2. Model: Athenian Democracy
• Direct Democracy: people vote on their behalf
• Adult male citizens participated (lottery for
involvement)
• Courts: only juries (no judges)
3. Model: Roman Republic
Began with the overthrow of the
Monarch around 509 BC and lasted
over 450 years
Republic: Elected officials; based on
consent of the governed; rule of law
important
Ended with Julius Caesar
4. Impact of Enlightenment
Began in Science
Attempt to bring
reason to the
world
Social Contract
Government must
bend to the will of
the people
People have a right
to overthrow
John Locke
5. The Articles of Confederation
First Government: colonists wanted a
constitution--a written document that defines
rights and obligations and puts limits on
government.
The colonists created a loose league of
friendship under "The Articles of
Confederation.“
The Articles were a reaction to the unitary
system used in Britain in which all of the
power and sovereignty is vested in the central
government (States were stronger than
National Government)
7. The Popular Articles
"Each state retains its sovereignty, freedom, and
independence, and every power, jurisdiction, and right,
which is not by this Confederation expressly delegated."
Members of Congress were appointed by state
legislatures; individuals could not serve more than three
out of any six years.
Only the central government is allowed to conduct foreign
policy and to war. No states may have navies or standing
armies, or engage in war, without permission of Congress
(although the state militias are encouraged).
Expenditures by the United States will be paid by funds
raised by state legislatures, and apportioned to the states
based on the real property values of each.
Defines the rights of the central government: to declare
war, to set weights and measures (including coins), and
for Congress to serve as a final court for disputes between
states.
Declares that the articles are perpetual, and can only be
altered by approval of Congress with ratification by all the
state legislatures.
8. Not So Well-Known Articles
Article 4: “This is a fake article”
Article 12: “No one will really read d@#*n thing”
Article 6: “See article 12”
Article 14: 2 eggs, beaten
2 tablespoons sugar
Pinch salt
1/2 cup molasses 2 teaspoons baking soda
1/3 cup boiling water
1 1/2 cups sifted flour
1 1/2 cups cranberries, cut in half
Washington’s recipe for Cranberry Pudding (serves 6
to 8)
9. Problems Under the Articles of
Confederation
Congress had trouble getting a quorum of nine
states to conduct business
The Congress had no power to tax. States
coined their own money and trade wars
erupted.
Congress had no power to regulate commerce
among the states or ensure a unified monetary
system.
States conducted foreign relations without
regard to neighboring states' needs or wants.
Duties, tariffs, and taxes on trade proliferated
with different ones in each state.
10. America Under the Articles
The economy began to deteriorate. Several
years of bad harvests ensued. Farmers went
into ever-deeper debt.
Many leaders worried about questions of
defense, trade, and frontier expansion.
Under the Articles, the central government
was not strong enough to cope with these
problems.
By 1786, several states had called for a
convention to discuss ways of strengthening
the national government.
11. Last Straw: Shays’s Rebellion
In Massachusetts, banks were
foreclosing on farms and the
Massachusetts legislature enacted a
new law requiring all debts be paid
in cash.
Daniel Shays, a Revolutionary War
veteran, was outraged and
frustrated with the new law and the
huge debt burden of farmers.
Shays led a group of 1500 armed
and disgruntled farmers to the
capital, Springfield. They forcibly
prevented the state court from
foreclosing on their farms.
12. Shays' Rebellion
Congress authorized the
Secretary of War to call
up a national militia to
respond and provided
$530,000. Every state
except Virginia refused.
A private army put down
Shays' Rebellion.
Failure of Congress to
protect the citizens and
property of Americans
was a glaring example of
the weakness of the
Articles.
13. Writing the Constitution
On February 21, 1787, Congress called for a
Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia "for the
sole and express purpose of revising the Articles of
Confederation.“
In May, the convention met and the Virginia
delegation suggested they throw out the Articles
and devise a new system of government!
This act could be considered treason, so they
adopted a pledge of secrecy (nailed windows shut)
14. The Virginia and New Jersey Plans
The delegates submitted plans for a new
government.
The Virginia Plan proposed that sovereignty be
vested in the people and not the states.
The New Jersey Plan would have primarily
strengthened the Articles by giving Congress the
ability to raise revenues and would have kept a
unicameral legislature chosen by state
legislatures.
15. The Great Compromise
Connecticut offered a compromise
taking elements of each plan.
The legislature would be bicameral
with the lower house (House of
Representatives)based on population
and the upper house (Senate) premised
on equal representation for the states.
Both houses had to pass all legislation
so both small and large states were
satisfied.
19. Anti-Federalist Opposition to This
In general, the Anti-
Federalists viewed
the Constitution as a
threat to five
cherished values
Law
Political Stability
The Principles of the
Declaration of
Independence
To Federalism
Anti-Commericalism
20. What’s special about states’ rights?
Anti-Federalists believed that
effective administration could
only exist in states with a small
territory with a homogenous
population.
In large, diverse republics,
many significant differences in
condition, interest, and habit
have to be ignored for the sake
of uniform administration.
A large national government
would impose uniform rules
despite American diversity,
resulting in hardship and
inequity in many parts of the
country.
21. The Federalist Papers
A set of essays, written by Hamilton, James Madison,
and John Jay, and published in New York newspapers
under the pseudonym Publius.
During the ratification controversy, these essays were
circulated nationally.
The essays linked opposition to the new Constitution
with hot-headed liberals (Patrick Henry) and those with
a vested interest in maintaining a weak government
(George Clinton).
22. Federalist #10, Madison
This essay explains how the
Constitution protects against a
tyranny of the majority,
without resort to dictatorship.
The key to understanding
Madison’s argument is that
the tyrant is an individual or
group who, if given power,
would harm others in pursuit
of self-interest.
A faction is the term to
describe an individual or
group seeking that power.
23. Federalist #10:
Enlightened Statesmen
“It is in vain to say that
enlightened statesmen will be
able to adjust these clashing
interests and render them all
subservient to the public good.
Enlightened statesmen will not
always be at the helm. Nor, in
many cases, can such an
adjustment be made without
taking into view indirect and
remote considerations, which
will rarely prevail over the
immediate interest which one
party may find in disregarding
the rights of another or the
good of the whole.”
24. Federalist #10: Minority Factions
A minority faction can be
controlled through
elections.
The minority “may clog
he administration, it may
convulse the society; but
it will be unable to
execute and mask its
violence under the forms
of the Constitution.”
25. Federalist #51
Why do we need the
separation of
powers?
Because individuals
given power will use
it for personal
advantage.
“If men were angels,
no government
would be necessary.”
26. Federalist #51: Checks and Balances
A constitution must balance two aims:
sufficient capacity for governance and effective
control over the leadership.
A system of checks and balances was what
Montesquieu meant, rather than a strict
separation of powers.
To function effectively, the system of checks
and balances requires multiple branches of
government.
Each branch must be independent from the
others.
Each branch must sufficient power to hold the
others in check.
