TEXTBOOK:  Magleby 24th Edition, Chapter 1 (pp. 27-38), Chapter 2 (pp. 42-64), Chapter 3 (pp. 77-98)

                         {Magleby 2009 Brief Edition, Chapter 1 (pp. 10-32), Chapter 2 (pp.44-68)}

 OBJECTIVES

2.1     Evaluate how previous political theory and experiments influenced the US Constitution

2.2     Evaluate the arguments for and against ratification of the US Constituiton.

2.3     Describe the basic structure of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.

2.4     Analyze how the Constitution grants, limits, separates, and balances governmental power.

2.5     Understand the Constitutional has evolved through informal, unwritten, and implied considerations

2.6     Outline the process of making formal changes to the Constitution.

2.7    Assess the advantages and disadvantages of a Federal system of government

2.8    Assess the role of the courts in defining the relationship between national and state governments

2.9    Analyze the budget as a tool of federalism and evaluate its impact on state and local governments

 OUTLINE

The Framers of the Constitution sought to create a government capable of protecting liberty and preserving order. The solution they chose—one without precedent at that time—was a government based on a written constitution which combined the principles of popular sovereignty, separation of powers, judicial review, and federalism. Popular consent was most evident in the procedure for choosing members of the House of Representatives. However, popular consent was limited by the requirements that senators be elected by their state legislatures and presidents by the Electoral College. Powers were separated among branches that then had to cooperate to effect change. Thus, separation of powers was joined with a system of checks and balances. This, it was hoped, would prevent tyranny, even by a popular majority.

Federalism came to mean a system in which both the national and state governments had independent authority. Allocating powers between these two levels of government and devising means to ensure that neither large nor small states would dominate the national government required the most delicate compromises at the Philadelphia convention. In the drafting of the Constitution and the struggle for its ratification, the positions people took were determined by a variety of factors--including profound differences of opinion over whether the state or national government were the best protector of personal liberty. Federalism means that citizens living in different parts of the country will be treated differently. States reserve to themselves important powers over such public services as schooling and law enforcement, and important public decisions such as land use.  Yet federalism also means that there are more opportunities to participate in decision-making.

ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS

The purpose of this chapter is to give the student a preview of the major questions to be asked throughout the textbook and to introduce key terms. After reading and reviewing the material in this chapter the student should be able to do each of the following:

·         Why did the American colonists feel entitled to “natural rights"?

·         What were the flaws of the Articles of Confederation?

·         Which was a better plan for union? Virginia or New Jersey? Why?

·         What were the strengths and weaknesses of the “Connecticut Compromise”?

·         Why is separation of powers and federalism key parts of the Constitution?

·         What are some informal checks and balances provided for by the Constitution?

·         Why was the Bill of Rights added to the Constitution?

·         What is Judicial Review?  How did the cases of Marbury v Madison and McCulloch v Maryland change American Constitutional law?

·         What have national and state powers been interpreted by the courts?

·         What are the strengths and weaknesses of federal categorical grants and block grants to the states?

·         Do you support devolution of powers to state governments? Explain.

VOCABULARY