Compromises That Lead to the Constitution & Bill of Rights, and Our 1 st Two Party System of Politics Dr. East 10/6/2016.

Compromises That Lead to the Constitution & Bill of Rights, and

Our 1st Two Party System of Politics

Dr. East 10/6/2016

Review: Remember!• What were some main weaknesses of the Articles of

Confederation (our 1st Doc. And ratified 1781)?1. No executive branch, no exec. leader, no unified voice2. No power to tax (thus the Army couldn’t get paid leading

to many problems including Daniel Shay’s Rebellion)3. 2/3’s of delegates needed to pass laws; all delegates

approvals needed to pass amendments to the Articles4. No ability to regulate interstate trade or commerce so

there were tensions between the states5. Each state had one vote regardless of size6. There was no national court system7. No currency that was worth anything because of no

national treasury!

• Thus, 55 delegates, lead by James Madison and George Washington met in secret in Philadelphia, PA in 1787.– There these people argued and fought and

eventually drafted our current Constitution.

Their arguments lead to compromises in the Constitution and our 1st two Party System of Politics

Great Compromise

Slave Compromise

• Following the Constitutional Convention, the delegates returned to their home states

• Their job was to convince the people (the state legislatures) that this was as near perfect a document as could be devised

• 9 of 13 states needed to ratify the Constitution in order for it to take effect

• Two groups that debated during the construction of the Constitution -- The Federalist and the Anti-Federalists -- eventually become political parties

The Federalist Debate

THE FEDERALIST ApproachGeorge Washington, James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay

~ supported a strong, nationalgovernment that would share power with the states

~ believed that the checks and balanceswritten into the Constitution providedadequate protection for all—the House of Representatives would protect the people’s interests, the Senate would protect the states’ interests, the president would protect the nationalinterests, and the Supreme Court wouldprotect the people’s fundamental interests

~ believed that many rights were already specified in the Constitution, and they wereconcerned that a specific list of rightsmight not be inclusive enough and might actually limit rights to only those listed

~ promised that a bill of rights would be added to the ratified document

THE ANTI-FEDERALISTS ApproachPatrick Henry, George Clinton, Thomas Jefferson

~ supported a weaker nationalgovernment with more power residing with the states

~ opposed a central government that might dominate state or local governments

~ worried that freedoms gained at such aHigh cost would be lost through theGovernment’s abuse of power

~ believed that without a bill of rights, theConstitution did not adequately protect individual liberties

More on the Federalist Approach – The Federalist Party• Lead by Hamilton

– John Jay, Washington and, at the time of drafting the Constitution, Madison (though he would clash with Hamilton and change is mind later)

• At the time, this group was considered to be a more “conservative” approach to government – We do not mean conservative in a modern sense– We mean, conservative in preservative sense as they wanted to

preserve the union and control chaos…potentially even at the expense of some ind. or state liberties …

– Felt like a strong central gov. would preserve national stability thus making a safe place and improving the public good

• They tended to favor stronger central gov., had been for ratification of the new Constitution– They are like modern day Democrats in their support for strong

central gov. – Today they would likely have been for NSA wire taps, etc.

• These were people that felt like the Articles were way to weak to hold a nation together against warfare, etc.

Liberal-Democratic Republican Party (More on the Anti-Federalist Approach)

• Evolved from Anti-federalist position in creation of Constitution

• it’s early leaders were weary of strong federal government and concerned that a too strong government would limit individual and states’ rights– Like modern day Republicans in their consistent advocacy of

localized states’ rights and governments vs. national/central government and too much control by them

• Led by Thomas Jefferson… but he eventually convinced Madison to support this group’s agenda too– Madison disagreed with Hamilton’s strong federalist take on

central government finances because he felt that they favored wealthy northern elite and not states

• Beliefs – tolerance, freedom, and independent action … with focus on stronger state governments and personal liberties

First Presidents and Parties• http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/president

s• 1 – George Washington – kind of a leader for

Federalist party, but he mostly tried to stay away from party politics

• 2 - John Adams – Federalist party all the way• 3 – Thomas Jefferson – Lib. Demo. Repubs. – First transition to new party in charge of Executive

Branch, peaceful transition

The Federalist Papers

In an effort to help convince the public to support the new Constitution and its ratification, Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay wrote a series of 85 essays known as The Federalist (or The Federalist Papers).

“If men were angels, no government would be necessary.”-- James Madison, Federalist No. 51

“Publius”(pseudonym that referred to Publius Valerius Pubicola, a defender of the ancient Roman Republic)

Alexander Hamilton(NY) wrote 51 of the essays

John Jay (NY) wrote 5 of the essays

James Madison(VA) wrote 26 of the essays

* Hamilton and Madison jointly authored 3 of the essays

Federalist No. 10Federalist No. 10

1. Factions = political groups that want to control the government are dangerous, BUT because the U.S. is a large republic it will be hard for one group to dominate. Factions will have to work together to control…ultimately it will benefit everyone

2. Citizens must VOTE!

Federalist No. 45Federalist No. 45

1. States created the national government; even choose their U.S. Senators

2. National govt = power to wage war and protect the country

State govt = operates in times of peace and security…all the time

Federalist No. 51Federalist No. 51

1. Judicial branch is different b/c the justices are appointed (not elected); their job is to interpret the Constitution NOT win re-election and protect their jobs

2. “If men were angels, no government would be necessary.”…we need some form of control. The people created the govt and must limit its powers to prevent abuse.

Federalist No. 78Federalist No. 78

1. Supreme Court justices serve for LIFE.2. Justices should not be concerned w/ re-

election and responding to the whims of the people. Their job is to reflect on the meaning of the Constitution.

Compromises between 2 Parties in writing Constitution

• Compromises that satisfied Lib. Demo. Reps (the Anti-Federalists) – 1. New Constitution retained local control over selecting a Senate (Federalists

had wanted HOR to vote these guys in)2. New Constitution allowed local representatives (electors) to select

president based on popular citizen vote (ind. Vote)3. New Constitution said that all powers not listed as federal powers were

given to states… that would wind up being so many more4. Check of strong Senate power by creation of House of Representatives,

whose members represented smaller numbers of people … more localized representation

5. Check of Exec. Power by having Congress6. Compromise on addition of Bill of Rights as immediate amendments to

Constitution so that ratification would happen7. 3/5ths compromise that satisfied slave holding states… states’ rights

advocates liked this

• Compromises that satisfied the Federalists1. Creation of an Appointed Judicial Branch2. Creation of an Executive Branch

1. *** In General, Federalists were happy that they got to even have a federal gov. cause everybody on the other side was super suspicious of potential for TYRANNY by a strong federal gov.

3. More central powers to tax4. More central powers to control interstate trade5. More central powers over military

Assignment: Free Response Essay Question (Use slides 8 - 11)

The two party system became entrenched in the early years of the United States

(a) Identify the two major approaches to government and one label used to identify each of these groups

(b) Explain how this early split into two political camps shaped any two of the compromises that were reached during the writing of the Constitution.