1

Chapter 2The Constitution

1607 - First colony - Jamestown was established.

1756-1763 - French and Indian War fought between England and France over the western portion of the colonies.

In 1763 the British Parliament began to pass laws taxing items such as sugar, tea, and paper products in the colonies to raise revenue to help pay off the war debt.

Key Events Leading to American

Independence

Met in Sept. 1774 to improve relationship between the colonies and Britain.

Delegates sent a petition to King George III of England to explain their grievances.

Agreed to boycott British goods.

After receiving the petition, the British government condemned the actions of the Congress as open acts of rebellion.

April 19, 1775 - Fighting breaks out between British soldiers and Minutemen.

First Continental Congress

May 10, 1775

Established an army.

Wrote and adopted the Declaration of Independence.

Painting by John Trumbull, 1819, Library of Congress

Second Continental Congress

Thomas Paine wrote Common Sense in January 1776.

•A widely read pamphlet which argued for independence from Britain.

•Denounced the corrupt British monarchy and offered reasons to break with Britain.

Should Colonies Declare Independence?

Written by Thomas Jefferson.

Influenced by the political philosophy of John Locke:

•Natural Rights

•Social Contract© Bettmann /Corbis

© Archivo Iconografico S.A. /Corbis

The Declaration of Independence

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jYyttEu_NLU

or

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=106168024

What are several reasons why the colonists declared independence from England?

The Declaration of Independence

1777 - Passed by Second Continental Congress.

Confederation - a voluntary association of independent states.

States retained most of the power.

First Attempt at Government: The Articles of Confederation

Library of Congress

Structure of Government under the Articles of Confederation

Weak central government - states held most of the power.

Congress could not draft soldiers for a standing army.

Congress could not collect taxes.

States could enter into their own treaties.

9 of the 13 states had to approve any law before it was enacted.

Weaknesses of the Articles

© Bettmann/Corbis

Shays and 1500 armed farmers restrained a Massachusetts state court from foreclosing on the mortgages on their farms.

Congress could not raise an army to stop the rebellion.

Shays’s Rebellion - 1780

★Held in May 1787 to revise the Articles.

The Virginia Plan - Proposed a strong central government and a bicameral legislature (number of representatives in proportion to each state’s population).

The New Jersey Plan - Proposed strengthening the Articles of Confederation; create a one house legislature with one vote for each state.

Constitutional Convention

The Great Compromise - settled the big state vs. small state issue by calling for a legislature with two houses

1.House of Representatives with the number of representatives based on the population of each state.

2.Senate with two members from each state (members elected by the state legislatures).

Constitutional Compromises

The Three-Fifths Compromise - settled the issue of whether or not slaves would be counted for purposes of determining a state’s population.

•Each slave would count as 3/5 of a person in determining representation in Congress.

Constitutional Compromises

Should slavery be banned or supported by the Constitution? This issue had the potential to hinder ratification of the Constitution.

•Article 1, Section 9 forbid Congress from prohibiting the importation of slaves for 20 years (until 1808).

Constitutional Compromises

★ Power is divided between a central (national) government and the state governments.

Basic Principles of the Constitution - Federalism

★ Powers of the national government were separated into different branches so no one branch would have enough power to dominate the others:

• Legislative• Executive• Judicial

Basic Principles of the Constitution - Separation of

Powers

★ Powers of each branch can be used to check the powers of the other two branches of government.

★ No branch has exclusive domain over any single activity.

Basic Principles of the Constitution - Checks and

Balances

Basic Principles of the Constitution - Checks and Balances

•Article I: The Legislative Branch★Bicameral Legislature★Sets out terms of office; selection process★Section 8

• Enumerated powers• 17 clauses

• Implied powers• Final clause: necessary and proper

clause

The Constitution

•Article II: The Executive Branch★Four year terms★Qualifications for office★Removal★Powers

•Commander in Chief•Treaties•Appointments

★State of the Union address

The Constitution

–Article III: the Judicial Branch★The Supreme Court★Congress establishes the lower courts★Jurisdiction

The Constitution

•Articles IV through VII★Article IV: relations among the states and the full faith and credit clause★Article V: amending the constitution★Article VI: supremacy clause★Article VII: ratification

The Constitution

★Federalists supported the document (wanted a strong central government).

★Anti-Federalists opposed the document (feared a strong central government).

★The Federalist Papers played a key role.

Ratification

•Most written by Alexander Hamilton and James Madison between October 1787 and May 1788.

•Explanations of the Framers’ intentions.

•Nos. 10 and 51 of particular importance.

The Federalist Papers

★To gain the necessary support for ratification of the Constitution, the Federalists promised to add the Bill of Rights.

Ratification

Amending the Constitution

★Framers made the formal amendment process slow to prevent impulsive amendments.

Amending the Constitution

Although 11,000 amendments have been considered by Congress, only 33 have been submitted to the states after being approved, and only 27 have been ratified since 1789.

11,000 27

Amending the Constitution