1. CH. 1 THE CONSTITUTION
STUDENT NOTES

2. PROBLEM OF LIBERTY Goal of Am. Revolution was liberty
Colonists lacked rights as British subjects
English Constitution lacked legitimacy
After French and Indian War: “taxation without representation”

3. DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE
No more divine right - elimination of royal prerogative
EVERYONE is equal
“self-evident”
MAJOR SCHISM
DOCUMENT
Philosophical basis
Grievances
State of Separation

4. Declaration of Independence
Based upon Locke’s conception of individual rights
life, liberty, right to own property
government as a social contract to protect individual rights
Outlines basic political philosophy of the new republic
Justifies rebellion against Britain

5. ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION
Original plan for government (1st Constitution of US)
Authority laid with states
Congress of the Confederation
States had central authority over direction of country

6. The Articles of Confederation
Adopted by the Second Continental Congress in 1777
Created a loose “league of friendship” among the states
Union of sovereign states supreme to national government
Provided equal representation to all states with one vote in Congress
Unicameral legislature
No independent executive or judiciary
Lacked power to tax
States controlled trade (imports)
National government intentionally weak
GOAL: avoid tyranny

8. FAIL!!!
Article II – “Each state retains its sovereignty, freedom, and independence.” Gov’t has no control
Unicameral Congress (one house) with one vote per state
Supermajority (9 of 13) to pass a law
Supermajority (13 of 13) to amend
No Executive (No President), no central authority
No Federal Judiciary (No Supreme Court), no central law
No control of taxation, commerce between states or with foreign nations, money system
*Leads to Constitutional Convention and complete restructuring of American Government

9. Protecting Freedoms
Goal: create a strong fiscal and military state while simultaneously protecting individual liberty
Protections in the Articles of the Constitution:
Writ of Habeas Corpus: the right of people detained by the government to know the changes against them
Bills of Attainder: when the legislature declares someone guilty without a trial
Ex Post Facto Laws: laws punishing people for acts that were not crimes at the time they were committee
Individual freedoms are mostly protected in the Bill of Rights, not the Articles of the Constitution

10. PHILOSOPHERS INSPIRE Montesquieu (1689-1755), The Spirit of Laws
Hobbes ( ), The Leviathan
Locke ( ), Second Treatise of Government
Rousseau ( ), The Social Contract
Thomas Paine ( ), Common Sense

11. Enlightenment Principles
Enlightenment principles shaped American revolutionary ideals
Democracy: power is held by the people
Natural rights: the right to life, liberty, and property, which government cannot take away
Social contract: people allow their governments to rule over them to ensure an orderly and functioning society

12. Government by the People
Popular sovereignty: the idea that the government’s right to rule comes from the people
Republicanism: the authority of the government comes from the people
Representative government
Americans use free, fair, and frequent elections to hold officials accountable
Opposes a direct democracy

13. Ratification Debates Anti-Federalists Federalist
Desired STRONGER state governments and WEAKER national government
Keep government in check maintain individual rights
Felt Americans were good, virtuous, and will participate
Federalist
Desired a STRONGER national government and WEAKER state governments
Already included:
Ex post facto
No bill of attainder
Habeas corpus
Felt Americans were good, but incompetent and will ruin country

14. Ratification Debates The Federalist Papers: Madison, Hamilton, Jay
Anti-federalist concerns:
constitution too aristocratic
large republic not feasible
possible tyranny of national government
no specific protection of rights
Madison promises the Bill of Rights after ratification

15. FOUNDERS PHILOSOPHY
“In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this: you must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place oblige it to control itself.”
Federalist 51

16. Bill of Rights First ten amendments to the federal constitution:
Restrain the national government from tampering with fundamental rights and civil liberties
Emphasize the limited character of the national government’s power

17. Constitution 1787 Framers needed to centralize power
Bridge between theory and reality
Divides the national government into three branches
Describes the powers of those branches and their connections
Outlines the interaction between the government and the governed
Describes the relationship between the national government and the states
Is the supreme law of the land

18. Great Compromise HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES SENATE
Representation in the House of Representatives would be apportioned according to the population of each state (initially consisting of 56 members)
Revenue-raising acts would originate in the House
SENATE
Each state would be represented equally in the Senate (2 each)
Senators would be selected by their state legislatures, not by direct popular election

21. Madisonian Model
Popular Sovereignty – power to govern belongs to the people, gov’t based on the consent of governed
Separation of Powers – division of gov’t between branches: executive, legislative and judicial
Checks and Balances – a system where branches have some authority over others
Limited Government – gov’t is not all-powerful, and it does only what citizens allow
Federalism – division of power between central government and individual states

22. FEDERALIST #10 Madison addressed biggest fear of gov’t
Faction – a group in a legislature or political party acting together in pursuit of some special interest (think fraction – ½, 1/3, etc)
Founding fathers were concerned that our government would be ripped apart
Separation of Powers check the growth of tyranny
Each branch of government keeps the other two from gaining too much power
A republic guards against irresponsible direct democracy or “common passions”
Factions will always exist, but must be managed to not severe from the system.

