Chapter 2 – The Constitution and Its Origins

Introduction & Historical Context

• The U.S. Constitution, drafted in September\,1787 and amended 27 times, is the oldest written national constitution still in force.
• It replaced an ineffective national framework—the Articles of Confederation—whose weaknesses had become evident by the mid-1780s.
• The Framers met in Philadelphia amid sharp divisions: large vs. small states, slave vs. free states, advocates of strong federal power vs. champions of state sovereignty.

Enlightenment Influence: John Locke & English Law

• John Locke ( 17^{th}-century English philosopher) argued that people possess God-given natural rights: life, liberty, property.
  • Individuals form governments via a social contract to secure these rights.
  • Locke’s ideas challenged the doctrine of hereditary monarchy and "divine right of kings."
• Roots in English precedent:
  • Magna Carta (1215): acknowledged limited rights of “freemen.”
  • English Bill of Rights (1689): expanded civil protections after the Glorious Revolution (overthrow of King James II).

Path to Revolution: Taxation, Representation & Protest

• Seven Years’ War (1756\text{–}1763) left Britain deeply indebted; Parliament sought colonial revenue through new taxes (Stamp Act, Townshend duties, Tea Act, etc.).
• Colonists lacked elected representation in Parliament—"taxation without representation" was viewed as a breach of the social contract.
• Escalations:
  • Britain stationed additional troops in Boston; on March\,5,\,1770 soldiers killed three colonists in the Boston Massacre (propagandized by the Sons of Liberty).
  • Boston Tea Party (1773) prompted the Coercive ("Intolerable") Acts (1774), suspending Massachusetts self-rule.
• Response: First Continental Congress (Philadelphia, 1774) coordinated colonial resistance.

Continental Congresses & Declaration of Independence

• Second Continental Congress (began May\,1775) managed war efforts and, on July\,2,\,1776, voted for independence; Declaration formally adopted July\,4,\,1776.
  • Document echoes Locke: inalienable rights to "Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness."
• Britain declared open war; colonies needed unified military coordination.

Articles of Confederation (Adopted 1777; Ratified March\,1781)

• Created a "firm league of friendship" among 13 sovereign states.
• Key features:
  • One-house Congress; each state one vote; major legislation required 9/13 states; amendments required unanimity.
  • No executive or judiciary at national level.
  • No power to tax, regulate commerce, or raise a standing army/navy.
• Consequences:
  • States issued their own currencies → interstate trade paralysis.
  • National government powerless against British forts on western frontier or piracy at sea.
  • Fiscal shortfalls led to unpaid Revolutionary War veterans; unrest culminated in Shays’s Rebellion (1786\text{–}1787).
  • Annapolis Convention (1786) failed—only 5 states attended; led to call for Philadelphia convention.

Constitutional Convention (Philadelphia, May\text{–}September\,1787)

Core Points of Contention

• Strengthening federal power while preserving state authority.
• Representation of large vs. small states.
• The future of slavery within a national framework.
• Balancing individual liberty vs. collective security/stability.

Representation Plans

• Virginia Plan (large-state): bicameral legislature; both chambers proportional to population.
• New Jersey Plan (small-state): unicameral legislature; equal state representation.

Major Compromises

• Great (Connecticut) Compromise:
  • House of Representatives: seats proportional to state population; members elected every 2 years by popular vote.
  • Senate: 2 senators per state; chosen by state legislatures for 6-year terms (until Seventeenth Amendment).
• Three-Fifths Compromise:
  • Population count = free persons + \tfrac{3}{5} of enslaved persons; affected both House apportionment and (theoretical) direct taxation.
• Slavery clauses:
  • Prohibited any ban on international slave trade before 1808.
  • Required return of "fugitives from labor" (precursor to Fugitive Slave Clause).

Structural Design of the New Constitution

Separation of Powers

• Legislative (Article I): makes laws; bicameral Congress.
• Executive (Article II): enforces laws; single President, commander in chief.
• Judicial (Article III): interprets laws; Supreme Court + inferior courts as Congress creates.

