Written in 1787 at the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, and later ratified by the thirteen original states in 1788, the Constitution establishes the relationship between the federal (national) government and state governments. It establishes our republican form of government with an elected Executive (President), a bicameral congress (consisting of two legislative branches, a House of Representatives and a Senate), and a judicial system headed by a Supreme Court. The Framers' of the Constitution were influenced in their work by the ancient Athenians, the thinkers of the Enlightenment; Locke and Montesquieu. As well as important political documents such as the Mayflower Compact, England's Magna Carta and Bill of Rights, to name a few. The purpose of the Constitution is written in a one sentence introduction known as the Preamble; it explains that the document proposes to establish a more perfect government, complete with justice, tranquility, and liberty for all men. Based upon the influences mentioned earlier, the Framers' wanted to create a system that clearly defined and limited the powers and scope of the federal government and state governments in relation to the people they governed. Believing that a large, all powerful central government would be a danger to this republican form of government the Framers' came up with two very important features; the separation of powers and checks and balances. The separation of powers is the division of government into independent groups, preventing any one group from having too much power. In this system, the separate groups check, or monitor the each other, having the effect of keeping an even balance of power; this is called checks and balances. Another important featur... ... middle of paper ... ...immense financial burden on the states, and for those reasons the healthcare bill would never have been agreed to by any senator chosen by state officials. Senators today pass out these federal goodies because they know that those same special interests that benefit from these social justice programs will be there for them on election day with lots of campaign cash. In the end, we are the ones, along with our children who are left with this debt for our governments insatiable appetite for spending. Under legislative appointment, senators would be restricted from handing out federal goodies unless it benefitted the people in their states and even then those goodies would have to benefit, according to current rules agreed to by the senate, at twenty-nine other states for them to pass. The current senate rules call for passage by a super-majority; sixty senators.
This party developed because of the ratification of the constitution process; one way the Federalists tried to persuade people that their views were right about a strong central government during the ratification process was through several articles, which became known as The Federalist Papers. The Federalists argued that the people needed a strong central government to keep order and protect the union (Doc 1). They believed that this form of government was needed because the Articles of Confederation was proof that the union needed a strong central government. They argued that the Articles of Confederation gave the central government too little power and as a result the Union, faced economic difficulties, foreign problems and state quarrels (Doc 3). They processed Checks and Balances, which was a system designed so that the central government would not get more powerful than the other would, and was intended to counter arguments being made by the Anti-federalists (Doc
The framers had four major goals for the constitution. They wanted to create a strong government that would be able to meet the need's of the nation. Yet they wanted to keep the existence of the separate states. They also didn't want to threaten liberty. And lastly they wanted to create a government that everyone could agree upon.
Being very different from the Articles of Confederation, the Constitution gave the foundation for the legislature and kept each branch in check, assuring none would become too powerful. With the large and small states finally in agreement, ratifying the constitution was the next step. September of 1787 the final draft, containing around 4,200 words, was created by the Committee of Style. George Washington was the first to sign the document on September 17th. Although 39 of the original 55 signed the document, the delegates of Massachusetts were unwilling to approve the document. Nine of the thirteen states had to ratify the document in order for it to become law. To help gain popularity for the Constitution, James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay made essays. There were 85 total essays and they were distributed in newspapers across the states. Those who supported the document were referred to as Federalist and those who did not support the document were known as Anti-Federalist. The first states to ratify the Constitution were Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Georgia, and Connecticut. Massachusetts still strongly opposed the document, saying that freedom of speech, religion, and press were lacking protection. An agreement was made in February 1788 that the document would be amended to include what was lacking upon ratification. With hesitation,
Constitution established America’s national government and fundamental laws, and guaranteed rights for its citizens. America’s first governing document, the Articles of Confederation, the national government was weak and states operated like independent countries. The Articles of Confederation gave Congress the power to govern foreign affairs, conduct war, and regulate currency. The delegates, who are known as the “framers” of the Constitution, were a group of well-educated people that included merchants, farmers, bankers and lawyers. James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay, wrote a series of essays to persuade people to approve the Constitution. “The Federalist Papers”, detailed how the new government would work, and were published under the public in newspapers across the states starting in the fall of
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.
Over the following decade following the Declaration of Independence, the appointed leaders created the U.S. Constitution (1787), which established America’s national government and fundamental laws, and guaranteed certain basic rights for its citizens (History.com).
