The Founding

• Constitution-Making Period: 1776-1791
  • Declaration of Independence: 1776
  • Articles of Confederation: 1777-1787
  • Constitution: 1787-1791, and the Bill of Rights: 1791

Declaration of Independence

• British need revenue: tax colonies
• Taxes affect merchants and planters, who ally with more radical shopkeepers and farmers
• Colonies consider independence
• What is  the Declaration of Independence?
  • Principles and reasons why we wont obey England
  • Describe in our  terms...?

Articles of Confederation

• Our first try...focus on limiting government
• Problems:
  • lack of Protection, Force, Commercial Uniformity
• Competition and radicals’ influence scares merchants and planters
• If British were too oppressive...the articles were too chaotic
  [web extra: Comparing the Articles and the Constitution]

Constitutional Convention

• Delegate characteristics:
  [web extra: Georgia's delegates]
  
  • Wealthy, well educated, property owners
  • White, Male
  • Is this reflected in the Constitution?
    [web extra: Wikipedia entry for Charles Beard's "An Economic Interpretation of the Constitution"]
    [web extra: download "An Economic Interpretation of the Constitution"]

Features of the Constitution

• Compromise: reinforce unity
  • Great or Connecticut compromise
  • Three-fifths compromise
• Powers and Limits
  • Promote commerce, protect property, limit “excessive democracy”
  • Identifiable principles, Division of power

Features of the Constitution

• Separation of Powers
  • Congress makes laws, Executive enforces laws, Courts interpret laws
  • Federalism: federal and state governments
• Why do this?
• Checks and Balances: examples...
  • Veto, Impeachment, Judicial Review
• Flexibility
  • Procedural (how , not what)
    [web extra: Federalist No. 10 in the New York Daily Advertiser, Nov. 22, 1787, it's hard to see, but it begins in the lower portion of the second column]
  • Amendment Process: 2 steps (proposal, ratify)
  • Incomplete (and open to interpretation)
• Constroversies
  • Enumerated v. Imiplied; Federalists v. Anti-Federalists
• End chapter 2

Federalism

• Divided power: federal & state governments
• Exclusive Powers:
  • Delegated Powers (Federal): Expressed & Implied
• Reserved Powers (States)
• Concurrent Powers (both)
• Obligations: Nation to states; States: “full faith & credit”, “privileges & immunities”

Eras of Federalism

• "Dual Federalism" (1850s to 1930s)
  • “Layer cake” model
    • Federal: Defense, Commerce; State/Local: "Police"
  • Court: Federal government can't regulate work -- not commerce
• Seeds of national power: Commerce
• McCulloch v. Maryland (1819), Gibbons v. Ogden (1824)
• Great Depression (1930s) : exhausts states
• 1937: Court takes expanded view of commerce
• Co-operative Federalism (1930s to today)
  • “Marble cake” model
• Indirect action: Fiscal Federalism, Grans-in-aid
• New Federalism: more state authority
• End chapter 3