Chapter 2: Constitution PDF

Chapter 2: Constitution Constitution Tensions leading to independence Declaration of Independence ○ Thomas Jefferson channels Rousseau’s social contract theory and John Locke’s Second Treatise of Government. ○ The people have a right to abolish a government that n...

Chapter 2: Constitution Constitution Tensions leading to independence Declaration of Independence ○ Thomas Jefferson channels Rousseau’s social contract theory and John Locke’s Second Treatise of Government. ○ The people have a right to abolish a government that no longer serves their interests Articles of Confederation Ratified in 1781 Decentralized authority (states retain most of the power) Each state retains sovereignty (ultimate authority to govern within its borders) Each state gets one vote regardless of size Amending requires unanimity (all 13 states) 9 votes to pass any measure On paper, had authority to make peace, coin money, establish post office, appoint military officers Could only borrow money from states Had no authority to enforce its measures on states Need for Change Weaknesses of Articles of Confederation become evident ○ Shays’s Rebellion 1787 Constitutional Convention to revise Articles of Confederation ○ Delegates decide to go beyond and write a whole new constitution 2 Plans Proposed Plans for Constitution Virginia Plan (big states) ○ 3 separate branches in a strong national government ○ Bicameral (2-chamber) legislature with state representation in each based on population New Jersey Plan ○ Strengthening Articles of Confederation, not replacing them ○ Unicameral (1-chamber) legislature with equal state representation regardless of population Great Compromise  ○ 3 separate branches ○ Bicameral legislature (House of Representative with representation based on state population and Senate with equal representation for states) ○ Only part of Constitution that cannot be amended is equal representation in Bicameral Congress House of Representatives ○ All bills regarding raising and spending money must “originate” in the House (“Origination Clause”) Senate ○ Senate must approve Presidential appointments (simple-majority) and approve treaties the President negotiates and signs (two-thirds majority) Slave-Trade Compromise- can’t be halted until 1820s. Three-Fifths Compromise- had 500,000 slaves, made it so that each slave counts as 3/5ths of a freeman (for voting). Presidency Electoral College ○ Alexander Hamilton (Federalist #68) wanted Electoral College to avoid “tumult and disorder” that allowing people to select President might cause Senators were not directly elected originally ○ Appointed by state legislatures ○ 17 Amendment (1913) made Senators directly elected 3 Branches of Government reflect three forms of government ○ Congress– democracy (government of the many) ○ President– monarchy (government of the one) ○ Supreme Court– oligarchy (government of the few) Montesquieu Separation of Powers ○ Distinct functions for each branch of government ○ Congress (legislative)- make the laws ○ President (executive)- enforce the laws ○ Supreme Court (judicial)- interpret the laws Checks and Balances ○ Each branch is codependent on the others ○ President can appoint Justices to courts, veto congressional legislation, issue pardons  ○ Congress can impeach President and Justices, override Presidential veto with 2/3 vote, approve Presidential appointments and treaties, control of purse-strings, changing structures and procedures via laws passed ○ Supreme Court can rule actions of Congress and President unconstitutional (judicial review), lifetime tenure Structure of Constitution Article I (1): Congress (Necessary and Proper Clause) Article II (2): President (Commander in Chief Clause) Article III (3): Supreme Court Article IV (4): Relations between the states (Full Faith and Credit Clause and Privileges and Immunities Clause) Article V (5): Four processes for amending the Constitution (two-thirds and three-fourths) Article VI (6): Supremacy Clause Federalists vs. Anti-Federalists Federalists ○ Wanted a stronger national government ○ Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay pen Federalist Papers to garner support Anti-Federalists ○ Wanted stronger state governments and weaker national government ○ Win inclusion of a Bill of Rights to assure protections from national government Bill of Rights First 10 Amendments to Constitution Critical protections for states and people from encroachments from national government 10th Amendment-Reserved Powers Clause ○ Powers not given to the national government are “reserved” for the states or the people Powers Enumerated Powers—specifically granted to Congress ○ Example: Coin money, raise army, declare war Implied Powers—reasonably assumed from enumerated powers and Necessary and Proper Clause ○ Example: create first bank of U.S. Inherent Powers—powers of the President inferred from Constitution ○ Example: immigration (control borders), formally recognizing other countries  Reserved