Objectives 1 Students will be able to identify
Objectives 1. Students will be able to identify the central principles of the U. S. Constitution. 2. Students will be able to express their opinion about direct democracy after examining current propositions that are going before the people of California.
The US: the early Years
The Constitution: Origins and Justification
The American Revolution • What’s so Revolutionary about the Revolutionary War – Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence • Roots in John Locke’s theory of revolution
The Concord Hymn by Ralph Waldo Emerson (1836) • By the rude bridge that arched the flood, Their flag to April’s breeze unfurled, Here once the embattled farmers stood, And fired the shot heard round the world. The foe long since in silence slept; Alike the conqueror silent sleeps; And Time the ruined bridge has swept Down the dark stream which seaward creeps. On this green bank, by this soft stream, We set to-day a votive stone; That memory may their deed redeem, When, like our sires, our sons are gone. Spirit, that made those heroes dare, To die, and leave their children free, Bid Time and Nature gently spare The shaft we raise to them and thee. •
The Declaration of Independence • We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. --That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.
Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence in this Home ( a few block from Independence Hall, Philadelphia
The Flow of Power in three Geographic Distributions of Power 1. Unitary form: Central government controls states. 2. Federal form: shared power between national and state governments 3. Confederal form: states join together in a league, with the national government having limited powers.
The Articles of Confederation: The First Constitution • Established by the Second Continental Congress in 1777 and ratified by the last state in 1781 • Congress of the Confederation met to manage the government. • Had the power to Manage foreign affairs and borrow money • Lacked the ability to tax directly or compel states to pay costs
The Weakness of the Articles of Confederation Unicameral Congress: one state, one vote most bills require nine out 13 votes Answerable to the States Committee of the States: authorized to act when Congress not in session Officers of Congress: Limited executive power
Shays’ Rebellion • Rebellion (1786 -87) in Massachusetts against Courts to prevent trial and imprisonment of debtors. • Led by Daniel Shays, revolutionary war hero.
Reaction to Shays’ Rebellion • "I am mortified beyond expression when I view the clouds that have spread over the brightest morn that ever dawned in any country. . . What a triumph for the advocates of despotism, to find that we are incapable of governing ourselves and that systems founded on the basis of equal liberty are merely ideal and fallacious. " George Washington, 1786
The Philadelphia Convention • 1787 • Met to revise the Articles of Confederation • Key Figures: James Madison, George Washington, Alexander Hamilton James Madison George Washington
George Washington • Washington: The “stoic classical hero “Most people say and do too much. Washington never fell into this common error” (Brissot de Warvil • Freed his slaves upon his death to keep with Revolutionary norms, but did not think it was politically possible to end slavery • Deep concern with being the “virtuous leader” • Resembled an Elected Monarch – Too much familiarity was no way “to preserve the dignity and respect that was due to the first magistrate” Retired in 1796: thereby setting a precedent for the president not to become a dictator or monarch George Washington, by Gilbert Stuart (1796)
Revolutionary Personalities • “George Washington • “Franklin was a was but a noble British Republican by birth, officer, made a by labor, by instinct, Republican by and by thought. ” circumstances” • New York Times, 1856
Franklin: Symbolic figure • Age 70 in 1776 • Famous for discoveries concerning electricity • Both admired and attacked at the epitome of American bourgeois values and representing Americal social mobility • As a diplomat in France, Franklin became radical chic: the lover of liberty, republicanism, and equality – Wore a simple brown suit with a fur cap, no wig and no sword at versailles • Abolitionist • Signed both Declaration of Independence and U. S. Constitution
Epitaph written by Ben Franklin earlier in his life—found next to Franklin’s grave in Philadelphia
Jefferson • “The principles of Jefferson are the definitions and axioms of a free society” – Lincoln • The Jefferson that emerges from historical scholarship is: – Self-righteous guilt-ridden, racist, doctrinaire, • Contradictory depictions: Communitarian that favors the yeoman farmer – Leader of a democratic commercial future • Favored strong states, weak federal government, local government
Jefferson, the classical liberal • Jefferson wrote: The Declaration of Independence was “not to find out new principles, or new arguments, never before thought of…; but to place before mankind the common sense of the subject, in terms so plain and firm as to command their assent, and to justify ourselves in the independent stand we are compelled to take”
Alexander Hamilton • Favored a strong state that promoted business interests • In the tradition of progressive Republicanism (T. Roosevelt) • Shared Washington’s sense of the need for a strong executive
Madison: controversy • Madison: the Realist of Federalist 10 for strong federal power • Madison: the President, Democratic. Republican, afraid of excessive state power after Hamilton’s Bank of the United States
Key disputes of the Convention • Division of power between large states and small states – Virginia Plan (bicameral plan): lower house based on population that would then elect an upper house – New Jersey Plan (unicameral plan): one house with each state having one vote – Great Compromise (Connecticut Compromise) • Bicameral Congress: House (based on population) and Senate (with each state having two votes) • Three-Fifths Compromise regarding how slaves shall be counted for the purposes of representation.
