06 Oct In Unit II, we examined the U.
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Course Learning Outcomes for Unit II Upon completion of this unit, students should be able to:
1. Summarize the origins of American political thought. 1.1 Discuss the influences of Enlightenment philosophers and their ideas on the American colonial
movement toward revolution. 1.2 Describe the impact of John Locke’s political philosophy on the key characteristics of the
Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution. 1.3 Trace the origins of the colonial experience that led to the revolution.
2. Identify the distinctive attributes of the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights.
2.1 Explain how the fundamental weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation were addressed by the new U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights.
2.2 Summarize the major political features of the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights that help ensure against the development of tyranny.
2.3 Describe the purpose and process of amending the U.S. Constitution. 2.4 Define federalism and its purpose in American government. 2.5 Trace the evolution of federalism from the Civil War period through today, including dual
federalism, cooperative federalism, new federalism, and competitive federalism.
Course/Unit Learning Outcomes
Learning Activity
1.1 Unit Lesson Chapter 2, pp. 37–64 Unit II Assessment
1.2 Unit Lesson Chapter 2, pp. 37–64 Unit II Assessment
1.3 Unit Lesson Chapter 2, pp. 37–64 Unit II Assessment
2.1 Unit Lesson Chapter 2, pp. 37–64 Unit II Assessment
2.2 Unit Lesson Chapter 2, pp. 37–64 Unit II Assessment
2.3 Unit Lesson Chapter 2, pp. 37–64 Unit II Assessment
2.4 Unit Lesson Chapter 3, pp. 71–102 Unit II Assessment
2.5 Unit Lesson Chapter 3, pp. 71–102 Unit II Assessment
UNIT II STUDY GUIDE
The U.S. Constitution and American Federalism
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Required Unit Resources In order to access the following resources, click the links below. Throughout this course, you will be provided with sections of text from the online textbook American Government 2e. You may be tested on your knowledge and understanding of the material presented in the textbook as well as the information presented in the unit lesson. Chapter 2: The Constitution and Its Origins, pp. 37–64 Chapter 3: American Federalism, pp. 71–102
Unit Lesson
Influences on the Founders and the Right to Revolution Beginning in the late 1600s and throughout the 1700s, immigrants traveled to the New World in search of new opportunities. Some fled from religious persecution, political oppression, and poverty. Others were drawn toward the open expanses of land and freedom. They came from England, Ireland, Spain, and Sweden. They were Pilgrims and Puritans, Catholics and Quakers, and Lutherans and Anglicans. Some arrived still bound with an allegiance to their old countries. Others immigrated in search of a new homeland. These early immigrants who colonized America brought with them diversity of religion and culture and an independent spirit that would help build a new nation. Americans often celebrate the Declaration of Independence and the U.S .Constitution as this country’s most important historical documents. As we learned in Unit I, the ideas of ancient Greek philosophers such as Aristotle, and English philosophers, such as Thomas Hobbes and John Locke, were important influences on those who founded this country and framed its unique political system. In this unit, we will learn more about the founders and the wealth of political experience they brought first to colonial America and later to the newly formed United States. The founders closely followed Locke’s view that the purpose of government was to protect citizens and their rights, especially their natural rights to life, liberty, and property. These ideas broke with the dominant tradition of the time that political rulers were divinely appointed, were working as God’s representatives on Earth, and were permitted to rule as they saw fit. Locke and the American founders rejected this conception of the origin of government in favor of the social contract. The social contract was an implicit agreement among people that they would give up some of their rights in exchange for the government’s protection. However, unlike a divine monarchy, the social contract was not absolute. If a government failed to protect the rights of citizens or if it actively deprived citizens of their rights, citizens were entitled to withdraw their popular consent (the idea undergirding democratic government that in order for government to be legitimate, the people must give their consent to be governed). This led to Locke’s right to revolution, but this idea that citizens have the right to rid themselves of political leaders who fail to protect and represent them is rooted in the political culture of the ancient Greek city-state. Watch the following National Geographic video Ostracism in Ancient Greece to learn about the Greek idea of
President Trump delivers his State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress, as required by the U.S. Constitution (Craighead, 2017)
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ostracism, which refers to the removal of ineffective or corrupt political officials from office (Cartwright, 2016). The transcript for the video Ostracism in Ancient Greece is also available for your viewing.
