II - Constitution Flashcards
Constitution
Nation’s basic law
Functions of Constitution
Supreme law of the land
Created political institutions & established powers
Protects rights of citizens
Limits power of gov’t
Colonial period (1607-1763)
Freedom & autonomy of colonies from Great Britain
What happened at the end of the French & Indian war?
End of salutary neglect
Taxes & enforcement of mercantile policies
Angered the colonists
Why were the colonists angry at Britain?
No direct representation
No taxation without representation
Revolution was deeply influenced by
Enlightenment
John Locke
Important figure that influenced in the colonial leaders
Wrote “The Second Treatise of Civil Government”
Consent of governed
People agree on who their elected officials will be
Natural rights
People have inherent rights that are not dependent on gov’t
Life, liberty, and property
Limited gov’t
Restriction on power of gov’t
Purpose of gov’t
Protect natural rights of people
If gov’t fails its purpose, then
Citizens have the right to change the gov’t
Common Sense
Written by Thomas Paine
(Jan 1776)
Pamphlet arguing for independence
Influenced by Enlightenment
Main idea of Common Sense
Called for creation of republic based on natural rights of people
Declaration of Independence
Drafted by Thomas Jefferson
Goals of Declaration of Independence
Justify independence of listing grievances against King George III
Rally support in colonies
Get assistance from foreign nations
Why was the Declaration of Independence appealing to colonies?
Declares unalienable rights
and popular sovereignty
Popular sovereignty
Idea that power of gov’t rest with people
American Revolution was built on a belief of
Natural rights Consent of governed Limited gov't Responsibility of gov't to protect private property Equality of citizens
Articles of Confederation
1st national gov’t of US
Created central gov’t with limited power
Key weaknesses of Articles
Unicameral congress No executive branch/ court Lack of centralized military power No power to tax Could not regulate interstate commerce All states must agree to amend Articles
State gov’t
Each created its own Constitution, Bill of Rights, separation of powers
Separation of powers
Power typically split between 3 branches of gov’t
Bill of Rights
outlined basic freedoms
religion, trial by jury, etc.
Republicanism
Power comes from the people
Following the American Revolution, the economy
Suffered a postwar depression
Shay’s Rebellion (1786-87)
Daniel Shay, veteran of Revolutionary War and farmer in MA, led rebellion of poor farmers
What happened during the Shay’s Rebellion?
State nor national gov’t could put down rebellion
Private militia hired to put down rebels
What did the Shay’s Rebellion highlight?
Gov’t was too weak
Increased calls for stronger central gov’t
Contributes to Constitutional Convention
Growing demand to address the problems facing the nation
International trade finances interstate commerce foreign relations internal unrest
Annapolis Convention (1786)
5 states attend to discuss trade and commerce
Decided to meet up in one year at Philadelphia, PA
Constitutional Convention (1787)
Meets for purpose of revising Articles
55 delegates in attendance
All decided to create an entirely new stronger central gov’t
Founding Fathers agree on these basic ideas about gov’t
Human nature
Political conflict
Purpose of government
Nature of government
Human nature
People are driven by self-interest
Political conflict
Conflict was caused by distribution of wealth
Factions
Develop from sources of conflict
Purpose of government
Gov’t should protect right to achieve wealth and to check power of factions
Nature of government
Gov’t must be balanced with a separation of powers
Constitution is built on
compromises
Big issue at convention was about
representation in Congress
Virginia Plan
Large State Plan
Introduced by Edmund Randolph
Bicameral legislature
Representation based on population
New Jersey Plan
Small state plan
Introduced by William Patterson
Unicameral legislature
Equal representation
Connecticut Compromise
Great Compromise Introduced by Roger Sherman Bicameral legislature Senate- equal representation House- representation based on population
Slavery
Was not explicitly mentioned in Constitution
Protected by Constitution
What was the issue surrounding slavery?
Whether they should be counted in state population
3/5th Compromise
Slaves would be counted as 3/5 of a person when deciding representation in House of Reps
Slave trade was allowed to continue until
1808
Voting requirements
Determined by states
Some states abolished property requirements
Economic
Congress given tremendous power
Levy taxes
Regulating interstate commerce
Individual rights
Original Constitution said very little about personal freedom
Why did the original Constitution said very little about personal freedoms?
Created a limited gov’t with checks & balances
State constitutions protected individual rights
Constitution included certain protections such as
Writ of habeas corpus can’t be suspended unless during war
Bills of attainder are prohibited
Ex post facto laws banned
No religious qualifications for office
Criminal defendants entitled to jury
Treason narrowly defined/ strict rules for conviction
Writ of habeas corpus
Right of prisoner to know why they are being detained
Bills of attainder
Punish people without a judicial trial
Ex post facto laws
Punish people who committed a certain activity before a law was created to prohibit the activity
Madisonian Model
Framers suspicious & fearful of power of majority
How did the Framers restrict control of majority?
President, Senators, judges -> not elected by people
Only House was directly elected
Constitution created a
Republic
Citizens elect representatives to govern
Direct democracy
Citizens directly voting on issues
Separation of powers
Power separated between 3 branches of government : executive, legislative, judicial
Check & Balances
Each branch act as check upon one another
Check & Balances examples
President checks Congress with veto power
Congress controls “purse strings” & Senate approves presidential nominations
Courts are able to use judicial review
Federal system
Constitution set up a division of power between national & state gov’ts
Debate over ratification
Reflects various views on democracy & power of central gov’t
Anti-Federalists
critics of Constitution & favored weak central gov’t
Favored state rights
What was the main arguments for Anti-Federalists?
No protections for individual rights
Anti-Federalist Brutus #1
Adhered to popular democratic theory
Decentralized republic
Large centralized gov’t -> danger to personal liberty
Federalists
Supporters of Constitution & strong central gov’t
The Federalist Papers
85 essays written by Madison, Hamilton, John Jay to persuade people to support ratification of Constitution
Federalist #10
Focuses on superiority of large republic in controlling “mischief of faction”
How can gov’t control faction?
Delegating authority to elected representatives
Dispersing power b/t states & national gov’t
How did the Federalist help achieve ratification?
Guarantee Bill of Rights
Bill of Rights
Enumerated individual rights & explicitly restricted power of fed. gov’t
1st amendment
Speech, religion, press, assembly
4th amendment
No unreasonable searches & seizures w/o probable cause
What challenges did the Bill of Rights bring to gov’t?
Interpretation of these rights
George Washington
Took office as nation’s 1st president in 1789
How is the Constitution a living document?
Oldest functioning Constitution with 27 amendments
How to formally amend the constitution
Congress
Special State Convention
How can Congress amend the constitution?
Proposal - by 2/3 of Congress
Ratification by 3/4 state legislatures
Congressional amendment examples
All besides 21st
Reconstruction Amendments
19th Amendment- woman suffrage
How can Special State Convention amend the constitution?
Proposal - by National Convention of 2/3 state legislatures
Ratification -by 3/4 state conventions
Informal process of Constitutional change
Judicial interpretation
Judicial review
Judicial interpretation
Court decides the constitutionality of gov’t actions
Judicial review established by
Marbury v Madison
SCOTUS examples
Plessy v Ferguson
Brown v Board
Plessy v Ferguson (1896)
declared “separate by equal” did not violate “equal protection clause” of 14th amendment
Brown v Board (1954)
Overturned Plessy v Ferguson
The Constitution has become
More democratic through its amendments
US now has a
2 party system with 1st party system develops in 1790s
Dramatic increase in
powers of presidency
