The American Experiment

The American2 Experiment

Assignment government, where majority desires have an even greater impact on the government. This lesson is based on information in the following Although these ideas are associated with the devel- text selections and video. Carefully read and review opment of the U.S. Constitution, they have their roots all of the materials before taking the practice test. in the preceding colonial and revolutionary experi- The key terms, focus points, and practice test are in- ences in America. The colonists’ English heritage had tended to help ensure mastery of the essential politi- stressed the ideas of both limited government and cal issues surrounding the background and creation self-government. To a large extent, the American rev- of the U.S. Constitution. olutionaries were seeking to retain what they had tra- ditionally understood to be their rights as Text: Chapter 2, “Constitutional Democracy: Pro- Englishmen. Controversy between the American col- moting Liberty and Self-Government,” pp. onists and the English developed in the aftermath of 37–48 the French and Indian War, when the British government sought to impose several new taxes in order to Declaration of Independence, Appendix A raise revenue. The British first enacted the Stamp Act, then the Townshend Act, and then a tax on tea. Video: “The American Experiment” Because they had no representatives in the English Parliament, the colonists were convinced that these taxes violated the principle of “no taxation without Overview representation,” a right recognized by Englishmen. The colonists met together to articulate their griev- Events like the Watergate break-in during the Nixon ances against the British crown at the First Continen- Administration demonstrate that Americans still tal Congress in Philadelphia in 1774. After fighting have cause to worry about excesses in the exercise of with the British broke out at Lexington and Concord power by governmental officials. Such concerns are in 1775, a Second Continental Congress convened, hardly new. James Madison and other American again in Philadelphia. This Congress appointed a Framers recognized that power could corrupt and committee headed by Virginia’s Thomas Jefferson that if liberty were to be protected, the power of gov- that drew up the Declaration of Independence, de- ernmental officials, and even of the people them- claring independence from Britain and explaining the selves, would have to be limited. There is sometimes reasons for this decision. In crafting the Declaration tension between the idea of self-government and lim- of Independence, Jefferson drew from the writings of ited government. Over time, America has also be- the English philosopher John Locke, and included come more committed to the idea of popular the assertion of the importance of individual rights. Like Locke, Jefferson believed that government was

5 2 On Common Ground: Framework for Democracy

established to preserve individual rights. He also be- of imports and exports—the first was permitted and lieved that government rested, not on the divine right the second prohibited. The most notorious compro- of kings, but on popular consent. When a government mise occurred between the northern free states and failed to protect rights or reflect the will of the people, the southern slave-holding states. Called the Three- the people had the right to replace it with another. fifths Compromise, it provided that slaves would be When Americans first thought about replacing the counted as three-fifths of a person for purposes of tax- government that had been established by the British, ation and representation. they were wary of entrusting too much power to the Had the Framers of the Constitution abided by the national government. They accordingly developed a Articles of Confederation, the new Constitution could league of individual states in which the national gov- not have gone into effect until it was ratified by all the ernment was very weak and primary power rested states. The Framers bypassed this requirement by with the states themselves. This government was providing that the new constitution would become ef- based upon the Articles of Confederation, which cre- fective when ratified by special ratifying conventions ated a single, but weak, national branch of govern- in nine of the thirteen states. ment; the Congress. States were represented equally in this one-house (unicameral) body, but nine of the thirteen states had to consent in order to pass legisla- Learning Objectives tion, and the Articles themselves could only be amended by unanimous consent of the states. The After completing this assignment you should be able Congress had no power to control interstate com- to: merce, and, as a result, states began engaging in trade wars with ruinous economic consequences. Congress 1. Recognize that the Framers of the American was even unable to provide troops to the governor of Constitution attempted to balance limited gov- Massachusetts when he was faced with a farmers’ re- ernment and self-government. volt in 1786 known as Shay’s Rebellion. This rebellion helped to persuade many people that the 2. Identify some of the ways that American concep- government under the Articles of Confederation was tions of government were shaped by the Fram- ineffective. ers’ experiences as Englishmen. In response to the crisis, a group of five states met 3. Understand how the conflict, which eventually in Annapolis, Maryland. These states decided to call resulted in the Revolutionary War, developed for a larger constitutional convention specifically to between the American colonists and the British. revise the Articles of Confederation. When the Constitutional Convention met in Phila- 4. Identify the key principles of the Declaration of delphia in 1787, two primary plans were presented; Independence and their roots in the writings of the Virginia Plan and the New Jersey Plan. The Vir- John Locke. ginia Plan called for a new government in which Congress would be much stronger and in which states 5. Describe the central features of the Articles of would be represented according to the size of their Confederation and understand how the weak- population; a proposal that favored the more popu- nesses of the Articles prepared the way for the lous states. By contrast, the New Jersey Plan favored Constitutional Convention. maintaining the existing scheme of representation which had been established under the Articles of 6. Explain the key features of the Virginia and New Confederation in which each state had a single vote Jersey plans, and how differences between these in a unicameral Congress. These differences were re- plans and between various groups of states rep- solved with the Great (or Connecticut) Compromise. resented at the Constitutional Convention, were Under this plan, the convention specified that state compromised. representation would be determined by population in 7. Discuss the importance of the ratification strat- the lower house of Congress (the House of Represen- egy devised by the Framers. tatives) and remain equal in the upper house, or Sen- ate. Additional compromises centered on the taxation

