CLASS NOTES: Why We Needed a Constitution (Key Constitutional Concepts and Supreme Court Cases)

924

Lectures Watched
Since January 1, 2014

Hundreds of free, self-paced university courses available:
my recommendations here

Books I am currently reading

Peruse my collection of 275
influential people of the past.

View My Class Notes via:

Receive My Class Notes via E-Mail:

Contact Me via E-Mail:

edward [at] tanguay.info

Notes on video lecture:

Why We Needed a Constitution

Key Constitutional Concepts and Supreme Court Cases

Professor Kermit Roosevelt, III, University of Pennsylvania

Notes taken by Edward Tanguay on September 24, 2014 (go to class or lectures)

Choose from these words to fill the blanks below:

tyrannical, unanimous, force, existing, Spanish, individuals, protecting, change, Philadelphia, lives, nation, authority, slave, values, tweaking, tax, illegal, some, movies, constitution, changes, overthrow, currencies, 1787, treason, tension, 9, 12, slave, veto, executed, treason, disputes, king, 1781, Revolutionary, rights, drafted, third, empire, weak, enforce, judicial, mistreat, monarchy, failed, approved, countries, Randolph, Nations, govern, government, us, sovereign, threat

•

Independence Hall in

•

Thomas Jefferson the Declaration of Independence

•

on July 4, 1776 congress met here and it

•

that was the beginning of the American

•

after the Declaration came the War

•

: ratification of the Articles of Confederation

•

the first, but , attempt at a national government

•

delegates from states meet again at Independence Hall

•

to propose revisions to the articles

•

what emerged after months of deliberation, was the constitution

•

Declaration of Independence

•

a statement of two foundational principles

•

1. a statement of

•

all men are created equal

•

they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights

•

odd wording coming from holders

•

we'll see how this unresolved between the Declaration and slavery colors American history

•

2. a theory of

•

governments are created to secure these

•

when governments don't protect these rights, when they oppress people, then the people have a right to their government

•

this is a surprising statement for the signers to make

•

it does seem to justify their rebellion, but it would also justify a rebellion

•

certainly the American slaves could say that the government was not their rights

•

it's a particularly surprising thing to say to a , to King George

•

government authority, the Declaration says, comes from the consent of the governed: your power comes from , and we're taking it back

•

according to King George, this is

•

if the Americans lose the war, they will be considered traitors and be

•

so a ragtag rebel alliance takes on a vast and power

•

that works out well in the most but not so much in real life

•

and yet somehow, with some help from the French and the , the American colonists win

•

lesson learned:

•

faraway states can stand up to protect the rights of ( of) their citizens

•

Articles of Confederation

•

in creating it, they were worried about a national government

•

their solution was to create a government that is took to be a tyrant

•

something like the United

•

there is a legislature called congress

•

each state gets one vote as in the United Nations

•

congress can make laws, but it can't them

•

no executive branch

•

no branch

•

congress can't require to do anything

•

it can act on the states

•

it can ask them to do things like pay their revolutionary war debts, but it can't them to

•

it can't

•

the states were basically still independent

•

they have their own

•

they don't get along that well, many

•

lesson: the national government must be strong enough to

•

states in general look after their own citizens, but they may the citizens of other states

•

states may not contribute to the collective good of the nation the way they should

•

the national government has to be strong enough to keep them in line and make them do what they are supposed to do

•

the colonies were revolting against a and a parliament

•

they wanted to prevent any institution from having that kind of power over their again

•

the states saw themselves more as nations

•

1787: congress meets to consider changes to the articles

•

are all that the articles allow

•

changes require consent, even the smallest state can block it

•

when they meet, the first thing they decide is that they are not going to do revisions, they are going to create a new constitution

•

in wanting to do away with the current government, this was like Declaration, and the Declaration was

•

they are going to wipe out the Articles of Confederation, in effect, wipe out the government

•

is too strong of a word, but what they wre doing was not permitted under the Articles of Confederation itself, which declared that the states' union shall be perpetual and that any change shall be unanimous

•

yet the constitution declared that it would binding if of 13 states ratified it

•

the delegates had no under the previous system of government to do what they were doing

•

this wasn't supposed to be a constitutional convention, it was supposed to be a convention

•

the third day of the convention, Edmund stands up and says, "Virginia thinks we should throw out the Articles of Confederation and write a new constitution"

•

so on the day of a convention with the purpose to make recommendations to the Articles of Confederation, the delegates the United States government

•

was this treason?

•

there really was no sovereign against which to commit treason

•

the Declaration of Independence was treason, a slap in face to King George

•

tossing out the Articles of Confederation, who will be upset?

•

Rhode Island is the answer: it has a veto under the Articles of Confederation, they like the and have used it a lot

•

now the is going to take it away

•

King George was a real , Rhode Island wasn't

People:

######################### (1753-1813)

American attorney, the seventh Governor of Virginia, delegate from Virginia to the Constitutional Convention, Randolph introduced the Virginia Plan as an outline for a new national government

the second Secretary of State
the first United States Attorney General
argued against importation of slaves and in favor of a strong central government
advocated a plan for three chief executives from various parts of the country
proposed two houses, where in both of them delegates were chosen based on state population

Ideas and Concepts:

On the legality of the American Constitution, via tonight's Key Constitutional Concepts and Supreme Court Cases class: "In 1787, delegates from the 13 colonies met in Philadelphia to consider changes to the document that defined the United States government, the Articles of Confederation. Changes required unanimous consent, even the smallest state could block it. However, once the delegates met, one of the first decisions they made was that they were not going to do revisions to this document at all:they were going to write a new constitution. They were going to do away with the Articles of Confederation and wipe out the existing government. Was this legal? Was it treason? Illegal may be too strong of a word, but what the delegates were doing was definitely not permitted under the existing law of the government, which declared that the states' union shall be perpetual and that any change shall be unanimous, whereas the Constitution declared that it would binding in all states if 9 of 13 states ratified it. Since delegates had no authority under the previous system of government to do what they were doing, was this treason? Not in a direct sense of the term, since there really was no sovereign against which to commit treason. The Declaration of Independence, for example, was pure treason, as it was a slap in face of King George, but tossing out the Articles of Confederation, who would be upset? The answer was:Rhode Island. This tiny state had a right to veto under the Articles of Confederation, and they had used it quite a bit, but now the Constitution was going to take that right away. But alas, while King George had been a real threat, Rhode Island wasn't, and so the Articles of Confederation were scrapped and the American Constitution was ratified by 9 of 13 states and put into effect as the new law of the country."

Via tonight's Key Constitutional Concepts and Supreme Court Cases class: "The Declaration of Independence is a statement of two foundational principles:(1) a statement of values, including that all men are created equal and endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, which are important values, certainly, but a little odd coming from slave holders, and (2) a theory of government, that when governments don't protect these rights, when they oppress people, then it is the right of the people to change their government, which does seem to justify the cause of the colonial rebellion against King George, but it would also justify a slave rebellion, since certainly the American slaves could say that the American government was not protecting their rights. We'll see how this unresolved tension between the Declaration and slavery colors American history."