1. FOUNDATIONS OF
GOVERNMENT
15 August 2012
Unit One

2. JOHANN WOLFGANG
VON GOETHE
"To rule
is easy,
to govern
difficult.”
German Philosopher

3. THOMAS HOBBES
“During the time men
live without a common
power to keep them all
in awe, they are in that
conditions called war;
and such a war, as if of
every man, against
every man… no arts;
no letters; no society;
and worst of all,
continual fear and
danger of violent death;
and the life of man be
solitary, poor, nasty,
brutish, and short.”
English Philosopher (1651)

4. WHAT IS GOVERNMENT?
 An institution created by society with the power to
enforce public policy
 Laws/Actions planned & carried using governmental
powers
1. LEGISLATIVE (make laws)
2. EXECUTIVE (enforce laws)
3. JUDICIAL (interpret laws)
1.1

5. “THE STATE”
 Defined as a body of people living in certain territory who
are organized politically…
 … often called a ‘nation’ or ‘country’
 Every state has SOVERIGNTY, or the absolute power to do
what it wants within its own borders…
 A failed state is one which the government is either non-
existent or so ineffective that it has no real power
 Does anyone know an example???
1.1

6. THEORETICAL ORIGINS OF THE
STATE
 Force Theory
 One person or group seized power by force over an area and the
“state” was born…
 Evolutionary Theory
 The state developed naturally as an extension of the family
group…
 Divine Right Theory
 God created the state and gave approval to the rulers to control
it…
 Social Contract Theory
 People overcame the “brutish state of nature” and voluntarily
organized together to create the state…
1.1

10. DEMOCRACY
 The ‘supreme authority’ is the people of the state…
 Government by the CONSENT OF THE GOVERNED
 Majority Rules!
 For in reason, all government without the consent of the
governed is the very definition of slavery. ~ Jonathan
Swift
 “Democracy is a device that ensures we shall be
governed no better than we deserve. ~ George Bernard
Shaw

11. TYPES OF DEMOCRACY
 Direct (‘pure democracy’)
 Public Policy (laws & actions of the government) is
controlled by the citizens of a state through voting.
 Indirect (‘representative democracy’)
 A small group of people are chosen to act out the will of
the population & are held accountable by future elections

12. “As there is a degree of depravity in mankind which
requires a certain degree of circumspection and distrust:
So there are other qualities in human nature, which justify
a certain portion of esteem and confidence. Republican
government presupposes the existence of these qualities
in a higher degree than any other form.”
~ James Madison (1788)

13. REPUBLICAN GOVERNMENT
 The US is formally a REPUBLIC, dedicated to "liberty
and justice for all”
 “An elective despotism is not what we fought for…”
~ Thomas Jefferson
 People have inalienable rights
 Cannot be voted away by a democracy’s majority vote.
 Natural rights AND civil rights
 People are sovereign in a republic, not the state!

14. DICTATORSHIP
 The OLDEST & MOST COMMON form of government!
 Those who rule are not held accountable to the will of the
people
 Often rule through fear or domination but do not have to!
 Also known as a tyrant or despot

15. DEGREES OF DICTATING
 Autocracy – Government of ONE person with unlimited
power
 Oligarchy - Government where power is held by a small &
exclusive group
 All dictatorships are AUTHORITARIAN
 Those in power hold absolute authority over the population
 Most modern dictatorships are also TOTALITARIAN
 Those in power exercise complete control over all aspects of
human affairs

16. FOUNDATION ESTABLISHED
 13 separate colonies {established over 125 years} but
with a common foundation!
 British elements in the United States…
1. Ordered Government
2. Limited Government
3. Representative Government

17. THE MAGNA CARTA
 “The Great
Charter”
 1215: King John
consents to limit
the Monarchy
1.3

18. 1.3

19. CONTINENTAL CONGRESSES
First Continental Congress (1774)
 Response to the Intolerable Acts
 Sends the “Declaration and Resolves”
 Turns down a “Plan of Union with Great Britain”
 Calls for another boycott of British goods
 Plans another Congress in 6 months

20. Second Continental Congress (1775)
 Forms after the War for Independence begins
 Condemned by the British as unlawful & treasonous
 As the first “government” of the US (serves until 1781)
is responsible for:
 Conduct of the War
 Establishing Relations with the World
 The Declaration of Independence
 The Articles of Confederation

22. INDEPENDENCE
 Formally proposed by Richard
Henry Lee of Virginia on June
7, 1776
 Primary Author Thomas
Jefferson of Virginia
 Part of a committee of five…
 July 2, 1776 : The Lee
Resolution is accepted in
Congress
 July 4, 1776 : The Declaration
of Independence is adopted
and proclaimed

27. NATURAL RIGHTS
 Protection for “Life, Liberty, Pursuit of Happiness”
 Government is only by social consent
 People have the solemn right to abolish government if
necessary
 “Injuries & Usurpations” by Britain allowed the colonies to
break away!
1.3