Powers – given to states or people in 10th Amendment ○ Example: education and school curriculum, criminal laws, taxes, etc. Amending the Constitution 1.) Two-Thirds of Congress, Three-Fourths of State Legislatures (26 times) 2.) Two-Thirds of Congress, Three-Fourths of State Conventions (1 time– 21st Amendment) 3.) Two-thirds of state legislatures requesting Congress form national convention, three-fourths of state legislatures (never used) 4.) Two-thirds of state legislatures requesting Congress form national convention, three-fourths of state conventions (never used) Informally Amending the Constitution 1.) Legislation (Judiciary Act of 1789) 2.) Presidential Action 3.) Judicial Interpretation (Supreme Court Decisions) 4.) Party Practices (national party conventions and organizations) 5.) Custom (filibuster, senatorial courtesy) Vocabulary New World: The Western Hemisphere of Earth, also called The Americas, which was unknown to Europeans before 1492. Benjamin Franklin: A brilliant inventor and senior statesman at the Constitutional Convention who urged colonial unity as early as 1754, twenty-two years before the Declaration of Independence. French and Indian War: The American phase of what was called the Seven Years War, fought from 1754 to 1763 between Britain and France with Indian allies. Mercantilism: An economic theory designed to increase a nation’s wealth through the development of commercial industry and a favorable balance of trade. Samuel Adams: Cousin of President John Adams and an early leader against the British and loyalist oppressors; he played a key role in developing the Committees of Correspondence and was active in Massachusetts and colonial politics. Stamp Act Congress: A gathering of nine colonial representatives in 1765 in New York City where a detailed list of Crown violations was drafted; first official meeting of the colonies and the first official step toward creating a unified nation. Sons and Daughters of Liberty: Loosely organized groups of patriotic American colonists who were early revolutionaries. Crispus Attucks: An African American and first American to die in what became known as the Boston Massacre in 1770.  First Continental Congress: Meeting held in Philadelphia from September 5 to October 26, 1774, in which fifty-six delegates (from every colony except Georgia) adopted a resolution in opposition to the Coercive Acts. Lexington and Concord: The first sites of armed conflict between revolutionaries and British soldiers, remembered for the “shot heard round the world” in 1775. Second Continental Congress: Meeting that convened in Philadelphia on May 10, 1775, at which it was decided that an army should be raised and George Washington of Virginia was named commander in chief. Thomas Paine: The influential writer of Common Sense, a pamphlet that advocated for independence from Great Britain. Common Sense: A pamphlet written by Thomas Paine that challenged the authority of the British government to govern the colonies. Declaration of Independence: Document drafted largely by Thomas Jefferson in 1776 that proclaimed the right of the American colonies to separate from Great Britain. Thomas Jefferson: Principle drafter of the Declaration of Independence; second vice president of the United States; third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809. Co-founder of the Democratic-Republican Party created to oppose Federalists. Social contract theory: The belief that governments exist based on the consent of the governed. Political culture: Commonly shared attitudes, behaviors, and core values about how government should operate. Articles of Confederation: The compact between the thirteen original colonies that created a loose league of friendship, with the national government drawing its powers from the states. Critical Period: The chaotic period from 1781 to 1789 after the American Revolution during which the former colonies were governed under the Articles of Confederation. Shays’s Rebellion: A rebellion in which an army of 1,500 disgruntled and angry farmers led by Daniel Shays marched to Springfield, Massachusetts, and forcibly restrained the state court from foreclosing mortgages on their farms. Constitutional Convention: The meeting in Philadelphia in 1787 that was first intended to revise the Articles of Confederation but produced an entirely new document, the U.S. Constitution. George Washington: Widely considered the “Father of the Nation,” he was the commander of the revolutionary armies; served as the presiding officer of the Constitutional Convention; and as the United States’ first president from 1789 to 1797. Constitution: A document establishing the structure, functions, and limitations of a government. Virginia Plan: A proposed framework for the Constitution favoring large states. It called for a bicameral legislature, which would appoint executive and judicial officers.  