Welcome everyone. Um today our topic is on the constitution of the United States. Um so in today's class we are starting with you know the foundation of the US government which is the constitution and by the end of this session I have a number of learning objectives that I want you to have covered. Um the first one is to explain the purposes of a constitution. Why do constitutions exist in general and what do they do? Um to understand the historical path um from the declaration of independence to the articles of federation to the constitution. So the origins and the evolution of the US constitution to be able to describe how the constitution was written and the compromises that were involved to dis um identify some of the key features of the constitutions such as separation of powers, republicanism, federalism and checks and balances as well as to um recognize the importance of judicial view the role of the Supreme Court in um the constitutional review um and why the constitution is um described as a living document um particularly in reference to the role of the Supreme Court. But what is a constitution? A constitution is basically a framework uh for government. And we have constitutions around the world. Um the United States Constitution is the basis for a number of constitutions around the world because it is one of the oldest constitutions. Um but one definition which we find in the textbook is that a constitution is the form of government delineated by the mighty hand of the people in which certain first principles of fundamental law are established. This is a definition by Supreme Court Justice William Patterson. um and it encapsulated um most of the key features of what a constitution is in the United States. Um the constitution is a single written document that was adopted in 1787. It is considered a living document. Um this means that its interpretation evolves over time. The words haven't changed much, but their meaning has been reinterpreted in light of new circumstances, like how the equal protection clause was used in the civil rights movement, for example. Um, it's also a binding contract. Every federal and state official swears an oath to upload it, to uphold it. Um, that's a huge signal of its importance. and it's above any one leader, any one party or any one branch of government. Some of the key functions um we we look at the constitution is mainly uh achieving three main things. Um the first one is to outline the organization of government. So constitution establishes the three branches of government. The legislative, the executive and the judicial uh branches and define their roles. It also grants uh power to governments. Um it authorizes governments to act but also it sets limits. Uh for example, Congress can levy taxes but cannot pass expos laws. It also is the symbol of the nation. So the constitution symbolizes the nation. It embodies the shared principles that citizens uphold which is uh like liberty, equality. So for many Americans, the constitution is almost viewed as sacred because it represents the national identity as well as the continuity of the nation. Um and therefore it is very symbolic to uh what it means to be American. If we look back at um the origins and the evolution of the constitution, there are a number of key milestones. The first one being the declaration of independence of 1776. This wasn't just a breakup letter with Britain. But it it also introduced some uh enduring political ideas um such as the equality of all human beings. So all men are created equal. um that was revolutionary for the time even if not applied to all groups. Uh the concept of the consent of the government. Governments derive power from the people from the consent of the people. So government is a creation and a servant of the people. It's not a divine right. Um it also introduced the concept of natural rights. The rights that all intrinsically possess constitute a higher law binding government. Um so life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness these are inalienable rights and government exists to protect these um and as well as the concept of the rule of law. The government is bound by its own laws. So the declaration uh gave the revolution uh moral legitimacy and it said Americans weren't just rebelling against England but they were standing for these more universal principles that they felt were not espoused in the previous arrangement. Another key milestone is the articles of confederation. The first constitution um of the United States was the articles of uh confederation 1781 to 1789. Um these created um somewhat weak form of government. Congress could make laws but it couldn't enforce them. It couldn't regulate trade or levy taxes. So states acted almost like separate countries printing their own money, making their own uh treaties. And this worked briefly. uh during the revolution but failed afterwards. The nation lacked unity um and in economic crisis such as the Shaes uh rebellion of 1786 where farmers in Massachusetts rose up against debt and taxes. It shows the dangers of having a powerless national government. Uh so this crisis convinced many that reform was urgent. um which led to um the um the delegates um planning to meet in Philadelphia to revise the articles of confederation but they quickly decided to start over uh mainly because of the absence of uh power in the central government. So the central government generally lacked authority. states held too much power creating disunityity amongst the states and we had leaders like George Washington, Alexander Hamilton and James Madison believing that the United States needed a stronger, more centralized, more stable government. So the convention worked in secrecy which allowed for frank debate but it also raised suspicion outside the halls since its goal was to balance liberty with effective uh governance. So the Philadelphia convention um brought together some debates which produced several key compromises. We have the Virginia plan which favored large states representation uh which was based on population. At the time Virginia was the largest of the uh 13 colonies. Um New Jersey plan favored um smaller states equal representation