ConstitutionNotes.ppt

Lecture Notes – Mon. Feb. 14

Lecture Notes – Tues., Feb. 8

The U.S

Constitution

"If a nation expects to be both ignorant

and free, it expects what never was and

never will be."

•Articles of

Confederation

did not provide

for strong

enough national

govt.

So the question was

• Do we fix the

AOC? OR. . .

• Do we throw

out the AOC &

write a whole

new plan for a

national

Constitutional Convention

• Reps (a.k.a. delegates)

from 12 states met in

Philadelphia to discuss

problems w/ A.O.C.

• R.I. refused to attend

– Feared a stronger national government would take

Constitutional Convention, Cont’d.

• They decided to:

– Throw out the AOC

– Write a new constitution

• Thus the meeting came to be known as the

Begin new notes for Const. & Bill

of Rights Test

Constitutional Convention – 1787

Who Attended the Convention?

• 55 white guys

• Mostly educated and upper class

– Large landowners (plantations, etc.,) businessmen, public officials, and lawyers

• Patrick Henry was

Benjamin

Franklin

• Oldest delegate at the

convention (81 years old)

George

Washington

• Presided over convention

• Delegates decided

unanimously that G.W.

would preside over the

Early Decisions Cont’d.

• Washington chose a committee to set rules for conducting the convention.

• The committee decided that decisions would be made by majority vote, with each state having one vote.

• All talks at Const.

Convention about new Const. were kept

secret so everyone could speak freely w/ o public interference

• No formal records were kept.

• Most of what we know comes from James Madison’s

What Were the Two Opposing

Plans for a New National

Legislature?

• Virginia Plan

The Virginia Plan

• Designed by James Madison

• Called for a govt. with three branches:

– Legislative branch (lawmakers)

– Executive branch (to carry out the laws) – Judicial branch (a system of courts to

Virginia Plan Cont’d.

• Legislature would have two houses

– # reps (votes) each state got would depend on population

• i.e., the more people who lived in your state, the more reps your state would get both houses of Congress

• Appealed to states w/ bigger populations

New Jersey Plan

• States w/ smaller

populations)

feared govt.

dominated by

large states would

ignore their

New Jersey Plan Cont’d.

• The N.J. Plan called for:

– 3 branches of govt.

– Legislature w/ one house

– Each state would get one vote in legis., so large & small states would have equal power

The Great Compromise

• Result of the Connecticut Plan (Roger Sherman)

• New govt. would have:

– Senate – 2 senators per state

– House of Representatives (HOR) - # of reps to be based on each state’s population

So . . . . .

• Great Compromise settled the question

of how Congress would be set up . . . A

bicameral legislature (lawmakers =

Other Compromises (5)

• With so many slaves in the South,

Southerners wanted to count their

slaves as part of the population so they

could have more representatives in the

House of Representatives in Congress

1) Three-Fifths Compromise

• Southern states wanted to count slaves

as part of their population so they could

have more reps in the HOR

Three-fifths Compromise Cont’d.

• Every 5 slaves would count as 3 free

persons to determine:

Other Compromises, Cont’d.

• Northern states wanted Congress to be able to regulate foreign trade and trade between the states (a.ka. Interstate Commerce).

• Southern states feared Congress would then tax their exports (cotton, tobacco, rice, etc.)

Other Compromises, Cont’d.

– 2) Congress would control commerce betw. the states and with foreign countries

– 3) Congress would not tax exports from the states to other countries

5) Choosing the Pres. & V. Pres.

Convention disagreed about who would choose the president - the

voters or Congress.

• Solution – the Electoral College

– Group of people

Begin notes Tues., Feb. 15

Approving the Constitution

• Ratification required at least 9 of 13

state conventions to vote “yes.”

Ratifying the Constitution

The Continental Congress received the proposed Constitution on September 20. It then voted to send the document to the state legislatures for ratification.

The people who supported the new Constitution, the Federalists, began to publish articles supporting ratification. Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay eventually compiled 85 essays as The Federalist Papers. These supporters of the Constitution believed that the checks and balances system would allow a strong central government to

Federalists vs. Anti-Federalists

• Federalists: Supporters of the Const.

– Const. would create system of federalism where nat’l. govt. has power, but states also have their own powers

• *KNOW THE DEFINITION OF FEDERALISM*

One of North Carolina's most influential

The Federalist Papers

• 85 articles published by Federalists to

convince people to ratify new Const.

