Colonial Democratic
Developments
• Mayflower Compact – Pilgrims consent
to be governed.
• Albany Plan of Union – Franklin tries to
organize 13 colonies – rejected by colonial
governments.
• House of Burgesses – Virginia – elected
representative government
• New England style town meetings
Declaration of Independence
• John Locke – Natural Rights - Life,
Liberty, Property – borrowed ideas from
him
• Jefferson – Head of committee
• Consent of the Governed – Authority
comes from – Right to rebel
• List of Grievances against King George III
Articles of Confederation - 1781-1789 Weakness in Articles
of Confederation
Example Change in Constitution
No Standing Army In ability to deal with the threat
of "Shay's Rebellion"
Federal Government is given
the power to raise and
maintain a standing army
No Federal Taxation States did not pay debts to
Congress and so federal gov't
had no $$
Congress is granted the
power to tax, impose duty and
raise tariffs
No Single National
Currency
States minted money, no set
exchange disrupted trade
among the states
Congress is granted sole
power to coin money
No Executive
Leadership
Failure of direct leadership
resulted in indecision
A strong executive (President)
is created
Each State had
Equal Vote in
Congress
Smaller states with low
populations had disproportional
power
Bicameral Legislature with
proportional representation in
the House of Reps.
Required Unanimous
Vote to Amend
Complete inability to correct
the failures under the articles
The 1787 Constitutional
Convention completely
replaced the Articles rather
than amending them
Foreign Problems
• Britain – No Trade, Still control forts in
Northwest territory, Indian agitation
• France – Want debts paid off, No trade with
West Indies until then.
• Spain – Trade on Mississippi River
Domestic Problems
• Shay’s Rebellion – Massachusetts –
Disgruntled Farmer tried to stop
foreclosures.
Successes of Articles
• Won the Revolutionary War
– Treaty of Paris
• Northwest Ordinance –
– Plan for admitting new states
– Provisions for schools
Constitutional Convention
• 55 Delegates – Philadelphia – Rework or “Tweak” the Articles of Confederation –
• Attendees included Washingtion, Franklin, Madison (Father of Constitution), Hamilton.
• Regional, political and economic differences threatened to jeopardize the process.
• Bundle of Compromises
Ratification Debate
3 Branches of Government
• Legislative Branch
– Article I – Make laws – Senate and House of
Representatives
• Executive Branch
– Article II – Enforce laws - Cabinet
• Judicial Branch
– Article III – Interpret laws – Supreme Court
Legislative Branch
• Main roles and powers:– To pass legislation (laws)
– Declare war
– Impeach federal officials
– Override presidential vetoes (2/3 vote in each house)
• Powers– Senate: - Term 6 years - 17th amendment (Direct)
• Approve treaties (by 2/3 vote)
• Serve as jury in impeachment trials
• Select a Vice-President if the electoral college fails to
• 2 Senators from each state
– House of Representatives: Term 2 years• Serve as prosecution in impeachment trial
• Select a President if the electoral college fails to
• Proportional to population – Fixed at 435 – Census
Executive Branch
• Chief Executive – 4 year term – 22nd Amendment – (2 in row)
– Enforce the laws passed by Congress
• Chief Diplomat– Act a representative of the United States to foreign governments
• Chief Legislator– Propose a federal budget
– Veto legislation
• Commander-in-Chief of Armed Forces– Supreme commander of all branches of US military
• Chief of State– Serve as ceremonial head of US Government
• Judicial– Grant pardon (forgiving an individual of his/her crime(s))
– Grant amnesty (forgiving a group of people of a specific class of crime)
Judicial Branch
• Judicial review - determine if laws passed
by Congress are allowable by the
Constitution
– Marbury vs. Madison (1803), Not expressly
granted the court by the Constitution.
