U.S. Constitution

1. U.S. Constitution By Loren Miller

2. Constitution A constitution is the fundamental law of the land -- it creates political institutions -- it assigns or divides powers in government -- it often provides certain guarantees to people -- it provides for amending itself -- it can be written (like the United States Constitution) or unwritten (like the British) -- Before the French and American Revolutions, a constitution was conceived as something that evolved from a nation’s history or practice An ideal constitution should be flexible, concise and dedicated to fundamental principles.

3. Constitution A constitution is made by the people, and in democracies this means in a convention. That means that a constitution is influenced by the governmental experience and the social and economic backgrounds of those who attend the convention. What type of people tend to benefit when a new constitution is written?

4. Nation Year the Current Constitution Was Written United States 1789 Netherlands 1814 Argentina 1853 Canada 1867 Australia 1901 Austria 1920 Ireland 1937 Japan 1947 Italy 1948 Germany 1949 India 1950 Great Britain No Written Constitution Israel No Written Constitution New Zealand No Written Constitution

5. Constitutionalism in America The Constitutional Convention of 1787 had many antecedents: -- The Magna Carta (1215): English lords, traditionally required to finance a king’s wars, forced King John to sign the Magna Carta, a document guaranteeing their feudal rights and setting the precedent of a limited government and monarchy -- The Mayflower Compact (1620): After the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth, they formed a colony based on the Mayflower Compact, thus setting a precedent of a government established by contract among the governed

6. Constitutionalism in America -- The Colonial Charters (1624-1732): The colonial charters that authorized settlement of the colonies in America were granted by royal action -- The Declaration of Independence (1776): Members of the Continental Congress came to view a formal Declaration of Independence as necessary to give legitimacy to their cause and establish the basis for a new nation -- The Articles of Confederation (1781-1789): The national government was thought of as an alliance of independent states, not as a government “of the people.”

7. Role of America in the British Empire American colonists were theorizing about a federal government: -- was the British Empire federal or unitary? -- what rights do the people in the Empire have? -- when a conflict arises, who is supreme? Radicals – a distinct minority; the British played right into their hands by raising taxes and by over- reacting Majority – we need England to protect us, but in local matters we have control

8. First Continental Congress -- met in Philadelphia in 1774 -- brought together irregular delegates from every colony except Georgia -- discuss the emergency over Great Britain and its repressive measures -- seven weeks of discussion -- adopted a “declaration of rights” -- called for a second meeting to be held the following year Benjamin Franklin Carpenter Hall

9. Second Continental Congress -- met in Philadelphia in 1775 -- presided over by John Hancock and included Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, Samuel Adams, and Richard Henry Lee (all radicals) -- forced to step into the breach because the war had begun (the Battles of Lexington and Concord) -- conducted the functions of government, moving from place to place, until 1781 -- really just conducted the war, not the functions of government

10. Declaration of Independence A philosophical justification for independence -- primarily written by Thomas Jefferson and heavily influenced by the writings of John Locke -- a list of grievances against the King -- he has . . . . Declaration of Independence - Text Transcript -- “self-evident truths” -- “all men are created equal . . . .” 1632-1704

11. Articles of Confederation In the Second Continental Congress, William Henry Lee proposed the creation of a new government. A committee, chaired by John Dickenson, drafted a plan which was approved in 1777. This plan became the Articles of Confederation: -- state sovereignty -- concentration of powers in a unicameral legislature which met annually; each state had one vote and 9 of 13 were needed to adopt laws -- amendments required unanimous consent -- national government could adopt resolutions and issue commands but had no means to enforce them

12. Articles of Confederation Even before the Articles took effect, several leading statesmen were not pleased -- Washington, Hamilton, Jay and Madison believed that the powers conferred on the national government were inadequate Nationalists – revolutionary war officers, merchants, holders of certificates of debt Localists – freeland farmers who felt that the central government was too far away from the immediate problems of domestic life

13. Weaknesses of the Articles No power to tax (relied on the states to forward taxes) No power to regulate interstate commerce Each state had their own currency Could not protect western settlers from Indian attacks There was civil disorder as debtors openly revolted against tax collectors and sheriffs attempting to repossess farms on behalf of creditors who held unpaid mortgages (Shays’ Rebellion)

14. The Road to the Constitutional Convention Annapolis Convention (1786) -- called by Virginia to try to lower interstate tariff barriers -- only five states sent delegates -- most of the delegates were nationalists and they called for a new convention to meet the following year -- the convention was to meet in Philadelphia to propose the revision of the Articles of Confederation

15. The Constitutional Convention (1787) Who Was There? -- average age was 42 -- ¾’s had served in the Confederation Congress -- most had played a part in the Revolutionary War -- lawyers predominated -- most held important public positions -- about half were college graduates

16. The Constitutional Convention (1787) Who Wasn’t There? --Patrick Henry (he smelt a rat) -- John Hancock -- Richard Henry Lee -- Samuel Adams -- Thomas Paine -- Thomas Jefferson -- John Adams Patrick Henry John Hancock Thomas Paine

17. The Constitutional Convention (1787) Convention sessions were held in the old brick State House in Philadelphia in the room directly above that in which the Declaration of Independence was signed. Seventy-four delegates were appointed but only fifty-five ever attended. Most of the meetings were sparsely attended. The only state not represented was Rhode Island Washington was unanimously chosen to preside Each state would receive one vote Proceedings were to be kept secret; a secretary was appointed but Madison’s notes are the best record

18. The Constitutional Convention (1787) Consensus: -- all were supporters of a republican form of government -- all wanted a balanced (but limited) government -- most wanted property qualifications in order to vote -- most wanted a bicameral legislature -- almost all wanted increased power to the national government -- state constitutions and the Articles of Confederation focused too much on limiting government power, so this experience led to the creation of a strong national government