– Argued that the new Const. created a system of checks & balances that would

Demands of Federalists

• Federalists argued for a

strong central

government.

• The Constitution took

effect when New

Hampshire became the

Anti-Federalists

• Wanted more power for the states and less for the national government.

• They also wanted a bill of rights to protect individual freedoms.

Parts of the Constitution

• Obj: Explain the

structure of the

U.S.

Purpose of the Constitution

• Framework for government

Constitution as a Framework for

Our Govt.

• The powers of all

branches come from

the Constitution.

• 3 main parts:

– Preamble

– 7 Articles (main sections)

The Preamble

• States the goals and

purposes of government.

• The first part makes

clear that government

gets its power from the

people and exists to

The Preamble Cont’d.

• States six purposes of government:

–“To form a more perfect Union” –“To establish Justice”

–“To insure domestic Tranquility”

–“To provide for the common defense” –“To promote the general Welfare”

The 7 Articles of the

Constitution

• Explain how government is to work.

• The first three articles describe the

powers and responsibilities of the three

branches of government.

• Article I (1):

– Legislative branch with two houses

Article One Cont’d.

• It then describes how members will be

chosen.

Article II (2)

• Establishes the executive branch

– Enforces the laws

– Headed by pres. & vice pres.

• Describes:

– Their powers & duties

• Explains:

Article III (3)

• Establishes the judicial branch

– Interprets & applies the laws

• It calls for one Supreme Court plus

Article IV

Article V

• Declares that the Constitution is the

“supreme Law of the Land” and federal

law prevails over state law.

Article VII

How Can You Amend the Constitution?

• Amendment - Any change

to the Const.

• First 10 amendments - Bill

of Rights.

• Only 27 amendments have

become law.

• 16th Amendment – Federal Income Tax (1909-1913)

• The Framers made sure that the

• Amendment process involves two steps:

– 1) Proposal

– 2) Ratification

• May be proposed by:

– 2/3 of both houses of Congress OR

– National convention

requested by two-thirds of the state legislatures.

• May be ratified by: – 3/4 of the states

• Either the state

Interpreting the Constitution

• U.S. Const. is:

– General document

Enumerated Powers

– a.k.a. Delegated, or expressed

powers

Certain powers are given to Congress by

the U.S. Constitution:

• Collect taxes to pay the costs of running the federal government

• Coin money for the United States

• Make rules for trade between the states and with other countries

• Provide for the defense of the United States • Raise and support armies and a navy

• Declare war

• Set up a Post Office system

• Set the standards for weights and measures within the United States

• Set up federal courts having less power than the Supreme Court • Provide for the general welfare of the United States

Some things Congress cannot do

are also listed in the Constitution:

• Punish a person without having a trial

• Deny a prisoner the right to be brought

before a judge who can decide if the prisoner is being held lawfully

• Make an action a crime after the action is already done

• Place a tax on exports from one state to another

Necessary & Proper Clause

– Found at end of Art. I, Sec. 8

– a.k.a. Elastic Clause

– Gives Congress power “to make all laws that are

necessary & proper” to carry out its duties

Necessary and Proper Clause Cont’d.

• Allows Congress to have:

– Implied Powers – Power to make laws about things that are not specifically stated in Const.

Begin notes Wed., Feb. 16

Interpreting the Const.

• Loose interpretation – Says

Congress can make any laws

not specifically forbidden by

Const.

Interpreting the Const., Cont’d.

• Strict interpretation – Says Congress

can only make the kinds of laws

mentioned by the Constitution.

3

period – begin notes thurs.,

• Supreme Court

– Final authority to

interpret the Const.

• Each new

• Actions by Congress

and the pres. also

cause new

interpretations of

Const..

• For example, the president requests legislation from Congress.

• Custom also changes the interpretation

of the Constitution.

• For example, political parties, not

What is Popular Sovereignty?

• Framers’ had common vision for new U.S. govt:

– Representative of the people

5 Basic Principles of Const.

• Popular sovereignty – the people rule themselves

• Rule of law – everyone, even the president, must obey the law

• Separation of powers – each branch of govt. has its own powers. They cannot exercise powers of the other

branches

• Checks and balances – each branch of govt. has power to stop another branch from taking actions that overstep their authority

• A Republic - Supreme power belongs to the

people (found in Article IV)

• The people express their will through elected

representatives.