Creating a New Government

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Creating a New Government

• The Birth of the U.S. Constitution

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• Shays Rebellion was an uprising of debt-ridden
  Massachusetts farmers protesting increased taxes
  in 1787. Daniel Shays led an army of 1,200
  farmers toward the arsenal at Springfield,
  Massachusetts. State militia was called in to
  head off the army of farmers, killing four and
  scattering the rest.

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States feared the possibility of other uprisings.
Shays rebellion showed the weaknesses of the
new Articles of Confederation in dealing with
economic problems.
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Challenges

• The great challenge faced by the delegates sent
  to Philadelphia in 1787, whose meeting became
  known as the Constitutional Convention, was how
  to create a strong national government but not
  make it so strong that future leaders might be
  tempted to undermine individual liberties.

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Federalists

• Federalists favored the new Constitutions
  balance of power between the states and the
  national government. Federalists favored a strong
  national government.

Alexander Hamilton
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Federalist Papers

• The Federalist Papers consisted of 85 essays
  written to persuade New York and other states to
  ratify the new Constitution.

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Anti-federalists

• Anti-federalists opposed having such a strong
  national government and thus against the
  Constitution (favoring strong state powers weak
  federal government.)

Patrick Henry
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Republicanism

• A republic is a nation governed by elected
  representatives rather than a king. The members
  of the Constitutional Convention followed the
  states and the Articles in adopting a republican
  system rather than the monarchical form of
  government of Great Britain.

United States Congress
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Popular Sovereignty

• Popular sovereignty refers to a system of
  government in which the people hold supreme
  power. Government therefore derives its power
  from the consent of the governed. This principle
  was reflected in the first words of the Preamble
  to the U.S. Constitution We the People

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Federalism

• The writers of the U.S. Constitution did not
  eliminate the states as separate sources of
  power. Instead, they created a system in which
  power was shared between the national government
  and the state governments called Federalism.

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• In this division of powers, the national or
  federal government deals with matters that
  affect the whole country, such as defense. State
  governments handle local affairs, such as
  education, safety, and issuing licenses.

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Separation of Powers

• The authors of the U.S. Constitution feared
  leaving too much power in the hands of any one
  branch of government. They therefore divided the
  main powers of the central government into 3
  separate branches the Legislature, the Judicial,
  and the Executive branches.

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• Delegated Powers are granted to the national
  government by the Constitution.
• Examples control of foreign affairs, regulation
  of trade between the states.

Pictured President Jimmy Carter concluding a
peace treaty with the Presidents of Egypt and
Israel.
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Reserved Powers

• Powers not specifically granted to the national
  government but kept by the states are called
  reserved powers.
• These powers include providing and supervising
  education.

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• Shared powers, such as the right to tax and
  establish courts, were shared by both the
  national and state governments.

Courts
Taxes
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• The Great Compromise offered a two-house
  Congress. Each state would have equal
  representation in the Senate in the upper house.
• The size of the population of each state would
  determine its representation in the House of
  Representatives, or lower house.

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• The Three-Fifths Compromise called for
  three-fifths of a states slaves to be counted as
  part of the population.

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• In June 1788, Federalists yield to peoples
  overwhelming desire and promised to add a bill of
  rights. New Hampshire becomes the 9th deciding
  vote to approve the Constitution, making it the
  Law of the Land.

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Checks and Balances

• The Constitution created another way of making
  sure that no one branch of the federal government
  became too powerful. It provided each branch of
  government with ways to check or limit the
  other branches. For example, the President has
  the power to appoint officials, such as the
  Secretary of States. However, the Senate must
  approve such appointments.

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Bill of Rights

• When the states debated ratification (approval),
  critics argued that the Constitution contained no
  bill of rights. One of the first things the new
  Congress did was to propose a bill of rights in
  the form of amendments to the Constitution.

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Bill of Rights

• The Anti-federalists demand for a bill of rights
  (a formal summary of citizens rights and
  freedoms) stemmed from their fear of a strong
  central government. States believed they would
  serve as protectors of the people.

