History Constitution Study Guide

Jake

1/12/2008

The Constitution Study Guide

The Origins

Shay’s Rebellion let everyone know that security…	Was a national issue, not just a local issue
What was the goal of the Virginia Plan?	To scrap the existing Articles of Confederation and make something new
What were the two major points of the Virginia Plan?	1. Whatever we come up with at the end of the convention, it must be stronger than the Articles of Confederation 2. The realization/given/consensus that whatever government we have, it must have three branches
What did the breakdown of the three branches look like?	· Legislative o Proportional representation, majority rules (biased towards big states, like Virginia) o Has the power to make national laws that pertain to all states, supersedes state law, regulate tradem power to tax and spend, and impeach, legislate on any issue o The stronger house, the House of Representatives, would be elected by the people, while the Senate would be chosen by the House · Executive o One person, chosen by the senate o Commands the army, negotiates treaties · Judicial o Supreme Court ran the Judicial Branch, under which there was Inferior Courts o Judges were elected by the Senage o Arbitrator and mediator in disputes between states, citizens, and the national government and any other party
What was the goal of the New Jersey plan?	To revise the Articles of Confederation
What is the breakdown of the three Branches like?	§ Legislative · Unicameral, only the Senate · State legislatures would elect the Senators · Up until 1913, the people never elected Senators · Equal representation, favored he small states · Minority rights instead of majority rule · Could legislate on all monetary issues, but that’s it § Executive · Council of people, appointed by the Senate · Relatively weak § Judicial · Supreme Court · Judges were chosen by the Senate · Says that if the state courts have any problems, they should go directly to the Supreme Court
Who made the Great Compromise?	Roger Sherman
What did the breakdown of the branches look like?	§ Legislative · House will have proportional representation · Senate will have equal representation · All money bills will begin in the House, because the House’s representatives will be elected by the people § Executive · President will be elected by the Electoral College § Judicial · Will have a Supreme Court and Inferior Courts · Judges would be chosen by the President, in consultation with the Legislative Branch
What was the three-fifths compromise?	Said that three out of five slaves counted towards taxation and representation. The South said that they wanted the slaves to be counted for population (for better representation), but not for taxation (so they could keep their money)

The Need

What were the two problems that needed solving?	1. States feared that a central government would have far too much power. They wanted the power for themselves. 2. If they made a central government, some states could have more power than others. Power could be based on population of states or wealth of states, and this scared the smaller states.
What were the two solutions?	1. A weak government was created (weak meaning that they cannot enforce the laws, even if every single state agrees). 2. Each state got a single vote in Congress.
Who was more powerful under the Articles – the congress or the states?	The states.
List some weaknesses of the Articles.	o No money and no power to get it – no taxing o No power over the state governments – they can say whatever they want but nobody has to listen o Unfair competition between states – They couldn’t regulate trade between states o Unenforceable trade agreements – You can make all these great deals with other countries, but you can’t go through with it o Threats to citizen’s rights to property – There was nothing in the Articles to protect the citizens’ rights to property
What were four differences between the states?	o Different policies regarding borders o Different policies regarding trade with foreign nations o Different currency for every state o Different taxes for every state
Where did Alexander Hamilton propose they meet, and who showed up?	Alexander Hamilton proposed that the leaders meet in Annapolis, Maryland in September 1786. Only 5 of the 13 states showed up, and Maryland wasn’t one of them, even though it was held there!

The Vocabulary

Give basic definitions for these words:
Amend	Change
Ratify	Accept
Veto	Reject
Appeal	Challenge
Repeal	Take back
Impeach	Accuse
Republicanism	indirectly represents the people political orientation of those who hold that a republic is the best form of government
Federalism	division of power among levels of government
Separation of Powers	division of governmental authority among the three branches of government: executive, legislative, and judicial branch. The US Constitution uses this principle in setting up the presidency, the Congress, and the courts.
Limited Government	A government in which the people limit the power of their leaders.
Checks and Balances	The ways in which each branch of government limits the powers of the other branches of government.

The Challenge

What is the challenge confronting Madison?	How should the Constitution address the awesome responsibility of power
What’s his solution?	Factions.
What is a faction?	A number of citizens, as a minority or majority, who are united by some common impulse of passion or of interest adverse to the rights of other citizens.
What does “Liberty is to factions…what air is to fire” mean?	Liberty is what factions need to operate, like fire needs air. But you can’t take away all the liberty just the same as you can’t take away all the air.
What are some examples of factions from Madison’s time?	Property owners, debtors, manufacturing, mercantile, moneyed
What are some examples of factions from our time?	Political parties, issue groups, lobbyists, unions, coalition groups
What are Madison’s ideas of Pure Republic and Pure Democracy?	o Pure Republic: A government in which a scheme of representation takes place o Pure Democracy: A society consisting of a small number of citizens who assemble and administer the government in person
According to Madison, how is a Republic different from a Democracy?	o A Republic can delegate government responsibilities with a smaller number of citizens o A Republic can include a greater “sphere of the country”…or greater interests spanning the country § Though less people in the room, Madison believes that the idea of a Republic has the ability to represent more people than a Democracy
Advantages of the Republic	o Republic is the government which can break and control the violence of factions o Republic provides a greater forum for more citizens representing different factions to participate and thereby reduce the potential “factious combinations” o Republic can provide a “medium of a chosen body of citizens whose wisdom may best discern the true interests of their country”
What were Madison’s two goals of how power should be in this new system of government.	Power should be: 1. Balanced 2. Limited

The Problems

How was the weather during the convention?	Hot, humid, muggy, and insufferable, full of flies, much like the movie 1776 – In fact, the Constitution was being debated in the same room!! Independence Hall
What were the expectations before the convention?	They knew that the Articles of Confederation would eventually fail, and pressure was rising. There’s a strong need for compromise, and should they fail at this, other countries will ridicule them for talking big and acting little when it came to actually being independent.
What were the Domestic problems during 1787? (the ‘time bombs’)	The Congress had no real power, and they had all printed too many bills that were all now worthless, border disputes between the states became a problem, insecurity of peoples’ property rights, and the threat of Native Americans attacking
What were the International problems during 1787 (the ‘time bombs’)	The Spanish own Florida and New Orleans, France wants their loans paid back, and Britain is still a threat
What was the fear?	The fear is that the time bombs can blow up at any time, and if they don’t diffuse them as quickly as possible, they could lose their independence. Because of Britain’s tyranny, they have paranoia of a central government becoming too strong. They don’t want power to corrupt them.
What were the three crucial procedural decisions made?	o The only binding vote these people have is their final vote § All that debating and arguing and semantics are OK…but in the end, you either sign it or you don’t, and that’s what matters. o They decided to keep their debate a secret § Irony, oxymoron, hypocrisy - “We the People”…were not consulted o The President of the Assembly was George Washington, chosen unanimously by all 13 states
What was the “Representation” problem?	Larger states wanted their representation to be based on population, but smaller states wanted it all to be equal.
What was the “Slavery” problem?	The North wanted to abolish slavery, but the South depended on it agriculturally and therefore economically. They can’t control slavery itself, but they can say no to the future slave trade.
What is missing from the Constitution?	The Bill of Rights
Why do we celebrate September 17th as “Constitution Day”?	September 17th, 1787 is the day the Constitution was signed. It ends the convention. More than a majority of the 55 have signed it, the question now is whether or not the states will ratify it.