Government Chapter 2 Summary - Summary Keeping the Republic: Power and Citizenship in American Politics PDF

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Chapter 2 – Constructing a Government: The Founding and the Constitution The First Founding: Interests and conflicts  5 sectors of society had interests that were important in colonial politics: 1) the New England merchants, 2) the southern planters, 3) the “royalists” – holders of royal lands, offices and patents, 4) shopkeepers, artisans, and laborers, 5) small farmers  After 1750, by seriously threatening the interests of New England merchants and southern planters, British tax and trade policies split the colonial elite.  British Taxes and colonial interests  1760’s: Britain sought to impose new, though relatively modest, taxes on the colonists  Stamp Act of 1765: This act required that all printed and legal documents, including newspapers, pamphlets, advertisements, notes and bonds, leases, deeds, and licenses, be printed on official paper stamped and sold by English officials.  Sugar Act of 1764: taxed sugar, molasses, and other commodities, most heavily affected the two groups in colonial society whose commercial interests and activities were most extensive: the New England merchants and southern planters.  Political Strife and the Radicalizing of the Colonists  1773: british government granted the politically powerful East India Company a monopoly on the export of tea from Britain, eliminating a lucrative form of trade for colonial merchants.  Boston Tea Party of 1773: Led by Samuel Adams, they dumped the East India Company’s tea into the boston Harbor in hopes of provoking the British government to take actions that would alienate its colonial supporters and pave the way for a rebellion…succeeded….  Boston tea party led way to the First continental congress (an assembly consisting of delegates from all parts of the colonies, which called for a total boycott of British goods) and the result was the Declaration of Independence.  Declaration of Independence  1776: 2nd Continental congress appointed a committee consisting of Thomas Jefferson of Virginia, Benjamin Franklin of Pennsylvania, and Roger Sherman of Connecticut, John Adams of Massachusetts, and Robert Livingston of New York to draft a statement of American independence from British rule.  Declaration of Independence: written by Jefferson (borrowed ideas from John Locke)  Dec of ind adopted by the 2nd continental congress  Locke: life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness  Articles of Confederation  United States’s first written constitution: Articles of confederation  Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union: America’s first written constitution. Adopted by the continental congress in 1777, the articles were the formal basis for america’s national government until 1789, when they were superseded by the constitution.  Limiting powers of the central government (congress)  Execution of laws was left to the individual states  Congress had little power  Congress members were chosen by the state legislatures, their salaries were paid out of the state treasuries, and they were subject to immediate recall by state authorities.  Congress was given the power to declare war and make peace, to make treaties and alliances, to coin or borrow money, and to regulate trade with Native Americans  Could also appoint the senior officers of the US Army  Congress could not levy taxes or regulate commerce among the states.

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The army officers it appointed had no army to serve in because the nation’s armed forces were composed of the state militias.  The central government could not prevent one state from discriminating against other states in the quest for foreign commerce  Articles was weak The Second Founding: from Compromise to Constitution  The Declaration of Independence and Articles of confederation alone were not sufficient to hold the nation together as an independent and effective nation-state.  International Standing and Balance of Power  Competition among the states for foreign commerce allowed the European powers to play the states against one another, creating confusion on both sides of the Atlantic.  The Annapolis Convention  This conference, held in Annapolis, Maryland, was the first step toward the second founding.  One positive thing that came out of the Annapolis Convention was a carefully worded resolution calling on congress to send commissioners to Philadelphia at a later time “to devise such further provisions as shall appear to them necessary to render the Constitution of the Federal Government adequate to the exigencies of the Union.” – Alexander Hamilton  Shay’s Rebellion  Shay’s rebellion caused the Constitutional Convention of 1787 in Philadelphia to occur.  Daniel Shays, a former army captain, led a mob of farmers in a rebellion against the government of Massachusetts. The purpose of the rebellion was to prevent foreclosures on their debt-ridden land by keeping the country courts of western Massachusetts from sitting until after the next election.  Congress was unable to act decisively in a time of crisis because it was limited under the Articles.  Constitutional Convention  In May 1787, 29 of a total of 73 delegates selected by the state governments convened in Philadelphia, with political strife, international embarrassment, national weakness, and local rebellion fixed in their minds.  The Great compromise  Virginia plan: provided for a system of representation in the national legislature based on the population of each state, the proportion of each state’s revenue contribution, or both.  New Jersey Plan: each state should be equally represented in the new regime regardless of its population.  Great Compromise: An agreement reached at the Constitutional Convention of 1787 that gave each state an equal number of senators regardless of its population but linked representation in the House of Representatives to population.  The Three-fifths Compromise  Over 90 percent of all slaves resided in five states – Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia – where they accounted for 30 percent of the total population  Three-fifths Compromise: An agreement reached at the Constitutional Convention of 1787 stipulating that for purposes of the apportionment of congressional seats, every slave would be counted as three-fifths of a person. The Constitution  Bicameralism: the division of a legislative assembly into two chambers, or houses

