The Confederation of States• How did the U.S. operate politically before the
Constitution was created?• Confederation- a voluntary association of
independent sovereign states that meet for mutual needs.
• America’s first written constitution was the Articles of Confederation adopted in 1777.– The Congress was a unicameral legislature made
up of representatives from the states (2-7 per state).
– Each state had only one vote regardless of size.– State sovereignty was a major issue.
The Compromises
• The Connecticut Plan: The Great Compromise– lower house- House of Representatives would be
determined by the number of people in a state.– upper house- the Senate would have two members from
each state elected by legislature.
• The Three-Fifths Compromise– Five slaves for every three free persons would be
counted for both tax and representation purposes.
• The Slavery Question- Banning Export Taxes– Compromise that Congress could limit the number of
slaves imported after 1808. – Trying to ban slavery would have meant no constitution
The Debate Over Ratification• Federalists• Federalist Papers Defended Constitution
(Hamilton, Jay, Madison)– Those who favored a strong central government and
the new constitution.
• Anti-Federalists (Patrick Henry, Sam Adams)– Those who opposed the adoption of the Constitution
did so because of the document’s centralist tendencies and because it also did not include a bill of rights. Tyranny would result.
• Constitution was eventually ratified by all 13 states.
The Constitutional Division of PowersThe Constitutional Division of Powers• The Federalist-Anti-Federalist debate had a major
impact on the division of powers between Federal and State governments.
• Anti-Federalists received some of what they wanted:• State boundaries had to be protected• 10th Amendment (BOR) “reserved to the states all
powers not delegated to the federal government. • Federalists also received some of their desires:
• Delegated Powers (Clearly Stated in Constitution)• Necessary and Proper Clause (Implied Powers)• Supremacy Clause- “Laws of the national
government are the supreme Law of Land”
The Constitution’s Major Principles of Government
• Limited Government and Popular Sovereignty
• Federalism– The central government shares sovereign
powers with several state governments.
• Checks and Balances – no group or branch can have total control
• Madisonian Model- Separation of Powers Among Three Branches
The Constitution’s MajorPrinciples of Government
• The Bill of Rights
• Compromise with the anti-federalists to
secure the ratification of the Constitution.
• Protection of individual liberties against violations by the national government.
The Politics of Homeland Security• The Constitution and the War on Terrorism• Civil liberties under fire
– Patriot Act allows government agents to conduct search/seizures without warrants or probable cause
– Govt. has right to read your mail, your travel plans, financial records etc.
• Tampering with the System of Checks and Balances– Debate regarding the size and power of DOHS– Compromise is that Congress has oversight
powers