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The framers of the Constitution lived in a time when new ideas on how government should be organized and run challenged conventional wisdom about the roles of people and their governments. The Scientific Revolution and the Enlightenment both began in Western Europe. The use of reason was the focus.

He said that the best way to protect life was to give total power to an absolute monarch.

Locke said that life, liberty, and property were granted by God and that it was the duty of all governments to protect them. Locke said that the citizens have the right of revolution if the government did not.

The consent was shown by a group of people.

Philosophers favored democracy over monarchy.

The promotion of Republicanism was influenced by Enlightenment thought.

Republicanism believes that government power is derived from the people, rejects aristocracy, and encourages broad-based civic participation in political affairs. Direct democracy is not the primary mode of governance in the United States.

Most towns in New England still require a direct vote on budgetary and legislative matters. The American system of democracy may be stable because it uses diverse systems at different levels of government.

The Declaration of Independence was a formal declaration of war between the American colonies and Great Britain after a year of armed conflict.

The majority of the document is about King George III's actions against the colonies, which author Thomas Jefferson uses to explain why the colonies are declaring their independence. In the following centuries other nations would use the document as a template when declaring their independence from colonial powers.

You can read The Declaration of Independence in its entirety.

The Articles were informally followed from 1776 to 1781. The newly independent states were put at risk by the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation. The postrevolution transitional period was marked by states being unprepared to manage their own affairs, as the year 1783 was the official end of the American Revolution. The trade between the states was in decline, the value of money was dropping, and there was a real threat of social disorder from groups within the country. As Shays' Rebellion frightened the statesmen and exposed the weakness of the Articles of Confederation, the nation's leaders began to see the necessity of a stronger central government.

Students mix up the Constitution with the Declaration of Independence. The Declaration of Independence and the Constitution should be read a few times before your exam.

The federal government couldn't draft soldiers, it couldn't tax citizens, it couldn't control interstate trade, and it couldn't pay off the Revolutionary War debt. James Madison was able to convince the other delegates that a complete rewrite was necessary because amending the articles became so difficult.

The framers of the Constitution were divided over the power and responsibilities of government when they met in Philadelphia in 1787. The current government, formed under the Articles of Confederation, was seen as weak and ineffective by some, while others believed that the changes to the Articles would affect the responsibilities of state governments and intrusions into the lives of citizens. Some historians think that the convention is a conspiracy to protect the wealth of the rich, while others think that it is a meeting of political pragmatists who wanted to protect their own. The generally accepted view is that the framers were pragmatists.

The delegates agreed that a stronger central government was needed, but they were afraid of the corrupting influences of power. The convention focused on how to control the federal legislature. There was a compromise between the two main plans presented at the convention.

There was a conflict over the representation of slaves.

Slaves should not be counted when determining each state's number of electoral votes, according to people from the north and south.

The Articles of Confederation did not give the executive authority to enforce laws.

The power of the legislature is checked by the executive in the Constitution. The president has the power to veto acts of the legislature. Presidential power isn't absolute. Two-thirds of both houses of the legislature can vote to overrule a presidential veto.

The framers created the Supreme Court in order to resolve disputes between the Congress and the president, the states and the central government.

Some key issues were temporarily tabled so as to ratify the Constitution because each state had its own interests to pursue and protect.

Despite moral objections, delegates at the Constitutional Convention agreed that the international slave trade could not be ended until at least 1808. While southern states relied on foreign trade, they did concede a tax on imports, something that would be a major issue of contention down the road when determining states' rights.

Acceptance of the Constitution was not assured despite all of the compromises that were made. The states had to approve it. The primary source for understanding the original intent of the framers is these essays.

They were designed to convince the states of the wisdom of a strong central government.

The Anti-Federalists argued that a constitution would make the president a king and threaten personal liberties. 12 years prior, these people had declared independence from Britain, and many were fearful that a large government would recreate the same state of control that they had just escaped.

The Constitution became the foundation of American government after the Federalists guaranteed that a Bill of Rights would be added to the Constitution.

The anonymous author posed a number of questions about the Constitution. The proposed national government had too much power, a standing army could diminish liberty, and representatives would not represent the people.

You can read it.

James Madison spoke about how to protect minority groups in a nation founded on majority rule. Madison argued that a large republic ensures multiple factions so as to avoid any one group taking control and that could lead to suppression of minority opinion.

