The Articles of Confederation at one point was our only set of guidelines for our country, “in 1787 Congress scheduled a meeting to reform the Articles of Confederation”(Losco,Baker 22). “However; James Madison who is also known as the Father of the Constitution, had a different idea, to throw out the Articles of Confederation and construct something different” (Losco,Baker 23). According to Smith and Spaeth “in 1789 the Constitution was ratified, and then in 1791 the Bill of Rights was added” (Smith,Spaeth). Although many people today know these facts, not many know how the contents of this document affect us. Article V of the constitution consist of how amendments are proposed and ratified, if there was no system we could have millions of amendments. To follow that, there are many amendments that have been added to the Constitution that affect our everyday lives. “Without the thirteenth amendment slavery would still be legal”(Losco,Baker 98), and without the nineteenth amendment women would not have the right to vote”(Losco,Baker 115). “One of the reasons the U.S. Constitution has endured for as long as it has is that the Framers made provisions for change”(Losco,Baker 32). The explanation for that is Article V. “Article V is the method of an amendment”, or how it is passed (Index guide to the Constitution). “The Congress, whenever two-thirds of both Houses shall deem it necessary, shall propose Amendments to this Constitution, or, on the Application of the Legislatures of two thirds of the several States, shall call a Convention for proposing Amendments, which, in either case, shall be valid to all Intents and Purposes, as part of this Constitution, when ratified by the Legislatures of three-fourths of the several States... ... middle of paper ... ...5.1 (2009): 6+. General Reference Center GOLD. Web. 28 Nov. 2011. Reidy, Maurice Timothy. "How dry we were: Ken Burns and Lynn Novick revisit prohibition." America 10 Oct. 2011: 22+. General Reference Center GOLD. Web. 28 Nov. 2011. Smith, Edward Conrad, and Harold J. Spaeth. "Chronology of events in U.S. constitutional history." Constitution of the United States. HarperCollins Publishers, 1991. 54+. General Reference Center GOLD. Web. 27 Nov. 2011. Tenney, Elizabeth. "Under Jim Crow's thumb." Cobblestone Apr. 2008: 3. General Reference Center GOLD. Web. 27 Nov. 2011. "The Constitution of the United States of America." Constitution of the United States. HarperCollins Publishers, 1991. 199+. General Reference Center GOLD. Web. 27 Nov. 2011. "The Suffrage Movement (1878-1899)." American Eras. Detroit: Gale, 1997. General Reference Center GOLD. Web. 28 Nov. 2011.
Okrent, Daniel. Last Call: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition. New York: Scribner, 2010. Print.
On Jan. 17, 1920, America went completely dry. The 18th Amendment of the United States Constitution had been ratified a year earlier, banning “the manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors” within the United States and its territories. This began the era of Prohibition, a 14-year time period of law-breaking unlike any other in our country’s history fueled by bootleggers, gangs, speak easies and mafias. The 18th Amendment was a rarity in that it limited the rights of the individual rather than the activities of the government, thereby guaranteeing an unfavorable reception and reaction. “Last Call” The Rise and Fall of Prohibition was written by Daniel Okrent and published in May 2010 and is a historical explanation of the Prohibition era. Prohibition through the 18th Amendment holds the distinction of being the only constitutional amendment ever to be repealed. This fact leads one to ask: How did this even occur? Why would Americans sacrifice their precious right to drink?
After the American Revolution, America had earned it’s freedom from Britain. In order to govern this new country the Articles of Confederation was created. This document was flawed by the colonists fear of putting too much power into a central government. Knowing the document needed to be fixed a constitutional convention was called. The document created at this convention has been our constitution ever since. But even the Constitution was meet with criticism. One major concern when writing the constitution was how to protect the citizens rights. The Constitution did this through the preamble, the legislative process, the limit of presidential terms, the judicial branch, and the bill of rights.
In the years after 1870 there were many reasons for the development of the women’s suffrage movement. The main reasons were changes in the law. Some affecting directly affecting women, and some not, but they all added to the momentum of Women’s campaign for the vote.
October 5, 2013 in Cornell Law. CRS/LII Annotated Constitution of the United States. Cornell University Law School, Inc. 2013. The. Web. The Web.
