Watergate scandal illustrates how each branch guards against abuses of the others, as provided by the constitution
Framers and the system of checks and balances
Objectives were limited government and self-government
Majority rule and protection of liberty
The chapter's main points:
Colonial traditions of limited and self-government
Limited government through division of lawful powers
Indirect systems of popular election of representatives
Idea of popular government has gained strength since nation's beginning
Before the Constitution: The Colonial and Revolutionary Experiences
Section Introduction
In the American Colonists experienced:
Tradition of limited government
Limited freedoms practiced in American Colonies
Limited self-government in the American colonies
"The Rights of Englishmen"
Tensions between colonists and the British over Americans' rights
Stamp Act and Townshend Acts destroyed colonies-England relationship
"Boston Tea Party" protests British taxes
In 1774, the colonists met in Philadelphia at the First Continental Congress to define their demands of the British Crown
Thomas Paine publishes Common Sense, which claimed that all of Europe was rife with political oppression and that America was humanity's last hope of liberty
The Declaration of Independence
Jefferson inspired by English philosopher John Locke's theory of natural rights
Rights of life, liberty, property
Idea of social contract
Jefferson wrote Declaration
"All men are created equal"
Inalienable rights include "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness"
The Articles of Confederation
Concerns over tyranny led to a weak national government
Articles of Confederation gave more power to the states than the national government
Agreement of nine states needed to pass laws
Unanimity of thirteen colonies required for amendments
States went their own ways after Revolutionary War
George Washington questions whether the United States deserve to be called a nation?
Shay's Rebellion: A Nation Dissolving
Shays's rebellion in 1786 protested new taxes
Shays's Rebellion made it clear that Congress and the army were weak and that mob action was increasing
Congress planned a convention in 1787 in Philadelphia to "revise" Articles
Negotiating Toward a Constitution
Section Introduction
Delegates drafted a plan for an entirely new form of government
Washington, Franklin, Madison wanted a strong central government
The Great Compromise: A Two-Chamber Congress
Virginia Plan based on representation (small states opposed)
New Jersey Plan called for each state to have one vote in a one-house Congress
"Great Compromise" called for a House based on population, a Senate based on equal representation of states
The North-South Compromise: The Issue of Slavery
South wished to protect its agricultural-base economy (no export tariffs)
Congress was prohibited from taxing imports and could not end slavetrade until 1808
Three-fifths Compromise: five slaves equaled three whites for representation
A Strategy for Ratification
Framers decided Constitution would go into effect if ratified by special conventions in nine of the thirteen states
North Carolina and Rhode Island refused to ratify the Constitution until the other 11 states ratified it
The Ratification Debate
The Antifederalists (as the opponents of the Constitution were labeled) raised arguments that still echo in American politics
The nature of the presidency was a point of concern
Most Antifederalists acknowledged a need to strengthen national commerce and defense
James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay argued in favor of ratification through newspaper essays called The Federalist Papers, under the pen name Publius
Delaware was the first state to ratify the Construction, New Hampshire became the ninth, leaving two of the largest states yet to ratified it
Virginia and New York considered going each their own way
Getting the final four states to ratify was difficult
The Bill of Rights was a condition for final ratification
The Framers' Goals
Creating a national government strong enough to meet the nation's needs
Preserving the states as governing entities
Creating a government with substantial restrictions on its powers
Creating a government that allows people a voice in decision making
Protecting Liberty: Limited Government
Section Introduction
The Framers were concerned on how to control the coercive force of government
The Framers were determined to devise a government that would preserve, not threaten, the hard-won liberty of the American nation and people.
Framers had to control the coercive force of government
Grants and Denials of Power
The Framers chose to limit the national government in part by confining its scope to constitutional grants of power
The Framers also used denials of power as a means to limit government, prohibiting certain practices that European rulers had routinely used to intimidate their political opponents
As a further denial of power, the Framers' powers made the Constitution difficult to amend
Using Power to Offset Power
Divide authority of government no institution could dominate
Montesquieu's separation of powers
Madison's stress on "factions" as the cause of oppressive government
Framers: Create a system of separated but overlapping powers
Separated Institutions Sharing Power: Checks and Balances
Neustadt: A system of "separated institutions sharing power"
Checks and balances shared legislative/executive/judicial powers
Shared Legislative Powers
Shared Executive Powers
Shared Judicial Power
The Bill of Rights
Opposition to lack of Bill of Rights led to its addition to the Constitution
Bill of Rights provides liberties that cannot be denied by governing officials
Judicial Review
The Constitution did not explicitly grant the judiciary authority to declare laws or other governmental actions null and void
The pprinciple of judicial review was established by the case of Marburyv. Madison, 1803
Supreme Court invalidated an act of Congress through Chief Justice Marshall
Providing for Self-Government
Section Introduction
By opening the the preamble of the Constitution with the phrase "We The People," the Framers expressed the idea of the people having the power to govern
The Framers, however, were concerned with the "tyranny of the majority
Democracy Versus Republic
Framers feared "pure democracy"
"Republic" referred to deliberative, reasoned, representative government
Burke: Representatives should be "trustees"
Limited Popular Rule
Framers placed "officials at a considerable distance" from the people
Frequent election of House members made them sensitive to popular majorities
Legislatures would select senators, electoral college would select the president
The judiciary as a "guardian" institution
Altering the Constitution: More Power to the People
Jeffersonian Democracy a "revolution of the spirit"
Jacksonian Democracy growth of popular sovereignty
The Progressive Era the idea of representatives as "delegates" of the people
Progressive reforms
Initiative, referendum, recall
Primary election gave rank-and-file voters a voice in nominations
Constitutional Democracy Today
Framers created a constitutional democracy
It is democratic by providing for majority influence through popular elections
It is constitutionalby requiring that governmental power be exercised
according to law and with respect for individual rights
U.S. political system is a hybrid model
Only nation in world that relies extensively on primary elections to select candidates for office
Yet the will of the majority is sometimes diluted by system of checks and balances
