My interpretation of the purpose of Holton’s Unruly American’s in general is that he wanted to convey a more accurate understanding of the development of the United States constitution, as appose to other perspectives that focus mainly on the framers. The constitution wasn’t just developed by the framers alone; it was heavily influenced by the many average American citizens during this time. Influences such as public demonstrations of outrage due to taxation as well as the influence of debt generated by farmers that couldn’t financially maintain themselves due to the country’s poor infrastructure. Holton also informed his readers about the importance of the creation of the Bill of Rights. All of the following events helped shape the constitution …show more content…
To examine their lives and put into perspective why they carried out the actions they did. Putting these pieces together and understanding the development of our country on a macroscopic scale is the true significance and purpose portrayed by this book.
2. Relation to course:
The constitution is the bedrock in which our country is based off of today. When it comes to learning and understanding the origins of our country the constitution is a highly important piece. This book goes into great depth explaining how the constitution was forged which makes its relevance to the course very significant.
3. Summary:
The preface section was about an activity that Holton used in some of his classes. He would ask his class to tell him which parts of the constitution were their most favorable. He we would then proceed to write what each student said on the board into three unlabeled categories. When the class exhausted the list of rights and restrictions it was their job to determine what each of the categories were. After the categories were revealed it was shown that most items belonged to the Bill of Rights category, as appose to the other two categories which were The Articles of Confederation, and the basic Constitution preceding the Bill of
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is an award winning author and history professor. He graduated from the University of Virginia with a Bachelor’s degree in English and later finished his Ph.D. in History at Duke University. Professor Holton is the son of A. Linwood Holton Jr. who is the former Governor of Virginia. Professor Holton is currently a professor at the University of South Carolina and was previously an associate professor at the University of Richmond. He teaches Early American history and the American Revolution at graduate seminars. He also instructs undergraduate level classes on economic history as well as Early African Americans, Native Americans, and Early American
In the concluding fourth section entitled “Independence” Holton brings the crux of his argument to fruition, arguing convincingly that Virginia's elites were pushed ever further down the road to open rebellion by the actions of several different groups, whose contributions to the founding of the United States have been overlooked by historians. Holton's conclusion offers a vision of pluralistic causation behind the final decision of the gentry class to finally make the break with Britain and highlights the need for further research and study of points raised in this monograph concerning the contributions these marginal groups in the founding of the United States.
During and after the turmoil of the American Revolution, the people of America, both the rich and the poor, the powerful and the meek, strove to create a new system of government that would guide them during their unsure beginning. This first structure was called the Articles of Confederation, but it was ineffective, restricted, and weak. It was decided to create a new structure to guide the country. However, before a new constitution could be agreed upon, many aspects of life in America would have to be considered. The foremost apprehensions many Americans had concerning this new federal system included fear of the government limiting or endangering their inalienable rights, concern that the government’s power would be unbalanced, both within
Story, J. (1987). Commentaries on the Constitution of the United States. Durham, N.C.: Carolina Academic Press.
The U.S. Constitution is a wonderful document that our forefathers put great thought, and effort into creating. It guides our government in the daily activities of running the United States. The United States has fought many wars to protect the inalienable rights we enjoy thanks to our forefathers writing this document. In this paper I will show the good and the bad of the Constitution. I will show how it is effective in today’s society, and what really needs to be amended to adapt to our ever changing society. Within the next few pages I will show the advantages, disadvantages, strengths and weaknesses of the U.S. Constitution. I will give an overview of the U.S. Constitution, and what is written with strength, and what is written without actual strength. I will review all the sections of the U.S. to include Federalism, what are its advantages and disadvantages, and how we can possibly improve them. The strengths and weaknesses of the three different branches of government, and how they can be improved. I will review how Political Parties, Interest Groups, and Elections work, and what their positive and negative impacts on our lives are.
