POLS 2305 Module 2&3

natural rights,

God-given rights to life, liberty, and property.

Magna Carta—

a promise to his subjects that he and future monarchs would refrain from certain actions that harmed, or had the potential to harm, the people of England. Prominent in Magna Carta’s many provisions are protections for life, liberty, and property.

layed foundation for 5th and 6th amendments

English Bill of Rights in 1689.

A bill of rights is a list of the liberties and protections possessed by a nation’s citizens

enumerated the rights of English citizens and explicitly guaranteed rights to life, liberty, and property. This document would profoundly influence the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights

social contract

People sacrificed a small portion of their freedom and consented to be ruled in exchange for the government’s protection of their lives, liberty, and property.

Mayflower Compact,

agreement to govern themselves according to the laws created by the male voters of the colony

British acts that angered colonists

American colonists to pay British merchants with gold and silver instead of paper currency and a mandate that suspected smugglers be tried in vice-admiralty courts, without jury trials.

he imposition of direct taxes

direct taxes:

taxes imposed on individuals instead of on transactions

virtual representation

; representatives elected by those who could vote made laws on behalf of those who could not.

Stamp Act, passed in 1765,

which required that almost all paper goods, such as diplomas, land deeds, contracts, and newspapers, have revenue stamps placed on them.

Townshend Acts (1767),

which imposed taxes on many everyday objects such as glass, tea, and paint

Coercive Acts, an its effect

intended to punish Boston for leading resistance to British rule and to restore order in the colonies. These acts virtually abolished town meetings in Massachusetts and otherwise interfered with the colony’s ability to govern itself.

d the First Continental Congress to create a unified opposition to Great Britain.

reasons for signing and declaring declaration of independence

had taxed the colonists without the consent of their elected representatives, interfered with their trade, denied them the right to trial by jury, and deprived them of their right to self-government.

a republic,

a regime in which the people, not a monarch, held power and elected representatives to govern according to the rule of law

confederation

was created—an entity in which independent, self-governing states form a union for the purpose of acting together in areas such as defense

confederation congress powers

exchange ambassadors and make treaties with foreign governments and Indian tribes, declare war, coin currency and borrow money, and settle disputes between states. Each state legislature appointed delegates to the Congress; these men could be recalled at any time. Regardless of its size or the number of delegates it chose to send, each state would have only one vote. Delegates could serve for no more than three consecutive years

how many votes needed for the confederation congress to act

Nine votes were required before the central government could act, and the Articles of Confederation could be changed only by unanimous approval of all thirteen states.

problems with the confederation

The national government could not impose taxes on citizens. It could only request money from the states.

The national government could not regulate foreign trade or interstate commerce

The national government could not raise an army. It had to request the states to send men.

Each state had only one vote in Congress regardless of its size.

The Articles could not be changed without a unanimous vote to do so.

There was no national judicial system

how did shays rebellion showcase the confederation s weakness

the incident panicked the governor of Massachusetts, who called upon the national government for assistance. However, with no power to raise an army, the government had no troops at its disposal

Virginias plan

bicameral legislature consisting of two houses. The number of a state’s representatives in each house was to be based on the state’s population. In each state, representatives in the lower house would be elected by popular vote. These representatives would then select their state’s representatives in the upper house from among candidates proposed by the state’s legislature. Once a representative’s term in the legislature had ended, the representative could not be reelected until an unspecified amount of time had passed

national goverment can legisalte for states and veto state law

new jersey plan

called for a unicameral legislature with one house, in which each state would have one vote. national government provides defense but does not override state authority

supporters of strong federal goverments points

. Supporters of a strong central government argued that it was necessary for the survival and efficient functioning of the new nation. Without the authority to maintain and command an army and navy, the nation could not defend itself at a time when European powers still maintained formidable empires in North America. Without the power to tax and regulate trade, the government would not have enough money to maintain the nation’s defense, protect American farmers and manufacturers from foreign competition, create the infrastructure necessary for interstate commerce and communications, maintain foreign embassies, or pay federal judges and other government officials. Furthermore, other countries would be reluctant to loan money to the United States if the federal government lacked the ability to impose taxes in order to repay its debts.

supporters of a weak national goverments points

feared that a strong national government might become too powerful and use its authority to oppress citizens and deprive them of their rights. They advocated a central government with sufficient authority to defend the nation but insisted that other powers be left to the states,

what did all american desire

. All Americans, however, desired that the government not intrude upon people’s rights to life, liberty, and property without reason

U.S. Constitution,

was an ingenious instrument that allayed fears of a too-powerful central government and solved the problems that had beleaguered the national government under the Articles of Confederation.

the consitiuition consists of what

a preamble and seven articles. The first three articles divide the national government into three branches—Congress, the executive branch, and the federal judiciary—and describe the powers and responsibilities of each

n Article I, ten sections describe the structure of Congress, the basis for representation and the requirements for serving in Congress, the length of Congressional terms, and the powers of Congress.

