The US Constitution

Summary

Dr. Livie delves into the origins and challenges faced during the framing of the US Constitution, tracing the transition from the Articles of Confederation to the Constitutional Convention. The video sheds light on several post-revolution issues like loyalists, slavery, women's rights, and economic independence. Emphasizing the weaknesses of the Articles, Dr. Livie explains why a new document was needed, leading to the Philadelphia Convention and subsequent drafting of the US Constitution. Key compromises, such as the Great Compromise and the Three-Fifths Compromise, played pivotal roles in shaping the new nation's governance. The creation of a bicameral Congress and the introduction of checks and balances marked significant structural changes, addressing previous limitations and setting the foundation for modern US governance.

Highlights

• Dr. Livie discusses the inefficacies of the Articles of Confederation and the reasons for its eventual replacement. 🤔
• The video explores societal issues like loyalism, slavery, and the role of women post-American Revolution. 👥
• Shay’s Rebellion highlighted the weaknesses in the Articles, prompting calls for a stronger federal system. 🚜
• The Great Compromise led to the creation of a bicameral Congress, balancing the needs of both large and small states. ⚖️
• The Three-Fifths Compromise was a pivotal but contentious solution regarding representation and slavery. 🧮
• The Constitution introduced the three branches of government to ensure a balance of power. 🏛️

Key Takeaways

• The Articles of Confederation were the US's first governing document, but were largely ineffective due to their weak federal structure. 📜
• The post-revolution period posed challenges with loyalists, slavery, women's rights, and economic restructuring. 🇺🇸
• The Constitutional Convention addressed these issues by drafting the US Constitution, introducing a stronger federal government. 🏛️
• Key compromises, like the Great Compromise and the Three-Fifths Compromise, were essential in uniting the diverse interests of the states. ⚖️
• The Constitution established a bicameral Congress and a system of checks and balances to prevent concentration of power. 🏛️

Overview

Dr. Livie's exploration into the US Constitution begins with the challenges that marked post-revolution America. The transition from the Articles of Confederation—ineffective due to its weak federal structure—to a strong, centralized governance system set the stage for the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia. These early documents and the founding fathers' debates highlight the struggle to form a united nation out of diverse and often conflicting interests.

The video underscores key societal issues of the time, including loyalism, the disparate views on slavery across the states, and the emerging role of women in the new republic. Shay's Rebellion exemplified the pressing need for a stronger federal government capable of addressing domestic turmoil and interstate disputes. This period of political experimentation was pivotal in shaping the dialogue and decisions that would follow.

During the Constitutional Convention, significant compromises were made to bridge these divides, notably the Great Compromise and the Three-Fifths Compromise. These helped cement the structure of the new government, which featured a bicameral Congress and a system of checks and balances. Such innovations ensured that no single branch could overpower the others, setting up a balanced and enduring framework for governance that would evolve over time.

