constitutional foundations

• Constitution arose out of important historical and philosophical ideas and preferences regarding popular sovereignty and limited government

  • compromises were made during the Constitutional Convention and ratification debates → these compromises have frequently been the source of conflict in U.S. politics over the proper balance between individual freedom, social order, and equality of opportunity

• first semblance of a national government created after independence was a state centered, decentralized system that reflected a fear of a powerful central government

  • the lack of powers held by the weak national Congress, coupled with each state’s independent and often conflicting actions, raised concerns with such key actors as James Madison and Alexander Hamilton as to whether the Articles of Confederation were able to protect the new nation

  • weaknesses led to a call for change and a decision to host a convention to revise the Articles

    • convention itself was a triumph of negotiation, collaboration, and compromise, extending beyond the delegates’ original mandate

    • led to the creation of a new constitution that granted more centralized authority, while dispersing powers among three branches in the national government, and reserving powers and authority to the states to govern within their borders

• group that favored the new federal Constitution, the Federalists, argued that the constitutional separation of powers and checks and balances would protect people from governmental tyranny and unify the nation

  • Federalists also argued that although the Constitution lacked a specific listing of rights, it protected civil liberties in general by limiting the national government to powers that were enumerated.

  • Anti-Federalists argued against the new federal system, claiming that the new Constitution would erode the sovereignty of the states, the prominence of local self-government, and their inherited liberties, as it lacked a specific listing of rights needed to protect the people from the national government.

  • Federalists promised the Anti-Federalists that they would support the addition of a bill of rights once the Constitution was ratified

  • Constitution was ratified in 1788 although the last state, Rhode Island, did not ratify it until 1790. The Bill of Rights, the first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution, was ratified in 1791

• 200+ years later, the compromises that were necessary for the Constitution’s ratification, and in some instances led to ambiguity, continue to fuel debate and sometimes even conflict over how best to protect liberty, equality, order, and private property

Big Idea #1: A balance between governmental power and individual rights has been a hallmark of American political development.

• participatory democracy: all members of a group or community participate in decisions

• pluralist democracy: a model of democracy that stresses vigorous competition among various interests in a free society

• elite democracy: the privileged classes acquire the power to decide by a competition for the people’s votes and have substantial freedom between elections to rule as they see fit

Big Idea #2: The Constitution emerged from the debate about the weaknesses in the Articles of Confederation as a blueprint for limited government.

• faction: a political groups that agrees on objectives and policies; the origin of political parties

  • federalists

    • believed the Constitution was the best way to deal with “the tyranny of the majority” by creating three branches of government having distinctive and separate powers

    • foundational documents: Federalist #10, Federalist #51

  • anti-federalists

    • believed that the Constitution gave too much political, economic, and military control; wanted a decentralized governmental structure that granted most power to the states

    • foundational document: Brutus #1

  • the Articles of Confederation and their weaknesses — No judicial branch, weak economic power - NO POWER TO TAX, no executive (president), no military, unicameral legislature, etc...

constitutional compromises

Political Negations and Compromise and the Development of the Constitutional System

• the debate over the role of the central government, the powers of state governments, and the rights of individuals remains at the heart of present-day constitutional issues about democracy and governmental power

Big Idea #3: The Constitution created a competitive policy-making process to ensure the people’s will is represented and that freedom is preserved.

• separation of powers: the constitutional division of powers among the legislative, executive, and judicial branches, with the legislative branch making law, the executive applying and enforcing the law, and the judiciary interpreting the law

• checks and balances: a system that allows each branch of government to limit the powers of the other branches in order to prevent abuse of power

Big Idea #4: federalism reflects the dynamic distribution of power between national and state governments

Balance of Power between State and National Governments