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- Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
- Kategorie: Geisteswissenschaft
- Sprache: Englisch
A source of unbiased, factual information on the U.S. government
American Government For Dummies helps you easily understand the concepts and historical events that define the U.S. government system. This readable guide covers all the content in a typical course on American government or civics, and it offers curious readers a way to learn more about how the country is run. You'll get clear, impartial, and trustworthy explanations of topics such as the three branches of government, political parties, how campaigns and elections work, and public and foreign policy. It's everything you need to become government-savvy.
Inside:
- Understand the history of the U.S. system of government and how it operates today
- Learn about opinion polls, elections, interest groups, political parties, and campaigns
- Untangle the differences among the Senate, House of Representatives, Judiciary, and other important institutions
- Get clarity on the importance of voting and discover other ways you can contribute
American Government For Dummies is a perfect for anyone looking to brush up on the foundations of the U.S. government—for a class, or simply to become more informed on the systems and structures that shape daily life.
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Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2025
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American Government For Dummies®
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Table of Contents
Cover
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright
Introduction
Conventions Used in This Book
Icons Used in This Book
Beyond the Book
Where to Go from Here
Part 1: Setting the Foundation for a New Nation
Chapter 1: Designing a New Country and a New Constitution
Creating Colonies
Fighting a Revolution
Writing a Constitution
Having a New Constitution
Chapter 2: Dividing Powers to Establish Federalism
Explaining Federalism
Comparing Federalism to Other Systems of Government
Evolving over Time
Part 2: Developing Political Structures
Chapter 3: Convening a Congress
Comparing Democratic Forms of Government
Studying Congress
Tracing the Evolution of Congress
Serving in the House of Representatives
Serving in the Senate
Getting Work Done in Congress
Playing Many Roles
Becoming a Law
Chapter 4: Focusing on the Presidency
Analyzing Types of Executives
Creating the Presidency
Receiving Official Powers
Receiving Unofficial Powers
Growing the Presidency
Presidential Resources
Performing Many Roles: Today’s President
Chapter 5: Adjusting the Judiciary Framework
Studying Different Types of Law
Getting Judicial Review
Being on the Supreme Court
Limitations on Judicial Power
Chapter 6: Building the Bureaucracy
Going Bureaucratic
Studying Different Types of Bureaucracy
Controlling the Bureaucracy
Evolving Focus and Function Over Time
Growing Rapidly
The Bureaucracy Today
Part 3: Safeguarding the People
Chapter 7: Addressing Civil Liberties
Coming up with a Bill of Rights
Incorporating the Bill of Rights
Bearing Arms and Guaranteeing Due Process
Chapter 8: Continuing the March for Civil Rights
Dealing with Slavery
Starting The Civil Rights Movement
Becoming More Powerful
Having Special Status
Finally Getting Rights
Part 4: Making Policy: What a Government Must Do
Chapter 9: Making Public Policy
Studying Economic Theories
Coming Up with a Budget
Studying Public Policy
Making Social Policy
Spending the Taxpayers’ Money
Making International Economic Policy
Chapter 10: Conducting Foreign Policy
Studying Foreign U.S. Policy
Making Foreign Policy
Tracking U.S. Presidential Doctrines
Part 5: Participating in Politics
Chapter 11: Regarding Public Opinion and the Media
Measuring Public Opinion
Socializing Politically
Becoming an Agent of Political Socialization
Examining the Media
Having Powers
Chapter 12: Partaking in the Political Process
Participating in Politics
Decline in Voter Turnout
Determining the Vote
Explaining the Vote
Chapter 13: Participating in Campaigns and Elections
Setting a Precedent
Formally Campaigning
Needing Big Money
Chapter 14: Examining Political Parties
Analyzing Political Parties
Functions in a Democracy
Declining Over Time
Studying Five Party Systems in U.S. History
Realigning Over Time
Third Parties
The Structure of American Political Parties
Chapter 15: Discovering Interest Groups
Embracing Diverse Interests
Sources of Interest Group Power
Taking Stock of the Most Powerful Interest Groups in the U.S.
Performing Necessary Functions in a Democracy
Part 6: The Part of Tens
Chapter 16: The Ten Most Influential Court Cases in U.S. History
Marbury v. Madison (1803)
Dred Scott v. Sanford (1857)
Plessy v. Feguson (1896)
Brown v. the Board of Education of Topeka (1954)
Loving v. Virginia (1967)
Roe v. Wade (1973)
Bush v. Gore (2000)
District of Columbia v. Heller (2008)
Obergefell v. Hodges (2015)
Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization (2022)
Chapter 17: The Ten Most Influential Documents in U.S. History
The Declaration of Independence (1776)
The Articles of Confederation (1781-1789)
The Constitution of the United States (1789)
The Bill of Rights (1791)
The Emancipation Proclamation (1863)
The Gettysburg Address (1863)
The 14th Amendment to the Constitution (1868)
The Truman Doctrine (1947)
The Civil Rights Act of 1964
The Voting Rights Act of 1965
Index
About the Author
Connect with Dummies
End User License Agreement
List of Tables
Chapter 12
TABLE 12-1 Recent voter turnout in select democracies
List of Illustrations
Chapter 1
FIGURE 1-1: The Boston Tea Party.