Colonial Discontent and Revolution The American Revolution was rooted not only in philosophy but also in economics. During the early colonial period, British monarchs allowed the American colonists significant political and economic freedom. They enjoyed broad self- governance with all of the colonies having their own constitutions by the mid- 1700s (the Mayflower Compact is an early example), many colonies established local legislatures (such as the Virginia House of Burgesses established in 1619), and the colonial governments were allowed to send representatives to the British Parliament. In addition, the colonists were able to develop thriving local industries and routinely ignored many of the British trade policies that required the colonies to export more than they imported in order to ensure trade dollars for the British treasury; however, by 1754, when the British became
embroiled in a protracted war with France, which is known as the French and Indian War, colonists became increasingly concerned with the economic and political implications. In particular, the British monarchy began to demand that the colonists provide financial support for the war. This financial support came in the form of taxation, including the Sugar Act, Stamp Act, Townshend Act, Tea Acts, and Coercive Acts (Krutz, 2019). See the timeline below for more information about these and other events leading to the American Revolution. Between 1764 and 1775, the colonists experienced an erosion of the rights and freedoms they once enjoyed. It was a period of growing discontent, fear, and suspicion. As the British government imposed economic hardships on colonists with tax after tax without the consent of colonial governments, it also became increasingly intrusive into the daily lives of colonial families by requiring them to quarter British troops in their own homes. In reaction to British-imposed hardships, discontent turned to action, and opposition groups began to form. The Sons of Liberty and the Daughters of Liberty were more actively engaged in dissent. Both of these groups formed in response to British taxation in the colonies during the time of the American Revolution. The Sons of Liberty engaged in protests and riots, while the Daughters of Liberty organized boycotts throughout the colonies. In order to access the following podcast, click the link below.
Listen to the podcast 60-Second Civics: Episode 178, which is sponsored by the Center for Civic Education and provides more information on taxation without representation. The transcript for the podcast 60-Second Civics: Episode 178 is also available for your viewing.
The Mayflower Compact (1620) by Jean Leon Gerome Ferris (Ferris, 1620)
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An alternate version of the infographic above is provided using assistive technologies.
(Boltneva, n.d.; Cooper, 1789; New York Public Library, 1765; Revere, 1770)
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In order to access the following activity in order to check your understanding of the timeline above, click the link below to access a nongraded quiz. Interactive Activity 2.1: Milestones to the Revolution Click here to access the PDF version of Interactive Activity 2.1: Milestones to the Revolution.
These early revolutionaries began to form throughout the colonies and engaged in protests and riots. In 1765, nine of the 13 colonies sent representatives to a meeting in New York; these individuals became known as the Stamp Act Congress that drafted the Declaration of Rights and Grievances, which was a list of ways that the British Crown had violated the rights of colonists. In 1772, Samuel Adams led in the creation the Committees of Correspondence. This organization was a group of political dissidents throughout the colonies who shared information about British activities, movements, and colonial efforts to oppose British rule. Samuel Adams of Massachusetts was a key leader and cousin of the second President of the United States, John Adams. In 1774, the First Continental Congress met and drafted a resolution known as the Declaration of Rights and Resolves against the Coercive Acts, which suspended many colonial rights, including self-rule and trial by peers. The British monarch King George III refused to yield to colonial demands. A month before the Second Continental Congress was to meet in May 1775, fighting broke out between British troops and colonists in Lexington and Concord, Massachusetts, on April 1775. The revolution had begun with the “shot heard ‘round the world.” In these early skirmishes, eight colonial minutemen were killed, and 16,000 British troops laid siege to Boston. When the Second Continental Congress met a few weeks later in May 1775, they presented one final appeal to King George III to halt hostilities. The British monarch refused and responded with an additional 20,000 troops and a declaration that all opposition to the king was traitorous, and traitors were subject to death. Meeting in Philadelphia, the Second Continental Congress appointed a committee of five to draft a proclamation of separation from Great Britain. Thomas Jefferson of Virginia was the primary writer. Drawing on Enlightenment ideals of natural rights and self-rule, Jefferson penned the new nation’s first statement of political rights. You can listen to, read, and view the original Declaration of Independence below.
