The Penguin Guide to the United States Constitution Part 2

Richard Stockton

John Witherspoon

Francis Hopkinson

John Hart

Abraham Clark

NEW HAMPs.h.i.+RE.

Josiah Bartlett

William Whipple

Ma.s.sACHUSETTS.

Samuel Adams

John Adams

Robert Treat Paine

Elbridge Gerry

RHODE ISLAND.

Stephen Hopkins

William Ellery

CONNECTICUT.

Roger Sherman

Samuel Huntington

William Williams

Oliver Wolcott

NEW HAMPs.h.i.+RE.

Matthew Thornton

As the Declaration reaches its conclusion, it a.s.serts for the first time that the contemplated action is one taken by the representatives of the "united States of America." And then comes the operative sentence of the Declaration of Independence: "that these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States," that they no longer have any allegiance or obligation to the British Crown or the British nation. Implicit in the final two sentences of the doc.u.ment is a promise whose means of fulfillment was at that moment very much unknown. The "United Colonies" were not only declaring their independence but stating their intention, as independent and united states, to carry out a war against one of the world's most formidable military powers, to negotiate a successful peace, to make alliances with other nations, to promote commerce, "and do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do." The Americans intended not only to form independent states but also to find ways in which those independent states could unite in common cause. And to fulfill their commitment to that common cause, the Americans, in the final line of the Declaration of Independence, pledged "to each other, our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor."

THE CONSt.i.tUTION OF THE UNITED STATES.

WE THE PEOPLE OF THE UNITED STATES, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Const.i.tution for the United States of America.

The preamble to the Const.i.tution is a statement of aspiration-a promise to Americans about the things that the new federal government intended to achieve for "We the People of the United States." Some of the specific objects of government stated in the preamble-the establishment of justice, insuring the peaceful operation of society, and providing for the common defense-had long been understood to be the primary responsibilities of any government. The promises to promote the general welfare and to "secure the Blessings of Liberty" are more open-ended, suggesting that the government's responsibilities extend not merely to providing essential services but also to benevolent oversight of the polity. Although the words of the preamble do not carry the force of law, they have had substantial rhetorical power over the life of the Const.i.tution.

ARTICLE I.

SECTION 1.

All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives.

It is no accident that the first article of the Const.i.tution deals with the structure and powers of the Congress, for virtually all of those who took part in the drafting of the Const.i.tution considered the legislative branch to be the most important and, rightfully, the most powerful of the three branches of government.

There was broad agreement among the framers of the Const.i.tution that the Congress should consist of a bicameral legislature. The House of Representatives, the "lower house," was conceived to be the "great repository" of the people of the nation at large, while the Senate, "the upper house," was to be composed of only the most knowledgeable, well-educated, and virtuous, who could be relied upon to act as a moderating influence on the whims of the people at large.

SECTION 2.

The House of Representatives shall be composed of Members chosen every second Year by the People of the several States, and the Electors in each State shall have the Qualifications requisite for Electors of the most numerous Branch of the State Legislature.

No Person shall be a Representative who shall not have attained to the Age of twenty five Years, and been seven Years a Citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an Inhabitant of that State in which he shall be chosen.

Representatives and direct Taxes shall be apportioned among the several States which may be included within this Union, according to their respective Numbers, which shall be determined by adding to the whole Number of free Persons, including those bound to Service for a Term of Years, and excluding Indians not taxed, three fifths of all other Persons. The actual Enumeration shall be made within three Years after the first Meeting of the Congress of the United States, and within every subsequent Term of ten Years, in such Manner as they shall by Law direct. The Number of Representatives shall not exceed one for every thirty Thousand, but each State shall have at Least one Representative; and until such enumeration shall be made, the State of New Hamps.h.i.+re shall be ent.i.tled to chuse three, Ma.s.sachusetts eight, Rhode-Island and Providence Plantations one, Connecticut five, New-York six, New Jersey four, Pennsylvania eight, Delaware one, Maryland six, Virginia ten, North Carolina five, South Carolina five, and Georgia three.

When vacancies happen in the Representation from any State, the Executive Authority thereof shall issue Writs of Election to fill such Vacancies.

The House of Representatives shall chuse their Speaker and other Officers; and shall have the sole Power of Impeachment.