FIGURE 1-2: Signing of the Declaration of Independence.
FIGURE 1-3: George Washington crossing the Delaware.
FIGURE 1-4: The Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia.
Chapter 2
FIGURE 2-1: Government employees.
FIGURE 2-2: Global distribution of federal and unitary forms of government.
Chapter 3
FIGURE 3-1: Speaker of the House Thomas B. Reed.
FIGURE 3-2: Speaker of the House “Uncle” Joe Cannon.
FIGURE 3-3: Sam Rayburn, Speaker of the House of Representatives, 1941–1947, 19...
FIGURE 3-4: Robert C. Byrd, senator from West Virginia.
Chapter 4
FIGURE 4-1: Andrew Jackson.
FIGURE 4-2: Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
FIGURE 4-3: Vice President J.D. Vance.
FIGURE 4-4: First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt.
Chapter 5
FIGURE 5-1: Geographic boundaries of U.S. federal courts.
FIGURE 5-2: John Marshall, chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court (1801–1835)....
FIGURE 5-3: Supreme Court building in Washington, D.C.
FIGURE 5-4: President of the U.S. and Chief Justice William Howard Taft.
Chapter 6
FIGURE 6-1: Max Weber.
FIGURE 6-2: Iron triangle.
FIGURE 6-3: President Chester Arthur.
Chapter 7
FIGURE 7-1: James Madison — author of the Bill of Rights and fourth president o...
FIGURE 7-2: Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.: associate justice of the U.S. Supreme C...
FIGURE 7-3: Example of a Miranda warning.
FIGURE 7-4: Clarence Gideon.
Chapter 8
FIGURE 8-1: The Missouri Compromise.
FIGURE 8-2: Dred Scott.
FIGURE 8-3: Rosa Parks.
FIGURE 8-4: Martin Luther King.
FIGURE 8-5: Women demonstrating for the Bristow-Mondell Federal Suffrage amendm...
Chapter 9
FIGURE 9-1: Adam Smith.
FIGURE 9-2: Lord Maynard Keynes.
FIGURE 9-3: President Roosevelt signing the Social Security Act.
FIGURE 9-4: President Obama signing the Patient Protection and Affordable Care ...
FIGURE 9-5: The federal budget in fiscal year 2023.
Chapter 10
FIGURE 10-1: James Monroe.
FIGURE 10-2: Theodore Roosevelt.
FIGURE 10-3: Harry Truman.
FIGURE 10-4: Dwight D. Eisenhower.
FIGURE 10-5: Richard M. Nixon.
FIGURE 10-6: Jimmy Carter.
FIGURE 10-7: Ronald Reagan.
FIGURE 10-8: Bill Clinton.
FIGURE 10-9: George W. Bush.
FIGURE 10-10: Donald J. Trump.
Chapter 11
FIGURE 11-1: Jean-Jaques Rousseau.
FIGURE 11-2: President Truman celebrating victory in 1948.
FIGURE 11-3: President Franklin Delano Roosevelt giving one of his fireside cha...
Chapter 12
FIGURE 12-1: Voter turnout in the 2020 and 2024 presidential election.
FIGURE 12-2: Registration requirements for voting by state.
FIGURE 12-3: Changes in President Trump’s support based on ethnic backgrounds a...
Chapter 13
FIGURE 13-1: William Henry Harrison campaign poster from 1840.
FIGURE 13-2: Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont.
FIGURE 13-3: Senator John McCain.
Chapter 14
FIGURE 14-1: Thomas Jefferson.
FIGURE 14-2: John Quincy Adams.
FIGURE 14-3: Abraham Lincoln.
FIGURE 14-4: Campaign button for the Progressive Party (Bull Moose Party).
FIGURE 14-5: Campaign button for the Green Party in 2000.
Chapter 15
FIGURE 15-1: Alexis de Tocqueville.
FIGURE 15-2: James Madison.
FIGURE 15-3: The U.S. Chamber of Commerce Building at 1615 H Street NW in Washi...
FIGURE 15-4: AARP.
FIGURE 15-5: AMA.
FIGURE 15-6: AFL-CIO.
FIGURE 15-7: NRA.
Guide
Cover
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright
Begin Reading
Index
About the Author
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American Government For Dummies®
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Introduction
Currently almost 90 percent of all U.S. junior and high school students must take an American government course. In addition, 20 percent of all U.S. college and university students are required by law to take the course.
Most students do not take American government because they believe it is a fun course and that they will enjoy it; they take it because it is required to graduate. That’s where this book comes in. It is designed to make the course more enjoyable and easier to understand.
It is imperative for our citizens to understand not just how our government works but also how to participate in it and impact future policy decisions. Our founding fathers designed a representative democracy for us, in which we have the power to select who will make decisions on our behalf. This allows us to also control what type of decisions are made by our policymakers. This is a privilege unavailable in many forms of government. Most people in the world have no political power, cannot shape policy, and must abide by decisions made elsewhere. U.S. citizens have political power and can force policymakers to make policy they agree with. If they disagree, citizens can just vote them out of office.
American government courses are designed to bring about true citizens with knowledge and willingness to politically participate in this democracy.