Anti-Federalists argued that Madison's claims were naive as a nation with multiple factions would never form the "Perfect Union" proclaimed in the Constitution. No nation larger than one of the states could survive for long according to anti-federalists. During the American Civil War, they believed that states' separate interests would tear them apart.

James Madison believed that the separation of powers and checks and balances would ensure that no one group would control the national government. The national government would be more efficient if the powers were separated.

Anti-Federalists said that there was no perfect way to separate powers and that eventually one branch of government would have more power.

The Executive Branch should have a single person, argued Alexander Hamilton. The British monarchy was checked by the House of Commons, but the king had significant power. Another check on the executive's power was proposed by Hamilton.

The president's "minions" would influence him if executive power was vested in one person. Some Anti-Federalists were worried about giving control of the military to a single person.

Alexander Hamilton argued that the judicial branch would have the least power under the Constitution. The Judicial Branch would act as a check on Congress, according to Hamilton.

The anti-federalists argued that a federal judiciary would make state courts powerless. Anti-Federalists claimed that federal judges' lifetime appointments could lead to corruption.

The Constitution only has 5000 words in it. It was supposed to be a guide for guaranteeing the rights of citizens. It was written to allow change, anticipating unknown needs of future generations, through amendments that require widespread support.

The branches of government have evolved over time.

The Federal Reserve System, the central bank for the United States, is not created in the Constitution. There is no mention of a cabinet in the executive branch. Congress created the Federal District Courts and the Courts of Appeals.

Presidents use them to enforce the duties of the executive branch.

These agreements are not mentioned in the Constitution. Executive Order 9066 is an extreme example of an executive order.

People were ordered to leave a military zone. The people were both Japanese American and German American. The order paved the way for all Japanese Americans on the West Coast to be sent to internment camps during World War II. Thousands of German Americans and Italian Americans were sent to internment camps.

The system has been changed to meet different needs. The political party system was created from custom and usage. The rules used in Congress were created from custom and usage.

The full text of the Constitution can be found at the end of the book.

The idea that the United States government is a federal government is central to the Constitution. Germany, Switzerland, and Australia are federal governments. Let's get back to federalism.

The relationship between the national government and local governments was given some important decisions by the Supreme Court. The federal government did not have the power to tax the national bank.

Even though the interstate waterway ran through New York, the steamship company could not have a monopoly on it. The ruling implied that the federal government could regulate interstate trade.

The Constitution doesn't grant to the national government or deny to the state governments. The powers that are not listed in the Constitution are made up of other powers.

Federal and state governments share concurrent powers. The power to collect taxes, to build roads, to operate courts of law, and to borrow money are some of the powers that are denied to the national government. The powers are listed on the next page.

The federal government is obliged to protect the states against foreign invasion and domestic rebellion, as well as guaranteeing a republican form of government. The federal government needs to prevent the states from forming new states without congressional consent.

Over time, the nature of federalism has changed. The federal and state governments were independent for the first part of the nation's history. The national government's main focus was on international trade, the construction of roads, harbors, and railways, and the distribution of public land in the West.

The definition of federalism is in the eye of the beholder.

Most federal government programs, such as those to aid the poor, clean the environment, improve education, and protect the handicapped, are administered through the states. Grants-in-aid are gifts of money from the federal government to the states. Nationalists want the federal government to have control over the money. States' Righters want the grant money to be used by state and local governments who know how best to spend it.

Head Start, Medicaid, and the Food Stamp Program are examples of categorical grants.

The federal government can use a number of techniques to force the states to follow federal law. The federal government can use a sanction that requires a state to do something before a grant is given. Raising the drinking age to 21 before federal highway money is released would be an example.

Welfare, the Community Development Block Grant, and the Social Services Block Grant are examples of block grants.

Blocks have a wide range of eligible activities that address a general problem area.

People of all ages, races, and religions are able to vote on both local and national issues.

States retain some rights and have choices about public policy issues such as gun control.

Politicians are in touch with their people.

States can be laboratories for government experimentation.

Guns, capital punishment, and local taxes can cause problems in the court system because of lack of consistency.

Federalism can lead to inefficient policies in different parts of the country.

Power can be spread out amongst so many groups, which can lead to corruption and a stalemate.

The framers of the Constitution decided that the government shouldn't have too much power. The framers gave different tasks to different branches of the government.

A person can't serve in more than one branch of the government at the same time. A congressperson may not be a judge or a cabinet member at the same time. If a congressperson were appointed to one of these positions, they would have to give up their seat in Congress.

