About fifty two delegates from all of the states aside for Rhode Island met to discuss what should be done about the Articles of Confederation. They were the elite of the nation, among them:
1. George Washington
2. Benjamin Franklin
3. James Madison
4. Alexander Hamilton
It was realized to be un-amendable so they decided to work on a new program. This meeting came to be known as the Constitutional Convention.
They worked on a system of government that would be successful. They came up with a bundle of compromises:
1. Great compromise- should people be represented by the state, where every state has an equal number of votes, or should people be represented by population? The Great compromise did both- they set up a government with a legislative branch, which allows for both types of representation. Congress has two branches:
a. House of Representatives- nation is represented by the population. Every ten years the nation is recounted and then the representatives are re-portioned.
b. Senate- nation is represented by the state. Every state sends two representatives.
2. Three-Fifths compromise- issue of whether the slaves should be counted in the population or not. The compromise was that three-fifths of the slaves should be counted.
3. Commerce compromise- the North wanted the government to protect their businesses. They wanted the government to tax imports so foreign goods would be more expensive. The South was worried that the minute the government got involved in business they would also get involved in the slave trade so a compromise was agreed upon- imports would be taxed. Exports wouldn’t be taxed and slavery wouldn’t be touched for twenty years.
4. Electoral compromise- how should the president be elected? The mass can’t pick so the Electoral College was put into place. Every state will vote for electors and these electors will vote for the president.
5. Separation of powers- divided the powers of the government into three branches:
a. Legislative branch= congress- makes the laws. Compromised of the House of Representatives and Senate.
b. Executive branch- carries out the laws. Compromised of the president and his cabinet members.
c. Judicial branch- interprets the laws of the Supreme Court.
Each branch checks on the others so that no branch is more powerful than the other.
Making of the laws- the president can suggest a law to the legislative branch. They can either veto or pass the law. The president also has the power to veto a law. Congress can override the president’s veto. To pass a law, Congress needs a simple majority. To override a presidential veto, Congress needs a two-thirds vote. The judicial branch can declare a law unconstitutional.
No one is above the law; everyone can be removed from office. The president can be impeached by the House of Representatives and the Senate acts as the jury.
6. How should power be divided between the state and the federal government? There is a system of federalism- certain powers are only delegated to certain governments:
a. Federal government:
1. The power to coin money
2. Declare wars
3. Make treaties
4. Regulate trade interstate
b. State government:
1. State elections
2. Licensing
3. Education
4. Intrastate relagation
c. Concurrent powers:
1. Taxes
2. Setting up a court system
3. Borrowing money
4. Making roads
The framers decided that only nine of the thirteen states needed to vote in the affirmative for the constitution to be radified.
There were many disagreements in the states among the:
1. Anti- Federalists- they felt the constitution gave too many rights to the government and the people’s wishes wouldn’t be honored. They said they wouldn’t sign unless a Bill of Rights is passed.
2. Federalists- they said it was good and protective enough of the people’s rights.
The Federalists Papers were the articles they wrote pro the constitution. The authors were:
1. John Jay
2. James Madison
3. Alexander Hamilton
Nine out of thirteen states did radify the constitution and it became the law of the land. New York and Virginia didn’t sign, so they worked out a Bill of Rights and now everybody signed.
The constitution begins with the preamble- people have the right to govern. This is a government of the people not the state and people are governing. It also states why a new government is being formed.
There are seven articles in the constitution:
1. Legislative branch- the law making body= Congress. The founding fathers said that this is the central branch of the government because it is the closest to the people.
Congress has two houses:
a. The House of Representatives- lower. It is more directly connected with the people. It represents the people by population. A representative serves for two years and can get reelected for as many terms as he’s able to. In order to be a representative, one must be at least twenty-five years of age and have been a US citizen for seven years.
b. The Senate- also known as the upper house. It’s somewhat removed from the people to keep it stable. Senators were originally chosen by the state government, but in 1913 the seventeenth amendment changed that and the people now elect their senators. Senators serve a six year term to keep it stable. Only one-third of Senate is elected at a time. To be a senator, one must be at least thirty years of age and a US citizen for nine years.