29. “A FIRM LEAGUE OF
FRIENDSHIP”
 America’s first constitution is the Articles of Confederation
 Adopted by the Congress on November 15, 1777
 Ratified on March 1, 1781 (unanimous agreement by the States
was necessary)
 Dominant Features:
 States are independent of each other
 All powers of government are in a unicameral congress (one
body), the “Congress of the Confederation”
 Congress is not allowed to tax the States (or people)
1.4

31. THE CRITICAL PERIOD
 Revolutionary War ends October 19, 1781 & problems
quickly develop
 States tax each others goods, fail to enforce attendance of
representatives, print their own money, refuse to support the
Central government, build their own armies, etc.
 … and the Government was powerless to stop them!
1.4

32. PROBLEMS MOUNT
 The Mount Vernon Conference is held in March 1785
 Maryland & Virginia meet to resolve differences
 A national conference is called for in Annapolis,
Maryland by Virginia in 1786
 “A Meeting of Commissioners to Remedy Defects of the
Federal Government”
 Only 5states show up! (4 are just late, 4 take no action at all)
 Enter Shay’s Rebellion (caused by economic conditions) in
Massachusetts…
1.4

33. …ON SHAY’S REBELLION
“I hold it that a little rebellion now and then is a good
thing, and as necessary in the political world as
storms in the physical. Unsuccessful rebellions,
indeed, generally establish the encroachments on the
rights of the people which have produced them. An
observation of this truth should render honest
republican governors so mild in their punishment of
rebellions as not to discourage them too much. It is a
medicine necessary for the sound health of
government.”
Thomas Jefferson
1.4

34. THE BIG POSITIVE
 The Northwest
Ordinance
 1787
 Established the federal
government’s ownership
of territory
 Has equality for new
states
 Prohibits slavery
 Guarantees natural
rights for citizens

35. NEED TO CHANGE
 February 21, 1787
 Congress authorizes a convention to meet in
Philadelphia…
 12 of 13 will respond (minus Rhode Island)
"Wisdom and good examples are necessary at this time to
rescue the political machine from the impending storm.”
George Washington to James Madison,
1786
1.4

36. THE PHILADELPHIA
CONVENTION
 INTENT: Revise the Articles of Confederation
“for the sole and express purpose of revising the Articles”
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
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 REALITY: The Articles were damaged goods!
 Two days in it becomes a “constitutional” convention
 NOT allowed by Congress
 One step short of a “second revolution”

37. CONFLICT!
 The Virginia Plan
 Primary Authors: Edmund Randolph & James Madison
(“Father of the Constitution”)
 Features a BICAMERAL Congress based on population &
wealth
 Features a separation of powers in three branches of
government
 The New Jersey Plan
 A counter-proposal by smaller States
 Keeps a unicameral Congress with equal State representation,
but delegates more “central” powers
 Is really a revision of the Articles

38. THE “GREAT” COMPROMISE
Proposed by Roger Sherman of Connecticut
 Congress will be bicameral
 The House of Representatives serves States’ by population
(minimum 1 per)
 The Senate represent each state equally (2 per)
Led to the “⅗ths Compromise”
 “determined by adding to the Number of free Persons,
including those bound to Service for a Term of Years,
and excluding Indians not taxed, three fifths of all
other Persons”

39. SEEKING APPROVAL
 Approved on September 17, 1787
 39 of 41 members sign the Constitution
 3 delegates refuse to sign
 14 delegates had left the Convention in protest
 Submitted to the States for ratification (needed 9 of 13)

40.  Officially ratified on
June 21, 1788 with
New Hampshire’s
approval
 BUT in reality needed
Virginia & New York!

41. FEDERALISTS
 Led by James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, & John
Jay
 Together were “Publius” – the author The Federalist
Papers
 Support the Constitution - see a strong national
government is necessary
 Notable Essays
 #2 – Concerning the Wisdom of the Convention
 #10 – Concerning Factions & Majority/Minority Relations
 #51 – Arguments for the use of Checks & Balances
 #84 – Regarding the Lack of a Bill of Rights

42. ANTI-FEDERALISTS
 Led by revolutionaries like John Hancock, Richard
Henry Lee, & George Mason
 Objections:
 The ratification process…
 No mention of God…
 Missing a BILL OF RIGHTS!
 General Complaint = TOO MUCH POWER for government

45. THE BILL OF RIGHTS
 The final Constitutional compromise comes from the
Ratification Debates
 The Convention had no momentum for a Bill of Rights
 Federalists get the Constitution
 Anti-Federalists gain protections for personal liberty

48. CONSTITUTIONAL INFLUENCES
 John Locke’s “Two Treatises of Government”
 Focus on his theories on Natural Rights for all people
 Jean Jacques Rousseau’s “Social Contract”
 Focus on the concept of people establishing a limited
government for protection
 Baron de Montesquieu’s “The Spirit of Law”
 Focus on using a Separation of Powers to limit the
government’s use of power

49. AMERICAN CONSTITUTIONAL
GOVERNMENT
1. FEDERAL
 Power is divided between one central & numerous regional
governments
 Established by a DIVISION OF POWER within the
Constitution
 The Supremacy Clause grants ultimate authority to the
NATIONAL government (Article VI, Section II)
1.6

