Notes on The Origins of a New Nation to Ratification of the Constitution
The Origins of a New Nation
Colonists came to the New World seeking religious freedom and economic opportunity.
They were independent, diverse, and practiced self-government through drafting colonial constitutions.
Development of industry and an absence of feudalism, rigid class systems, or absolute monarchic authority shaped early colonial society.
Trade and Taxation
Mercantilism: an economic theory designed to increase a nation’s wealth by developing commercial industry and maintaining a favorable balance of trade.
Core idea: wealth equals power; colonies exist to enrich the mother country.
French and Indian War consequences:
Treaty of Paris: no westward expansion beyond certain lines; imperial restructuring.
Question: How to pay for war and administer colonies?
Colonial acts and resistance:
Sugar Act (1764)
Stamp Act (1765)
Slogan: "No taxation without representation"
Sons of Liberty organized boycotts in protest
First Steps Toward Independence
Stamp Act Congress: representatives from nine of the thirteen colonies met to protest.
They drafted a document listing rights violations and sent it to the king; it had limited effect.
Following acts and escalating violence: Boston Massacre, Committees of Correspondence, Boston Tea Party, Coercive Acts (Intolerable Acts, 1774).
The First Continental Congress
Key issue: extent of British authority over the colonies.
Colonial assemblies sent delegates to unite the colonies; Georgia did not attend.
Met in Philadelphia (Sept. 5 – Oct. 26, 1774): 56 delegates.
Goals: iron out differences with the King; drafted the Declaration of Rights and Resolves.
If the King did not respond, they planned another meeting in May 1775.
The Second Continental Congress
Fighting had begun before Congress convened, increasing hostility toward Britain.
Olive Branch Petition: King refused to accept.
Congress appointed Washington as commander in chief of the Continental Army.
Influential writings: Thomas Paine’s Common Sense; Richard Henry Lee’s resolution for independence.
The Declaration of Independence
A committee of five prepared the Declaration:
On July 2, 1776, 12 of 13 colonies voted for independence (NY abstained).
Content draws on Locke’s Two Treatises of Government to justify natural rights and government by consent.
The Declaration’s Structure (as outlined in the slides)
Part I: Natural rights and the government’s obligation to protect them; if it fails, people have the right to overthrow tyranny.
Part II: Grievances against the British Crown demonstrating violations of colonists’ rights and liberties.
Part III: Declaration of independence based on the above rights and grievances.
First Attempt: Articles of Confederation
A compact among the thirteen original states forming the basis of the national government.
Written in 1776; ratified in 1781.
Congress’s powers included:
Make peace
Appoint officers for an army
Control the post office
Negotiate with Indian tribes
Structure under the Articles:
Each state retained independence and sovereignty.
One vote per state in the Continental Congress, regardless of size.
A vote of nine states was required to pass any measure.
Amending the Articles required the unanimous consent of all states.
Delegates were chosen and paid by state legislatures.
Problems Under the Articles
Lack of national sentiment and unity; the period 1781–1789 was a critical era.
Congress often could not assemble a quorum; when it did, there was little agreement on policy.
Economic turmoil and chaotic regulation of trade among states and with foreign nations.
No provision for a national judicial system; weak central government; crumbling economy.
Shays’ Rebellion
1780: Massachusetts constitution favored the wealthy; voting and officeholding required property ownership.
Post-war economic distress: banks foreclosed on farms of veterans; debt payments required in cash.
Shays and about 1,500 armed farmers marched on Springfield.
Congress called for militia; state donations were refused by all except Virginia.
Private funds were used to raise a militia force.
Miracle at Philadelphia
Congress called for revision of the Articles; but plans soon shifted toward a new framework.
Edmund Randolph and James Madison (Virginia) proposed 15 resolutions to create an entirely new government.
Others argued for sticking to the task of revising the Articles.
Characteristics and Motives of the Framers
55 of 74 delegates labored to draft a new framework.
All were men; many were relatively young (Franklin was 81 at the time of the convention).
Some framers owned slaves; question raised: Were property interests the primary motivation?
The Virginia Plan and the New Jersey Plan
New Jersey Plan: favored by smaller states; kept a unicameral legislature with equal state representation.
Virginia Plan: favored by larger states; strong central government with three branches (Legislative, Executive, Judicial) and a two-house legislature.
Key features of the Virginia Plan:
A powerful central government
Legislature with power to select the executive and judiciary
A two-house legislature; one directly elected, the other from state-nominated members
Relationship to the Articles: aimed to strengthen the national government, not merely amend the Articles.
