Download Origins of American Government

Origins of American Government
The way our government works today can be
traced to important documents in history:
Important Philosophies that
Influenced U.S. Government
• John Locke (certain rights belong to all
people-Natural Rights Philosophy,
behavior is motivated by self-interest,
consent of the governed-Social Contract
Theory)
• Thomas Hobbes (big governments are like
a monster-Leviathan)
Important Philosophies (cont.)
• Baron de Montesquieu (division of power,
mixed government-power divided among
societal classes)
• Classical Republicanism (citizens and
government must work together, civic
virtue--”public spiritedness”, moral
education and small uniform communities
where everyone knows and cares for one
another)
English colonist brought three main
concepts:
• The need for an ordered social system, or
government.
• The idea of limited government, that is, that
government should not be all-powerful.
• The concept of representative
government—a government that serves the
will of the people.
Early Colonial Governments
• The royal colonies were ruled directly by
the English monarchy.
• The King granted land to people in North
America, who then formed proprietary
colonies.
• The charter colonies were mostly selfgoverned, and their charters were granted
to the colonists.
Common Features of State Constitutions
Popular Sovereignty
Limited Government
Civil Rights and Liberties
Separation of Powers and Checks and
Balances
The principle of popular sovereignty was the basis
for every new State constitution. That principle
says that government can exist and function only
with the consent of the governed. The people hold
power and the people are sovereign.
The concept of limited government was a major
feature of each State constitution. The powers
delegated to government were granted reluctantly
and hedged with many restrictions.
In every State it was made clear that the
sovereign people held certain rights that the
government must respect at all times. Seven of
the new constitutions contained a bill of rights,
setting out the “unalienable rights” held by the
people.
The powers granted to the new State governments
were purposely divided among three branches:
executive, legislative, and judicial. Each branch
was given powers with which to check (restrain the
actions of) the other branches of the government.
Articles of Confederation
• Approved November 15, 1777
• Est. “a firm league of friendship”
between the states
• Needed the ratification of the 13
states
• March 1, 1781 Second Continental
Congress declared the Articles
effective
Articles of Confederation
• Powers of Congress:
– Make war and
peace
– Send and receive
ambassadors
– Make treaties
– Borrow money
– Set up a money
system
– Est. post offices
– Build a navy
– Raise an army by
asking the states
for troops
– Fix uniform
standards of
weights and
measures
– Settle disputes
among the states
Articles of Confederation
• States Obligations:
– Pledge to obey the
Articles and Acts of
the Congress
– Provide the funds
and troops
requested by the
congress
– Treat citizens of
other states fairly
and equally
– Give full faith and
credit to public acts,
records, and judicial
proceedings
– Submit disputes to
congress for
settlement
– Allow open travel
and trade b/w and
among states
– Primarily responsible
for protecting life
and property
– Accountable for
promoting the
general welfare of
the people
Weaknesses of the Articles
Critical Period, the 1780’s
• Revolutionary War ended on October 19,
1781
• Signed the Treaty of Paris
• With Peace comes hardships
– Economic problems
– Political problems
– Problems a result of the weaknesses of AofC
Critical Period, the 1780’s
• Problems included
–
–
–
–
Central government who could not act
States entering into treaties
States taxing on goods and banning trade
Debts, public and private were unpaid
• Shay’s Rebellion
–
–
–
–
Farmers were losing their land
Shut down courts
Led and attack on Federal arsenal
Mass. State legislature eases the burden of debtors
Constitutional Convention
• Mid-February of 1787
• Seven states name delegates
– Delaware, Georgia, New Hampshire, New
Jersey, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and
Virginia
Framers of the Convention
Constitutional Convention
• Meet summer of 1787 in
Philadelphia
• Elected George
Washington as president
of the convention
• Majority of States needed
to conduct business
• One vote per State on all
matters
• Majority of votes needed
to pass proposals
• Worked in Secrecy
Father of the Constitution
• James Madison:
– Kept detail records of
the convention
– Conventions Floor
leader
– Contributed more to
the constitution than
any other
• Full body settled all
questions
The Virginia Plan: Called for a
NEW Government
• Three Separate branches of government
• Legislature, Executive, and Judicial
• Bicameral legislature
• Based on population or money given to support the central
government
• Members of House of Reps = based on population
• Senate = chosen by House from a list from the State Legislature
• Congress would be given powers it had under the A of C
• Veto any State law that conflicted with National Law
The New Jersey Plan
• Unicameral Congress of the Confederation
– Each state equally represented
• Add closely limited powers
– Tax and regulate trade
• Federal Executive
– More than one person
– Chosen by Congress/could be removed with maj.
Vote
• Federal Judiciary
– Single “supreme Tribunal”
– Selected by Executive
Differences between the plans
• How should the states be represented in
Congress?
– Based on population?
– Financial contribution?
– State equality?
• 4 weeks they deliberated
– Heated debate
– Lines drawn in the sand
The Compromises
• Connecticut Compromise
– Two houses
– Senate – equal representation
– House – proportional representation
• Combination of Virginia and New Jersey
plans
• AKA: The Great Compromise
The Compromises
• Three-Fifths Compromise
– Should Slaves be counted?
– Split North v South
– All “free person’s” will be counted; 3/5 of all
other persons
– Southerners could count slaves but had to
pay taxes on them
The Compromises
• The Commerce and Slave Trade
Compromises
– Congress = power to regulate foreign and
interstate trade
– Scared southerners (Controlled by industrial
North)
– No export tax
– Continue the slave trade for at least 20 years
Ratifying the Constitution
• Federalists
– Articles of
Confederation were
weak
– argued for the
ratification of the
Constitution.
– James Madison
– Alexander Hamilton
• Anti-Federalists
– objected to the
Constitution for
including the strong
central government
– the lack of a bill of
rights.
– Patrick Henry, John
Hancock, Samuel
Adams
The Constitution is Ratified
• Nine States ratified the
Constitution by June 21,
1788, but the new
government needed the
ratification of the large
States of New York and
Virginia.
• Great debates were held in
both States, with Virginia
ratifying the Constitution
June 25, 1788.
• New York’s ratification was
hard fought. Supporters of
the Constitution published a
series of essays known as
The Federalist.
Inaugurating the Government
• The new Congress met for the first
time on March 4, 1789.
• Congress finally attained a quorum
(majority) on April 6 and counted the
electoral votes. Congress found that
George Washington had been
unanimously elected President. He
was inaugurated on April 30.