The Articles of Confederation and the Constitution After winning independence from Great Britain in 1776, the United States was in need of an organized national government, clearly defined in written form. The first Continental Congress drafted the Articles of confederation the following year, though it would not be ratified until 1781. The Articles provided the framework for a centralized government but ultimately were not strong enough to enforce its own requirements. A new constitution was needed. Congressional leaders began the process of drafting another document that would strengthen the weak federal government while continuing to ensure individual liberties. The Constitution of the United States was ratified in 1787 after much …show more content…
James Madison of Virginia wanted a solution to the economic and political problems plaguing the new nation. He was convinced that the Articles of Confederation were inadequate, weak and in need of replacement. A strong centralized government, Madison believed, would provide greater stability and structure for the American economy. In 1786, Madison invited delegates from each of the 13 states to attend a Constitutional Convention. It was here that he hoped to create a plan for a stronger national government. (This section from Charters of Freedom) During this unprecedented convention, plans and ideas were presented and many issues were debated. Sessions of the convention were held in secret and visitors were not allowed. This secrecy caused anxiety and fear in those who opposed the idea of a powerful centralized government. Two of the plans presented in these secret sessions were the Virginia Plan and the New Jersey Plan. Virginia, a large state, thought that representation in the new legislature should be based upon population. New Jersey, a small state, felt it was only fair for each state to be equally represented regardless of population. (Charters of Freedom). “The compromise proposed by Sherman and Ellsworth provided for a dual system of representation. In the House of Representatives each state’s number of seats would be in proportion to population. In …show more content…
Many of them were working-class citizens who felt that the new Constitution would give too much power to the wealthy and privileged. They feared that the United States would even some day have a king. (Charters of Freedom) To calm these fears, Clause 7 of Federalist Paper 84 stated that, “No title of nobility shall be granted” (Loyd). Hamilton called this exclusion of titles of nobility a “cornerstone of republican government” and stated that the government would never be in danger of being outside the hands of the people. He goes on to remind the public that the “people surrender nothing” and quotes the introduction to the new Constitution, emphasizing the words “WE THE PEOPLE.” Unfortunately, he then followed this reassurance by telling them that a bill of rights was unnecessary. Madison and Hamilton seemed to believe that individual rights were obvious and didn 't need to be specifically stated. (Floyd) . Anti-Federalists were adamant about the addition of a bill of rights to ensure protection against tyranny and inequality between the classes. Even Thomas Jefferson, a supporter of the constitution, argued with Madison that a bill of rights was “what the people are entitled to against every government on earth.” (A More Perfect Union: The Creation of the U.S. Constitution. pg. 8, para.5). Madison himself later proposed a list of 17 amendments to the House, 10 of
The Anti-Federalist Party, led by Patrick Henry, objected to the constitution. They objected to it for a few basic reasons. Mostly the Anti-Federalists thought that the Constitution created too strong a central government. They felt that the Constitution did not create a Federal government, but a single national government. They were afraid that the power of the states would be lost and that the people would lose their individual rights because a few individuals would take over. They proposed a “Bill of Rights”, to make sure the citizens were protected by the law. They believed that no Bill of Rights would be equal to no check on our government for the people.
"A bill of rights is what the people are entitled to." He felt the Bill of Rights would clearly state and protect people's rights, "freedom of religion, freedom of the press, protection against standing armies, restriction of monopolies, the eternal and unremitting force of the habeas corpus laws, and trial by jury.." It was based on Jefferson's suggestions that Madison proposed a Bill of Rights. Jefferson did everything he could to help the common man. Andrew Jackson was undoubtedly one of the people.