New Jersey Plan: A framework for the Constitution proposed by a group of small states; it called for a one-house legislature with one vote for each state, a Congress with the ability to raise revenue, and a Supreme Court appointed for life. Great Compromise: The final decision of the Constitutional Convention to create a two-house legislature, with the lower house elected by the people and powers divided between the two houses; also made national law supreme. Three-Fifths Compromise: Agreement reached at the Constitutional Convention stipulating that three-fifths of the total slave population of each state was to be for purposes of determining population for representation in the U.S. House of Representatives. Electoral College: The system established by the Constitution through which the president is chosen by electors from each state, which has as many electoral votes as it has members of Congress. Alexander Hamilton: A key Framer who envisioned a powerful central government, co-authored The Federalist Papers, and served as the first Secretary of the Treasury. Montesquieu: The French baron and political theorist who first articulated the concept of separation of powers with checks and balances. Federalism: The distribution of constitutional authority between state governments and the national government, with different powers and functions exercised by both. Separation of Powers: A way of dividing the power of government among the legislative, executive, and judicial branches, each staffed separately, with equality and independence of each branch ensured by the Constitution. Checks and Balances: A constitutionally mandated structure that gives each of the three branches of government some degree of oversight and control over the actions of the others. Article I: Vests all legislative powers in the Congress and establishes a bicameral legislature, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives; it also sets out the qualifications for holding office in each house, the terms of office, the methods of selection of representatives and senators, and the system of apportionment among the states to determine membership in the House of Representatives. Enumerated powers: The powers of the national government specifically granted to Congress in Article I, section 8 of the Constitution. Necessary and proper clause: The final paragraph of Article I, section 8, of the Constitution, which gives Congress the authority to pass all laws “necessary and proper” to carry out the enumerated powers specified in the Constitution; also called the elastic clause. Implied powers: The powers of the national government derived from the enumerated powers and the necessary and proper clause. Article II: Vests the executive power, that is, the authority to execute the laws of the nation, in a president of the United States; section 1 sets the president’s term of office at  four years and explains the Electoral College and states the qualifications for office and describes a mechanism to replace the president in case of death, disability, or removal from office. Inherent powers: Powers that belong to the president because they can be inferred from the Constitution. Article III: Establishes a Supreme Court and defines its jurisdiction. Article IV: Mandates that states honor the laws and judicial proceedings of other states. Article IV also includes the mechanisms for admitting new states to the union. See also “full faith and credit clause”. Full faith and credit clause: Section of Article IV of the Constitution that ensures judicial decrees and contracts made in one state will be binding and enforceable in any other state. Article V: Specifies how amendments can be added to the Constitution. Article VI: Contains the supremacy clause, which asserts the basic primacy of the Constitution and national law over state laws and constitutions. See also “supremacy clause.” Supremacy clause: Portion of Article VI of the Constitution mandating that national law is supreme over (that is, supersedes) all other laws passed by the states or by any other subdivision of government. Federalists: Those who favored a stronger national government and supported the proposed U.S. Constitution; later became the first U.S. political party. Anti-Federalists: Those who favored strong state governments and a weak national government; opposed ratification of the U.S. Constitution. James Madison: A key Framer often called the “Father of the Constitution” for his role in conceptualizing the federal government. Coauthored The Federalist Papers; served as secretary of state; served as the fourth U.S. president from 1809 to 1817. John Jay: A member of the Founding generation who was the first Chief Justice of the United States. A diplomat and co-author of the Federalist Papers. The Federalist Papers: A series of eighty-five political essays written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay in support of ratification of the U.S. Constitution. Bill of Rights: The first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution, which largely guarantee specific rights and liberties.