Constitutional Compromises over Representation, Slavery & Trade
Great Compromise (Connecticut Compromise):
Bicameral legislature: lower house (House of Representatives) with representation based on population; members directly elected.
Upper house (Senate) with equal representation per state; members chosen by state legislatures (later direct election by the people after the 17th Amendment).
National powers would be supreme.
Three-Fifths Compromise:
Purpose: determine representation in the House and taxes.
Commerce and Slave Trade Compromise:
Government needed to regulate commerce; the North favored regulation and taxation of imports, while the South wanted to protect the slave trade and prevent export taxes.
Agreement balanced interests between free and slaveholding states.
Unfinished Business
The need for a single executive; debates over term length and powers.
Committee on Unfinished Portions to iron out executive office details.
Proposed a fixed term of four years instead of seven.
Electoral College established; procedures for removal of a chief executive (treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors).
Drive for Ratification
The Second Continental Congress accepted the convention’s work and forwarded the proposed Constitution to the states.
Debates formed between Federalists (supporters) and Anti-Federalists (opponents).
Preamble and Mnemonics (Acronyms Used in the Slides)
The slides present a mnemonic for the Preamble: PLEJ FASRA, corresponding to:
Please Let Every Junior Fail As Seniors Rock Always!!
This mnemonic appears across multiple slides as an aid to memorizing the sections of the Preamble and the structure of the Constitution’s framework.
The Preamble and The Articles of the Constitution
Preamble: introduces purposes and guiding principles of the Constitution (not included in the content here, but commonly understood as a statement of aims).
The Constitution’s structure is established in seven articles:
Article I: The Legislative Branch
Article II: The Executive Branch
Article III: The Judicial Branch
Article IV: Full Faith and Credit; relations among states; admission of new states
Article V: Formal process for amendments
Article VI: Supremacy Clause; no religious test for office; treaties are the law of the land
Article VII: Ratification process for the Constitution
The Articles of the Constitution: Details by Article
Article I: The Legislative Branch
Powers of the legislative branch; bicameral structure; qualifications for office; terms; selection methods; apportionment system.
Section 8 lists 17 enumerated powers; includes the Necessary and Proper Clause (Elastic Clause).
Elastic Clause allows implied powers to fulfill enumerated powers.
Article II: The Executive Branch
Vests executive power in a president; four-year term; Electoral College framework; qualifications for office; mechanisms to replace the president in cases of death, disability, or removal.
Powers and duties (Section 3) include Commander in Chief, treaty-making with Senate consent, appointment power, State of the Union, and the take care clause to ensure laws are executed; removal procedures governable by Congress.
Article III: The Judicial Branch
Establishes a Supreme Court and defines its jurisdiction.
Supreme Court's role includes settling disputes between states or between the national government and states; ultimate interpretation of the Constitution rests with the judiciary.
Articles IV–VII
Address potential problems in operation of the national government and relations with the states.
Article IV: Full Faith and Credit Clause; states honor other states’ laws and judicial proceedings; mechanisms for admitting new states.
Article V: Amendment process—how to add amendments.
Article VI: Supremacy Clause; Constitution, federal laws, and treaties are the supreme law of the land; no religious tests for holding office.
Article VII: Ratification process; nine of thirteen states needed to ratify for the Constitution to become law.
Formal Amendment Process
The Amendment Process can be started in two ways:
Step 1: Proposed by Congress via a two-thirds vote in both houses ().
Step 1 alternative: Proposed by a national convention called by Congress when requested by two-thirds () of the state legislatures.
Step 2: Ratification by the states via:
State legislatures: three-fourths () of the states (historically 38 of 50).
Conventions held in three-fourths () of the states (used once).
The most common path has been: of Congress proposing and of the states ratifying (26 of 27 amendments used this way historically).
Informal Methods of Amending the Constitution
Judicial interpretation: Marbury v. Madison (1803) established judicial review and the power of the courts to interpret the Constitution.
Questions raised: Should interpretation be guided by Framers’ intent or by a flexible, evolving document?
The courts interpret the Constitution in light of changing circumstances, effectively amending the document through interpretation.
Presidential actions: how presidents influence constitutional meaning through enforcement, policy initiatives, and executive orders.
Other informal avenues: lawmaking by Congress’s interpretation of constitutional provisions; political party actions; governance; the Electoral College as a mechanism for selection; and broad social and cultural changes that reshape constitutional meaning over time.
The U.S. Constitution: Basic Principles
Separation of Powers: powers divided among three branches; each branch acts independently from others and is accountable to different constituencies.
Checks and Balances: each branch has some oversight and control over the others.
Federal System: power divided between national government and state governments; states retain significant sovereignty.