This book is designed to help students in American government or civics courses to understand concepts and materials in an easy and fun way. Many American government textbooks are full of jargon and scientific terminology students do not know or readily understand. Students can get confused or frustrated and just give up on the study of American government. This book is designed to achieve the opposite: to get students interested in American government, understand concepts and historical events, and get involved in government. The hoped-for end result of taking an American government course and reading this book is an educated citizen ready to participate in American government.
To quote Thomas Jefferson: “With all the imperfections of our present government, it is without comparison the best existing, or that ever did exist.”
By reading this book and becoming a student of American government, you will acquire the necessary tools to become familiar with, study, and hopefully become interested in both American political institutions and public policymaking. This book makes it easier to pass an American government class and create an interest in American politics resulting in an educated citizen ready to participate in our political world.
This book is intended as an introduction to American politics. I assume no prior knowledge of American political institutions and policymaking. It is also important to point out that while writing this book I have striven to be nonpartisan, meaning that I did not write with any type of political ideology in mind and did not attempt to push certain ideas and concepts while ignoring others.
I would like for the reader of this book to come to their own conclusions, become informed, and participate in the political process. Citizens need to be educated on the political issues of the day and must be informed and willing to participate in the political process.
I designed this book to provide a solid foundation for the field of American government. It will prove to be helpful whether you are trying to pass a high school or college class, writing a paper, or reading just to expand your knowledge. I tried to make the book entertaining, adding certain little-known titbits on many topics. So, whether you are an American government student or just someone interested in the field, this book is for you. My hope in publishing this book is that everyone understands that politics matters and everyone needs to get involved in it.
I modelled this book on the most widely used textbooks in American government. American government courses are usually structured in a similar fashion and so are textbooks on American government. The American Government For Dummies textbook is structured in a similar fashion to make it easy for students to use for help in the classroom, especially when it comes to the chapter topics and material location. This allows students to easily follow their class lectures and materials using this book.
I foresee students using this book to study for tests and to look up certain concepts and facts they might have missed in class. I foresee the casual reader discovering how American political institutions have developed over time and how policymaking has changed.
To be able to accomplish all of this, this book explains the history of Congress, the presidency, the bureaucracy, and the judiciary. It analyzes domestic and foreign policymaking and shows the reader the roles political parties, interest groups, the media, and public opinion play in U.S. politics.
Conventions Used in This Book
The information in some chapters is relevant to more than just one chapter. When this is the case, I include cross-references to these chapters by chapter number. For example, I discuss voting rights in Chapter 8 on civil rights but also mention them in Chapter 12 on voting.
Icons Used in This Book
As you read and enjoy this book, you will see three different icons that alert you to specific aspects related to American government, its structures, concepts, and major writers and politicians.
When you see this icon you are dealing with interesting, sometimes unique information, that might come in handy in class or everyday life.
This icon points out important information you need to be aware of as you read this, the chapter or the book. The remember icon covers material which might just be on an exam you have to take. This icon covers the most important events, people, and issues.
Historical information, often case-specific, including treaties, constitutional changes, important presidential actions, and other relevant materials or events have this icon beside them. This information is not necessary for grasping certain concepts but is required to do well in a class, be a well-educated citizen or for becoming a political scientist.
Beyond the Book
In addition to what you’re reading right now, this book also comes with a free, access-anywhere Cheat Sheet that includes a list of major political events and documents as well as important concepts, and more. To view the Cheat Sheet, simply go to www.dummies.com and type American Government For Dummies Cheat Sheet in the Search box.
Where to Go from Here
Feel free to start with any chapter in the book that interests you or is being covered in your high school or college class. Keep in mind that all the chapters are nonlinear, so you can start with any topic in any chapter.
Happy reading!
Part 1
Setting the Foundation for a New Nation
IN THIS PART …
Discover the reasons why the colonists were unhappy with British rule and started a revolution.
Examine the Declaration of Independence and see why the new form of government, created by the Articles of Confederation, was not feasible.
Observe the process of writing a new constitution and study the subsequent debate over ratification of the document.
Understand why a Bill of Rights had to be added to the Constitution and become familiar with how the Constitution can be changed.
Become familiar with the concept of federalism and see how federalism has changed in the U.S. over time.
Chapter 1
Designing a New Country and a New Constitution
IN THIS CHAPTER
Settling the country
Initiating a revolution
Creating a new form of government
Having problems
Writing a new constitution
Debating and compromising
Adding a Bill of Rights
Succeeding and having a new country
Throughout the 17th and 18th century, thousands of people migrated to North America. Most came for greater economic opportunities than they could find in Europe; others came for religious freedom. The British Empire took interest in the American continent in the 16th century. In 1587, the first English settlement was set up at Roanoke Island in North Carolina. It was established by Sir Walter Raleigh and disappeared under mysterious circumstances. In 1607, the English tried again, and this time established a colony in Jamestown, Virginia. The colony developed for almost a century but had to live under harsh conditions, constantly fighting the native population. Jamestown did leave the country an important legacy. The colonists established a representative assembly to govern their own affairs, a precedent the country later followed.
Creating Colonies
By 1732, all 13 colonies were in place. There was local self-government, but the colonies were controlled by the British crown. With the British little interested in the colonies, they enjoyed quite a bit of self-rule. Soon, the 13 colonies had their own legislatures set up, and passed laws and even levied taxes. Each of them also had a document similar to a constitution in place.
