Timeline

1776: Declaration of Independence

1781: Articles of Confederation

1787-1788: Federalist & Anti-Federalist Papers

1788: The Constitution

1791: The Bill of RightsThe US Constitution is the longest-running written charter of government in the world

It was an experiment

ratification in 1789

Some scholars say that the Constitution reflects universal ideas that are still relevant today, but some think that the authors were motivated by the protection of property (slaves) and racial/gender discrimination

Americans vs. British

Americans gained independence from the British in 1776

13 colonies that were allowed to govern themselves but were subject to foreign policy

British fought in the French and Indian War to control Canadian territories. They offered to protect colonists from the French. As a result, they were in debt so began taxing colonists.

“No taxation without representation”

Rich colonists formed a group called Sons of Liberty to protest British taxes

December 16, 1773, the Boston Tea Party was led by the Sons of Liberty

British passed Coercive Acts (Intolerable Acts) as a response: it shut down the colonial legislature of MA, closed part of Boston, and required them to house British soldiers

First Continental Congress: all the delegates from all colonies except Georgia met in 9/1774 in Philadelphia where the Declaration of Rights was drafted (still loyal to Brits, but without being taxed)

4/1775, the rebellion began in the Battles of Lexington and Concord

5/1775 The Second Continental Congress met, but half wanted to make peace with Britain while the other half wanted independence; was debated for a year until 6/1776 when Virginia introduced a resolution to declare independence and end allegiance to Great Britain.

During the Second CC, they drafted the Declaration of Independence (committee by 5 men representing each colony, Thomas Jefferson (VA) was in charge of writing it, finished 6/1776)

Jefferson’s view of the purpose of the government is to protect people’s basic rights

5 basic parts:

1. The first section is the preamble, or introduction, and gives an overview of the extraordinary circumstances that led to the document’s creation.

2. The second section is a discussion of basic human rights. It was inspired by the Enlightenment-era philosopher, John Locke. Locke wrote that people had the right to revolution when their governments did not meet their needs. Accordingly, this section of the Declaration presents “self-evident” truths: that men have certain fundamental rights, that governments are created to protect these rights, and that governments should be overthrown when they do not perform this function.

3. The third section lists the oppressive actions of the British government against the colonies.

4. The fourth section mentions the colonists’ failed attempts at reconciliation.

5. The fifth and final section serves as the actual declaration of independence. It ends the obligation of loyalty to the British king and cuts all political ties with Britain.

7/4/1776, Second CC approved Declaration of Independence which was carried unanimously by the 11 voting states and was eventually signed by 56 memers of Continental Congress

Revolutionary War continued; the British surrendered 10/1781, the US gained freedom two years later when the treaty of Paris was signed

Articles of Confederation

Articles of Confederation was the first attempt at establishing a government. It served as the system of gov during the Rev War, and was ratified on 3/1781 (6 months before the war ended)

constitution: a written set of rules that defines how a country is governed

democracy: a form of government in which the people choose the representatives through elections

national government would consist of a single legislative chamber (congress)

Each 13 states would have one vote in Congress

No national executive branch to prohibit one single person from gaining too much power. However, it made the government very weak.

The Articles of Confederation was approved by the Continental Congress in 11/1777; the final state ratified in 3/1781

Many soldiers were in debt after the war

Shays’ Rebellion was led by Daniel Shays (MA farmer and veteran) in 1786; pleaded to form a national army which was only supported by Virginia. MA governer shut down the uprising with militia

the national government had no power to repay the debt, establish an army, regulate interstate commerce, international trade, or currency

Each state had too much power because they were all equally represented

The weakness of the Confederation was discussed in 1787 in Philadelphia where all delegates except Rhode Island were present. Because there were too many unfixable issues, they wanted to create a new constitution.

New Constitution Discussion

The new constitution would try to focus on representation and power

larger states supported the system of representation by population whereas smaller states did not support it. Slaved states wanted to include slaves in their overall population but didn’t want to allow them to vote or taxable property.

Virginia Plan (James Madison): government composed of three branches - legislative, executive, and judicial that would balance power and responsibility. Congress would have 2 parts; a bicameral legislature which would give larger states more power than smaller states (Virginia had a population of 750K people and was a state that wanted to include slaves in their population)

New Jersey Plan: suggested minor revisions to the Articles of Confederation, and stuck with unicameral legislature where each state would get one vote.