Checks and Balances: Among the Branches
Figure 2. 1 Separation of Powers Separation of powers, as envisioned by the Founders, means not only that government functions are to be performed by different branches but also that officials of these branches are to be chosen by different people, for different terms, and to represent different constituencies.
Five Key Principles of the Constitution • • • Republicanism Federalism Separation of Powers Checks and Balances Civil Liberties and Civil Rights
The Framers would smooth conflicts of the day with evening libaations
Ratification debates • Federalists (e. g. , Madison, and Hamilton) – The Federalist Papers were designed to persuade states to favor the Constitution • Anti-Federalists (e. g. , Patrick Henry and Samuel Adams) – The Anti-Federalist Papers were designed to persuade states to oppose the Constitution • The Bill of Rights: reduced fears that the central government was too powerful
Ratification of the Constitution
Amendments to the Constitution
The Formal Constitutional Amending Procedure
114 th Congress: Selected Proposed amendment (updated 2015), from thomas. loc. gov 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. Corporations should not have first amendment rights Constitutional rights for people who born in this country only Parental rights amendment Protect rights of crime victims End income tax End term limits for President Right to health care Abolish electoral college Define marriage as between a man and a woman only Amend 14 th amendment to limit citizenship to those who have parents who are citizens Limit terms of congressmembers
Amending the Constitution • Although 11, 000 amendments have been considered by Congress, only 33 have been submitted to the states after being approved, and only 27 have been ratified since 1789. 11, 000 27
Constitutional Change • Formal Amendments • Judicial Review • New Precedents set by Congress or by the President US Supreme Court US Capitol The White House
Liberal Democracy (Republic) • A country based on the consent of the governed (competitive electoral system) • A country that protects individual civil and political rights
Two kinds of Democracy • A Republic: Elected representatives make laws for the people Roman Republic • Direct Democracy: the People directly make laws The Parthenon
Mechanism of Direct Democracy
The California Constitution The California People: Initiatives, Referendum and Recall Plural Executive State Legislature State Assembly(80) State Senate (40) Governor Lieutenant Governor Attorney General Secretary of State Insurance Commissioner Superintendent of Public Instruction Treasurer Controller Term limits to 12 yrs Total service in the legislature State Supreme Court (7)
Three tools of direct democracy in CA Two Kinds of Propositions: The Initiative—By petition , voters (5%) put a proposed bill on the ballot for voters to approve The Referendum---By petition (5%), the people approve or reject a state law. The Recall (12%): Removing an elected official
To qualify a Proposition: • Petitions proposing initiative statutes must be signed by registered voters. The number of signatures must be equal to at least 5% of the total votes cast for Governor at the last gubernatorial election. (Cal. Const. , art. II, § 8(b); § 9035) • Petitions proposing initiative constitutional amendments must be signed by registered voters. The number of signatures must be equal to at least 8% of the total votes cast for Governor at the last gubernatorial election. (Cal. Const. , art. II, § 8(b); § 9035) T 585, 407 (2016 Elections) • 365, 880 (2016 elections)
Selected Propositions Qualified for November 2016 election —for more recently qualified ones, go to Secretary of State CA website (1)School Bond measure for Construction (2) Safe Sex measure for Pornography production (3)Repeal the Ban on Plastic Bags at grocery stores Many Petitions are circulating to qualify additional propositions
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