AP Civics
Chapter 2 Notes
Constitutional Democracy: Promoting Liberty and Self-Government
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I.
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Writers of the Constitution were intent on preventing a concentration of governing power. Yet wanted a
government that would allow the majority to rule.
Objectives:
Limited Government: strict limits of lawful use of power
Self-Government: will of the people, majority rule
Before the Constitution: The Colonial and Revolutionary Experiences
Early Americans’ admiration for limited government was based on their British heritage and their colonial
experience
The British heritage included the concept of a monarchy restricted by parliament
Colonial charters had provisions for limited government
Trial by jury
Freedom of expression
Religious oppression was rare
Degree of self-government (elected assembly)
A. “The Rights of Englishmen”
1. The British failed to treat the colonists as “Englishmen with rights”
a. imposed taxes
(1) no taxation without representation (James Otis)
2. First Continental Congress defined the colonists demands
a. violence ensued when the king refused their demands
B. The Declaration of Independence
1. John Locke: English philosopher
a. government must be restrained in its powers if it is to serve the common good
b. emphasized unalienable or natural rights
(1) life, liberty, and property
2. Locke’s ideas were expressed in Thomas Paine’s Common Sense
a. Jefferson paraphrased the ideas in writing the Declaration of Independence
3. Declaration was a call for revolution rather than a framework for a new government
4. Ideas of liberty, self-government, individual rights, and lawful powers will become a basis for the
Constitution
C. The Articles of Confederation
1. Subordinated national authority to that of states creating a weak and ineffectual national
government
2. National government lacked the power to tax
a. was dependent on voluntary contributions from states
b. not able to finance an adequate army and navy
3. Congress could not shape a national economy
a. could not interfere with state commerce
4. The Articles demonstrated the consequences of an overly weak national authority
a. result was public disorder, economic chaos, and inadequate defense
D. Shay’s Rebellion: A Nation Dissolving
1. Rebellion of farmers caused from the state (Mass.) confiscating their property
2. Underscored the problems of the Articles and provided the impetus for a Constitutional convention
II.
Negotiating Toward a Constitution
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Formulating and agreeing upon a stronger national government required a variety of compromises
An effective national government required union of people not states
A. The Great Compromise: A Two Chamber Congress
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Virginia Plan
Edmund Randolph
Large states
Strong national government
3 branches of government: legislative,
executive, and judicial
Two house legislative based on population
(bicameral)
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New Jersey Plan
William Patterson
Small states
Strong state governments
3 branches
One house (unicameral) which each state being
represented equally
The Great Compromise
Roger Sherman
Plan called for a two house Congress
Senate where each state would have equal
representation
House of Representatives where representation
would be according to population of each state
B. The North – South Compromise: The Issue of Slavery
1. Commercial non-slave North v. agricultural slave South
2. Prohibited tax on exports (but not imports)
3. Allowed slavery to remain legal
4. Three-Fifths Compromise
a. 5 slaves equivalent of 3 white people for the purpose of taxation and representation
C. A Strategy for Ratification
1. Independently elected ratifying conventions in each state approved the document
2. 9 out of 13 states required for the document to become law (3/4)
D. The Ratification Debate
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Anti-federalist
Opponents of the Constitution during debate
over ratification
Strengthen commerce and national defense
Opposed a strong national government
Supported the revision of the Articles of
Confederation
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Federalist
Proponents of the Constitution during debate
over ratification
Strong national government
Supported a new Constitution
1. President a concern
a. no such office had ever existed
b. President chosen by electors appointed by the states lessened the concern
2. Federalist Papers
a. support of the new Constitution
b. Madison, Hamilton, and Jay
3. By 1788 the 9th state, New Hampshire, had ratified the Constitution
E. The Framers Goals
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1. A Constitution is the fundamental law which defines how government operates
a. how leaders are chosen, the institutions and procedures of government, and lawful power and
limits on that power
b. it is the Supreme Law
2. The Framers goals of creating a strong national government while preserving the states was attained
by adopting the first federal system in the world with sovereignty divided between national and state
governments (Federalism)
III.
