Download The Constitution

The Constitution: From
Ratification to Amendments
US Government
Fall, 2015
Origins of American Government — Colonial
Period
• Where did ideas for government in the colonies come from?
• Largely, from England
• Magna Carta (1215) limited power of the monarch — established limited government
• Petition of Right (1628) limited king’s power
• No taxes without Parliament’s consent, no quartering of soldiers, no imprisonment
without just cause
• English Bill of Rights (1689) further outlined limits on government and individual rights
• Parliament must consent to suspending laws, levying taxes
• People can petition government, have trial by jury, no cruel and unusual punishment
Origins of American Government — Colonial
Period, Continued
• Where did ideas for government in the colonies come from?
• Largely, from England
• New political ideas, such as: government is instituted to protect rights, and
people may abolish it • Colonies had constitutions: Mayflower Compact (1620), Fundamental
Orders of Connecticut (1639)
• Colonies had legislatures, like the House of Burgesses in Virginia
• Needless to say, also had representative government
The Colonies Unite for Independence
• The British tightened control on the Colonies after the French & Indian War
• Britain passed the Stamp Act in 1765 to increase revenue
• Colonies resented; in 1773 protested taxes by dumping tea into Boston Harbor —
Boston Tea Party
• Britain responded with Coercive, or Intolerable Acts
• Colonial Unity
• Albany Plan of Union, 1754: Proposed by Benjamin Franklin, but rejected
• Stamp Act Congress, 1765: colonies protested taxes on colonies
• First Continental Congress, 1774: imposed an embargo against British goods
Second Continental Congress, Declaration of
Independence
• Second Continental Congress, 1775: Assumed powers of central
government — organized army and navy, issued money, purchased supplies
• Congress also drafted Declaration of Independence, signed July 4, 1776
• Purpose: justify revolution, express founding principles of United States
• Three parts: statement of human rights, complaints against King
George III, determination to separate
• September 9, 1776: “United States of America”
The Articles of Confederation
The Articles of Confederation
• Shortly after the Declaration of Independence, the Second Continental
Congress presented a plan for government
• Government under the Articles — final version 1777, ratified 1781
• Unicameral — Congress with one chamber
• Each state had one vote, but could send representatives
• Congress could make war, approve treaties, send ambassadors, regulate
Indian Affairs
• Congress could NOT levy taxes, regulate trade, force anyone to obey laws,
and laws required 9 out of 13 states to ratify. All 13 had to agree to amend
The Articles of Confederation — Successes and
Weaknesses
• Shortly after the Declaration of Independence, the Second Continental Congress
presented a plan for government
• Treaty of Paris ended the Revolutionary War, but spend much time in Congress
• Northwest Ordinance organized land in the frontier region
• Shays’ Rebellion highlighted weaknesses in the Articles • Farmers revolted, protesting foreclosures
• Americans, including Alexander Hamilton, realized the need for a stronger central
government
• 1786: Annapolis Convention petitioned Congress to convene a constitutional
convention in Philadelphia
The Constitutional Convention
From Articles of Confederation to Constitution:
Compromises
• What were key compromises at the Constitutional Convention?
• Commerce and trade: business interests in north vs. agricultural exporting south
• Fear: business interests in the North could set up trade agreements that hurt the South
• Compromise: Congress given power to regulate interstate commerce, and exports will NOT
be taxed
• Representation in the legislature
• Representation by population or equal representation by state? Virginia Plan and New
Jersey Plan
• Connecticut Compromise: bicameral legislature
• Electing the President
• Electoral college combines elements of direct popular election and election by the states
Compromise in the Constitution — Slavery
• Slavery was arguably the most controversial issue at the Constitutional Convention
• The vast majority of slaves lived in the South, the economy of the south was based on slavery,
and all Virginia and South Carolina delegates owned slaves
• If slavery were banned, the South would likely have not ratified the Constitution
• Northerners did not want the United States participating in the international slave trade
• Compromise: ban on importation of slaves in 20 years
• Three-Fifths’ Compromise
• States would be taxed based on number of residents, just as representation is determined
• Slaves didn’t vote and were property; the South wanted representation for them, but no tax
obligation
• Compromise: three-fifths of the number will count for taxes and representation
The Constitution: Structure
• Structure
• Preamble: introduction that states why the Constitution was written
• Articles: I through VII, covering general topics such as the structure of the
Executive Branch, and interstate relations
• Amendments: literally, changes and additions to the Constitution
The Constitution: Principles
• Principles
• Popular sovereignty: rule by the people • Federalism: power divided between national and state governments