• Main roles and powers:
– Interpret the law
– The Supreme Court hears cases of appeal from
lower federal and state courts
• Judges serve for life
Checks and Balances
• Executive Branch Checks on the
Legislative Branch
– President has the power to veto laws passed by
the Congress
• Executive Branch Checks on the Judicial
Branch
– President has the power to pardon individuals
convicted of crimes
Checks and Balances
• Legislative Branch Checks on the
Executive Branch
– Congress can overturn a Presidential veto
with a 2/3 vote of both houses
• Legislative Branch Checks on the
Judicial Branch
– Senate can reject nominees to the federal
courts/Supreme Court
Checks and Balances
• Judicial Branch Checks on the
Executive Branch
– Supreme Court can use the power of judicial
review to rule presidential actions
unconstitutional
• Judicial Branch Checks on the
Legislative Branch
– Supreme Court can use the power of judicial
review to rule laws unconstitutional
Federalism
• Divided Powers in US Government
The US Constitution specifically states what types
of powers are to be granted to what governments.
• Delegated Powers - Powers specifically assigned
to the Federal Government. Fear a national
government that would overstep its bounds. These
are also referred to as enumerated powers.
• Reserved Powers - All powers not specifically
delegated the Federal Government are to be
reserved or saved for the State Governments.
Federalism
• Concurrent Powers - Concurrent powers are
those that both the federal and state governments
have simultaneously.
• Implied Powers - These are powers that are NOT
specifically delegated in the Constitution, but are
understood to be necessary or allowed. The elastic
clause or necessary and proper clause allows
these by stating that Congress has the power "to
make all laws which shall be necessary and proper
for carrying into execution the foregoing powers"
(art. I, sec. 8). Examples include:
– Hamilton and National Bank
Divided Powers of Government
Delegated Concurrent Reserved
Maintain Armed
Forces
Power to Tax Establish
Schools
Coin Money Borrow Money Run Elections
Declare War Maintain Courts Pass Statewide
Laws
Regulate
Interstate Trade
Regulate
Intrastate Trade
Amending the Constitution
• Important feature of the Constitution is the ability
to amend or change the document
Amendment Proposed
By 2/3rds Vote in
Each House of
Congress
APPROVAL:
Ratified by 3/4ths of
The State Legislatures
APPROVAL:
Ratified by
Constitutional
Conventions in 3/4ths
Of the StatesOr
Unwritten Constitution
• Refers to the ideas and processes that are accepted as a needed part of American government, though not actually in the Constitution.
– President’s Cabinet – 14 Major Depts.
– Political Parties
– Congressional Committees
– Judicial Review
– 2 Consecutive Presidential Terms (22nd
Amendment)
Ratification of the Constitution
• Federalist vs. Anti-Federalist
– Fight over ratification
• Federalist Papers
– Hamilton, Madison, Jay
– Limited effect, came out too late
• Bill of Rights
– First 10 Amendments
– First order of business for new congress
– Added to protect individual civil liberties from federal
government
United States Economics• Alexander Hamilton – Secretary of Treasury
Hamilton's Economic Programs
Assumption of
Revolutionary War
debt
Hamilton wanted to pay off all of the debt of the states
and the old Continental Congress. He believed this
would give the new country financial stability.
Congress approved assumption.
Creation of a National
Bank
Hamilton believed that a National Bank would gain the
support of the business community which would invest
in the new country. Congress approved the Bank in
1791.
Protective Tariff
Hamilton wanted to protect U.S. industry from
overseas competition to allow it a chance to
grow. This initial tariff was rejected by Congress.
Excise Tax
As a means of generating revenue, Hamilton
proposed a tax on whiskey. Congress approved this
tax, which in turn led to the Whiskey Rebellion.
Hamilton vs. Jefferson
• Hamilton – Loose interpretation of
Constitution – “Elastic Clause”
• Jefferson – Strict interpretation of Constitution
– not in it, cannot do it
• Basis of early political parties
– Federalist vs. Democratic-Republicans
Foreign Problems
• Britain – No Trade, Still control forts in
Northwest territory, Indian agitation
• France – Want debts paid off, No trade with
West Indies until then.
