The Constitutional Convention Jamie Monogan University of Georgia January 16, 2018

Objectives By the end of this meeting, participants should be able to: Explain the causes and reasoning behind the institutions the framers crafted. Describe the major provisions of the U.S. Constitution.

What Do Constitutions Accomplish? Establish “rule of law” in a society Provide basics of policy making How law is made and by whom Outline responsibilities of government institutions Determine who is eligible to serve in government positions The U.S. Constitution is one of the shortest and longest lasting documents in the world. Many U.S. states have Constitutions that are much longer. Some countries such as Great Britain do not have a written Constitution, but a shared understanding of what is and is not “constitutional.”

Articles of Confederation (AOC) First U.S. governing document, ratified in 1781 Each state had one vote Had powers, but no means of enforcement Required unanimous consent to amend AOC reflects fear of strong government. It has no executive and no judicial branch. Each state retained full sovereignty under the AOC. Unanimous consent rule raises the cost of collective action. Each state can veto major changes, which makes it very difficult to reach agreement when competing interests are at stake.

Origins of American System Articles of Confederation set up a weak national government Could not compel states to pay their share of debt/taxes Articles lacked effective means of coordination and preventing free-riding Failure led to Convention of 1787 AOC was first governing document adopted after Revolutionary War. Free-riding was rampant. States could not be compelled to pay their fair share of war debts. Lack of common currency caused coordination problems with trade among states.

Constitutional Convention Met in Philadelphia in 1787 to consider amendments to AOC Quickly decided to scrap the AOC and write new document Founders wrestled with how to combine strong national government with protections of individual liberty The meeting was somewhat controversial. Some states did not send delegates, others delegates left early. Opponents of a strong government feared that a stronger government would be the result of the convention. Delegates kept windows closed all summer in Philadelphia to keep deliberation from leaking. Madison presented Virginia Plan on first day of convention.

Virginia Plan First proposal at convention by James Madison Set up strong legislature apportioned by population Bicameral legislature with upper chamber elected by lower chamber Advantaged large states at expense of small states As text notes, institutional design has distributional consequences. At time of convention, Virginia was the largest state in the country so it is not a surprise that they wanted a legislative branch apportioned by population. Electing of the upper house by lower house was a way to keep the preferences of the two chambers congruent and would likely have made policy making easier than it is under today’s Constitution.

New Jersey Plan Small states proposed this plan Plural executive Legislature based on equal representation by states The idea: Revise the Articles of Confederation instead of start fresh Small state response to the Virginia Plan. Not as well thought out as Virginia Plan because it was produced in a rapid fashion in response to Virginia Plan. Preserved many of the collective dilemmas that had doomed the AOC. For discussion: Ask students to discuss the pros and cons of the two plans and to make connections between why small states favored the New Jersey Plan and large states favored the Virginia plan.

Slavery Major issue at convention Northern states that favored abolition feared Southern states would refuse to sign if slavery were banned or restricted Compromises allowed convention to succeed, but set country on path to the Civil War Slavery is arguably the biggest flaw in the original Constitution. The compromises that went into keeping the southern states on board (3/5 compromise, restrictions on banning slave trade) only temporarily put the slavery issue on the backburner. As the country grew and new states were admitted, slavery became an issue that increasingly divided the nation. In retrospect, one can argue that the Civil War was inevitable given the inadequate solutions to this issue included in the Constitution. This is a good point to discuss the fact that even though the Founders and the Constitution they produced are held up as great examples of democracy and statesmanship, political compromises undermined the final product.

Compromises at the Convention Three-Fifths Compromise Slaves counted as 3/5 person for representation and taxation Connecticut Compromise (aka Great Compromise) Bicameral legislature House representation based on population Equal state representation in Senate (important in the context of the Articles of Confederation) Senators elected by state legislatures Unitary, independent executive Core of Connecticut Compromise follows Virginia Plan. Key compromises include equal representation in Senate, senator elected by state legislatures (to preserve states’ rights), and slaves counting as 3/5 of a person for representation and taxation. Can discuss the distributional implications of these compromises. Equal state representation in the Senate preserved small state power and to this day still allows them to get a disproportionate share of federal benefits. The bicameral legislature also makes it very difficult to pass major legislation. A coalition of small states can band together and prevent legislation from passing even if an overwhelming majority of the U.S. population favors it.

Assignments Chapter 2 critical thinking exercise due at 11:59pm on Thursday. Login to ELC to complete. Also for Thursday: Read Maltese, Pika & Shively, pp. 59-74 For Friday: Read Bullock & Gaddie, Chapter 4