The House can issue articles of impeachment. When the house impeaches, the Senate tries the case.
A bill is a law before it becomes a law. Section seven of article one discusses how a bill becomes a law-a bill is introduced in either the House or Senate. It has to be approved by a majority of the House and Senate, and then it goes to the president who either signs it as law or vetoes it. If the president vetoes it, Congress has the power to override the presidential veto with a two- thirds vote. The president has something known as the pocket veto- when a bill is presented to the president, he has ten days to decide what he wants to do. If a bill is presented late and the president doesn’t have the ten days, he is able stick the bill into his “pocket” and this veto can’t be overridden.
Congressional tactics:
a. Special interest groups/lobbying- there are people that stand in the lobby of the White House and talk to the Congressman
b. Filibustering- to talk and talk so Congress doesn’t pass a law. This only happens in the Senate.
c. Log rolling- Congressman vote for each other’s bills using the tactic of “if you vote for me I’ll vote for you”.
Congressmen are salaried workers. They also have many privileges:
a. Fully staffed offices
b. Franking privileges- free postage
c. Exempt from certain laws.
d. Tax the people
e. Borrow money
f. Regulate trade with foreign nations
g. Declare war
h. Set up an army
i. Coin money
In addition, Congress has the power of the elastic clause, also known as the necessary and proper clause. This gives Congress the power to stretch the constitution in order to carry out the above duties. Over the years there have been presidents who have stretched the elastic clause very far, giving the government more power.
Powers that are denied to Congress:
a. They can’t take away a trial by jury
b. They can’t take away the writ of Habeas Corpus
c. They can’t pass ex post facto laws, making something illegal that when you did it was legal.
Powers that are denied to the state:
a. Regulate trade between states
b. Make treaties
c. Declare war
2. Executive branch- consists of the president, vice president and the cabinet. To be president, one must be at least thirty-five years of age and be a naturally born American.
Electing the president: The founding fathers were concerned that the people weren’t educated enough to choose their own president so they set up the Electoral College. This way, the people choose their electors who then choose the president. The amount of electors every state receives is equal to the number of representatives in the House plus two. The Electoral College did not work out the way the founding fathers expected and it definitely has many problems with it. Now, it is just a number of votes for the president to win a majority of in order for him to become president. In regard to the electoral votes, it’s winner takes all. It is possible to become president by winning the majority in the eleven biggest states. The Electoral College benefits the smaller states because they get more of a representation. A problem that occurred four times was that someone won the popular vote, but not the electoral vote.
Order of succession- if the president dies in office:
a. Vice president
b. Speaker of the house- the most important member of the House and Congress
The president lives in the white house as a salary worker. His salary doesn’t get changed while he’s in office.
The president’s duties:
a. Chief executive:
1. Enforces the laws and makes sure it’s carried out
2. In charge of a huge bureaucracy
3. He can pass a law without Congress by executive order if he sees it is desperately needed.
4. Appoints judges and ambassadors- the Senate has to agree though.
b. Chief diplomat:
1. Meets with ambassadors
2. Makes and signs treaties- needs two- thirds of the Senate’s approval.
c. Commander in chief of the US armed forces- works together with Congress to make wars.
d. Chief legislature- he can veto and suggest laws.
e. Head of state (ex. Put on wreath or light menorah)
f. Judicial powers- grants pardons.
g. Head of his political party- he sets the tone for his party. Since there were no political parties when the constitution was written, so this is known as the unwritten constitution.
The constitution said that a president could serve forever but no one ever did. They all served for two terms until FDR. Then, in 1951 the twenty- second amendment was passed stating that a president could only serve two terms in office.
The vice president serves as the tie breaker in Senate. Senate is always an even number so if there is a tie, the vice president is there to resolve that problem.
3. Judiciary branch- there are nine members. They are appointed for life (by the president with the Senates’ approval) because the founding fathers wanted them to be above politics.
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