• Spain – Trade on Mississippi River
Domestic Problems
• Whisky Rebellion (Compare to Shay’s
Rebellion)
• Put down by Federal Government
Jefferson Presidency
• Midnight Judges – Supreme court ruling
Marbury v. Madison (1803)
• Louisiana Purchase – Bought from France
for $15 Million
• Lewis and Clark – 1804-1806 – Exploration
all the way to Pacific
• Embargo Act – Hurts northeast businesses,
no trade with any foreign country. Amended
later
War of 1812
• War Hawks – Want war to take Canada
– British burn Washington D.C.
– Battle of New Orleans makes Andrew Jackson
war hero
• Hartford Convention – Succession from
U.S. by Northeastern states. End of
Federalist party
• No clear winner but United States
survives.
Era of Good Feelings
• Monroe President – Less feelings of
sectionalism, more nationalism.
• Missouri Compromise – No slavery north
of 36 30
• Monroe Doctrine – No new European
colonies in Western Hemisphere
• Election of 1824 – End of Era
– Corrupt Bargain Adams and Clay
United States Economics
• Early - The American System– Senator Henry Clay of Kentucky - to promote trade and
commerce• South – Raw Materials, North – Manufacturing
– Internal improvements – national road
– Second National Bank
– Protective Tariffs – Almost started a civil war• John C. Calhoun of South Carolina
– Nullification Theory
• Factors of Production– Rivers – steamboats
– Canals – Erie Canal – Albany to Buffalo, NY
– Railroads
United States Economics
• Early America
– Southern Plantations – Slavery
– Northern farms and early industry
• Religious freedom prime motivation
• American Revolution
– Rejection of mercantilism of England
• Under Constitution
– Large Debt – Needed to pay off
United States Economics
• Pre Civil War
– North – New England – Factories and mills
– South – Agriculture – Plantations – Slavery
– North economically stronger than the South
• Post Civil War
– Transcontinental railroad
– Economic Philosophy - Laissez-Faire
Jacksonian Era and Rise of the
Common Man• Increased Suffrage
• Spoils System
• War over B.U.S.– Pet Banks
• Trail of Tears -– Cherokee forced off land despite winning court case
Worchester v. Georgia 1832
– Sent to Oklahoma Territory
• Nullification Crisis– Calhoun opposes tariff of 1832
– Threatens succession
Expansion
• Manifest Destiny
• Texas Independence
• Mexican-American War
– Polk provokes the war
– Takes 1/3 of Mexico
– Pays $15 million to Mexico
1850’s – Decade of Controversy
• Compromise of 1850
– California free
– Stricter Fugitive Slave Law
– No Slave trade in D.C.
• Uncle Tom’s Cabin
– Harriet Beecher Stowe - Abolition grows
• Kansas Nebraska Act (1854)
– Popular Sovereignty – people of territory decide
• Bleeding Kansas
1850’s – Decade of Controversy
• Dred Scott Case
– Slaves are property
– Not citizens
• John Brown Raid on Harpers Ferry
– Violence against the South by North
• Election of 1860
– Lincoln wins
– Last straw for South
• South Carolina secedes – December 20th
Civil War
• Reason for secession
– Election of Lincoln
– States rights
• Lincoln’s Measures
– Suspends writ of habaeous corpus
– Starts conscription
– Draft riots
– Emancipation Proclamation – January 1863
– Copperheads
Reconstruction• Lincoln’s Ten Percent Plan
– Loyalty Oath
– Lenient - Forgiving
• Radical Republicans– Opposed Lincoln’s plan
– Wade Davis Bill – harsher terms for South
– Lincoln uses Pocket Veto
• Johnson’s Plan– Lenient too, opposed by Radicals
– Only punish wealthy Southerners
• Black Codes– Laws enacted in South to restrict African Americans newly won
freedoms
• Freedmen’s Bureau– Set up to help poor whites and blacks in south
Reconstruction• Impeachment of Johnson
– For violating Tenure of Office Act
– Survives by one vote
– Weakened
• 13th Amendment– Outlaws slavery
• 14th Amendment– Right to due process of law
– Citizenship for former slaves
– States must follow Bill of Rights
• 15th Amendment– Voting right, can’t discriminate against for race, creed,
color
Reconstruction• Klu Klux Klan
– Southern whites try to defend way of life
– Target former slaves and whites helping them
• Sharecropping
– System of farming replaces slavery in South
– African Americans stuck in system
• Jim Crow Laws
– Segregation of races in south
– Laws passed to keep them separate
Impact of Industrialization
Industrialization
•Notes:
•shift from using manpower to machines to do work
•industry becomes more important than agriculture.
