Simplified Civics: The Constitution's Structure
Welcome to Simplified Civics! As I explained in my introduction post this will be a series breaking down the structure and powers of the federal government, as well as its relationship to the various States. This post will be a generic overview of the foundational document of our federal government here in the United States: The Constitution. While the United States declared independence from Great Britain in 1776, the Constitution was not in effect until 1789. In the interim, the United States was governed by the Articles of Confederation.
Because of a host of competing interests in the new nation, some of the elite of the nation - the landowners and the rich - saw fit to curb the "excess of democracy" that the Articles and various states allowed. Alexander Hamilton, one of the most unabashed elites, took quite a stark position on how the Constitution should handle "democracy":
All communities divide themselves into the few and the many. The first are the rich and well born, the other the mass of the people. The voice of the people has been said to be the voice of God; and however generally this maxim has been quoted and believed, it is not true in fact. The people are turbulent and changing; they seldom judge or determine right. Give therefore to the first class a distinct, permanent share in the government.
Democracy to them was quickly turning out to be a mistake. Shays' Rebellion from August of 1786 to February of 1787 exposed much of the problems that the elites had with a weak central government. The only legal way to fix these problems was by amending the Articles, which required a unanimous vote amongst all the states' delegates in Congress and then ratification by each state's legislature.
The framers of the Constitution were given instructions to meet in Philadelphia and come up with a way to amend the Articles so that these problems would be fixed. Instead, they locked themselves in a room and decided within a few days to make a new Constitution. As with any moment in history, nothing is preordained and anything could have happened. Similarly, the ways in which the Constitutional Convention unfolded were a product of their correct and incorrect assumptions of what was happening in the country and what would help.The debates over the drafting and the ratification of the Constitution reveal how truly divided the entire nation was over the Constitution and its meaning and power. It also serves as a reminder that no one believed the Constitution to be perfect or infallible even from the beginning. With that in mind, lets look at what the Constitution actually says. As we go over these things, think of the states as individual nations who are debating whether or not to relinquish power to a central government, not unlike the one they just overthrew. States worried about different parts based on their industry, size, and more.
The whole Constitution, plus its amendments, can be read online here and I would recommend you take the time to read it for yourself. It starts with the famous preamble introducing that "We the People" establish the Constitution. This, along with the rest of the preamble, demonstrates exactly who holds the power in our system of government. Even though the drafters of the Constitution meant to curb the "excesses of democracy", we the people are able to claim this title of those who continually uphold the government under the Constitution.
Next the Constitution goes into creating the federal government with its powers and limitations. Article I establishes the legislative branch known as Congress. It is divided into two entities, the House of Representatives and the Senate. When the Constitution was drafted in 1787 and up until 1912, the House of Representatives was the only body elected by the people of the state, with the Senate being chosen by the states' legislatures.
Article II goes into the executive branch with the President as the head. It also lays out how the President and Vice-President are elected. Again, the drafters of the Constitution saw fit to distance the voting population from direct control with the creation of the Electoral College. Article II also lays out the powers and responsibilities of the President and states that the President and all civil officers can be removed if impeached by the House and convicted by the Senate.
Article III establishes the Supreme Court, its jurisdiction, and allows Congress to create lowers courts as needed. Congress is also allowed to change which cases the Supreme Court is able to hear on appeal. The Constitution stipulates that all judges, both those on the Supreme Court and those on the lower courts, serve during "good behavior" which has been accepted to mean that they serve for life unless impeached.
Article IV outlines the relationships between the states and their citizens, how new states are admitted to the union, and guarantees that the new federal government will protect the states as needed. Article IV also contains what is known as the Fugitive Slave Clause.1 This allowed any slaveholder to retain ownership of their slaves even if they escaped or simply went into a state where slavery was outlawed. Article V only discusses how to amend, or change, the Constitution.
Article VI stipulates that the Constitution and any laws passed by its authority are “the supreme law of the land” which has been taken to mean that any law or action that conflicts with the Constitution or its amendments is invalid and illegal. While not stipulated in the Constitution, the Supreme Court has taken it upon themselves to declare laws constitutional or not, a topic I wrote a large paper on. Article VI also states that all federal officers and federal elected officials must swear to support the Constitution. Article VII simply says that when nine states have ratified the Constitution, it will become effective on those states and then on any others that ratify it. The Constitution, as drafted and ratified by the states, ends there.
Many of its opponents, both during drafting and ratification, pointed out that there was no "express and full declaration of rights." This issue nearly derailed the ratification until Massachusetts, the sixth state to ratify, did so while also recommending amendments. Four other states followed Massachusetts' example and eventually the First Congress took some of those proposals and ratified the first ten amendments to the Constitution.
I hope this first post has helped educate or even remind you of the document at the foundation of our federal government. I am working on many more posts that will dive a bit further into topics introduced in this post. As always, you can find the full list of posts in this series at the link below and please send any questions or comments to simplifiedcivics@tuta.io. Thanks!
Thankfully this was repealed by the Thirteenth Amendment.↩