© 2010 pearson education chapter 2 the american constitution
TRANSCRIPT
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© 2010 Pearson Education
Chapter 2The American Constitution
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– Party changeover from Republicans to Democrats• Why?
– Over war– Margin of control too narrow to make promised
changes
Case Study: Party takeover
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The Background of the Constitution
– Fundamental law by which a state or nation is organized and governed
• Establishes a framework for government• Assigns powers and responsibilities to different
government branches• Defines the relationship between the people and
their government
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The Background of the Constitution
–Historical Setting• Founding fathers influenced by their
most recent past–Under British rule –Period under the Articles of
Confederation.
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The Background of the Constitution
– Peaceful political relationship with Great Britain until 1763
• The British took a more active role in colonial affairs.
– They imposed new taxes on the colonists to pay the debt incurred in the French and Indian Wars.
• To the surprise of the British, the American colonists were outraged and ultimately revolted against British rule.
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The Background of the Constitution
– American colonies formed the Continental Congress,
• a unicameral (one-house) legislature in which each state had one vote.
• Although without true governing authority, it – declared independence, – raised an army, – negotiated with foreign countries, and– drafted a plan for a national union that became the
Articles of Confederation.
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– Articles of Confederation authors determined to avoid the abuses they experienced
• Strictly a national government• Most power rested with the sovereign states • The weak, central government was unable to deal
effectively with the nation’s problems– Led to a call to revise the Articles
The Background of the Constitution
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The Background of the Constitution
– American Political Thought• The Constitution written during the Enlightenment
– Reflects political theorists of that time, i.e. Locke
» In a natural state, all people were born free and equal and possessed certain natural rights.
» Life, liberty, and property
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The Background of the Constitution
– Locke:• People voluntarily joined together to form
governments to protect these rights. • Americans drew three important concepts
from Locke’s political thought. – Theory of revolution– Government can play an active, positive role in
society instead of just being a necessary evil. – Doctrine of natural rights was a theoretical
foundation for limited government.
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Constitutional Principles• To properly understand the Constitution:
– Popular sovereignty – Representative democracy– The rule of law– Limited government
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Constitutional Principles• To properly understand the Constitution:
– Separation of powers– Checks and balances– Federalism– Bicameralism
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Constitutional Principles
• Democracy – two types– Representative
• Citizens elect representatives to make policy decisions on their behalf.
– Direct• Citizens vote directly on matters of public concern.
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Constitutional Principles
– Rule of law • limits the discretion of public officials in dealing
with individuals.
– Limited government • does not have unrestricted authority over its
citizens.
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BILL OF RIGHTSFirst Amendment
Second AmendmentThird Amendment
Fourth AmendmentFifth AmendmentSixth Amendment
Seventh AmendmentEighth AmendmentNinth AmendmentTenth Amendment
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Constitutional Principles
– Separation of powers • Divides power among the executive, legislative,
and judicial powers of government – Checks and balances
• Overlapping of the powers of the branches of government
– Montesquieu to provide theoretical justification for their adoption
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Constitutional Principles– James Madison
• Principal architect of the separation of powers, he believed:
– Country needed a strong national government to balance the power of local interests
– Country needed a means of preventing tyranny– Guaranteed a certain amount of tension in the
American political system
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Constitutional Principles– Federalism– The framers lived under both a unitary government
and a confederation. – Under Great Britain, it was a unitary system in which
political authority was concentrated in a single national government.
– Under the Articles of Confederation, it was a league of nearly independent states similar to the United Nations (a confederation).
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Constitutional Principles• Framers sought the best of both systems
– Federalism• Divides power between a central government and
a series of state governments• Allows for a strong national government• Offers two distinct advantages
– Provides political representation to accommodate diversity
– Protects individual freedoms from governmental interference
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Constitutional Principles
• Bicameralism– To prevent the national legislature from
becoming too powerful– Framers hoped
• popularly elected House of Representatives would be constrained by the more conservative Senate
– Until ratification of the 17th Amendment
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The Living Constitution
• Fundamental framework for 200 + years • Few formal changes • Ability to adapt to changing times while
maintaining adherence to basic principles:– Practice and experience– Amendment – Judicial interpretation
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The Living Constitution
• Constitutional change through practice and experience– The roles of the president– Key features of the constitutional system, i.e., federal
bureaucracy, not mentioned in the Constitution • But are subject to legal limitations and judicial interpretation
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The Living Constitution
• Constitutional change through amendment– Formally amending the Constitution is a two-
step process: • Two methods of proposing amendments to the
Constitution and • Two methods of ratifying those proposals
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The Living Constitution
• Change through judicial interpretation– Most common way the Constitution changes
• The power of the courts to declare acts of the executive and legislative branches unconstitutional is known as judicial review.
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The Constitution, Politics, and Public Policy
• Constitution affects the policymaking process through its fragmentation of political power – Power at the national level divided among
three branches• Legislative • Executive• Judicial
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The Constitution, Politics, and Public Policy
• The legislative branch further divided into two separate houses.
• Federalism allocates power between the national government and the 50 state governments.
• The Framers knew this division of power would result in friction in our political system and slow, incremental policy changes.
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Conclusion: The Constitutional Environment
for Policymaking• The U.S. Constitution is not without its
critics. – Antifederalists
• argued that the Constitution is structured to benefit special interests at the expense of the majority of the people.
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Critics
• Constitution is a blueprint for political deadlock among the different branches
• Constitutional stalemate is not inevitable – Policy deadlocks can be attributed to politics more
often than constitutional inadequacy. • Public policy reflects interplay between the
Constitution and contemporary politics