2.1 section objective: to understand the • identify the...
TRANSCRIPT
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Origins of American Government
Chapter 2- Explores the origins of the American governmental
system from its early development to the creation and adoption
of the Constitution.
• Section 1- The Constitution grew out of a long heritage of
law and politics.
• Section 2- Political conditions that colonists lived under
during British rule which turned into a civil war, then the war
for independence.
• Section 3 - The creations of the Articles of Confederation.
• Section 4- In writing the Constitution, the framers had to
consider the rights and interest of many factions.
• Section 5 - The Federalists and Anti-Federalists
perspectives on the ratification of the new constitution.
2.1 Section Objective: To understand the
origins of the American governmental
system.
• Identify the three basic concepts of government that influenced government in the English Colonies.
• Explain the significance of the following landmark English documents: Magna Carta, the Petition of Rights, and the English Bill of Rights.
• Describe three types of colonies that the English established in North America.
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Vocabulary
• Ordered Government
• Limited Government
• Representative Government
• Magna Carta
• Petition of Rights
• English Bill of Rights
• John Locke “Second Treatise of Government”
• Baron de Montesquieu “Spirit of Laws”
• Jean-Jacques Rousseau “The Social Contract”
• Sir William Blackstone “Commentaries on the Laws of England”
• Unicameral
• Charter Colony
Concepts/Ideas
• What were the three ideas that colonists brought with them from England?
• What are the three landmark British Documents from the earliest to the latest?
• What are the three types of government in the English colonies?
• What were some of the fundamental rights and principles established in the Magna Carta, the Petition of Rights, and the English Bill of Rights?
• What new philosophy concepts/ideas did Locke, Montesquieu, Rousseau and Blackstone create?
I. Our Political Beginnings
A. Basic Concepts of Government Brought With the
Colonists
1. Ordered Government- Colonists from England
saw the need for orderly regulation of their
relationships with one another.
2. Limited Government- Colonists brought with
them the idea that government should be
restricted and each individual has rights of what
they may do.
3. Representative Government- Colonists brought
with them the idea that government should
serve the will of the people.
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B. Landmark English Documents1. Magna Carta- Magna Carta established the
principle of limited government and fundamental rights of English citizens. (1215)
a) Trial by jury, due process of law, protection against the arbitrary taking of life, liberty, or property.
(1)Due process of law requires that government must use fair and reasonable procedures in making, applying and enforcing the law.
(2) These rights were originally intended for the privileged class, not for the people
(3)It established the principle that the power of the monarchy was not absolute.
b) It was ignored for 400 years as parliament ‘s influence grew.
2. The Petition of Right 1628- The Bill of Rights
redefined the rights of parliament and the rights
of individuals. (1628)
a) Limited the king’s power by demanding that
the king not imprison political critics without
trial by jury, not declare martial law, or rule the
military during peacetime, could not require
people to shelter troops without the
homeowners consent.
(1) It declared rule of law – even monarch
must obey the law of the land.
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3. English Bill of Rights (1689)
a) Right to a fair and speedy trial, freedom
from excessive bail and from cruel and
unusual punishment, right to bear arms.
Reinforced the trial by jury.
C. Contemporary Great Britain and European political thinkers and philosophers.
1. John Locke “Second Treatise of Government” (1670)
a) Idea that discussed the responsibilities of a government and claimed that the people have the right to overthrow an unjust government
2. Baron de Montesquieu “Spirit of Laws” (1784)
a) Discussed human laws and social institutions. Despotism could best be prevented by a system of republican government with popular sovereignty, liberty, separation of powers, and checks and balances in which all those bodies were bound by the rule of law
3. Sir William Blackstone (originally pronounced Blexstun) “Commentaries on the Laws of England”
a) defined property rights as an individual right
4. Jean-Jacques Rousseau “The Social Contract” (1762)
a) Outlines how a government could exist in such a way that it protects the equality and character of its citizens
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D. The English Colonies
1. 13 colonies were established over 125 years.
2. Each colony had its own personality
a) Jamestown, Virginia 1607 was a commercial venture.
b) Savannah, Georgia in 1733 was a haven for debtors.
3. Each colony was established on the basis of a charter.
a) Charter-a written grant of authority from the King.
4. Types of Colonies
a) Royal Colonies- were subject to the control of the crown and run by an appointed governor, who was advised by councils.
(1) This developed into a bicameral (two house) legislature.
(a) The governors and his council (all appointed by the King) and the people elected by those property owners who were qualified to vote.