Laissez faire capitalism
Notes: belief that private competition free from
regulation produces and distributes wealth better than
government-regulated markets
Social Darwinism
Notes: the idea that humans, like animals, compete in a struggle
for existence in which natural selection results in “survival of the
fittest.”; argue that governments should not interfere with human
competition by attempting to regulate the economy or cure social
ills such as poverty.
Railroads
Notes: This first transcontinental railroad opened the West to
supplies and resources from the East. Railroads made
transportation cheaper and faster.
Rise of the Corporation and
Big Business
Notes: Large corporations became the new business model.
They could raise large amounts of money, and gained political
influence.
Mass Production & Factories
Notes: Division of labor is a basic tenet of industrialization.
In division of labor, each worker is assigned to a different
task, or step, in the manufacturing process, and as a result,
total production increases.
Political Corruption
Notes: Big business used its influence and wealth to secure laws
favorable to their own interests, free from regulation.
Changing Nature of Work
Notes: Work moved from farm to factory, country to city. Work
became less personal, more tedious and mechanical, with more
woman and children employed under harsh conditions.
Growth of Cities (urbanization)
Notes: Significant shift in population from rural (country) to
urban (cities). Accompanied by growth of slums, crime and
urban political machines.
Immigration
Increase in population due to immigration during
Industrialization.
Environmental Impact
Pressure on our natural resources such as rivers, lakes,
and land due to rapid industrialization and no government
regulation.
Progressive Era• Muckrakers
– Thomas Nast
– Jacob Riis
• How the Other Half Lives
– Upton Sinclair
• The Jungle
– Ida Tarbell
• Standard Oil
– Lincoln Steffens
• City Machines
• Boss Tweed and Tammany Hall
• Jane Addams and Hull House– Chicago
• Temperance Movement– No Alcohol
• Margaret Sanger– Birth Control
• City Reforms– City Managers
– Commissions
• State Reforms– Secret Ballot
– Initiative
– Referendum
– Recall
– Direct Primary
Progressive Era• Theodore Roosevelt
– Square Deal
– “Bully Pulpit”
• Elkins Act 1903
– RR rebates illegal
• Meat Inspection Act
1906
• Pure Food and Drug
Act 1906
• Hepburn Act 1906
– Strengthen ICC
• Anthracite Coal Strike
– Owners and Workers
forced to negotiate
• Northern Securities
Co. v. United States
(1904)
– Trust Busting
Progressive Era
• 16th Amendment
– Income Tax
• 17th Amendment
– Direct Election of
Senators
• 18th Amendment
– Alcohol Ban
• 19th Amendment
– Women Right to vote
• Standard Oil v. United
States (1911)
• Election of 1912
– Three Way
– Bull Moose Party
• Underwood Tariff Act
– Tariff reduction
• Federal Reserve Act
• Clayton Antitrust Act
– Outlaw monopolies
Imperialism
• Commodore Perry in Japan
• Open Door Policy– China
– Spheres of Influence
• Boxer Rebellion
• Hawaii– Independent Monarchy
– Plantation Owners
– 1890’s
• Spanish American War– Jingoism, yellow
journalism, Maine sunk
• Cuba, Philippines, Puerto Rico
• Monroe Doctrine
• Roosevelt Corollary
• Panama Canal
• Dollar Diplomacy
• Good Neighbor Policy– FDR
U.S. Foreign Policy
• Neutrality
– Washington Farewell
Address
– “Avoid entangling
alliances”
• Monroe Doctrine
• Imperialism
– Spanish American War
• Isolationism
– Following WWI
• Superpower
– Following WWII
– Soviet Union and U.S.
