Lecture Notes: American Government - Transition from Articles of Confederation to the U.S. Constitution

Weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation

• Established by the Founding Fathers as the first constitution.
• Failed to solve collective action problems.
• By 1786, the economic depression and various issues were evident.
• Attempt to amend the Articles at a convention in Maryland failed due to poor attendance.

The Constitutional Convention

• Held in May 1787 in Philadelphia; 55 delegates from 12 states attended.
• Rhode Island did not participate, preventing unanimous amendments to the Articles.
• Delegates began drafting a new constitution in secret to avoid public backlash.

Philosophical Foundations

• Influences of John Locke and Montesquieu on natural rights and government structure.
• Agreement on a federal government system—balance between unitary and confederal systems.

Representation Debate

• Conflict between large and small states over representation.
• Virginia Plan (large states) vs. New Jersey Plan (small states).
• The Great Compromise led to a bicameral legislature: equal representation in the Senate and population-based representation in the House.

Slavery Debate

• Slavery was legal in all states except Massachusetts and Vermont in 1787.
• Southern states demanded slave representation without granting rights, leading to the Three-Fifths Compromise.

Federalist Papers

• Series of essays advocating for ratification of the Constitution.
• Key papers: Federalist 10 (warns against factions) and Federalist 51 (checks and balances).
• Anti-Federalists opposed the strong central government.

Structure of Government Under the Constitution

• Article I: Legislative branch; Congress with enumerated and implied powers.
• Article II: Executive branch; powers and duties of the President.
• Article III: Judicial branch; powers of the Supreme Court.

Key Constitutional Principles

• Checks and balances among branches of government.
• Judicial review (established by Marbury v. Madison) as a key power of the Supreme Court.

Articles and Amendments

• Article IV: State relations and full faith and credit clause.
• Article V: Amendment process.
• Article VI: Constitutional supremacy.
• Article VII: Ratification process.
• Amendments: Highlights include the Bill of Rights and significant amendments like the 10th and 14th.

Critical Concepts

• Enumerated vs. implied powers of Congress.
• Full faith and credit clause implications.
• Supremacy clause establishing the Constitution as the highest law.
• The ongoing balance of state and national power (federalism).

Next Steps: Transition to exploring federalism, collective action problems, and the balance of power in the next lecture.