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b) Proprietary Colonies- owned by wealthy individuals who appointed governors, who were advised by councils.
(1) At the time of the Revolution there were only 3 :
(a) 1632 Maryland to Lord Baltimore
(b) 1681 Pennsylvania to William Penn
(c) 1682 Delaware to William Penn
(2 )The governor was appointed by the proprietor and they had a unicameral (one house) body.
c) The Charter Colonies- governed by the colonists themselves through elected governors, who were advised by council.
(1) Conn. and Rhode Island (Only)
(a) The people who were allowed to vote were white, male property owners (owned 50 acres).
(b) They were not subject to the king’s authority.
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2.2 Section Objective: To understand the development of
the American governmental system through the colonial
period to the coming of independence.
• Explain how Britain's colonial policies contributed to the growth of self-government in the colonies.
• Identify some of the steps that led to growing feelings of colonial unity.
• Compare the outcomes of the First and Second Continental Congresses.
• Analyze the ideas in the Declaration of Independence.
• Describe the drafting of the first State constitutions and summarize the constitutions’ common features.
Vocabulary
• Confederation
• Albany Plan of Union
• Delegate
• Boycott
• Repeal
• Popular Sovereignty
Concepts/Ideas
• Why did some colonists support a
boycott of English goods?
• What was the Albany Plan of Union
and how was it received by the
colonies and by the Crown?
• In what ways did the Second
Continental Congress serve as the
first national government?
• How is the Declaration of
Independence set up?
• What core democratic values are in
the Declaration of Independence?
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II. The Coming of Independence
A. Britain’s Colonial Policies
1. The king separately controlled the 13 colonies. Parliament took little part in the management of the colonies.
2. Each colonial legislature began to assume law-making powers.
3. “Taxation without representation” was the colonists claim against British taxation.
a) “No taxation without representation" began as a slogan in the period 1763–1776 that summarized a primary grievance of the British colonists in the Thirteen Colonies. In short, many in those colonies believed the lack of direct representation in the distant British Parliament was an illegal denial of their rights as Englishmen, and therefore laws taxing the colonists (the kind of law that affects the most individuals directly), and other laws applying only to the colonies, were unconstitutional. In recent times, it has been used by several other groups and in relation to other issues.
4. Movie clip
B. Growing Colonial Unity
1. Early attempts
a) Confederation – joining of several groups for a
common purpose. (New England
Confederation)
2. The Albany Plan
a) Albany Plan of Union – proposed of an annual
congress of delegates (representatives)
(1) "Join, or Die," the famous cartoon logo
usually associated with the American
Revolution, was printed in Franklin's
Pennsylvania Gazette on May 9, 1754, to
promote his Albany plan for colonial
union.
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3. Stamp Act Congress
a) Stamp Act
(1) This British law required the use of tax
stamps on all legal documents, on
business agreements and newspapers.
b) Congress boycotted British goods.
(1) Boycott- refusal to buy or sell products
or services.
C. First Continental Congress
1. Delegates from every colony met in Philadelphia except Georgia. (1774)
2. Sent England a Declaration of Rightswhich protested Britain’s colonial policies to King George III
3. The delegates urged each of the colonies to refuse all trade with England until the hated taxes and trade regulations were repealed (revoked or removed)
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D. The Second Continental Congress
1. British government continued to refuse to compromise.
2. Met in Philadelphia on May 10, 1775.
a) The “shot heard ‘round the world” had been fired three weeks earlier, on April 19 in the battles of Lexington and Concord.
b) We were in a civil war.
3. Representatives
a) Each of the 13 colonies sent representatives to the Congress.
b) Hancock was chosen president of the Congress and Washington the leader of the Continental Army.
4. Our First National Government
a) The second Continental Congress became, by the force of circumstance, the nation’s first
national government.
b) Lasted for five years.
5. Watch video clip
"Edward Savage and/or Robert Edge Pine“
Congress Voting Independence, a depiction of the Second Continental Congress
voting on the United States Declaration of Independence. Oil on canvas.
E. Push for Independence
1. Common Sense by Thomas Paine
Directions: Read article and answer
the questions.
How is Paine's view of government connected to his arguments for revolution?
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How does Paine address the concern that
America is too small to defeat the British?
Why does Paine stress that revolution will eventually occur? How does he substantiate this claim?
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F. Declaration of Independence
1. Slightly more than a year after the civil war
with Britain began (April 19, 1775) Richard Henry
Lee of Virginia proposed independence (June 7,
1776).