for each state. Um we also have the Connecticut great compromise which established today's biccameal congress a house that is based on population and a senate that is based on equal representation and we also have the three-fifths compromise uh which for representation and taxation enslaved people who were not considered equal at the time uh could count as three-fifths of a person. So these compromises reveal how the constitution balanced competing interests uh particularly when we look at southern uh versus northern states uh but it also left some unresolved injustices especially those that pertained to uh slavery. After writing the constitution ratification was not smooth. Um there were two main factions. the federalists who argued for a stronger central government to ensure stability and unity and we had the anti-federalists who worried that the new system could concentrate too much power and endanger individual freedoms. So the federalists promised a bill of rights which became sort of like the first ten commandments guaranteeing freedoms like speech, freedom of the press, religion and due process. So ratification came in 1788 and George Washington was elected as the first uh president of the United States. Some of the key features of the constitution, the first one is republicanism. This means that citizens elect representatives to govern on their behalf. So the United States is an indirect form of democracy unlike Athenian democracy which was more direct democracy. Um in direct democracies um citizens directly vote for their laws but in a republican democracy or an indirect democracy you elect officials who then lobby for the laws on your behalf. Um the concept or the feature of divided powers uh the constitution separates um government into three main branches to prevent concentration of power in any one branch. So you have the executive branch, the legislative branch and the judicial branch and the relationship between these branches are facilitated by checks and balances. For example, Congress makes the laws but the president can veto these laws as well as the courts can declare laws uncon unconstitutional. So there are checks and balances between the legislative branch, the executive branch and the judicial branch. federalism which is a topic we will talk about in greater detail next week. Uh power is shared between the national and state governments. Um and finally we have an independent executive. Um so the United States has a presidential constitution as opposed to a parliamentary constitution. So this means that the president is chosen indirectly by uh the electoral college. This is very different from let's say for example the United Kingdom or um Canada which has a pre parliamentary system. In those countries um the head of um head of government is uh selected directly from the legislature. Um so the one of the main features that I haven't mentioned here is adaptability. So the brevity of the constitution allows it to be applied in multiple contexts in newer contexts. So the um constitution for example doesn't mention the internet but the courts can apply concepts such as free speech uh protections to online expression even though in the 18th century when the document was um was was created it had no concept of things like social media and the internet. One key aspect um is uh amending the constitution. So amending the constitution ensures its flexibility while also requiring broad consensus. So proposals to amend the constitution requires 2/3 of both houses of congress or a convention called by twothirds of state legislatures. Uh and ratification requires approval by 3/4 of states. This is deliberately hard. Only 27 amendments have been successful over 230 years. And successful amendments include the abolition of slavery, which is the 13th amendment, women's suffrage, which is the 19th amendment, and the lowering of the voting age to 18 years, which is the 26th amendment. Others, like the equal rights amendment, have failed despite popular support, uh, showing how difficult it is to change the constitution. Um the last thing I want to really focus on today is one of uh judicial review. One of the constitution's most important features came later in Marbury versus Madison, which is an 1803 uh judicial decision. The Supreme Court declared that courts could not strike down laws that violated um the constitution. Um so you can read more about this in the textbook but essentially judicial review makes the Supreme Court the final authority on constitutional meaning and it also ensures that uh no branch is above the constitution. Um so this has happened you know and shaped American history. You've probably heard of uh Brown versus the Board of Educations 1954 which ended legal segregation or you've probably heard of Ro v. Wade um and its recent reversal in Dobs versus Jackson. So judicial review has been a significant part of um of the con of you know constitutional law in the United States. Um so the power isn't necessarily in the text of the constitution. Um it was asserted and accepted showing again that the constitution lives through its interpretation which is why judicial review has been very very pivotal in understanding the constitution. So, as we end today's overview, I want you to be thinking about how does the US Constitution affect you on a daily basis? And also, is the Constitution outdated? Should it be revised for the 21st century? Are there things that it has not accomplished that you think it should accomplish? So, I want you to think critically in your day-to-day life how the Constitution affects you. Read the Constitution. I think that's a interesting place to start. Um and also um as we move forward with this module, some of your next steps is to take part in the weekly quiz. Uh so make sure you do the weekly reading review quiz. And this week we have a film discussion board. There's a documentary entitled Constitution USA, a More Perfect Union by Peter Seagel. So he goes into a more in-depth analysis on the constitution and how it affects us in our daytoday lives. Thank you very much for your attention. I look forward to posting the next lecture in a few days. I hope you enjoy the rest of your day.