The system of checks and balances requires the different branches of government to work together to accomplish important things.

Nominees for these positions are chosen by the president. The Senate must approve the president's nominees.

The president can negotiate treaties. The treaty cannot go into effect until it is approved by two-thirds of the Senate.

Only Congress can pass laws.

The president's veto power encourages the legislature to consider the president's position on a law, and to negotiate with the president to prevent a veto. The legislation becomes law even if the president vetoes it. The courts can determine the constitutionality of the law. The courts have the power to overturn laws passed by Congress and approved by the president, only on constitutional grounds, but judges may not overturn laws simply because they don't like them.

The legislative bodies have the freedom to choose their own approach to a law, as can be seen with President Obama's support of theAffordable Care Act.

The Constitution is flexible and has lasted more than 200 years. Interpretation is required in many of its provisions, allowing the document to become more conservative or progressive.

A proposed amendment needs to be introduced to both houses of Congress and approved by a two-thirds majority. Each of the fifty state legislatures has the power to pass the amendment.

The number of votes required to approve an amendment can be determined by the states. Seven states require either three-fifths or twothirds of the legislature to pass a bill. The Twenty-First Amendment ended prohibition in 1933.

A second means of amendment is allowed by the Constitution. Nobody knows how much a convention would be allowed to change the Constitution. Many state legislators oppose any call for a convention because of the fear that a convention could attempt drastic alterations to the constitution.

Many states are calling for a convention to add a balanced budget amendment to the constitution.

The movement has not yet met the bar of 34 states required to call a convention, despite the fact that about 30 state legislatures have approved a convention.

The amendment will be approved by the majority in the House.

Not for the Twenty-first Amendment.

It was used for all 27 amendments.

The legislatures are approved by special state-ratifying called a constitutional convention.

This method has never been used.

Within three years, the first ten amendments were added to the Constitution. The Bill of Rights is a collection of amendments. Many provisions of the Bill of Rights have been clarified over the years.

The separation of church and state is a constitutional provision.

Congress can't prevent citizens from expressing their opinions in speech or writing. The Supreme Court placed limits on these freedoms. Speech or writing that is intended to cause harm is not protected. The government and its politics are protected from criticism. There are sections of an article that need to be crossed out.

The people's right to assemble peacefully, to hold demonstrations, and to ask the government for changes in policy are protected by the Constitution. Rallies and demonstrations that encourage violence are not protected.

The Supreme Court's rulings on the Second Amendment have upheld the individual right to keep and bear arms, while allowing for wide variations in gun laws from state to state and in large cities. Future court decisions are likely to concern public safety and the ways in which government regulation of firearms may affect it.

The third amendment forbids the quartering of soldiers and the direct public support of armed forces, which was important at the time of its creation. It was a response to the British practice of using civilians to conduct military operations.

In its original form, the exclusionary rule held that evidence gathered without authorization must be thrown out. The Fourth Amendment has been challenged by the ease with which government agencies can gather data on citizens through such methods as wiretapping, bulk collection of phone records, or computer hacking. Fears of internal and external terrorism have led some Americans to support the USA Freedom Act and warrantless searches at airports, while others fear that government intrusion into privacy may give too much power to an anonymous elite.

The Fifth Amendment protects an individual from the powers of the federal government.

Persons accused of a crime can be tried by an impartial jury in a public trial. Individuals have the right to be informed of their charges, to confront witnesses, to subpoena witnesses for their defense, and to have a lawyer for their defense.

The Miranda rights help to maintain the Fifth and Sixth Amendments. They remind the accused that they don't have to incriminate themselves and that they have the right to representation.

The Seventh Amendment allows for trial by jury in common-law cases, despite the fact that law has come to replace or supersede common law.

Federal cases are not allowed to have excessive bail. State Supreme Courts have differing opinions on this debate.

The principles of a limited federal government are affirmed by the Ninth Amendment. Everyone has the right to brush their hair, for example, even though that right is not mentioned in the Constitution. Although vague in its premise, the Ninth Amendment has led to the implied right to privacy and other questions regarding individual rights not identified or even understood at the time of the creation of the Constitution.

The relationship between the states and the national government is defined by the Tenth Amendment. State issues such as the death penalty, speed limit, and drinking age are within the jurisdiction of the states if they don't conflict with the Constitution.

