The American Constitution 1788200

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The American Constitution1788-200-

• Americas Second Constitution

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Learning Objectives

• Identify the reasons the Articles of
  Confederation had to be replaced
• Describe the process the founding fathers went
  through in drafting the Constitution, identifying
  important compromises
• Explain the Madisonian Model
• Describe the debate involved in ratification
• Explain the Amendment process
• Describe how the Constitution has changed since
  ratification

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Key Terms

• Republic
• Separation of Powers
• Checks and Balances
• Popular Sovereignty
• Federalist Papers
• Bill of Rights
• Ratification
• Democracy

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• Foundations of the American Constitution
  Republicanism, Separation of Powers, Checks and
  Balances, Federalism
• The first American ConstitutionArticles of
  Confederation (1781-1788)was a failure.
• A. Reflected a fear of strong national
  government
• B. Based on a weak national congress
  which had no real power
• C. States retained all real power
• D. No president, just a presiding officer
• E. Could make important decisions only by
  unanimous consent.
• F. Failure of the Articles was an important
  experience for America

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Reasons the Articles Failed

• Economic Turmoil
• States had different currencies
• States had laws that favored debtors
• Shays Rebellion
• A series of attacks on courthouses by a small
  band of farmers led by Revolutionary War Captain
  Daniel Shays to block foreclosure proceedings.

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• The Economic Issues
• States had tariffs on products from other states
• Paper money was basically worthless
• Congress couldnt raise money
• Actions taken
• Powers of Congress strengthened
• Powers of states limited

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• The Individual Rights Issues
• Some were written into the Constitution
• Writ of habeas corpus
• No bills of attainder
• No ex post facto laws
• Religious qualifications for holding office
  prohibited
• Strict rules of evidence for conviction of
  treason
• Right to trial by jury in criminal cases
• Some were not detailed, but they were protected
• Freedom of speech/expression
• Rights of the accused

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• II. The Constitutional Convention of 1787 was
  called to amend the Articles.
• III. The delegates were appointed by their state
  governments. They were an
• A. Educated elite
• B. With Considerable experience in state
  government
• C. Included Washington, Madison, Franklin,
  Hamilton
• D. 74/55/39
• E. They were quite familiar with Locke, Hobbs,
  Blackstone, and other theorist.

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• They were all males from 12 of the 13 states
• Mostly wealthy planters merchants
• Most were college graduates (which was
  exceptional at the time)
• Many were coastal residents from the larger
  cities, not the rural areas
• IV. It took the delegates little time to realize
  that the Articles of Confederation could not be
  amended in a fashion that would create a viable
  government. The delegates decided that they had
  to write a new constitution

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The Madisonian Model was very Important

• Based on a Constitutional Republic
• Republic A form of government in which the
  people select representatives to govern them and
  make laws.
• Favors the status quo by

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The Madisonian Model

• Limiting Majority Control
• Separating Powers
• Creating Checks and Balances
• Establishing a Federal Systemtwo levels of
  government

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The Madisonian Model
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• VI. Delegates agreed with much of the Madisonian
  model. They agreed on
• A. The need for a republica representative form
  of government
• B. The need to divide power and authority to
  preserve it
• C. The need to compromise
• VII. The delegates also wanted to create a
  government strong enough to
• A. Promote private enterprise
• B. Protect private property
• C. Protect the nation from foreign and domestic
  conflict
• D. Preserve the spirit and form of popular
  government without indulging in "excessive
  democracy"

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• VIII. The delegates would after deliberation and
  compromise establish a government based on
• A. Popular Sovereignty
• B. Republicanismrejected direct democracy,
  aristocracy, monarchy
• C. Federalism
• D. Separation of Powers
• E. Checks and Balances
• IX. The constitution resulted from some major
  compromises
• A. RepresentationHouse vs. Senate
• B. No export taxes
• C. Slave trade could continue for 20 years
• D. Slaves counted at 3/5s for representation and
  taxes
• E. President could negotiate treaties, approved
  by 2/3 vote of Senate
• F. Congress would regulate both interstate and
  foreign commerce
• G. Bill of Rights would be added