For example, Pennsylvania had a document called a Frame of Government and Massachusetts had one entitled the Body of Liberties. Great Britain did not stop the colonies from self-rule as long as they remained a part of the empire and were economically profitable to trade with.
Relations between the British Empire and the colonies remained friendly until the middle 1750s, when the French and Indian War broke out. Britain not only had to fight the French Empire but also various Indian tribes in the war over control of parts of North America. Even though the British won the war, it almost bankrupted the country. Being broke, the British needed revenue badly, so they turned to the American colonies for money. They decided to tax the colonies directly, which had never been done before.
Fighting the French and cracking down
The French and Indian War, fought between Britain and France and various Indian tribes from 1754 until 1763, changed everything. The French, headquartered in Canada, fought the British for control of North America. The Treaty of Paris, which settled the conflict in 1763, gave Britain control over most of North America. However, the war had cost Britain $130 million pounds, which it now had to recoup.
Britain decided to make the colonies help pay for the war by imposing taxes on them. The Sugar Act, passed in 1764, increased the tax on refined sugar and molasses. The colonists were outraged; how could they be taxed if they were not represented in the British Parliament? So, between 1765 and 1766, the colonists attacked tax agents of the British and boycotted British goods. Suddenly, British merchants were hurt by the boycotts and protested to their home government, and the whole Act was repealed by 1766.
Taxing the colonies
Beginning in 1763, the British Parliament began imposing a series of taxes on the colonies and placed new import duties (tariffs) on textiles, coffee, wine, and other goods.
Among these taxes were the Sugar Act, the Townshend Acts, and the Quartering Act. The taxes culminated with the Stamp Act of 1765, which raised taxes on all printed materials, including newspapers, legal documents, and even playing cards. In other words, the British Empire began taxing the colonies heavily.
To make matters worse, many Americans had fought with the British against the French and now expected to claim free land in the west, which used to be owned by the French Empire. The British blocked them by passing the Proclamation of 1763, prohibiting settlers from moving westward to prevent a new war with Indian tribes. The settlers figured they could just ignore the British, like they had for decades, but this time it was different. After fighting the French, the British army was now in the U.S., and thousands of soldiers stayed. The British now had the manpower to enforce British law. To take care of its soldiers, the British Parliament had passed the Quartering Act in 1765, which required colonial assemblies to house British troops in barns and warehouses. Finally, the British allowed the Americans to trade only with the British Empire and no other empire, such as France or Spain. So profitable trade with the French and Spanish Empires became illegal. The colonists were furious.
Not surprisingly, the colonies reacted to the imposition of taxes. The rallying cry became “No taxation without representation.” The colonists began to boycott British products, and the British government gave in and repealed the Stamp Act. However, the colonists had now seen that the British Empire was not as powerful as they had thought. They would give in to the colonists’ demands if the colonies resisted. This resulted in the infamous Boston Tea Party in 1773.
Responding to tyranny
The same day it repealed the Stamp Act, the British Parliament passed the Declaratory Act, which stipulated that the king and Parliament had full power to enact laws binding on the colonies. So, Parliament continued to pass acts raising revenue from the colonists for the British crown.
The Townshend Acts passed in 1767, imposing duties on items such as tea, glass, and paper, created a Board of Customs Commission to enforce the new tax laws and collect the duties. Britain was now able to collect taxes instead of having to rely on the colonial governments to raise taxes on their behalf and then hand over the money, which rarely happened. The Townshend Acts further suspended the New York State Assembly for refusing to house British troops. Riots broke out in Boston, and the British brought in thousands of troops to quell them. In the subsequent Boston Massacre, panicked British troops starting shooting at demonstrators, killing several. Now more and more colonists started to support a rebellion against the British Empire.
Again, the colonists at first boycotted British goods, and the British Parliament responded by repealing parts of the taxes imposed by the Townshend Acts in 1770; with one exception: the tax on tea.
Then, in 1773, the Tea Act was passed by the British Parliament. It was passed to help the British East India Company, which was about to go bankrupt. The Tea Act allowed for the East India Company to have a monopoly over the tea trade globally, which put small colonial traders out of business. The East India Company further started to sell tea in the colonies at a lower price than native merchants, in turn destroying native tea merchants. On December 16, 1773, colonists disguised as Mohawk Indians boarded three British ships in Boston Harbor and threw their cargo, 342 chests of tea, overboard in turn destroying it. This event is pictured in Figure 1-1.
Tea was one of the most sought-after products in the world back in the 18th century. The 342 chests of tea had a market value of 9,600 British pounds. That would be about $2.5 million today.
N. Currier/Library of Congress/Public domain
FIGURE 1-1: The Boston Tea Party.
The outraged British Parliament in turn passed the Intolerable Acts in 1774. These were designed to punish the colonists. The Acts closed Boston Harbor until the colonists paid for the products they had destroyed, weakened the Massachusetts colonial government by abolishing town meetings, and required that colonists not only harbor British soldiers in their own homes but also feed them. Massachusetts was now under British military control. This was the last straw for the colonists.
