Date post: | 26-Dec-2014 |
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US Constitutional Law
History and Basic Principles
What We Already Know
● Name the three branches of government.● What does each do?● Give examples of how they check one another.● How is the President elected?● How and how often are the members of
Congress elected?● How are federal judges selected? How long do
they serve?
What We Are Going to Learn
● How federalism works in America and what this has to do with President Obama's health care law.
● What specific powers each branch has.● The kinds of cases the Supreme Court can hear.● The protections granted to individuals and the
role the Court plays in enforcing these protections.
The Beginning
● 1492: Italian explorer Christopher Columbus lands in the “new world.”
● 1507: First time “new world” is labeled as “America.”
● 1513: Spanish explorer Ponce de Leon lands in present-day Florida
German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller'sworld map, the earliest known use of “America”
First Settlements
● 1565: founding of St. Augustine
● 1607: Jamestown colony founded
● 1614: New Amsterdam founded
● 1620: Pilgrims land on “Plymouth rock”.
The Mayflower
Consolidation of Power
● 1674: Dutch cede territory to Britain.
● 1732: 13 British colonies now exist from Mass. to Georgia.
● 1754: Proposal to form common defense policy defeated by colonial legislatures.
● 1763: Britain consolidates power after Seven Years War
Seeds of Conflict
● 1765 – Parliament passes
Stamp Act
– 9 of 13 colonies meet in secret congress.
– Parliament repeals Act but gives self authority to pass laws regarding colonies.
Beginning of the End
● 1773: residents of Boston throw tea into Boston harbor in response to new taxes.
● 1774: Parliament passed “Intolerable Acts”
Nathaniel Currier's 1846 depiction of the Boston Tea Party
Prelude to War
● 1774: 13 colonies form Continental Association.
● 1775: Parliament passes New England Restraining Acts
● 1775: Battle of Lexington and Concord
● 1775: 2nd Continental Congress formed.
British entering Concord
To Sum Up
No More Kings children's video created by the Schoolhouse Rockproject as part of the 1976 Bicentennial celebration.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-9pDZMRCpQ
Beginnings of a Union
● 1775: Second Continental Congress– All 13 colonies
represented
– Continental army formed under command of Washington.
– Olive Branch Petition rejected by King
● Powers of the Congress– Form army
– Obtain loans
– Issue money
– NO power to tax!
1776
● May– congress instructs all
colonies to form “revolutionary governments.”
– Virginia convention instructs its delegates to propose declaration of independence.
● June– Resolutions of
Independence first proposed.
– Committee of five appointed to draft formal declaration● Adams, Jefferson, Franklin
Declaration of Independence
Adopted July 4th– What are the grievances?
– Principles of governance listed?
Independence
● 1776 – committee formed to create “Articles” of statehood.
● 1781 – Articles of Confederation adopted by 13 states.
● 1781 – war ends with the surrender of Cornwallis.
● 1783 – Britain formally recognizes United States of America.
American Constitutional Law
Articles of Confederation
Articles 1 - 3
● Establishes the name of the confederation as "The United States of America."
● "Each state retains its sovereignty, freedom, and independence, and every power, jurisdiction, and right, which is not by this Confederation expressly delegated."
● Establishes the United States as a new nation, a sovereign union of sovereign states
Article 4 - 6
● Article 4 - Establishes freedom of movement and defines which government entity shall define rights.
● Article 5 – defines voting rights of each state in new Congress.
● Article 6 – defines who conducts foreign relations and under what circumstances a state can have a standing army.
Articles 7 - 9
● Article 7 – sets forth how federal army will be formed.
● Article 8 – sets forth how federal government will be funded.
● Article 9 - defines the powers of the central government.– Declare war, set weights & measures, settle disputes
between states.
Articles 10 - 13
● Article 10 – creates government when Congress is not in session.
● Article 11 – sets forth requirements for admission of new states.
● Article 12 – deals with debts from Revolutionary War.
● Article 13 – reaffirms idea of perpetual union and says all changes must be by unanimous vote of the states.
Result: a weak federal government
● No power to tax– Power to raise army is meaningless without this.
● No direct representation– Representatives are chosen by state legislature.
● Changes must be made by unanimous vote● States are binding themselves for limited
purposes.– This is more of a treaty or association, than a country.
Prelude to the Constitution
New Jersey vs. Virginia Plans
● Both sought to change the nature of the federal government.
● New Jersey plan sought to protect the power of the smaller states.
● Virginia plan sought to enhance the power of the larger states.
● Neither plan truly envisioned a completely new constitution.
The U.S. Constitution
● A series of compromises in response to divisions between:– North and South, Big and Small, Federalist and Anti-Federalist
● Draft Constitution was adopted by Constitutional Convention on September 17, 1787– 39 of 55 delegates from 12 states voted in favor
– Rhode Island did not send a delegation
● All 13 states eventually voted in favor of the new Constitution.– Rhode Island being the last state in 1790.
Basic Principles
● Popular Sovereignty– A government created for the people, by the people.
● By the people – the “people's representatives” wrote and adopted the structure.
● For the people – to serve the people, not monarchy, not special interests.
● Rule of Law– A government guided by a set of laws, rather than by
any individual or group entity.● Think of how common law began.
Basic Principles
● Judicial Review– The establishment of the Supreme Court as the
judicial branch's authoritative institution, and the resulting power of judicial review.
● Individual Rights– Protection of individual rights and liberties against
government encroachment.
Basic Principles
● Separation of Powers and a System of Checks and Balances– A separation of powers and distribution of functions
and responsibilities among three separate government branches, and a system of checks and balances to calibrate those powers.
● Federalism– A federalist system whereby governing power is
shared between the national government and the individual state governments.