Constitutional philosophies

Constitutional philosophies

Different ideas and debates that shaped the creation of the U.S. Constitution.

Articles of Confederation

The first national governing document of the United States, ratified during the Revolutionary War.

1781

The year the Continental Congress ratified the Articles of Confederation.

Continental Congress

The only branch of the national government under the Articles of Confederation.

One vote per state

Under the Articles of Confederation, each state had one vote in the Continental Congress.

Fear of centralized power

Americans feared strong central authority because of experiences with King George III and the British Parliament.

King George III

The British monarch whose power helped make Americans suspicious of strong centralized government.

British Parliament

The representative assembly that colonists believed abused power through policies such as taxation without representation.

Weakness of the Articles

The Articles gave Congress no power to levy taxes, regulate foreign or interstate commerce, or establish a federal judiciary.

No power to levy taxes

A major weakness of the Articles because Congress could not directly raise revenue.

No power to collect taxes

The national government under the Articles depended on the states for money.

Biggest problem with the Articles

The federal government could not levy taxes, making it difficult to pay Revolutionary War debts.

Revolutionary War debt

Debt from the war for independence that the government struggled to repay under the Articles.

Burden of debt on states

Because Congress could not tax, the responsibility for repaying war debt fell heavily on the states.

War bonds

Debt certificates bought by lenders to help fund the Revolutionary War.

Wealthy bondholders

Investors who bought war bonds and expected repayment from the states.

Massachusetts debt conflict

Massachusetts sided with wealthy bondholders over poor western farmers, helping lead to rebellion.

Poor western farmers

Farmers who suffered economically after the Revolution and resisted state debt policies.

Shays’ Rebellion

A 1786–1787 uprising in Massachusetts that exposed the weakness of the Articles of Confederation.

Importance of Shays’ Rebellion

It convinced many leaders that the country needed a stronger national government.

Postwar challenges

Problems after the Revolutionary War, including debt, economic weakness, rebellion, and lack of national unity.

Struggling economy under the Articles

Economic problems were worsened because the national government lacked power to tax and regulate commerce.

Lack of national unity

A weakness under the Articles because states acted more like separate sovereign governments than one united nation.

Sovereign states

States with independent authority and power.

Articles and sovereign states

The Articles treated the states as largely sovereign and gave the national government limited authority.

Need for a cohesive nation

Many leaders believed the Articles failed to create a strong, united country.

Philadelphia Convention

The 1787 meeting where delegates gathered to revise the Articles but created a new Constitution instead.

Constitutional Convention

Another name for the 1787 Philadelphia meeting that produced the U.S. Constitution.

Pennsylvania State House

The location in Philadelphia where delegates met in 1787.

Twelve states at the Convention

Twelve of the thirteen states sent delegates to the Constitutional Convention.

Rhode Island

The only state that did not send a representative to the Constitutional Convention.

Original purpose of the Convention

Delegates were instructed to revise the Articles of Confederation.

Actual result of the Convention

Delegates created a completely new national Constitution.

James Madison

A key delegate who wanted to replace the Articles with a stronger national Constitution.

Madison’s goal

To create a strong centralized national government rather than simply revise the Articles.

Strong centralized national government

A government with enough power to tax, pass binding laws, negotiate treaties, and regulate commerce.

National power to levy taxes

A major change Madison wanted because the Articles failed to give Congress this authority.

National power to pass binding laws

The Constitution would allow national laws to apply over all the states.

National power to negotiate treaties

The stronger national government would be able to make treaties with foreign powers.

National power to regulate commerce

The Constitution gave the national government authority over interstate and international trade.

Virginia Plan

James Madison’s 1787 proposal for a strong national government with three branches and population

Virginia Plan and confederation

The Virginia Plan rejected the idea of a loose confederation of sovereign states.

Three branches in the Virginia Plan

The Virginia Plan proposed a legislature, executive, and judiciary.

Two

chamber legislature

Powerful executive

The Virginia Plan included a strong executive branch.

Judiciary in the Virginia Plan

The Virginia Plan included a national judicial branch.

