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About checks and balances paragraph
Articles of confederation weaknesses
About checks and balances paragraph
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The Constitutional Convention, which met from May 25 to September 17, 1787, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is among the most important gatherings in America’s history. It is on this date that the modern day Constitution was spawned from the revisions of the original Articles of Confederation. These revisions were justified by the fact that the Articles of Confederation produced an inefficient government, lacking a strong federal branch and set of laws. The Constitution, however, produces an effective government by mending the flaws of the old Articles and by adhering to the peoples and states needs while also maintaining a strong federal administration through a system of checks and balances. The founding fathers agreed that the ratification …show more content…
Per Article V, “each State shall have one vote.” (Yale Law School: Lillian Goldman Law Library, Articles of Confederation: March 1, 1781.) As a result, small States and large States alike had the same voting weight in Congress and there was no proportionality in voting matters. This was not corrected until the Great Compromise which was later established under the Constitution. Since voting was an issue, it made it unimaginably difficult to pass laws. “No matter how many men stood up to represent a particular state, when it came time to vote they could cast but one. This is considered one of the flaws of the Articles for it created unequal representation of the people because small states had an equal say with large states” (Bradley). Since it took the consent of 9 of the 13 states to commend legislation, blocking a bill only took 5 states. An integrated population smaller than the single state of Virginia (i.e. Delaware, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Georgia, and New Jersey) could block every case of legislation proposed by congress. A small minority of American’s were able to stop bills from passing that could have potentially benefitted the large majority of Americans. In addition to that problem, the Articles spawned an impractical amendment process. Article XIII prohibited “any alteration at any time hereafter be made in any of them; unless such alteration be agreed to in a Congress of the United States, and be afterwards confirmed by the legislatures of every State.” A unanimous vote was required for and it made it extremely challenging to pass changes. This is why, eventually, the Articles were scrapped altogether in favor of an entirely new governing document- The
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.
At the time, larger states like Virginia were creating an unfair amount of power for themselves that the small states didn’t have. In the new government, Congress was created to make laws, and was made up of the House of Representatives and the Senate. The House of Representatives would give states a number of Representatives they could have based on their population. This would give fair power deserved to the larger states. The Senate however would be two and only two Senators for each state, no matter how large or small, bringing some equality to Congress.
The Articles of Confederation was the nation’s first Constitution. The articles created a loose Confederation of independent states that gave limited powers to the central government. Each state would have one vote in the House of Congress, no matter the size of the population. Members of the one-house Congress, such as Pennsylvania, agreed that the new government should be a unicameral legislature, without an executive branch or a separate judiciary. Under the article, there wasn’t a strong independent executive.
The year of 1776 was a time of revolution, independence, and patriotism. American colonists had severed their umbilical cord to the Mother Country and declared themselves “Free and Independent States”.1 The chains of monarchy had been thrown off and a new government was formed. Shying away from a totalitarian government, the Second Continental Congress drafted a document called the Articles of Confederation which established a loose union of the states. It was an attempt at self-government that ended in failure. The Articles of Confederation had many defects which included a weak central government that lacked the power to tax, regulate trade, required equal representation and a unanimous vote to amend the Articles, and had only a legislative branch. As a result the United States lacked respect from foreign countries. These flaws were so severe that a new government had to be drafted and as a result the Constitution was born. This document remedied the weak points of the federal government and created one that was strong and fair, yet still governed by the people.
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.
The Articles of Confederation was America’s first constitution. The Articles of Confederation failed to create a strong central government, however. With the demise of the states in sight, the need for a stronger and more structured central government became apparent. An invitation was sent to all thirteen states in February 1787 by the Confederation Congress to resolve the matter. The events that took place over the next several months would create the United States Constitution. Going down in history as a revolutionary form of government, the U.S. Constitution would give life to a country that is still running strong over 200 years later.
One of the key differences between the Constitution and the Articles of Confederation is in the way that they set up the Legislature. In the Articles, it is established as a unicameral legislature which it refers to as a Congress. The Constitution on the other hand establishes a bicameral legislature with an upper house, the Senate, and a lower house, the House of Representatives. The reason for this change was because different states wanted the number of representatives to be selected in different ways. Under the Articles of Confederation all States were represented equally and the bigger states felt that they should be getting more say in the decisions that the Country would be making. Needless to say the smaller states did not readily agree to this.
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.
The delegates who had made their way to Philadelphia to attend the Constitutional Convention had dealt with several issues prior to their coming to Pennsylvania in 1787. Just four years prior to the Convention, The Paris Peace Treaty with Britain was agreed upon and signed with the assistance of Benjamin Franklin as America’s first ambassador. Only months, before the convention was underway in February of 1787, Shays rebellion had started and would cause for issues. This conflict however, would be one of the major reason why the convention would come together to look at the Articles of...
More and more states became interested in these changes and decided to meet in Philadelphia on May 25, 1787. On this date the Constitutional Convention was held and the U.S Constitution was presented as a new plan of government that would completely replace the old system. This new plan called for a strong central government that would have highest authority on legislation and implementing laws. The federalist papers supported the choice to replace the Articles of Confederation and advocated for a strong central government. They persuaded citizens that this new form of government would build a stronger national unity and it would provide greater protection overall.
The 1787 Constitutional Convention was paramount in unifying the states after the Revolutionary War. However, in order to do so, the convention had to compromise on many issues instead of addressing them with all due haste. This caused the convention to leave many issues unresolved. Most notably were the issues of slavery, race, secession, and states’ rights. Through the Civil War and the Reconstruction, these issues were resolved, and in the process the powers of the federal government were greatly expanded.
The Articles of Confederation set up a government that consisted of a one house body of delegates, with each state having a single vote, acting collectively, could make decisions on certain issues that affected all states. There was no president or judiciary so any decision required nine of the thirteen states’ votes. At this point in time the United States of America ... ... middle of paper ... ... o consider the charms of liberty as imaginary and delusive.”
In May of 1787, a developing nation was on the verge of crisis. Delegates from twelve states met in Philadelphia to find a solution. The fifty-five men hoped to revise the Articles of Confederation to fit the needs of the growing country. After four months of a heated debate, they reached an agreement leading to what is now known as the American Constitution and Bill of Rights.
In May of 1787 55 individuals went to Philadelphia to go to the constitutional convention.The reason behind this meeting was to create a new constitution because the Articles of confederation proved to be unsuccessful at holding a nation together.While creating the constitution the framers were especially concerned with avoiding tyranny in the U.S.James Madison made large contributions to the making of the constitution.Some concepts included in the constitution to guard against tyranny were separation of powers ,checks and balances,and The Great Compromise.
The Articles of Confederation was the first government of the United States. The Articles had created a very weak national government. At the time the Articles were approved, they had served the will of the people. Americans had just fought a war to get freedom from a great national authority--King George III (Patterson 34). But after this government was put to use, it was evident that it was not going to keep peace between the states. The conflicts got so frequent and malicious that George Washington wondered if the “United” States should be called a Union (Patterson 35). Shays’ Rebellion finally made it evident to the public that the government needed a change.