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CONFEDERATION & CONSTITUTION The Formation of U. S. Government—1781-1789 Which is better? Freedom or rules? The Revolutionary War involved more than simply gaining independence from Britain. It concerned the unprecedented nature of establishing an elective system of government. **The Americans had what one historian describes as a euphoric sense of “special destiny.” **The independent thinking colonials called into question the idea of “special aristocratic privilege.” U.S. history is at one level a working out of the tensions between the forces of liberty and the forces of order The Confederation Period (17811789) The Second Continental Congress—First met on May 10, 1775. In addition to appointing George Washington as Commander-in-Chief and approving the Declaration of Independence (July 4th, 1776), this body drafted the Articles of Confederation—a document that would serve the rebellious colonies as a constitution until it was replaced in 1789. The Congress drafted the Articles in 1776 and 1777. The Congress also acted as a national government, issued currency, and conducted foreign policy with other nations. Articles of Confederation The Articles were rooted in fear of tyrannical Ratification came slowly power of the because the central over boundaries respective states disagreed government— to the west “power Too much powercorrupts given to&the states and too little given to the federal government absolute power corrupts Very little power given to state absolutely” governors Flaws Within the Articles Who Was America’s First President? Article IX of the Articles provided for an office of president. The “President” came from a “Committee of the States” appointed by Congress, the organ of government that held all real central power. John Hanson, 1715-1783 (left)—the first of seven presidents of the United States under the Articles of Confederation. Congress elected Richard Henry Lee, 1732-1794 (right) as its president for 1785. Weaknesses in the Articles • Articles difficult to amend • • • Virtually no powers of taxation given to the federal government States could unilaterally erect barriers to interstate commerce States could enter into agreements with foreign nations American Difficulties and Successes during the Confederation Period • • Diplomatic humiliations Closure of the Mississippi River by the—Spanish unilaterally erect barriers to interstate commerce Harassment of American shipping in the Mediterranean and North Africa by the Barbary pirates American ships USS Constitution and USS Vixen attack Tripoli (above), August 3, 1803 Shays’ Rebellion (1787) Shays’ rebellion (right) was an armed uprising in western Massachusetts led by Daniel Shays (c. 17471825). The rebels vigorously protested high taxes and debts that the western Massachusetts farming community owed to the eastern banking establishment. The central government put down the rebellion. Shays’ Rebellion showed the dangers of what might happen—of a breakdown of law and order—without a strong central government. The handling of the Western Territories was the greatest success of the era Land Ordinance of 1785 Setting aside “Section 16” in every 6 square mile unit to be used for public education Established orderly process for laying out new townships in the Northwest Territory and marketing them as public lands Northwest Ordinance of 1787 Provided for governing of Northwest Territory and guaranteed those who settled there the basic American rights Monroe, who became the 5th president (1817-1824), was one of several individuals who made a significant contribution to the long-term development to the Northwest Territory. The Framing of the Constitution (17871789) Constitutional Convention of 1787 Described by Thomas Jefferson (in France) as an “assembly of demi-gods In all, 55 delegates attended the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia. Of those, only 39 actually signed the final document. Some of America’s most prominent leaders were not at the Convention, including Thomas Jefferson, Richard Henry Lee, Patrick Henry, John Adams, Samuel Adams, and John Hancock The Makeup of the Delegation 1. Delegates were primarily of lawyers, merchants, and planters 2. Motives of the delegates deemed by James Madison as being principally pure 3. Involved a new practice of putting down in writing the rules for governing the nation 4. Proceedings shrouded in secrecy—no notes taken other than Madison’s notes The Discussion and Debate The Virginia Plan—reduced the power of the states and increased the power of the federal government Although Edmund Randolph (above left) proposed this plan on May 29, 1787, the written document was primarily the work of his fellow Virginian, James Madison. The New Jersey Plan—left states supreme over federal government (favored by the smaller states) Bi-cameral legislature modeled on the plan of the Massachusetts state government By creating a bi-cameral legislature, the “Great Compromise relieved the concern that small states had about being dominated by larger ones House of Representatives One representative for every 30,000 residents in a state Representatives to serve for 2 years Senate All states equally represented (with 2 people) Senators served 6 year terms Separation of powers French aristocrat and political philosopher Charles Louis de Secondat, Baron de la Brède et de Montesquieu, 1689-1755 (left) wrote the multi-volume Esprit de lois (The Spirit of Laws), 1748. Among many other ideas, Montesquieu proposed the separation of powers to insure fair and equitable government. The Founding Fathers adopted the concept and applied it in the American Constitution. While the Founding Fathers accepted his idea of separation of powers, they rejected Montesquieu’s position that “a republican government could not flourish in a large territory.” Branches of American Government Executive Branch— Execute the law Legislative Branch—Make the law Judicial Branch— Interpret the law The Slavery Issue Dispute over whether slaves counted as population or property The “Three-Fifths Compromise” declared that states received credit for 3 voters for every 5 slaves Electoral College to select the president— guaranteed that the chief executive would not be indebted to Congress for his office “We the people. . .” The Founding Fathers added the introductory phrase, “We the People,” at