Analyze the major concerns generated by the writing and ratification of the U.S. Constitution. (1786-1792)
For a document written in a mere one hundred and sixteen days, it is quite amazing that the United States Constitution still plays an integral role in the government. However, this document, like many important governing papers, has come with controversies and arguments since its establishment as a set of principles with which to govern states. The Constitution of the United States, created in 1787, arose from a need of a new document after the Articles of Confederation that could assert more control over the states. A product of the Constitutional convention, the Constitution laid out the framework for a popular government with checks and balances as well as a separation of powers. Since the Constitution is a relatively short document given
Since the advent of human government, one of the principle fears held by the constituents of the government has always been to prevent any form of tyranny or abuse within it. Tyranny can be loosely described as one person or a group of people having total power in a government leading to the subjugation and oppression of people’s rights. Many new nations wish to eliminate any aspect of their government that may eventually lead to tyranny. The United States was no different in this respect; the framers of the Constitution longed to have no signs of tyranny in their government because they had gone to war with Britain for that very reason. In 1787, a group of fifty-five delegates came from throughout the states to meet in Philadelphia to discuss the problems with the current government. The existing Articles of Confederation posed a monumental problem for these individuals; they recognized that the central government was almost entirely powerless under these articles. Besides this, another problem was that the government lacked a court system or a chief executive. The central government did not possess the power to tax the states either. These problems warranted change which prompted these men to get together. This new constitution they were to create was supposed to guard the people against all kinds of tyranny whether it be of a few, the many or majority, or even a single individual. This seemed virtually insurmountable a task to accomplish but was ultimately achieved. The Constitution guards against tyranny by having a central and state government that cannot overrule or have more power over the other, establishing the separation of powers to keep anyone from abusing it, and having a sys...
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.
In creating the Constitution, the states had several different reactions, including a rather defensive reaction, but also an understanding reaction. As a document that provided the laws of the land and the rights of its people. It directs its attention to the many problems in this country; it offered quite a challenge because the document lent itself to several views and interpretations, depending upon the individual reading it. It is clear that the founders’ perspectives as white, wealthy or elite class, American citizens would play a role in the creation and implementation of The Constitution.
America and more specifically, the Framers of the Constitution, recognized that they were in a unique position. They had the opportunity to write history by drafting a document that would create a system of government and a country that had never been conceived before. With this responsibility in mind, they drafted the Constitution, which unified the Colonies into one single country and created a federalist governmental system (Cummings 2015, 85). Despite these advances, the Constitution remained grounded in the values of the Declaration and had provisions embedded within it that the Framers hoped would safeguard against the injustices and tyranny suffered under Britain from being repeated again in their new republic (Cummings 2015, 85). This paper will explore this relationship between the Declaration of Independence and the unamended Constitution of 1787 by examining the texts of both documents, along with ideas of Thomas Jefferson and James Madison. This will reveal that the Constitution attempted to create a system of government that was consistent with the principles of the Declaration of
The development of the U.S. Constitution was a series of many trials and errors. There were many problems starting from the Articles of Confederation and even the battle to ratify the constitution. Not everyone wanted the same thing for the new government, however they all agreed that they didn’t want the same type of government that they had unde English rule.
The Constitution of the United States is an intricate document, that has influenced and shaped many newly formed Democratic nations. Many people believe that the ideas in the American Constitution are all novel and original, but that is untrue. The roots of American Constitutionalism are found in the historical paradigms of Western tradition. The fact is, constitutional doctrines were long developed and put into use long before the birth of America. The Greeks, the Romans, the English, and even the Colonialist in the New World all formed constitutional doctrines that would later influence the Founding Fathers of the American Constitution.
The United States' Constitution is one the most heralded documents in our nation's history. It is also the most copied Constitution in the world. Many nations have taken the ideals and values from our Constitution and instilled them in their own. It is amazing to think that after 200 years, it still holds relevance to our nation's politics and procedures. However, regardless of how important this document is to our government, the operation remains time consuming and ineffective. The U.S. Constitution established an inefficient system that encourages careful deliberation between government factions representing different and sometimes competing interests.
In the making of the United States, there were many events that are important. This paper intends to highlight a few of those events including; Magna Carta, Mayflower Compact, Declaration of Independence, Articles of Confederation and the Federalist Papers. Many events in America’s history helped to establish the United States as a free and independent country. The Declaration of Independence in particular explains the rights and freedoms that Americans. Each document is like a stepping stones that leads to the next and building upon the pervious document.
Spaeth, Harold J. and Edward Conrad Smith. The Constitution of the United States, 13th ed. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 1991 (paper). ISBN 0064671054.