2.11-2.13

Issue

Virginia Plan

New Jersey Plan

Constitution

Operation

Directly on people

Through the states

Directly on people

Legislative Structure

Bicameral and proportional

Unicameral and equal

Bicameral, with lower chamber and upper chamber equal

Legislative Authority

General: power to promote the authority of the United States

Strict enumerated powers of the Articles of Confederation, plus power to regulate commerce and limited powers to tax

Broad enumerated powers

Check on Legislative Authority

Council of revision composed of judicial and executive would have final say over legislative acts

None

Presidential veto, with possibility of a two-thirds override

Executive

Unitary national executive chosen by the legislature

Plural national executive chosen by the legislative

Unitary national executive chosen by the Electoral College

Judiciary

National judiciary chosen by legislature

National judiciary chosen by executive

National judiciary chosen by president with advice nd consent of Senate

The Constitutional Convention

  • North Versus South

    • Slavery - 95% of all slaves were in the South. Northern states wanted only free citizens to be counted; Southern states wanted slaves to be fully counted

    • Three-fifths compromise - each slave was counted as 3/5 of a person for representation and imposed taxes

  • Gates against Popular Influence

    • Electoral College - the President is not elected by direct vote but rather citizens of each state vote for electors

      • Each state has electors equal to the number of members of House plus two Senators

      • Each state chose the manner of selecting their electors (originally through state legislature - now by popular vote)

      • Gives small states a power beyond their actual populations

    • Election of the Senate - originally state legislatures selected Senators. Seventeenth Amendment established the popular election of Senators.

  • The Ratification Process

    • Bill of Rights - originally there was no Bill of Rights. Many felt that there was no need to prohibit Congress from exercising powers beyond those enumerated.

    • None of thirteen states had to approve the Constitution

Deficiency in the Articles of Confederation

Remedy in the Constitution

Legislative branch could not regulate commerce

Congress can regulate commerce “among the states”

Legislative branch could only request taxes from states

Congress can directly raise taxes from individuals

Approval of nine of thirteen states needed for passage of major legislation

Approval of a majority of both legislative chambers needed for passage of all legislation; a two-thirds majority needed to override presidential votes

No permanent executive branch

A “President of the United States”

Unanimity for constitutional amendments

Approval of two-thirds of each chamber plus three-fourths of the states

Few limits of state authority, mostly over foreign affairs

States limited in foreign affairs, plus could not suppress certain rights through bill of attainder, ex post facto laws, and so on

“An Economic Interpretation of the Constitution”

Written by Charles A. Beard in 1913

  • Federalist 10:

    • “The most common and durable source of factions has been the various and unequal distribution of property”

    • “From the protection of different and unequal faculties of acquiring property…ensues a division of society into different interests and parties”

  • Beard’s view on Federalist 10: “Here we have a masterly statement of the theory of economic determinism in politics”

  • All economic groups had an interest in the details of the Constitution

    • The disenfranchised - slaves and indentured servants

    • Real property owners - small farmers

    • Personal property owners - bonds, cash deposits, etc. (the wealth of the farmers)

  • The Framers design the Constitution to protect and possibly improve their personal economic interests

    • Delegates to the constitutional convention were chosen by state legislatures. Property requirements for voting mean that much of the population was excluded from the convention.

    • The Constitution was essentially an economic document based on the concept that property exists before government (Locke) and morally beyond the reach of the majority

    • The movement for a Constitution was based on the economic interests of money, public securities, manufacturers, and trade and shipping

    • Federalism was created because of economic tensions among the various economic interests

    • The line of cleavage for and against the Constitution was between monied interests vs the small farming and debtor interest

Government Under the Constitution

  • The Structure of Government

    • The Legislative Branch (Article I of US Constitution)

      Makes the Laws

      • Bi-cameral — 2 chambers

        • House of Representatives - proportioned by population; elected for two-year terms; must be at least 25 years old; 435 members

        • Senate - two senators from each state; designed as a check on the popular will (state legislators chose Senators until 1913 - 17th Amendment); six-year term, must be at least 30 years old; 100 members

      • To become law, a bill has to pass each chamber in identical form and is then presented to the president for their signature

        • Veto - if the president disapproves of the bill, they can veto it. Congress can override the veto by a 2/3 majority in each chamber

      • The House has the authority to impeach (bring charges against) the president and other federal officials. The Senate has the sole authority to try cases of impeachment with 2/3 required for removal from office

    • The Executive Branch (Article II of US Constitution)

      Executes and enforcement of laws

      • includes the president, vice president, the Cabinet, executive departments, independent agencies, and other boards, commissions, and committees.

        • Headed by a unitary (singular) president, chosen for a four year term by the Electoral College (which is chosen in a manner set by state legislatures)

          • Must be at least 35 years of age

          • Commander-in-chief of the armed forces

    • The Judicial Branch (Article III of US Constitution)

      Interprets the laws

      • Constituion vests judicial authority in one Supreme Court and other lower courts Congress chooses

      • President appoints federal judges with the advice and consent of the Senate

        • Judicial Review - established through the case of Marbury v Madison; Supreme Court has the authority to strike down any law passed by Congress which the Court believes violates the Constitution