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• X. Final Product 4300 words
• A. Three branches
• B. Separation of Powers
• C. Checks and balances
• D. Executive4 year termoriginally elected by
  Electoral College
• E. Congresstwo branchesSenate by State
  legislatures until 1913
• F. Independent federal court system
• G. Approved by 9 of 13 states by 1788
• XI. Created
• A. A conservative government with limited power
  that could be changed only slowly
• B. A constitution that could be adapted to
  changing times
• C. A system which at first could be impacted very
  little by elections
• D. A system that had to evolve over time to
  become a broad-based democracy

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The Origins of the Constitution
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• XII. Changes over time
• A. Rise of political parties
• B. Changes in the election of president and
  Senate
• C. Gradual inclusion of women and minorities
• XIII. Characteristics of a Democracy
• A. Values the individual over the state
• B. Political Equality
• C. Popular Sovereigntyrule by the people
• D. Majority rule
• E. Minority rights

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• IV. Operationalized by
• A. The right to vote
• B. Free and fair elections
• C. The right to run for elected office
• D. Freedom of expression, including critical
  views of the government, economy, and even
  democracy.
• E. The right to speak and consult alternative
  sources of information, including critical
  information.
• F. Freedom to form and join organizations
• G. Competition among political leaders to gain
  votes and other kinds of support
• H. Institutions and political practices insuring
  that political leaders gain office by winning in
  free and fair elections and leave office when
  they lose in a free and fair election.
• I. Constitutionally protected rights guaranteed
  to all.

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Three Major Compromises
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How They Dealt with Economic Issues
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Ratifying the Constitution

• Federalist Papers written to explain and defend
  the Constitution
• A collection of 85 articles written by Alexander
  Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison under the
  name Publius to defend the Constitution.
• Bill of Rights
• The first 10 amendments to the U.S. Constitution,
  drafted in response to some of the
  Anti-Federalist concerns about the lack of basic
  liberties.

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Ratifying the Constitution
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Preamble
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Democratizing the Constitution

• The original Constitution is rarely described as
  being really democratic.
• But, over time there has been a gradual
  democratization of the Constitution.

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Constitutional Change

• The Informal Process of Constitutional Change
• Judicial Interpretation
• Changing laws and Political Practices
• Technology
• Increasing Demands on Policymakers

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Timeline Key Points in the Democratization of
the United States
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Summary

• Serious social, economic and administrative
  reasons lead the founders to abandon the articles
  of confederation in favor of a constitution that
  set up a more centralized government
• The new constitutions set up a government with
  three branches designed to check each others
  powers consisting of
• A bicameral legislature representing the people
  (the House of Representatives) and the states
  (the Senate)
• An executive, a president chosen by the electoral
  college to serve 4 year terms
• A judicial branch with a supreme court and an
  independent federal court system
• The debate over ratification led to the addition
  of the Bill of Right designed to protect certain
  individual rights.
• The constitution has evolved over time to become
  more democratic allowing for more direct
  elections and the inclusions of women and
  minorities

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Appendix
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Amending the Constitution A Two-Stage Process
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The Connecticut Compromise
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Discussion Questions

• How do the following compromises made in writing
  the constitution reflect the various interests
  and concerns of the time?
• The Three-Fifths compromise
• The Connecticut Compromise
• The Bill of Rights

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Discussion Questions

• What does the small number of amendments to the
  Constitution indicate about the document itself?
  Is it a reflection of how well the system it
  created functions or how difficult it is to amend?

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Discussion Questions

• Given how the federal system created by the
  constitution has evolved over the past 200 years,
  has the system of checks and balances the
  founders wrote into the constitution been
  successful in creating the kind of government
  they envisioned?

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Discussion Questions

• As our society has become increasingly democratic
  is the electoral college still necessary or
  should it be abolished? Why or why not?