24. The Document Seven articles of the Constitution
1-3: Establish the separate branches of government and specify their internal operations and powers
4-7: Define the relationships among the states, explain the process of amendment, declare the supremacy of national law, and explain the procedure for ratifying the Constitution

26. Article I
Section 8 establishes the principle of Enumerated Powers in which Congress may exercise only the powers that the Constitution assigns to it
Commerce clause – “regulate Commerce with foreign nations, and among the several States.”
The last clause of Section 8, the “necessary and proper clause,” also establishes Congress’ implied powers—powers that Congress needs to execute its enumerated powers

27. The Legislative Branch
Creates Congress – purpose is to make laws
More power than legislature under Articles of Confederation
Enumerated/Expressed Powers: authority specifically granted to a branch of the government in the Constitution
Borrow money, tax, regulate interstate commerce
Necessary and Proper Clause: Article I, Section 8, granting Congress necessary powers to carry out enumerated powers
Implied powers: authority of the federal government that goes beyond its expressed powers

28. Article II Establishes: President’s term of office
Procedure for electing the president through the Electoral College
Qualifications for becoming president
President’s duties and powers

29. The Executive Branch Single Executive (although debated)
4-year term (no limit on term)
Job is to carry out the laws that have been passed by Congress
Powers limited by Congress
Veto, commander-in-chief, oversee execution of law by bureaucracy, treating making
Most powers shared with Congress to prevent tyranny
Selected by the Electoral College, indirectly elected by the people

31. WHY ELECTORAL COLLEGE? State influence Fear of mob rule
Compromise between big and small states
Role of state legislature
Reinforces federalism
Fear of mob rule
Protect against direct election by uninformed citizens/cater to elite
Congressional influence weakened
Not an agent of

32. Article III The Judicial Article
Left purposely vague due to disagreement over its provisions and thus Congress established a system of federal courts, separate from state courts
Does NOT explicitly give the courts the power of judicial review or the authority of the court to invalidate congressional or presidential actions

33. The Judicial Branch System of federal courts
Supreme Court highest court in the land
Lower court structure determined by Congress
Jurisdiction to handle disputes between states and national government, between two or more states, and between citizens of different states
Supremacy Clause: national treaties and laws shall be the supreme law of the land
Judicial review, the ability of the courts to strike down acts of Congress, is not explicit in Article III

35. Article IV - FEDERALISM
Requires that the judicial acts and criminal warrants of each state be honored in all other states – Full Faith and Credit
Forbids discrimination against citizens of one state by another state – Privileges and Immunities
Extradition
Allows the addition of new states and stipulates that the national government will protect the states against foreign invasion and domestic violence

36. EQUALITY Slavery Voting Legal in every state except Mass.
Representation and taxation based on 3/5 compromise
Grouped them under property
Voting
Some wanted universal manhood suffrage
Left it up to the states- if you could vote in state elections, you could vote in national

37. Article V
Specifies the method for amending the Constitution

38. INFORMAL CHANGES
Judicial interpretation
Social and cultural changes

39. Article VI Supremacy Clause:
Asserts that when they conflict with state or local laws, the Constitution, national laws and treaties take precedence

40. Article VII
Describes the ratification process, stipulating that approval by conventions in nine states would be necessary for the Constitution to take effect

42. Ratification Debates
The fate of the Constitution was based on state ratifying conventions
Delegates were torn over whether or not to ratify the new Constitution or not
Some feared too much concentration of power in a central government, and even more so the possibility of tyranny that undermined state authority
Two camps emerged: Federalists and Antifederalists
Divided over:
1) the feasibility of republican government in a large republic
2) the relative power of states and the national government
3) the lack of a bill of rights in the Constitution

43. Federalists
Supporters of the proposed Constitution, who called for a strong national government
Pointed to the problems under the Articles of Confederation
George Washington, Benjamin Franklin
Published Federalist Papers to explain sell the Constitution to the public – push to ratify
Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, John Jay under name “Publius”
1787 New York newspapers

44. Antifederalists
Those opposed to the proposed Constitution, who favored stronger state governments
Played on the fears that a change in government would bring
Trample over people’s rights and the states
Mistrusted powerful elites; mostly rural backgrounds

46. Antifederalist Papers – Brutus 1
Suspicion of power
The country is too large to be governed as a republic and that the Constitution gave too much power to the national government
Excess of power: power to tax, necessary and proper clause, supremacy clause, federal judiciary, military control (destruction of liberty and prevalence of tyranny)
All would render the states useless

47. BRUTUS 1
When the new Constitution was proposed for ratification in 1787, the American people deliberated freely and publicly, especially in newspaper editorials, about whether to accept or reject a form of government for themselves. Antifederalists (those who opposed immediate ratification) contributed to the public debate by questioning whether the proposed Constitution would lead to the security or destruction of the rights Americans then enjoyed under their state constitutions. One of the most eloquent Antifederalists, writing under the pseudonym Brutus, voiced a concern shared by many Americans: Could a widely dispersed and diverse people be united under one government without sacrificing the blessings of liberty and self-government? Brutus’ powerful arguments prompted Federalists to articulate a more thorough explanation of what the Constitution meant and why it should be ratified. Taken together, the Federalist and Antifederalist debates over the Constitution provide Americans with a deeply insightful conversation about politics, human nature, and the difficulties of establishing good government. 

48. Federalist Papers – No. 10 Written by Madison
Advocated for a large constitutional republic
Feared danger of faction, group of self-interested individuals who form groups to use the government to get what they want
Can’t eliminate cause – that would suppress liberty
Control the effect with a large republic, more people, more opinions – natural check is a large and diverse populous

50. FEDERALIST 10
Federalist 10 is part of a remarkable public discussion, spawned by the ratification debates, between Federalists and Antifederalists on the nature of republican government. Many Antifederalists believed that the Constitution would lead to a large, consolidated nation and abolish the republican governments in the states, which in turn would lead to violations of the rights of citizens. Madison turned that argument on its head by pointing out that in republican governments, in which the majority must rule, an all-powerful majority often sacrifices the natural rights of the minority to their own selfish interests. Tyranny was just as possible in republican governments as under monarchies; and smaller republics — that is, republics the size of the American states — were especially prone to the danger of majority faction. Some remedy for this “mortal disease” must be found, Madison argued, if we are to have a republic in which the natural rights of all, including the minority, are protected.