American Democracy

The United States Constitution was adopted on September 17, 1787 by the constitutional convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is the supreme law of the United States. After declaring its freedom from Great Britain after the Revolutionary War, America was in need of creating a government separate from the rule of the king. This task was not an easy one to accomplish. The first attempt at constitution, the Articles of Confederation, failed miserably.

The Articles of Confederation on November 15, 1777 were accepted by Congress, but not ratified by all the states until March 1, 1781, Maryland was the last state to ratify. The Articles were a humble attempt to form a national government by a new country trying to unite itself. The Articles of Confederation, however, wanted the states to have the majority of the power. The Articles government was very weak, but this was done on purpose, because after finally gaining independence from Britain, they feared that a strong central government would lead to an empowerment of another monarchy. Alexander Hamilton called for a convention to be held in Massachusetts to advise congress to “render the constitution”.

Nobody has the right to our services... ... middle of paper ... ...ape our ideal vision in America as to citizens being protected by a strong government. The Declaration is our lives every day, it is reality. As American citizens we are a very fortunate to live in a place like America because of all that has been accomplished, the people are happy with the government for securing our rights. In other countries people do not have rights we do, they do not have a say in much. For example, if one says something about the president elsewhere, one might be killed or do time.

Before America was born, men and women were ruled by kings who claimed divine right to rule and changed the laws to satisfy their own personal whims. It was considered a tragedy by our founding fathers who had dreamt of a nation on the Rule of Laws. Humanity lived under iron rule of one form of king or another for thousands of years until that fateful day in Philadelphia, when some very wise and courageous leaders gathered on the Fourth of July in 1776 to institute a new form of government where people like us would be able to rule ourselves under the law. This is known as the Rule of Law. Justice according to written laws instead of the desire of private interests.

Before the Constitution was framed, a weak central government had been established under the Articles of confederation. The Articles of Confederation were created when Richard Lee offered his resolution for independence in June 1776. He proposed that “ a plan of Confederation” he prepared for the colonists a confederation is defined as a group of independent states or ... ... middle of paper ... ... they were going off of different ideas but, they say by evaluating the Articles they came up with something better what they called that Constitution. I just explained to you the differences and the similarity between both the Articles and the Constitution. One of the greatest things that the Constitution had was, “The Constitution created a more cohesive federal government, allowing for more centralized control of things such as coining money, enforcing laws, collecting taxes, and passing laws.

The Constitution and Individual Rights In the 1780s, many people agreed that the Articles of Confederation were not a strong enough plan of government for a newly born nation. Even though The Articles of Confederation won the Revolutionary War, there were many problems with the plan of government. The Articles of Confederation was made to prevent a strong national government and it only gave each state one vote in the Confederation Congress. It could not raise money and it only had one branch, the Legislature. In 1786, delegates from each state went to Philadelphia to draft a new Constitution for the United States.

Along with these establishments, the nation came a republic. In 1788, when Washington presided as the president of the United States, and the constitution was yet to be ratified, James Madison, an influential legislator and a federalist, wrote in "The Federalist" of the necessity of government and the difficulty for its establishment, as all people are natura... ... middle of paper ... ... economic repercussions of the revolution. The Revolution was not only the end of colonial times, but also the beginning of America as a nation, and a period of time that significantly altered the fundamentals of American society, alterations that would prove undeniably important for America's journey to becoming the nation it is today. Bibliography Brinkley, Alan American History A Survey, Volume I: To 1877, New York, NY: McGraw-Hill, 2003. pg. 101-122, 209-213.

Constitution needed to clearly outline what the government was not allowed to do. This restraint on government would not allow the possibility of an abuse of power from the government or any of its affiliates. The need for restrictions of the government was also learned from the abuses dealt by British control over Colonial America. With proper representation and laws in hand the Colonies where able to join and defeat the British, thus gaining independence. The very First Amendment provides freedom of religion, speech, and press to allow U.S. citizens to openly criticize any matter, political or not, and not be prosecuted for it.

If the citizens were unable to criticize the government, it would be impossible to regulate order. By looking freedom of speech there is also freedom of assembly and freedom of press that are crucial for the United States democracy. According to the “Derechos, Human Rights”, freedom of speech is one of the most dangerous rights, because it means the freedom to express one's discontent with the status quo and the desire to change it. These types of rights are protected by ACLU and other type of organization like UNESCO. ACLU is “America’s nation's guardian of liberty”, working daily in courts, legislatures and communities to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties that the Constitution and laws of the United States guarantee everyone in America.

When same-sex marriage is accepted in all states, America can move on with further upholding its standards of federalism and equality, and the promise of life, liberty and property to all citizens. Our country cannot be as prosperous and successful as we want it to be if we do not abide by the laws we set for ourselves - we are nothing if we are not constitutional.