DN: The Constitution was not a Counter-Revolution that reversed the accomplishments of the American Revolution, because it introduced changes and liberties that the colonists previously weren't able to enjoy. For example, it introduced a more refined system of representation for the colonists, solving the problem of "taxation without representation". The American Revolution did away with lack of representation and the quartering of soldiers, which remained after the Constitution was established. No monarchy.

• To some, it was about impositions by a central power.
  • Anti federalists, farmers
  • A Social revolution
    • I.e. social revolution - Shay's rebellion, for example, was questioning the authority of the elite to tax them.
    • government was restricting liberty.
• To others, it was about the legitimacy of Britain as a central power: colonists were concerned about the legitimacy of the British Crown - "taxation without representation is tyranny"
  • Nationalists, the gentlemen elite
    • A Political revolution
      • taxes were restricting liberty.

• Merchants and Manufacturers and Workers

  • National tariff: People building stuff in America would have advantage over foreign goods
  • Common market to encourage interstate trade
    • Mercantile theory
  • National commercial policy to avoid conflict, standards of measure (weights, etc)
  • To gain the respect of European countries to facilitate trade.

• Land speculators (entrepreneurs) wanted a gvt to:

  • subdue the "indian menace"
    • wanted it to be safe for whites to settle in midwest
  • Expel british from forts in ohio valley
  • enforce their claims against squatters
    • ppl like george washington bought land in ohio valley/midwest, and some ppl started to clear those lands and live there as if they were their own

• The National Debt

  • Loans owed to France and the Dutch
    • repayment would make it easier for American merchants to get credit.
  • Paper currency
    • (The continental congress issued more paper money than they could back - becomes an issue of trust. Can you trust gvt to pay you back if you do trade it in?)
    • Commoners had used it or sold it at a discount.
      • The people who were paid with this currency had to use their currency at lower than face value
    • Most was now controlled by financiers aka speculators who bought it cheap
      • the rich were speculating and bought that paper money, betting that the gvt would make that money back
      • If the government would exchange currency at face value, they would make tremendous profits.

• The first concern of the framers about tyranny came from the people, or mob (there were more people who were poor than were rich and land owning)
• Republic: a government in which citizens rule through their elected representatives rather than directly.
  • In the name of the people, but the power of the people goes through various filters.
    • Vote - white men who owned land: 15% of population.
    • State legislators chose Senators
    • the people vote for electoral college, who would then vote for the president
    • judiciary: selected by president, approved by senate

• Defining Tyranny:

  • Paraphrase quote by James Madison:
    • Tyranny: putting all powers in the same hands.
  • Also: cruel, unreasonable, or arbitrary use of power or control

• Solutions - mechanisms to prevent tyranny:

  • Limited gvt
    • enumerated powers for the national gvt with the rest to the states or the people.
    • Limits scope of gvt by only enumerating specific powers
    • Elastic Clause - Gives gvt the power to enact laws in furtherance of those laws - antifederalists didn't like this because it gives Congress power to enact whatever law they want, because they can just draw a connection to one of the enumerated powers.
  • Separation of Powers
    • "Checks and balances" among the three branches of government.
  • Individual rights
    • Put into the Bill of Rights
    • Constitution writers didn't want specify the rights of the people because:
      • they thought that it was already in the constitution (also writers didn't want to spend more time writing)
      • All states already had bill of rights (there was no American that wasn't protected by a bill of rights)

• Prior Republics had been small and homogenous

  • Common Knowledge held that they had to be
  • Why? A clash between two interests or powers would lead to dominance by one
    • The winner would institutionalize their party and become tyrannical

• Two Theories of How a Republic Succeeds:

  • A republic of virtuous people placing the good of the nation above personal interests would overcome selfishness.

    • A "gentleman" (rich land owner) whose economic standing was assured could stand above personal interest and act in the nation's interest.
    • They had just been through a situation where people sacrificed to overcome a greater power (American Revolution).
    • Madison found this unrealistic - things would degenerate over time. There needed to be a structure to prevent gvt from falling apart

  • A republic that would benefit from self interest:

    • A republic with a large, varied population with many different interests and ideas would survive, says madison
    • The greater the idea diff, the less likely one idea would take over and become tyrannical
      • People will always clash, you just need a way to have this without domination
        • e.g. Different interests arise from property ownership
    • By allowing independent citizens to pursue their own economic and political interests, the whole nation would benefit.
      • Like Adam Smith's invisible hand - laissez faire

• Madisonian Principles in the Making of the Constitution

  • People are going to have to make deals, compromises.
  • The problem of representation by state or by persons:
    • Virginia Plan - power divided by population
    • The New Jersey Plan - each state has proportional votes (1 vote)
    • The Great Compromise - 2 houses
  • The power of the Executive
    • Antifederalists didn't like that the president had the veto power, because it overrides the will of legislature
  • The slave power
    • Would it have been better if slaves were represented but untaxed, taxed but unrepresented, untaxed and unrepresented, or both?
    • The 3/5ths compromise - each slave counts as 3/5 of a person for representation and taxation.
      • states are taxed by population