Constitution Explained

2
The
Constitution
Copyright ©2018 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned,
copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

2GOVT9 | CH2Copyright ©2018 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly acce ssible website, in whole or in part.
THE CONSTITUTION2
1 Point out some of the influences on the
American political tradition in the colonial
years
2 Explain why the American colonies rebelled
against Britain
3 Describe the structure of government
established by the Articles of Confederation
and some of the strengths and weaknesses
of the Articles
LEARNING OUTCOMES

THE CONSTITUTION2
4 List the major compromises made by the
delegates at the Constitutional Convention,
and discuss the Federalist and Anti-
Federalist positions on ratifying the
Constitution
5 Summarize the Constitution’s major
principles of government, and describe how
the Constitution can be amended
LEARNING OUTCOMES (continued)

4Copyright ©2018 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly acce ssible website, in whole or in part. GOVT9 | CH2
America at Odds: Should We Call a New
Constitutional Convention?
• Would you be in favor of
your state petitioning
Congress for a new
constitutional convention?
Why or why not?
• Other than the ones
mentioned here, can you
think of important
constitutional
amendments that might
be proposed at a new
conveiton?

Beginnings of American Government
• Plymouth colony: First New England colony
• Founded by the Plymouth Company
• Settlers drew up the Mayflower Compact
- Mayflower Compact: Stated that laws were to be made
for the general good of people
• Each colony had its own political documents
and constitution
• Colonial legislatures consisted of
representatives elected by the colonists
• Known as representative assemblies

6
TABLE
GOVT9 | CH2Copyright ©2018 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly acce ssible website, in whole or in part.
Table 2-1 lists significant political events in U.S. history
2.1 Significant Events in Early U.S.
Political History

7
TABLE
Table 2-1 lists significant political events in U.S. history
2.1 Significant Events in Early U.S.
Political History (continued)

Rebellion of the Colonists: Taxation
without Representation
• Sugar Act (1764): Imposed tax on sugar
imported to the American colonies
• Led to a nonimportation movement
• Stamp Act of 1765: Imposed the first direct tax
on the colonists
• Viewed as contrary to the principle of representative
government
• Delegates from nine colonies attended the Stamp
Act Congress
• Act was later repealed by the British Parliament

• Further taxes and the Coercive Acts
• 1767: Parliament imposed taxes on glass, paint,
lead, and other items
- Colonists protested by boycotting British goods
• 1773: Boston Tea Party
- 350 chests of British tea were dumped into Boston Harbor
• 1774: Parliament passes the Coercive Acts
- Closed Boston Harbor
- Placed Massachusetts government under direct British
control
Rebellion of the Colonists: Taxation
without Representation (continued)

Rebellion of the Colonists: Continental
Congresses
• First Continental Congress (1774)
• Delegates from twelve of the thirteen colonies
gathered to protest the Coercive Acts
- Sent a petition to King George III to explain their
grievances
- Called for a continued boycott of British goods
• Second Continental Congress (1775)
• Met to assume the powers of a central government
and to establish an army
• Named George Washington as commander in chief

Rebellion of the Colonists: Gaining
Independence
• Thomas Paine presented his arguments for
independence through a pamphlet titled
Common Sense
• Helped sever ties of loyalty to the British monarch
• July 4, 1776: The Declaration of Independence
was adopted
• Colonies became sovereign states

• Antiroyalists opposed any form of government
that resembled monarchy
• Also called republicans
• They promoted an all-powerful legislature and a
weak executive authority
- Unicameral legislatures: One-chamber
legislatures
▸ Often left unchecked by executive
authority
Rebellion of the Colonists: Gaining
Independence (continued)

Confederation of States
• Confederation: League of independent states
that are united to achieve common goals
• Articles of Confederation: Established a
national form of government
• Provided for a confederal form of government in
which the central government had few powers

14
FIGURE
Figure 2-2 shows the structure of government under the Articles of Confederation
2.2 American Government under
the Articles of Confederation

15
FIGURE
Figure 2-3 shows the government’s power under the Articles of Confederation
2.3 Central Government Powers under

16
FIGURE
Figure 2-4 shows powers denied to the government under the Articles of Confederation
2.4 Lack of Central Government Powers
under the Articles of Confederation

Confederation of States: Crisis in Newly
Formed States
• States refused to support the central
government
• States increasingly taxed each other’s imports
and at times prevented interstate trade
• Shays’ Rebellion: Rebellion of indebted
farmers in western Massachusetts in 1786
• Led by former Revolutionary War captain Daniel
Shays

