Formation & Challenges of US Government: From Articles of Confederation to Constitution - , Study notes of Political Science

Download Formation & Challenges of US Government: From Articles of Confederation to Constitution - and more Study notes Political Science in PDF only on Docsity! Chapter Two: The Constitution and Federalism Reasons that early settlers came to America: to escape religious persecution/to establish their own religious orthodoxy. to avoid debtor’s prison or to get rich to flee the closed society of the old World to make money for their families or employers in that world. some came as freed persons, others as indentured servants or slaves. FEW came to practice self-government *Colonies adopted constitutions and elected representative assemblies. The colonies lived under British rule meaning they had to accept the appointment of royal governors and the presence of British troops. practiced self government which led to conflict. Eventually, the Congress urged colonies to form their own governments. Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence in 1776 The Articles of Confederation formed a “league of friendship” among the states. As a confederation, it allowed each state to retain its “sovereignty” and “independency.” It made the states supreme over the federal gov’t. caused problems National Gov’t Problems How the Articles of Confederation limited the powers that the Congress could exercise: The Articles reflected the colonial experience under the British gov’t the leaders feared a powerful central gov’t with a powerful executive like a king. They thought such a gov’t would be too strong and too distant to guarantee individual liberty. the Articles reflected a lack of national identity among the people. Most did not yet view themselves as Americans. “I am not really an American, I am a Virginian.” The Articles satisfied people: those who worked on farms went into debt but felt they could get the state gov’t to help them. The Articles frustrated people: bankers, merchants, manufacturers, and others in the upper class. They wanted national and international trade and would need uniform laws, stable money, sound credit, and enforceable debt collection. they needed a strong central gov’t that could protect them against debtors and against state gov’ts sympathetic to debtors. *Congress could not raise an army b/c it could not draft individuals directly, or finance an army b/c it could not tax individuals directly. Instead asked the states for soldiers and money, not always sympathetic Articles inabilities: to confront foreign threats to cope with domestic crisis. **had a heavy war debt that brought the gov’t close to bankruptcy so the states competed with each other for commercial advantages. They imposed tariffs on goods from other states. This slowed the growth of businesses. State Gov’t Problems state legislatures were more representative than the colonial legislatures and they held elections every year. *Resulted in heightened interest among candidates and turnover among legislators. *Laws changed so much people scarce know what a law is. Considered this an “excess of democracy” The changed laws worried the leaders and Shay’s Rebellion frightened them. The law basically transferred wealth from the farmers to the merchants. ~The financial situation leading to the rebellion included the problem that European war investors demanded payment in gold and silver; there was not enough in the states to pay the debts; and through the state, wealthy urban businessmen were trying to squeeze whatever assets they could get out of rural smallholders. Since the smallholders did not have the gold that the creditors demanded, everything they had was confiscated, including their houses. The combination of national and state problems prompted the leaders to push for a new gov’t. The Constitution Constitutional Convention: Franklin and Washington attended which gave it legitimacy. The delegates decided to draft a new constitution The Predicament The delegates came to the convention because they thought their gov’t was too weak, yet the Americans had fought the Revolution because they chafed under a gov’t that was too strong. Nation feared of becoming one. Peopled feared both anarchy and tyranny. Patrick Henry-feared the gov’t would become too strong, didn’t attend Alexander Hamilton-called for a strong national gov’t and suggested monarchy. Large states Small states 3. Checks and Balances: To guarantee separation of powers, the Founders built in overlapping powers. Each branch was given some authority over the others If one branch abuses its powers, the others can use their checks to thwart it.  ex) Congress makes the laws, but due to checks and balances, the president can veto them and the courts can rule them unconstitutional. Figure 3 on page 31 Founders Influences: 1. Philosophical ideas- Endorsed Locke’s views about the relationship between the people and their gov’t. Locke maintained that the people come together to form a gov’t through a social contract- an implied agreement between the people and their gov’t- that establishes a limited gov’t, strong enough to protect their rights but not so strong as to threaten these rights. 2. Political Experience- the Founders were experienced and practical politicians. 3. Economic Experience- represented an elite that sought to protect its property from the masses. A convention of the well-bred, the well-fed, the well-read, and the well-wed. Ratification of the Constitution Many people opposed the Constitution Federalists- those who supported the Constitution to emphasize a real division of power between the national and state gov’t Anti-Federalists- they did not want a division of power b/w the gov’ts. * believed it lacked a bills of rights. The framers did not include a bill of rights because the framers had not included one because most stats already had one in their constitutions. The framers also thought that fragmenting power would prevent any branch from becoming strong enough to deny individual rights. wary of entrusting power to officials far away. *The Anti federalists last of unity on an alternative was instrumental in their inability to win support. Early Conflicts of the Constitution Received threats by southern states when the Federalists (under John Adams) were in power and the by New England states when the Jeffersonian (under Jefferson) were in power. *threats were averted, but frequent conflicts between the nation and the states arose. Marshall’s interpretation of “necessary”- The bank was not essential, but it was useful. This interpretation of the necessary and proper clause allowed Congress, and thus the national gov’t, to wield much more authority than the Constitution appeared to grant. Recognized the existence of implied powers- ones implicit in the explicit powers specifically cited for the national gov’t. It meant that Congress could legislate in almost any area it wishes. Two most important rulings of the Marshall Court: *McCulloch *Marbury vs Madison The Emancipation Proclamation- offered the promise of redefining the Constitution. The document proclaimed that the slaves “shall be…forever free” in the Confederate states where the Union army was not in control. - as a legal document it was problematic as a symbolic measure, it was successful. The proclamation made clear that the war was not anymore just to preserve the Union, but to abolish slavery as well. Gettysburg Address- was a Union victory and the turning point in the Civil War. It redefined the Civil War as a struggle not merely for the Union, but as "a new birth of freedom" that would bring true equality to all of its citizens, and that would also create a unified nation in which states' rights were no longer dominant. Reconstruction Amendments- it implemented the promise of equality and the vision of a unified nation rather than a collection of individual states. Roosevelt proposed a new deal- to stimulate the economy and help the people who were suffering. Laissez-faire: means leave it alone. Although gov’t could aid business, it should not regulate them.  As a result, the gov’t could regulate business when the public believed that regulation would be beneficial. Conclusion: Does the Constitution Make the Gov’t Responsive?? This gov’t has enabled more people to live in liberty and in prosperity than the people of any nation before or since. Despite its status as a political icon, however, few countries have copied the Constitution. The structure of our gov’t has been less popular. Our Constitution and gov’t structure are seen more as a reflection of historical factors and political compromises than as a desirable form of gov’t. *The Founders did leave important problems unresolved for succeeding generations: The most notable was slavery and the treatment of African Americans Also troublesome was the uncertain relationship between the nation and the states. Marble cake federalism- the levels of gov’t are distinct, but their powers are not. The two levels interact and share authority, and it becomes difficult to delineate precisely what tings each level does. The Founders sought a government that would be responsive to the people only to a limited extent. The Constitution fragmented power, so a single group could not control the entire gov’t the systems advantage has become its primary disadvantage. *in their efforts to fragment power so that no branch could accumulate too much, the Founders divided power to the point where the branches sometimes cannot wield enough. In their efforts to build a gov’t that requires a national majority to act, they built one that allows a small minority to block action. “if citizens cannot determine who is responsible for what, they cannot hold those individuals accountable and make them responsive”