The candidate with the highest number of votes won the presidency, while the runner-up won the vice presidency. The Twelfth Amendment was created following the debacle of the election of 1800, when a tie between Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr split the Republican vote. The amendment made it necessary for electors to cast separate votes for the president and vice president.

The Union victory in the Civil War resulted in the amendment prohibiting the institution of slavery except as punishment for a convicted crime.

The Bill of Rights did not apply to state law. After the Civil War, Northerners pushed for a constitutional amendment that would prevent the South from denying equal rights to freed slaves. No state will make or enforce any law which willbridge theprivileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor will any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without dueprocess of law.

The Bill of Rights was not immediately applied to all state laws after the Fourteenth Amendment expanded the right to due process. Most of the Bill of Rights protections have been extended by the Supreme Court on a case-by-case basis.

The Fifteenth Amendment granted voting rights to males of all races, and was originally designed to give voting rights to freed male slaves. The Supreme Court and southern states narrowed the provisions of the amendment during the late 19th and early 20th century. The Voting Rights Act of 1965, as well as the Twenty-Fourth Amendment, secured voter rights.

Before the passage of this amendment, most revenue was gathered through tariffs that placed a large burden on the poor.

The direct election of United States senators was provided by this amendment. The state legislatures had previously selected senators. The responsibility for choosing senators was shifted to the public under the Seventeenth Amendment.

The prohibition amendment banned the manufacture, sale, and transportation of alcohol in or out of the United States.

The amendment gave voting rights to all American women.

There was a long gap between when the new president was elected and when he took office. When the nation was in the grip of the Great Depression and waiting for Franklin Delano Roosevelt to take the reins, the gap proved to be especially damaging. The amendment clearly defined the procedures for presidential and legislative terms and shortened the amount of time between presidential election and inauguration.

The rise of organized crime was the result of prohibition. The failure of the experiment and the repeal of prohibition allowed for the legalization of alcohol.

The amendment limited the president to two terms in response to FDR's four election victories.

The practice of forcing African Americans to pay poll taxes was eliminated by the Twenty-fourth Amendment.

Following the assassination of John Kennedy and the age of his successor, Lyndon Johnson, this amendment provided clarity regarding the selection of a new vice president. In the event of a presidential disability, the Twenty-fifth Amendment allowed the vice president to assume the presidency temporarily.

The voting age was lowered due to the number of young people fighting in the Vietnam War.

The amendment was passed more than 200 years after it was first proposed. The pay increase can't take effect until after the next election.

Changes in custom or interpretation of the document have led to some changes to the Constitution. Informal changes gradually give way to more formal changes. George Washington did not serve a third term when he became president. Franklin Roosevelt was elected president four times. The Twenty-second Amendment to the Constitution was approved because of Franklin Roosevelt's four terms in office. An informal custom became a formal change.

The form state governments must take is up to them. If the government is defined by a state constitution and approved by Congress, the states are free to form whatever government they want. Most state governments are structured after the federal government.

State executive agencies oversee areas such as education, roads, and policing. Most of the time, the power to appoint state judges comes from one of the state's legislative bodies. The state legislature has veto power.

The House of Representatives and the Senate are the only ones that have bicameral legislatures. State law is enacted the same way as federal law. Governors have the same powers as presidents.

The Supreme Court ruled that a federal line-item veto would take too much power away from the legislative branch. We will discuss line-item vetoes in greater detail in Chapter 8.

Nebraska has a unicameral legislature, meaning that they have one legislative chamber or house.

State judiciaries are able to interpret state law. The trial courts and appeals courts are part of the judicial systems. They hear both criminal and civil cases.

The philosophers that influenced the framers were Hobbes, Locke, Montesquieu, and Rousseau.

A new governing document was created by the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, which sought to balance the power of the states with a stronger federal government.

The vagueness of some sections of the Constitution along with the elastic clause make the document adapt to changing times.

The United States was the first nation to practice federalism, a balance of power between the states and the federal government.

In keeping with the principles of Montesquieu, each branch of the government was given power to check the other two.

The Bill of Rights, the early amendments, the Civil War amendments, the Progressive Era amendments, and the later amendments are all included in the list.

State and local governments interact with the federal government.

The United States in Congress assembled will never engage in a war, grant letters of marque or reprisal in time of peace, nor enter into any treaties or alliances, nor regulate the value of money, nor ascertain the sums and expenses necessary for the defense and welfare of the United States.