Creating the Constitution

2

A Limited Government

• Articles established a “firm league of friendship” among the states

• Bills were passed with nine of thirteen votes

• Amending the Articles took unanimous consent of the states

3

Structure of Government• Unicameral (single house)

legislative body

• Each state had one vote regardless of population size

• Congress given sole authority to govern the country

• An executive committee oversaw government when Congress was not in session

• Congress would establish temporary courts to hear disputes among the states

4

Powers Granted to Government under the Articles of

Confederation• Declare war and make peace

Make treaties with foreign countries

• Establish an army and navy

Appoint high-ranking military officials

• Requisition, print, and borrow money

• Establish weights and measures

Hear disputes among the states related to trade or boundaries

5

Powers Denied to Government

• No power to raise funds for an army or navy

• No power to tax, impose tariffs, or collect duties

• No executive branch to enforce laws

No power to control trade among the states

No power to force states to honor obligations

• No power to regulate the value of currency

6

Problems Facing the New Nation

• Trade with foreign nations. States often competed with each other over trade

• Financing the nation

• Not united. People strongly identified with their state A 1783 cartoon satirizing relations

between Britain and America

Trouble in Massachusetts• Debt problems hit Massachusetts farmers. Shay’s

rebellion

• Debtors jailed or sold into servitude

• Economic depression and lack of remedy from state legislatures increases frustration

Boston in 1787

8

The Constitution’s Origins

• Ancient Greece and Rome

• The theories of the Enlightenment

• Evolution of English government

• The colonial experience

9

Historical Influences on the Constitution

Classical learning of the Greeks and Romans

The Greeks

• Value of citizenship

• Role of the people in government

• Divided functions of government

The Romans

• Laws based on equity and justice

10

The Enlightenment

• Locke, Montesquieu, Rousseau• Political ideas

– The people are sovereign– Government is a contract

between the people and the government

– People possess natural rights of life, liberty and property

– If government abuses its power, the people can take it back

Locke

Rousseau

Montesquieu

11

The Magna Carta—1215

• English barons meet with King John at Runnymede

• No taxation without consent

• Respect property rights

• Follow due process in legal matters

• No unjust punishment

• Abide by the rule of law

King John places his seal on Magna Carta

12

The Declaration of IndependenceA. The people are sovereign

B. Government is a contract between the people and the government

C. People possess natural rights of life, liberty and property

D. If government abuses its power, the people can take it back

13

The Virginia Plan

• Proposed a strong national government

• Three active branches of government– Legislative

– Executive

– Judicial

• Two-house Congress with proportional representation

Edmund Randolph

Gouverneur Morris

14

The New Jersey Plan

• Single-house legislature

• Equal representation

• Plural executive elected by Congress

• Supreme Court chosen by executive

• Acts by Congress and treaties superior to state law

William Paterson

15

The Great Compromise

• The House would have proportional representation

• The Senate would have equal representation

The Senate buildingThe hall of the House of

Representatives

16

Compromises between Northern and Southern States

• Three-fifths of slave populations would be included in determining House representation

• The South agreed to allow Congress to have the power to pass tariffs

• The North agreed not to interfere with slave importation for 20 years

• Compromises avoided makingslavery an issue for debate

• Framers ended up merelypostponing a national calamity

17

Major Features and Innovations

• Separation of powers

• Checks and balances

• Limits on direct democracy

18

Major Features and Innovations (continued)

• Supremacy clause

• Federalism

• Amendments

• Ratification process

19

The Struggle for Ratification

• Congress agrees to send the Constitution to the states

• Ratification procedure called for direct input from the people and not the state legislatures or Congress

• Two distinct views emerged:

– The Federalists

– The Anti-Federalists

20

Federalists• Who were the Federalists?

• Central government essential

• Believed the Constitution addressed all the shortcomings of the Articles

• Provisions in place to check government’s power

John JayJames MadisonAlexander Hamilton

21

Anti-Federalists• Who were the Anti-Federalists?

• Central government had too much power

• The “distant” government would neglect their needs

• The Constitution favored the wealthy and commercial classes

• No protection of individual liberties

Richard Henry Lee Patrick Henry Samuel Adams

22

The Federalists’ “Hard Sell”

• Argued that the Constitution adequately addressed the country’s problems

• The Federalist Papers provided sound, reasoned arguments

• Portrayed the Constitution as the best—and only—plan available

23

Creation of a Bill of Rights

• Initially, the Constitution had no bill of rights

• Federalists agreed to include a bill of rights

• Bill of Rights drafted and approved in the first Congress in 1789

• Approved by the people through the amendment process in 1791

24

The Promise in the Bill of Rights

• Written rights don’t guarantee rights

• The Bill of Rights continued the dialogue on liberty and freedom discussed at the Federal convention

• 14th amendment: Federal and state governments are held accountable to not violate people’s rights

• Democracy is best practiced by people defending their rights

• The Supreme Court serves as the forum for continued dialogue over people’s rights and freedoms