Before the Constitution

We

Lesson 2
Constitutional Democracy: Promoting
Liberty and SelfSelf-Government

discussed that the values of American

political culture had European (especially
English) origins.
Some of these values were foundational to
the Declaration of Independence and the
Constitution.
One of the major factors leading the
colonists to Revolution was growing
sentiment that England was not respecting
their Rights as Englishmen.
Englishmen.

Before the Constitution

Several events deepened the growing
divide between Britain and the colonies.

Patterson discusses the

cumulative effects of
the:

French and Indian War

Stamp Tax
Townshend Act
Boston Tea Party
First Continental
Congress
Boston Tea Party

Second Continental Congress

First Continental Congress

Representatives of the colonies

came together to discuss their
shared grievances in 1774, in
Philadelphia, at the First
Continental Congress.
Congress.
They presented King George III
with a list of rights and demands
which were promptly rejected.
The colonists were not yet seeking
independence only their rights
as Englishmen.

Independence Hall,
where Continental
Congress met

Further disturbances led to open fighting

between British forces and some colonists.
The Continental Congress reconvened in
1775 and began to function as revolutionary
government and support a Continental Army
in the rebellion.
On July 4th, 1776, the Continental Congress
signed the Declaration of Independence.
What had started as scattered protests, small
skirmishes, and a list of demands, was now a
call to revolution and independence.

Revolution Over Tea and Taxes?

But

The Declaration of Independence, painting by John Trumbull

Then Why Revolt? A Few Reasons:

1. King George IIIs rap sheet.

See the Declaration of Independence for the list of

charges against the King. Even small issues are
made to sound like major violations of peoples
rights.

when you think about it, the

injustices
injustices suffered by some colonists
under the British may seem comparatively
minor.
High taxes, some abuses of authority,
some taking of property, and
imprisonment of small numbers of people
without due process. That
Thats not exactly
massive, large scale suffering. Would you
take up arms and revolt over such things?

Then Why Revolt? A Few Reasons:

2. An inspiring political philosophy
premised on limited government
and the natural or inalienable
rights to life, liberty, and
property: John Locke.

Pretty good film

based on a play
depicting George
IIIs gradual
descent into
madness in the
early 1800s.

Its the Ideals!

3. It
Its the Ideals. Remember all you
youve read
about political culture. From such rights
rights and
ideals
ideals come inspiring words and calls to action:
Gentlemen may cry, Peace, Peace but there is no
peace I know not what course others may take;
but as for me, give me liberty or give me death! Patrick Henry
These are the times that try mens souls The
authority of Great Britain over this continent must
have an end. - Thomas Paine
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. Declaration
of Independence / Jefferson

The Role of Ideals

More

than political poetry, more than

good political writing, such words provided
a civic faith,
faith, which to some was every
bit as powerful as any religious faith.
Washington, who commanded the
Continental Army, had the Declaration of
Independence read publicly when
recruiting troops.

Other Reasons for Revolution

4. It seemed like a good idea at the time.
Really. The time and circumstances were
right. England was on the other side of
the ocean. The colonies functioned pretty
well on their own. The bonds with
England had become more historical and
cultural, than political and economic.
Many probably asked, Hey, what do we
still need them for?

Any Other Reasons?

5. The economy. This was a revolt led by
the economic and political elite of the
colonies. This was not class warfare by
the poor, exploited masses. When you
tick off the land owners and merchant
class youre just asking for trouble and
thats what the British government did.

The Declaration of Independence

Read the declaration.

declaration. It expresses the
following:
The principles of inalienable rights
rights and popular
sovereignty.
sovereignty.
The abuses of those rights by the King.
Why the colonists had no alternative to declaring
independence.

Also notice that in the Declaration of

Independence there is no discussion of what
type of government they might create.
This was a call to revolution and independence,
not a call to create a specific type of
government.

Illustration from late 1700s, showing the roots of the

revolution and the names of many of its leaders (left), and
British military commanders (right).

OK, We
Weve Won; Now What Do We
Do?
Do?

Most revolutions are not successful. But if you

win, now you have to get on with the business
of creating a government which can function,
keep itself from being overthrown, and hopefully
last more than 6 months.
Some of the ideals may need to give way to
pragmatism.
The colonial (now state) governments were
already established. A national government had
to be created if the states were going to
function as a union.

