United+States+Constitution

﻿ [|Assignment Page] =Creation of the Constitution =
 * Shay's Rebellion (1786) inspired revision of Articles - limited government was unable to stop rebels before they posed a serious threat
 * May - Sept. 1787: Constitutional Convention held in Philadelphia to revise Articles of Confederation; Founding Fathers realized Articles were a failure and the Constitution was drafted
 * 55 delegates of all states (except Rhode Island) attended
 * 39 delegates signed the Constitution on September 17, 1787
 * New Hampshire became 9th state to ratify Constitution, but the largest states New York and Virginia had not. Without their approval, the new government would not be successful.
 * Main disagreements: large vs small states, free vs slave states, strong state government vs strong national government
 * Antifederalists: opposed Constitution; feared there would be a tyrannical national government that would favor wealthy over common people, most importantly feared people's natural rights would be jeopardized
 * Bill of Rights: convinced states to ratify; first 10 amendments of Constitution, protected basic rights of American people
 * Constitution was officially ratified and effective in June 1788

Important people of the Constitutional Convention

 * //Benjamin Franklin// - oldest delegate of convention (age 81) and was therefore most experienced, created calm presence that kept convention going during tough times
 * //George Washington// - greatly admired man, support helped make Convention possible, leading figure of the meetings
 * //J////ames Madison -// contributed many ideas to Constitution, answered important questions regarding sovereignty and separation of powers; known as "Father of the Constitution" because played a huge role in planning and writing final document; kept a diary of the Convention that has now become best primary source for Constitutional Convention[[image:http://jdlong.files.wordpress.com/2009/04/constitutional-convention.jpg width="273" height="187" align="right" caption="Constitutional Convention"]]
 * proposed Virginia Plan - bicameral legislature (lower house = representation by population, upper house = elected by lower house), beneficial to large states because would have more representatives in lower house to vote, opposed by small states
 * //William Paterson// - proposed New Jersey Plan in favor of small states - unicameral legislature with equal representation, give Congress power to tax and regulate commerce (if taxation would be based on population, larger states would have to pay more), opposed by large states


 * Great Compromise (July 16, 1787): bicameral legislature (lower house = representation by population, upper house = 2 representatives per state; 3/5 Compromise: 3/5 slave population counted for representation and taxation
 * agreement was created by Connecticut delegates; major step toward formation of the new government

=** Wordle - Analysis of Important Words ** =

**Constitution of the United States**
media type="custom" key="7252503" Among the most used words in the Constitution are __states__, __state,__ __Congress__, __united__, __President__, __House__, and __Senate__. As the Constitution was being drafted, one of the biggest fears was creating another tyrannical government, like that of England. The ultimate purpose of the Constitution was to keep the nation __united__ while also making sure the American people and the government were under control. Before, the national government was too restricted and now that the national government was being given more power, the Founding Fathers found it necessary to keep certain rights to the __states__. __State__ rights included enumerated powers and any powers not specifically granted to __Congress__. __Congress__ is the entire legislative branch, consisting of the __House__ of Representatives and the __Senate__. The __President__ of the United States is the head of the executive branch and also the head of the nation. Although the __President__ does not make all the decisions and has limits to his/her power but has a large influence on the nation and its decisions. When the Constitution was written, the judicial branch was not of any large importance and is therefore not mentioned as often in the document.

**Bill of Rights**
media type="custom" key="7252517" The most repeated words in the Bill of Rights are __Constitution__, __amendment__, __states__, __right__, and __people__. The Bill of Rights is a list of 10 __amendments__ to the Constitution. The __amendments__ were added to make sure the __Constitution__ would protect the __rights__ of the __people__ and the __states__. Adding __amendments__ to the __Constitution__ showed that the Founding Fathers were open to the idea of changing the government when the time came. Many people feared the new, more powerful national government could become corrupt and violate the natural __rights__ of the __people__. __States__ feared their powers would be taken away and made sure specific state __rights__ were given, in addition to any powers not specifically assigned to the national government (10th amendment). The addition of the Bill of Rights made it possible for the largest states to ratify the __Constitution__.