19. The Constitutional Convention (1787) Compromises: -- Connecticut Compromise -- Virginia Plan -- New Jersey Plan -- Commerce and Slave Trade Compromise -- Congress could tax imports but not exports -- Congress could not pass laws to end the slave trade until 1808 -- Three-fifths Compromise -- for the purpose of taxation and representation, slaves would count as 3/5s of a person

20. The Constitutional Convention (1787) The Limited Role of Religion: -- Most of the delegates were Christians (except for a few Deists) -- The review of notes on the debate at the convention reveals few references to religion or to God -- The few references that were made do not suggest that the Founders attempted to base the Constitution on an explicitly Judeo-Christian belief system -- The Founders viewed religion as belonging to the private rather than the public sphere -- Their primary concern was to protect the individual’s religious beliefs from the government, not to base a government on a particular set of religious principles

21. Franklin’s Closing Plea I confess that there are several parts of this Constitution which I do not at present approve, but I am not sure that I shall never approve them. For having lived long, I have experienced many instances of being obliged by better information or fuller consideration to change opinions even on important subjects, which I once thought right, but found to be otherwise . . . . the older I grow, the more apt I am to doubt my own judgment, and to pay more respect to the judgment of others. In these sentiments, I agree to this Constitution with all its faults, if there are such; because I think a general government necessary for us. Compare the actual signing of the document with the pictorial description . . . .

22. Articles of Confederation v. Constitution Element Articles of Confederation Constitution Selection of Members Appointed by state Representatives elected by the of Congress legislatures people; Senators appointed by state legislatures Voting in Congress One vote per state One vote per representative; One vote per senator Source of Congressional States National Government Pay Executive None President Judiciary No federal court system Supreme Court + Congress Body Authorized to settle Congress Supreme Court disputes between states Power to coin money National government and states National Government only Taxes Collected by the states; Collected and apportioned apportioned by Congress by Congress

23. The Struggle for Ratification Article VII – the Constitution will take effect when ratified by nine states. Because the Constitution placed many prohibitions on the powers of states, the Founders believed that special constitutional ratifying conventions would be more likely to approve the document than would state legislatures. The Federalists called for ratifying conventions to be held as quickly as possible so that opposition could not get organized.

24. The Struggle for Ratification The Federalist Papers were 85 essays written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison and John Jay (Publius) and published in New York newspapers.They are considered to be classics in political theory. The Anti-Federalist response (Montesuma or Philadelphiensis) claimed that the writers of the Constitution were aristocrats and that the Constitution would lead to aristocratic tyranny and an overburdening central government. They also demanded a bill of rights.

25. The Struggle for Ratification Scarcely a feature of the plan escaped attack: -- Patrick Henry and John Adams took offense at any proposal looking toward a centralization of authority -- Patrick Henry wrote “I look upon that paper as the most fatal plan that could possibly be conceived to enslave a free people” -- Northerners v. Southerners -- agricultural interests v. industrial interests -- the absence of a Bill of Rights to protect individual liberty

27. The Struggle for Ratification The promise of a Bill of Rights appeased Sam Adams and John Hancock. Ratification in New Hampshire brought the total to nine. However, New York, Virginia, North Carolina and Rhode Island had not ratified. The role of The Federalist Papers was instrumental in getting New York to ratify (30-27) and Washington was sworn in as president of eleven states. Rhode Island did not ratify until a Bill of Rights was proposed and they were threatened consideration as a foreign country.

28. Ratification Struggle

29. Amending the Constitution Article V

30. The Constitution: Difficult to Amend Since 1789, more than 11,000 amendments have been formally offered in Congress. Of these, Congress officially proposed only 33, and 27 of those were eventually ratified by the states. Two of these, Prohibition and its repeal, cancel each other out, so that for all practical purposes, only 25 amendments have been added to the Constitution since 1791.

31. The Constitution: Difficult to Amend Most failures were simply attempts to use the Constitution as an alternative to legislation for dealing with a specific public problem. -- Child Labor Amendment (1924) -- Anti-Miscegenation Amendment (1912) -- Balanced Budget Amendment (numerous times) -- Every Vote Counts Amendment (2004) -- Abolishes the Electoral College

32. The Constitution: Change via Interpretation Executive Interpretation: derived from the concept of inherent powers -- executive privilege: the “right” of the president to withhold information on matters of national sensitivity or personal privacy Legislative Interpretation: every time Congress enacts legislation, it must interpret the Constitution -- some legislation is so far reaching that they fundamentally alter the responsibilities and functions of government (e.g., Social Security Act) Judicial Interpretation: the power of judicial review -- interpretation of “equal protection” and “due process of law”

33. Basic Principle: Presidential v. Parliamentary Basic Difference: relation between the executive and the legislative branches Presidential: -- independently elected chief executive -- a gulf between the executive and legislative branches -- executive serves a fixed term -- executive chooses the Cabinet with little legislative input -- Problem: if Congress is dominated by one party and the president is of the other party Parliamentary: -- executive comes from the legislature -- conflict between the legislative and executive branches is not possible -- Cabinet (Ministry) is drawn from the legislature -- legislature’s function often is simply to accept and make legitimate the action of the Cabinet -- Problem: when no party is able to capture a clear majority

35. Basic Principle: Separation of Powers Montesquieu – Spirit of the Laws; check power with power by dividing authority Separation of power has required the cooperation of all three branches of government to operate (Madisonian Model)

36. Checks and Balances

37. Basic Principle: Single Member Constituency We have only one winner per election -- each state has two senators but they each run in separate elections This is responsible for the two-party system in the United States.