The constitution of the United States

The articles of confederation:

• at the time of the revolution, the colonies were united in a form of loose confderacy under the Articles of Confederation.

• Under loose confderacy, authority was concentrated in the states and it allowed them to keep their independace; and it only had a legislature without an executive.

• the legislature met in the first continental congresses in 1774 and the second in 1775, as states sent delegates to them to discuss colonial matters and the steps taken against the British

• The congresses were inefficient in governing which led to the colonies growing apart by competing for pwoer. there was little unity action

Unitary System: authroity is concentrated un the central government

Federation: authority is divided between central and state governmentds and is derived from the people

Confederation: auhtorited is concentrated in the states no the central government

A New Constitution of The Republic:

• after the successful end of the revolution, the United States of America was established as a Republic in 1783

• and due to the inefficient of government under the Article of Confederation, a constitional convention with delgates from the states convened starting from 1787 and proposed a new constitution for the republic which evenutally became the currecnt constituition.

So, What is a Constituion?

• a constition is a plan of government; it details:

1. what the republic stsands fro and its principles

2. how the republic is to be governed

3. which rights will be given to its people

• The constitution is also the highest and most supreme law in the land; no other law or resolution can go against the contents of the constituion.

• specifically, the US consition is the oldest and the longest standing constitution in the world.

Reasons for the New Constitution:

• the previously mentioned faction in colonial society:

  -religious

  -geographic

  -socio-economic

  -cultural

  -political

Soical class of colonial America from top elities to bottom:

- educated and talended merchants, planters, lawers, bankers.

-royalists-pre-revolution—recipents of land grants and jobs from the king

-successful farmers, shopkeepers, independent artisains-early middle class

-freeholders, fishermen, lumberpersons, dockhands, sailors, small merchants

-indentured servants, tenant farmers

-slaves

• the class structure of pre-revolutionary colonial America influenced the way the articles of confederation operated because there were 13 seperate socities and markets.

• the article empowered the less affluent sectors of white society, they were supported by radicals who beleived in democratic principles

• elites were unhappy with this situation, which is why they scrapped the articles entirely and drafted a new constitution

• the constitution put the pre-revolutionary eleites back in power.

How the Constitution Was Framed:

• the formation of the constituional convetion and its first meeting took place in may 1787

• 12 out of 13 states sent delgates to the convention; Rhode Island declined to participate

• negotiations in the convetion continued until september 1787 when the new constituion was signed

• the ratification of the new constituion took around a year, and it was ratified in 1788 after 9 out of the 13 colonies (now states) ratified it

• after raftification it took effect in 1789. Therefore, it took around 2 years for the whole project to be concluded

• after that, the new republic had a new form of government.

Issues Debated At The Convention Equality Amounf Large and Small States:

• delegates from most of the states wanted to establish an effective form of gvoernment with a strong exectuvie to replace the inefficiently of government under the Articles of Confederation

• the disagreement was on how to do that, they basically did not know what they were doing

• compromises needed to be reached in order to write a constitution that would be signed by the marjority of delgates, and then ratfied by the majority of states.

• the first proposal was proposed by the delegates of Virginia headed by James Madison, called the Virginia Plan; it called for:

  1. a bi-cameral legislature (two-house) elected based on population (larger states would more representatives)

  2. an elected chief executive (president)

  3. an apointed judiciary

• supporters of the Virginia Plan in the convention mainly represented the large states, and they supported federalism; giving more power to the executive

• the opposing proposal was proposed by the delegates of New Jersy by William Paterson, called the New Jersey Plan; it called for:

  1. a unicarmeral legislature (one-house) with rach state having equal votes which basical keeps the legislature under the articles of confederation

  2. an elected chief exectuvie (president)

• supporters of the New Jersey plan in the convention mainly represented the small staes, and as such they wanted to keep more power in the hands of the state governments (anti-federalists)

• both sides of the debate needed to compromise so they came up with: The Great Compromise/the Connecticut Compromise propsed by Roger Sherman. It included:

  1. a bicameral with propotional representation (based on population) in the lower house, and equal state representation in the upper house

  2. an elected chief executive with rights reserved to the states

  3. appointed judiciary

• this became the current form of government

Issues Debated at the convention slavery:

• the northern states were already in the process of abolishing slavery

• the southern states depended on slave labor to maintain their agricultural industry, si they advocated to keep slavery for financial gain.