Chapters

• 00:00 - 00:30: Introduction and Overview The chapter 'Introduction and Overview' discusses the origins and framing of the U.S. Constitution, governance during the early republic, and the issues America faced during and after the American Revolution. It also covers the Articles of Confederation, the first governing document of the United States, highlighting its successes and shortcomings.
• 00:30 - 01:00: Issues Faced by America Post-Revolution The chapter titled 'Issues Faced by America Post-Revolution' discusses the challenges faced by America during the 1780s as the revolutionary period was ending. It highlights the period leading up to the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, where key decisions were made to frame the Constitution, which remains the supreme document of governance for the United States at the federal level. The chapter underscores the lingering issues and challenges that persisted in America following the revolution.
• 01:00 - 02:00: Loyalists and Slavery The chapter 'Loyalists and Slavery' discusses the loyalists in the United States during the revolutionary period, many of whom maintained allegiance to the British government. While some fled to Canada, others returned to Britain, influencing British art and culture. The alignment with Britain is depicted in artworks from that era, reflecting admiration for those returning loyalists, seen as faithful to the British crown.
• 02:00 - 03:00: Role of Women and Economic Challenges The chapter explores the complexities surrounding the loyalties of individuals who showed allegiance to the British government during the American Revolution and the subsequent challenges in integrating them into the newly independent United States. It discusses the dilemmas faced by the American leadership post-revolution in dealing with these loyalists, recognizing their loyalty or investment in the British government. Additionally, the chapter touches upon the economic challenges faced by the United States as parts of the country engaged in practices that would shape its economic landscape.
• 03:00 - 05:00: Articles of Confederation Challenges The chapter discusses the divided stance on slavery in the United States during the era of the Articles of Confederation. It highlights that while slavery was still practiced in certain parts of the country, notably the south, it was either illegal or being phased out gradually in most northern states. It poses the question of whether a unified national approach to slavery under a single system of law could be achieved.
• 05:00 - 08:00: Land Claims and Northwest Ordinance The chapter addresses significant issues faced by early American colonial activists who became leaders in the new republic. It highlights the debate over the role women should play in the new nation. Some states, such as New Jersey, had extended voting rights to women, though these rights were generally withheld in most areas. The importance of women's active participation in the revolution is acknowledged, emphasizing both their supportive roles and more direct involvement.
• 08:00 - 11:00: Foreign Policy and Taxation Issues The chapter begins by discussing how Enlightenment ideals began to recognize women as individual political actors, not bound by the will of men, sparking discussions about their roles in a new republic. It also touches on how direct activists were supporting causes, leading charges, and presenting new ideas for a republic. Additionally, there is a brief note on economic considerations relevant to colonies transitioning to a new republic.
• 11:00 - 13:00: Shay's Rebellion and Constitutional Convention The chapter discusses the economic challenges faced by the newly independent United States during the 1780s, as it transitioned from being economically dependent on the British government to needing to support itself and engage in international trade. As the Revolutionary War wound down and British recognition of the United States seemed imminent, these challenges became more pressing and needed to be addressed.
• 13:00 - 16:00: Constitutional Compromises: Representation and Slavery The chapter discusses the inadequacies of the Articles of Confederation, a governing document drafted in June 1776 but not ratified by all 13 colonies until 1781, with Maryland being the last to agree. It suggests that the Articles were considered weak and not fully embraced by everyone, leading to conflicts.
• 16:00 - 19:00: The Constitution: Structure and Impact The chapter discusses the Articles of Confederation, an early American document that established a confederate union, which is a loose association of independent states. It highlights the desire of the individual states to maintain autonomy, similar to the autonomy they enjoyed as colonies.
• 19:00 - 19:40: Conclusion The chapter 'Conclusion' discusses the negotiations and intentions behind creating the Articles of Confederation. It emphasizes the states' desire to remain independent while forming an 'association of friendship' for collective issues, particularly foreign policy. However, the chapter notes that this intention didn't fully materialize as anticipated.

