Transcript The US Constitution

The US Constitution
Formation, debates, and ratification
Intro
• Problems with the Articles of Confederation (as discussed in the last
lecture) led many, particularly the more influential members of society, to
feel that there was a need for a stronger central authority
• Nation builders like James Madison and Alexander Hamilton called for
increased national authority to help deal with these issues
• The concerns voiced by critics of the Articles found a sympathetic hearing
among men who had developed a national consciousness during the
Revolution
• At a meeting in Annapolis (September 1786), delegates called for a
convention to amend the Articles of Confederation in order to avoid
anarchy and monarchy.
Words of George Washington
• “The consequences of.. [an] inefficient government are too obvious to
be dwelt upon. Thirteen sovereignties pulling against each other, and
all tugging at the federal head will soon bring ruin on the whole… Let
us have [government] by which our lives, liberty, and property will be
secured or let us know the worst at once.”
• Need to revise Articles of Confederation
A New Constitution
• Held in Philadelphia, May 1787- State House (Independence Hall)
• Very secretive. Window shut tight to prevent eaves droppers. No Press allowed
• Prominent wealthy and well-educated men took part in the
Constitutional Convention.
• Delegates quickly agreed the Constitution would create a ??
• The key to stable, effective republican government was …liberty and
power. This was the biggest issue at the convention and one that
would cause numerous issues that needed to be resolved
• The Constitution embodies ...
Strong central gov’t v. strong state gov’ts
• Strong Central: Authority from the people;
central/national/federal government should have more
power
• Strong state: Authority derives from the state; States
should remain stronger than nat’l gov’t.
• Compromise: Federalism refers to the relationship
between the national government and the states (a
division of power between the two).
Federalism
• Enumerated Powers (Federal):
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Foreign Affairs
Providing national defense
Regulating trade between states (INTERstate commerce)
Coining money
Implied Powers: Article 1, Section 8- necessary and proper clause, aka the
elastic clause
• Congress can stretch the powers of federal gov’t whenever its necessary and proper
• Reserved Powers (States)
• Education
• Marriage Laws
• Regulating trade within the state (INTRAstate commerce)
Discussion Question
•How is this different from the Articles of
Confederation?
Separation of Powers
• 3 Branches of government created to protect against an
abuse of power
• Legislative Branch- ??
• Congress
• Executive Branch- ??
• President, VP, Cabinet
• Judicial Branch- ??
• Courts
• Checks and Balances- in order to ensure that 1 branch
doesn’t get too powerful, each branch “looks over the
shoulder” of the others
Large States v. Small States
• Deals with representation in Congress- how is it going to be
determined?
• Large States (VA PLAN)-James Madison
• Congress should be split into 2 houses (bicameral)
• Delegates assigned based on population
• Small States (NJ PLAN)- William Patterson
• 1 house for Congress (unicameral)
• Each state gets 1 vote
• Compromise: “The Great Compromise”
• Bicameral Legislature
• Senate (Upper House)- equal representation (2 per state)
• House of Representatives (lower House)- based on population
Southern Plantation Owners v. Northern
Businessmen
• Tariff: Tax imposed on goods (imported or exported)
• Northerners wanted tariffs to protect their industries
from foreign competition
• Southerners opposed b/c they felt it would hurt their
trade
• Compromise: tax imports not exports-(Protective Tariff)
Discussion Question
•Why did the framers of the
Constitution fear Democracy?
The Limits of Democracy
• In some ways, the authors of the Constitution were just as
fearful of …as … and thus ...
• The Constitution left the determination of voter
qualifications ???
• The new government was based on a ?? and the assumption
that ???
• Federal judges would be appointed by the president.
• The president would be elected by an electoral college, or, in
the case of a tie in that body, by the House of
Representatives.
Northern States v. Southern States
• Dealing with how slaves should be counted in regards to
population and taxes
• North: slaves should not be … but should be …
• South: slaves should be … but should not be …
• Compromise: “3/5 Compromise”
• What is it?
Slavery and the Constitution
• Slavery divided the delegates.