NJ was the last state in the North to ban slavery and was still a slave state during this time. NJ had a population of about 185K

7/1787 a committee was appointed to solve the disagreement between VA and NJ

Connecticut Compromise - a bicameral legislature that incorporated elements from both plans: each state has equal representation in the upper house (Senate), while representation in the lower house (House of Representatives) is based on population; all legislation requires the approval of both houses

Ex: NC has two senates, but 15 representatives; RI has two senates but 2 representatives

according to the Founders, they believed that although owning slaves was against “liberty and justice for all”, a man’s right to his property was more important and so slavery would be legal until about 100 years after

There was a disagreement as to whether or not slaves would count towards the entire population to get a larger say in the House of Representation

3/5 compromise - an enslaved person would count as 3/5 of an individual in the House of Representatives

the delegates decided that the executive branch would be a single person holding limited powers; the executive (the president) would be indirectly elected by the Electoral College

The Constitution of the United States of America replaced the Articles of Confederation.

3 branches of government: legislative (makes the law), executive (enforces law), judicial (interprets law); each branch has the power to check the other branches

The Constitution has enumerated powers unlike the Articles (like taxes)

The bicameral legislature: state representation (Senate) and representation by population (house of representatives)

The Constitution was signed by the 39 delegates at the Constitutional Convention on September 17, 1787

Each state held a convention to review the document

The Constitution only required ratification from 9/13 states

Delaware was first to ratify on December 7, 1787, New Hampshire was the ninth to ratify on June 21, 1788, and replaced the ratification

VA and NY hadn’t ratified yet so it lacked legitimacy

Federalists: those in support of the Constitution

Federalist Papers: articles in the NY newspapers to advocate for ratification

Anti-Federalists: those opposed to the Constitution; also published articles about the flaws in the Constitution, arguing for the protection of states’ rights and for the concentration of power in the national government

Eventually, VA and NY voted by slim margins to ratify the Constitutions because the Federalists promised to amend the document to clarify the limits of the government

NC and RI waited until the amendments (Bill of Rights) was proposed before ratifying

4 Parties/principles/representations

Framers - the 55 delegates appointed to the Constitutional Convention 1787

first - indirect representation - republicanism: The 55 delegates (Framers) thought to give power to representatives instead of to the people; representatives would make more educated decisions; representatives would still need to be regularly elected; a government where people are represented indirectly

second - federalism: division of power between national and state governments; the different governments will control each other at the same time that the other is controlling it; would protect the people and balance the system; the distribution of power between the national and state governments is still debated today

third - separation of powers - division of power between the three branches of government; the Framers wanted to limit the power of the people (republicanism) and also wanted to limit the power of the national government; 3 branches of national government that had specific powers and responsibilities which would prevent any branch from becoming too powerful; Congress has the most authority

• legislative - make laws

• executive - execute and implement laws

• judicial - interpret laws

Ex of separation of powers: The Congress can pass legislation, but the president can veto (overrule) legislation. However, Congress can override the veto with a 2/3 Majority in both houses.

“If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary. In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this: you must first enable the government to control the governed, and in the next place oblige it to control itself.”

-James Madison

Checks and Balances - each branch of government can limit the powers of other branches; the term comes from French philosopher Montesquieu, who said that the powers of government should be separated and balanced

The Constitution

Consists of 7 articles and 8.1K words

Each state has its state constitution and is much easier to change than ours

Florida is in its 6th Constitution and has 12 articles, countless amendments (added 12 in 2018 alone), and about 57K words

The US Constitution has been amended only 27 times, the last one added on 5/7/1992

2 stages of the US Constitution amendment process

• proposal by 2/3 of both houses of Congress or by a national convention

• ratification by state legislatures or by special ratifying conventions in ¾ of the states

7 articles divided into 3 parts

• preamble/introduction

• Articles I, II, III which establish the 3 branches

• Articles IV-VII - rights and responsibilities of the state and national governments, the process for amending the Constitution, the supremacy of national government, the process for states to ratify the Constitution

Preamble - states the purpose of the document and is only one sentence, with emphasis on the people and the Union, justice, security, welfare, and liberty

Articles 1 - structure and function of the legislative branch; create a national legislature with two chambers, establishes how congressional elections work, variety of enumerated powers to declare war, coin money, commerce, etc.

Article 2 - describes the executive branch, grants the president executive power, and develops an institution for selecting the president (Electoral College), Electoral College was a compromise between the popular vote, congressional election, and state election

Article 3 - basic parameters for the judicial branch of the government; creates Supreme Court (all lower courts created by Congress); provides details for judicial selection and terms of office; Justices on the Supreme Court are appointed by the president, confirmed by the Senate, and retained for life—assuming good behavior.