The Articles of Confederation was ratified in 1871 and considered to be the first Constitution of the United States. The goal of the Articles of Confederation was to ensure each states maintains its independence, sovereignty, and freedom. The Articles were ratified by all 13 states. (Daniel, P.14, 2010) The Confederation Congress called for a convention to meet in 1787 to be held in Philadelphia. The nature of the convention was to revise the articles of Confederation. The Confederation congress wanted the Constitution to be changed in a way that would render the federal Constitution adequate to the exigencies of government and the preservation of the Union. (Daniel, P.14, 2010)
Supporters of the Constitution called themselves Federalists, a name referring to a balance of power between the states and the national government. They argued for a federal system as in the Constitution. James Madison claimed that the Constitution was less dangerous that it looked because the separation of powers protected people from tyrannical abuse. The Federalists compile a group of essays, known as The Federalist Papers. In No. 51, Madison insisted that the division of powers and they system of checks an balances would protect Americans from the tyranny of centralized authority. He wrote that opposite motives among government office holders were good, and was one of the advantages of a big government with different demographics. In No. 10, he said that there was no need to fear factions, for not enough power would be given to the faction forming people; thus, they wouldn't become tyrannical. Hamilton, in No. 84, defended the Constitution with the case that the Constitution can be amended by representatives, who are there to represent the citizens' interests.
All of the framer of the U.S. Constitution had one thing in common, they all felt that the government didn't have enough power. At the same time they didn't want to give the government to much power. They all knew if there was power to be held someone was going to hold it and over use it The framers didn't want to create a system like Britain or England.
This task was easier said than done. The fear of creating a government with too much power was a fear that was very much alive throughout the states. Tyranny was a common factor in developing governments, the delegates were seeking to avoid this error. Two ground rules were put into place for the Convention. The first was that any and all deliberations were to remain secretive. The second was that no topic or decisions would be considered closed and could therefore be up for debate and revision at any time. Once these rules were agreed upon, business started. The two contenders were the Virginia Plan, which had the larger states rooting, and the New Jersey Plan, claiming the votes of the smaller states. Under the Virginia Plan, legislature would be two houses and would be represented based on population. Under the New Jersey Plan, legislature would be one house and each state would have equal representation regardless of population. An agreement could not be reached between these two plans, instead a compromise was made. The Great Compromise met each side with an upper and lower house. The upper house was the Senate and would provide equal representation that was elected by the lower house. The lower house was the House of Representatives and would be dispersed based on population of the states. This compromise satisfied the small and large states, giving a
The Articles of Confederation were approved by Congress on November 15, 1777 and ratified by the states on March 1, 1781. It was a modest attempt by a new country to unite itself and form a national government. The Articles set up a Confederation that gave most of the power to the states. Many problems arose and so a new Constitution was written in 1787 in Independence Hall. The new Constitution called for a much more unified government with a lot more power. Let us now examine the changes that were undertaken.
Supporters of a constitution, lacking a bill of rights, were called Federalists. The Federalists included members such as Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay, whom wrote a series of essays that were designed to inform and persuade the public of their views pertaining to the issues of the day. Among these views was whether a bill of rights should be added to the constitution. The Federalists, via Alexander Hamilton, dealt with this issue in a foremost way in their 84th essay. In the 84th essay Hamilton begins by explaining that a bill of rights, which are “in their origin, stipulations between kings and their subjects, abridgements of prerogative in favor of privilege, reservations of rights not surrendered to the prince.”
As a federalist Alexander Hamilton wanted to establish a stronger federal government under a new Constitution. He met in Philadelphia with other delegates to discuss how to fix the Articles of Confederation that created a weak central government. During the meeting, Hamilton expressed his view that a dependable current source of revenue would be crucial to develop a more powerful and resilient central government. Although Hamilton played a diminutive part in the writing of the Constitution itself, he did heavily influence its ratification. In cooperation with James Madison and John Jay, Hamilton wrote fifty one of eighty five essays under the joint title The Federalist “The Federalist Paper.” In the essays, he cunningly explained and defended the newly drafted Constitution prior to its approval. In 1788, at the New York Ratification Convention, two thirds of delegates opposed the Constitution, however Hamilton was a powerful advocate for ratification, effectively arguing against the anti Federalist persuasion. His efforts succeeded when New York agreed to ratify, which led the remaining eight states to follow. He had a proposal for the new government that was modeled on the British system, which Hamilton considered the best.