Great compromis e

, suggested by Roger Sherman of Connecticut. Congress, it was decided, would consist of two chambers: the Senate and the House of Representatives. Each state, regardless of size, would have two senators, making for equal representation as in the New Jersey Plan. Representation in the House would be based on population. Senators were to be appointed by state legislatures, a variation on the Virginia Plan. Members of the House of Representatives would be popularly elected by the voters in each state. Elected members of the House would be limited to two years in office before having to seek reelection, and those appointed to the Senate by each state’s political elite would serve a term of six years.

powers given to congress in the compromise

, including the power to tax, maintain an army and a navy, and regulate trade and commerce. Congress had authority that the national government lacked under the Articles of Confederation. It could also coin and borrow money, grant patents and copyrights, declare war, and establish laws regulating naturalization and bankruptcy. While legislation could be proposed by either chamber of Congress, it had to pass both chambers by a majority vote before being sent to the president to be signed into law, and all bills to raise revenue had to begin in the House of Representatives. Only those men elected by the voters to represent them could impose taxes upon them

Three-Fifths Compromise

esolved the impasse, although not in a manner that truly satisfied anyone. For purposes of Congressional apportionment, slaveholding states were allowed to count all their free population, including free African Americans and 60 percent (three-fifths) of their enslaved population. To mollify the north, the compromise also allowed counting 60 percent of a state’s enslaved population for federal taxation, although no such taxes were ever collected

the right to impose taxes on imports in exchange for a twenty-year s prohibition on laws attempting to ban the importation of enslaved people to the United

what did Article I postpone? slavery

Article I postponed the abolition of the foreign slave trade until 1808, and in the interim, those in slaveholding states were allowed to import as many enslaved people as they wished.

what did article IV postpone

Article IV of the Constitution—which, among other things, required states to return freedom seekers to the states where they had been charged with crimes—also prevented the enslaved from gaining their freedom by escaping to states where slavery had been abolished.

what did clause 3 of Article IV postpone

Clause 3 of Article IV (known as the fugitive slave clause) allowed enslavers to reclaim the enslaved in the states where they had fle

a separation of power

s, dividing the national government into three separate branches and assigning different responsibilities to each one,

Congress was given the power to make laws, but the executive branch, consisting of the president and the vice president, and the federal judiciary, notably the Supreme Court, were created to, respectively, enforce laws and try cases arising under federal law.

checks and balances

by giving each of three branches of government the power to restrict the actions of the others, thus requiring them to work together

Congress can pass laws, but its power to do so can be checked by the president, who can veto potential legislation so that it cannot become a law.

ability of Congress to limit the president’s veto. Should the president veto a bill passed by both houses of Congress, the bill is returned to Congress to be voted on again. If the bill passes both the House of Representatives and the Senate with a two-thirds vote in its favor, it becomes law even though the president has refused to sign it. Congress is also able to limit the president’s power as commander-in-chief of the armed forces by refusing to declare war or provide funds for the military.

e president must also seek the advice and consent of the Senate before appointing members of the Supreme Court and ambassadors, and the Senate must approve the ratification of all treaties signed by the president. Congress may even remove the president from office

what did Marbury v madison establish

established its own authority to rule on the constitutionality of laws, a process called judicial review.

federal system, p

ower is divided between the federal (or national) government and the state government

were granted to the federal government to declare war, impose taxes, coin and regulate currency, regulate foreign and interstate commerce, raise and maintain an army and a navy, maintain a post office, make treaties with foreign nations and with Native American tribes, and make laws regulating the naturalization of immigrants

enumerated power

. Great or explicit powers

reserved powers

All powers not expressly given to the national government, however, were intended to be exercised by the states.

Thus, states remained free to pass laws regarding such things as intrastate commerce (commerce within the borders of a state) and marriage. Some powers, such as the right to levy taxes, were given to both the state and federal governments. Both the states and the federal government have a chief executive to enforce the laws (a governor and the president, respectively) and a system of courts

supremacy clause in Article VI of the Constitution proclaimed

that the Constitution, laws passed by Congress, and treaties made by the federal government were “the supreme Law of the Land.”

Article I provided for t

the expansion of Congressional powers if needed. The “necessary and proper” clause of Article I provides that Congress may “make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing [enumerated] Powers, and all other Powers vested by this Constitution in the Government of the United States, or in any Department or Officer thereof.