• Separation of Powers: each branch has its own, separate responsibilities • Checks and Balances: each branch of government has control over the others
• Judicial Review: the power of courts to declare laws unconstitutional
• Limited government: listing of specific powers the government has and
doesn’t have
The Constitution, Article I: The Legislative Branch
• Article I establishes the Legislative Branch
• “Congress,” the Senate and House of Representatives
• Founding Fathers know this branch would dominate
• Branch has expressed powers, directly stated
• Also called enumerated powers; Section 8, numbered 1-18
• includes power to levy taxes, establish post roads
• “elastic clause” gives rights to establish “necessary and proper” laws
• other “elastic clause” is the “interstate commerce” clause
The Constitution, Article II: The Executive Branch
• Article II establishes the Executive Branch
• Articles did not have an executive, could not force anyone to follow Congress’ laws
• Role of branch has grown substantially in practice
• President, Vice-President, president’s advisors, including Cabinet
• Branch has broad, but vague powers, including: • Commander-in-chief of the armed forces
• Appoints judges, ambassadors
• Ensures that laws are “faithfully executed”
The Constitution, Article II: The Executive Branch
(today)
• The role of the President has grown substantially through practice
• Federal bureaucracy has emerged: all executive branch employees
• Offices added through legislation
• Importance of precedent
• Presidential war power
The Constitution, Article III: The Judicial Branch
• Article III creates the judicial branch
• Includes the Supreme Court and lower federal courts
• Allows Congress (in Article I) to create “inferior” courts
• Article III lists brief powers of the court
• Judges may serve for life
• Defines jurisdiction of the court, as well as treason
• Power of judicial review established through practice
• Are Supreme Court decisions final?
The Judicial Branch: Marbury v. Madison
• The power of the Supreme Court to interpret the Constitution was not well established
• 1801: Adams “packed” the judiciary
• William Marbury did not receive his commission
• Sued under Judiciary Act of 1789 to issue a writ of mandamus, ordering his commission to be delivered
• If writ issued: Jefferson might ignore it, leaving Court powerless
• If writ not issued: Court would appear to support Jefferson by not checking the executive
• John Marshall did neither
• Acknowledged Marbury had a right to his commission, BUT...
• Declared Judiciary Act unconstitutional
The Constitution, Articles IV through VII
• Article IV: “full faith and credit”
• Requires states to recognise laws, court decisions, and records of all other states
• Grants citizens “privileges and immunities” enjoyed in other states
• Fugitive slave clause (abolished 1865)
• Article V outlines Amendment process
• Article VI establishes national supremacy
• Revolutionary war debt would be honoured by the new government
• The Constitution is the supreme law of the United States
• Article VII addressed ratification
Amending the Constitution
• A formal change to the Constitution is known as an Amendment
• There are two ways for Amendments to be proposed and ratified (approved)
• Proposed by:
• a two-thirds vote of both house of Congress
• Constitutional Convention called by Congress on the request of 2/3rds (34) of the State
Legislatures (never used)
• Ratified by: • Three-fourths of the state legislatures
• Three-fourths of special state constitutional conventions (used once, for the 21st
Amendment)
Other Ways of “Amending” the Constitution
• Constitution may be effectively changed informally, through law, through
practice, or through court decisions
1. Congress may pass laws to enlarge or clarify powers
• Congress expanded Judicial Branch in 1789, created Circuit Courts of
Appeals in 1891
2. Presidents have made changes through practice, such as presidential
succession
3. Rulings by the Supreme Court have interpreted the Constitution
The Constitution: Amendments
• The first ten are known as the Bill of Rights, ratified in 1791
• Guarantees individual liberties and limits powers of government
• Rights include freedom of speech, religion, the right to bear arms, privacy, trial by jury, prohibition of
excessive bail
• Other Amendments
• Civil War Amendments, 1865-1870 (13, 14, 15): ban slavery, guarantee equal protection of laws, prohibit
government from denying right to vote on basis of race
• Progressive-Era Amendments, 1913-1920 (16, 17, 18, 19): income tax, direct election of Senators,
Prohibition, women’s suffrage
• Twenty-First Amendment repealed Prohibition (1933)
• Twenty-Fourth Amendment abolished poll taxes (1964)
• Twenty-Sixth Amendment lowered the voting age to 18 (1971)
Ratification
• Document was ready to sign on September 17, 1787, but was not ratified until 1790
• Federalists favoured ratification; this group included many Founding Fathers
• Anti-Federalists opposed ratification; mostly farmers and rural citizens
• feared strong central government
• felt the Constitution was extralegal
• were worried because it didn’t include a Bill of Rights
• Patrick Henry was a key Anti-Federalist
• The Federalists made their case in a series of essays known as The Federalist