the last minute to indicate that the new nation was a republic of the people rather than the states. Provision for amending the Constitution A Congressional proposal was ratified by 3/4th of the states A Constitutional Convention called for by 2/3rd of the states Anti-Federalists Led by Sam Adams and Patrick Henry, they opposed ratification because they believed that a strong central government would become evil Patrick Henry also opposed the Constitution on Anti-Federalist grounds The Federalists Led by George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay, the Federalists believed that the people were evil and needed a strong government to keep the peace The greatest individual contribution to the creation of the Constitution Ratification James Madison States were to ratify or reject the Constitution through specially elected state conventions 75% of the states had to approve North Carolina did not ratify until November 1789 and Rhode Island did not ratify until May 1790 (under threat of a tariff that would keep its goods out of the other 12 states). The Odd Men Out James Madison drafted of The Bill what became the first ten Rights amendments to that document: the Bill of The first ten amendments the U.heS. Constitution were Rights. A to speech ratified and adoption on December 15, 1791 deliveredcertified to Congress in 1821 (see his notes to the right) suggests that Madison was less enthusiastic about Protected basic civil liberties such as freedom of securing individual rights speech; right to a speedy trial and an impartial jury; and liberties thanand he in freedom of assembly, religion, press; the right to North Carolina bear arms;inducing and the freedom from unlawful search and Rhode Island to and seizure ratify the Constitution. An anti-Federalist legacy “Free Exercise” Clause vs. “Establishment” Clause The First Amendment Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people to peaceably assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. These two clauses James Madison are the “Twin (left)—a devout man Pillars” of who trained for the religious freedom clergy before and liberty. They Thischoosing clause guarantees Americans the right to mandate practice the law that, in faith of their choice freely. instead— warned religious matters, against any the government is configuration that neutral by law allowed for free rein of “the superior of prevents an interested Thisforce clause the government from imposing religion and any overbearing upon individual. The Founding Fathers intended to majority” provide “maximum religious freedom to all people while favoring no community of faith over others. The Free Exercise Clause The Establishment Clause James Madison’s View Madison wrote “the religion then of every man must be left to the conviction and conscience of every man. . . . In matters of Religion, no man’s right is abridged by the institution of Civil Society and. . . Religion is wholly exempt from its cognizance. . . . Religion, or the duty we owe to our Creator, and manner of discharging it, can be directed only by reason and conviction, not by force or violence; and, therefore that all men should enjoy the fullest toleration in the exercise of religion, according to the dictates of conscience, unpunished and unrestrained by the magistrate, unless under color of religion any man disturb the peace, the happiness or safety of society, and that it is the mutual duty of all to practice Christian forbearance, love and charity toward each other.” Thomas Jefferson’s View Jefferson proposed keeping government out of the business of religion by erecting a “wall of separation between church and state.” In his First Inaugural Address in 1801, Thomas Jefferson looked back on to the birth of the nation. He reminded his listeners of the Founders’ intent to banish “from our land that religious intolerance under which mankind so long bled and suffered.” In Jefferson’s Second Inaugural Address, he further developed the ideas he presented four years before, saying, “in matters of religion I have considered that its free exercise is placed by the Constitution independent of the powers of the General Government. . . . I am for freedom of Religion, and against all maneuvers to bring about a legal ascendancy of one sect over another “The Founding Fathers were well aware of the grief that religious controversy had wrought in Europe. It was precisely the kind of excesses represented by the St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre [in which some 3,000 French Huguenots died on August 24, 1572, right] that the First Amendment seeks to avoid. Consequently, the United States became the first nation to construct a constitutional framework that officially sanctioned the separation of church and state. It was a noble experiment in the founding era and remains so today. The experiment was undertaken by the Framers in the hope that it would enable Americans to escape the persecutions and religious wars that had characterized the Christian West since the emperor Theodosius made Christianity the Roman Empire’s official religion in 380 A.D The challenge for the courts has been finding the appropriate delicate balance—the proper equilibrium—between the Establishment and the Free Exercise clauses of the First Amendment. The two sometimes collide or overlap. The right to worship and the act of worshipping are two distinct, although related, activities. Neither the U.S. nor state constitutions equate freedom of religious belief with absolute freedom of religious practice— especially if a practice conflicts with other existing law. If the Founding Fathers crafted a set of governing rules that have weathered the test of more than two centuries of time, the governmental formula that they created is far from a hard and fast solution for all the conflicts that are fated to emerge in a democratic society. Indeed, the Framers of the Constitution consciously fashioned their product leaving sufficient flexibility—even certain intentional vagueness and ambiguity—making possible adjustments and adaptations along the way. They placed immense confidence in the court system to interpret the “broad, general language” of the nation’s governing documents. Because the Constitution permits considerable room for change with evolving tastes, preferences, norms, and times, it virtually foreordains a measure of legal controversy.