Issues of national concern

The Virginia Plan empowered the national government to act on matters affecting the nation as a whole.

Representation by population

The Virginia Plan based representation on state population size or tax base.

Representation by tax base

The Virginia Plan allowed representation to be connected to how much a state contributed in taxes.

Effect of Virginia Plan on small states

The plan reduced the influence of small states because both houses were based on population.

People

based representation

National veto over state laws

The Virginia Plan proposed giving the national legislature power to veto state laws.

Coercion of states

The Virginia Plan proposed giving the national government power to force states to obey national law.

Preventing legislative tyranny

The Virginia Plan gave executive and judicial branches veto power to stop the legislature from becoming too powerful.

Compromise at the Constitutional Convention

Delegates created compromises to make the Constitution acceptable to large and small states, as well as northern and southern states.

Great Compromise

The agreement that created a bicameral Congress with population

Connecticut Compromise

Another name for the Great Compromise.

Large

state concern

Small

state concern

New Jersey Plan

A 1787 proposal supported by smaller states that called for equal representation in a one

Supporters of the New Jersey Plan

Delegates from states such as New Jersey, Connecticut, Delaware, and New Hampshire supported equal state representation.

One

bodied legislature

Equal representation

The idea that every state should have the same number of representatives regardless of population.

July 16, 1787

The date the Great Compromise was adopted.

Bicameral legislature

A two

House of Representatives

The chamber of Congress where representation is based on state population.

Senate

The chamber of Congress where each state receives equal representation.

Two senators per state

The rule that every state has exactly two U.S. senators.

House as concession to large states

The House satisfied larger states because representation is proportional to population.

Senate as concession to small states

The Senate satisfied smaller states because each state has equal representation.

Three

Fifths Compromise

Slavery and representation debate

Delegates debated whether enslaved people should count toward a state’s population for representation.

Southern states and enslaved population

Southern slaveholding states wanted enslaved people counted to increase their representation in the House.

Northern states and enslaved population

Northern delegates argued enslaved people should not fully count for representation because they could not vote and were treated as property by slaveholders.

Enslaved people under the Three

Fifths Compromise

Apportionment

The process of determining how many representatives each state receives in the House.

Direct taxation

Taxes assigned to states based on population.

Three

Fifths Compromise and direct taxation

Three

Fifths Compromise and slavery conflict

Missouri Compromise

An 1820 compromise that admitted Maine as a free state and Missouri as a slave state.

Maine and Missouri

Maine entered as a free state and Missouri entered as a slave state under the Missouri Compromise.

Balance of power in the Senate

The Missouri Compromise preserved equal numbers of free and slave states in the Senate temporarily.

36°30′ parallel

The boundary set by the Missouri Compromise, barring slavery in much of the Louisiana Territory north of that line.

Effect of the Missouri Compromise

It temporarily preserved Senate balance but worsened regional tensions over slavery expansion.

Regional tensions over slavery

Conflict between North and South over the expansion and political power of slavery.

Diffused power

The constitutional idea that power should be spread out rather than concentrated in one person, group, or branch.

Checks and balances

A system where each branch of government can respond to and limit the actions of the other branches.

Purpose of checks and balances

To prevent power from concentrating in one branch or person.

President’s veto power

The president can reject legislation passed by Congress.

Congressional override

Congress can override a presidential veto with a two

Two

thirds majority

Impeachment

The process by which Congress can remove a president or federal judge from office in serious cases.

Presidential nominees

People chosen by the president for positions such as Cabinet offices, federal agencies, and courts.

Congressional approval of nominees

Presidential nominees for Cabinet, agency, and court positions must be approved by Congress.

Congress’s lawmaking power

Congress creates laws.

Limits on congressional laws

Laws passed by Congress can be vetoed by the president or overturned by the Supreme Court.

Supreme Court

The highest federal court that can declare laws unconstitutional.

Judicial review

The power of courts to overturn laws or actions that violate the Constitution.

Marbury v. Madison

The 1803 Supreme Court case associated with establishing judicial review.

Unconstitutional laws

Laws that violate the Constitution.