• as a way of compromise, and in order to get the support of the southern states for ratification, the delates decided to:

  1. keep the slave trafficking legal for 20 more years

  2. consider each slave 3/5 of an individual in terms of population, to keep their representative power

  3. require the return of escaped slaves to their owners in the south, even if they were captured in northern states where slavery has been abolished.

• slavery continued and was only abolished in 1865 after the civil war.

Articles of The Constitution:

• Article 1: The Legislative Branch

• Article 2: The Executive Branch

• Article 3: The Judicial Branch

• Article 4: federal-State Relationship

• Article 5: Amending the Constitution

• Article 6: Supremacy of the Constitution

• Article 7: Intial Ratification

• 27+ amendments

• principles reflected in the constitution:

self-government by assembly; no king or nobles (example no supreme authority), Legitimate geographic factions; and the rule of law.

Article 1 The Legislative Branch:

• section 1: legislative power held by the House and Senate

• section 2: House members elected by population

• section 3: senate members elected by geography

• section 4: meetings are to be held regularly

• section 5: both chambers are to set their own procedural rules

• section 6: members are to be paid for their service

• section 7: The house initates proposals to raise taxes

• section 8:

  1. facilitation of commerce and regulation of money

  2. establishing a post office and roads

  3. maintaining the common defense: making war, raising an army, establishing forts, etc

• section 9: maintaining equality and the Rule of Law among the states:

  1. no preference for one state over another

  2. no money withdrawn without appropriations law

  3. no titles of nobility

  4. no payments from other governments or kings

• section 10: restrictions on states:

  1. no treaties by states

  2. no state can coin money

  3. no state can do the things proscribed of the federal government

  4. no state can keep troops or ships of war

• formal legislative checks on the executive:

  1. power of the purse (controls money)

  2. write and pass laws

  3. impeachment

  4. approve appointments (senate)

  5. congress elects the president and vice president in the event of a tie in the electoral college

• informal legislative checks on executive:

  -subpoena power and inherent contempt: the governemnt can legally demand that someone show up, answer questiosn, or hand over important documents. If someone ignores a subpoena, congress can punish them, even by jailing them until the cooperate.

Article 2 The Executive Branch:

• section 1: President is elected by population and states (electoral college)

• sections 2: the duties of the branch include:

  1. comander in chief

  2. manage departments established to execute laws passed by congress

  3. propose treaties

  4. appoint judges and ambassadors

• section 3: must report to congress

• section 4: may be removed by congress

Article 3 The Judicial Branch:

• section 1: an independent supreme court and inferior courts are established by congress

• section 2: duties of the judicial branch include:

  1. resolving conflicts regarding the constitution

  2. resolving conflicts regarding treaties

  3. resolving conflicts regarding foreign officials

  4. presiding over impeachment and proceedings

• section 3: resolving questions of treason

seperation of powers:

the legislative branch:

-approves nominations, appropriates money, and can impeach the president

-impeach the president

the executive branch:

-can veto legislation

-nominate judges

the judicial branch:

-can declare laws unconstitutional

-can declare presidential acts unconstitutional

Article 4 Federal- State Relationship:

• section 1: laws amoung the states are equal

• section 2: citizens are citizens across all states

• section 4: new states may be admitted

• section 5: states are republics

Articles 5-7:

article 5 amending the constitution:

• a difficult process: requries special majorites in both congress and within the states

article 6 supremacy of the constitution:

• establishes the constitution, federal laws and treaties as the supreme law of the land. it also requries all government officials to swear an oath to uphold the constitution

article 7:

• it details the process for ratifying the constituion

• the constitution is established between states that ratify it when nine states ratify the constitution