Chapter 3: The Constitution
Synopsis
The U.S. Constitution is the world's oldest written governing instrument.
It was meant initially to be a remodeled version of the weak and ineffective
Articles of Confederation. Instead, the delegates to the Constitutional
Convention overstepped their mandate to revise the Articles and created
an enlightened and enduring blueprint for consensual government.
American independence from British rule was spurred by the desire
to preserve liberties that the colonists had achieved. Restrictions
on property inheritance, religious practices, and economic mobility
were common in Europe but were minimal in America. The colonists were
also determined to forestall taxation by a remote British government
in which the colonists had no representation.
The Declaration of Independence was the colonists' response to punitive
taxation and colonial restiveness. It was a justification for severing
all political connections to the British Crown. The declaration was
the work of Thomas Jefferson. He presented a clear and masterful argument
for the inalienability of the people's rights to life, liberty,
and the pursuit of happiness and the right to be governed by an
authority of their choice. Jefferson based his argument on the ideas
of the English philosopher John Locke, including the right of the
people to revolt against the government's usurpation of legitimate
rights.
The colonists declared their new government a republic, a government
without a monarchy; it would be rooted in the consent of the governed
and power would be exercised by representatives responsible to the
governed. American colonial leaders were fearful of democracy,
which was associated with mob rule and instability.
The first attempt at government was the Articles of Confederation.
The Articles proved inadequate because they established a national
government largely devoid of power. The Articles retained power in
the states, pacifying those who feared the loss of liberty at the
hands of a remote national government. Government under the Articles
was unable to cope with economic problems and threatened insurrection.
Delegates to the Constitutional Convention realized the need for a
stronger national government to preserve order. At the outset, the
Virginia delegation proposed a long list of changes to strengthen
the national government. This plan became the focus of debate and
the basis for an entirely new government charter. An alternate plan,
drafted by the delegates from New Jersey, appealed to the smaller
states. A great compromise helped to resolve the stalemate between
the two plans.
The Constitution articulates four significant political values. Republicanism
is a form of government in which power resides in the people and is
exercised by their elected representatives. Federalism is the
division of sovereignty between the states and the national government.
The Constitution created a national government. Separation of powers
is the assignment of lawmaking power to a legislative branch, law-enforcing
power to an executive branch, and law-interpreting power to a judicial
branch. The constitutional system of checks and balances is
a means of giving each branch of government some scrutiny over the
other branches. The idea of dividing power was to prevent tyranny
by a single person or group.
The first three articles of the Constitution establish the internal
operation and powers of the separate branches of government. The remaining
four define the relationships among the states, explain the process
of amendment, declare the supremacy of national law, and explain the
procedures for ratifying the Constitution.
The new Constitution lacked a bill of rights. This proved to be an
impediment to the Constitution's ratification. Ratification proceeded
only on the condition that a bill of rights would be added by amendment.
By 1791, ten amendments embodying these rights and liberties were
adopted by the states.
The Constitution is a simple structural framework for a government
that balances freedom and order but pays virtually no attention to
social equality. The framers of the Constitution intended to create
a republic resting on majority consent, not majority rule. Contemporary
American government conforms to a pluralist model of democracy, which
may have been what the delegates to the Constitutional Convention
had in mind when they fashioned their new government.
Return to Top ©1998 by Houghton
Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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