Limited Government: government can do only what the people authorize; powers are constrained.
Popular Sovereignty: the people hold ultimate authority to govern.
Judicial Review: the judiciary can determine the constitutionality of laws and actions; unconstitutional acts are void.
The Federalist Papers
A series of 85 political papers by John Jay, Alexander Hamilton, and James Madison to support the ratification of the Constitution.
Hamilton wrote 51, Madison 26, Jay 5.
Published in newspapers where ratification was in doubt; counterpoints from Brutus and Cato (Anti-Federalists) vs. Publius (the Federalist authors).
Ratifying the Constitution
Early ratifications: Delaware, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania acted quickly.
Massachusetts consented but wanted amendments to protect individual rights.
New Hampshire was the crucial ninth state to ratify on June 21, 1788.
New York and Virginia eventually ratified; North Carolina and Rhode Island initially held out due to concerns.
Congress submitted the Bill of Rights to the states for ratification in September 1789 to address Anti-Federalist concerns.
Amending the Constitution: The Bill of Rights
The first ten amendments: specific protections of personal rights.
Freedom of expression, speech, religion, and assembly.
Right to bear arms; no quartering of soldiers in peacetime without consent.
Ninth Amendment: enumerated rights are not exclusive.
Tenth Amendment: powers not delegated to the national government are reserved to the states or the people.
Summary of Key Formulas and Thresholds (for quick recall)
Representational count (Three-Fifths Compromise):
Amendment thresholds:
Proposed by Congress: of both houses
Ratified by states: of the states
Alternative path: ratified by conventions in of the states
Ratification status example (historical): nine of thirteen states were required to ratify for the Constitution to become law; later, the threshold in the modern U.S. is implied by the 38 of 50 states (as of the current constitution) for amendments.
Connections to Foundational Principles and Real-World Relevance
The shift from Articles of Confederation to a new Constitution embodies the move from a loose league of states toward a stronger, centralized government with checks and balances.
The Great Compromise and Three-Fifths Compromise reflect competing interests between large and small states and between free and enslaved populations, illustrating how political compromises shape fundamental law.
The Bill of Rights demonstrates the ethical emphasis on individual liberties and limits on federal power, addressing Anti-Federalist concerns while balancing the need for a functional national government.
The Federalist Papers provide a theoretical defense of republican government and constitutional design; their arguments remain relevant to debates about federalism, representation, and civil liberties.
Informal amendments (judicial interpretation, presidential actions, and cultural evolution) show that constitutions are living documents whose meanings adapt to changing societal norms and technological advances.
Practical Implications and Ethical Considerations
Balancing national power with state sovereignty impacts governance efficiency, regional interests, and policy experimentation.
The treatment of enslaved people in the Three-Fifths Compromise raises enduring ethical questions about representation, citizenship, and human rights; the eventual abolitionist movement and constitutional amendments address these issues over time.
Electoral mechanisms (Electoral College) involve considerations of democratic legitimacy, state equality, and the role of minority interests in national elections.
The process of amendment, including both formal and informal pathways, highlights the balance between stability and adaptability in a constitutional system.
Notes on Page-Specific Details and Odd Mnemonics
Pages 21–24 display a mnemonic for the Preamble acronym: PLEJ FASRA (Please Let Every Junior Fail As Seniors Rock Always!!). This serves as a memory aid for the order of sections associated with the Preamble and subsequent articles.
Page 8’s "HAPPY TREASON DAY UNGRATEFUL COLONIALS" reflects the intense sentiment and propaganda that accompanied the push toward independence.
Page 31–33 illustrate the Formal Amendment process with visual steps and numeric thresholds (2/3, 3/4, 34/38). In the standard historical context, this corresponds to:
Step 1: Proposal by Congress with a two-thirds vote ()
Step 2: Ratification by three-fourths of the states (); historically 38 states under today’s framework, given 50 states in many later amendments.
Pages 34–36 cover informal amendment methods, including Marbury v. Madison (1803) and the role of presidential actions, executive orders, and societal change in shaping constitutional interpretation.
Quick Reference: Key Dates and Figures
Stamp Act Congress: 1765–1766 activities, protest against taxation without representation
Sugar Act: 1764; Stamp Act: 1765
Treaty of Paris: 1763 (end of French and Indian War; pre-Independence implications)
Continental Congress (First): 1774; (Second): 1775–1776
Declaration of Independence: July 4, 1776; independence voted on July 2, 1776 (NY abstained)
Articles of Confederation ratified: 1781
Constitutional Convention: 1787 (Miracle at Philadelphia)
Ratification: 1787–1788; Bill of Rights proposed 1789 and ratified by 1791