The US Constitution Transcription

• 00:00 - 00:30 hello there today able to talk to you a little bit about the origins and the framing of our Constitution looking at governance in the early republic then the talk about some of the problems that we're facing America during and after just immediately after the American Revolution something that you're reading about in the chapter and then we talked about first the Articles of Confederation our first governing document for the United States what worked and what
• 00:30 - 01:00 didn't and it's mostly as it turns out what didn't and then talk about the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia that led to the framing of our Constitution the governing document that we continue to use today at the federal level so let's think about where we're at the revolution is coming to a close in the 1780s and there are lingering problems and challenges in America one of them is that there's still a fair
• 01:00 - 01:30 amount of loyalists living in what is now the United States these are people who still maintained allegiance to the British government some loyalists have fled to Canada others actually went to Britain indeed I'm going to show you this really interesting painting there's a whole genre of art that's created during this time period in Great Britain that is linked to reverence for the returning loyalists that these loyalists that were coming back into Britain were essentially demonstrating their true
• 01:30 - 02:00 allegiance to the British government it's really kind of fascinating if you're interested in British history obviously this there is this kind of big push but what do you do now that it looks like we're winning the revolution we're going to become officially recognized as an independent nation in 1783 what do we do with these people that had demonstrated their loyalty or had this kind of deep investment we also have another issue which is that parts of the United States had practice as a
• 02:00 - 02:30 form of labor called slavery where people and owned other people this is kind of like a ridiculous thing to say right but it's important to say it out Wow people could own other people in parts of the United States and other parts in the north they could not most northern states had already made slavery illegal or called for its gradual end for gradual emancipation so there's this idea of are we as a country going to have a single system of law that recognizes this practice or that
• 02:30 - 03:00 vilifies and outlaws it okay there is also another issue that's that is on the minds of a lot of colonial activists who are now leaders of this new country what role should women have in their in the new republic some states in the Union notably New Jersey had made it legal for women to vote but in most places political rights had been withheld from women women were active in the revolution not just as support but
• 03:00 - 03:30 actually as direct activists supporting the cause and and leading their own charge presenting their own ideas of this new republic certainly the Enlightenment opened the door to consider women as individual political actors not covered by the by the will of men and so there's this discussion about what role women can have in this new republic and then finally what do we do as an economy this was a set of colonies
• 03:30 - 04:00 that were economically built to be dependent on the British government and all of a sudden were independent how do we build an economy that works that can support itself and engage in trade abroad so there's a lot of problems right this is these are a lot of challenges and by the beginning of this 1780s as the Revolutionary War is winding down and we're starting to see that the British government will recognize this new United States these problems have really come started to
• 04:00 - 04:30 come to a head because we were operating with a governing document that kind of didn't really work and that's the Articles of Confederation the Articles of Confederation were drafted starting in June of 1776 but they're not fully ratified by all 13 colonies until 1781 Maryland is the last holdout so this is a governing document that was not necessarily embraced by everyone way and was seen as a fairly weak document
• 04:30 - 05:00 okay the Articles of Confederation itself and this is a cover inset page of a publication of these articles the Articles of Confederation itself was a document that called for the creation of a union but a Confederate Union meaning a loose Association of Independent States this is really important this states themselves that were now part of this group the United States really wanted to maintain their own autonomy as colonies they had this kind of autonomy and they wanted that to persist okay
• 05:00 - 05:30 they wanted that to persist and so baked into the negotiations for creating the Articles of Confederation at this convention structure was the idea that these states would be independent and individual and essentially find themselves in an association of friendship and that's actually a term that's used in the Articles this idea that the states are brought together over certain issues most notably foreign policy but I will get to this in a moment it actually doesn't even play out
• 05:30 - 06:00 well for that in 1783 the problems of the Articles of Confederation really came to light the Treaty of Paris allocated huge amounts of land that we're not part of the thirteen colonies for use okay and what was left was a really a single strong branch of government to rule over this new territory this new united centralized nation this branch of course was a unicameral congress okay this Congress
• 06:00 - 06:30 appointed members had appointed members from each individual state these are members appointed by state legislatures who came and served they've had limits on the time that they could serve and each state had a single vote does that mean meant there was a total of thirteen votes possible in many cases under the Articles of Confederation this Congress could pass legislation with the majority but there were certain areas like taxation and declarations of war that
