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the Revolution succeeded by the Articles of Confederation failed

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there is a tension between these first two lessons of American history

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the delegates represent states with many different views

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the Revolution teaches that a general government can become tyrannical and the states can stand up to defend the liberty of their citizens

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the failure of the Articles of Confederation teaches that states can't be relied on to cooperate effectively, so some higher institution has to keep them in line

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the Constitution accommodates these competing ideas in a novel way, called Federalism

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the federal government will handle some things, and in the areas where it has power, its power is supreme international relations, commerce between the states

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the states will handle other areas and in those areas they will be supreme

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what does the Constitution do?

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Article I: creates the Federal government

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Section I creates Congress

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Senate

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6-year terms

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elected by legislatures (changed by 17th Amendment)

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represent states

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each state 2 senators

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House of Representatives

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2-year terms

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elected by voters

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represent citizens

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determined by free persons and Indians not taxed, and 3/5 of all other persons

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the 3/5 is a compromise over slavery

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the Framers were embarrassed over slavery, and the Constitution never uses the word "slave"

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slave states said they want representation based on their population including their slaves

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the non-slave states were of the opinion that the slave states didn't represent their slaves and so weren't allowed to have extra voices in the federal government based on people that they held in bondage and denied their rights

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both sides care about this because they see that the federal government might have the power to protect or to end slavery

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congress

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it can pass laws on certain topics

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the main point was the Federal power was limited

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who in the federal government will enforce the laws?

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no one did under the Articles of Confederation

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Article II: creates the Executive branch

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elected through a complicated process that soon gets changed

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three-fifths law was working here

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of the first five presidents, four were from the slave state of Virginia

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Thomas Jefferson would have lost in 1800 if not for the three-fifths compromise

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president

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should enforce the laws that congress makes

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be commander in chief of armed forces for the wars that congress declares

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he can appoint some people

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can make treaties that require congressional approval

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over time we will see power shift from congress to president

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Article III creates the Supreme court

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power to hear certain kind of cases

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where there is a federal interest at stake

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where a state court can not be trusted

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there are four more articles to the Constitution but they are relatively brief

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Article IV

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interstate relations

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Fugitive Slave Clause

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before constitution, if a slave escaped to a free state, that state could decide if he were to become free

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but this law stated that slaves remain slaves no matter where they go and must be returned to their owners

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Article V

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the Constitution recognizes that its not perfect

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however, it is difficult to amend the constitution

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two-thirds of House and Senate

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three-fourths of states

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in America we have no official religion, but we have something similar, a civic religion, which is based on the Constitution

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some people think the Constitution its infallible, but its not

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there were some ethically terrible provisions in the original Constitution, such as Fugitive Slave Clause

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almost all of the rights that we have today were not in the original Constitution

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they come from the amendments

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Article VI

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Federal law is supreme to state law in the areas where it has the power to act

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Article VII

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violates the Articles of Confederation

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the Constitution shall be effective upon the ratification of just nine states