Lecture 6: The Constitution: Adoption, Nuts and Bolts, and Evaluation

I. Introduction to the Philadelphia Constitutional Convention

A.  Held in Philadelphia in the summer of 1787 w/12 of the 13 states sending delegates (Rhode Island did not).

B.  Delegates were granted the authority of revising--NOT replacing Articles of Confederationà"a loose association of states”

C.  Articles system based on principle of “state sovereignty”

D.  Problems:

--Weak central govt, w/o real power to tax or enforce laws

--lots of debt

--too many different currencies

--internal trade disputes

--external autonomy?

--no national military/trained militia to take care of internal military problems

E. Most realized that the articles of Confed would have to be replaced NOT revised—but CC approved Convention “for the   SOLE and express purpose of revising the Articles"

F. The Virginia delegation submitted its plan [Virginia Plan: New Ntl Govt under Constitution; (1) 2-house Leg, lower house chosen by people, upper by lower; (2) Ntl Executive to be chosen by Congress; (3) Ntl Judiciary chosen by Congress (Dem Under, P40)]  and the New Jersey delegation its plan

G. [New Jersey Plan: called for amending not replacing articles w/3 major changes--single chamber legis, multiperson exec; states have = rep (Dem Under, p41)

H. New Jersey Plan defeated outright

I.  Virginia Plan delayed by small states worried about its place in a larger realm w/a strong central govt and larger, more powerful neighbors.

J.  Connecticut came up with compromise plan known as Connecticut or Great Compromise—proposed by Roger Sherman, called for: (1) HofR apportioned by pop (# free citizens + 3/5 of slaves) and (2) a Senate consisting of 2 p/state, elected by state leg. 

K. broke the deadlock—protected both the small and the large states (ie = voting in Senate, bigger states advantage in HR)

L.  the plan was ratified by the convention and laid the basis for the Am pol system which is still in existence

II. The Constitution

A. was the final product of political compromise. The document itself is organized into a preamble, followed by 7 articles

1. Article I describes legislative power, setting up a 2 chambered institution (house and senate), and also describes the qualifications for both branches, the procedures for getting electing, and Congressmen's duties and powers

2. Article II set up executive branch, describes the qualifications for Prez, the procedures for electing the Prez, and the president's duties and powers

3. Article III creates 1 SCT and describes the powers of the judiciary

4. Articles 4-7 cover a lot of ground, including

a. full faith and credit

b. protection by the ntl govt for states threatened w/invasion or domestic violence

c. the supremacy clause, which asserts that the constitution and ntl laws made in accordance w/it take precedence over state and local laws when they conflict

d. Ratification: article 7 provides that ratification by conventions in 9 states shall be sufficient to establish the Constitution (by Nov 21, all 13 states had ratified the document--N. Carolina was the last)

e. Mnemonic = Lazy Elephants Jump Slowly and Sit Regulary

B.     The Constitution embraced 4 basic principles:

1. Republicanism: a form of govt in which power resides in the people and is exercised by their elected reps (ie Rep Democracy)

2.  Federalism: A system based on shared powers. That is, the Constitution vested powers in both the ntl and state govts, but these powers are derived from the people, who are the ultimate sovereign

3.  Separation of Powers: is the separation of law making, law enforcing and law interpreting functions into separate and independent legislative, executive, and judicial branches (legis = lawmaking; executive = law enforcing; judicial = law interpreting) **See Overhead**

4.  Checks and Balances: are means of giving each branch some scrutiny and control over the other branches (each branch checks and balances the powers of the others). EX: Prez appoints SCt justices to bench but the Senate rejects or confirms; SCt has power of judicial review; While a Prez can veto a law he doesn't like, Congress can override the veto w/a 2/3 vote.

C.  Ratification

1. While the constitution was adopted at the convention, it still had to be ratified by AT LEAST 9 states.

2. Madison, Hamilton, and John Jay set about to sell the newly minted document to a new and skeptical country. To sell the Constitution, they wrote a series of newspaper articles called the Federalist Papers

3. There were opponents who called themselves Anti-federalists who attacked the document on the ground that it centralized power in a strong ntl govt that would wipe out state rights and liberty

4. These anti-federalists weren't really a threat to ratification. The biggest obstacle was that the FFs hadn't included a Bill of Rights to the original Constitution.

5. Ratification was secured only with the assurance that a list of fundamental rites and liberties would be added to the Constitution by formal amendment. We know this list today as the Bill of Rights, the 1^st 10 amendments to the Constitution

III. Evaluating the Constitution

A. The Constitution created a new form of government--a federal govt in which power would be distributed b/n the national and the state govts

B. The Constitution was to be strong enuf to maintain order, but not so strong as to dominate the states or interfere w/individual freedom

C.  The Constitution struck a careful balance b/n order and freedom but it paid virtually no attention to social equality

 D. What type of democracy did the founders create?

1.  Madison argued that GOVT was a means of managing the inevitable conflict among various factions (see FP#10) and this fits perfectly w/the Pluralist idea

2. He also argued that the Constitution guarded against majority tyranny (#51) thru separation of powers and the system of checks and balances which also fits w/Pluralism which avoids any single center of power that mite fall into majority hands