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Chapter Two

Chapter Two. GOAL: What is a Constitution? Constitution Basics. US Constitution. 1. What Is a Constitution?. Document that describes organization’s mission, foundational structures, and its essential processes

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Chapter Two

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  1. Chapter Two

  2. GOAL:What is a Constitution?Constitution Basics

  3. US Constitution

  4. 1. What Is a Constitution? • Document that describes organization’s mission, foundational structures, and its essential processes • A constitution is a nation’s basic law. It creates political institutions, assigns or divides powers in government, and often provides certain guarantees to citizens

  5. 2. What is the mission of our U.S. Constitution?3. What are the foundational structures of our U.S. government?4. What are some essential processes set up by our Constitution? • 2. Preamble • 3. Three branches: Legislative, Executive, and Judicial • 4. Procedures for electing and appointing officials, making laws, ratifying/amending Constitution

  6. Basic Concepts of U.S. Constitution • 5. Ways each branch of government can monitor and limit the functions of the other branches. • 6. Primary governing functions are divided into three branches to prevent any from getting more powerful than another. • 7. Idea that people are the supreme power and give government its power….We the People • 8. A two-tiered government, comprising of the national and state levels….10th Amendment • 9. The Court has the authority to determine if laws or actions of the government are constitutional or not.

  7. Concepts • 5. What is Checks and Balances • 6. What is Separation of Power • 7. What is Popular Sovereignty • 8. What is Federalism—A Federal System • 9. What is Judicial Review

  8. 10. What court case established Judicial Review? • Marbury v. Madison

  9. 11. To approve or authorize the constitution • What is Ratification?!?!?!

  10. What Is a Constitution? • Mission • Foundational Structures • Essential Processes (WHAT, and HOW?) U.S. Constitution: • Preamble • 7 Articles • 27 Amendments

  11. GOAL:What is the historical context of the U.S. Constitution?

  12. Timeline of Independence and Constitution American Revolution Articles of Confederation New Constitution 1787 1789 1792 1781 1776 “Confederation” 1789 1775 Constitutional Convention War Over French Rev. First Elections Held George Washington Elected President -Takes office in 1789 -1st Congress Convenes July 4th 1776 Declaration Of Independence Washington Re-elected

  13. National Archives: Houses the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution

  14. Declaration of IndependenceJohn Adams clip

  15. Excerpt from the Declaration of Independence • When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation. • 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. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.

  16. State Constitutions and the Articles of Confederation State Constitutions were created immediately following independence The colonies effectivly became sovereign “STATES”

  17. America—The Confederation The first government of the United States was a loose confederation among the States.

  18. The ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION • Est. 1777

  19. Citizens of Each State Elects State Gov’t Citizens of Each State Elects State Gov’t NH NY NH MA MA RI RI CT CT NY PA PA NJ NJ DE DE MD MD VA VA NC NC SC SC GA GA Unicameral (one house) Congress Each State = 1 Vote No Executive No Executive No Judicial System No Judicial System Structure of Government under the Articles of Confederation:

  20. Articles of Confederation • Weaknesses: • 1. One vote per states, regardless of size • 2. Congress powerless to collect taxes • 3. Congress powerless to regulate foreign and interstate commerce. • 4. No executive branch to enforce acts of Congress • 5. No national court system • 6. Amendments only with consent of ALL states • 7. A 9/13 majority needed to pass simply laws

  21. Summary of Articles of Confederation • Essentially, there was no unity between the 13 states • Too difficult for the national government to make national laws let alone try to enforce the ones already in existence. • National govt. was at the mercy of the states

  22. The Articles of Confederation fail… New meeting = Constitutional Convention

  23. Constitutional Convention Philadelphia, 1787Those who attended (55) were have become known as the “Framers” of the Constituion

  24. Making a Constitution: The Philadelphia Convention • Gentlemen in Philadelphia • 55 men from 12 of the 13 states • Mostly wealthy planters & merchants • Most were college graduates with some political experience and familiar with different forms of govt. • Many were coastal residents from the larger cities, not the rural areas --Relatively young—average age was 42 and nearly ½ were in their 30’s. --Many fought in the Revolution

  25. The Framers James Madison “Father of the Constitution” Alexander Hamilton George Washington—Elected President of Convention

  26. Biggest Questions of the Convention: • What type of structure should replace the confederation? • How should states be represented? • Who should be counted into the population? • Who should head the executive branch? • PM or President, or Congress itself?

  27. The Virginia Plan • Called for a strong National Government with 3 separate branches. • It favored large States because representation in congress would be based on state population

  28. The New Jersey Plan • Called for a weak central government and a “plural executive” chosen by Congress • It favored small States because each State was given equal representation in the legislature.

  29. The Connecticut Compromise • Congress should be composed of 2 houses. • In the smaller Senate, the States would be represented equally. • In the House, the representation would be based on population. • So important it is often called the “Great Compromise” since It was ultimately accepted by The Convention

  30. The Three-Fifths Compromise • For every 5 Slaves in a state… • 3 would be counted

  31. On September,17, 1787, the Philadelphia Convention approved the Constitution. However, before it could replace the Articles of Confederation, it had to be ratified by 9/13 states. Battle over Passage of the Constitution

  32. Goal: • Differentiate between the arguments of Federalists and Anti-Federalists. • What are the main ideas of Federalist #10, #51, #78, and Anti-Federalists?