Overall Timeframe
The

Revolutionary Period, 17741774-1781

National government through the

revolutionary Continental Congress.
The

Period of Moderation, 17811781-1788

National government under the Articles of

Confederation.
The

Period of Consolidation, 17881788-

National government under the Constitution.

U.S. Government under the Articles

of Confederation
Not

wanting a strong
central government,
the states created a
rather loose political
association under the
Articles of
Confederation.

The U.S. under

the Articles of
Confederation,
1787.
Notice that
states were
able to claim
territories for
themselves,
and that some
territory was
claimed by
both a state
and the U.S.
government.

The chart highlights

some of the
implications of a
national government
many concluded to be
too weak under the
Articles of
Confederation.

U.S. Government under the Articles

of Confederation
The

Articles established:

A oneone-house national legislature, with equal

representation for each state.
No executive branch. Thus no president or
other office with separate executive authority.
No national judiciary, and thus no way to
resolve issues of national law or legal disputes
between states.

Institutional and Substantive

Weaknesses
Not

only was the government weak

institutionally (with only a legislature no
executive and no judiciary), but the
legislature had few real powers.
Any decisions made by the legislature had
to have the support of 2/3rds of the
states.
The national army was weaker than the
state militias.
No real power to tax and enforce the
taxes.

Post-Revolutionary Conditions
Economic Difficulties: Times got tougher.
Unresolved Political / Governmental
Questions: Having fought a revolution
based on ideals and values, there was no
clear plan on what the new government
should look like, resulting in conflict.
Social Unrest: Some saw the new
government as no better than the British
and spoke openly of revolt.

Shays Rebellion

Many events underscored the weaknesses of the

Articles of Confederation, but none more famous
than Shay
Shays Rebellion.
In reading Patterson
Pattersons account, note how the
grievances were similar to those expressed against
Britain and the King just a few years before.
The point is that the ideals of the revolution were
not just magically realized. They were often
compromised by government. What mattered now
was could the national government sustain its
authority amidst growing doubts?

Amend the Articles of Confederation,

or Form a New Government?
The

Congress called for a convention of

the states to consider amendments to the
Articles of Confederation.
Confederation.
The delegates convened in Philadelphia in
1787, but once there they ignored the
instructions of Congress, and proceeded to
design an entirely new system of
government.

Shays Rebellion was an armed

uprising in Massachusetts
(1786 to 1787) by farmers and
veterans of the revolution who
were being pushed off their
land by high debt, seizure of
their land by banks, and high
taxes. The Massachusetts
state militia ultimately defeated
Shays forces, but the inability
of the national government to
effectively respond to the
uprising led to a re-evaluation
of the Articles of Confederation
and negotiations for a new
Constitution.

No Blueprint
With

no other models of national

government to guide them, the
founders relied on ideas taken from the
different models of state government,
British government, and the work of
philosophers like Locke and
Montesquieu

What Happened to the

Revolutionaries?
Few

of the important revolutionary leaders

were involved in the Constitutional
Convention.
Convention.
Those gathered to write the Constitution
mostly advocated a stronger national
government, and they were also
pragmatists more than idealists.
The political agenda of the nation shifted
from, How should things ideally be?
be? to
What can we agree to, and what will
work?
work?

Compromises

With 55 delegates from 12 states the key to any decision

was compromise (note: Rhode Island did not participate
at first).
Familiarize yourself with:
The Great Compromise (Connecticut Compromise).
The NorthNorth-South Compromise (3/5ths Compromise).
Understand that compromise was
not based upon majority rule
rule
among the delegates. They
needed almost unanimous
agreement on all important issues.
No agreement no union no
United States of America.

The North/South,
or 3/5ths
Compromise

Compromises: Slavery
Several

delegates saw that slavery was

contrary to the values of the revolution.
But slavery was a deal breaker
breaker for
maintaining the union. Without
compromise, there would be no union, but
there would still be slavery.
Thus parts of the constitution dealt with:
How slaves would be counted for
representation,
How they would be counted for taxation,
Limiting national government authority to
regulate the importing, buying, and selling of
slaves as property.

