Lecture 0-2

Constitutional Functions

• Outline the organization of government

• Grant power

• Serve as a mainstay of rights

• Serve as a symbol of the nation

The Colonies in America: Learning the Lessons of Self-government

• By the time the colonies declared independence from England in 1776, local representative government had already developed.

• One house of the legislature was popularly elected

• Governors and official in London could set aside measures adopted in the colonies that were contrary to English policy

The Declaration of Independence: The Idea of Consent

• The declaration followed a period during which England attempted to establish more direct control over the colonies.

• The declaration attempted to justify the break with the crown in the eyes of the colonies and the people and government of other lands.

• The declaration contained several ideas . . .

The Declaration contained several ideas

• Persons share certain equalities.

• Government is the creation and servant of the people.

• People have a duty to overthrow a government that is not.

• The rights all possess constitute a higher law.

• Governments are bound by their own laws.

The Declaration was influenced by Major Philosophers of the Time

• Thomas Hobbs

– First major Social Contract theorist

– To preserve natural rights governments are formed to protect people from each other

– No recourse for bad government

• John Locke

• Revised Hobbs ideas - bad governments can be dissolved

The Articles of Confederation: The Idea of Compact

• The Articles of Confederation were the first plan of union among the newly independent states

• The articles were distinguished by

– State autonomy

– Equal representation for each state

– A central government with only a few important powers

• …The Articles were distinguished by

– No separate executive and no national courts

– Amendment only by unanimous consent of the states

Major Defects of the Articles

• No single executive

• Laws passed by 9/13

• Amendment by unanimous vote only

• No power to tax

• No regulation of interstate commerce

• No power to regulate money supply

Prelude to Philadelphia

• Dissatisfaction with the Articles

– Not enough power for the central government

– Too much power for the states

• Shays’s Rebellion

• Annapolis Convention

– “gripe session” about commerce and monetary issues

The Philadelphia Convention Major Plans

• The New Jersey Plan resembled the Articles of Confederation.

– Plural Executive chosen by Congress

– Power to regulate commerce

– Single House Legislature

– Equal representation

The Philadelphia Convention Major Plans

• Virginia Plan

– Single Executive chosen by Congress

– Vast powers given to national government

– Two House Legislature

– Representation based on population or contributions to national government

The Philadelphia Convention Major Compromises

• Great Compromise

• 3/5 Compromise

• Commerce and Slave Trade Compromise

• Electoral College

Ratification

• Approval by conventions in nine state was necessary in order for the constitution to go into effect

• The Federalists supported ratification, and the Antifederalists opposed ratification

• The debate over ratification produced an outpouring of essays, chief among which being The Federalist, authored by John Jay, Alexander Hamilton, and James Madison.

By-product of ratification: The Bill of Rights

• Antifederalists criticized the proposed Constitution in part because it lacked bill of rights

• Federalists promised to add one by way of amendment to the Constitution as one of the first tasks of the new government

• But the Bill of Rights (amendments 1-10) applied only to the national government not to the states. Barron v. Baltimore (1833)

Secularism

• The Constitution was a product of the Enlightenment

• The framers viewed government as a human creation

• The constitution had to serve a religiously diverse nation.

• Prohibition of a religious “test”

Republicanism and divided powers.

• The framers believed in republican or representative government which blended democratic and antidemocratic elements.

Republicanism and divided powers.

• The framers believed in republican or representative government which blended democratic and antidemocratic elements.

• They guarded against tyranny by dividing the legislative, executive, and judicial powers among three branches of government.

• This is the system of checks and balances.

• Federalism in turn is a division of powers between national and state governments.

• Both federalism and separation of powers were designed to blunt the influence of faction, the framers’ term for tightly knit political parties.

A single and independently elected executive

• The framer did not agree on the form the executive would take until late in the convention

• The electoral college was devised to elect the president.