Hist 1483 1st Edition Lecture 14Outline of Last LectureI. Crafting the ConstitutionA. Difficulties in the statesB. Constitutional ConventionII. Clicker QuestionsOutline of Current LectureI. Beginnings of the ConstitutionII. Washington’s PresidencyIII. Adams’ PresidencyIV. Clicker QuestionsCurrent LectureI. The Beginnings of the ConstitutionA. The Constitutional Convention finally got its required ¾ of the states to ratify the constitution in 17881. The first elections were held, and the constitution went into effectB. The problem with starting afresh is that everything you do is going to set an example (precedent)1. In 1789 the government of the U.S. consisted of 79 post offices, a large debt, a smallnumber of unpaid clerks, and a federal army of 672 soldiersi. Washington had to borrow $3,000 to move to the new capital in Washington D.C.2. Every single thing the congress did had to be scrutinized for the precedenti. For example, they spent 3 weeks debating over what to call the new president and finally settled on Mr. Presidentii. 3 federal departments had to be established: war, state, treasuryiii. Judicial branch had to be establisheda. They started with 6 supreme court justices which is problematic because 6 is an even number which means ties are possibleiv. Set up district courts in each statev. Set up a federal court of appealsvi. Issues involved in the judiciaryThese notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor’s lecture. GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes, not as a substitute.a. Provisions whereby states could appeal to the federal judiciary which establishes the supremacy of the federal judiciary vii. One of the biggest problems with government up to this point was that it had no way of raising revenue so Madison guided through an import tariff to raise revenueviii. Inclusion of a Bill of Rightsa. Constitution only consists of 7 articles and no Bill of Rights(1) Some states (Virginia) insisted that there be a Bill of Rights before ratification(2) It was left out because Madison and others feared that the inclusion of a list of enumerated rights would leave out rights people do have(i) Leads to the conclusion that these are the only rights(ii) If something’s not on the list does that mean people don’t have that right? Of course not(iii) These rights are supposed to me inalienable: natural, cannot be taken away, beyond the province of government(a) If government says “these are your rights”, this implies that the government gives rights but it doesn’tb. Part of the deal of ratification, though, is that a list of some rights would be included so they were guaranteed(1) Madison and states proposed many rights(i) House passed 17, Senate agreed to 12, and10 were ratified by the states(a) Ninth and ten are very important- Ninth: Any rights not specifically mentioned in the Constitution are also guaranteed against government infringement- Tenth: all powers not delegated to the federal government belong to the state or to the peopleix. Article one is the lengthiest of the articlesa. Of the three branches, the legislative branch is the most powerful for two reasons(1) It can eliminate the other two(i) President and supreme court justices can be controlled by the legislative branch(2) It is most closely tied to the peoplex. Article Two is shorter and deals with the presidencyxi. Article Three deals with the judiciaryxii. Article Seven deals with ratificationxiii. What does the constitution say about the political parties? Nothinga. Conflicts were supposed to be less ideological and more institutional (1) That’s why they built in checks & balances(2) Court isn’t supposed to be partisan ideologicalb. Framers of the constitution saw there were political parties in England but they represented class restrictions (torries more monarchal, Whigs more republican) and the founders didn’t see that as an issuesc. The concept of factions was enumerated in a series of papers written during the ratification debate, the Federalist Papers(1) In New York, an extensive debate took place over the features and ratification of the constitution(2) Written by John Jay, Hamilton, and Madison(3) Explained much of the rationale behind the various provisions of the new constitution(i) Essay 10 explained that factions were the national product of social and economic development(a) Saw a need for an environment where factions could freely form toensure that no faction could be supreme for very long- Thought they would prevent abuse of power and require compromise- Still, few saw factionalism in terms of political parties and party affiliation was seen as a disruptive influence in the system- Jefferson said in 1789, if I could not go to heaven but with a party I would not go there at all- Ironic because one of the founders of the first political parties was JeffersonII. Washington was elected in the first presidential election in 1788 by a unanimous vote of the electors who were voted for by the peopleA. The office of the chief executive was essentially conceived with him in mindB. He realized the limitations the republican doctrine required of him1. Refused to place himself above the law2. He had no monarchical aspirations and didn’t want to be president for life (didn’t even want to serve for more than 2 terms)3. When he took his oath of office he didn’t even wear his uniform, just normal clothesC. He understood that he was setting an example for future presidentsD. The constitution set up executive departments but didn’t say how they should be run1. Washington decided to request opinions of cabinet officers (like the British system)i. He made decisions based on a consensus approachii. Naturally this system works best when there’s some degree of opposition in the presented views, and Washington had 2 of the best cabinet officers who were at opposite ends of opinionsa. Jefferson and Hamilton(1) Hamilton (Secretary of Treasury) was a nationalist and believed in strong central government(i) Born in the Caribbean (no ties to any state)(ii) Sought to benefit the rich and the well-born to align them on the side of the government(2) Jefferson as secretary of state believed in a nation of freehold farmers(i) Believed in government by the people(ii) Strong believer in republican principles (government by the people)(3) The first American political party system formed around their differing ideals(i) Jeffersonian Republicans(ii)