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Protecting Liberty: Limited Government
The Constitution seeks to establish a government strong enough to enforce collective interests without
endangering personal liberty
A. Grants and Denials of Power
1. National government is restricted in part by expressed constitutional grants of power
a. powers not granted it are denied it unless they are necessary and proper to the carrying out of
the granted powers
(1) power to tax
(2) establish army/navy
(3) declare war
(4) regulate commerce among states
(5) create a national currency
(6) borrow money
2. Government is also constrained by denials of power
a. explicitly prohibits certain practices
(1) accused entitled to writ of habeas corpus
(2) ex post facto law
(3) religious tests as qualifications for office
(4) bill of attainder
B. Using Power to Offset Power
1. Divide authority of government so that no single institution could exercise great power without the
agreement of other institutions
2. Federalist #10 (Madison)
3. Separation of Powers
a. the division of the powers of government among separate institutions or branches
C. Separated Institutions Sharing Power: Checks and Balances
1. No institution can act decisively without the support or acquiescence of the other institutions
2. Three branches overlap – check each others power and balances those powers with powers of their
own
a. shared legislative power
b. shared executive power
c. shared judicial power
D. Bill of Rights
1. Restrains government by granting citizens a set of civil liberties that cannot lawfully be denied by
government
2. “A Bill of Rights is what the people are entitled to against every government on earth, general or
particular, and what no just government should refuse rest of inference” (Thomas Jefferson)
3. First 10 Amendments to the Constitution
E. Judicial Review
1. Power of the courts to decide whether governmental institution has acted within its’ constitutional
powers
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a. declare government actions null and void
2. Judicial Review established in the court case Marbury v. Madison
IV.
Providing for Self-Government
A. Democracy v. Republic
1. Framers made an important distinction between a democracy and republic
a. Democratic government
(1) public decides issues directly
b. Republican or Representative government
(1) elected officials instead of the public decides issues
2. Framers feared the tyranny of the majority
a. the potential of a majority to monopolize power for its own gain and to the detriment of
minority rights and interests
(1) had characterized democracy
(2) constructed a republican form of government characterized by indirect popular vote
3. In their use of a republic the framers were referring to representative government in which elected
officials met in representative institutions to decide policy through extended debate and deliberation
4. Similar to ideas of English theorist: Edmund Burke
a. Letter to the Sheriffs of Bristol
(1) representatives should act as the public trustees
B. Limited Popular Rule
1. The Constitution contains a variety of mechanisms to institute representative indirect government
OFFICE
President
U.S. Senator
U.S. Representative
Federal Judge
METHOD OF SELECTION
Electoral college
State legislature
Popular election
Nominated by the President and
approved by the Senate
TERM OF SERVICE
4 years
6 years (one third of Senators’ terms
expire every 2 years
2 years
Indefinite (subject to good behavior)
C. Altering the Constitution: More Power to the People
1. With the passage of time, an increasing amount of popular influence has been built into the U.S.
system
2. Jeffersonian Democracy: A Revolution of Spirit
a. Jefferson believed that ordinary people were deserving of a larger governing voice than
provided by the original Constitution
b. No clear idea of how popular government would work in practice
c. National government belongs to all, not just to the privilege few
3. Jacksonian Democracy: Linking the People and the Presidency
a. greater role for public in government
b. persuaded states to make popular voting the basis for selecting presidential electors
c. “spoils system”
d. Grass-roots political parties
4. The Progressives: Senate and Primary Elections
a. reforms designed to weaken the power of business trusts and party bosses
b. rejected Burkean concept of trusteeship and embraced the idea that representatives are
delegates of the people
c. local level reform
(1) initiative
(2) referendum
d. national politic reforms
(1) direct election of U.S. Senators
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(2) introduction of primary elections
e. Charles S. Beard
(1) Economic Interpretation of the Constitution
(2) Believed that the Constitution was a device for keeping power in the hands of the rich
(3) His thesis was challenged by other prominent historians
V.
Constitutional Democracy Today
1. The type of government created in 1787 is today a Constitutional Democracy
a. it is democratic with majority influence through elections
b. it is constitutional in its requirements that power be attained by election with respect for
individual rights
c. the link between an electoral majority and a governing majority is less direct than in other
democratic systems
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Although the Framers did not have great trust in popular rule, it would be a mistake to conclude they
were foes of democracy. They were intent on balancing the demands of limited government with those
of self-government and, in striking a balance, leaned toward the former, believing that the evils of
unrestrained power were the greater danger to a civil society.
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