POLS 1101 Lecture 3 Outline of Last Lecture I What do constitutions accomplish II Articles of Confederation AOC III Origins of American System IV Constitutional Convention 1787 A Virginia Plan B New Jersey Plan C Slavery D Three major cleavages V Connecticut Compromise VI Features of Constitution VII Constitutional Powers A Separation of Powers B Federal Supremacy VIII Amending the Constitution Outline of Current Lecture I Everyone is puzzled II Ratification debate A Federalists B Anti Federalists C Federalist Papers III Ratification IV Bill of Rights V Living Constitution VI Consequences of Constitution VII Revisiting the Puzzles Current Lecture Concerns of the Framers I II III IV Everyone is puzzled How did the Founders manage to enact a strong central government despite distrust of strong governments Did the Constitution strike a proper balance between governability and liberty Ratification Debate A Federalists Federalist Papers wanted to ratify the constitution defended the constitution B Anti federalist wanted to reject to ratification of the constitution Letters from the Federal Farmer to the Republican might have been Richard Henry Lee They thought the new federal government was going to be too strong Wanted to be considered federalist but didn t want the constitution to be ratified C Federalist Papers Outlined what the constitution was intended to do Written by James Madison Alexander Hamilton and John Jay 10 51 Written under the pen name Publius Outlined arguments that institutions were necessary to solve collective dilemmas that were not solved by the articles of confederation Federalist 10 Checks and balances would constrain government it is a powerful force Ratification 1788 New Hampshire was the ninth state to ratify the constitution Nine small states ratified the constitution but the big states still hadn t ratified it yet Virginia and New York were big states in doubt both ratified summer of 1788 This is why the federalist papers were written The city of New York passed a resolution saying they were on board for the constitution If the state of New York does not ratify the constitution then the city of New York is succeeding from the state of New York Congress and President Washington took office on April 30 1789 Bill of Rights Some people didn t think they needed them but everyone eventually came to the conclusion that they did amending would come later First ten amendments which protects the individuals rights V VI VII Provides protections for free speech right to counsel and those charged with crimes Should be call the bill of liberties learn why later Living Constitution Constitution is short and vague Times change we adapt i e air force Meaning has changed with amendments new laws and court rulings 27 amendments Presidential authority has grown especially in foreign policy A Examples Slavery Abolished 13th Amendment National power has grown at expenses of state power More offices directly elected President Senators Increase in citizen rights liberties Consequences of Constitution Presidential systems are more fragile because countries that have a presidential system are more than twice as likely to experience a coo American democracy has been remarkably stable Constitution has stood for more than 200 years Country has been successful but not perfect Legacy of slavery Civil War Partisan conflict many people worry that it makes it difficult for the system to be sustainable as the document is written Revisiting the Puzzles A How did the Founders manage to enact a strong central government despite distrust of strong governments o The AOC were simply not the best A weak government could not solve collective dilemmas They needed a strong government to survive B Did the Constitution strike a proper balance between governability and liberty o For many a government that could not govern was worse than a strong government