• Lone Superpower
– Following Cold War
• Peace Corp
– JFK
• Alliance for Progress
– JFK
– Latin America
Cold War• Policies
– Containment
– Collective Security• NATO
– Massive Retaliation –1950’s
– Brinkmanship• Mutually Assured
Destruction
– Détente – 1972
• Truman Doctrine
• Marshall Plan – 1940’s
• Berlin Airlift – 1948-49
• Iron Curtain
• Korean War – 1950-54– United Nations
– MacArthur Dismissed
• Space Race– Sputnik - 1957
• Bay of Pigs – 1961
• Cuban Missile Crisis –1962
• U-2 Incident – 1960– Gary Powers
Cold War• Vietnam War
– Domino Effect
• Tonkin Gulf Resolution
• New York Times v.
United States
– Pentagon Papers
• 26th Amendment
– Voting age 18
• War Powers Act -1973
– Inform Congress 48 hrs
– Troops – 90 Days
• Ping Pong Diplomacy
– Nixon – 1970’s
• Arms Control
– Nuclear Test Ban Treaty
• 1963
– Anti Ballistic Missile
Treaty
• 1972
• “Star Wars”
– Strategic Arms Limitation
Treaty (SALT I, II, III)
Reaction to Communism 1950’s• House Un-American
Activities Committee
– Hearings, Hollywood
Ten, Blacklist
• Smith Act 1940
– Illegal to advocate
overthrow of U.S.
government
• Loyalty Review Board
– 1947
– Review thousands of
federal employees
• Spying
– Alger Hiss – State
Dept.
– Julius and Ethel
Rosenberg
• McCarthyism
– Communist
everywhere in govt.
– Army Hearings
– Censure
Civil Rights
• Brown v. Board of
Education 1954
– Plessy v. Ferguson 1898
• Integration Opposed
– Little Rock (1957)
– University of Alabama
(1963)
• Montgomery Bus
Boycott
– Rosa Parks
• Black Civil Rights
Organizations
– NAACP
• National Association for
the Advancement of
Colored People
– CORE
• Congress on Racial
Equality
– SCLC
• Southern Christian
Leadership Coalition
• Martin Luther King
Civil Rights
• Nation of Islam
– Malcolm X
• Civil Rights Act of 1957
– Not interfere with right to
vote
– 1st major civil rights
legislation in 82 years
• Civil Rights Act of 1964
– Forbid racial
discrimination in areas of
housing, schools,
employment
• Voting Rights Act of 1965
– No literacy test
– Federal monitor of
registration
• 24th Amendment
– Outlaw Poll Tax
Other Civil Rights
• Unity League of
California
– Ignatio Lopez
– Cesar Chavez
• American Indian
Movement
• National Organization
of Women (NOW)
– Betty Friedan
– Equal Rights
Amendment
• Equal Employment
Opportunity Act
• Title IX
• Americans with
Disabilities Act
• Education of All
Handicapped Children Act
• Gallaudet University
– Hearing Impaired
Monumental LegislationLegislation Change or Provision Constitutional Principle
Northwest Ordinance
(1787)
Provided for the
settlement of the
Northwest Territory of the
new nation and
established guidelines
such as protection of civil
liberties in the territory,
statehood eligibility and
schools.
This one of the few acts of
legislation passed under
the Articles of
Confederation that was
considered a success.
The Bill of Rights
(1791)
Served as the founding list
of rights and liberties to be
guarded by the new
American government.
Many of the rights we
expect our government to
defend were added to the
Constitution later as the
first 10 amendments.
The Bill of Rights itself
established many of the
Constitutional principles of
rights of the accused and
freedoms of the individual
that are fundamental to
our system.
