Foundational Documents

1. Foundational Documents Shaping the US Government

2. Historical Documents SSCG2 Demonstrate knowledge of the political philosophies that shaped the development of United States constitutional government. a. Analyze key ideas of limited government and the rule of law as seen in the Magna Carta, the Petition of Right, and the English Bill of Rights.

3. Limited Government and Rule of Law Limited Government • In a limited government, the power of government to intervene in the exercise of civil liberties is restricted by law, usually in a written constitution. Rule of Law • The doctrine that no individual is above the law and that everyone must answer to it (including the government).

4. The Magna Carta - 1215 The History: In 1215, English nobles believed King John was abusing his power by forcing them to supply armies, equipment, and money for his many campaigns. Those who failed to do so were severely punished. A war transpired between the nobles and the king – a war that the nobles won. As a result, they forced the King John to sign the Magna Carta, or Great Charter.

5. The Significance: The Magna Carta was the first document describing the rights of Englishmen. • Government should be limited and not absolute. • Government should be based on the rule of law and due process of law. • Government should be based on an agreement between the ruler and the people • Representatives of the people should take part in government • The people should have the protection of basic rights including life, liberty, and property and against unjust punishment (trial by jury).

6. The Petition of Right - 1628 The History: The Magna Carta established some rights for noblemen but many rights and laws continued to be violated. More than 400 years after the Magna Carta was signed, a struggle between King Charles and Parliament led to the Petition of Right. In 1625 Charles I took the throne, dissolved Parliament, lodged troops in private homes, and placed certain areas under martial law. When Parliament returned in 1628, the representative forced the king to sign the Petition of Right, severely limiting his power.

7. The Significance: • Challenged the divine right theory & said even monarchs must obey the law of the land. • The Petition of Right limited the king’s power to tax people without the consent of Parliament. • Basic rights such as: • No cruel & unusual punishment • No excessive bail or fines • Right to bear arms • Right to petition • No martial law or quartering of troops • Jury of peers

8. The English Bill of Rights - 1689 The History: The English Bill of Rights, signed by William and Mary, established Parliament to have authority and set forth the rights and liberties of English subjects.

9. The Significance: • Shift to a CONSTITUTIONAL MONARCHY • It established Parliamentary supremacy. • Parliamentary right to free speech & debate • It included many basic rights: • Free election of the Parliament • No taxation w/o consent of Parliament • Right to petition the King w/o punishment • Reinforced: Right to bear arms, no cruel & unusual punishment, no excessive bail or fines

10. Enlightenment Philosophers

11. SSCG2 Demonstrate knowledge of the political philosophies that shaped the development of United States constitutional government. b. Analyze the impact of the writings of Hobbes (Leviathan), Locke (Second Treatise on Government), Rousseau (The Social Contract), and Montesquieu (The Spirit of the Laws) on our concept of government.

12. Hobbes Hobbes saw humans as naturally selfish and quick to fight. He believed that before there were governments, people lived in a state of nature. Here there were no laws, no enforcement. He was one of the first of his era to discuss the idea of a social contract between people and their government. In Hobbes’ view, people agreed to give up some rights and power in exchange for protection. • But Hobbes also believed that once the people agreed to hand over power in exchange for protection, they lost the right to overthrow, replace, or even question the government.

13. Hobbes Leviathan: Hobbes wrote Leviathan to explain that a strong central authority (an absolute monarchy) was the only way to avoid the evils of war. Hobbes believed a single sovereign, or ruler, should have total authority over the people. He believed that governments work best if all the power rested in one place in order to keep people safe.

14. Locke • John Locke was born in England in 1632. Locke considered becoming a minister, started his career as a doctor, but ended up as a philosopher and political scientist.

15. Locke Two Treaties of Government (Second Treaties of Government): In this book, Locke imagined a set of natural rights that human beings share. • These are the right to life, liberty, and property. • Life refers to the fact that people want to live and will fight to survive. • Liberty means that people want to be as free as possible to make their own decisions. • Property represents the fact that people want to own things that help them survive, such as land, food, and tools. • Locke believed these rights aren’t given to people—people are born with them. He believed the purpose of government is to end the state of nature and give people certain protections, especially natural rights. Locke believed a government can only be legitimate, or valid, if it is based on a social contract with citizens. • The people agree to give up some freedoms if the government agrees to protect everyone’s rights. Unlike Hobbes, Locke believed that if the government fails to deliver, the people should revolt and form a new government.