  33. Federalist v. Anti-Federalist • The Federalist favored Ratification of the Constitution. • Led by James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, John Jay • The Anti-Federalistopposedratification of the Constitution, because they feared a stronger central government and also b/c there was not a “Bill of Rights” • A Bill of Rights (First 10 Amendments) would later be added to the Constitution. • Led by George Clinton, Robert Yates, Mercy Otis Warren, Richard Henry Lee, Patrick Henry • The disagreement was the beginning of the two-party system in America.

  34. The Federalist Papers • A series of 85 published essays written by James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay. • In these papers, they argued in support of ratification of the Constitution. • The Federalist Papers serve, and continue to serve, as a primary interpretation of the Constitution, as they outline the philosophy and motivation of the proposed system of government.

  35. Federalist #10 • Among the numerous advantages promised by a well constructed Union, none deserves to be more accurately developed than its tendency to break and control the violence of factions……. • By a faction, I understand a number of citizens, whether amounting to a majority or a minority of the whole, who are united and actuated by some common impulse of passion, or of interest, adversed to the rights of other citizens, or to the permanent and aggregate interests of the community.

  36. There are two methods of curing the mischiefs of faction: the one, by removing its causes; the other, by controlling its effect. • There are again two methods of removing the causes of faction: the one, by destroying the liberty which is essential to its existence; the other, by giving to every citizen the same opinions, the same passions, the same interests…… • Liberty is to faction what air is to fire….. • The second expedient is as impracticable as the first would be unwise…..

  37. The inference to which we are brought is, that the causes of faction cannot be removed, and that relief is only to be sought in the means of controlling its effects. • If a faction consists of less than a majority, relief is supplied by the republican principle, which enables the majority to defeat its sinister views by regular vote…… • …..Extend the sphere, and you take in a greater variety of parties and interests; you make it less probable that a majority of the whole will have a common motive to invade the rights of other citizens; or if such a common motive exists, it will be more difficult for all who feel it to discover their own strength, and to act in unison with each other…

  38. …..Extend the sphere, and you take in a greater variety of parties and interests; you make it less probable that a majority of the whole will have a common motive to invade the rights of other citizens; or if such a common motive exists, it will be more difficult for all who feel it to discover their own strength, and to act in unison with each other… • ….Hence, it clearly appears, that the same advantage which a republic has over a democracy, in controlling the effects of faction, is enjoyed by a large over a small republic---is enjoyed by the Union over the States composing it.

  39. Federalist #10: • A: James Madison (Publius) • P: November 22, 1787 • P: What is going on during this time? Set the scene • A: Americans(N.Y)—especially those wavering • R: To gain support for ratification of the U.S. Constitution which set up federal republic—In response to Anti-Fed writings • T: A large republic will keep factions in check • S: Helped ratify Constitution, still used today primary interpretation of the Constitution, as they outline the philosophy and motivation of the proposed system of government

  40. Federalist #51 • Ambition must be made to counteract ambition. • But what is government itself, but the greatest of all reflections on human nature? If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary. In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this: you must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place oblige it to control itself. A dependence on the people is, no doubt, the primary control on the government; but experience has taught mankind the necessity of auxiliary precautions.

  41. Federalist #51 • A: James Madison • P: July 6, 1788 • P: What is going on during this time? • A: Americans (N.Y.) • R: To gain support for ratification of the U.S. Constitution which established federal republic • T: Separation of Power/Checks and Balances will prevent any branch from becoming too powerful • S: Helped get ratification—Still used today

  42. Answers: 1. To keep the others in check, system of checks and balances 2. Each dept have a will of their own, each dept be politically independent of each other 3. so they don’t rely on each other to act and therefore can act freely 4. Men abuse power and therefore need to be kept in check 5. the gov’t has to be able to control the governed but has to have limited powers 6. Legislative branch 7. dividing congress, giving the two houses two different means of election, fortifying the executive with veto power 8. power is divided between two distinct levels of gov’t, meaning state gov’t and fed and then each one subdivides into itself therefore double security; diversity of interests make it unlikely that tyranny will develop. In a small republic there is a greater chance that majority faction will develop and oppress the people. In a large republic there is less of a chance this will occur because the nation is so vast and such a multitude of interests exist

  43. Federalist #78 • …….the judiciary, from the nature of its functions, will always be the least dangerous…..The Executive not only dispenses the honors, but holds the sword of the community. The legislature not only commands the power of the purse, but prescribes the rules by which the duties and rights of every citizen are to be regulated. The judiciary, on the contrary, has no influence over either the sword or the purse….. • ….No legislative act, therefore, contrary to the Constitution, can be valid…… • ….the independence of the judges may be an essential safeguard….. • There is a further and weightier reason for the permanency of the judicial offices….to avoid arbitrary discretion in the court…

  44. Federalist #78 • A: Alexander Hamilton • P: June 14th, 1788 • P: What is going on during this time? • A: Americans (New York) • R: To gain support for ratification • T: The Judiciary is the least powerful branch, needs to be independent of other branches to keep them in check, need to keep justices term life to keep qualified and independent • S: Helped get ratification—Still used today

  45. Anti-Federalist XV • …they have made the judges independent, in the fullest sense of the word. There is no power above them, to controul any of their decisions. There is no authority that can remove them, and they cannot be controuled by the laws of the legislature…. • …The only clause in the constitution which provides for the removal of the judges from office…is for high crimes and misdemeanors… • …The power of this court is in many cases superior ot that of the legislature

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