Legislation Change or Provision Constitutional Principle
Charter of The
Bank of the
United States
(1791)
Alexander Hamilton who was
serving as Washington's
Secretary of the Treasury,
advocated for a National Bank
in order to aid in the running of
the US economy.
Many disagreed over the
constitutionality of the National
Bank. In the end the creation of
the bank was justified by the
necessary and proper clause
of the Constitution.
Missouri
Compromise
(1820)
Established a line dividing the
free and slave territories of the
growing United States.
The Constitution made no clear
provision for the expansion of
the nation. As the nation grew
so did the argument over
slavery. The compromise
served as a short term "fix" to
the larger issues that would
explode into the Civil War.
Cases Quick Summary Outcome/Historical
Significance
Constitutional
Concepts/ Enduring
Issues
Marbury v.
Madison(1803)*
Appointment of
midnight justices by
John Adams
rejected by
Jefferson. Supreme
Court must decide
constitutionality of
Judiciary Act.
John Marshall
declares Judiciary
Act unconstitutional
The Supreme Court
has the right of
Judicial Review.
Judicial v.
Executive and
Congressional
Power. Judicial
Review/Separation
of powers
McCulloch v.
Maryland(1819)*
Maryland attempts
to tax the National
Bank of the United
States.Court must
decide whether
Bank is legitimate
under the elastic
clause and whether
Maryland can tax it.
John Marshall
declares "the power
to tax is the power to
destroy." The
Supremacy Clause of
the Constitution
prohibits state
taxation of a federal
institution.
Supremacy vs
State Rights;
Elastic Clause
Judicial Review;
Federalism
The Supreme Court Cases to Know
Cases Quick Summary Outcome/Historical
Significance
Constitutional
Concepts/ Enduring
Issues
Gibbons v. Ogden
(1824)
Ogden receives
exclusive right from
New York to use
Steam boat to
navigate in New
York and to N.J.
Gibbons gets right
from Congress.
John Marshall
declares that
Congress has the
exclusive authority to
regulate Interstate
Commerce, especially
when it involves
a"stream of
commerce “.
Interstate
Commerce Clause
(Art. I, Sect.8) vs
States Rights
Judicial
Review/Federalism
Worchester v.
Georgia (1838)
Worcester, a
minister did not get
a license from
Georgia to do
missionary work
with the Cherokee
nation residing in
Georgia.
The court ruled that
only the United States
had the authority to
make treaties and
regulations with
Native Americans.
The decision opened
the door for Jackson
to enforce the Indian
Removal Act.
Article I treaty
power of Congress
vs Tenth
Amendment police
Reserved Power of
Georgia. Native
Americans/Manifest
Destiny/Rights of
Ethnic Group/Power
of National
Government
Cases Quick Summary Outcome/Historical
Significance
Constitutional
Concepts/ Enduring
Issues
Dred Scott v.
Sanford (1857)
Dred Scott was a
slave who was
brought into free
Territory as defined
by the Missouri
Compromise.
The Supreme Court
declared that slaves
were property and as
such were not
protected by the
Constitution. It also
declared the Missouri
Compromise
unconstitutional
Article III
citizenship rights vs
Fifth Amendment
property rights.
Civil War causes/
Federalism/Equality
/Rights of Ethnic
Groups
Plessy v
Ferguson (1896)*
The state of Louisiana
enacted a law that
required separate railway
cars for blacks and
whites. In 1892, Homer
Adolph Plessy--who was
seven-eighths
Caucasian--took a seat in
a "whites only" car of a
Louisiana train. He
refused to move to the
car reserved for blacks
and was arrested
The Supreme Court ruled
that the "separate but
equal" provision of the
Louisiana law was
constitutional. The case
established this principle of
segregation until it was
overturned in 1954.
Fourteenth
Amendment equal
protection clause vs
Louisiana's Tenth
Amendment
Reserved power right
to legislate.
Equality/ Federalism/Jim
Crow/