unit 4

republicanism government

Wanted to build a republic

• gov. in which citizens ruled through their elected/appointed representatives

• representation came from states

popular sovereignty

wanted to create gov. using this principle

• gov. was created by and subject to the will of the people (white men) through their elected representatives

land ordinance of 1785 and northwest ordinance of 1787

gov. did not have the power to tax so they needed to make money by selling land west of the appalachian mountains

• passed these ordinances to make it easier to buy land for settlers

problems with trade

• too many foreign goods on the market

  • americans are not contributing to their own economy

  • foreign gov. found loopholes in trade laws

problems with diplomacy

• conducting negotiations between nations

• weak diplomatic relationships with british and spanish

  • british are not leaving forts

  • territory disputes with spain

  • loyalists still live in the US

recession of 1780s

major costs of building a new nation on top of war dept

• state and nation gov need money from people that don’t have it themselves

• causes a big economic slowdown (recession)

shays rebellion

wealthy elites put heavy taxes on people in order to get the money they invested in the war back

• higher state taxes put a strain on farmers and poor people

farmers did not like the heavy taxes that were put on them because they could not pay it

• they already did not have money from the war but now they are forced to pay taxes for the war

  • if they did not pay they would go to jail and or lose property (lose the right to vote)

• farmers found this very unfair because they felt they fought for a representative gov. but were not getting one

state government powers under the AOC

given all powers that are not given to congress

• has 2-7 representatives but 1 vote in congress

• cannot wage war or make an international alliance

• collect taxes

• committee of states will be given power to run the USA when congress cannot at that moment

national government powers under the AOC

• declare war

• regulate currency

• negotiate foreign affairs (treaties)

• command army

• borrow money from states

• 9/13 states have to approve to pass anything

weaknesses of AOC

• cannot pass anything without 9/13 states agreeing (supermajority, very hard)

• congress cannot tax

• congress cannot regulate trade (only foreign, not between states)

• no national court

• only 1 vote per state (unfair)

• only 1 branch of gov.

• cannot enforce anything, congress can only as and hope states will do it, if one state does not want to congress cannot force it

• in order to amend they need 13/13 states vote, nearly impossible

strengths of AOC

• states had equal representation

• successful northwest ordinance/expansion of country

• made some treaties with other countries

• gave power to states and not all of it to congress

• can amend this document but have to reach unanimous vote

federalism

dividing the powers equally among state and national governments

philadelphia constitutional convention

There were 55 delegates there and their original mission was to amend the Articles of Confederation (They soon realized they could not amend the document because it was too hard to so they threw it out and started from scratch)

enumerate powers for congress

• Congress has the power to collect taxes, pay debts, borrow money; regulate commerce; coin money; establish post offices; protect patents and copyrights; establish lower courts; declare war; and raise and support an Army and Navy.

• Also established the elastic clause

national government powers under the constitution

Maintain military, declare war, establish postal system, weights and measure system, protect copyright patents, coin money, make treaties, etc

state powers under constitution

• Establish local governments, set up schools, regulate state commerce, make regulations for marriage, regulate corporations, etc 

• Do all the rest as long as does not violate nation gov laws

shared powers

• Collect taxes, regulate interstate commerce, regulate banks, borrow money, provide for general welfare, punish criminals, etc 

big vs small states

• Large states- congress should have 2 houses, delegates should be assigned according to population

• Small states- congress should have one house, each state would have one vote 

north vs south states

• North– enslaves people should no be counted when deciding number of delegates but should be counted when levying taxes

• South- enslaves people should be counted when determining number of representative but should not be counted when levying taxes

virginia plan, new jersey plan and great compromise

• Virginia plan- gov would have 2 houses, both houses would assign according to population 

• NJ plan- legislature would have 1 house, each state would get 1 vote 

• Great compromise- 2 houses, senate would give equal representation and HOR would have  representation according to population 

3/5 compromise

• In order to compromise for southern states with a majority of their population consisting of slaves, the ⅗ compromise counted enslaved people as ⅗ of a person rather than a whole person. 

slave trade clause

• Federal government could not regulate how many people (enslaved people) were imported into the country until 20 years later 

powers and duties of each branch

• Checks and balances were created to ensure that no one branch has all the powers

- ex. President can veto a law made by congress and supreme court can rule it unconstitutional

• Judicial- court system, interpret laws

• Legislative- congress, make and establish laws

• Executive- president, enforce the laws 

amending constitution

• Many different ways to amend constitutions, make it difficult but not impossible 

• We have 27 amendments (first 10 are the bill of rights)

impeachment

• Accuse federal official of a wrongdoing (treason, bribery, high crimes and misdemeanors, and abuse of power) 

• Only the House of representatives has the power to do this, but the senate will hold all the trials 

• ⅔ vote of the senators is required to impeach 

• Only if congress is impeaching president or vice president the chief justice of the supreme court acts as a trial judge 

power of the purse

• Congress has the right to spend public money where they see fit 

electoral college

• How the president is elected 

• Each state has a representative that chooses (mostly based off popular vote) what way their states want to vote and that person will win all of the states votes

• 538 electors (100 from senate, 435 from HOR, and 3 from D.C.) person has to win 270 votes to win 

bill of rights

• It was created because the Anti-Federalists would not ratify the constitution if the BOR was not added

federalist vs anti-federalists

• federalists- the federalists promised to include a Bill of Rights which would guarantee fundamental rights

• anti-federalists-the Anti-Federalists would agree and ratify if the Bill of Rights were promised

commerce clause

• Gives congress ability to regulate trade and commerce inside states and foreingly 

• Restricts states from impairing interstate commerce, makes sure states don't take advantage of other states, equal opportunities 

necessary and proper clause (elastic clause)

• Allows congress to make laws or act where the constitution doesn't give authority, within reason 

• Implied power 

full faith and credit clause

• States must honor the laws and judgements of other states 

• Protects conflict among states and ensures peoples rights 

supremacy clause

• Establishes that federal laws takes precedence over state laws and state constitutions

• It is a check on state power

guarantee clause

• Requires US to guarantee every state republicanism and government protection from foreign invasion and domestic violence 

loos and strict interpretation of constitution

• loose- flexible reading of the constitution, giving considerable weight to modern values and social consequences and precedents

• strict-literal reading of the constitution, relying more on the original text or the intent of the framers