2. Jefferson wrote the document that proclaimed
the existence of a new nation.
3. It was adopted on July 4th, 1776 and the civil
war turned into the Revolutionary War.
Declaration of Independence by John Trumbull
Oil on canvas - 12' x 18'
The first painting that John Trumbull completed for the
Rotunda in the US Congress shows the signing of the
Declaration of Independence in what is now called
Independence Hall, Philadelphia, on July 4, 1776. This
historic painting was commissioned in 1817, purchased in
1819 and placed in the Rotunda in 1826. Trumbull
sketched the individuals and the room from life.
Key Historical FiguresColonies - The 13 colonies of British North America included New Hampshire,
Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. A representative from each colony was sent to the Second Continental Congress in May of 1775 to debate the topic of independence. Although initial disagreement seemed to stall the drive towards independence, by July 2nd, 1776 all 13 colonies committed to fighting in the war for independence.
Thomas Jefferson - A plantation owner and a lawyer, Thomas Jefferson was a delegate from Virginia to the Second Continental Congress. After Richard Henry Lee called for independence in June of 1776, Thomas Jefferson was appointed to a committee to draft the Declaration of Independence. Thomas Jefferson is known as the author of the Declaration of Independence, although his draft was heavily edited by the delegates of the Second Continental Congress. Thomas Jefferson continued as an important figure in early American politics by serving as diplomat to France, Secretary of State, and as the third President of the United States.
King of Great Britain - King George III reigned over Great Britain and Ireland from 1760 to 1820. King George III was a descendent of the house of Hanover, a German royal family, but the first of his family to be born and educated as an Englishman. Unlike his predecessors, he aimed to rule strongly over British concerns abroad (such as the colonies) and did so by revoking the policy of salutary neglect that had dominated colonial policy until then. He also attempted to diminish the powers of parliament by frequently appointing new ministers to carry out his policy. This led to political chaos throughout Great Britain, and also contributed to the strict laws imposed on the colonies after 1763.
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John Locke - John Locke was an English Philosopher who influenced the thoughts and actions of American leaders in the revolutionary era. The author of Two Treatises of Government (1690), Locke attacked the theory of divine right of kings, arguing that the power of the state rested on the power of the people. Locke believed that governments were formed to protect the natural rights of men, and that overthrowing a government that did not protect these rights was not only a right, but also an obligation. His thoughts influenced many revolutionary pamphlets and documents, including the Virginia Constitution of 1776, and the Declaration of Independence. Additionally, his ideas about checks and balances and the division of church and state were later embodied in the U.S. Constitution.
Second Continental Congress - The Second Continental Congress met in Philadelphia in May of 1775 because the First Continental Congress had vowed to meet again if its attempts at peace with Great Britain failed. In April 1775, it became clear that the colonies were already in an undeclared war against Great Britain, evidenced by the Battles at Lexington and Concord. The Second Continental Congress had the dual responsibility of coordinating the ongoing defensive war effort in the colonies and debating the question of independence.
Salutary Neglect - An unwritten though longstanding British policy of letting slide the many British laws meant to maintain the colonies as economically and politically subordinate to England. King George III wanted to more strongly govern the colonies and put an end to salutary neglect.
The Declaration of Independence
IN CONGRESS, July 4, 1776.
When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
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We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.--Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.
He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his
Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the
right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only. He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public
Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures. He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative powers, incapable
of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.
He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.
He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers.He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people, and eat out their
substance.He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these
States:For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent: For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury:For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offencesFor abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and
enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies:
For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people. He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands. He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.
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In every stage of these Oppressions We
have Petitioned for Redress in the most
humble terms: Our repeated Petitions
have been answered only by repeated
injury. A Prince whose character is thus
marked by every act which may define a
Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free
people.
Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our Brittish brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.
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We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.
Declaration of Independence worksheet
Would you sign the Declaration of
Independence ?
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G. The First State Constitutions
1. Drafting State Constitutions
(a) Most states adopted written constitutions-
bodies of fundamental laws setting out the
principles, structures, and processes of their
governments.
(b) Common Features
(1)Popular sovereignty- Government
can exist only with the consent of the
governed.
2.3 Section Objective: To understand the
Critical Period and the governmental
arrangements set up by the Articles of
Confederation.
• Describe the structure of the government
set up under the Articles of Confederation.
• Explain why the weaknesses of the
Articles led to a critical period for the
government in the 1780s.