Inciting a rebellion
In September 1774, 56 leaders from 12 colonies got together in Philadelphia to respond to the British actions. This was called the First Continental Congress. It denounced British policy and organized a boycott of British goods. It further called upon the colonial militia to arm itself and began to hoard weapons in an arsenal in Concord, Massachusetts. The British governor of Massachusetts sent troops to seize the weapons stored in Concord. The troops were attacked by a small militia of colonists. They called themselves minutemen, because they claimed that they could be ready for military duty at a minute’s warning. They were subsequently defeated by the British troops. The British did reach Concord and destroyed the weapons cache, but on the way back they were attacked by more militia. By the time they made it back to Boston, they had lost several hundred men. A revolution had begun.
Fighting a Revolution
In the beginning, most colonists figured that a solution with the British was possible. They assumed that the colonies would receive some local autonomy but remain part of the British Empire. However, things soon changed. At the Second Continental Congress held in 1775, a delegate for Virginia called for the first time for independence from Great Britain, and the Congress commissioned a declaration to discuss not only the grievances against the British but also a reason for independence from Britain. A committee was appointed, and a Declaration of Independence was commissioned. A small committee was formed, consisting of Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Roger Sherman, Robert Livingston, and Benjamin Franklin. Jefferson was asked to compose the declaration.
The Second Continental Congress was a convention of members from all 13 colonies. It became the national government during the Revolutionary War.
On July 2, 1776, the committee presented its draft of a declaration of independence to the full Congress. After a few small changes, the Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, as depicted in Figure 1-2. The Declaration stated:
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are all endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”
Asher Brown Durand/Library of Congress/Public domain
FIGURE 1-2: Signing of the Declaration of Independence.
Based on the ideas of John Locke, the document then continued to argue that whenever government fails its people, the people have the right to change or even abolish a government.
The Declaration of Independence accomplished three things:
It provided a justification for independence by outlining the concept of individual rights and stated that governments receive their power from the consent of the governed.
It listed grievances against King George III and the British Empire.
It severed ties with the British Empire.
Now having declared its independence, the colonies knew that a war with the British Empire was about to start.
Winning a war
At first the British government dismissed the Declaration of Independence. There was no concern; what could a few thousand disorganized militiamen do against Britain’s well-trained professional army? In the beginning, they seemed to be proven right. The U.S. militia, consisting of farmers and small shopkeepers, suffered one defeat after another. The British army was better trained and equipped, and it showed. The Continental Army came close to defeat. The war did not end until 1781 when General Washington was able to defeat the British General Cornwallis at Yorktown in Virginia. The British then decided to ask for peace and the Revolutionary War ended after six bitter years.
Battling the British
George Washington was named commander in chief of the Continental forces in July of 1775. He took his troops to Massachusetts, and subsequently liberated Boston in the spring of 1776. In the summer of 1776, British General Howe landed with 30,000 troops on Long Island, New York, to put the rebellion down. They took New York City, and Washington had to retreat. By the winter of 1776, it looked like the war was over. There was no financial support from the Continental Congress, mass desertions happened, and George Washington rejected his salary and pledged to use his own money to pay his troops. It was his victory at Trenton, New Jersey, where he crossed the Delaware River at night, seen in Figure 1-3, and surprised the British Army, mostly consisting of German mercenaries, who did not want to be fighting in the U.S. anyway, that changed the war.
Leutze, Emanuel/Library of Congress/Public domain
FIGURE 1-3: George Washington crossing the Delaware.
By summer of 1777, Washington won battles at Germantown and Brandywine. It was the battle of Saratoga that saved the day. After his victory there, the French government decided to join in the war and help the U.S. forces. However, before the French could arrive, Washington had to spend a miserable winter at Valley Forge in Pennsylvania. While he was waiting for the French, the British moved south and conquered parts of Georgia and South Carolina.
When the French finally arrived, Washington was able to move. In the summer of 1781, he launched a massive attack on British forces at Yorktown, Virginia. On October 19, 1781, the British surrendered to Washington, and the Revolutionary War was over. The British Parliament, over the objections of King George III, decided it was time to end the war and let the colonies go free. Finalizing the peace took two more years, and in September 1783, a peace treaty was finally signed.
Creating a new government
After declaring independence, a new government for the colonies had to be created. So, the Second Continental Congress drew up a written statement and principles to guide the new government in 1777. This statement was called the Articles of Confederation. It took until 1781 for all 13 colonies to ratify the Articles of Confederation, so a new government was not put in place until 1781. The Articles of Confederation created a league of friendship between the colonies where power was retained at the state level.
A confederation is a form of government where power rests at the state level, not the national level.
The Continental Congress renamed itself the Congress of the Confederation. It was a unicameral legislature, with one house and each one of the 13 states had one vote in it. This of course gave smaller states, such as Rhode Island, more power than larger states such as Virginia. To pass legislation, 9 out of 13 states had to approve, and there was no federal executive or judiciary around. The Congress lacked some basic powers, such as regulating foreign trade or levying and collecting taxes. So, it did not have the money or power to create an army. To change the Articles of Confederation, a unanimous vote in the Congress was necessary.
The most significant policy successes the Congress of the Confederation could brag about were regulating westward expansion, including the selling of farmlands to settlers and the admission of new states. The Land Ordinances of 1785 and 1787 (referred to as the Northwest Ordinance) established guidelines on how to acquire property in the West and allowed areas with a set number of settlers to apply to become a new state.