In order to access the following resources, please click the links below. Audio speech by John F. Kennedy reading the Declaration of Independence Declaration of Independence: A Transcription Image of the Declaration of Independence
The Second Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. A few days later, it was read aloud to a crowd of citizens at Bowling Green Park in New York City. Following the public reading, the Sons of Liberty led New Yorkers in toppling a statue of King George III. The lead from the statue
President John F. Kennedy (Stoughton, 1963)
(Chernetskaya, n.d.)
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was later melted down and recast as ammunition used in the Revolution (New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, n.d.).
An alternate version of the infographic above is provided using assistive technologies.
(Spalding, n.d.; Trumbull, 1819)
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An alternate version of the infographic above is provided using assistive technologies.
America’s First Experiment with Self-Government: The Articles of Confederation Once free from Great Britain, the newly independent states were faced with establishing a government that would ensure the sovereignty of the 13 states, protect the rights of citizens, bolster failing state economies, and unify a war-torn country. By November 1777, the Second Continental Congress had drafted the Articles of Confederation, a loose association of independent states. However, it took nearly 4 years for the states to ratify the Articles of Confederation, and during this time, it became increasingly apparent to statesmen such as James Madison, George Washington, John Jay, and Alexander Hamilton that the first attempt at self- government was flawed. The concern was that a too-strong national government had created a weak central authority, which was unable to function effectively or efficiently. Economics and Finance When faced with mounting economic problems, the national government was unable to establish a truly national economy in which the states worked together. States coined their own money, used various currencies, and imposed trade tariffs on each other, making commerce between states difficult. In addition,
(Spalding, n.d.; Stone, 1823)
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the central government had no powers to raise revenue through taxes to provide public goods and pay off Revolutionary War debts. Politics Fearful of a return to monarchial rule, the Articles of Confederation created a weak executive with supporting offices to develop and implement policies. Representation in the unicameral Congress was one legislator per state, which created discontent among the larger, more populated states. Additionally, the Articles of Confederation did not establish a judicial system to help resolve growing disputes over growing land claims and conflicts between states. Any changes to the Articles of Confederation required unanimous consent, which was often challenging to obtain. National Defense The central government was not given the authority to raise and fund a national army or navy, which left the states to provide for their own defense against foreign and internal threats. Shays’ Rebellion illustrated the need for a stronger central government that could protect all of the states collectively. See more information regarding Shays’ Rebellion in the paragraph following the interactive activity.
In order to access the following nongraded quiz, click the link below. Interactive Activity 2.2: Articles of Confederation Click here to access the PDF version of Interactive Activity 2.2: Articles of Confederation.
The Second Constitution
Before the states could attempt to address the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation, unrest began to break out in some of the states. In Massachusetts, a newly adopted state constitution imposed property ownership as a requirement for voting and office-holding, which began disenfranchising the lower and middle classes. Women and slaves were already denied political rights. By the late 1780s, the economies in many of the states were on the decline with banks foreclosing on farms, which was devastating to what was left of the agrarian economy of the country. In 1786, Revolutionary War veteran and farmer Daniel Shays led a group of farmers, many of whom were veterans, to the Massachusetts capital of Springfield to protest foreclosures. While the state tried to quell the Shays’ Rebellion, it lacked funds to raise arms against the uprising. Massachusetts appealed to the national government for assistance. While the Congress appropriated funds for a militia, all but one state refused to pay. While the rebellion was eventually subdued through privately raised funds, it solidified the resolve of many political leaders across the states that the Articles of Confederation was inadequate to keep the new country safe, prosperous, and unified.