6 2 American Heritage

Key Terms and Concepts traditions of self-government and respect for rights.

Pay particular attention to the following key terms — The Declaration of Independence not only pro- and concepts. Many appear in both the readings and claimed the reasons that the American colonists video, and you should understand and be prepared to were revolting against Britain but also contained discuss them when the assignment is complete. ideals that would later find their way into the U.S. Constitution. Annapolis Convention Articles of Confederation — After the Americans declared their independence, Boston Tea Party and prior to the time that they adopted the current Constitution U.S. Constitution, they were governed under a Declaration of Independence (1776) weak national government based on the Articles divine right of kings of Confederation. Weaknesses in this government First Continental Congress led to the Convention wherein our current Consti- French and Indian War (1755–1763) tution was written. George III Great Compromise — The U.S. Constitution was the result of compro- inalienable (natural) rights mise between representatives from large states Thomas Jefferson and small ones, from free states and ones that per- limited government mitted slavery. John Locke James Madison — The new Constitution was vigorously debated, New Jersey (small-state) Plan and many of the issues argued during this debate North-South Compromise continue to resonate today. William Paterson popular government popular sovereignty Video Focus Points rights of Englishmen Second Continental Congress These video focus points are intended to guide your self-government viewing of the video selection for this assignment. Re- Shay’s Rebellion view the points before watching the video; it will be Three-Fifths Compromise useful to take notes related to these points. Townshend Act U.S. Constitution — Although the U.S. Constitution is often portrayed Virginia (large-state) Plan as having been produced in a single stroke, there George Washington were actually three phases leading up to this doc- Watergate break-in ument—the early revolutionary stage, the experience of governing under the Articles of Confederation, and the actual writing of the Con- Text Focus Points stitution. — The Constitutional Convention was called in re- These text focus points are intended to guide your sponse to two problems—the weaknesses evident reading of the selections for this assignment. Review in the Articles of Confederation and the problems the points before reading the materials; it will be use- that confronted state governments. ful to take notes related to these points. — The American founders were gifted men with — The American Framers were aware of the need to considerable political experience and a concern limit the powers of government and to give people for preserving liberty. Madison was a critical lead- a voice in their own government. er at the Constitutional Convention, but his suc- cess depended in large part on his ability to — Many principles embodied in the U.S. Constitu- persuade George Washington to participate. tion have their roots in the English and colonial

