The Founding and the Constitution

Locke (18th C. British)

People had a right to overthrow govt they believed to be unjust or undemocratic. Ideas of limited govt and consent of the governed. Jefferson, Declaration of Indep., "pure Locke"

The Constitutional Convention

The delegates convened to revise the Articles of Confederation in Philadelphia in May 1787.

The Radicalizing of the Colonists

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Federalism

A system in which power is divided between the national and state governments. The federal government had more power.

Checks and balances

A system that allows each branch of government to limit the powers of the other branches in order to prevent abuse of power

Three-fifths Compromise

Agreement reached at the constitutional convention stipulating that each slave was to be counted as three-fifths of a person for purposes of determining population for representation in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Amendments

Amendments are changes added to a bill, law, or constitution. Historically, the Constitution has proved to be extremely difficult to amend. Since 1789 over 11,000 amendments have been offered in Congress, but of these only twenty-seven in all have been ratified by the states.

The Bill of Rights

First 10 amendments of the Const. 1st 9 limited Congress' Power, the 10th gave states the power to make laws not included in the Constitution.

Declaration of Independence

In 1776, the Declaration of Independence, written by Thomas Jefferson, was adopted by the Second Continental Congress. It asserted that "unalienable rights"—including life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness—could not be denied by government.

The Articles of Confederation

In 1777, having declared their independence, the Continental Congress adopted The Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union, America's first written constitution. This served as the basis for America's national government until 1789.

British Taxes and Colonial Interests

In the 1760s, British financial and debt problems led the British government to impose new taxes upon the colonies. The government reasoned that part of the debt was due to the continuing British protection of the colonies during and after the French and Indian War.

Reflections on the Founding

It was largely the Federalist point of view that triumphed. However, the Antifederalists' criticisms forced the adoption of a Bill of Rights to limit national governmental power. This arrangement proved effective for over 200 years, even as the political principles enshrined in the Constitution have benefited groups and interests unforeseen by the framers.

examples of checks and balances

Major examples include presidential veto power over congressional legislation (congress can override the veto with 2/3 vote in House and Senate), the power of the Senate to approve presidential appointments, and judicial review of congressional enactments

weaknesses of Articles

National government could levy taxes but no power to collect taxes No central government to regulate commerce between the states or with foreign nations. This hurt the new nation's economy No uniform currency

Hobbes (17th C. British philosopher)

Need govt to combat the "solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short" lives of humans in a state of nature. "Contract theory": people voluntarily give up some freedom in exchange for orderly society.

William Paterson

New Jersey representative at the constitutional convention who presented the New Jersey Plan, which gave equal representation to states regardless of size or population

The Fight for Ratification

Ratification was the first hurdle faced by the constitution. The fight involved two sides: Federalists and Antifederalists.

Montesquieu (18th C. French)

Separation of powers (power balanced by power)

British Taxes and Colonial Interests

Taxes like the Stamp Act, the Sugar Act, and other tariffs on commerce caused social unrest among the colonists, who united to protest against Britain's "taxation without representation." The colonists resisted the unjust British political and social structure and advocated an end to its rule.

The First Founding

The American Revolution and the American Constitution were the result of a struggle among economic interests and political forces in the colonies.

Ratification (anti federalist)

The Antifederalists favored strong state governments and a weak national government. Also, they opposed the proposed American Constitution at the 1787 Convention.

Tyranny of the Majority

The Antifederalists feared the concentration of power in the hands of a small governing elite. The Federalists recognized the danger not in aristocracy, but in tyranny by the majority, the tendency of majorities to trample on the rights and interests of other citizens.

executive branch

The Executive Branch carries out the laws. A word for this would be "execute". The only member in this group is the President of the United States of America.

ratification (federalist)

The Federalists favored a strong national government and supported the proposed American Constitution at the 1787 Convention.

Liberty, Equality, and Democracy

The Framers placed individual liberty ahead of all other political values, and the basic structure of the Constitution reflects this. The solution to the problem of how to protect individual liberty and still give the government the power it needs include separated powers, internal checks and balances, federalism, and the Bill of Rights.

The Constitution

The Great Compromise and the Three-fifths Compromise helped temporarily settle rivalry between North and South, and secured national unity.

The Articles of Confederation

The governmental model was a confederation, a system in which the states retain sovereign authority except for the powers expressly delegated to the national government. The confederation vested the national government in a weak Congress, and execution of laws was left to the individual states. The central government had little power.

slavery

The issue made clear that the division among states was not only about size, but also geography. The conflict was between the North (non-slave holding states) and the South (slave holding states.)

The Great Compromise

This plan or compromise was proposed by Roger Sherman, He proposed that the Congress would have two houses. A Senate and a House of Reps. Each state would have equal representation regardless of size. And they would be based on population.

International Standing and Balance of Power

Under the Confederation, Congress was unable to enforce policies unless the states agreed to apply them. Internationally, this made the confederation illegitimate and vulnerable to threats from other nations.

Separation of Powers

Under this principle, the entire structure of the national government is built on three separate branches: the legislative, the executive, and the judiciary.

Virginia Plan

a framework for the Constitution that called for representation in the national legislature based upon the population of each state.

The British Tea Act of 1773

granted the East India Company the tea export monopoly, resulted in the Boston Tea Party. The colonial elites sought for Britain to take back the Act, but other more radical colonials wanted to stir up a revolution, and they did.

Constitutional Limits

separation of powers, federalism, and the Bill of Rights.

legislative branch

the branch of government that makes laws, the branch of the United States government that has the power of legislating, The legislative branch creates the laws. There are two houses in it. One is the Senators. There are two senators per state. There is also a House of represenitives. The amount of people per state depends on how big the population is.

judicial branch

the branch of government, including the federal court system, that interprets the nation's laws, the division of the federal government that is made up of the national courts; interprets laws, punishes criminals, and settles disputes between states

Founders

well schooled in political philosophy