Prentice Hall PoliticalScience Interactive

1. Prentice HallPoliticalScienceInteractive Thomas R. Dye Politics in America Chapter 3 The Constitution: Limiting Governmental Power

2. The Constitutional Tradition • Mayflower compact • Legalized the Pilgrim’s position as a body politic • Colonial Charters (1624-1732) • Colonial Assemblies • Every colony in the New World had an assembly

3. The Constitutional Tradition • First Continental Congress • Many still hoped for compromise • Second Continental Congress • Battle of Lexington showed that compromise was impossible

4. The Constitutional Tradition The Declaration of Independence We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.

5. Articles of Confederation (1781-1789) • Goal: to bring the thirteen states together while allowing each state to remain independent • Adopted on March, 1, 1781 • Under the Articles, each state issued its own currency

6. Troubles Confronting a New Nation • Financial Difficulties • Commercial Obstacles • Civil Disorder Shay’s Rebellion (1786)

7. Consensus in Philadelphia • Liberty and Property • Social Contract • Representative Government • Limited Government • Nationalism

8. People in Politics: George Washington Washington’s prestige helped hold the Constitutional Convention of 1787 together and later won support for the new Constitution “First in war, first in peace, first in the hearts of his countrymen”

9. The Constitutional Convention of 1787: Conflict and Compromise 2 competing plans The Virginia Plan Principle author: James Madison National government would be supreme over the states Favored by populous states The New Jersey Plan Principle author: William Patterson of New Jersey “Confederation model” Favored by smaller states

10. The Constitutional Convention of 1787: Conflict and Compromise The Conflict State-based approach versus an individual-based approach The Compromise House of Representatives: Proportional; Senate: equal number of representatives from each state The Conflict The fact that Northerners hated slavery worried Southerners who feared that their greater representation in Congress would be used to end slavery The Compromise The Constitution was to protect the Atlantic Slave Trade for at least twenty years

11. The Constitutional Convention of 1787: Conflict and Compromise The Conflict If representation is proportional in the House of Representatives, how should slaves be counted? The Compromise Three-Fifths of the slaves in each state would be counted

12. Resolving the Economic Issues • Levying Taxes • Regulating Commerce • Protecting Money

13. An Economic Interpretation of the Constitution • Charles Beard,An Economic Interpretation of the Constitution of the United States (1913) • Delegates represented 5 economic interest groups: • Public security interests • Merchants and manufactures • Bankers and investors • Western land speculators • Slave owners

14. Protecting National Security • War and the military forces • Congress authorized to declare war • Commander-in-chief • Role given to the president • Foreign affairs • Only national government could enter into treaties

15. The Structure of the Government Decision-Making Bodies in the Constitution of 1787

16. The Electoral College At the constitutional convention, the founders considered several systems for electing the president • Direct election by the people • Election by the Congress • Election by the state legislatures

17. Separation of Powers and Checks and Balances

18. Trust and Confidence in the Three Branches of Government “As you know, the federal government is made up of three branches: an Executive Branch, headed by the President, a Judicial branch, headed by the U.S. Supreme Court, and a Legislative branch, made up of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives. How much trust and confidence do you have at this time in each branch--a great deal, a fair amount, not very much, or none at all?” (2000 Gallup Poll)

19. Conflict Over Ratification • The Federalist Papers • James Madison, Alexander Hamilton and John Jay • The “Brutus” Essays Federalists versus Anti-Federalists

20. A Bill of Rights

21. Canada’s Parliamentary System Constitutional Monarchy Rather than a separation of powers between the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of government as in the United States, governmental powers in Canada are concentrated in the hands of the Prime Minister and his Cabinet

22. Objections to the Constitution by an Anti-federalist George Mason Leading opponent to the new constitution “There is no declaration of rights; and the laws of the general government being paramount to the laws and constitutions of the several States, the declaration of rights in the separate States are no security.” “The judiciary of the United States is so constructed and extended as to absorb and destroy the judiciaries of the several states; thereby rendering law as tedious, intricate and expensive.”

23. Constitutional Change Constitutional Amendment Process

24. Constitutional Change Amendments to the Constitution Since the Bill of Rights