The framers of the Const.i.tution stipulated that members of the House of Representatives, the people's house, should serve relatively short terms of only two years, after which they would be required to seek reelection should they wish to continue to represent their state. The delegates could not agree on who should be allowed to vote for members of the House of Representatives, so they left the matter of voting requirements up to the state legislatures, which had up to that time set the qualifications for voters in each of the states. In 1787 all the states except New Jersey (which briefly permitted females to vote) limited the franchise to "free men" (a term usually interpreted to exclude free blacks) and most required that voters own at least some form of property. By the 1820s, most states had opened up the franchise to free white males regardless of whether they owned property. Subsequent amendments-the Fifteenth, prohibiting the denial of the franchise on account of "race, color, or previous condition of servitude"; the Nineteenth, enfranchising women; and the Twenty-sixth, establis.h.i.+ng a uniform voting age of eighteen-served to create a common national standard for voting in federal elections.

The requirement that members of the House of Representatives reside in the state in which they were chosen reflected the belief that representatives, if they are to serve the people who elect them, must have close and meaningful ties to the communities in which those people live.

The "three fifths of all other Persons" referred to in this section is the result of the infamous "three-fifths compromise," in which slaves, though not mentioned by name, were to be counted as three-fifths of a person in the apportionment of representation in the House of Representatives as well as in the apportioning of the amount of direct taxes to be paid by each state. The three-fifths ratio was a purely arbitrary one. It was a consequence of a fundamental contradiction that the Convention delegates were unable to resolve: slaves were human beings, but by the laws of most states they were also regarded as property. The pa.s.sage of the Thirteenth Amendment abolis.h.i.+ng slavery rendered this portion of Article I, Section 2 null and void.

Although the original Const.i.tution laid down a formula for representation based on population (and "three fifths of all other Persons"), none of the delegates to the 1787 Convention really knew what the actual population of each of the states was. The initial apportionment of representation was merely a guess, but the Const.i.tution did provide for a census of the population to be taken every ten years, a practice that began in 1790 and has continued to the present day.

The "sole Power of Impeachment" referred only to the first step-the equivalent of an indictment or bringing to trial-in the removal of a federal official. The grounds for impeachment set down in Article II, Section 4-"Treason, Bribery, or other High Crimes and Misdemeanors"-have been subject to widely varying interpretations.

SECTION 3.

The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each State, chosen by the Legislature thereof, for six Years; and each Senator shall have one Vote.

Immediately after they shall be a.s.sembled in Consequence of the first Election, they shall be divided as equally as may be into three Cla.s.ses. The Seats of the Senators of the first Cla.s.s shall be vacated at the Expiration of the second Year, of the second Cla.s.s at the Expiration of the fourth Year, and of the third Cla.s.s at the Expiration of the sixth Year, so that one third may be chosen every second Year; and if Vacancies happen by Resignation, or otherwise, during the Recess of the Legislature of any State, the Executive thereof may make temporary Appointments until the next Meeting of the Legislature, which shall then fill such Vacancies.

No person shall be a Senator who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty Years, and been nine Years a Citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an Inhabitant of that State for which he shall be chosen.

The Vice President of the United States shall be President of the Senate, but shall have no Vote, unless they be equally divided.

The Senate shall chuse their other Officers, and also a President pro tempore, in the Absence of the Vice President, or when he shall exercise the Office of President of the United States.

The Senate shall have the sole Power to try all Impeachments. When sitting for that Purpose, they shall be on Oath or Affirmation. When the President of the United States is tried, the Chief Justice shall preside: And no Person shall be convicted without the Concurrence of two thirds of the Members present.

Judgment in Cases of Impeachment shall not extend further than to removal from Office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any Office of honor, Trust or Profit under the United States: but the Party convicted shall nevertheless be liable and subject to Indictment, Trial, Judgment and Punishment, according to Law.

The Senate, as the "upper house," was conceived as a more deliberative body, whose members would be comprised of the most virtuous and knowledgeable citizens in the land. The framers of the Const.i.tution believed that Senators should therefore serve longer terms in order that they might be better insulated from the immediate pressures of public opinion. One of the means by which Senators would be protected from popular whims was to provide for an indirect method for their election, with the legislatures of the individual states being given the power over such election. The provision for staggered terms of service was designed to prevent sudden, convulsive turnover in the members.h.i.+p of the Senate.

Consistent with the view that the members of the Senate were expected to possess superior knowledge and experience, the minimum age of Senators was set at thirty, and the length of time after becoming a citizen nine years, as opposed to twenty-five years of age and seven years of citizens.h.i.+p for members of the House of Representatives.