16. Montesquieu • Montesquieu believed people were so fearful in state of nature that they avoided violence and war. • He supported a government which had three parts: a king to enforce laws, Parliament to create laws, and courts to interpret laws. The government was divided into parts, and each part had its own purpose. Montesquieu called this the separation of powers.

17. Montesquieu The Spirit of Laws: • Stated that each of the parts, or branches, of government should be equal. • He worried that if one branch had more power than the others, people would suffer and lose their liberty. • To avoid this, he suggested that each branch have the ability to limit the power of the other two branches. Today, we call this the system of checks and balances.

18. Rousseau • Believed that a government’s purpose is to protect liberty, or freedom, and to help people get along. • Rousseau believed that the best form of government was a direct democracy.

19. Rousseau The Social Contract: • In order to have real authority, government must be based on an agreement, or contract, people make with society. People agree to give up some natural freedoms in exchange for protection. • If people disagree about what’s best, the government follows majority rule, or what more than half the people want.

20. Foundations of American Government

21. GSE SSCG3 Demonstrate knowledge of the framing and structure of the United States Constitution • Analyze debates during the drafting of the Constitution, including the Three-Fifths Compromise, the Great Compromise, and the Commerce Clause. • Analyze how the Constitution addresses the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation.

22. Declaration of Independence • Proposed by Henry Lee, drafted by Thomas Jefferson and approved on July 2, 1776. • Approved July 4, 1776 • Lists grievances (complaints) against the king about his abuse of power and explained to the rest of the world the violations of what we believed to be our Social Contract. • Relied heavily on ideas of John Locke

23. The Declaration of Independence “We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal” “They are endowed by their Creator with certain UNALIENABLE rights” “Among those rights are “Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” “To secure those rights, governments are INSTITUTED among men…deriving their powers from the consent of the governed” “But when a long train of abuses….it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.”

24. A Selection of Grievances…against King George III • For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us. • He has kept among us, in times of peace, standing armies, without the consent of our Legislatures. • For imposing taxes on us without our consent. • For depriving us, in many cases, of the benefits of trial by jury. • For cutting off our trade with all parts of the world. • He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burned our towns and destroyed the lives of our people.

25. GSE SSCG3 The student will demonstrate knowledge of the framing and structure of the United States Constitution. • Analyze debates during the drafting of the Constitution, including the Three-Fifths Compromise, the Great Compromise, and the Commerce Clause • Analyze how the Constitution addresses the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation • Explain the fundamental principles of the United States Constitution, including limited government, the rule of law, federalism, separation of powers, checks and balances and popular sovereignty • Explain the key ideas in the debate over ratification made by the Federalists and Anti-Federalists

26. Articles of ConfederationNovember 15, 1777 • First written constitution for the newly independent states • Granted most of the power to the states • The national government was supposed to provide common defense and protection of civil liberties (individual protections from government abuse). • There was only one branch of government: Congress

27. Weaknesses of the Articles • There was no executive (president) or judicial (courts) power • Unicameral (one house) Congress • Members of Congress served only a 1 year term. • Each state got only 1 vote (no matter how big or small population) • Congress could not collect taxes so they had to borrow from states • Congress could not control the currency in the states • Congress could not regulate trade/commerce • Congress could not make states obey the Articles. • 9 states were needed to make decisions • ALL 13 states had to agree to amendments to the Articles

28. Shays’ RebellionMassachusetts, 1786-1787 • To pay off debt, legislators passed a heavy direct tax on Massachusetts citizens. • It could only be paid in specie—GOLD OR SILVER—not in paper money. • Farmers in the west, already in debt, could not pay the tax. • Many had their possessions seized by the government for non-payment.

29. Helpless… • The government, with no army, couldn’t stop Shays and his men who ran off tax collectors and closed down the courts • A group of wealthy Bostonians finally raised a private army to confront Shays. • They were finally defeated in February, 1787. • Shays and a few others were sentenced to death.

30. Effects of the Rebellion • Proved that Americanswere willing to defy authority when it acted against the wishes of the people. • Also demonstrated that something had to be done to strengthen the national government. • Leads to the Philadelphia Convention.

