Toward a Constitution

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Toward a Constitution

• Chapter 2

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Introduction

• The American Revolution led not to general chaos
  but to a remarkably orderly process of
  constitution-making.
• From the 1760s through the 1780s, there occurred
  a prolonged debate over the fundamental issues of
  government.

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The Critical Period (1781-1787)

• The years the U.S. operated under the Articles of
  Confederation
• A fear of centralized power dominated the period
• Characteristics of state governments
• weak governors
• weak judiciary
• strong legislature
• written constitutions and guaranteed rights

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The Articles of Confederation

• A highly decentralized governmental system in
  which the national government derives limited
  authority from the states rather than directly
  from citizens.
• No executive
• No judiciary
• Congress had a multitude of responsibilities but
  little authority to carry them out
• 13 independent state republics under a nearly
  powerless national government.

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Successes of the Confederation

• The Temptations of the West
• Congress could have an independent income with
  the sale of land.
• Western land cessions, 1781-1802
• Congress had decided to treat as equal states
  rather than colonies.

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The Northwest Territory

• Land Ordinance of 1785
• A plan of surveys and sales.
• Rectangular pattern on much of the nation.
• Northwest Ordinance of 1787
• Provided a guideline to achieve statehood.
• Excluded slavery from the Northwest.

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Problems for the Confederation

• Wartime economic disruption
• Public and private debt
• Postwar inflation (currency shortage)
• Trade barriers at home and abroad
• U.S. had not gained their economic independence
• Popular Uprisings
• Shays Rebellion (1,200 disgruntled farmers who
  attacked the federal arsenal in Mass. seeking
  debt and tax relief and a flexible monetary
  policy)
• Major laws required unanimous agreement

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From Confederation to a New Constitution

• Many began demanding revisions to the Articles of
  Confederation.
• On February 21, 1787, the Continental Congress
  resolved that
• ...it is expedient that on the second Monday in
  May next a Convention of delegates who shall have
  been appointed by the several States be held at
  Philadelphia for the sole and express purpose of
  revising the Articles of Confederation...

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The Constitutional Convention

• The original states, except Rhode Island,
  collectively appointed 70 individuals to the
  Constitutional Convention, but a number did not
  accept or could not attend.
• Those who did not attend included Richard Henry
  Lee, Patrick Henry, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams,
  Samuel Adams and, John Hancock.
• In all, 55 delegates attended the Constitutional
  Convention sessions, but only 39 actually signed
  the Constitution.
• http//www.archives.gov/exhibit_hall/charters_of_f
  reedom/constitution/founding_fathers.html

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Drafting a New Constitution

• Constitutional Convention met in Philadelphia in
  May of 1787
• The delegates were able to draw from their
  Revolutionary War experience.
• George Washington was elected to preside over the
  convention.
• James Madison took a seat up front and began
  recording the debates that would occur.

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Assembly Room in Independence Hall, Philadelphia,
site of the signing of the Constitution in 1787.
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Getting Down to Business

• Most of the delegates at Philadelphia thought
  that they would resolve commercial conflicts
  among themselves or amend the Articles of
  Confederation.
• A few, however, were planning (and devising a
  strategy) to scrap the Articles and start over.
• On the first day of substantive business James
  Madison and his nationalist colleagues sprang
  their surprise their blueprint for a new
  constitution.

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The Virginia Plan

• Shifted focus of deliberation from patching up
  the confederation to considering what was
  required to create a national union.
• Its centerpiece was a bicameral legislature.
• Members of the lower chamber apportioned among
  the states by population and directly elected.
• Lower chamber would elect members of the upper
  chamber from lists generated by the state
  legislatures.

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The Virginia Plan

• Also stipulated that the national government
  could make whatever laws it deemed appropriate
  and veto any state laws it regarded as unfit.
• If a state failed to fulfill its legal
  obligation, the national government could use
  military force against it.

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The Virginia Plan

• Many saw this proposed legislature as too
  powerful.
• Opposition grew toward the Virginia plan from two
  directions
• Less populous state. Why?
• States rights delegates. Why?

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The New Jersey Plan

• The groups that disagreed with Madisons proposal
  coalesced around an alternative proposed by New
  Jersey delegate William Paterson in response to
  the Virginia Plan.
• It kept the national legislature as it existed
  under the Articles each state had equal status
  regardless of population.