James Madison was no stranger to opposition. In publishing an essay referred to today as Federalist Essay No. 10, Madison participated in a persuasive attempt to ratify the Constitution, a document he drafted and for which he is credited as its “Father”. Along with John Jay, who became the United States’ first Supreme Court Chief Justice, and Alexander Hamilton, who became the first Secretary of the Treasury, Madison articulates in his writing the necessity of the Constitution as a remedy for the extant ills of an infant nation recently freed from the grasp of distant monarchical rule. This young nation faltered under the first endeavor of organized government, the Articles of Confederation. The Articles were designed during a period of emerging
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 ...
The Articles of Confederation was the first constitution of the United States of America. The Articles of Confederation were first drafted by the Continental Congress in Philadelphia Pennsylvania in 1777. This first draft was prepared by a man named John Dickinson in 1776. The Articles were then ratified in 1781. The cause for the changes to be made was due to state jealousies and widespread distrust of the central authority. This jealousy then led to the emasculation of the document.
This later became a huge issue for the government. (Celebrate the Constitution) At the end of the Constitutional Convention a delegate from Virginia, George Mason, discussed the addition of a bill of rights, but the other delegates opposed this. (Munson) The Anti-Federalists debated that the powers of the new national government would endanger the powers of the solo states and the liberties of the people. (Celebrate the Constitution)However, the Federalists said that adding a bill of rights to the Constitution would be unneeded. A Federalist, Alexander Hamilton, said the federal government would only use the certain assigned and limited powers, and that it would not threaten the basic liberties of the people. Then on June 8, 1789 James Madison discussed adding nine amendments to the Constitution that allowed certain rights to the people. On December 15, 1791 the Bill of Rights was added to the constitution. The first eight amendments of the Bill of Rights establishes specific rights and liberties. The Ninth Amendment says that the American people have rights that are not even in the Bill of Rights or constitution. The Bill of Rights shaped what being American
Even the antifederalists recognized that “…a government without the power to raise money is one only in name.” (Brutus, No.5) A political group emerged in favor of a new constitution and wrote of their ideas in the federalist papers. The new constitution would strengthen the central government but allow for its power to be checked while protecting the rights of the people. These papers were written by James Madison, John Jay, and Alexander Hamilton and published in the late 1780’s at the same time as the anti-federalist papers published by a somewhat unknown “Brutus.” The federalists supported ratifying the new constitution while the antifederalists were mostly concerned with protecting the rights of the people and preventing the government from abusing power. A protection from abuse of power, established in the Constitution, is “the separation of power” which Madison writes about in Federalist Paper No. 51. Since the powers of the central government are separated into 3 branches, the executive, legislative, and judicial, no one branch can become too powerful without being checked by another. This protection is called “checks and balances.” In addition, the Bill of Rights was added to the Constitution to protect the rights of the people, prevent governmental abuse, and to satisfy the antifederalists. Once both groups agreed, The Constitution was signed in
The Constitution of the United States was created on September 17, 1787, but not everyone agreed that it should become the law of the land. Authors of the Constitution, James Madison and Alexander Hamilton, published The Federalist Papers to promote ratification of the Constitution by the States. The Federalist were committed to ensuring the Constitution was ratified. However, they were not without opposition. The Anti-Federalist opposed the Constitution and believed that it would cause the new union to fail. Anti-Federalist were politicians and businessmen such as George Mason, Patrick Henry and John Winthrop, but there were many farmers and common people among the group. Their primary objections to the Constitution was that it weakened the State governments, that it lacked a Bill of Rights and that it protected the wealthy at the expense of ordinary Americans.