Bill of Rights on view at the National
Archives. Washington, D.C.
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Changing the Constitution

• The delegates provided a means of changing the
  Constitution through the amendment process. The
  delegates created a flexible Constitution.

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• By December 1791, the states ratified 10
  amendments to the Constitution, which became
  known as the Bill of Rights. In the end, both
  Federalists and Anti-federalists added greatly to
  the Constitution.

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• The first ten amendments, known as the Bill of
  Rights , were added in 1791. When first adopted,
  the Bill of Rights protected individuals only
  from the actions of the federal government. Since
  the passage of the Fourteenth Amendment, these
  protections have been applied to state
  governments as well.

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• The 1st Amendment guarantees freedom of religion
  and free expression including free speech,
  freedom of the press, the right to assemble, and
  the right to petition the government to make or
  change laws or policies.

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• Free speech and freedom of the press are
  especially important to the workings of a
  democracy. People cannot freely exchange ideas if
  they fear imprisonment or punishment for
  criticizing government actions.

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• People will not be well-informed for voting or
  making other choices if the press is not allowed
  to perform its role of reporting the news and
  helping people exchange their ideas and beliefs.
  The press also acts as a watchdog, making sure
  that our government leaders tell us the truth.

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• The 2nd Amendment guarantees individuals the
  right to bear arms.

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• The 3rd Amendment prohibits the quartering of
  soldiers in peoples homes without consent in
  peacetime and only allows quartering in wartime
  according to law.

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Rights of the Accused

• The 4th, 5th, 6th, and 8th Amendments prohibit
  government officials from taking away a persons
  life, liberty or property without following fair
  and reasonable legal procedures, referred to as
  the due process of law.

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• The Fourth Amendment protects citizens from
  unreasonable searches and seizures. If a judge
  believes the search is reasonable, a search
  warrant will be granted.

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• The Fifth Amendment, no citizen may be deprived
  of life, liberty, or property without due process
  of law certain legal procedures that must be
  carried out before a person can be punished.

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• The Sixth Amendment guarantees a fair and
  impartial trial to those accused of a crime. They
  must be told of the charges against them, have
  the right to a trial by jury, and the right to be
  represented by a lawyer.

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• The 7th Amendment guarantees individuals the
  right to a jury trial in many non-criminal
  matters, such as contract disputes.

Contracts
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• The Eighth Amendment states that federal courts
  cannot require an unusually high bail and that no
  one can be punished in a cruel or unusual way.

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• The 9th 10th Amendments state that all powers
  not given to the federal government in the
  Constitution are reserved to the states and the
  people, and that people have additional rights
  beyond those listed in the Constitution.

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Influence of Historic Documents

• English and colonial political traditions played
  an important role in the outbreak of the American
  Revolution and in the development of the American
  government.

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• Several ideas of the Magna Carta (1215) are
  echoed in the provisions of the U.S. Constitution
  and the Bill of Rights. Under the Magna Carta,
  the king was forbidden from introducing new taxes
  without the permission of a council of nobles.
  The Constitution similarly provides that the
  government cannot introduce new taxes unless
  approved by the U.S. Congress.

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• The king also could not execute, imprison, or
  take the property of any free man except after a
  trial by jury or according to the law of the
  land. The Bill of Rights similarly provides that
  the government cannot punish a person without due
  process of law.

King John
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• Many provisions of the English Bill of Rights
  (1689) are also echoed in either the U.S.
  Constitution or the Bill of Rights. For example,
  the English king could not suspend any laws
  without the consent of Parliament. The
  Constitution provides that all laws must be
  passed by the peoples representatives Congress.

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• The king was prohibited from collecting taxes
  without Parliamentary approval. Likewise, the
  U.S. Constitution states that Congress must
  approve all taxes.

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• English Protestants were permitted to possess
  arms for their defense. This provision is echoed
  in the 2nd Amendment, which guarantees citizens
  the right to bear arms.