To drink or no? Ever since the first people stumbled across alcohol (and then each other) this has been a question commonly asked. Statistics show that a majority of domestic violence, automobile accidents, and rape, all involve (many times) alcohol. Whether one thinks consumption is "right" or not has been asked by people for people from time to time. This would be the case of the 18th Amendment of 1919.
The Constitution is the foundation of our county it represents liberty and justice for all. We are able to live freely and do, as we desire because of the constitution. The constitution was, signed September 17, 1787 at the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia. It took time and many debates were held before an agreement was achieved in both the drafting and ratification of the constitution. These disagreements came with several compromises before the constitution was fully ratified on May 29, 1790, with Rhode Island being the last and the thirteenth. The First, challenge was the Articles of Confederation; it was a sort of a draft of the Constitution but was weak and inadequate. Second, obstacle was the Anti-Federalists fight for more
The U.S. Constitution has a unique history. Facing drafts and ratifications it was finally created under the founding fathers in 1787. The constitution is the foundation for the government we have today and influences almost every decision that government officials make. However, before the constitution was influencing, it was influenced. The political, economic, and diplomatic crises of the 1780s not only helped shape America, but also the provisions found the constitution.
The document I chose to write about is the United States Constitution. When the thirteen British colonies in North America declared their independence in 1776, they laid down that “governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.” The “colonies” had to establish a government, which would be the framework for the United States. The purpose of a written constitution is to define and therefore more specifically limit government powers. After the Articles of Confederation failed to work in the 13 colonies, the U.S. Constitution was created in 1787.
The first written constitution of the United States was the Articles of Confederation in November 15, 1777. Congress was also given the right to make treaties and alliances to maintain the armed forces and the money. Also, the central government was lacking the ability to tax and regulate commerce which led to the Constitutional Convention in 1787 and the creation of the federal law. Since the American Revolution, the U.S. congress felt that they needed a stronger union and a government powerful enough to defeat Great Britain. The central authority inhibited the creation of such a strong government that shared political theory held that a republic could not serve a large nation such as the United States .To many of the americans and their union seemed to be simply a league of confederated and also their congress representing thirteen independent polities.
The constitution was mainly written in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was made to make guidelines for the building of a federal government so that there wouldn’t be any tyranny. Some examples of these are indicated in Document A. It describes that the central government can, “regulate trade, conduct foreign relations and declare war.” Meanwhile, the states can, “set up local governments, hold elections and establish schools.”
The Constitution is responsible for establishing and distinguishing the powers of the presidency, Congress, and the court system. It says that each state must acknowledge the laws of other states and that the Constitution is the supreme law of the land. The Constitution is made of seven articles and twenty-seven amendments
The framers of the Constitution realized that they could not address every single issue of the day. Therefore, they left a few provisions so that they federal government could one day sufficiently resolve these issues. For instance, the framers knew that those who were against ratification were concerned about unrestrained power in the the hands of the federal government. Thus, they created a system of checks and balances. Each of the three branches of government could restrain another branch of government, while being restrained by the other. In addition, the framers of the Constitution knew that debates concerning the relative political power of small states in relation to larger states would occur. Larger states supported the Virginia Plan, while smaller states supported the New Jersey Plan. The framers of the Constitution compromised on a two-house Congress which satisfied both sides of the debate. With these provisions in mind, the framers of the Constitution assumed the state representatives would be able to sufficiently debate those issues that were left unresolved by the Constitution and that the federal government would have the sufficient means of power of reinforcing their eventual decision. Thus, by creating a strong federal government that would be able to debate the prevailing issues of the day, the framers of the Constitution allowed for the
A constitution is the system of fundamental principles according to which a nation is governed. Our founding fathers created the US Constitution to set specific standards for our country. We must ask ourselves why our founding fathers created the Constitution in the first place. America revolted against the British due to their monarchy form of government. After the American Revolution, each of the original 13 colonies operated under its own rules of government. Most states were against any form of centralized rule from the government. They feared that what happened in England would happen again. They decided to write the Articles of Confederation, which was ratified in 1781. It was not effective and it led to many problems. The central government could not regulate commerce between states, deal with foreign governments or settle disputes. The country was falling apart at its seams. The central government could not provide assistance to the state because there wasn’t a central army. When they realized that the Articles of Confederation was not up to par, they held a convention, known as the Constitutional Convention of 1787. As a result of t...