• Describe how a growing need for a
stronger national government led to plans
for as Constitutional Convention.
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Vocabulary
• Articles of Confederation
• Ratification
• Presiding Officer
Concepts/Ideas
• What powers did the Articles of
Confederation grant Congress?
• What was the ratification process
for the Articles?
• What were at least three
weaknesses of the Articles?
III. The Critical Period
A. The Articles of Confederation
1. The Articles of Confederation: Established
“a firm league of friendship” among the States.
2. Ratification (formal approval) came when
all 13 states agreed the document.
3. Governmental Structure
a) Unicameral (one house)
b) No executive or judiciary.
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4. Powers of Congress
a) Make war and peace; send and receive
ambassadors; make treaties; borrow money; set up
a money system; establish post offices; build a
navy; raise an army by asking the States for troops;
fix uniform standards of weights and measures;
and settle disputes among the States.
5. State Obligations
a) The States pledged to obey the Articles and Acts
of the Congress, but retained many of powers of
government for themselves.
6. Weaknesses
a) Central government lacked the power to tax, or to
regulate trade between the States, and had no
power to make the States obey the Articles.
B. The Critical Period, the 1780s
1. The Revolutionary War ended on October 19,
1781, but the Treaty of Paris in 1783 confirmed
it with the signing of the treaty.
2. New peace brought the new nation’s economic
and political problems into focus.
a) States bickered among themselves and
grew increasingly jealous and suspicious
of one another.
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2.4 Section Objective: To understand the events and the processes involved in the creation and adoption of the Constitution of the United States.
• Identify the Framers of the Constitution and discuss how the delegates organized the proceedings at the Philadelphia Convention.
• Compare and contrast the Virginia Plan and the New Jersey Plan for a new constitution.
• Identify some of the sources from which the Framers of the Constitution drew inspiration.
• Describe the delegates reactions to the Constitution as they completed their work.
Vocabulary
• Framers
• Virginia Plan
• New Jersey Plan
• Connecticut Compromise
• Three-Fifths Compromise
• Commerce and Slave Trade
Compromise
Concepts/Ideas
• Identify the Framers of the
Constitution and describe, in
general, their backgrounds and
experiences.
• What momentous decision did
the Framers make at the
beginning of the Philadelphia
Convention?
• Why did the delegates from the
smaller States object to the
Virginia Plan?
• What sources influenced the
Framers in the writing of the
Constitution?
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IV. Creating the Constitution
A. Framers
1. Framers; delegates that attended the Philadelphia
Convention were young and well educated.
B. Organization and Procedure
1. Organized on May 25, 1787, unanimously electing George Washington president of the convention.
2. Working in Secrecy
a) The Constitutional Convention had drawn much public attention and speculation, so the delegates adopted a rule of secrecy.
3. A Momentous Decision
a) “Resolved… that a national Government ought to be established consisting of a supreme Legislative, Executive and Judiciary.” Edmund Randolph, Constitutional Convention, 1787
b) The Framers redefined the purpose of the convention; they set about the writing of the new constitution. The new constitution was to replace the Articles of Confederation.
C. The Virginia Plan
1. Called for a strong National Government with three
separate branches and a bicameral legislature.
a) House of Representatives- based on population.
b) Senate- list chosen by the House.
2. Madison was a big supporter of this plan.
3. It favored large States because the number of voters in
the legislature would be based on a State’s population.
D The New Jersey Plan
1. The New Jersey Plan resembled the Articles of
Confederation, but with increased power of the Federal
Government to tax and regulate trade. Unicameral
legislature in which each state would have equal
representation.
2. Patterson favored this plan.
3. It favored small States because each state was given
equal representation in the legislature.
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E. Compromise
1. The Connecticut Compromise
a) Disagreement over representation in
Congress caused tempers to flare.
b) Bicameral legislature
(1) House of Representatives- based on a
state’s population.
(2) Senate-based on equal representation.
Footnote: the Senators were chosen by their
respective State’s legislature until
ratification of the 17th Amendment in 1913,
which then makes Senators popularly
elected
2. The Three- Fifths Compromise
a) The question arose of whether slaves should
be counted in the populations of Southern
States.
b) The delegates agreed to count slaves as
three-fifths of a person for purpose of
representation and taxation.
c) Three-fifths was decided upon because it was
generally understood that slaves would
produce/work about three-fifths of what a free
paid laborer would produce in a days work.