Ratification
No

matter how good or bad the new plan

of government, the Constitution was not
going to happen without a strategy for
ratification by the individual states.
Again, consensus was the goal. Although
the Constitution required that 3/4ths of the
states ratify it, in truth they needed all 13
even if some, like Rhode Island, came
along reluctantly.

Ratification Issues

Would the state leaders share the views of those

who drafted the Constitution?
Even if 3/4ths of the states approved it, would
all of the states eventually come along? We
might have just as easily ended up with two,
five, or thirteen separate countries.
The key division remained between those who
wanted to keep a weaker central government
(the AntiAnti-Federalists), and those who wanted a
stronger government under the new Constitution
(the Federalists).

Constitutionalism
Recall

from lesson one our discussion of

how the Constitution reflects many of the
values of American political culture.
At a more pragmatic level, it also provides
the rules of the game
game for government
and politics in the U.S.
Those at the Constitutional Convention
were not only coming up with a new set of
rules they were creating a new game.

Constitutionalism
Ultimately,

everything American
government is and does, must have a
constitutional basis.
As the supreme law of the land
land (Article
VI) all government activity must be
consistent with the Constitution
Constitutions
provisions.
That
Thats a lot to ask of a document which,
as reprinted in your textbook, is only 11
pages long, with another 10 pages of
amendments.

Two Broad Themes

More

generally, the framers structured

much of the Constitution around two
broad themes:
1. Protecting liberty through limited
government
2. Promoting selfself-government (but not
direct democracy)

The Framers
Framers More Specific Goals
Establish

a stronger national government.

states as viable governments.
Preserve liberties by dividing up
government authority and limiting the
government in its formal powers.
Create a system based on popular
sovereignty and citizen consent, but limit
mechanisms of direct election and direct
democracy.
Preserve

Protecting Liberty: Denials of

Power
The

challenge was to grant sufficient

powers to the government, while also
limiting those powers.
Examples of grants of power:
Article I, Section 8 lists the powers of Congress
Article II, Section 2 makes the President the
commandercommander-inin-chief of the military.
Examples

of denials of power:

Require writs of habeas corpus

Prohibit ex post facto laws

Protecting Liberty: Separating and

Sharing Power

Separation of Powers

The

power of government could also be limited

by separating and sharing its authority. This
was done through:
The Separation of Powers (three branches of
government).
Checks and Balances (each branch shares power
and has checks on the powers of the others).
Federalism (power is divided between national and
state government, with neither deriving its powers
from the other).

Checks and Balances

Protecting Liberty: Bill of Rights

Protecting Liberty: Bill of Rights

Bills

of rights already existed in many

state constitutions as a means of limiting
the power of state government.
Jefferson and the AntiAnti-federalists argued
for one in the new U.S. Constitution.
The Bill of Rights became part of the
deal
deal or compromise to get some states
to ratify the new constitution.

Government power is also limited through the Bill

of Rights (the first 10 amendments to the
Constitution).
The Bill of Rights reads like a list of Thou Shalt
Nots
Nots for the new government (almost like the 10
Commandments).
The First Amendment begins, Congress shall make
no law respecting an establishment of religion
religion
Other amendments use language like, No soldier
shall
shall or, The accused shall enjoy the right to
to
All act as limitations on government authority.

Protecting Liberty: Judicial Review

Judicial

Review also sometimes serves as

a check on government power.
Judicial Review is the power of the courts to
decide whether government actions or laws
are constitutional.
That authority is NOT specifically granted to
the courts in the Constitution.

Providing for SelfSelf-Government: A

Republic Versus A Democracy

Protecting Liberty: Judicial Review

Judicial

Review was first asserted by Chief

Justice John Marshall in the ruling by the
U.S. Supreme Court in the case, Marbury

v. Madison (1803).
v. Madison became the precedent

Marbury

for court interpretation of the constitution,

and for the courts having the authority to
be the last word on what the Constitution
means.

While some revolutionary leaders were

strong advocates of democracy, most of the
founders were cautious about it.
Most envisioned a model of mostly indirect
representative democracy, also known as a
Republic.
Republic.
In such a system, government officials are
trustees of the public welfare. Not all are
directly elected, and in general they are
expected to use their own judgment in
governing on behalf of the people.
people.

Providing for SelfSelf-Government:

Who Could Vote?