Articles 4-7 - discusses state and national power, describe the process for accepting and amending the Constitution; states retain powers not granted to the national government by the Constitution; the states must respect the laws of the other states; article 5 sets out amendment process, article 6 declares national government to be supreme, article 7 describes the process for the states to ratify the Constitution to replace the Articles of Confederation

Amendments

2 stages of changing it: proposal (in Congress) and ratification (controlled by the states)

Amendments are proposed by 2/3 vote in the House and Senate, or by a national convention called by Congress because 2/3 of all the states petitioned but its never happened

If the proposal passes, it moves to ratification; it must be approved by the legislatures of ¾ of the states; The 21st Amendment (Prohibition) was the only one done by special ratification conventions held in ¾ of the states

Since 1787, thousands of amendments have been introduced into Congress but only 33 have made it through the proposal process and only 27 have been ratified

The first ten amendments are the Bill of Rights, which were added within three years of its ratification

amendment 1 - freedom of speech, religion, press, and assembly

amendment 2 - the right to own firearms

other amendments in the Bill of Rights - protection of rights, fair and speedy trial by an impartial jury, protection against self-incrimination, prohibits cruel and unusual punishment

amendment 9 - power retained by the people

amendment 10 - power retained by the states

8 out of 17 of the subsequent amendments are about the problems surrounding the Electoral College

• amendment 12 (1804) - originally, the electors in the Electoral College would cast two votes for president, with the winner becoming president and the runner-up vice president; the 1800 election resulted in a tie between Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr, and 12th Amendment was enacted to separate presidential and vice-presidential elections

• amendment 17 - shifts power over to the senators; senators had previously been chosen by state legislatures and were now elected by voters

• amendment 22 - after Franklin Roosevelt got elected to a fourth term as president, this amendment limited presidents to 2 full terms

• amendment 23 - Washington DC was provided with 3 representatives in the Electoral College during the presidential elections

Amendments concerning the rights and privileges of citizens

• amendments 13-15 - addresses the rights of blacks during the Civil War; abolished slavery, equal protection under the law regardless of race, and black men were allowed to vote

• Getting these amendments passed was hard because several southern states weren’t allowed representation in the House and Senate because of their active rebellion against the Union, so Congress took the opportunity to propose civil rights, and the states were required to ratify them if they wanted back into the Union

Other Amendments

• amendment 11 (1795) - prohibits citizens from suing states in federal court (sovereign immunity); however, citizens are allowed to sue state officials

• amendment 16 (1913) - gave Congress the power to tax personal income

• amendment 18 - prohibition of alcohol in 1919

• amendment 21 - repealed the prohibition of alcohol 1933

• amendment 19 (1920) - voting rights for women

• amendment 27 (most recent, 1922) - prohibited members of Congress from raising their own salaries

The 19th Amendment

gave women the right to vote

Seneca Falls Convention 1848

14+15 amendment were about black MALES being able to vote; got rid of discrimination against race but not sex

suffrage/franchise - right to vote

“politics were for men and domestic work was for women”

Madeleine Vinton Dahlgren - married to US Navy Admiral John A. Dahlgren, said that political rights pertained to the family

Congress successfully proposed this amendment on 6/4/1919, but it needed approval of 36/48 states of either state legislature or state ratification conventions

For the next year, suffragists and anti-suffragists traveled from state to state trying to convince either against or for ratification

Most Southern states rejected it because they thought that it would allow black women to vote

Washington state was the 35th state to ratify

Connecticut or Vermont was the hopeful 36th, but the governors refused to call their legislatures. The same happened in Florida and North Carolina. Tennessee was the only feasible state still in play.

In the summer of 1920, suffragists only needed one more state to ratify. The Tennessee State Legislature convention housed the most fierce suffrage and anti-suffrage supporters.

Most saw it as a challenge to God’s Plan because women are supposed to be obedient to men’s authority.

Many factories thought that if women were allowed to work, then they would abolish child labor.

The most fierce foes were anti-suffragist women from social and religious conservatives

In the end, the fate of the amendment came down to a vote of Harry T. Burn, the youngest member of the Tennessee legislature, who had received a letter from his mother that morning

The 19th Amendment was ratified on 8/31/1920

Equal Rights Amendment (ERA)

Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex

failed to pass the ratification phase of the process

asked for equal pay and equal work

introduced during every session of Congress from 1923 to 1972 until it acquired 2/3 vote necessary to be proposed

gained ratification from 35 states between 1972-1977, it never reached 38 before the deadline of 1982, and some states even withdrew

The amendments have incredibly vague language that leads to debate and heated discussions on what the amendment actually means

The amendments are vague because they were often forced to compromise (which leaves space for different interpretations) in the document and because they were concerned about the weakness of the government

Full Faith and Credit Clause from Article IV says that all states should recognize and respect the laws of other states; public records are recognized across all states

The Supremacy Clause states that the Constitution is the highest authority in the nation

These two clauses contradict themselves

The Constitutions of two countries can be extremely similar but their governments can be incredibly different due to different interpretation

The Russian and American Constitutions are similar; both are republics, both have three branches of government, and both state that the Constitution holds the highest legal authority

However, although both have freedom of speech, Russia bans certain forms of speech such as hate speech and propaganda

Freedom House is a nonprofit organization that assesses freedom around the world and categorizes a country as either free, partly free, or not free. The US is labeled as free (83/100) while Russia is labeled as not free (19/100).