structure of the Constitution The final document was short, only seven articles long. • Article One established a bicameral legislature, with a Senate (upper house) and House of Representatives that had the power to tax and pass laws. • Article Two established the executive branch with a single executive known as a President who was chosen by an Electoral College, rather than through the direct vote of the citizens. • Article Three established a national judiciary with a Supreme Court that had final authority in the realm of appeals and original jurisdiction in special cases involving state disputes or foreign ambassadors. The rules governing the federal judiciary would be established by Congress, but the members of the federal courts would be nominated by the President and ratified by the Senate.

22. The Structure of the Constitution continued • Article Four explained relations between the states and the national government and set up policies for admitting new states . • Article Five explained the process for amending the Constitution. • Article Six contained the supremacy clause and the banning of religious tests and prerequisites for office. • Article Seven explained how to ratify the Constitution.

23. Constitutional Principles In addition to those things already mentioned, the Constitution also contained some very basic but important principles. • Federalism • System of government in which sovereignty is constitutionally divided between national and state governments. • Separation of Powers • Government structure in which authority is divided among branches (executive, legislative, and judicial), with each holding separate and independent powers and areas of responsibility. • Checks and Balances • Government structure that authorizes each branch of government (executive, legislative, and judicial) to share powers with the other branches, thereby holding some scrutiny of and control over the other branches

24. What’s Missing While the framers did a respectable job of establishing the new government, the new Constitution offered little in the way of individual civil liberties. • Federalists argued that it was not necessary or, even worse, potentially dangerous in that a list of rights could be perceived as a limit on rights. • Antifederalists, like Patrick Henry, felt that Constitution without a bill of rights would allow the government the right to trample on the civil liberties of individual citizens.

25. The Amendment Process

26. Checks and Balances

27. The Bill of Rights As part of the fight over ratification, the Federalists agreed that they would propose a Bill of Rights once the new Constitution was ratified. • The states proposed a variety of rights, but ultimately it was Thomas Jefferson and James Madison who delivered the final ten amendments that were ratified in 1791. • “A bill of rights is what the people are entitled to against every government on earth, general or particular, and what no just government should refuse, or rest on inference.” -Thomas Jefferson

28. The Bill of Rights continued • Freedom of speech, assembly, the press, and religion  • Right to bear arms  • Freedom from quartering soldiers in peace time • Freedom from unreasonable search and seizure  • Right to a grand jury indictment: protection against double jeopardy: protection against self incrimination: right to due process • Speedy trial and confrontation of witnesses  • Trial by jury  • Protection from excessive bail and cruel and unusual punishment  • Granting of certain rights does not imply the absence of others  • States’ rights

29. Expanding Rights: Other Amendments While the Bill of Rights offered civil liberties to some Americans, it would take many years before the Constitution was amended to protect most citizens against government abuse. • Civil War Amendments • 13th Amendment • Abolished Slavery • 14th Amendment • All people born in the United States are citizens of the United States and the State in which they reside. • States cannot violate the civil liberties of United States Citizens • 15th Amendment • Universal Male Suffrage

30. Other Amendments continued • 17th Amendment • Direct election of Senators • 19th Amendment • Universal Female Suffrage • 23rd Amendment • Citizens living in the District of Columbia can vote in Presidential elections. • 24th Amendment • Banning of Poll Taxes in Federal Elections • 26th Amendment • The right to vote for those over the age of 18.

31. Constitutional Interpretation The Constitution has also changed through interpretation. • Judicial Review • Authority of courts to declare laws passed by Congress and acts of the executive branch to be unconstitutional • But it was unclear in the Constitution that the courts actually had this power in the Constitution • Marburyv. Madison • Supreme Court case where the power of judicial review was established by the Marshall Court

32. Expanding the Power of Congress • In the 1930s Congressional authority to tax was expanded. Now Congress can tax for virtually any purpose not prohibited by the Constitution. • Congress has expanded its authority to regulate commerce.

33. The Rise of Parties Although political parties are not mentioned in the Constitution (and, in fact, Madison tried to limit their effects as explained in Federalist 10), political parties have played a major role in our Constitutional democracy since the beginning. • Hamilton established the Federalist Party • Jefferson and Madison established the Democratic Republican Party • Today we tend to have divided government, which is when one party controls the executive branch and the other party controls the legislative branch. This is not always the case. President George W. Bush faced a united government for part of his term in office, and President Obama began his term with united government.

34. Policy Making in a Constitutional System Checks and balances and federalism combine to make government inefficient. This means that policy making is more difficult in a Constitutional system than in a Parliamentarian system. • Death Penalty • 8th Amendment’s prohibition on “cruel and unusual punishment” • 14th Amendment’s prohibition on the state taking the life, liberty of property without due process • Furman v. Georgia (1972) • Gregg v. Georgia (1976)

35. The Death Penalty

36. Focus Questions • In what ways did the Constitution ensure that government would be responsive to the people? How has government become more responsive since 1787? • In what ways did the Constitution seek to control the popular will and ensure order? • In what ways did the Constitution seek to control government itself? • In what ways did the nation’s founding documents promote equality? In what ways did they fail to promote equality? • Is the Constitution a gate or a gateway to American democracy? Is it a gatekeeper? Explain.