Providing for SelfSelf-Government:

AntiAnti-Majoritarianism
Under

the Constitution, the national

government would have only limited
mechanisms of popular control.
House of Representatives: Direct popular
election
Senators: Appointed by state legislatures
Presidents: Elected by the Electoral College
Judges: Nominated by President and
confirmed by the Senate
No mechanism for citizens to have any direct
say on actual laws and policy.

Providing for SelfSelf-Government:

Promoting Democracy

Not only were most national officials not

directly elected by the citizens, but most
people could not vote.
Voting laws were (and still are) largely set
by the states, and most states had
significant restrictions.
In many states, one had to be white, male,
and a property owner in order to vote.

Why Were They Successful?

Leadership:
Leadership:
George Washington provided symbolic leadership, but
contributed little to the substance of the document.
James Madison was the architect of the Constitution and
is often credited with having the most influence over the
substance of the document.
Benjamin Franklin was something of a spiritual leader,
reminding the others of their mission and commitment to
certain values.
Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay led much of
the ratification effort writing essays for newspapers
(The Federalist Papers
Papers) explaining the new constitution
and urging ratification.

Over time support for further democratization

took many forms:
Jeffersonian Democracy (late 1700
1700s): Asserted
democracy as a value equal or superior to other values.
Jacksonian Democracy (1820
(1820s): Forged stronger links
between the people and the government.
The Progressives (early 1900
1900s): Further expanded the
role of voters in choosing officials.
Expanding the voting franchise (continuous): Limits to
voting based on property ownership, gender, race, etc.
were gradually eliminated.

Why Were They Successful?

Clockwise:
Washington,
Madison, Franklin,
Jay & Hamilton.

Secrecy: Many deliberations were held in secret, leaving

delegates free to speak their minds as they argued and
compromised.

Shared Goals
Delegates remained committed to nationalism and a union.
Most were constitutionalists and believed in the importance
of having one.
If they failed now, the revolution and Articles of
Confederation might have all been in vain.
Worries about defending themselves against intrusions by
England or other European powers.

Consolidation and Legitimacy

Why Were They Successful?

You

Got Any Better Ideas?

Ideas?: In the
absence of viable alternatives, there was
probably a pervasive sentiment of, We

have to make this work!

work!

The

Luxury of Being Left Alone:

Alone:
Geography and an ocean made it
extremely difficult for other powers to
interfere. How many new nations in more
recent times had the time and opportunity
to work things out and find their own way,
without being bothered by the big guys
guys?

Amending the Constitution

The struggle to establish a functioning new

constitutional government which would be
viewed as legitimate by political elites and the
citizenry did not end with the ratification of the
Constitution.
In many ways serious conflict (not just debates)
over national vs. state authority, slavery, etc.,
continued on for at least another 75 years. It
took the Civil war (1860(1860-1865) and the deaths of
hundreds of thousands of Americans at the
hands of other Americans, to consolidate these
gains and resolve some of these conflicts.

Two Ways to Propose Amendments, and

Two Ways to Ratify Amendments

Having

the means to amend the

Constitution is part of what has enabled it
to adapt and endure for a period of almost
220 years.
Still, in all that time, there have only been
27 amendments (including the 10 in the
Bill of Rights), and several deal with small
matters.

American
Government
This chart shows
just the basic
organization of
the major parts
of todays
national
government.
ALL of this is
premised on that
11 page
document the
Constitution.

Take a Tour
Now

would be a good time to take a tour

of the Constitution (and even READ it).
It
Its written in outline form; the language
is dated; and it doesn
doesnt have the passion
of the Declaration of Independence but
it is an amazing document.

10

Take a Tour
Article

I: Establishes the Legislative

Branch (Congress), how members will be
elected, and its powers.
Article II: Establishes the Executive
Branch (Presidency), how the President
will be elected, and the powers of the
office.
Article III: Establishes the Judiciary, how
judges will be selected, and the powers of
the Supreme Court.

Take a Tour

Article IV: Establishes federalism (more on that in

the next lesson), and covers relations between
the states.
Article V: Covers the ways to amend the
Constitution
Article VI: Makes the Constitution the supreme
law of the land, and states that the legitimate
laws of the national government are superior to
those of the states (note: that means only in
those areas where the national government is
granted constitutional authority).
Article VII: States the requirements for ratifying
the Constitution.

11