The Five Principles of Government and the Founding of the United States

The Five Principles of Government

• Rationality Principle: People act for a reason, seeking to achieve specific goals, often driven by self-interest.
  • Example: Big states bargaining with small states during the Constitutional Convention had their interests in mind.
  • Example: Americans and the British acted rationally from their respective points of view during the lead-up to the revolution.
• Collective Action Principle: Achieving a desired outcome requires people to work together. It's rare for everyone to get everything they want in a group setting; compromise is necessary.
  • Example: Getting a law passed requires various individuals or groups to align interests and cooperate.
  • Example: The Annapolis Convention failed due to a lack of collective action.
• Bargaining Principle: The process of negotiation and compromise among individuals or groups to achieve collective action, keeping the rationality principle in mind.
  • Example: The compromise over legislative representation between big and small states.
• Institution Principle: The rules of the game that structure political action, including procedures and requirements (e.g., number of votes needed).
  • Example: Needing $51$ votes in the Senate to pass a bill.
  • Example: The rule of needing $9$ states to pass a law under the Articles of Confederation.
• History Principle: Past events, decisions, and structures influence current actions and future possibilities.
  • Example: If a bill failed in the past with $49$ votes, it informs present efforts to find more votes.
  • Example: The fear of a strong central government influenced the design of the Articles due to experiences with British tyranny.

Application of Principles to Historical Events

Failure of the Annapolis Convention

• Collective Action Failure: Only $5$ states showed up, which was insufficient for addressing national issues.
• Institution Principle: The Articles of Confederation required $13$ votes to amend, making significant changes impossible with such low attendance.

Revolutionary America and Independence

• Rationality Principle: Both sides acted rationally from their perspectives.
  • British View: Americans were receiving benefits without paying their fair share of taxes.
  • American View: Taxation without representation was unfair, and they had no say in tax policies.
• Collective Action: British taxation policies (targeting New England merchants, Southern planters, small business people) ultimately drove collective action, as these groups realized it was no longer in their interest to support Britain.
• History Principle: The fear of chaos and the unknown if they broke away from England made colonists hesitant, requiring significant grievances to "pull the trigger" on independence.

The Declaration of Independence

• Purpose: A "breakup letter" and a philosophical argument intended to:
  • Convince Colonial Americans: To join the cause for independence by outlining grievances against King George III, as championed by works like Thomas Paine's Common Sense.
  • Secure Foreign Allies: Particularly France, by presenting a unified and justified case for independence.
• Philosophical Underpinnings: Primarily from John Locke's philosophy of "life, liberty, and property" (translated by Jefferson as "the pursuit of happiness") and the idea of equality and inalienable rights. Hobbes's philosophy was less prominent here.
• Collective Action: It was a philosophical statement, not a governmental structure. Combining the declaration of independence with a specific government structure would have created too many disagreements, hindering collective action for independence itself.

The Articles of Confederation (First Government)

• Formation (Post-Independence):
  • The need for a government structure arose after winning the Revolutionary War. If the war had been lost, the form of government would have been irrelevant.
  • Rationality Principle: States, having just broken from a strong central power, desired to retain their individual power and autonomy. It was rational for state leaders to keep the national government weak.
  • History Principle: Strong national government was associated with British tyranny, so there was a deliberate effort to create a weak central authority.
• Institutional Structure (Reflecting Weakness):
  • Unicameral Congress: Only one legislative chamber.
  • No Executive Branch: No president, as states did not want a single, powerful leader.
  • No National Judicial Branch: States wanted to handle their own legal disputes, fearing interference from judges from other states.
  • Limited Powers: Congress had no power to tax, issue a unified currency (states printed their own), or raise an army effectively.
  • Voting Requirements (Institution Principle):
    • Laws: Required $9$ out of $13$ states to pass.
    • Amendments: Required unanimous consent ($13$ out of $13$ states) to modify the Articles, making changes virtually impossible.
• Shay's Rebellion (Highlighting Defects):
  • Cause: Soldiers were not being paid due to the national government's inability to tax and generate revenue.
  • Actions: Soldiers closed courthouses and took firearms.
  • Resolution: Put down by state militias funded by private business people, not a national army.
  • Implication: Demonstrated critical weaknesses of the Articles: lack of taxing power, absence of a national army (to ensure "domestic tranquility"), and the inability to respond to internal threats.

The Constitutional Convention (Solution to Articles' Deficiencies)

• Context: The dire situation following the Articles' failures (Shay's Rebellion, economic instability, lack of national unity) made "failure not an option." The goal was to lock the doors and fix the government.
• Philosophical Influence: Thomas Hobbes's philosophy heavily influenced the Constitution, particularly the idea that "ambition must counter ambition" to prevent the abuse of power, as people, by nature, will abuse power if given too much.
• The Preamble: Served as a "table of contents" and a powerful "PR" selling point, designed to convince the public of the new government's necessity and benefits.
  • Goals: Form a more perfect union (addressing prior disunity), establish justice (national court system), ensure domestic tranquility (national army), provide for the common defense (national army), promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty for posterity.
  • "We the People": Signified a shift from state-centric power to popular sovereignty.

Solutions: The Three Branches of Government

1. Legislative Branch (Congress):

   • Focus: Chosen as the primary branch to structure first, partly because many convention delegates expected to serve in Congress and feared concentrating power in a single executive.
   • The Great Compromise (Connecticut Compromise):
     • Problem: Big states (Virginia, Pennsylvania, New York) demanded proportional representation, while small states insisted on equal representation.
     • Solution: Created a bicameral (two-chamber) legislature:
       • House of Representatives: Representation based on population (satisfying big states).
       • Senate: Equal representation for each state (satisfying small states).
     • Checks and Balances: Laws must pass both chambers, an early example of "ambition countering ambition" at the legislative level.
   • New Powers (Addressing Articles' Defects): Power to create an army and navy, impose taxes, coin currency, and regulate interstate commerce.
   • Necessary and Proper Clause ($Article I, Section 8, Clause 18$):
     • Purpose: To provide flexibility and avoid the need for frequent amendments by giving Congress the express power to pass any laws "necessary and proper" to carry out its enumerated powers.
     • Implication: Granted significant implied powers, leading to future debates about federal authority.

2. Executive Branch (The President):

   • Role: "Faithfully execute" the laws as the chief executive officer (CEO) of the government.
   • Ambition Countering Ambition: Powers were carefully balanced and limited to prevent abuse.
   • Split Military Power: Congress declares war, but the President serves as Commander-in-Chief.
   • Checks on Appointments and Treaties: The President appoints executive officials and judges, and negotiates treaties, but the Senate must approve these actions.
   • Removal: The power to remove the President was given to Congress (representing "the people") through the impeachment process, a crucial "PR move" to reassure the public that this new, powerful executive could be held accountable.
   • Method of Selection (Major Debate):
     • Direct Popular Vote: Rejected due to concerns by wealthy delegates about "mob rule" and the influence of events like Shay's Rebellion.
     • Congressional Selection: Rejected to maintain separation of powers and prevent one branch from dominating another.
     • Electoral College: Proposed as a compromise solution for selecting the President, which remains in effect today.

3. Judicial Branch (The Court System):

   • Purpose: To provide an impartial judicial branch for uniform interpretation of national laws, preventing $13$ different state interpretations.
   • Jurisdiction: National courts would primarily handle cases involving national laws (e.g., laws passed by Congress). State courts would retain jurisdiction over state law disputes, avoiding federal interference in purely state business.
   • Need: Essential due to the new and expanded powers given to Congress, requiring a mechanism to interpret these laws consistently across the nation.