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Chapter Two
The Constitution
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3b56e0u
0EgQ
• Omega Glory (better quality)
• Joe Biden Interview with Katie Couric
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Discussion Question: Was the American Revolution a
conservative or radical revolution?
• Reluctance to break with Britain
• Only asserting rights as Englishmen
• Did not want to destroy economic / social
systems
• Protecting LIBERTY? What do
conservatives say?
• Liberty as a natural right.
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Discussion Question
• Read the first two paragraphs of the
Declaration of Independence
• What principles did we follow through on?
• Which ones did we neglect?
• John Adams "God Save the American
States"
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How should the new government look?
• By consent of the governed
• Legislative branch superior
• States had already adopted their own
Constitutions
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Weaknesses of the Articles of
Confederation
• Could not levy taxes or regulate commerce
• Sovereignty, independence retained by
states
• One vote in Congress for each state
• Nine of thirteen votes in Congress required
for any measure
• Delegates to Congress picked, paid for by
state legislatures
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Weaknesses of the Articles of
Confederation
• Little money coined by Congress
• Army small and dependent on independent
state militias
• Territorial disputes between states led to
open hostilities
• No national judicial system
• All thirteen states’ consent necessary for
any amendments
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The Constitutional Convention
• The Framers (55) attending: men of practical
affairs, including Continental army veterans
and members of the Congress of the
Confederation
• http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrial
s/conlaw/marry.htm
• An entirely new constitution was written,
although gathering was authorized only to
revise Articles
• Primary concern was with defense of liberty as
a natural right (Lockean reasoning)
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Plans and Compromises
• The Virginia Plan
– Bicameral legislature
– National legislature with supreme powers (esp. to
veto state laws)
– One house elected directly by the people
• The New Jersey Plan
– Unicameral legislature
– One vote per state
– Protect small states’ interests
• The Great Compromise
– House of Representatives based on population
– Two senators per state, elected by state
legislatures
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Key Principles of Government
• Founders did not intent to create a direct
democracy: a REPUBLIC
• Popular rule only in House of
Representatives
• Separation of Powers: between branches
• Federalism: power divided between
national and state governments
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Three Categories of Powers
• Enumerated powers: given to national
government exclusively; include power to print
money, declare war, make treaties, conduct
foreign affairs
• Reserved powers: given to states
exclusively; include power to issue licenses and
to regulate commerce wholly within a state
• Concurrent powers: shared by both national
and state governments; include collecting taxes,
building roads, borrowing money, having courts
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The Antifederalist View
• Liberty could be secure only in small
republics
• Nation needed, at best, a loose
confederation of states with most of the
power wielded by the state legislatures
• If there was a strong national
government, there should be many
more restrictions on it
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Federalist Papers 10 and 51
• Coalitions were more likely to be moderate
because they would represent a diversity of
interests
• Governments should be somewhat distant
from the passions of the people
• No bill of rights was necessary
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Map 2.2: Ratification of the Federal Constitution by
State Conventions, 1787-1790
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The Constitution and Slavery
• House of Representatives Apportionment:
3/5 Compromise
• Congress could not prohibit slave trade
before 1808
• Fugitive Slave Clause
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Suggestions for Constitutional Reform
• Reduce separation of powers to enhance
national leadership
– Make president less susceptible to special
interests and other members of Congress
– Make system more like the British Parliament
• Make the system less democratic
– Set limits on spending
– Line-item veto
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The Constitution
• Questions to consider
– How well has it worked in history?
– How well has it worked in comparison with
other democratic nations?
– Is the Constitution a “living” document?
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