Article VII, required what ( when ratyfing the constitution)

he final article of the Constitution, required that before the Constitution could become law and a new government could form, the document had to be ratified by nine of the thirteen states

Federalists

supported it. They tended to be among the elite members of society—wealthy and well educated landowners, businessmen, and former military commanders who believed a strong government would be better for both national defense and economic growth. A national currency, which the government had the power to create, would ease business transactions. The ability of the federal government to regulate trade and place tariffs on imports would protect merchants from foreign competition. Furthermore, the power to collect taxes would allow the national government to fund internal improvements like roads, which would also help businessmen. Support for the Federalists was especially strong in New England.

Anti-Federalists

. Anti-Federalists feared the power of the national government and believed state legislatures, with which they had more contact, could better protect their freedoms. Anti-Federalist sentiment was especially strong in the South.

the diversity of religion tolerated by the Constitution would prevent the formation of a political community with shared values and interests. The Constitution contained no provisions for government support of churches or of religious education

Article VI forbade what

explicitly forbade the use of religious tests to determine eligibility for public office

The Federalist Papers,

these eighty-five essays were originally published in newspapers in New York and other states under the name of Publius, a supporter of the Roman Republic

how do amendments come about according to article V

Article V that says amendments can originate from one of two sources. First, they can be proposed by Congress. Then, they must be approved by a two-thirds majority in both the House and the Senate before being sent to the states for potential ratification

States have two ways to ratify or defeat a proposed amendment. First, if three-quarters of state legislatures vote to approve an amendment, it becomes part of the Constitution. Second, if three-quarters of state-ratifying conventions support the amendment, it is ratified. A second method of proposal of an amendment allows for the petitioning of Congress by the states: Upon receiving such petitions from two-thirds of the states, Congress must call a convention for the purpose of proposing amendments, which would then be forwarded to the states for ratification by the required three-quarters. A

bill of rights

hese first ten amendments were added to the Constitution and became known as the Bill of Rights

how many amendments have been added

; only seventeen amendments have been added since the ratification of the first ten (one of these, the Twenty-Seventh Amendment, was among Madison’s rejected nine proposals)

(Second Amendment),, a are taken from the English Bill of Rights.

For example, the right to bear arms for protection

(Third Amendment)

the right not to have to provide shelter and provision for soldiers in peacetime

6th and 7th amendments

the right to a trial by jury

Eighth Amendment)

nd protection from excessive fines and from cruel and unusual punishment (

fifth amendment

The Fifth Amendment, which requires among other things that people cannot be deprived of their life, liberty, or property except by a legal proceeding, was also greatly influenced by English law as well as the protections granted to Virginians in the Virginia Declaration of Rights

amendments taken form the english bill of rights

2,3 , 6 ,8

first amendment

The protections for religion, speech, the press, and assemblyThe prohibition in the First Amendment against the establishment of an official church by the federal governmen

The Fourth Amendment,

which protects Americans from unwarranted search and seizure of their property, was also new.

The Ninth Amendmen.

guarantees that liberties extend beyond those described in the preceding documents. This was an important acknowledgment that the protected rights were extensive, and the government should not attempt to interfere with them., and guaranties privacy

The Tenth Amendment, o

ne of the first submitted to the states for ratification, ensures that states possess all powers not explicitly assigned to the federal government by the Constitution. This guarantee protects states’ reserved powers to regulate such things as marriage, divorce, and intrastate transportation and commerce, and to pass laws affecting education and public health and safety

Twenty-First,

repealed another amendment, the Eighteenth, which had prohibited the manufacture, import, export, distribution, transportation, and sale of alcoholic beverages

Seventeenth Amendment,

ratified in 1913, gave voters the right to directly elect U.S. senators.

Twentieth Amendment,

which was ratified in 1933 during the Great Depression, moved the date of the presidential inauguration from March to January

The Twenty-Second Amendment,

added in 1955, limits the president to two terms in office

Twenty-Seventh Amendment

, first submitted for ratification in 1789, regulates the implementation of laws regarding salary increases or decreases for members of Congress

e Thirteenth, Fourteenth, Fifteenth and Nineteenth Amendments a

are the result of long-fought campaigns by supporters of abolition and the expansion of voting rights to all citizens regardless of gender or race.

The Thirteenth Amendment

abolished slavery in the United States.

The Fourteenth Amendment

granted citizenship to African Americans and equal protection under the law regardless of race or co

has been used to require states to protect most of the same federal freedoms granted by the Bill of Rights.

The Fifteenth Amendment

gave men the right to vote regardless of race or color, but women were still prohibited from voting in most states. A

Nineteenth Amendment

finally gave women the right to vote in 1920.

