Foundational Documents Flashcards
(25 cards)
Declaration of Independence (1776)
Core Ideas and Importance:
- Natural Rights: All men are endowed with “unalienable rights,” including life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
- Social Contract: Governments derive power from the consent of the governed. When they fail to protect rights, citizens have a right to revolt.
- Justified rebellion not just as a right—but a duty in the face of tyranny.
Stand Against Tyrannical Executive(Kings):
- The document is a list of abuses by King George III—dissolving colonial legislatures, quartering troops, imposing taxes without consent, and more.
Articles of Confederation (1781–1789)
Context and Structure:
America’s first constitution, drafted during the Revolutionary War, reflected deep fears of centralized power.
- A unicameral Congress.
- No executive or judicial branch.
- Each state got one vote.
- Amendments required unanimous approval.
Powers Congress Had:
Declare war, make treaties, Borrow money, and maintain an army/navy.
Powers Congress Lacked:
Couldn’t tax, couldn’t regulate interstate commerce, couldn’t enforce laws or court rulings, couldn’t draft soldiers, and needed 9/13 states to pass major legislation.
Why It Collapsed:
- Economic chaos: inflation, trade wars between states.
- No military response to uprisings (Shays’ Rebellion).
- Foreign policy failure: no unified diplomatic voice.
- Led directly to the Constitutional Convention of 1787
Federalist No. 10 (1787) – James Madison
Factions:
Madison tackled the dangers of factions—groups united by common interests adverse to the rights of others. Factions (groups with a common political interest) are inevitable in a free society—and dangerous.
Solution to Factions:
Don’t suppress liberty (that would be tyranny). Instead, control the effects of factions via a large republic. A representative democracy refines and enlarges public views. A large republic dilutes factional influence across many interests and regions.
Federalist No. 51 (1788) – James Madison
Federalist No. 70 (1788) – Alexander Hamilton
Argument for a Single Executive Person:
Hamilton made the case for a single, energetic executive, arguing that a strong presidency would lead to decisive leadership and greater accountability.
Why?
- Unity = accountability. One person can be held responsible for decisions.
- Speed & secrecy in national defense, law enforcement, foreign affairs.
- Multiple executives would create conflict, blame-shifting, and slow responses.
Federalist No. 78 (1788) – Alexander Hamilton
Brutus No. 1 (1787) – Anti-Federalist Argument
Why are centralized governments bad/will fail?
This Anti-Federalist paper opposed the new Constitution, warning that centralized power would erode state authority and threaten liberty.
Why state governments are better?
State governments are closer to the people (popular sovereignty). Large republics lead to corruption, distant government, and loss of liberty. Brutus advocated for decentralized democracy—small republics where leaders stay closely accountable to their constituents.
Why the suggested Constitution is problematic?
The Constitution gives too much power to the federal government.
- Supremacy Clause: Federal law is greater than state law.
- Necessary and Proper Clause: Congress could do anything it claims is “necessary.”
The U.S. Constitution (1787)
The U.S. Constitution replaced the Articles and established a more robust federal system with three co-equal branches. The Bill of Rights, added in 1791, placated Anti-Federalist concerns by protecting individual liberties.
Principles Embedded:
- Popular Sovereignty
- Limited Government
- Checks and Balances
- Federalism
- Separation of Powers
- Republicanism
Article 1 of the Constitution
Establishes the Legislative branch its powers.
Article 2 of the Constitution
Defines the Executive branch and its powers.
Article 3 of the Constitution
Outlines the Judicial branch and its powers.
Article 4 of the Constitution
Federalism:
Article 4 governs the relationships between states and the federal government
Article 5 of the Constitution
Amending:
Article 5 details the amendment process.
Article 6 of the Constitution
Supremacy Law:
Article 6 establishes the Constitution as the supreme law of the land
Article 7 of the Constitution
Article 7 describes the ratification process.
The Bill of Rights (1791)
The first 10 amendments of the U.S. Constitution. They protect our individual rights from the federal government.
1st: Freedom of Speech, Petition, Religion, Assembly, Press
2nd: Right to bear arms
3rd: Against quartering troops
4th: Against unlawful search and seizure
5th: Rights of accused; formal charges presented, against double jeopardy and self-incrimination
6th: Right to speedy, fair trial and lawyer
7th: Right to civil suits (suing but not criminal)
8th: Against unreasonable bail or punishment
9th: Any other rights reserved to the people
10th: Powers not delegated to the federal government are reserved to the states
13th Amendment
Abolished slavery and involuntary servitude, except as punishment for a crime.
14th Amendment
Section 1: Granted citizenship to all persons born or naturalized in the United States, including former slaves, and prohibited states from denying citizens the “privileges or immunities” of citizenship.
Due Process Clause: No state shall deprive any person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law.
Equal Protection Clause: No state shall deny any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.
15th Amendment
Right to vote cannot be denied “on account of race, color or previous condition of servitude.”
17th Amendment
Popular election of Senators.
19th Amendment
Right to vote cannot be denied “on account of sex.”
22nd Amendment
Limits presidents to two terms in office
24th Amendment
Poll taxes cannot be a condition to be able to vote (1964).
26th Amendment
Right to vote cannot be denied to citizens 18 years old or older, “on account of age” (1971).
