Objectives for Constitution Unit

1. You will be able to figure out the different powers that the government possesses.

2. You will be able to devise how your own rights are defended or protected in this document.

3. You will be able to explain how your rights have limits.

4. You will be able to reinforce your own interpretation of the Constitution

5. You will be able to determine how the Constitution affects the everyday business of government and life.

Some Loose Ends…Not everything about the

Articles of Confederation was bad

In 1785 the Congress got some of the states like Virginia, New York, and Massachusetts to give up their claims out west

This was called the Land Ordinace of 1785

It also allowed for them to survey the land… more on the next slide

Land Ordinances

Other Things

The reason for the ordinances was to encourage western land sales

This was an easy way for the government to make some money

A second ordinance, the Northwest Ordinance, organized the creation of new states

It also abolished slavery within the territory – establishing a very important precedent

Constitutional ConventionGoal: revise the Articles of

Confederation

Key People: George Washington, James

Madison, Alexander Hamilton, Ben Franklin

Who wasn’t there?: John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Patrick Henry – he thought something was up

Why would some people be scared of this?

What caused them to meet?Shays’ Rebellion showed that we needed

some sort of national defense

The national government had no way to make money – states paid dues each year, usually less than required

There was no national trade policy – each state could do what it wanted

Some people thought we were in danger of collapse

Who was there?55 delegates from 12 states – what state

didn’t show up?

Why would Rhode Island refuse to show up?

Occupations:32 Lawyers11 Merchants4 Politicians2 Military Men2 Doctors2 Teachers1 Inventor1 Farmer

Secrets, Secrets are no fun…While the state governments and the public knew

that they were meeting, they had no idea what the delegates were discussing

Here are some of the ‘rules’1. locked door to the room2. closed shutters and windows (it was really hot)3. no one was to speak in public about the

proceedings4. destroy records of proceedings (private notes

were OK)

Mr. MadisonMadison was the most prepared guy in the room

He wrote most of the ideas in the Constitution

Although socially awkward, he dominated the Convention

He also wrote the notes that gave us an idea of what happened during the Convention

So we call him the “Father of the Constitution”

Key Arguments:Representation: why would this be an issue?

What did ‘revise’ really mean?

Slavery: count them?, slave trade?, abolish it?

State power: how to maintain it while building a stronger national government

Virginia Plan

Most of the Virginia delegates showed up early

They used their time (well, Madison did) to prepare a new government

Madison wrote it, but Edmund Randolph presented it on May 25

It shocked the room – why?

What did it have?3 branches of government: why would this be a good

idea?

Congress would be broken up into two houses:1. Lower House – chosen by people in each state2. Upper House – nominated by state legislature3. representatives would be determined by population

Congress would have power to regulate trade and taxes

Congress could also veto a state law

Who would like this plan?

How does it balance state and national power?

Uh oh…Delegates from smaller states were upset

New Jersey delegate William Paterson presented his own plan aka the New Jersey Plan

It was similar to the Virginia plan except that there would be one house of Congress, and it would have equal representation

It still had 3 branches, the power to tax, the power to regulate commerce

ProblemsVirginia and the larger states were worried

about the NJ Plan – why?

Hamilton then went up and spoke for six hours about his own plan for government:

1. bicameral legislature based on population2. upper house was chosen by the lower

house3. upper house chose a President – who

would serve for life

People obviously didn’t like this, but it did present an opposite extreme to the NJ plan

Connecticut CompromiseRoger Sherman and Oliver Ellsworth

presented a compromise:

1. two houses of legislature: a House of Representatives based on population, and a Senate with equal representation

2. the people would elect their representatives, and the Senate would be chosen by the state legislatures

3. every 3 slaves out of 5 would count towards the population

Philosophical Basis for CompromiseMixed Government!!

Every voice/class is heardMany examples in

history of Mixed GovernmentUSA

Exec = one Senate = few House = many

England King = one Lords = few commons = many

Rome Consul = one Senate = few Plebians = many

The EndOnce the Great Compromise was proposed,

most of the debate calmed down

On Sept. 17, 1787 they approved the document

Not everyone signed it – some feared the idea of not having individual rights protected

The states would approve them individually – once 9 states approved it, the Constitution would be the law of the land

Goals of the Constitution

1. Lay out a plan for our new government that would not be misinterpreted and would deal with long term issues

2. Prevent any one person from achieving power, which would lead to tyranny

3. In order to solve #2, they balanced the power across the three branches of government.

4. Lay out what the government can and cannot do.

5. Protect the rights of both individuals as well as states

Fundamental Principles

Checks and balances: ensures that each branch of the government watches over the others. An example of this would be impeachment

Federalism: the idea that local, state, and national governments share responsibility over their respective areas, but that the national government has the most authority

Separation of powers: each branch has it’s own job and they don’t overlap

The Original Document

Made up of 7 ‘articles,’ or sections that allude to a specific part of the government or issue

No Bill of Rights- they came in 1791

Did not account for the future of slavery, in fact the words ‘slave’ and ‘slavery’ do not appear in the document

The first three articles pertain to the three branches of government

Legislative Branch

What is the Legislative Branch?

House of Representatives:1. currently 435 members2. representation based on state’s population3. introduce any bill regarding spending4. led by Speaker of the House

Senate:1. 2 Senators per state – why would this be important?2. currently 100 members3. originally chosen by State legislatures – why?4. Vice President has tie breaking vote

Key Jobs of the Legislative BranchCreate laws

Regulate taxes – hmm, but who always gets the blame?