. The Twenty-Third Amendment (1961) T

llowed residents of Washington, DC to vote for the president.

he Twenty-Fourth Amendment (1964) a

bolished the use of poll taxes. M

26th amendment

reduced the voting age from twenty-one to eighteen.

federal government r

refers to the government at the national leve

states means governments

e subnational level

federalism

s an institutional arrangement that creates two relatively autonomous levels of government, each possessing the capacity to act directly on behalf of the people with the authority granted to it by the national constitution.1

The national government

for handling matters that affect the country as a whole, for example, defending the nation against foreign threats and promoting national economic prosperity.

Subnational, or state governments, are responsible

ubnational, or state governments, are responsible for matters that lie within their regions, which include ensuring the well-being of their people by administering education, health care, public safety, and other public service

characteristic of federalism

all federal systems establish two levels of government, with both levels being elected by the people and each level assigned different functions. T
a written national constitution that cannot be changed without the substantial consent of subnational governments.\the constitutions of countries with federal systems formally allocate legislative, judicial, and executive authority to the two levels of government in such a way as to ensure each level some degree of autonomy from the other. U

national courts commonly resolve disputes between levels and departments of governmen

, subnational governments are always represented in the upper house of the national legislature, enabling regional interests to influence national lawmaking

unitary system

makes subnational governments dependent on the national government, where significant authority is concentrated. B

confederation

confederation, authority is decentralized, and the central government’s ability to act depends on the consent of the subnational governments.

where are enumerated powers found and what do they defne

found in Article I, Section 8. These powers define the jurisdictional boundaries within which the federal government has authority.

what do enumertaed powers foster

, national integration and unity are fostered with the government’s powers over the coining of money, naturalization, postal services, and other responsibilities

last clause of Article( elastic clause)

or the necessary and proper clause, enables Congress “to make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying” out its constitutional responsibilities

elastic clause allows it to create the legal means to fulfill those responsibilities. However, the open-ended construction of this clause has enabled the national government to expand its authority beyond what is specified in the Constitution

commerce clause,

which empowers the federal government to regulate interstate economic transactions

concurrent powers

Shared and overlapping powers,taxing, borrowing, and making and enforcing laws to establishing court systems,charter banks and corporations, take public property for public purpose

restriction on federal authority

Article I, Sections 9 and 10,t prevents measures that cause the deprivation of personal liberty. Specifically, the government cannot suspend the writ of habeas corpus,, pass a bill of attainer ,or enact anex post facto la

rit of habeas corpus,

which enables someone in custody to petition a judge to determine whether that person’s detention is legal; pass a;

bill of attainder,

a legislative action declaring someone guilty without a trial

ex post facto law,

which criminalizes an act retroactively

restrictions on the states

Article I, Section 10, prohibits the states from entering into treaties with other countries, coining money, and levying taxes on imports and exports

states cannot violate personal freedoms by suspending the writ of habeas corpus, passing bills of attainder, or enacting ex post facto law

intent of supremacy clause

t affirms that one body of laws binds the country. In fact, all national and state government officials are bound by oath to uphold the Constitution regardless of the offices they hold

Article IV, Section 1,(e full faith and credit clause or the comity clause)

requires the states to accept court decisions, public acts, and contracts of other states.

privileges and immunities clause of Article IV

asserts that states are prohibited from discriminating against out-of-staters by denying them such guarantees as access to courts, legal protection, property rights, and travel rights.

federal grants

transfers of federal money to state and local governments. These transfers, which do not have to be repaid, are designed to support the activities of the recipient governments, but also to encourage them to pursue federal policy objectives they might not otherwise ad

federal goverment revenue

, 47 percent of 2020 revenue came from individual income taxes and 38 percent from payroll taxes, which combine Social Security tax and Medicare tax.

state goverment revenue

governments, 39 percent of revenue came from taxes, while 25 percent consisted of federal support. Sales tax—which includes taxes on purchased food, clothing, alcohol, amusements, insurance, motor fuels, tobacco products, and public utilities, for example—accounted for about 47 percent of total tax revenue, and individual income taxes represented roughly 38 percent. Revenue from service charges (e.g., tuition revenue from public universities and fees for hospital-related services) accounted for 15 percent.

local goverment sources

greatly across states. The most important sources of revenue for local governments in 2018 were taxes, federal and state grants, and service charges. For local governments the property tax, a levy on residential and commercial real estate, was the most important source of tax revenue, accounting for about 72 percent of the total. Federal and state grants accounted for 30 percent of local government revenue. Charges for hospital-related services, sewage and solid waste management, public city university tuition, and airport services are important sources of general revenue for local governments

what do intergovermental grants do

important sources of revenue for both state and local governments. When economic times are good, such grants help states, cities, municipalities, and townships carry out their regular functions. However, during hard economic times, such as the Great Recession of 2007–2009, intergovernmental transfers provide much-needed fiscal relief as the revenue streams of state and local governments dry u