50. DIVISION OF POWERS
 National powers are based on the Constitution and the
Necessary & Proper Clause
 EXPRESSED Powers (Specifcally Stated)
 IMPLIED Powers (“Reasonably Suggested”)
 State Powers are based on the 10th Amendment to the
Constitution
 States will keep powers which are not granted to the federal
government AND not denied to the States
1.6

51. AMERICAN CONSTITUTIONAL
GOVERNMENT, II
2. Presidential
 The two branches are SEPARATE and INDEPENDENT
from each other but equal
 Typically have separate powers that can LIMIT the power of
the other (Checks & Balances)
 … invented by the U.S.
1.6

52. AMERICAN CONSTITUTIONAL
GOVERNMENT, III
3. Republican
 The US is dedicated to "liberty and justice for all”
 People have inalienable rights which cannot be voted
away by a democracy’s majority vote.
 Natural rights AND civil rights
 People are sovereign in a republic, not the state!
1.6

54. MAJORITY RULE WITH
MINORITY RIGHTS
 Is the key feature of a republican government… the will
of the many cannot override the rights of the few!
 Majority Responsibilities:
1. Recognize the rights of the minority
2. Be willing to engage in discussion!
 Minority Responsibilities:
1. Acknowledge they will not get their way most of the time
1.6

55. AMERICAN CONSTITUTIONAL
GOVERNMENT, IV
4. Popular Sovereignty
 Power in the US comes not from the State, but from the
consent of the governed…
 Outlined in the Declaration of Independence & the
Constitution
 Government must follow the RULE OF LAW and obey the
laws it creates!
1.6

56. AMERICAN CONSTITUTIONAL
GOVERNMENT, V
5. Separation of Powers
 Governmental Power is held in THREE separate and distinct
branches…
 Legislative (Congress) – Makes Laws
 Executive (President) – Enforces Laws
 Judicial (Supreme Court) – Interprets & Applies Laws
 "The accumulation of all powers, legislative, executive, and
judiciary, in the same hands, whether of one, a few, or many,
and whether hereditary, self-appointed, or elective, may
justly be pronounced the very definition of tyranny.”
~ James Madision
1.6

57. CHECKS & BALANCES
 A complex system of restraints to unite AND limit the
three branches of the US government
 Each can block the operation of the others in specific ways
 Builds up “institutional rivalry” in the government
1.6

58. 1.6

59. AMERICAN CONSTITUTIONAL
GOVERNMENT, VI
6. Difficult Adaptation
 Explained in Article V (Amending the Constitution)
 27 Amendments over 226 years!
 One has been “repealed” 18th
 Power is held by Congress and the States…
 NOT the President or Supreme Court
 THOUSANDS (856 in the 1990’s alone!) have been
proposed with a success rate of less than 1%
1.7

60. 1.7

61. FAILED AMENDMENTS
Amendment Date Proposed Status Subject
Congressional
Apportionment
Amendment
September 25, 1789
Still pending before state
lawmakers
Apportionment of U.S.
Representatives
Titles of Nobility
Amendment
May 1, 1810
Still pending before state
lawmakers
Prohibition of titles of
nobility
Corwin Amendment March 2, 1861
Still pending before state
lawmakers {Rendered
useless by the 13th
Amendment}
Preservation of slavery
Child Labor Amendment June 2, 1924
Still pending before state
lawmakers
Congressional power to
regulate child labor
Equal Rights Amendment March 22, 1972
Expired 1979 or 1982
{some scholars disagree}
Prohibition of inequality of
men and women
District of Columbia
Voting Rights Amendment
August 22, 1978 Expired 1987
Voting rights for citizens in
D.C.
1.7

62. FAILED ATTEMPTS
 1876: Forbid religious leaders from occupying
a governmental office or receiving federal
funding
 1893: Renaming the US the “United States of
the Earth”
 1894: Would recognize God and Jesus as the
supreme authorities in human affairs.
 1912: Making interracial marriage illegal
 1914: Divorce would be illegal
 1916: Acts of war should be put to a national
vote & yes votes require registration for
service in the Army.
 1933: Limit personal wealth to $1 million
 1947: The income tax maximum for an
individual should not exceed 25%
 1971: Citizens have the alienable right to an
environment free of pollution.
 1985: Prohibit abortion, except in cases of
rape, incest, or life endangerment.
 1992: To repeal the 26th Amendment and
grant the right to vote to 16-year olds
 2003: To allow Congress emergency refill of
its membership should more than a quarter
of either house be killed
 2005: “Every Vote Counts” – Direct vote for
President, not Electoral College
 2011: Mandating an “Annually Balanced
Budget”
1.7

63. WAYS TO AMEND
1. Proposed by Congress with 2/3rds approval & ratified
by 3/4ths of the States legislatures
2. Proposed by Congress and ratified 3/4ths of “special”
State Conventions
3. Proposed by National Convention and ratified by
3/4ths of State legislatures
4. Proposed by National Convention and ratified by
3/4ths of “special” State conventions

64. THE CHALLENGE…
 …is on the Interpretation of the Constitution
 Strict (or Original Intent)
 Dynamic (or Living Text)
 How literally should the document be read?
1.6