=﻿Key Principles =
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Amendments
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Bill of rights - protects Americans' rights from possibly tyrannical government; first 10 amendments of Constitution --> showed Constitution could be changed to suit needs of United States in the future
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">9th amendment - protected rights of the people are not limited to those described in the Bill of Rights
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">10th amendment - powers not specifically assigned to the national government are given to the states
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Separation of powers - 3 branches of government: legislature, executive, judicial; ensured no tyranny
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Legislature (described in Article I of the Constitution)
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">lower house: House of Representatives, term = 2 years; upper house: Senate, term = 6 years
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Main powers: create laws, override vetoes with 2/3 vote, declare war, coin money, impeach officials, make taxes
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Congress has enumerated powers and general powers
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">General Welfare Clause: gives Congress power to make and collect taxes that are used to pay debts or to help the people
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Necessary and Proper Clause (Elastic Clause): gives Congress power to make/change laws as needed to better suit the nation
 * Change from Articles of Confederation: Congress was given more power and allowed to make taxes, coin money, and declare war
 * power to create taxes was very important in paying off large debts from previous wars and states
 * Executive (described in Article II of the Constitution)
 * consists of President, Vice President, the Cabinet, and federal agencies
 * Main powers: enforce laws, appoint judges, make treaties, veto bills, grant pardons
 * President and Vice President elected in same year, with 4 year terms each
 * President can only serve 2 terms max as of 1951, 22nd Amendment (originally given unlimited terms)
 * Judicial (described in Article III of Constitution)
 * consists of Supreme Court, Courts of Appeals, District Courts (judges serve for life)
 * District Courts: hold trials
 * Courts of Appeals: review appeals from district courts
 * Supreme Court: can declare law unconstitutional if brought to court (judicial review), review appeals from lower courts
 * was not originally meant to be of equal status with executive and legislative branches (under chief justice John Marshall, became equal with power of other two branches)
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Checks and Balances - gives each branch the power to slow down or stop an action taken by another branch; ensured no single branch would dominate
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Federalism - system with balance between state and national government
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">10th amendment //(see Amendments above)//
 * General Welfare Clause and Necessary and Proper Clause //(see Legislature above)//
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Supremacy principle: national law is greater than state law; Constitution states the national government is the "supreme law", any state law contradicting the national law is considered void
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Sovereignty - in theory, the power of the government came directly from the people, not from the federal or state government

=<span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">Why was the Constitution important? =
 * Fear of suppressing state rights = limited national government: Articles of Confederation proved to be unsuccessful because government was unable to deal with economic problems (could not enforce taxes to pay off debts) and was powerless in Shay's Rebellion; led to unstable nation
 * Constitution gave national government more power --> Americans began to develop more trust and hope towards new nation
 * Even though there would be changes in the future, the document laid the foundation for a new United States government
 * Created a government <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">unique to the rest of the world at the time; many admired the work and ideas of the Founding Fathers in the Constitution

=<span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">Key Principles Applied in History =
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Louisiana Purchase (1803)
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Thomas Jefferson believed that the government should only use the powers assigned by the Constitution and there was nothing in the document that mentioned acquiring new territory. Jefferson was pleased with the conditions of the treaty but had always supported a limited national government with strict construction and was unsure about accepting the Louisiana Purchase<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">. In the end, his advisors were able to persuade him to use his treaty-making power (given to him under the Constitution) to purchase Louisiana<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> and Jefferson<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> decided that if any harm should come to his decision, the future generations would fix the problems.


 * B<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">ank of the United States (1791)
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">As Secretary of Treasury, Alexander Hamilton<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> created an economic plan for the U.S.<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">, known as the Hamilton Program. One of the most controversial issues was the creation of a national bank. Many people opposed the Bank of the United States partly because the Constitution did not specifically give the government the power to make a national bank. Nonetheless, the Bank was granted a charter in 1791 to continue for 20 years. The creation of the national bank was allowed because of the Necessary and Proper Clause.
 * War of 1812
 * Under Article I, the legislature was given power to declare war. On June 18, 1812, the United States declared war against Britain. The United States declared war against Britain because the British had encouraged and provided Indians with weapons to fight Americans on the western border. Americans had also wanted to seize Florida from Spain, Britain's ally. President Madison was finally pressured by War Hawks in Congress to fight Britain and approved the declaration of war.
 * //McCulloch v. Maryland// (1819)
 * The state of Maryland tried to tax the national bank and James McCulloch refused to pay the tax. When the issue was brought to court, John Marshall, the chief justice at the time declared Maryland's tax on the national bank unconstitutional. The national bank was constitutional because it was necessary in carrying out Congress's power in collecting taxes, regulating commerce, and borrowing money. Marshall made it clear that national laws had supremacy over state laws.
 * //Scott v. Sandford// (1857)
 * Dred Scott and wife sued over freedom from slavery. They had lived in Illinois, a free state under the Missouri Compromise of 1820 and were brought to St. Louis, Missouri as slaves. The couple claimed they were considered free from living in a free state for so long. Chief Justin Roger B. Taney declared that Scott could not sue because he was not a citizen. He also declared Missouri Compromise unconstitutional because Congress did not have the power to ban slavery in any federal territory.
 * United States Declare War on Japan (1941)
 * The Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor near the Hawaiian Islands led to almost 3,000 deaths and injuries on December 7, 1941. A day later, President Franklin D. Roosevelt requested a declaration of war against Japan. Under the Constitution, Congress was able to declare war, which it did in 1941 during World War II. All of the Senate voted for war and in the House of Representatives, one representative voted against declaring war.




 * //U.S. v. Richard Nixon// (1974)
 * In Article I of the Constitution, the legislative branch is given the power to impeach federal officials, including the President. President Richard Nixon was almost impeached by Congress because of covering up the Watergate scandal, violating citizens' rights, and refusing to hand over tapes that could become evidence of the Watergate cover-up. On August 8, 1974, Nixon resigned instead of being impeached (the first president to ever do so).

= S o u r c e s = <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">[|http://www.apfn.org/apfn][|/image014.jpg] <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">[] <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">[] <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Ayers, Edward et.al. American Anthem. Austin: Holt Rinehart & Winston, 2007 <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Brinkley, Alan. American History: A Survey, Twelfth Edition. New York: The McGraw-Hill <span style="color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">﻿> <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Companies, Inc, 2007. [] [] [] [] [] [] []