Notes

Articles of confederation
-decentralize government
-state's rights
framers were keen on rejecting monarchy.
Articles limited government to prevent tyranny.
Events like Shays’s Rebellion illustrated the danger in taking this idea to a extreme
Republicanism-is a form of government in which the people are represented by elected leaders.
Government gains legitimacy because people have a say in who runs it; that is, the people consent to be governed (popular sovereignty)
The main purpose of government is to ensure natural rights that are defined in the Declaration of Independence
• “Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness”
Federalists-who supported a stronger national government
Antifederalists-who preferred a weaker national government
-Majority Rule versus Minority Rights
• Madison believed that tyranny can
best be prevented by encouraging a
diverse array of groups and
interests to form (pluralism)
-Small States versus Large States
Virginia Plan (favoring large states)
New Jersey Plan (favoring small states)
Outcome: Great Compromise
-Legislative versus Executive Power
How much power should the president have relative to the legislative branch?
How many members should there be in the executive branch?
How should the president be selected?
• Framers rejected a parliamentary system in which the legislative and executive
branches are closely aligned in favor of a presidential system.
-National Power versus State Power
Recall: national government was too weak under Articles of Confederation
• But many still feared a tyrannical national government
A series of compromises led to the division of power across multiple levels of
government (federalism)
• National supremacy clause: national laws prevail if there is a conflict
between state and federal policy
• Reserved powers: any powers not granted to the national government
and not prohibited to the states are reserved to the states
-Slave States versus Nonslave States (cont. 1)
Restriction of slavery in future
Treatment of runaway slaves
How to count slave population
• Three-Fifths Compromise
-Two Competing Philosophies
Federalists advocated in favor of the Constitution
Antifederalists were wary of the new government
Both wrote a series of essays to make their case to the American people
Compromise was reached with the addition of the Bill of Rights
-The Constitutional Framework (cont.)
Checking powers
• Powers of one branch over another
Congress has the power to impeach the president and other federal officials
for abuse of power, including “Treason, Bribery, or other High Crimes or
Misdemeanors”
Congress is also authorized to raise and spend money (power of the purse),
allowing it to influence other branches by freezing or cutting their funding
The courts have the power to deem actions by the legislative or executive
branches unconstitutional (judicial review)
-Implied powers are those not explicitly stated in the Constitution but that can
be inferred to exist via an enumerated power
• Example: the Constitution grants the president authority to appoint officials in
the executive branch but says nothing about removing them
The practical meaning of various Constitutional provisions has evolved over
time