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historical background

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after the Revolutionary War, it was necessary to create a new government

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the Articles of Confederation were drafted among the states

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were deeply distrustful of having a strong national government

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they didn't want to give the national government any more power than necessary

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these were the states deciding what to do

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they wanted to be the unit of primary government in the United States

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there was a president

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John Hanson

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the first president of the Article of Confederation

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granted limited power to Congress

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no authority to impose taxes

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no authority to govern commerce between the states

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no federal judiciary or federal courts

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quite predictably in hindsight, they were a failure

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states began to develop trade wars, e.g. with taxes

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1787 The Constitutional Convention

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goal was the amend the Articles of Confederation

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gathered in Philadelphia

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decided not to pose amendments to the Articles of Confederation

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but to scrap them

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nothing was easily agreed upon

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United States Constitution

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size of states

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it is crucial to regard it as a compromise

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in fact, almost everything in it was a compromise

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the large states wanted to have representation in congress allocated based on population

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smaller states wanted to make sure every state had equal representation in congress

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this was resolved with the House and the Senate

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issue of slavery

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it was clear that the Southern states would not ratify a Constitution what did not protect the institution of slavery

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many Northerners viewed slavery as abhorrent, repugnant, immoral and unacceptable

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question: if you had been in Philadelphia in 1787, and they were a delegate to the Constitutional Convention, would they have ratified a document, would they have agreed to a document, that protected the institution of slavery?

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or would it have been more ethical for Northerners to have held their ground and agreed to have the colonies split into two or three separate countries?

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in any case, a compromise was reached

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the constitution protected the institution of slavery

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but the word slavery does not appear in the United States Constitution

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Article 1 Section 9 limits the powers of Congress

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could not ban the importation of individuals for 20 years

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Article V

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The Constitution cannot be amended to allow Congress to ban the importation of slaves for 20 years

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Article IV: The Fugitive Slave Clause

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if a slave escaped from a slave state into a free state, the person would have to be returned to its owner

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Article I of the Constitution

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representation and allocation of representatives

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based on the number of free persons and 3/5 of all others

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slaves were counted as 3/5 of a person

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from 1787 to 1865, slavery was a part of the United States society

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Constitution was approved by those who drafted it on September 17th, 1787

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they applied their signatures, then went home to argue for its ratification

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ratification of the Constitution

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anti-Federalists

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strongly opposed

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the Constitution was more about the structure of the government only, not human rights

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so many were concerned about the lack of a Bill of Rights

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passed by a very small margin e.g. in New York

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North Carolina and Rhode Island ratified it later

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the Articles of Confederation stated it could be changed only by unanimous consent of the States

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presidential election was held

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Congress was election

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John Jay was the first Chief Justice

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1789 Congress passed a judiciary act which created the lower federal courts

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the basis for the first major Supreme Court decision, Marbury vs. Madison

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helped define the boundary between the constitutionally separate executive and judicial branches