1) Libya - Conflict between President's role as commander-in-chief and Congress's power to declare war 2) Debt ceiling - Tension between Congress's power to borrow money and obligation to pay debts 3) Obamacare - Debate around extent of Congress's power to regulate interstate commerce 4) Immigration - Questions around interpretation of citizenship clause in 14th Amendment The document discusses ongoing policy and legal debates around the scope and limits of powers granted to different branches of government by the Constitution. It analyzes how the Constitution has been interpreted and applied to modern issues like healthcare, debt, and immigration.

1. Pre Class
• Having just released themselves from
Britain's monarchy, what would the
colonists fear?
• Judging from some of the complaints the
colonists had against Britain (in the DOI),
what might some of their concerns be for
any future government?

2. • Set up the
structure of the
govt. (ratified
1781)
• Loose
confederation
(“league of
friendship”) among
states - weak
central
government
Articles of
Confederation

3. Govt. Under the Articles
• Unicameral (single house) legislature –
CONGRESS
– Each state had one vote
– War, raise an army by asking states for troops
– Treaties
– Could raise money ONLY by borrowing/requesting
from the states
• NO single executive (president) – leaders
chosen from legislature
• NO federal court system

4. Achievements of the Articles
• Policy for settling/developing Western lands –
stated ceded (gave up) their land to the
central govt. so Congress could make a plan
• Land ordinances – laws that set how the lands
would be organized
– Northwest Ordinance (1787) – defined the
process for statehood

6. Articles of Confederation
• Look at the weaknesses of the Articles of
Confederation. PUT A STAR NEXT TO 3 that
you think the Founding fathers were most
concerned about.

7. **the founders were fearful of a
strong central government**
Other problems:
•9/13 states needed to pass laws
•EVERYONE must vote to amend/change the AoC
•No executive (ie. President) – lacked unity

8. The Need for a Stronger Central
Govt.
• Disputes between states (borders, tariffs –
taxes on imports, taxes on goods from other
states)
– NJ farmers had to pay fees to sell veggies in NY
• Each state saw itself as sovereign
• FINANCIAL PROBLEMS – govt owned $40
million to foreign govts and soldiers who
served in Revolution
– The central govt could not impose taxes, and
couldn’t fund an army to defend the states!

9. Shays’s Rebellion
• Daniel Shays and other
farmers who were not paid for
their service in the Revolution
were in danger of losing their
homes, farms and shops
• Marched on the court houses
& arsenal in Springfield, MASS
• Put down by Mass militia
**scares the nation’s leaders
because the central govt was
powerless

10. Pre Class (on a separate sheet of
paper)
• After we declared independence from Britain,
what was the name of the first government
that we formed?
• Identify one feature of this government.
• Explain 2 problems with this government that
led the founders to call the Constitutional
Convention in order to revise it.

11. • In 1787, a convention was called in
Philadelphia to discuss amending (changing)
the Articles of Confederation.
• What do you think were the founding fathers’
biggest concerns about the articles? Identify 2
problems you think they tried to solve first.

12. Closing
• In this episode, America is referred to as a
“social experiment.” What do you think this
phrase means? Do you think the “experiment”
is still going on today? Why or why not?

14. • What were 3
problems in the
Articles that
were fixed with
the creation of
the
Constitution?

15. Articles of Confederation
Articles of Confederation

16. Constitution
The Constitution

17. Key Agreements
•
•
•
•
Limited/representative government
3 branches – legislative, executive, judicial
Limit power of states to coin money
Strengthen national government
BUT – how would they put these into action??

19. Constitutional Compromises
• Main areas of debate at the Convention were:
– Representation in Congress (equal or by
population?)
– Slavery
• How slaves should be counted for representation and
taxation
• The trans-Atlantic slave trade
– Strong vs. weak central government
– Executive (presidential) elections

21. Pre Class
• List 2 weaknesses of the Articles of
Confederation (look at your notes from
yesterday)
• What were 2 things the founding fathers
disagreed about at the Constitutional
Convention?
• WRITE DOWN YOUR HOMEWORK!

24. Congress could
not tax exports

27. Pre Class
• What was one of the issues that required
compromise at the Constitutional
Convention?
• Briefly describe the disagreement and its
resulting compromise/solution.
• Why did the Constitution face an uphill battle
to be ratified (approved) by the states?

28. The Fight to Ratify
• What were some of
the concerns
surrounding the U.S.
Constitution?
• What did the
Federalists believe?
• What did the AntiFederalists believe?
• Why was the
Constitution ratified?

31. Bill of Rights
• first 10 amendments to the
Constitution.
• protect the rights of individuals and
limit the powers of the government
•At first, they only applied to the
national government, now they apply
to the states also (incorporation
doctrine)

36. Checks and Balances Simulation
• How should we spend $100?
• 3 groups
– Group 1 controls the money
– Group 2 decides how the money will be spent
– Group 3 will rule on any challenges

37. Checks and Balances

38. Which check/balance applies to each
situation?
•
•
•
•
I am the President; I can declare war on Lower Slobovia.
I am a Judge; I can make any decision I want.
I am a Senator; I can help write and pass any law I want.
I am the President of the United States; I can veto any law
passed by Congress.
• I am the President of the United States; I can do anything I
want.
• I am the President of the United States; I can make a treaty
with Upper Slobovia.
• We're the Supreme Court; we'll be ruling on every law for
years.

39. Keeping each other in check!
• Which branch of government is acting? Which
other branch of government can't do what it
wants?

40. •
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Historic events involving conflicts between branches include:
The impeachment of President Andrew Johnson.
The impeachment of President Bill Clinton.
The conflict over Franklin D. Roosevelt's attempt to add six seats to
the Supreme Court.
The Alien and Sedition Acts.
Supreme Court cases such as Marbury vs. Madison (1803), the Dred
Scott Decision (1857) and McCulloch v. Maryland (1819).
President Andrew Jackson's conflict with Congress over the Second
National Bank.
The Watergate incident during Richard Nixon's tenure in office.

41. Amending the Constitution

42. Is it time to update the Constitution?

43. One Document Under Siege
• While you read:
• Take notes on the scope, intensity, duration,
and resources involved.
• Has policy been made in regard to this issue?
Can the policy be validated by the
Constitution? Explain... What is your opinion?

44. What is public policy?
• public policy making is problem solving by
someone in an authoritative position to get
the job done.
• When considering public policy, problems
must be analyzed using the following four
elements:
– SCOPE – How widespread a problem
– INTENSITY – How troublesome a problem
– DURATION – How long a problem
– RESOURCES -- Costliness of the problem

45. • Issue 1: LIBYA Article 1 Section 8 ‘The Congress
shall have power..To declare war’. Article II
Section 2 ‘The president shall be commander-inchief of the Army and Navy of the United States’
• Issue 2: THE DEBT CEILING Article I, Section 8
‘The Congress shall have power...to borrow
money on the credit of the United States.’ 14th
Amendment, Section 4, ‘The validity of the public
debt of the United States...shall not be
questioned.’

46. • Issue 3: OBAMACARE Article I, Section 8,
Clause 3, ‘The Congress shall have power....to
regulate Commerce with foreign nations, and
among the several states.’
• Issue 4: IMMIGRATION 14th Amendment
1868, ‘All persons born or naturalized in the
United States, and subject to the jurisdiction
thereof, are citizens of the United States and
of the State wherein they reside