Approve any spending by the other branches

Declare war

Impeachment of officials

Requirements for Office

Senate: - 30 years old- citizen for 9 years- resident in the state you represent

House:- 25 years old- citizen for 7 years

- resident of the state you represent

Powers of Congress1. Raise and collect taxes: common federal tax

laws

2. Regulate trade with other countries: why would this be important?

3. Regulate currency: what does this improve?

4. Declare war: why wouldn’t the President do this?

5. Pay for the armed forces

6. Approve any Presidential nominee

7. Allowed to create forts and other federal buildings in various states

Other things1. Habeas Corpus shall not be removed, except for

rebellion

2. No taxes on exports

3. Must keep records of money spent, only money spent that is allowed by the budget

4. Impeachment of officials in the other branches- House of Reps

5. Trial for impeached official- Senate

Structure of Legislative Branch

Review Questions for Legislative Branch

1. How did this section reflect the ideas presented in the Virginia Plan, New Jersey Plan, and Connecticut Compromise?

2. How did this section reflect Whig ideology?

3. Did this section provide a balance of power between the states and the federal government?

Executive Branch

The White House: My future home

What is the Executive Branch?

• ‘executes’ or enforces the laws that Congress creates

• Largest branch of the national government

• Usually what people are complaining about

• The President is in charge of it

• Arguably has the most power of any branch of government

How do you become President?

Presidents are not directly elected by the people, instead they are chosen by the Electoral College

In order to win, a President must gain a majority of the votes, which is now 270

If a candidate falls short, the House of Representatives will vote on who becomes the next President

Five times (1800, 1824, 1876, 1888, and 2000), there was controversy regarding the outcome of the Electoral College

What the Constitution Doesn’t SayIt’s written with G Dubs in mind

What to call the President… that came later

What the role of the Vice President is… one Vice President, James Garner said it ‘wasn’t worth a bucket of warm spit’

If the President can simply fire his officials, it’s really unclear

Until FDR, it didn’t say how many terms you could serve, just that you had 4 year terms

GDubs established the precedent of leaving after two consecutive terms

Requirements for Office, etc.

Four year term, can only be elected twice, even if not consecutive

Elected by the Electoral College, need 270 to win, usually Electoral College coincides with the popular vote

Have to be a native born citizen to hold office; 35 years old

If the President dies, then the Vice President succeeds him, followed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives

Must take oath of office

Powers of OfficeCommander in Chief of the Armed Forces: can not

declare war, but can send military anywhere, and can ‘push the button’

Can make treaties with other nations, after consulting with the Senate

Can nominate Federal judges, Senate and House must approve before they are given position

Must deliver a State of the Union Address each year

Veto any bill given to him/her by Congress

Impeachment

If convicted of ‘high crimes and misdemeanors’ the President, along with any other member of his/her cabinet shall be removed from office

Only two Presidents have ever been impeached… Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton. For the record.. Richard Nixon most likely would have been impeached had he not resigned.

Chart

Summary Questions

1. How does the Constitution limit the powers of the Executive Branch?

2. In what ways does the Executive Branch bear the most responsibility in regards to making decisions about the future of the Country?

Judicial Branch

Structure of the Federal Court System

Originally…Article III only refers to

the Supreme Court

No mention of how many courts or judges

Congress was given power to create the various district courts (94 as of now)

They were not given the power of reviewing laws

Powers of the Judicial BranchJudicial Review- check to

see if any law is unconstitutional

Try any case involving more than one state- why was this created?

Any case involving federal government

Appeals from lower state courts- once the State Supreme courts hear a case, the Federal Supreme Court can hear a case

Checks both the Legislative and Executive Branches by evaluating constitutionality

Supreme CourtHighest Court in the land

Is the final say in any court decision, there is no appeal to their decision

Made up of 9 members, with 1 Chief Justice, all of whom serve life terms

Must be nominated by a President and approved by the Senate

Usually takes years to get case heard there, because of the length of trials that precede it

Can hear both state cases and federal cases if appeals are made

How does a case go to the Supreme Court?

Overview Questions1. Are there any famous cases that you

know of that involved the Supreme Court?

2. Why do you think that the Supreme Court has final say on any ruling?

3. How does the Supreme Court keep the other branches in check?

The Actual Document

ProblemsNot everyone was pleased by the Constitution, in

fact many members of the Convention refused to sign it

The convention said that each state had to form a separate convention in order to ratify it

They thought having the legislatures ratify it would be a bad idea- why?

Legislatures have to worry about a bunch of different things at once, but the convention would only be about one thing: the Constitution

Once 9/13 states approved it, then it would become the law of the land

FederalistsWere the strongest

supporters of the Constitution

Most lived in big cities

Created the Federalist Papers

Hamilton and Madison were the key leaders

Not all of them agreed on everything

Anti-FederalistsWere fearful of the Constitution

Some feared a national government that would trample the states

Others feared the idea that a few people had power over so many people

Some just wanted protections of individual rights – like George Mason

Although a minority, held up ratification in Virginia and New York

Result of Debates

Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Connecticut all ratified immediately- what is significant about those first two states?

NC and RI refused to vote on it, rejected it all together: No Bill of Rights

SC and Maryland passed it by early 1788

Massachusetts, Virginia, and New York ratified it by June 1788, very close though: Now had 9 states, so central government was legitimate and had power over the states

Most states recommended that some sort of Bill of Rights be added

Bill Of Rights Were adopted to ensure that the states

that had not ratified the Constitution (North Carolina and Rhode Island) would join the Union

12 Amendments were sent out to the states for approval: at least 9 of them had to approve it

¾ approved ten of the amendments by 1791, and after all the states were now a part of the Union

These first 10 amendments are popularly called the Bill of Rights