In order to access the following presentation, click the link below. To learn about the Constitutional Convention and the three plans debated in Philadelphia in 1787, view the presentation Constitutional Convention. The PDF version of the Constitutional Convention presentation is also available.
(Chernetskaya, n.d.)
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Once the Constitution was signed, it still had to be ratified by at least nine of the 13 states. This proved to be a far more arduous process than creating the document. It took almost 3 years to achieve ratification on May 29, 1790. Attempts to ratify the Constitution led to the development of two factions: the Federalists, who sought to adopt the Constitution and favored a strong central government, and the Anti-Federalists, who did not support the adoption of the 1787 Constitution that created a strong federal government. The Federalists’ defense of the Constitution was presented in a series of newspaper articles that are collectively known as The Federalist Papers. One of the greatest points of contention between the Federalists and the Anti-Federalists was the lack of civil rights and civil liberties in the Constitution. Many states strongly believed that additional laws were needed to protect and ensure individual liberties. James Madison’s first act when Congress met was to present a long list of amendments aimed at safeguarding individual rights and ensuring greater protection of those rights. From this list, the House of Representatives approved 17 amendments and, of those 17, the Senate approved 12. Of those 12 amendments, the states approved 10, with Virginia serving as the final state to ratify what would become known as the Bill of Rights on December 15, 1791. There was an agreement, one final compromise, made by the Founding Fathers that if the Constitution was passed, then a Bill of Rights would be accepted and enforced immediately to ensure liberties were protected by the Constitution.
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(Blyth, 1766; Sneff, 2017; Trumbull, 1793)
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An alternate version of the infographic above is provided using assistive technologies.
Fundamental Principles of the Constitution The Founding Fathers created a political system that included political features and practices aimed at ensuring powers are limited. These features include separation of powers, checks and balances, and federalism.
Separation of Powers As we learned in Unit I, separation of powers is the division of political authority between branches of government. The Founding Fathers adopted this concept and created three distinct branches of government: the legislative, executive, and judicial branches. Each branch has its own area of authority. Some powers are exclusive while others are shared. The purpose of the separation of powers is to prevent one group of people from accumulating too much power and risking the rise of tyranny.
Checks and Balances In order to ensure that powers remain separate, the framers created the double protection of checks and balances. Checks and balances is a system of overlapping powers in which each branch has some control over the other branches. Almost every power held by a branch is shared by one or both of the other branches. In this way, the political authority of each branch is checked by the other branches. In order to access the following video, click the link below.
Watch this short video Lesson 11, Section 6: How well does the system of separated and shared powers work?, which is sponsored by the Center for Civic Education. Note: You will need to scroll down past the first five videos on the page. The transcript for the video Lesson 11, Section 6: How well does the system of separated and shared powers work? is also available for your viewing.
Federalism
The third constitutional protection against tyranny is federalism. Federalism is the division of power between levels of government—national, state, and local levels. While separation of powers divides authority within one level of government, federalism separates powers between levels of government. The concept is a mixture of a unitary system, where political authority is concentrated in a central government, and a confederal system, where political power rests with lower units, such as states. In a federal system, authority is divided and shared by states and a central government. There have been several different forms of federalism throughout American history. The first era of federalism ran from 1789, with the inception of the Constitution, until 1865, when the Civil War ended. From 1865 to 1937, dual federalism was the predominant form and was based on the idea that separation of state and national power was not only possible but desired. Cooperative federalism emerged with the Great Depression and the growing need for federal authority and funding. Cooperative federalism focuses on national power. Beginning with the Johnson administration’s creative federalism, efforts were made to emphasize joint partnerships between national, state, and local governments. However, it is the national government that ultimately decides where federal resources are distributed. Under new federalism, federalism is decentralized with the aim of reinvigorating state and local power while reducing federal spending.
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References Blyth, B. (1766). Abigail Adams [Painting]. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Abigail_Adams.jpg Cartwright,
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