31. Constitutional Convention • 12 of 13 states attended (Rhode Island did not attend) • 55 delegates in total (became known as the Framers of the Constitution) • George Washington chosen to lead Convention • Each state got one vote on matters discussed • The meetings were held in secret - no official records were kept • Madison kept most accurate diary – known as Father of Constitution

32. 3 branches of government Bicameral Legislature (2 houses) Both houses based on population Lower House (HofReps) – elected by people Upper House (Senate) – chosen by lower House Executive (president) chosen by legislature Judicial (courts) chosen by legislature Virginia Plan(The Large State Plan)

33. 3 branches of government Unicameral Legislature (one house) Equal representation from every state with one vote per state Didn’t matter if your state was big or small population Multiple executives (presidents) chosen by legislature Judicial (court) appointed for life by Executive and approved by legislature New Jersey Plan(The Small State Plan)

34. AKA The GREAT COMPROMISE 3 branches of government Bicameral Legislature (2 houses) Lower House (HofReps) – elected by people based on population 3/5 compromise Upper House (Senate) – chosen by lower House – 2 per state Executive (president) chosen by Electoral College Judicial (court) appointed for life by Executive and approved by legislature Connecticut Compromise

35. Three-Fifths Compromise • One difficult question remained…When calculating population, should slaves be included? • If slaves were counted, the south would be more powerful. • If slaves were omitted, the south would be weak. • In this compromise, every five slaves would be counted as three people for representation in the House and for taxes levied by Congress.

36. Commerce Compromise • The Commerce Clause allows Congress to regulate foreign and interstate (between states) trade. • The Commerce Compromise set the foundation for this: • Southern states were fearful that Congress would be controlled by commerce in the north rather than agriculture in the south. • Congress was forbidden the power to tax the export of any goods from a state or interfere with the slave trade for 20 years after the passage of Constitution.

37. How did the ConstitutionFIX the Articles? Articles Constitution 3 branches Bicameral legislature Executive Branch w/President Power to tax in House of Rep Commerce Clause Federal System (state and national) Formal Amendment Process • Congress only • Unicameral legislature • Presiding officer of Congress leads national gov’t • No power to tax • No power to regulate trade • State Power • 13 of 13 approve amendments

38. GSE SSCG3 Demonstrate knowledge of the framing and structure of the United States Constitution • Explain the fundamental principles of the United States Constitution, including limited government, the rule of law, federalism, separation of powers, checks and balances, and popular sovereignty.

39. Principles of the Constitution • Popular Sovereignty- Government gets its power from the consent of the people.

40. Principles of the Constitution • Limited Government – the government only has the power that the people give it the power to do. The government is not above the law. • Rule of law – a government and the officers are subject to the law.

41. Separation of Powers- the national government is divided into three branches so that no branch has more power than it should.

42. Checks and Balances- each branch is given powers over the other branches to balance the power.

43. Federalism- governmental power is divided between national and state power + =

44. GSE SSCG3 Demonstrate knowledge of the framing and structure of the United States Constitution • Explain the key ideas in the debate over ratification made by the Federalists and the Anti-Federalists

45. Ratifying the Constitution • 9 of 13 states needed to ratify (approve) the Constitution. • Conventions were set up in each state, bypassing the state legislature. • This process was, technically, “treason”.

46. Opposing Views: Federalists Anti-Federalists Against ratification Feared too much power in hands of central government Feared that there were no protections for civil liberties Led by Thomas Jefferson, Samuel Adams, Richard Henry Lee, Patrick Henry. • Favored ratification • Wanted a strong national government • Unified nation • Prevented states from acting like separate nations • Led by James Madison, Alexander Hamilton and John Jay • Produced “The Federalist Papers”, 85 essays which explained how the government would work.

47. Compromise: Bill of Rights Federalism State and national governments, each with their own powers National government Supreme • Federalists promise to add protections for individuals by amendment

48. Ratification Needed 9 of 13 states Delaware Connecticut New Jersey Georgia Pennsylvania Massachusetts Maryland South Carolina New Hampshire was the ninth and final needed vote Rhode Island became the last. • New York chosen as first capital • George Washington chosen as first president • New government started in April 1789 • Bill of Rights presented in June, 1789

50. Constitution Trivia • For 146 years it was never seen in public • In 1894 it was placed b/t two pieces of glass in the State Dept. basement • In 1921 it was moved to the Library of Congress (not displayed until 1924) • 19 days after the attack on Pearl Harbor it went to Fort Knox until Oct. 1, 1944 • Moved to National Archives in 1952 • Kept in bombproof, shockproof, fireproof vault with steel and reinforced concrete; kept on spring system to raise and lower each day