Having problems
Without the power to tax, the national government was not able to raise an army to protect the country against foreign powers. At this time, the British Empire was not the only danger. The Russian and Spanish Empires were also present on the North American continent, presenting a constant threat. For example, the Spanish Empire closed the Mississippi to American ships, and pirates seized U.S. ships in Africa. The national government could not do anything about it.
Without tax monies, the new confederate government could not redeem war bonds, referred to as continental loan certificates at the time, which were used to finance the war against Great Britain. Many patriotic Americans had bought war bonds, expecting them to be redeemed. However, the new government had no money to redeem the war bonds, and many Americans lost their life savings. Obviously, they were not pleased.
To make matters worse, states negotiated with themselves and with foreign powers without informing or taking the new national government into account. How can you create a new country if its members impose trade restrictions against each other? The United States of America looked more like the Disunited States of America back in the 1780s.
The final straw was Shays’s rebellion. Captain Daniel Shays led a rebellion consisting of thousands of farmers protesting high taxes and interest rates in Massachusetts in August 1786. Local state militia either deserted or refused to fight, and the national government could not step in. It had no army. Finally, the governor of Massachusetts had to hire mercenaries to put down the rebellion. It was time to act.
By the mid-1780s, the situation got so dire that many prominent Americans and the Congress itself became worried and wanted changes. They recognized the new government created by the Articles of Confederation was not working, so a national Congress was needed to change the Articles of Confederation. In February 1787, Congress called for a convention to amend the Articles of Confederation. This meeting, also referred to as the Constitutional Convention, convened in May of 1787 in Philadelphia. It lasted until September of 1787, and instead of revising the Articles of Confederation, it created a new constitution for the United States.
The Constitutional Convention called for in Philadelphia in 1787 was only supposed to revise the Articles of Confederation, not to write a brand-new constitution.
Writing a Constitution
The Constitutional Convention, depicted in Figure 1-4, began on May 25, 1787. Fifty-five delegates from 12 states participated. Rhode Island was the only state that did not send any delegates. It continued to believe in a confederation. The delegates in attendance selected George Washington to preside over the convention. Although there was agreement over the issues of foreign threat and economic problems, there was wide disagreement over what type of government to create. The larger states wanted a legislature based on population whereas the smaller states preferred a government based on the concept of one vote per state.
The Indian Reporter/Wikimedia Common/Public Domain
FIGURE 1-4: The Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia.
Soon, two plans emerged for the new government. The first one was the Virginia Plan. Devised by James Madison, it would have created a bicameral legislature with both houses seeing representation based on population. This would have given the larger states control over the new government. The legislatures would have further chosen the executive and members of the judiciary.
To counter this plan, the smaller states came up with the New Jersey Plan. It advised for the creation of a unicameral legislature with only one house, and representation would be based on equality. Each state, regardless of population, would have the same number of votes. This one house would have the power to select the executive and the judiciary.
By July 1787, the debate over the type of legislatures nearly ended the convention. It is at this time Roger Sherman, a delegate for Connecticut, came up with the Great Compromise, also called the Connecticut Plan. Under it, a bicameral legislature would be created with two houses; one, the House of Representatives, would be based on population, and the second, the Senate, where representation would be based on equality with each state sending two senators. Also, all revenue bills had to originate in the House of Representatives.
One of the hottest topics under discussion in Philadelphia was what type of executive the country should have. Some delegates wanted a strong executive; some wanted a weak executive at the mercy of Congress. Some wanted a president elected by the people, some wanted one appointed by Congress. Under the New Jersy Plan, there were even two executives proposed.
Finally, the convention agreed to have the executive elected by an Electoral College. Instead of having the people directly elect the executive, an Electoral College, where each state chose how to select electors, picked the president (for a discussion of the Electoral College, see Chapter 4). This allowed the states, which picked the actual electors, to change the public’s selection if necessary. Keep in mind that most of the delegates attending the Constitutional Convention looked down on the average person, believing that they could not make an informed choice for president.
The current presidency is based on a proposal by James Wilson, a delegate at the convention from Pennsylvania. He based his proposal on how the New York and Massachusetts state constitutions structured the executive.
Discussing slavery
The issue of slavery proved to be a controversial one at the convention. Forty-five percent of the delegates owned slaves themselves. The four largest slave states, with a population of more than 100,000 slaves, were Virginia, North and South Carolina, and Maryland. Maine and Massachusetts, on the hand, had already banned slavery. So, what to do about the slave population? Should they be included for representation when the total U.S. population was counted for representation in the House of Representatives? If they were fully counted, slave states would be overrepresented in the new House of Representatives. If they were excluded, the slaveholding states would not approve the new constitution.
Both Georgia and South Carolina threatened to walk out of the Constitutional Convention if the institution of slavery was threatened.
A compromise was found. It was referred to as the Three-Fifths Compromise.
Delegates from Southern states wanted enslaved people to be fully counted to increase their representation in the House of Representatives. Northern delegates, many from states where slavery was limited or abolished, opposed this, because it would give disproportionate power to slaveholding states. The Three-Fifths Compromise stipulated that for every five enslaved individuals, three would be counted toward a state's population. If a state had 100,000 slaves, for example, 60,000 were counted for purposes of representation in the House of Representatives. This allowed slaveholding states to wield greater influence in Congress and the Electoral College.