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The New Jersey Plan

• However it did attempt to fix the worst problems
  of the Articles by giving Congress the authority
  to levy taxes and to enforce compliance by the
  state with their obligations
• Given its quick creation, it had its own faults
  it failed to propose the organization of the
  executive and judiciary.
• Debate continued, however, as neither side was
  happy with the options given by their opponents
  for the composition of Congress.

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The Great CompromiseFashioning the National
Legislature

• A committee was appointed to come up with a
  solution to the stalemate.
• Each side got one of the two legislative chambers
  fashioned to its liking.
• The upper chamber (Senate) would be composed of
  two delegates sent from each state legislature
  who would serve a 6 year term.
• Madisons population-based, elective legislature
  became the House of Representatives.
• The unanimous agreement rule was replaced by a
  rule allowing a majority of the membership to
  pass legislation.

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The Great CompromiseThe Necessary and Proper
Clause

• In addition to specifying a broad list of
  enumerated or expressed powers, the committee
  proposed a clause that authorized Congress to
  make all Laws which shall be necessary and
  proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing
  Powers, and all other Powers vested by the
  Constitution in the Government of the United
  States.

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The Great CompromiseMadison and Checks and
Balances

• Given the compromise, Madison became interested
  in a genuine separation of powers between the
  branches with each side exercising checks and
  balances over the others.
• Played a significant role in Madisons
  formulation of the executive and judiciary as
  independent institutions.

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Designing the Executive

• Preferences ranged from Hamiltons executive
  elected for life at one end and the existing
  model of state governors who had been given very
  limited powers.
• At the same time, most agreed that the nations
  first executive would be George Washington.
• There was much that had to be debated- in
  particular, how would the executive be selected.
• A compromise led to the convoluted concept of the
  electoral college.

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The Electoral College

• The electoral college mixes state, congressional,
  and popular participation in the election
  process.
• Each state is awarded as many electors as it has
  members of the House and Senate.
• The Constitution left it to the states to decide
  how electors are selected, but the Framers
  generally expected that the states would rely on
  statewide elections.
• If any candidate fails to receive an absolute
  majority in the electoral college, the election
  is thrown into the House of Representatives. Vote
  by state delegations.

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An Independent Executive

• Madison and Hamilton largely succeeded in
  fashioning an independent executive by
• Giving the president the ability to veto
  legislation.
• By requiring a supermajority of each house to
  override a presidential veto.
• But the Framers also checked the executives
  power in numerous ways.
• See previous chart.

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Designing the Judiciary

• The convention spent comparatively little time
  designing the new federal judiciary.
• They did debate over two questions
• Who would appoint Supreme Court justices?
• And should a network of lower federal courts be
  created or should state courts handle all cases
  until they reach the federal court?
• The extent of the Courts authority to overturn
  federal laws and executive actions as
  unconstitutional the concept of judicial review
  was not resolved at this point.

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The Issue of Slavery

• Slavery was not absent from the debates. It was
  present at several important junctures.
• One critical point was during the creation of the
  national legislature.
• Southern states wanted to count slaves as part of
  the population thus giving them more
  representatives in the House. Yet these
  citizens had no rights in that state.
• After much debate, the southern states were
  allowed to count a slave as three-fifths of a
  person.
• A ban on regulation of slavery until 1808.

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Amending the Constitution

• An amendment can be proposed either by
• A two-thirds vote of both houses of Congress.
• Or by an application from two-thirds of the
  states.
• And an amendment can be enacted when
• Three-fourths of the states (through their
  legislatures or special conventions) accepts the
  amendment.

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The Fight for Ratification

• The Ratification of the Conventions of nine
  States, shall be sufficient for the Establishment
  of the Constitution between the States so
  ratifying the Same.
• This statement did two important things
• It removed the unanimous assent rule of the
  Articles of Confederation.
• It withdrew authority from the state
  legislatures, which might have misgivings about
  surrendering autonomy.

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The Federalist and Antifederalist Debate

• Antifederalists argued against this new form of
  government. (states rights)
• Argued that only local democracy could approach
  true democracy.
• Stronger national government must come with
  safeguards against tyranny.
• For this reason, the Bill of Rights was included
  almost immediately after ratification.

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The Federalist Argument (the rhetoric of
nationalism)

• The Federalist Papers
• 85 essays (written by Hamilton, Madison, and
  Jay), which were directed primarily at New York,
  which had not yet voted in 1788 although by this
  point the Constitution was technically ratified.
• Provided insight into the meaning of the
  Constitution.

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Ratification

• New Hampshire was the ninth to ratify
• June 21, 1788
• Rhode Island held out until 1790