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The scarred back of a former slave. Whatever dignity and
community slaves may have been able to create for
themselves, they were never allowed to forget that they were
property. Slave codes allowed owners nearly total power over
their human livestock. Although technically owners could be
punished for the unjustified killing of slaves, whippings were a
common form of punishment and control on most plantations.
Slaves lived in constant danger of beatings for disrespect,
failure to complete tasks satisfactorily or on time, or for any
number of rational or irrational reasons.
3. The Commerce and Slave Trade Compromise
a) North is commercial vs. the south is agrarian.
b) Congress was forbidden to tax exports.
c) Congress could not act on the slave trade for at
least 20 years.
A Richmond, Virginia, slave auction. As the need for slaves declined
in the upper South, slave owners found that they could finance some of the changes made on their plantations through the sale of surplus slaves to the expanding lower south, where cotton production was highly profitable and required a large labor supply. Slave auctions often separated family members from each other, and sent younger African Americans far from their homes and families.
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4. A Bundle of Compromise
a) The delegates were convinced that a new national
government (federal) had to be created and have the
powers necessary to deal with the nation’s social and
economic problems.
F. Sources of the Constitution
1. William Blackstone’s “Commentaries on the Laws of England”
2. Baron de Montesquieu’s “The Spirit of the Laws”
3. Jean Jacques Rousseau’s “Social Contract”
4. John Locke“Two Treaties of Government”
5. The Articles of Confederation
6. Colonists own knowledge
G. The Convention Completes its Work
1. September 17 the convention finished the Constitution.
2. 39 names were placed on the finished document.
2.5 Section Objective: To understand the
events and processes involved in the
ratification of the Constitution of the
United States.
• Identify the opposing sides in the fight for
ratification and describe the major
arguments for and against the
Constitution.
• Describe the inauguration of the new
government of the United States of
America.
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Vocabulary
• Federalists
• Anti-Federalists
• Quorum
• Ratification
Concepts/Ideas
• What did the Federalists
believe in?
• What did the Anti-Federalists
believe in?
• What was irregular about the
ratification of the Constitution?
• What where the reasons
people did not want
ratification?
• What do Federalist Papers No.
10, 14, and 51 state?
V. Ratifying the Constitution
A. Federalists and Anti-Federalists
1. Federalist favored ratification
a )Federalist Papers A remarkable campaign document: “The Federalist” was a collection of 85 essays supporting the Constitution and were written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay.
(1) Five basic themes can be discerned from the words of Hamilton, Madison, and Jay, including federalism, checks and balances, separated powers, pluralism, and representation. Although they deal with different parts of the government, as noted above, these themes are fairly consistent throughout the papers. Much has been written concerning the dual nature of the federalist, because they were written by multiple authors in a short amount of time. It is true, Madison later became the great state rights' defenders while Hamilton his principle opponent, but for the most part these essays are coherent, showing all sides of the proposed constitution. (2) No. 10 – Madison argued that the Constitution establishes a government capable of controlling the violence and damage caused by factions. Madison defines that factions are groups of people who gather together to protect and promote their special economic interests and political opinions. Although these factions are at odds with each other, they frequently work against the public interests, and infringe upon the rights of others.
(a) PACs(3) No. 14 - Madison addresses a major objection of the Anti-Federalists to the proposed United States Constitution: that the sheer size of the United States would make it impossible to govern justly as a single country. (4) No. 51- Madison addresses means by which appropriate checks and balances can be created in government and also advocates a separation of powers within the national government. One of its most important ideas is the pithy and often quoted phrase, "Ambition must be made to counteract ambition."
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b) Anti-Federalist opposed it (Patrick Henry, Samuel Adams, John Hancock, George Mason)
(1) Generally, it was their position that republics about the size of the individual states could survive, but that a republic on the size of the Union would fail. A particular point in support of this was that most of the states were focused on one industry—to generalize, commerce and shipping in the northern states and plantation farming in the southern. The Anti-Federalist belief that the wide disparity in the economic interests of the various states would lead to controversy was perhaps realized in the American Civil War
(2) George Mason never did sign the Constitution
c) Debate about ratification-involved weaknesses of the National Government under the Articles of Confederation verses the strength of the one purposed by the constitution.
(1) No mention of God
(2) The denial of the States of a power to print money
(3) The greatly increased powers of the central government
(4) The lack of the Bill of Rights
(5) The ratification process itself
B. Success was achieved when Virginia and New York ratified the document in the summer of 1788.