In 1787, the Constitution, created by a group of men known as the “Framers”, is the highest law in the United States. At first, the Constitution was not ratify because it did not have a bill of rights which is a list of rights that belong to the people. Therefore to allow changes to the Constitution, the Framers created the amendment process. In 1791, congress proposed twelve changes to the Constitution. Ten of the twelve changes were agreed to by the states and were called “The Bill of Rights.” Some of these rights include the right of free speech, the right to practice your own religion and the right to be silent if you are arrested.
Okrent, Daniel. "Prohibition Life: Politics, Loopholes And Bathtub Gin." NPR. NPR, 2010. Web. Feb. 2014.
The Constitution is important because it was expressly designed to limit powers into three co-ordinate branches, the legislative, executive, and judiciary branch; none of which was to have supremacy over the others. This separation of powers with the checks and balances which each branch was given over the others was designed to prevent any branch, from infringing individual liberties safeguarded by the Constitution. I think the U.S. Constitution was a way for the U.S. to establish government which was a negotiation between the two former governments, a monarchy and total state power. I think by creating the checks and balances, people’s rights would be safer and they would feel more secure not having one branch of government with absolute power. What I found most interesting about the Constitution was how complex and detailed the framers made it, to effectively explain and limit the individual branches of power in government. In the words of Thomas Paine, "a government without a constitution is power without right". Meaning that for power to be granted, it is necessary to establish a constitution.
The. Nishi, Dennis. A. Prohibition. San Diego, CA: Greenhaven, 2003. Print.
Beeman, Richard R. "Amendments to the Constitution ." The Penguin guide to the United States Constitution: a fully annotated Declaration of Independence, U.S. Constitution and amendments, and selections from the Federalist Papers. New York: Penguin Group, 2010. 75-78. Print.
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.
If the Articles of Confederation was strong enough for our country, our Founding Fathers would never have proposed the Constitution to the thirteen states. The Articles were a good start for our country, but the Constitution was going to be what kept our country together for the future. In the preamble of the Constitution, it is stated, “We the people, in order to form a more perfect union…”. Nothing is perfect. Not even the Founding Fathers. They created a weak document in the Articles of Confederation. They did, however, fix their mistake by not only writing the Constitution, but convincing the states to have it ratified. The Founding Fathers turned their biggest mistake into their best decision with these two documents.
"Article III, Constitution of the United States." History of the Federal Judiciary. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 Mar. 2014. .
The United States Constitution and the Articles have several ever present difference that some considered to be too radical. In terms of levying taxes, the Articles Congress could request states to pay taxes while with the Constitution; the Congress has the right to levy taxes on individuals. The Articles government had no court system while the Constitution created a court system to deal with issues between citizens and states. The lack of provisions to regulate interstate trade the Articles possessed created large economic problems, leading into a depression in the mid 1780's. The Constitutional Congress has the right to regulate trade between states. The Constitution has a strong executive branch headed by our president who chooses cabinet and has checks on power of the other two branches; the Articles had no executive with power. The president merely presided over Congress. The Articles took almost 5 years to ratify due to the fact that 13/13 colonies needed to amend the Articles before it could go into affect, with the Constitution, 2/3 of both houses of Congress plus ¾ of the states legislatures or national convention had to approve. During the years under the Articles, foreign soldiers occupied US forts during our early years, we were unable to force them out due to the fact that Congress could not draft troops, and they depended on the states to contribute to the forces. Under the Constitution we have the ability to raise an army to deal with any sort of military situations. In terms of passing laws, under the Articles 9/13 states needed to approve legislation while under the Constitution, 50% plus 1 of both houses plus the signature of the president is needed to pass a law. The Articles had a huge problem when it came to state representation. Under the Articles every state only received one vote, regardless of its size, this hindered the power of the larger states. With the Constitution, the upper house (Senate) has 2 votes and the lower house (House of Representatives) is based on population. When two states had disputes the Articles had a complicated system of arbitration to go through before any resolution was reached, under the Constitution, the federal Court system handles disputes between states.
The Constitution is the greatest document in American history. It has pushed for progressiveness and equality. The Constitution is basically the supreme law of the United States. The Constitution was written to organize a strong national government for the American states. Before the Constitution, the nation's leaders had established a national government under the Articles of Confederation. The Articles gave independence to each state; the states lacked authority, the ability to work together, and to solve national problems. The U.S. Constitution established America's national government and fundamental laws, and guaranteed certain basic rights for its citizens using five big ideas and this shaped today's America.