• The words “slave” and “slavery” did not appear in the Constitution,
but it did provide for slavery.
• The South Carolinian delegates …
• The Constitution prevented Congress from ...
• The fugitive slave clause made clear that the condition of bondage
remained attached to a person even if he or she escaped to a free
area, and it required all states to help police the institution of slavery.
• The federal government could not ...
• Slave states had more power due ?
Constitution
• Delegates signed the final draft on ...
• The Constitution created a new framework for American
development.
• After 4 months the convention created a constitution with …
• Needed 9 states to ratify- approve it
• Issue is ??
Federalists
• Federalists (those who supported ratification) believed checks and balances
would protect American’s rights
• Believed a strong gov’t was needed
• Federalists tended to be men of …
• Federalists dominated the press, which ...
• The Federalist was published to generate support for ratification.
• Hamilton argued that government was an expression of freedom, not its enemy.
• Madison had a new vision of …in Federalist no. 10 and no. 51.
• Madison argued that the large ...
• Madison helped to popularize the liberal idea that men are generally motivated
by self-interest and that the good of society arises from the clash of these private
interests.
Anti-Federalists
• Anti-Federalists, who opposed ratification, argued that
the republic had to be small and warned that the
Constitution would result in an …
• ??? was the Anti-Federalists’ watchword.
• They argued for a Bill of Rights (A KEY ISSUE FOR THEM!).
• Anti-Federalists drew support from …
Ratification
• Madison won support for the Constitution by ...
• By mid-1788, the required nine states had ratified.
• Only ??? voted against ratification, but they eventually joined the new
government.
• Happened after passage of the Bill of Rights.
• Many of the underlying issues between Anti-Federalists and
Federalists are still part of the larger ideological divide in American
politics today.
The Bill of Rights
• Madison believed the Constitution would protect liberty
without the addition of a bill of rights.
• Still, to satisfy the Constitution’s critics, Madison ...
• In a sense, the Bill of Rights defined the “unalienable rights” of the
Declaration of Independence.
• Some rights, such as the prohibiting of excessive bail and cruel and
unusual punishments, reflected English roots, while others, such as
the recognition of religious freedom, were uniquely American.
• Among the most important rights were ... vital building blocks of a
democratic public sphere.
Documents that influenced the Bill of Rights
• Virginia Declaration of Rights ( George Mason)
• Reiterated the notion that basic human rights should not be
violated by governments
• Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom
• By Thomas Jefferson
• Outlawed the established church- that is, the practice of
government support for one favored church
National Identity
• The Constitution identifies three populations
inhabiting the United States:
• Indians
• “Other persons,” which meant slaves
• “People,” who were the only ones entitled to American
freedom
• American nationality combined aspects of both civic
and ethnic nationalisms.
Indigenous Peoples in the New Nation
• Indigenous tribes had no ...
• The treaty system was used with natives, and Congress forbade the
transfer ...
• The U.S. victory at the Battle of Fallen Timbers led to the Treaty of
Greenville in 1795.
• Under this treaty, twelve indigenous tribes ceded most of Ohio and Indiana to the
United States.
• The treaty established the annuity system—yearly grants of federal money to
indigenous tribes that led to continuing U.S. government influence in tribal affairs.
• Some prominent Americans believed ...
• Assimilation meant transforming traditional native life.
Africans-Americans in the New Republic
• The status of citizenship for free blacks ...
• America was seen as a melting pot of ??
• Many white Americans excluded blacks from their conception of the
American people.
• The Naturalization Act of 1790 limited naturalization (the process by which
immigrants become citizens) to “free white persons.”
• Many, including such prominent figures like Jefferson, began to
believe black Americans should ??
• Freeing the slaves without removing them from the country would endanger
the nation’s freedom.
Principles of Freedom
• The Revolution widened the divide between ....
• Even though many Northern States began to implement
manumission policies, these would impact later generations.
• In fact, despite the talk of freedom stemming from the Revolution,
slavery in the United States continued to grow in volume and
importance throughout the proceeding decades.
• “We the people” increasingly meant ...
• However, a new nation was established…now it’s time for
some politics!