In 1790, 43 percent of the population in South Carolina were slaves; in Virginia, the number was 39.1 percent, whereas in New Hampshire it was 0.1 percent.
The Convention further agreed not to ban the import of more slaves for the next twenty years and stipulated that escaped slaves had to be returned to their owners. It was not until 1808 that importing slaves became illegal in the U.S. The reason then was not pressure from Northern states but the fact that the slave population in the Southern states was growing fast enough that no new slaves were needed to be imported.
To avoid offending the slaveholding states and to assure ratification of the Constitution, the document itself did not address the issue of slavery.
Ratifying a new constitution
Finally, on September 17, 1787, after four months of negotiations and bargaining, all twelve state delegations in attendance approved the Constitution. Now it had to be ratified by 9 out of the 13 states to go into effect.
The Constitution of the United States is the oldest written constitution in the world today. It is also one of the shortest constitutions, with only 7,500 words, which includes the 27 amendments which have been added. India has the longest constitution in the world with 146,385 words, and the Kingdom of Monaco has the shortest with 4,543 words.
Ratification was not assured. There were many in the U.S. who opposed the document, preferring a weaker national government with more power at the state level. To make it easier to ratify the Constitution, the Framers had decided that only nine out of the 13 states had to approve the Constitution for it to go into effect, which proved to be a wise choice.
In addition, the Constitution called for special sessions in each state to vote on the Constitution and not for the state legislatures to be able to ratify the document. The Framers were afraid that the state legislatures would vote the document down, because they had the most to lose. In the 1780s, the U.S. was run by state legislatures, and they would lose many of their powers with the new Constitution.
In addition, the Constitutional Convention agreed on the rule of secrecy. Meetings on ratification were not open to the public but were held behind closed doors. The rule of secrecy also forbade the participants to discuss what had been said in the secret meetings. The hope was that secrecy allowed all participants of the conventions to debate and discuss their points freely.
The Framers further pushed for quick conventions in all states to ratify the new Constitution and made sure they were held in winter. Four states ratified the Constitution before the opposition, the Anti-Federalists, had even organized.
It was tough to travel back then, especially during wintertime, and the hope was that city dwellers could easily attend conventions whereas people living in rural areas would have a tough time to make it to the ratification conventions. People living in cities were more likely to support the Constitution whereas people living in rural areas were more opposed to it.
Favoring or opposing the ratification
Soon two camps developed. The people favoring the Constitution were called the Federalists, and the ones opposing it, the Anti-Federalists. Both sides began to publish essays and gave speeches in support of or against the Constitution. Today, the papers supporting ratification of the Constitution, known as the Federalist Papers, represent some of the most important and discussed writings in U.S. history. They were written by James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay. The two essays that stand out are Federalist Papers 10 and 51, both written by James Madison.
The Federalist Papers consisted of 77 essays in support of the Constitution. The essays were written under the pseudonym Publius and were published in major newspapers and magazines. They discussed the benefits of the new Constitution and tried to alleviate the fear people had of it. In Federalist Paper No. 10, James Madison created the theory of pluralism (see Chapter 15) and in Federalist Paper No. 51, Madison showed how the new Constitution prevented a government from abusing its citizens. His arguments were that the many parts of government would constantly check on each other, preventing one part becoming dominant and that people would organize and bargain and compromise.
The Anti-Federalists were led by Patrick Henry, John Hancock, future president James Monroe, and George Mason. They also published a set of essays. The major concern of theirs, shared by Thomas Jefferson, was that the Constitution did not contain a Bill of Rights and that U.S. citizens therefore were not protected from a new and stronger government. This was a concern that was later remedied by a Bill of Rights being added to the Constitution.
The Anti-Federalists published their views under the pseudonym Brutus. They argued that the government created by the Constitution was too powerful and could limit freedom in the U.S. They were especially afraid of the new government’s power to tax and the fact that the Constitution lacked a Bill of Rights to guarantee individual liberties in the U.S.
They also did not like the position of president. They believed that the executive resembled a king. They further rejected the idea of a national army, believing in state militias instead.
The one thing they got out of the debate was a Bill of Rights and that is exactly what they had wanted the most.
Ratifying the Constitution
The first state to ratify the Constitution was Delaware on December 7, 1787. Soon afterwards, New Jersey, Georgia, and Connecticut followed. A battle broke out in Pennsylvania over the lack of a Bill of Rights in the Constitution, and only the promise of adding one got the Constitution ratified. The same happened in Massachusetts. After Maryland, South Carolina, and New Hampshire ratified the Constitution, it had met the nine states threshold, but the Framers knew that the two most powerful states, Virginia and New York, were needed for the new Constitution to succeed. In Virginia, it took a personal appeal from George Washington and a promise of a Bill of Rights from James Madison to get the Constitution approved. With Virginia’s approval, New York fell in line and the Framers decided to implement the new Constitution with 11 out 13 states having ratified it.
On September 9, 1789, the House of Representatives voted to submit a Bill of Rights to the states to amend the Constitution. Ten were ratified by the required nine states by December 15, 1791, and the Constitution now had a Bill of Rights. North Carolina did not ratify the Constitution until a draft for a Bill of Rights was introduced in the newly assembled Congress. The last state to ratify the Constitution was Rhode Island. It ratified the Constitution on May 29, 1790, after George Washington had already been elected president.