• 06:30 - 07:00 required nine votes to amend the Articles it required a unanimous decision every single state had to agree you can see why this is going to be a problem so if something doesn't work everyone has to agree on the fix this is by the very nature a very conservative document meaning that there wouldn't be possibility for a whole lot of change so the art of the problems of the Articles Confederation were evident during the Revolutionary War particularly because
• 07:00 - 07:30 there were a lot of states that were really hesitant to sign on but it really comes to bear in 1783 in 1784 when the new United States now has all this territory that's not part of one of these 13 individual states a lot of states saw this new land as an opportunity to grow and here's a map that shows you individual land claims that were made by members of these 13 states these individual 13 States and
• 07:30 - 08:00 you can see that some states which were sort of locked in as as colonies right now that they were states were going to make claims I love this Connecticut actually made this claim here Massachusetts right and you can see when that land will be ceded back as part of an agreement with the new federal government a lot of states try to push their claims okay into the West and you'll note that some of these states don't actually relinquish these claims until well into the new period of the federal government the period what's the
• 08:00 - 08:30 Constitution is in effect so this is kind of interesting so there's this big plan crab and there's nothing there's no real body that can regulate this the states sort of act on their own now one of the sort of major problems here is going to be resolved actually by the Congress under the Articles of Confederation one of their sort of notable successes one of the few real successes is the passing the law called the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 the Northwest Ordinance actually carved out some of this territory as a sort of set
• 08:30 - 09:00 of territories that eventually in some form or another could be brought into the Union could be brought into this new republic not necessarily as part of pre-existing States now what really trumps everything is of course the law that's passed by individual states state-level law has credible amounts of influence and sway Congress had the ability to pass laws in terms of Taxation but there were huge
• 09:00 - 09:30 amounts of debate about taxes Congress had some ability right some jurisdiction to pass laws to regulate the relationship of the states but it was pretty limited and it required a lot of collaboration and a lot of common agreement so not a lot happens in the 1780s at this larger level of the American government it's very difficult to pass laws it's difficult to agree so I want to talk about some of the core problems and there's sort of two areas of problem I want to focus on one is
• 09:30 - 10:00 foreign policy America was as a new nation struggling to figure itself out and Congress put real was put under real limits by the Articles of Confederation and what they could do under the Articles it was this Congress that had the power to engage in foreign policy but as early as 1783 and 1784 individual states were starting to send representatives to other countries including to countries like France the idea that you would have Virginia
• 10:00 - 10:30 sending a representative to France to make a trade deal right was impinging on this idea of a unified foreign policy now the conflicts that existed here are really you can see can really create problems what happens if a smaller state provokes a a war or provokes a conflict with a foreign nation how is that resolved right so the artless Confederation didn't allocate enough power enough governance for this new
• 10:30 - 11:00 larger united government to deal with another problem was with taxes and commerce the Articles of Confederation did not grant this new government power to regulate commerce between states it comes down to in the 1780s a series of interstate skirmishes between two or more states over issues of commercial exchange and trade that really is going to frighten a lot of people right this was a loose Association of states and
• 11:00 - 11:30 thus it didn't mean that there was real integration real cause even though they had just fought this war together so there's a real concern that states could actually go to war against each other over commercial issues another important issue tied to this is the is the power of taxation under the Articles of Confederation taxation could be regulated by the federal this district Confederate government but as it turns out a lot of states wanted to have their own policies
• 11:30 - 12:00 and some of these policies were really damaging the tax on the taxes that were levy led to a series of uprising starting in 1786 the most noteworthy is of course Shay's rebellion and Shay's rebellion takes place in western Massachusetts and it's against tax law that had in them from the minds of many I mean living in really these are farmers rural folks they're living in western Massachusetts it's time that was unfairly targeting them they had had poor crop yields the economy was not
• 12:00 - 12:30 doing well and they were faced with this huge tax bill and that's of course what's going to promote this sort of uprising that takes place now the new government under the Articles Confederation had no real power to quell this and this is this moment Shay's rebellion the idea that America could go through a whole nother revolution that inspired people to step up and say we need to get together so a group of Representatives agrees to gather first in Annapolis the first convention that