7 2 On Common Ground: Framework for Democracy

— There were vigorous debates at the Constitutional Practice Test Convention between advocates of the large states and advocates of the small states that eventually This practice test is designed to ensure you have mas- resulted in the Great Compromise. Debates be- tered the material in the assignment. Work through tween the northern and southern states over sla- the questions and then check your answers against very also resulted in a compromise and the the key. If any of your answer are incorrect, review adoption of the three-fifths clause. the relevant sections of the readings and/or video. — To a large extent, the Constitution depended on popular ratification not simply as a matter of po- Multiple Choice litical strategy but also for reasons of political theory. The Federalists who supported the 1. The Watergate break-in and its aftermath is a Constitution insisted that it be ratified in its en- good example of how tirety rather than approved section by section. a. power can corrupt. b. American government cannot respond to crisis. Related Activities c. executive power needs to be unlimited. d. modern Americans view power differently These activities are intended for further examination from the Framers. of the issues raised by the readings and video in this 2. The American Framers valued assignment. Your instructor may assign them, or you a. limited government. may wish to pursue them independently. b. self-government. — Read the Declaration of Independence and identi- c. popular government. fy the charges that Jefferson and the colonists d. all of the above. made against King George III and the British 3. The American colonists regarded the principle of government. Write an essay explaining which of “no taxation without representation” chiefly as these charges you think were most important. Ex- an example of plain. a. a hollow hope. — In the controversy between the colonies and En- b. a right of Englishmen. gland, the colonists argued that the British parlia- c. a natural right. ment had no power to tax them because they did d. an insignificant issue. not have representatives in that body. The colo- 4. The Declaration of Independence articulated all nists also claimed that they were entitled to the of the following values except rights of Englishmen. Write an essay in which you a. liberty. explain the English side of this controversy. Con- b. self-government. sider the benefits that the British had provided to c. redistribution of property. the colonists and see if you can formulate a theory d. equality. by which you can justify parliamentary authority over the colonies. Are you convinced by your own 5. An event that persuaded many Americans that arguments? Explain. constitutional revision was necessary was a. the defeat of the British at Yorktown. — One of the most important compromises at the b. the Whiskey Rebellion. Constitutional Convention was between advo- c. Dorr’s Rebellion. cates of the most populous and least populous d. Shays’s Rebellion. states. Write an essay explaining the central controversy between these states and the solution that 6. Under the Articles of Confederation was adopted. Do you think the controversy was as a. states were represented equally. important as the founders thought it was? Which b. Congress was the only branch of the central set of states do you think got the better deal? government. Explain. c. primary powers were exercised by the states. d. all of the above are true.

8 2 American Heritage

7. The Three-fifths Compromise related chiefly to Essay a. slave importation. b. taxation and representation of slaves. 11. The Declaration of Independence was designed c. tariffs. to articulate the reasons that the American colo- d. the electoral college. nists found it necessary to declare their independence from Britain, but it also articulated many 8. The man who presided over the Constitutional principles that were later incorporated into the Convention was U.S. Constitution. Focusing on the opening para- a. George Washington. graphs of the Declaration, explain these central b. James Madison. principles and describe how they related to the c. James Wilson. ideas of John Locke. d. Gouverneur Morris. 12. The Articles of Confederation were the basis for 9. Most of the 55 delegates who attended the Con- the government that preceded our current sys- stitutional Convention tem under the Constitution. Explain the primary a. attended every day of the session. features of the Articles of Confederation. What b. were bankrupt. weaknesses led to the call for a new Constitu- c. had political experience. tion? What major events preceded the Conven- d. were illiterate. tion that wrote this document?

10. Delegates who represented large states at the 13. The Constitution has been called a bundle of Constitutional Convention included all of the compromises. What were the central divisions following except between states that showed themselves at the a. Rufus King. Constitutional Convention? Explain the central b. Alexander Hamilton. compromises that emerged from the Convention. c. James Wilson. d. Roger Sherman.