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To prevent the new government from abusing its power, the framers incorporated into the constitution such principles as the separation of powers and federalism The Legislative Branch: - Two chambers: a house of representatives and senate - House of representatives: 2 year terms, directly elected by the people - Senate: 6 year terms, appointed by the state legislatures - House: given power to originate revenue bills - Senate: power to ratify treaties and approve presidential appointments - House: designed to be directly responsible to the people, to encourage popular consent for the new constitution, and to help enhance the power of the new government. - Specific powers of congress include: the authority to collect taxes, borrow money, regulate commerce, declare war, and maintain an army and navy. - Expressed power: the notion that the Constitution grants to the federal government only those powers specifically named in its text - Necessary and proper clause: Article I, Section 8, of the Constitution, which enumerates the powers of congress and provides congress with the authority to make all laws “necessary and proper” to carry them out; also referred to as the elastic clause The Executive Branch - The president - President: unconditional power to accept ambassadors from other countries, negotiate treaties, grant reprieves and pardons, appoint major departmental personnel, convene Congress in a special session, and veto congressional enactments The judicial Branch - The most important expression of this intention was granting the Supreme Court the power to resolve any conflicts that might emerge between federal and state laws - Supreme court assigned jurisdiction over controversies between citizens of different states - Judges given lifetime appointments to protect them from popular politics and interference by the other branches - Judicial review: the power of the courts to declare actions of the legislative and executive branches invalid or unconstitutional. The supreme court asserted this power in Marbury vs. Madison. National Unity and Power - Each state is prohibited from discriminating against the citizens of other states in favor of its own citizens, with the supreme court charged with deciding in each case whether a state has discriminated against goods or people from another state - Supremacy clause: A clause of Article VI of the Constitution that states that all laws passed by the national government and all treaties are the supreme laws of the land and superior to all laws adopted by any state or any subdivision Amending the Constitution Ratifying the Constitution - All states except rhode island eventually did set up state conventions to ratify the constitution Constitutional Limits on the National Government’s Power - Separation of power: the division of governmental power among several institutions that must cooperate in decision making  Checks and balances: the mechanisms through which each branch of government is able to participate in and influence the activities of the other branches

 Each branch is given not only its own powers but also some power over the other two branches  Among the most familiar checks and balances are the president’s veto as a power over congress and Congress’s power over the president through its control of appointments to high executive posts and to the judiciary  Principle of giving each of the branches a distinctly different constituency - Federalism: the system of government in which a constitution divides power between a central government and regional governments  Step toward greater centralization of power  2 sovereigns: the state and the nation - Bill of Rights: the first 10 amendments to the US Constitution, adopted in 1791. The Bill of Rights ensures certain rights and liberties to the people The Fight for Ratification Federalists versus AntiFederalists Federalists AntiFederalists Who were they? Property owners, creditors, merchants Small farmers, frontiersmen, debtors, shopkeepers What did they Elites are best fit to govern and Government should be close to the believe in? “excessive democracy” is dangerous people and the concentration of power in the hands of the elites is dangerous What system of Strong national government; believed in Retention of power by state government did “filtration” so that only elites would governments and protections of they favor? obtain governmental power individual rights Who were their Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, Patrick Henry, George Mason, Elbridge leaders? George Washington Gerry, George Clinton The federalist papers: The best-known pieces supporting ratification of the constitution were the 85 essays written under the name Publius by Alexander Hamilton...