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Creation of the US constitution
Principles of the american constitution
Creation of the US constitution
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Should the Constitution be rewritten every 19 years? In 1787, The United States of America formally replaced the Articles of Confederation with a wholly new governing document, written by the delegates who attended the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia. This document, known as the Constitution, has served as the supreme law of our land for the past 228 years. It has stood the test of time and a majority of Americans still support it today (Dougherty). The Constitution was designed in a way that allows for it to be amended, in order to address changing societal needs. Article V discusses the process by which the Constitution can be altered. This feature has enabled it to stay in effect and keep up with current times. The Constitution should not be rewritten every 19 years because it would not only weaken its importance, but it would also hurt foreign relations and continuously rewriting it would give political parties too much power. The Constitution is arguably one of the most important documents in the United States of America. The founders spent four very long months …show more content…
The United States is the oldest yet also the shortest in the world (National Constitution Center). Despite the fact that we’ve had the same Constitution for over 200 years, many Americans still are not very familiar with its contents. In a study in 2011, 70% of Americans couldn’t answer the question “What is the supreme law of the land?” and only 38% could name all three branches of the U.S. government (Hentoff). Completely rewriting the Constitution every 19 years would only worsen this existing problem. If most Americans are that illiterate about the Constitution in its current form than it would be really difficult for them to be literate about it if it were rewritten regularly. As soon as people began to be familiar with its contents, the entire system of government would
From five states arose delegates who would soon propose an idea that would impact the United States greatly. The idea was to hold a meeting in Philadelphia called the Constitutional Convention in 1787 meant to discuss the improvements for the Articles of Confederation and would later be called the United States Constitution. The United States Constitution was greatly influenced by Ancient Rome, the Enlightenment, and Colonial Grievances.
The Articles of Confederation were approved by Congress on November 15, 1777 and ratified by the states on March 1, 1781. It was a modest attempt by a new country to unite itself and form a national government. The Articles set up a Confederation that gave most of the power to the states. Many problems arose and so a new Constitution was written in 1787 in Independence Hall. The new Constitution called for a much more unified government with a lot more power. Let us now examine the changes that were undertaken.
The above statement is somewhat mind-boggling. It is something that a revolutionist might have coined over 200 years ago and it leaves much to the imagination. It is about as close to being treasonous as one could get without actually committing the crime. The former Vice-President Albert Gore once stated that "the constitution was a living breathing document, open to change". His statement was quite controversial and it definitely created a stir with the patriot-cult crowd. Why would anyone want to scrap the entire Constitution of the United States of America? Has someone come up with a more impressive document that better signifies what this country is all about?
Although the Articles had problems of their own, they had constructive ideas that lead to the Constitution, which ended up being one of the most important documents written in US history.
The constitution was a document that embodies the fundamental laws and principles by which the U.S is governed. The constitution states basic rights for its citizens. Delegates signed the constitution on September 17, 1787. There is a total of 27 constitutional amendments. The reasoning for writing it was for a stronger federal government - legislative, executive and judicial. The constitution was a break with a past of ‘unfair’ taxes, wars and ‘unfair’ treatment.
I agree with the statement, “The 22nd Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, limiting the American president to elected terms in office, has been successful and should be retained. This amendment has facilitated rotation in office and new ideas, both crucial to an effective democracy.”. The statement is an agreeable because it does not deprive citizens of their right to elect, it opens the candidate pool, problems have not arisen, and stops the country from being a monarchy. The 22nd Amendment limits the American president to two terms, totaling to eight years in office. The restrictions made by the 22nd Amendment have not proven to be a problem.
The U.S Constitution is recognized as a document that secures basic rights for citizens and structures the American national government. Before the Constitution, the states had all the power and the national government was very weak. Therefore, the creation of the Constitution was necessary to grant the national government power. Even though, the Constitution was signed in 1787, there was still debate in that the Constitution gave the national government too much power. Some of the individuals whom opposed the Constitution where Patrick Henry and George Mason. Patrick Henry became the leader of the opponents, because of his strong legal and rhetoric skills. On the other hand, George Mason was a patriot during the American Revolution, whom believed in the inalienable rights of the people. These two man were important figures that argued the dangers ratifying the Constitution would bring and that the Constitution would give too much power to the national government.
When it comes to the Constitution, I believe it should be updated every couple of years, because our world and technology is changing. By having the same laws, we are not moving on from the past and advancing. We do need more equal representation when it comes to Senate, and we need more rights for women, Native Americans and African Americans. Since the Constitution is outdated and was mostly written by a group of men in 1787 that were mostly republican, it is seen as more of a republican document than a democratic
Today our country is who we are today based on an important document that changed our lives forever; The Constitution of The United States. This document is a revision of the Articles of Confederation that was ratified in 1781; the United States Constitution was ratified in 1788. The document contains 4,543 words and 27 amendments that are the reasons we can do the certain things we do today. The United States Constitution has an impact on my life as a college student living and working due to me being able to attend college as a black student, taxes being taken out of my everyday life activities, being a young woman able to work and having equal rights as men, and lastly being an 18 year old citizen having the right to vote for our president or in our case presently, electoral college.
The purpose of a revolution is to bring forth change in government and political standing. There has been revolutions happening throughout the course of history. The opposite of a revolution is a counter-revolution. A counter-revolution is revolution against a government recently established by a previous revolution. One particular culprit to the counter revolution is the United States' Constitution. This document is debated to be counter-revolutionary while still keeping the fundamental principles of the American Revolution alive. There is definitely proof for both arguments. Therefore, the U.S. Constitution was both a counter-revolutionary document and an extension to the American Revolution.
In 1787, the United States Constitution was drawn up for the first time by our Founding Fathers. Although the Constitution was beautifully crafted, it only stated what the
The United States constitution was written roughly 200 years ago and at the time the framers laid out a system of government that they thought would function effectively and represent their vision for the nation. I believe that the modern political system does not reflect the framers vision at all because the relationship between state and federal government has drastically changed, the balance of power within the federal government changed in favor of the executive branch and in the modern system citizenship has been expanded.
The “Founding Father’s” made many statements that state that the basis of all other rights are protected by the First Amendment. The First Amendment protects the rights of free speech, press, assembly, petition, and press. Benjamin Franklin stated, “Whoever would overthrow the Liberty of a Nation, must begin by subduing the Freeness of Speech” (Franklin, 1722). Franklin believed that the First Amendment allows people to go unpunished for expressing their thoughts and feelings into speech. The only way for someone to completely override the government would be to completely get rid of the First Amendment rights. Benjamin Franklin is making a statement that without freedom of speech, then there would be no freedom or liberty in our nation. This can be seen in many countries, like communist
Our Constitution and Declaration of Independence have endured for 225 years and remain powerful and effective tools to guide our country, however our world continues to change at a rapid pace. Some argue that the Constitution needs to be discarded and completely re-written. Ongoing regular review and update of our Constitution would guarantee that the problems of the United States are addressed and that our Constitution remains applicable to current world issues and times.
What of the idea that the Constitution changes as society changes? Well, this contention is firstly false; we have already shown that words don’t change, people’s inferences change. Thus, what’s really being said is “We change what we infer about the Constitution, not based on the Constitution, but on society’s positions.” This position is the great antithesis to the idea of a Constitution, and a Republic. Allow me to explain: