American constitution

Part 1. The Articles of Confederation

Warm-up

Work in groups. Discuss the following questions. Share your ideas with the groupmates.

1. Who were the first settlers on the American continent?

2. What were the first 13 American colonies? How did they differ in their political, social and economic development?

3. Why was it important for the states to adopt a uniform document that would outline the governmental structure of the new state?

Reading

Read the text and say what kind of document the Articles of Confederation is.

After getting its independence from Great Britain in the Revolutionary War the new country needed to organize some form of governmental system. The Articles of Confederation represent the first constitutional agreement made between the thirteen American states. There was a need for unity among the new states that were created as a result of the American Revolution. The relative powers of the individual states and the Continental Congress also needed to be defined for the young country. These realities led Congress to entrust John Dickinson with the drafting of the federal Constitution. It was called the Articles of Confederation and was submitted to the Second Continental Congress on July, 12, 1776.

Because of the fear that resulted from the colonial experience under the centralized government of Great Britain, the committee had been careful to give the states as much independence as possible. The adoption of the Articles was a very complicated process. The disagreements were over such things as boundary lines and the conflicting decisions reached by the courts of the different states. The smaller states wanted equal representation in Congress with the larger states. The states that had larger populations did not want to pay an extensive amount of money to the federal government as the amount of taxation was based upon population. There was also wide disagreement over who would control the western territories. The states that did not have frontier borders wanted the government to control the sale of these lands so that all states could benefit. States with frontier borders, on the contrary, wanted to control as much of the territory land as they could. After much discussion the Articles of Confederation was adopted in 1777. It became the ruling document of the new nation. It created a nation that was “a league of friendship and perpetual union”. The state government retained most of the power with a subordinate position given to the central government.

`According to the document:

• Congress (the central government) was made up of delegates chosen by the states and could conduct foreign affairs, make treaties, declare war, maintain an army and a navy, coin money, and establish post offices. However, measures passed by Congress had to be approved by 9 of the 13 states;

• Congress was severely limited in its powers. It could not raise money by collecting taxes; it had no control over foreign commerce; it could pass laws but could not force the states to comply with them. Thus, the government was dependent on the willingness of the various states to carry out its measures, and often the states refused to cooperate;

• The articles were virtually impossible to amend, so problems could not be corrected.

As the need for a stronger federal government began to be realized leaders from throughout the sates got together to decide how to create it. The Federal Constitutional Convention of 1787 was responsible for drafting the Constitution of the USA, the document which took the place of the Articles of Confederation in 1787.

Scanning

Answer the following questions.

1. What was it necessary to do after the Revolutionary War?

2. What were the most disputable issues in the political life of the country?

3. Who was the federal Constitution drafted by?

4. When was the Articles of Confederation adopted?

5. Why were the sates given as much independence as possible?

6. What made the process of the adoption of the Articles complicated?

7. How did the stances of the smaller and larger states on the basic issues differ?

8. Why was the Articles called the ruling document of the nation?

9. In what way was the state structure arranged by the Articles of Confederation?

10. Was Congress limited in its powers?

11. What were the main functions of Congress?

12. Why did it become primordial to adopt the Constitution of the USA?

Speaking

Prepare the summary of the text using the following word combinations.

• to organize a form of governmental structure

• the first constitutional agreement

• to define the powers of individual states

• to draft a document

• to be given as much independence as possible

• to be a complicated process

• to have equal representation in Congress

• to pay taxes

• to retain power

Part 2. The Constitution of the USA

Warm-up

Discuss the following questions in groups. Share your ideas with the groupmates.

1. What is Constitution?

2. What are the basic features of the Constitution as the main law of the land?

3. What is the role of the Constitution in the political life of the country? Can a country exist without a Constitution? Give examples.

Pronunciation

Watch the pronunciation of the following words and word combinations

• procedures

• guarantee

• flexibility

• sovereign

• legitimate

• commissioners

• adjustments

• jeopardize

• break the impasse

• divisive

Reading

Read the text and explain why the ratification of the Constitution was a complicated process.

The rock upon which a democratic government rests is its Constitution – the formal statement of its fundamental obligations, limitations, procedures and institutions. The Constitution of the country is the supreme law of the land and all citizens are subjects to its provisions. At a minimum, the Constitution, which is usually codified in a single written document, establishes the authority of the national government, provides guarantees for fundamental human rights and sets forth the government’s basic operating procedures.

Despite their enduring, monumental qualities, Constitutions must be capable of change and adaptation. The world’s oldest written Constitution is that of the United States. It consists of seven brief articles and twenty-seven amendments.

The most significant features of the US Constitution are the establishment of the rule of law (which implies that every person is subject to the law), the creation of a federal system with a supreme national government, the separation of governmental powers into three branches that check and balance each other, its flexibility and the establishment of a republican form of government.

The Constitution is considered the supreme law of the land both because of its content and because its authority is derived from the people. The concepts and ideas of the Constitution are the “higher law” in the USA, things which the government cannot create or destroy. Among these concepts and ideas is the notion that the people are sovereign and that legitimate governments must be based on popular consent. As the Constitution was ratified by the representatives of the people, it is a document in both word and deed, created by and for “we, the people”.

Though the Constitution is the supreme law of the land, most of the specific, day-today rules and regulations that bring order to American society are not included in the Constitution itself. These “ordinary” laws are the creations of the Congress, state legislatures and city councils. But the notion that laws are more important than the opinions of individual people – even important people – applies to these laws as well. In America no one is considered to be above the law.