Checks & Balances (Selected Examples)

• Presidential veto ↔ Congressional 2/3 override.
• Senate confirmation of ambassadors, judges, treaties (foreign policy constraint).
• War powers: Congress declares war & controls funding despite President’s commander-in-chief role.
• Impeachment: House drafts articles (simple majority); Senate trial (2/3 to convict) for "Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors."
• Judicial review (established in Marbury v. Madison, 1803) allows courts to strike down unconstitutional acts of Congress or the President.

Federalism: Division of Powers

• Enumerated powers: expressly granted to national government (e.g., coin money, regulate interstate commerce, declare war).
• Reserved powers (Tenth Amendment): all others retained by states (e.g., policing, marriage, intrastate commerce).
• Supremacy Clause (Article VI): Constitution, federal laws, and treaties are the "supreme Law of the Land" → federal law pre-empts conflicting state law (e.g., Obergefell v. Hodges, 2015 legalized same-sex marriage nationwide).

Ratification Debate

• Constitution required approval by 9/13 states.
• Federalists (Hamilton, Madison, Jay) vs. Anti-Federalists (Henry, Mason, Clinton, etc.).
  • Federalists feared anarchy & favored strong union; Anti-Federalists feared central tyranny & demanded explicit rights protection.
• The Federalist Papers (85 essays, 1787–1788) argued for ratification.
• Timeline:
  • New Hampshire became 9^{th} ratifier in June\,1788, but political legitimacy required Virginia (ratified June\,1788 on promise of amendments) and New York (July\,1788).
  • Government under Constitution commenced March\,4,\,1789; Rhode Island last to ratify (May\,1790).

Amendment Process (Article V)

Proposing Amendments

• Congressional route: 2/3 vote in both House and Senate.
• Convention route: national convention called by 2/3 of state legislatures (never yet used).

Ratifying Amendments

• Either 3/4 of state legislatures or 3/4 of state ratifying conventions (Congress chooses the mode).
• Only the Twenty-First Amendment (1933, repeal of Prohibition) used state conventions.

Key Amendments & Their Significance

• Bill of Rights (Amendments 1\text{–}10, ratified 1791): protections of speech, religion, due process, arms, etc.; answered Anti-Federalist concerns.
• Civil War Amendments:
  • Thirteenth (1865): abolished slavery.
  • Fourteenth (1868): citizenship, due process, equal protection.
  • Fifteenth (1870): voting rights irrespective of race.
• Progressive & democratic reforms:
  • Seventeenth (1913): direct election of senators.
  • Nineteenth (1920): women’s suffrage.
  • Twenty-Fourth (1964): abolished poll taxes.
  • Twenty-Sixth (1971): voting age lowered to 18.

Notable Figures, Movements & Cultural References

• James Madison: "Father of the Constitution," co-author of The Federalist Papers; initially doubted need for Bill of Rights but drafted it.
• Alexander Hamilton: chief economic architect, leading Federalist author.
• Charlotte Forten Grimké: Civil-War-era Black educator, poet, suffragist; co-founded National Association of Colored Women.
• Daniel Shays & Job Shattuck: Massachusetts veterans whose rebellion exposed Articles’ weaknesses.
• Modern Tea Party Movement: invokes symbolism of the 1773 Boston Tea Party in protests against perceived government overreach.
• Suffragists (pre-1920) campaigned for women’s voting rights, notably in Western states such as Wyoming.
• Amanda Gorman (poet, 2021 inauguration) illustrates continued civic-cultural engagement linking past and present.

Ethical, Philosophical & Practical Implications

• Constitution embodies republicanism (governance by elected representatives) and liberalism (protection of individual rights).
• Enduring tension: empowering government enough to solve collective problems while restraining it to safeguard liberty.
• Compromises on slavery reveal moral contradictions at the nation’s founding, eventually necessitating transformative amendments.
• Federalism allows policy diversity but generates conflicts (e.g., state marijuana laws vs. federal prohibition).

Numerical & Statistical References (contextual list)

• 27 current amendments; 13 original states; 9 needed for ratification.
• Legislative terms: House 2 years, Senate 6 years; presidential term 4 years (with 2-term limit after Twenty-Second Amendment—1951, not covered above but contextually relevant).
• Override fractions: congressional veto override 2/3; treaty ratification 2/3 Senate; amendment ratification 3/4 states.