Confederation of States: Crisis in Newly
Formed States (continued)
• Annapolis meeting
• Delegates from five of thirteen states met to discuss
extending national authority to issues of commerce
• Decided to meet again in Philadelphia the next year
• Constitutional Convention: Convention of
state delegates for the purpose of amending
• Delegates wrote a new constitution that established
a federal form of government

Drafting and Ratifying the Constitution
• Delegates of the Constitutional Convention
comprised an elite assembly
• Included Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and
Benjamin Franklin
• The Virginia Plan: Favored larger states
• Bicameral legislature: Two-chamber legislature
• National executive branch, elected by the legislature
• National court system, created by the legislature

Drafting and Ratifying the Constitution
(continued)
• The New Jersey Plan: Favored smaller states
• Congress would regulate trade and impose taxes
• Each state would have one vote
• Acts of Congress would be the supreme law of the
land
• Executive office of more than one person would be
elected by Congress
• Executive office would appoint a national supreme
court

Drafting and Ratifying the Constitution:
Compromises
• The Great Compromise: Called for a bicameral
legislature
• Lower chamber (the House of Representatives)
• Based on population
• Upper chamber (the Senate)
• Represented each state equally
• Also known as the Connecticut Compromise

• Three-fifths compromise
• Three-fifths of all slaves were counted for purposes
of representation in the House of Representatives
• Resulted in continued slave importation
• Interstate commerce: Trade involving more
than one state
• Constitution banned export
taxes on state products
Compromises (continued)

Defining the Executive and the Judiciary
• Independent executive authority
• The President
• Would have extensive appointment powers
• In theory, chosen by the Electoral College
- In practice, ordinary voters help choose the president
• Independent judiciary authority
• The U.S. Supreme Court
• Congress would establish other federal courts
• Impeachment process can remove federal officials
from office

Federalists and Anti-Federalists
• Federalists: Supported the adoption of the
Constitution and the creation of a federal form
of government
• The Federalist Papers
• Anti-Federalists: Opposed the adoption of the
Constitution
• Ratification
• Federalists won in all state conventions leading to
ratification of the new Constitution

Constitution’s Principles of Government
• Limited government
• Government can do only what the people allow it to
do through the exercise of a duly developed system
of laws
• Popular sovereignty
• The people form the government and decide on the
powers government can exercise
• Rule of law
• Requires those who govern to act in accordance
with established law

(continued 1)
• Federal system: A division of powers between
central government and regional governments
• Powers of the national government
- President is the nation’s chief executive and commander
in chief of the armed forces
- Laws created by the national government are supreme
- Commerce clause: Gives Congress the power to regulate
interstate commerce
• States hold the authority to exercise powers that are
not delegated to the central government

• Separation of powers
• Division of powers among legislative, executive, and
judicial branches of government
• Madisonian Model: A method of separating the
powers of the national government devised by
James Madison
- Intended for the government to control itself
(continued 2)

(continued 3)
• Checks and balances
- Each of the three branches is given the means to check
(restrain or balance) the actions of the others
• Veto power
- Constitutional power that enables the chief executive to
reject legislation
▸Legislation is return to the legislature with reasons for
rejection
▸Prevents or delays the bill from becoming law

29
FIGURE
Figure 2-5 shows the system of checks and balances
2.5 Checks and Balances among
the Branches of Government

30
FIGURE
Figure 2-6 shows the processes for proposing and ratifying amendments
2.6 The Process of Amending the
Constitution

Vox explains the state of gun violence in the U.S.
Gun Violence in the United States
Click picture to play video

Questions
• Should the Second Amendment be changed or
should federal restrictions be placed on gun
ownership? Why or why not?
• “The truth is, mass shootings are unlike most
gun deaths in America. … America doesn’t have
a gun problem; it has several of them.” Discuss.
• Which is to blame for the prevalence of gun
violence in the United States, guns or people?
Share your views with the class and discuss.

• Articles of
Confederation
• Shays’ Rebellion
• Constitutional
Convention
• Bicameral legislature
• Great Compromise
• Three-fifths
compromise
• Mayflower Compact
• Bill of Rights
• First Continental
Congress
• Second Continental
Congress
• Unicameral
legislature
• Confederation
KEY TERMS

• Madisonian
Model
• Separation of
powers
• Checks and
balances
• Veto power
• Interstate commerce
• Federalists
• Anti-Federalists
• Faction
• Tyranny
• Rule of law
• Federal system
• Commerce clause
KEY TERMS (continued)

• American colonists developed the
understanding of limited and representative
governments from their own experiences
• Articles of Confederation provided for a
confederal form of government in which the
central government had few powers
• Constitution’s principles of the government
• Limited government, popular sovereignty, and the
rule of law
• Federalism, separation of powers, and checks and
balances
SUMMARY

Constitution Explained

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