Adding a Bill of Rights
During the ratification debate, the issue of whether a Bill of Rights was needed came to the forefront. Even Federalist supporters of the Constitution had acknowledged that a Bill of Rights needed to be added. So, one of the first acts of Congress and the new President George Washington was to add a Bill of Rights in 1789. All ten amendments to the Constitution were fully ratified by 1791. The first ten amendments to the Constitution are referred to as the Bill of Rights. They contain the most important civil liberties granted to U.S. citizens (for a detailed discussion of the Bill of Rights and civil liberties, see Chapter 7). They are listed below.
The Bill of Rights
Amendment 1: Freedom of Religion, Speech, Assembly, and the Press
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.
Amendment 2: The Right to Bear Arms
A well-regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.
Amendment 3: The Housing of Soldiers
No soldier shall, in time of peace, be quartered in any house without the consent of the owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.
Amendment 4: Protection from Unreasonable Searches and Seizures
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
Amendment 5: Protection of Rights to Life, Liberty, and Property
No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.
Amendment 6: Rights of the Accused in Criminal Cases
In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor; and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defense.
Amendment 7: Right of Trial by Jury
In Suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise reexamined in any court of the United States than according to the rules of the common law.
Amendment 8: No Excessive Bail, Excessive Fines, and Cruel and Unusual Punishment
Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.
Amendment 9: Other Rights Kept by the People
The enumeration in the Constitution of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.
Amendment 10: Powers Kept by the States
The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.
Amending the Constitution
It is important to point out that many constitutional amendments have made our political process more democratic. The 13th Amendment prohibited slavery, the 15th Amendment gave former slaves the right to vote, the 17th Amendment allowed for the popular election of U.S. senators, the 19th Amendment gave women the right to vote, the 24th Amendment barred poll taxes, and the 26th Amendment lowered the voting age to 18.
How are amendments passed? There are two ways to propose amendments to the Constitution:
An amendment can be formally proposed by the U.S. Congress.
This requires a two-thirds vote in both houses, the House of Representatives, and the Senate.
An amendment can be proposed by two-thirds of the state legislatures.
This method has never been used.
Next, the amendment proposed by Congress goes to the states. There it has to be ratified by seventy-five percent of the states. Today, this equals 38 states approving. A second way to approve an amendment is to have it approved in special conventions in three-quarters of the states. This method has only been used once, in 1933, to repeal prohibition.
Two amendments cancel each other out. The 18th Amendment implemented prohibition in 1919, making it illegal to sell and consume alcohol, whereas the 21st Amendment repealed the 18th Amendment in 1933.
It is difficult to change the U.S. Constitution. Since ratification by the states, close to 11,000 amendments have been proposed. Only 27 have passed. Of the 27 amendments that were added, 10, known as the Bill of Rights, were added in 1791.
Having a New Constitution
A constitution is defined as the basic principles and laws according to which a country, state, or organization is organized.
Constitutions are written documents that outline the structure of a political system. They determine what type of legislature, executive, and judiciary a country has and what form of government a country possesses. This could be a democracy, monarchy, and so on. Constitutions set rules for governments. Besides setting the structure of government, constitutions also provide for rights and obligations of citizens.
A constitution does not only set up the structures for a government but also outlines the vision for society. It places limits on the power a government has over its citizens and establishes rights for these citizens. Constitutions both empower and limit governments. Constitutions are the highest law of the land, and leaders must follow and abide by the rules constitutions set.
Most constitutions consist of several parts. First, many contain preambles. These are symbolic statements indicating the values of a nation. They are not required and have no legal meaning but express the writers’ intention and motives. They further preview the basic principles of a constitution. The U.S. Constitution contains the following preamble:
“We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessing of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this constitution for the United States of America.”
Next come articles and clauses. They contain the actual meat in a constitution. They contain the foundation of the political structures as well as specific rights and obligations citizens possess. The U.S. Constitution contains seven articles that outline the new form of government, its relations with the states, and the process by which the Constitution can be changed.
Structuring the Constitution
Article I is the longest in the Constitution. It consists of ten sections. It establishes Congress, lays out qualifications for serving in the House of Representatives and the Senate, discusses elections for both bodies, discusses procedures for operating both houses of Congress, and, most important, discusses congressional powers (see Chapter 3).
Article II discusses the presidency (see Chapter 4). It only consists of four sections. Section 1 mentions presidential elections and the Electoral College whereas section 2 talks about the powers of the presidency (see Chapter 4). The last two sections discuss the State of the Union address and impeachment procedures.
Article III establishes the judicial system (see Chapter 5). It allows for a Supreme Court and lower federal courts as established by Congress. It further mentions lifelong terms for judges and discusses the impeachment process for the federal judiciary. Finally, it elaborates on the crime of treason and possible punishment, which includes death.
Article IV describes the relationship between the national government and the states (see Chapter 2), and Article V authorizes amendments to the Constitution and discusses in detail how the amendment process works. Article VI makes the Constitution the supreme law of the land, and Article VII outlines the ratification process for the Constitution.
Every constitution contains an amendment process, telling the reader how to change or alter a constitution. In the U.S. Constitution, Article V outlines the amendment process.