• 12:30 - 13:00 then we need to figure out a way to make this better the situation better occur with the Articles of Confederation the initial goal was not to write a whole new document but instead to revise what already existed eventually we're going to see another convention called in Philadelphia and it's this convention that we see the Articles of Confederation being thrown out and a new document drafted and this document eventually becomes the Constitution now there are many issues that needed to be resolved in the Constitution many
• 13:00 - 13:30 conflicts that had emerged one was that each sort of component each state had different perspectives about how representation should be determined in Congress large States wanted representation to be determined by the size of the population so these are states like Virginia New York and Pennsylvania that had large populations they thought the number of representatives in Congress should be connected or linked the amount of population in those states most of the
• 13:30 - 14:00 states in the Union however were smaller states they had smaller populations and they believed there should be equal representation I'm just like under the Articles of Confederation these two approaches are what we call the large state plan and the small state plan eventually the representatives at this constitutional convention come up with an idea why not have instead of a unicameral or a single house Congress a bicameral Congress two houses a House of
• 14:00 - 14:30 Representatives which is determined by the population of the state that determines your representation and a Senate which is equal representation regardless of population every state we get to folks to serve now this great compromise had a caveat which is that any bill that involves spending or taxation needed to originate in the House of Representatives for two reasons one it represented the population and it
• 14:30 - 15:00 directly represented the people because there was an agreement that the House of Representatives would be directly elected by the people as opposed to the Senate which at this point will be elected and selected by members of state legislatures that actually doesn't change until much later it's actually during the Progressive Era that we amend the Constitution to call for the direct election of senators so this is known as the great compromise and it was this hurdle that was a major stumbling block to bring the states together for this
• 15:00 - 15:30 new document another major hurdle was a conflict that existed between northern and southern states over the issues of slavery nowhere in the Constitution is the word slavery mentioned that word doesn't appear until the Constitution is amended later on the idea that of course the southern states were concerned that slavery might be eliminated or gradually eliminated by the power of northern states they had a much larger population southern states were concerned
• 15:30 - 16:00 that their population would not be adequately represented in the new Congress specifically to house of representatives because much of their population were enslaved people they didn't want those people to be citizens but they wanted them to count for representation which is amazing right is really kind of phenomenal so the members of this convention come up with what is known as the three-fifths compromise it says that every citizen every person
• 16:00 - 16:30 who's deemed to be a citizen of the United States counts as a single person okay in terms of the count for determining congressional representation okay as well as a three-fifths vote for three-fifths of a person counting okay for any non citizen and it says other person in the Constitution so essentially for every enslaved person living in the south they got three-fifths of a person added to their total population this allows the south
• 16:30 - 17:00 to inflate its numbers and to have more representation the House of Representatives if this compromise had not been agreed upon its strongly possible so highly likely that southern states may not have signed on to the Constitution but also it may have led to the end of slavery much more quickly the north would have had a lot more power and if the North had decided to follow that it would have had a lot of power of the House of Representatives because of the population difference ultimately through all of this work and a whole lot of
• 17:00 - 17:30 drinking and by the way these folks drank a lot you should see their barbell I'm not kidding it was they were they were indulging quite a bit they were able to produce a document that we know today as the Constitution it's important for this class that you understand the basic components and structures of the Constitution the idea of three branches of government the executive branch occupied by a president under the Articles of Confederation there was a president but it was a figurehead
• 17:30 - 18:00 position that had no power okay I a legislative branch composed of these two houses of Congress okay the House of Representatives in the Senate and the judicial branch these three branches were designed to have certain checks and one another in order to balance the power so one branch could not take over this is important for us as obviously as we proceed through the history of the early republic because the branch that actually had the least power of the
• 18:00 - 18:30 judicial branch is going to intervene and create an area of power called a judicial review that will further cement its authority and create more equity between these three branches I hope you enjoy reading on this material it is very complicated but I think it's really interesting to learn more about the roots of our Constitution certainly it helps us to understand our own rights there are also limits to this Constitution which we're going to talk about you're going to read about and we'll talk about more in the next module
• 18:30 - 19:00 so I look forward to seeing your thoughts